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plounce · 4 years

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my Concepts for aj2

so these are my thoughts and ideas about the game that would follow aa4 in a timeline where we got a coherent apollo trilogy rather than aa5 and aa6. as such, i am discarding aa5 and aa6′s apollo backstories because i find them incoherent as an arc and only slapped onto him for the plots of the games. etc etc. theorizing on squandered potential is me-bait. trucy and klavier get to have THEIR place in the narrative as important characters!! (sorry athena. you will get your own trilogy with good writing and a better design in this timeline too)

this is very stream of consciousness and while i think it’s fairly coherent it is also not chronologically organized as i build on ideas. i am genuinely sorry if the read more doesn’t work on mobile because this thing is stupid long.

containing:

apollo, trucy, and klavier being a firm Trio and getting character development and growing closer :)

themes about found family, letting yourself love/be loved, performance and persona, love giving you strength to do good, you being the one to determine your identity

exploration of the trio’s backstories and the development of their skills

prosecutor franziska chipping away at the corruption within the legal system

klavier being the assistant for a case

kristoph continuing to be a corrupt bastard

buildup to the sibling reveal & canon klapollo in the conclusion of the trilogy

- apollo is the main character

- phoenix is absent for like the entire game besides maybe a couple tiny flashbacks, later revealed to be working with edgeworth on anti-corruption stuff (which is also tied to kristoph & kristoph’s ties within the legal system, “old boys club” etc)

- trucy is assistant for first half of the game

- klavier is assistant for second half of the game. his hair is in a little bun or ponytail :) no drill hair for THIS individual person

- klavier is prosecutor for trucy assistant cases. in the 3rd case klavier was supposed to prosecute against apollo but things keep getting fishier and fishier and things keep reminding them of kristoph. klavier is ordered off the case from on high. mysterious replacement. klavier is too invested in seeing truth & justice come to light so he helps apollo

- franziska prosecutes cases 3 & 4. she has short hair and it’s super sexy and hot.

- kristoph set things up so that klavier is implicated in things. dig into how klavier and apollo feel unable to escape kristoph’s influence - “he’s too foundational”

- 4th case klavier is on trial. oh maybe 3 isn’t about kristoph but it’s just background stuff about the rampup to the 4th case - klavier is put on probation while things are investigated but he doesn’t know WHY, but he’s still committed to his ideals

- trucy is pursuing her magic career, klavier still loves music - has been releasing solo stuff maybe, just some EPs for free/charity, but isn’t touring. focusing on law

- case 4 has a family friend (NOT A WOMAN FOR THE LOVE OF GOD... A MALE DAMSEL PLEASE) get accidentally poisoned through something klavier gave them. that’s the trial itself. kristoph was the source. klavier is arrested. it’s more complicated that this but it gets to this point. day 2 of the trial is when klavier is implicated and he gets yanked into cuffs from the defense bench

- one of case 4′s pillars is a memory from the gavin brothers’ childhood. discuss how kristoph was as a child. klavier has been realizing how... odd certain things were, and trying to pass it off as like “haha yeah kristoph would dissect dead birds and convince our parents that every mess was my fault. i guess that makes sense considering how he ended up haha? I Don’t Feel Strongly About This I Just Think It’s Funny :)”

- apollo’s perceive abilities expanding to be able to perceive general emotional states as well - along with learning to practice more empathy, being considerate. No Klavier And Trucy, You Are Not Fine. this is kind of like athena’s thing actually huh

- trucy, meanwhile, is learning to be more like. emotionally... independent? no. emotionally... self-caring. both independent in that she’s a young adult and also caring in that she is trying not to force herself to take care of everyone all the time and show her less pretty emotions to apollo. take care of herself

- case 1 has to do with something happening at trucy’s show/her career/her school etc. she’s still a real person etc. trucy’s friends mostly being adults, her feeling isolated at school. nah wait this is a slightly absurd world she’s not overly weird for her classmates necessarily. yeah ok it’s about magic

- case 2 has to do with klavier being a rockstar, the pressure of celebrity and public fascination with his persona. stalker fans, music industry, talk shows, etc. someone trying to convince him to come back to music. klavier has to arrest someone he’s fond of again. no big stadium performance in this game

- the trio all dealing with themes of hiding and trying not to feel “bad” emotions: apollo going “im fine” and suppressing his problems & just trying to do his job so he can cope with how overwhelmed & stressed he feels constantly etc etc + trucy hiding the secrets of her magic which is sort of representative of her hiding a lot of her sad/”ugly” feelings because she thinks she needs to because she thinks phoenix depends on her being cheerful all the time + klavier dealing with having a public persona and the pressures of being Himself, trying to be the person others see him as/want him to be, who is klavier when he is not performing? who are all of them when they are not performing? who are they performing for?

- yes i am a “woman” yes i am obsessed with the idea of performance

- trio all dealing with/feeling lonely wrt family: apollo learning more about jove (possibly during the music industry case - someone knew his dad, who refused a big contract), who he was & one of the cases involving someone from his past in the foster system - maybe it’s even clay! - but in general feeling very disconnected from “family” in general esp compared to trucy&klavier’s family troubles being so immediate and raw for them + trucy feeling lonely and kind of abandoned as phoenix is increasingly gone in this game and seeming very distant from her, similar to how zak abandoned her, and also the pains of growing up + klavier’s parents either are dead or are somewhat estranged after he got kristoph imprisoned, klavier feeling very lonely in general after his pursuit of truth&justice has snipped many of his connections from him

- yes i am gay yes i am obsessed with found family

- franziska having a moment of “i get how it is and it sucks” with klavier about Complicated Feelings About Family

- she eventually does realize during case 4 that klavier is guilty but has to hide it in order to push one of kristoph’s allies out into the open. sorry kid uh... what do you like. i will buy you. an ice cream? or something. look do you want a gift card i’ll buy you a gift card

- kristoph’s lawyer shows up near the start of the game to give things to apollo which he is deeply suspicious of but ema tests them and they come up clean. guy shows up here and there throughout the game. maybe tries to bribe apollo or something. apollo gets invited to a Fancy Lunch because he’s the one that bested kristoph gavin and that shows Promise. in a sense. or something. apollo being manipulated by people who refused to hire him when he got kristoph convicted etc

- themes about being young in a world full of secrets and webs of alliance that you feel barred from because you have ideals and won’t compromise them and also either come from nothing or burned all your bridges. just aa protag things <3

- oh maybe there’s a new judge who is also In On Nefarious Plots

- catching these people doesn’t fix everything but - it’s something. they got a couple shitheads

- trucy continues developing her gramarye abilities. more emotional depth. more exploration on complex feelings wrt phoenix and her childhood and her adolescence and how she’s fairly well-adjusted as one can be but also... the shit still hits yk... she’s like 16 years old so she’s maturing

- ema is there. she and apollo get along a bit better. asks after phoenix. provides evidence against klavier, and then evidence for.

- followup on apollo-edgeworth klavier-phoenix parallels - who is the one bringing them further into the light, chaser/chased, the one who wants more/the one who pushes away, etc etc

- follow through on implied gramarye mafia connections

- klavier isn’t super in the first case besides the courtroom and maybe one appearance, but he is like. worried about trucy if there is cause to be worried about her. set up their dynamic beyond trucy just liking the gavinners

- trucy&apollo and klavier&kristoph compares&contrast

- franziska is(/appears to be) very doubting/dismissive of apollo’s belief in klavier bc it’s like... are you pursuing the truth? or trying to shield your friend?

- apollo does end up almost very close believing klavier was in kahoots with kristoph/kristoph’s friends because it just looks. really bad. like it genuinely looks VERY BAD. and he’s like “i have to find truth like prosecutor von karma said”. yknow how with a lot of aa cases it starts out “oh no it looks open and shut” and then is like “NO WAY THEY COULD HAVE DONE IT... BUT HUH”. this one is reverse. and then straightens back out again. dig the hole then climb back out

- yeah the theme is like. “are you trying to find truth or do you want to protect your loved ones. what is your duty as a person, your job or your loved ones.” this carries through on klavier’s thread from aa4 where he has to work against his loved ones. meanwhile apollo, who is a bit more cool-tempered irritable grump, is the one going “oh god, am i biased towards my friends?” so it sort of flips. what kind of stories will you weave to clear your friends of blame? kristoph’s boys club.

- echo back to “evidence is everything” - this line of thinking (in a certain way) is what saves klavier when kristoph is trying to punish him for his betrayal

- since phoenix is away, the gramarye siblings aren’t revealed yet. but more info is dropped to compensate - stuff about jove and apollo’s childhood in the foster system and how that’s shaped him into someone who keeps people at arm’s length to keep himself safe; trucy and apollo getting closer despite that, trucy busting down those barriers because she needs his support and he’s like “oh my god i have to support her.” older sibling stuff.

- maybe the trucy case involves like. a mafia guy trying to collect on debts or smth and tries to ruin trucy, and threatens apollo. there’s a hint that is very obvious to the audience but is like “wow apollo he thought you were my brother!” like the mafia guy calls apollo “the other child” and apollo is like “hey, i’m 24!” which is humorous but also the audience is like Oh My God I Know What That Means

- there isn’t a deliberate withholding of information from phoenix - he literally is not there to withhold it. but there is still tension and stakes and weight to their relation - apollo keenly feeling his absence of family and trucy feeling sort of abandoned by phoenix

- phoenix is like “ok trucy you’re almost an adult so i’m trusting you to stay safe and responsible while i’m away. apollo will technically be in charge but i’m still trusting you” and privately to apollo is like “If Anything Bad Happens To Her. Your Head Is On The Line.” so it is just them making it on their own

- klavier drops the line “watching you two is like what kristoph and i should have had” and then there’s a couple “...” dialogue boxes as the audience is like I KNOW WHAT HE MEANS and then apollo is like “... are you for real comparing me to kristoph.” haha funny but also THERE IT IS

- very carefully walked tightrope. acknowledged enough that there is still tension/suspense around it but not too much as to be slightly infuriating

- before the last case trucy gets mad at apollo for something - trucy is allowed by the narrative to be angry for real. stand up for herself. trucy and apollo come back together to defend klavier. they see each other in the detention center when theyre still mad at each other - trucy was visiting klavier (he wasn’t there for the fight). “you made fraulein trucy very mad, hm?” then during the trial trucy busts in dramatically with important help when things look very bad for klavier

- aj3 has emotional revelations/high points of the trio - siblings reveal and klapollo canon. aj2 is a lot of building of these connections and building suspense and tension. more more more of these relationships before they emerge fully formed in aj3

- the last trial echoes the “im the only one who can save prosecutor gavin” or whatever gay thing apollo says in the last trial of aa4 because he literally is. just a lot of hinting and them getting along. case 3 is very important because that’s when it’s just them and it’s “oh! we work well together! we’re complementary!”

- implement the dual investigation mechanic from dgs so it does feel collaborative

- just build on the fact that klavier is the first friendly, helpful, cooperative prosecutor. he wants to help you. make that a very positive, very important feeling while still making it extremely enjoyable

- resolves in “you can have truth AND the ones you love”. or smth like that but more nuanced. it’s very inspirational and sentimental etc

- you get to meet vongole and it’s a Pet The Dog moment for klavier. look! how nice he is. he truly loves this insanely sweet and lovable dog. trucy is enamored with vongole as well. “it’s strange that she was kristoph’s dog, hm? with how affectionate she is.” “well, i guess being owned by kristoph doesn’t means she’s an equally bad dog ... ER i mean--” “hm, you always struck me as a cat person, herr forehead?” “uh - well yeah, you’re right. but... that doesn’t mean i don’t think vongole is a pretty great dog.” IMPLICATIONS. SUBTEXT. TASTE IT IN THE AIR

- oh there’s definitely a moment in case 2 when you get to examine klavier’s apartment and you can look at a couple albums and for a gavinners album apollo is like “ugh” but then you get one of his solo eps and apollo is like “trucy made me listen to this. it... was okay. not as bad as the gavinners stuff. sounds more honest. or something like that.”

- oh also when you examine the guitar klavier offers to teach apollo some basics. hee hee (BUT ALSO... JOVE!!)

- maybe for case 2 The Industry Suits want klavier to stop releasing his eps for free/total charity so it’s a whole coordinated scheme. his manager, a devoted fan who hates to see him going his own way and being happier for it, etc. “we want you to be the person you were. the one we could possess.” be more like gavinners klavier instead of honest relaxed current klavier. be who we want you to be so we can make you dance like a puppet. music industry kristoph parallels.

- “i’m sick and tired of being a plaything for other people!” >:( face moments

- a fan broke into his house and defaced the solo stuff etc. >:( face.

- who determines who “you” are? what role do your loved ones have in your life? those who truly love you can save you and make you better. loving and being loved sincerely and genuinely and truly have positive effects on your life. letting people love you and letting yourself love them is good.

- ugh but this kind of contrasts with the “the old boys club is controlling and using/shaping the institution of law to amass wealth and power for themselves while throwing others under the bus.” well actually wait

- lunch with apollo = they don’t actually care about each other, would throw each other under the bus for their own benefit

- contrast between sacrificing the weak to protect the strong and protecting the weak to depower the evil strong

- love and bonds can motivate/enable you to chip away at the system and can help you make a difference. les mis etc etc etc

- the old boys club are all putting up fronts of appearing strong and tough and above everything and in control. real love and friendship let you show vulnerability and weakness and help you & your bond come out stronger for it. (tumblr voice) the mortifying ordeal

- additional stakes of “if you are found aiding this criminal and hiding evidence etc etc we will disbar you” or smth. stakes for sticking with klavier, for winning the trial, for demonstrating care. franziska is kind of like “... apologies. but you had nothing to worry about so don’t worry about it.”

- klavier and apollo damned by association with kristoph, especially as a kristoph scheme was just found to happen, and it depended on kristoph being in jail, so maybe they were the ones to enable that part of the plan... it’s a long con...

- it feels like there should be another legal reform here to make aa4′s jury implementation but maybe this one is more about how reform is often very gradual and like chipping away at a mountain

- in aj3 the death penalty gets reformed. (tension there about kristoph being on death row and this game piles on a lot more GOD KRISTOPH SUCKS but then it’s like. no. we have to fight for True Justice and the legal system is extremely imperfect (how many of our clients narrowly avoided a wrongful guilty verdict!) so we have to prioritize protection over punishment)

- “it’s like chopping heads off the hydra. it feels like we’ll never actually change anything.” “yes, but hercules didn’t defeat it by himself. he had a partner that burned the stumps after he sliced off the heads. ... one person to hold the sword, one person to hold the torch.” NARUMITSU KLAPOLLO PARALLELS. HI

- okay i had some really good discussions on twitter w @henriettamarias about this and here’s a couple more things

- trucy’s case involves her inheriting the gramarye secrets and the legacy. the weight of tradition and the burden of what has happened in her family. trucy’s estranged grandmother shows up - it’s kind of similar to the feys kind of. the grandmother is a complex maternal figure who doesn’t know trucy and trucy doesn’t know her and it’s sort of the idea of... even if your “new” family is related by blood, you still have to choose them. and trucy’s like !!! because she’s openhearted but the grandmother disappears - doesn’t choose trucy. it’s not a Villainous Action it’s just... it’s complicated. maybe it’s to protect trucy or something. it wasn’t done to hurt trucy is what i’m getting at, but it still hurts

- one of the music industry people in klavier’s case is a gavin uncle/aunt/cousin who is pressuring him to go back to being an Extremely Profitable Rockstar. and klavier has to deal with more disappointment from a family that values extreme success and is sort of cold (this contrasts with the warmth of the WAA found family). they liked klavier when he was very successful and famous on two fronts but now he’s opened the door and invited in shame on their family’s name so everyone’s kind of mad at him. trucy and apollo get to be really defensive of him

- apollo’s case is one i’m still thinking on what it’ll be about because i’m deeply uninterested in his aa5+aa6 backstories but there’s not A Concept to go deeper into like trucy magic and klavier music... it does involve his past from being the foster system. i think maybe there’s a teen who he was kind of the older brother of for a while before the kid got adopted who contacts him for help defending himself.

- while trucy and klavier’s stories are about rejection from their blood family, apollo’s is about warmth with a boy who he met and made a familial bond with

- at the end of this case there’s some piece of evidence that mentions kristoph and this is never resolved within that case but it sort of leads into the next kristoph-focused case

- trucy doesn’t get angry at apollo over being like jealous there’s something else that happens in this case... it doesn’t end super satisfyingly and tidily wrapped up in a neat bow. there are a lot of lingering questions and it makes everyone uneasy

- in case 3 apollo gets injured and is feeling really defensive and kind of scared and trucy is upset with him for putting himself in harm’s way to save her and they have a fight and they’re both kind of hiding their true feelings with anger to cover up how scared they were (gramarye secrets) and it just. boils over. klavier tries to mediate but it’s... a lot. they both say some things they don’t mean. :(

- oh my god. the person who got poisoned in case 4 was apollo’s foster brother from case 3. and it HURTS because we’ve spent a whole case getting to know him and working so hard to save him from a guilty verdict and it’s like :D yay he’s ok! and then he just. dies. and it’s so fucking sad

- he got poisoned because kristoph looked through papers and found that him and apollo were close so he’s like “oh i can use that ^_^” because he’s a bastard. but klavier was the one in constant contact with him recently so it’s like UH OH! UH OH! plus other aa level complications etc

- the tightrope of trucy being mad at apollo and the tragedy of apollo’s foster brother dying is one that will have to be very carefully walked bc we don’t want trucy to look like an asshole because above all she does love apollo

- i guess it’s also apollo pushing her away because I’M FINE. STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME CONFRONT MY TRAUMA. IF I THINK ABOUT MY PROBLEMS I WILL GO INSANE. yeah that works

- OH and also she’s mad at him for not telling them about the lunch with kristoph’s lawyer friends. klavier is kind of mad about that too so apollo is like STOP GANGING UP ON ME

- so the setup of case 4 is: day 1: apollo and klavier investigating, in court klavier is implicated and is put in detention, day 2: apollo investigating by himself and missing his friends :(, franziska being like “where is your sister” and apollo being like “ok first she’s not my sister. second IM FINE I CAN BE ALONE, I CAN’T TRUST ANYBODY ANYWAY” and franziska is like “... yeah being betrayed sucks, i get it, but like. are you sure about that. fine whatever you idiot be a fool”, but then in court trucy busts in at a dramatic moment and narrowly saves klavier from getting a guilty verdict, day 3: trucy and apollo investigating and Saving The Day!!!!!

- for franziska in case 4 there’s this tension between her belief that klavier is guilty (because shit looks BAD and also kristoph sort of sent shockwaves through things etc) and franziska being older (she has short hair and it’s hot) and more emotionally mature and being like “baby lawyer. it’s okay to chill. it’s fine. you’ll be okay”. but also being extremely wary and hating the corruption and collusion within the law community because MvF dealt with a lot of that and she will be BETTER than that, she has to work hard to erase the harm that her father did. she’s kind of a superhero in terms of tackling a lot of corrupt-lawyer/cop cases - it’s her specialty now. god she is hot

- aw in case 4 ema is like. kind of reluctant to help implicate klavier. because while she thinks he’s annoying she doesn’t think he’s a bad guy. she feels really conflicted :( like she blusters to cover it up but she does say to apollo at one point “hey... you better do your job right. don’t slack. defend your client.” awww she care him

- kristoph gets brought out from prison as a witness in case 4. this really negatively affects klavier (and apollo too kind of but less so), but the strength of Found Family helps him be strong :) yay

- there’s mention made of kristoph having Secrets, but since apollo doesn’t have a magatama and phoenix isn’t there, the black psyche-locks aren’t explored. it gets revealed in aj3

- apollo does have a conundrum similar to the aa5 stuff where his perceive ability is going haywire at klavier’s entire emotional state because BOY is it screwy (suppressed memories from childhood??) so he just has to rely on plain old logic

- (cw animal death) god what if one of those childhood memories is kristoph poisoning klavier’s pet - experimenting, doing trials. klavier realizes that during the trial. jesus christ. evil bastard kristoph i hate his guts. at least klavier gets to go home and pet vongole so so much

- OH on a happier note we get to meet mikeko... mikeko loves trucy and klavier so much. it’s like a big gooey hint that LOOK APOLLO LOVES THESE PEOPLE - HIS CAT IS PURRING AND CUDDLING ALL OVER THEM :) Express Your Feelings, Apollo

- i think for aj3 it’s apollo & co having their own schemes and plans sort of. bc in this setup, klavier and apollo (and trucy too) are being yanked around by the machinations and plots of the older generation like in aa4. i think in aj3 is when they finally get a leg up and have control over things for once. good for them! good for them

- oh also in aj3, it’s revealed that thalassa has been held hostage by some bad guys, which is why she didn’t come back after some time away to figure herself out to tell them. and then apollo and trucy get to know they’re siblings :)

- okay that’s it. maybe i’ll add more if i think of more. hope u enjoyed :~)

#ace attorney #apollo justice #aj2 #klapollo #trucy wright #klavier gavin #i had a lot of fun writing this post :)#chirps #aa #aa4

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nunaya-business · 5 years

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Let’s Talk About Steven Universe

*WARNING* This … “essay” has my opinions only. I am not speaking for the community, I am speaking for me because I like to express myself and there are people like @susanaaatc out there who like these kinds of discussions. So if you want, I’d like for others to give me their whole opinions on the show as well. Hell make a whole post about it like I did and tag me in it so that I can see your opinion. With all that stated, let’s get down to Bismuth.

So Steven Universe came out in 2013 and I was 11 years old at the time. I liked Regular Show and Adventure Time, not to mention I was obsessed with Rise of the Guardians and Monster High, so I was a bit preoccupied to watch the show. Eventually though, my best friend at the time talked about it constantly and she brought up the concept of fusion. She showed me the art book of the show that she bought and it showed how two completely different gems could fuse into one gem to become stronger. This is where my interest started, and it was the same concept that started pushing me away from SU later in it’s show run.

So fusion in Steven Universe is mostly treated as a relationship, and it’s not always just romantic. It can be between two friends, it can be seen as a more sexual relationship between two gems, a romantic relationship, or a parent-child relationship like with Steg (Steven and Greg’s fusion). This is an amazing concept and I love it so much but… I’m not here to talk about what I like, I’m here to talk about what I dislike.

One of the best characters in the show is Garnet. Garnet was revealed in season 2 (I think) to be a fusion between the two tiny gems Ruby and Sapphire, and Garnet is the manifestation of their love. She’s an amazing example of not only a healthy, respecting, and loving relationship between two people, but also is an amazing example of a healthy same-sex relationship. You see, Steven Universe uses “code” to represent something like race, gender, and age… But we’ll get to that later. My problem isn’t really with Garnet herself, but what Rebecca and the Crewniverse has made her in to. Many have said it before, and I agree. After her reveal as a fusion, Garnet was no longer the cool, collected, fun-in-her-own-way “mom” we knew before, she turned into a fusion, and a symbol for fusion, and a representation… of a fusion. After the reveal, all the crewniverse seemed to view Garnet as… was a fucking fusion! She lost a lot of personality in the 3rd and 4th seasons in my opinion and was really only used in the plot when it had something to do with fusion. To me it’s like having a friend group with only one Asian friend and the rest a different race, and then only inviting the Asian friend to hang out when you’re going to watch Anime, or a Kdrama. It’s a bit racist is it not? Just because you can relate a character to something in the plot does not mean that character has to be there. Maybe instead of putting Garnet in every fusion episode (with the exception of “Earthlings”) just mention her. She doesn’t have to be in every damn episode that has to do with the subject.

A lot of people have an issue with Bismuth… and I can understand that. Let me explain why. “Coding” is what a creator of any media does to give the consumer an idea of a character’s personality, race, age, gender, etc, without it being too obvious. Off the top of my head I’ll state what I view the “coded” characters as.

Garnet, Sapphire, Sugilite, and Bismuth are coded Black.

Amethyst to my knowledge is coded Hispanic or Latina or something like that.

Pearl, the Diamonds, Opal, and Rose Quartz are coded White.

Rainbow Quartz and Aqua Marine are coded White and British.

And I’m not sure about Peridot, Lapis and Jasper are supposed to be coded as.

So the race thing has brought up some issues. In the official artbook that I mentioned earlier there was a concept design for Concrete and the design was a little… oof. People weren’t very happy… lemme just show you.

So obviously people weren’t happy that good ol’ Concrete here looks like a blackface character from the early 20th century animations. And I agree it’s pretty bad, but I don’t think it was intentional.

Some controversial things that come from the show (other than countries like Kenya being assholes and trying to act like LGBTQ doesn’t exist) are the portrayals of two specific characters, who also happen to be fusions, and I agree with most things people don’t like about them.

Let’s start with Stevonnie. Stevonnie is the nonbinary (but let’s be honest she’s a girl) fusion of Steven Universe and his love interest Connie Maheswaran (I had to look up how to spell her last name smh). They’re supposed to represent Steven and Connie’s closeness as best friends and their growing crushes on each other. Rebecca Sugar has also stated that they’re a representation of puberty…. Excuse me? Puberty must have went swell for you Sugar. There’s someone who made a video about why they hate SU, that person being the ever controversial Lily Orchard, and she covered why Stevonnie is just… honestly she’s waifu bait. I agree with probably everything Lily says about this character because… it’s true. Puberty seriously ain’t pretty, and it sure as hell ain’t sexy until after it’s done… sometimes. Also, Sugar is contradicting herself saying that the Crewniverse isn’t sexualizing two very under age kids because Stevonnie is Steven and Connie’s ages added up… which would make the fusion 26 years old… that’s a bit old for puberty Rebecca. It feels to me like they wanted to make a sensual character, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but they didn’t really want to add a new character so they just put the two love interests together. But that’s so fucking wrong. I’m sorry, but sexualizing Stevonnie, which they are doing btw, I will make a post if you question it, is like people shipping siblings or an underage person with someone way older than them and saying “it’s totally fine because they’re just characters” (*cough cough* Ereri *cough cough* Hitachiin shippers *cough*). If you’re going to use that excuse, but then get angry at people who don’t take the character seriously because they are just a cartoon, then you’re a hypocritical asshole. Sorry to tell you. Stevonnie is a very good character overall though. I’m just uncomfortable when they appear because they’re two kids in a trench-coat with curves like an anime schoolgirl and moves like someone who just successfully seduced a poor guy into giving them the secret to the Crabby Patty formula.

Now let’s move on to Steg, the fusion between father Greg Universe, and son Steven. There’s nothing wrong with them fusing because fusion in SU symbolizes a relationship, no matter what kind. However… why do two chubby men make a sex symbol rock idol??? That’s… that’s gross. Why the fuck is Steg so “hot”? Why on earth would you create a fusion out of a father and son and think it’s appropriate to sexualize them and make them gyrate their genitals like they’re an Elvis Presley impersonator? Just… WHY? Do I even have to explain why this is so wrong? Really? Honestly??? You can fuse Steven and Greg and not make it so sexual, but nah let’s give them rock hard abs, a humongous bulge a sharp jawline that neither of the two have, and a tight ass. What the actual fuck??

That’s not my biggest issue though. My biggest issue is giving the Nazi bitches a redemption ark smaller than my nonexistent cock. Endeavor from My Hero Academia is an absolute prick right? He abused his children, notably his youngest, and his wife, and is an absolute asshole to everyone, but he gets a redemption arch. Do you know why it makes sense though? First off because as far as we know Endeavor never committed genocide, and second because he’s not a Nazi, he’s an abuser. Abusers, whether we like to admit it or not, can eventually see the error of their ways and understand that what they’re doing is both wrong and that it doesn’t work. Endeavor is getting a redemption arch because he obviously loves his kids, he just doesn’t know how to show it because of some circumstances we may not know. 90% of the time an abuser was abused themselves growing up, so they grow up with that resentment and they go one of two ways. They see how wrong it is and knows that it won’t get them anywhere in life if they bully others to stay on top, or they think that since they went through it and came out alive, then others should go through it too. I should know, because my dad was from an abusive family, and he turned out fine(ish… long story) while his brother and sister are pieces of shit that can’t hold a job or a home because they’re too involved in criminal activity to do so.

What does Endeavor from MHA have to do with the Space Nazi Diamonds in SU? Well people were sending Horikoshi Kohei death threats because he had the gull to redeem an asshole, and SU fans are pissed because Rebecca Sugar had the lady balls to “redeem” space Nazis. The difference being, you can be redeemed if you were an abusive cock, but not if you’re a genocidal bitch. There’s a huge difference.

Rebecca and the Crewniverse giving the Diamonds a 4 episode redemption arch is absolutely abominable. Peridot’s redemption? Fucking amazing, beautiful, couldn’t have done it better myself. Jasper’s? It’s currently going amazing and they’re doing a great job keeping her in character while also making her likable and even a bit charming. Lapis? Oh… let’s talk about her shall we?

Lapis Lazuli’s character is an absolute disaster. She’s a cunt, she’s a horrible friend, and my god is she abusive! Lapis was supposed to be a sympathetic character, and for a while she was. You could feel bad for her because her gem was damaged and she was trapped in a mirror for thousands of years and when she’s finally released, you understand her want to go back home and why she took the Earth’s ocean to try and reach it. It was understandable when she didn’t want to break out of the prison ship because she was anxious and scared of being locked away for another thousand years. It was easier in her mind to just behave and wait. When Jasper convinced her to fuse with her Lapis didn’t really want to, but saw an opening for the freedom of the humans and mostly for Steven, the one person who saved her from hell. But then everything went south.

Lapis and Jasper were fused as Malachite for months, obviously in a very stressful “relationship”, and apparently a very abusive one as well. When they were finally able to unfuse, Lapis was played off by the Crewniverse as a victim of abuse. This may be half true. After all we don’t know exactly what happened with them at the bottom of the ocean. What we do know however is that Lapis admitted to being abusive. This makes her an abuser. She described how it made her feel happy to abuse Jasper, or “taking my anger out” on her. She admitted to abuse and the Crewniverse still painted her as a victim. They’re both victims of abuse, and they’re both abusers. But that’s not what makes Lapis a horrible person… gem…

Lapis is a cunt… again. It’s okay to be antisocial, it’s okay to be cautious and stand-offish because you’ve been trapped, imprisoned and used so many times. What’s not okay is being a bitch to people trying to comfort or make friends with you, or try to cheer you up. Poor Peri, she was just trying to make amends and comfort Lapis after her whole ordeal with Jasper. Peri offered the cunt the thing that helped her organize her thoughts, the thing that calmed her in situations that made her anxious, the thing that comforted her and the first gift given to her by her first friend and the first person that listened to her thoughts, and the cunt destroyed it. She destroyed Peri’s recorder right in front of her, calling it garbage. Oh and the abuse doesn’t stop there, it only really began, because when shit started to hit the fan, instead of helping each other through it, Lapis abandoned Peridot and took the home they shared. Without a single thought she just took it and abandoned her, and it devastated Peri. I don’t remember her apologizing, and if she did it doesn’t matter because if I don’t remember then it must not have been very sincere.

I’m sick of spitting negative shit so I’m gonna end this here. Personally I’ve been liking the last few episodes, but I’m not too confident that the finale is gonna be satisfying. Those are my thoughts, do with it as you will, but for God’s sake be fucking adults about it. If you don’t got the guts to curse without saying “h3ll” or “pu$$y” or something like that then you’re not mature enough to respond to this. I’m not gonna argue with 9-year-olds. I’ll only have a conversation with mature people.

#steven universe #steven universe future

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go-diane-winchester · 6 years

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New question: Why do I dislike Misha and his fans?

@super-who-loser asked the following question:

Hey, I’m not trying to come across as rude or anything I’m just wondering why you dislike Misha so much? I know Jared and Jensen have been there since the beginning and yes, there have been times where his character has been pretty useless but I don’t hate him and you’re being really mean to some Destiel shippers and like I know that it’s obviously never going to happen and Cockles is a big no no for me but I am confused about why you really don’t like him? I’m honestly just curious

Thank you for the question. Let me point out before hand, that my irritation towards Misha has nothing to do with a ship. I used to read destiel slash. I used to like Cockles AU. I don't ship wincest. I ship AUs. Its my favorite slash subgenre. So no, this is not a ship argument. Ship whatever you want, but mind your manners. There are many things that I don't like about Misha. However I am choosing to answer only from a SPN perspective because that is the primary way that we know him.

MISHA AND SLASH FICTION

You may not realize this but Supernatural has been on the air for so long that it, plus its fan base, has experienced and initiated a few changes and trends. In the space of fourteen years, filming became digitalized. Social media, which was a fledgling thing back then, is the norm now [I have a disdain towards social media]. To put it into perspective, the child actors that played Asher, the Antichrist kid [I forget his name] and Little Lillith from the early seasons are likely in their 20s now. Trends in entertainment changed. Hollywood seems poised to implode upon itself, geographically, with major entertainers moving house to outlets like Netflix. Netflix, not bound by geography, is likely to become the next Hollywood. Slash, too, has undergone change. And as far as SPN is concerned, that change has not been organic. It has been by design and at the hands on Misha Collins.

When Castiel came on board, there were already two prevalent pairings in Supernatural: Wincest and Bobby/John. There were other pairings. But these were the most prevalent. So Supernatural had slash fans already. These fans were already aware of what slash fiction was, and they were a self-monitoring group. They realized that the actors were aware of slash and didn't want it to be the focal point of their con appearances, because they didn't want the fans to think they were hinting at anything. The fans understood and ever since, they have respected the actor's wishes. When some fans liked Dean's interaction with Cas, they started shipping destiel.

Destiel's old fans were just like all the other shippers. They were treating destiel the way it should be treated. Like a fantasy. They did artwork and literature about it and kept it to themselves, as they should. Misha never knew what slash fiction was, until he looked on Tumblr and found Destiel. In his words, he used destiel to ''keep this gig for longer''. He kept talking about destiel even though he was instructed not to, and pulling the LGBT into it, to make it look like destiel was about gay rights and queer art, when it isn't. There are various kinds of destiel written by different people, from different perspectives, for different reasons. That is true for all pairings everywhere. By making destiel about the LGBT and waving the ''no shipping question'' rule in convention panels, he did two things.

He turned destiel into a vehicle for LGBT activism. Instead of being a pastime, now destiel is used to fight for LGBT representation, even though, many of the LGBT people within my own circle despise him for it. Most of the people fighting for LGBT representation are actually quite homophobic and insulting in their thinking and logic. And they are not even LGBT. They are just a bunch of straight girls for whom, their fantasy has become a drug, and they wont stop until destiel becomes canon.

He turned Jensen into the bad guy. Misha spoke openly about slash. Jensen chose not to. He didn't want any part of it, and this is true about all the pairings he is a part of, not just destiel. Because of his choice, Misha fans make negative comparisons between him and Misha, even saying that Jensen is a homophobe/biphobe because he doesn't want to talk about destiel or make it canon. They ranted about it on social media and mass media picked up on it. The University Of Sydney has an academic paper, under Celebrity Studies, dedicated to Jensen's supposed homophobia. The destiel shippers are literally Jensen's reputation.

Misha should have left slash alone. Any fan of his will know that he overindulges the slash fans. And the one thing that I noticed about slash fans, is that you don't give them excessive attention, or they will go completely crazy. It doesn't matter what they slash.

Harry Styles and Liam Tomlinson learned that the hard way, because the Larry fans destroyed their friendships when they over-emphasized the fan servicing. They did the fan servicing because Modest Management told them to, they ended up hating their fans for what the fans became. They have since severed ties with Modest. Even on a day when one of them was mourning the loss of a parent, the fans who pushing the other guy so they could have a ship moment. These two boys were very young when they entered the band. Harry was 15 years old. They had youthful ignorance to blame for making the decision to blindly follow the manager's instruction. Misha cannot make any of those excuses.

Misha got into the show at age 35. He was already a grown man. He was not a pivotal part of the show and therefore the only notes he was getting, was for his acting. He wasn't being coached by anyone as to how he should engage his fans. He was too small a fry for that. In fact, no one was sure how long he would last on the show. So these notes were only acting, including one telling him not to adlib his lines. Whatever transpired between him and the destiel fans, happened because he orchestrated it.

MISHA AND SUPERNATURAL

When Cas came on board, he was fun new character. By the end of season 5, he had run his course on the show. The show didn't need his character because [and as a writer I understand this] the presence of Castiel hampered the progress of the story. Sera Gamble dealt with that frustration during her tenure as showrunner. Cas was an angel. If he was an ally to the boys, the boys should have a more powerful nemesis. After all, they have an angel buddy to help them. Unfortunately, they couldn't keep coming up with more and more powerful bad guys and negative elements, especially on a show where the biggest bad guy, the devil itself, and the worst case scenario [the apocalypse] has already been dealt with.

During 6 and 7, they had Soulless Sam, Sam's wall, the leviathans, Metatron, the demons, Crowley, Dick Roman and even the Alphas, if I am not mistaken. So many bad guys and bad situations, because the good guys had a powerful angel. They could make him lose his power, so he wont be such a powerful ally. And they did exactly that. But Misha has very few skills to show off. Imagine if Osric was Cas. Even without power, he would still be able to taekwondo the stuffing out of bad guys. He wouldn't be useless. Cas, without his grace, didn't help the story along. He didn't bring something extra to the story. He was pointless. So they made him a bad guy and for the first time in a long time, Cas was pivotal to the story.

Eventually, she got fed up of shoehorning him into the script and just did away with the character. But, rumor has it that Singer brought him back. And he was welcome by the worst Q score measurement ever. That would tell you that he was not appreciated as an actor by everyone, just his shipping and cult fans. Since then, Cas has done nothing important in the script until recently where he made a deal for Jack. Other than that, he has been an add on, and that is Misha's fault. Every time Jensen and Misha did a scene, Misha would overemphasize the destiel aspect, either via social media or during his panels. And eventually Jensen got fed up and cut the scenes short. Basically, Misha shot himself in the foot. The DeanCas fan service made for annoying television for people who didn't want to deal with shippy nonsense while they were watching their favorite show.

If they didn't add anything shipping related, the hellers screamed. If they did, the hellers screamed canon and queer baiting. Misha's interference did that. All he had to do was stop talking, and he couldn't do that, because his fan base will lose interest in him. In order to keep that one group of militants, Misha isolated all other fans and potential fans.

MISHA AND THE DESTIEL FANS

Misha's fan have sent Jensen various death threats, the receipts of which are on my blog. A few days back, a heller was setting Jensen's picture on fire because Misha tweeted a lie that there will be a turning point for Dean and Cas in the upcoming episode. So even though Misha was the guilty party, this psycho is punishing Jensen. These fans have also discussed kidnapping Jared's children. When they bully Jensen and Jared, they tag Misha in many of the tweets. Misha randomly does Q and A sessions based on his tweets, but he has never seen a single threat and bullying remark??.....in ten years??.....really?? Nah, I am not buying that. Frankly, I think the man just doesn't care. Acknowledging them will mean he will have to stop them which means he will eventually have to stop peddling destiel which means he will not have an audience which means SPN will kick him right out. The funny thing is, I think he is wrong. He might actually have more fans if he didn't alienate them with his special brand of shippy vulgarity. I could fill a page with all the receipts of the death threats. And Jensen doesn't deserve that.

I also call out destiel shippers on Tumblr so that everyone else can block the problematic ones. Have you noticed how many names there are for the destiel pairing? DeanCas, CasDean, DeanxCastiel and recently I discovered Dastiel. Have you ever wondered why? It is because they don't want you to block them. If you filter destiel, they will use another name. Why is that? That is not a ship. That's a cult. They want to indoctrinate. They tag destiel in other fandom names. They are trying to create more fans for a ship. That is why I call out specific people. Especially the ones that tag AKF in their destiel garbage. I have no issues with the good shippers. I have done posts about them. The bad ones might do something criminal one day, which is why they bother me.

This answer, only just scratches the surface. I am not telling you everything. I am not telling you about Jared, Robert Berens, Kim, Briana, Travis, Sera Gamble, Ben Edlund, Ty Olsson etc. I am just telling you the brief basics. I hope this answers your question. Have a nice day. Apologies for the inevitable typos.

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toumakibangs · 6 years

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°*TouMaki - Advent Calendar 2018*° DAY 14 - “WREATH” (“Character A loses a bet and has to wear a different ugly Christmas sweater every day till Christmas. Character B works at a clothes store.”) by @theyaoibandits Mod’s Note: When I published the Supporting Prompts List(s), you ALL (wanted this one (which was absolutely impossible to predict I mean Makishima and ugly sweaters who would have ever guessed it was going to be popular), but Nana was the quickest of the lot to turn in the request and, ultimately, the one that got it - and oh my, did she do it justice! Grab your popcorn and enjoy our favourite idiot pup Jinpachi as he enters the magical world of Ugly Christmas Fashion, courtesy of Arakita, and stumbles on a very peculiar clerk...

Title: All I’m Asking For

Author’s Note: “This was based on supporting prompt: “Character A loses a bet and has to wear a different ugly Christmas sweater every day till Christmas. Character B works at a clothes store.” It just screamed ‘Toumaki’ to me. Had a blast writing this, hope you enjoy.”

Toudou stood at the counter of the little shop he had entered moments ago hesitantly. Bouncing from one foot to the next, he looked left then right, checking his surroundings as if he wouldn’t want to be caught shopping there.

“What, did you lose a bet or something?”

Toudou gasped pulling the offensive piece of cloth in his hands close to his chest.

“H-how on earth did you guess that?” he demanded. The cashier shrugged apathetically.

“That stance, that grimace. You look like someone’s holding a gun to your head to buy the thing. Which means you’re going to an awkward holiday office party, or you lost a bet. You don’t look old enough to have a cubicle, so I went with bet. Lucky guess.”

“Well, aren’t you perceptive,” Toudou replied tersely. “You always so cheerful?”

“I’m stuck in a store filled with Christmas sweaters. I don’t know what you expected, sho.”

“I expect better customer service!”

“Wasn’t aware you were actually going to buy anything.” The cashier eyed the balled-up sweater on the counter.

“I’m not here by choice!”

And he really wasn’t. It was all Arakita’s fault. It had been a normal night, he hadn’t thought anything of it. He was just in his university dorm room, giving Shinkai his usual weekly lecture on unhealthy snacking habits when he had been interrupted.

“I always make sure to snack with the right balance of vegetables and vitamins. That’s why my skin glows so radiantly.”

“Can you even go 24 hours without talking about yourself, you narcissistic asshole!” Toudou wasn’t going to take the bait, but between Shinkai’s curious gaze and Manami’s ‘I dare you’ smirk, he folded.

“Of course, I can!” he announced to his roommate “Name the time!”

Needless to say, he lost spectacularly. Arakita and Shinkai went back and forth throwing out ideas for the punishment for half an hour before his fate had been sealed.

“No headbands for a month.”

“Nah, stupid. Let’s make him eat all junk food for a week.”

“No phone?”

“Make him denounce his stupid fan club.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Why don’t we just make him look ugly.” Manami gave his two cents before turning back over to continue his nap.

“That’s it!” Arakita exclaimed, nearly spilling his can of cola over. “Ugly Christmas sweaters.”

“Ugly what?” Toudou forwned, not liking the taste of the word.

“You gotta wear an ugly sweater every day until Christmas.” Shinkai shook his head.

“That’s like three weeks. Even I think that’s a little cruel.”

“Thank you, Shinkai.”

“Starting Thursday.” The three boys stopped to face their youngest companion again.

“Why the fuck on Thursday?”

“Then it’ll be the twelve days of Christmas.” He was snoring by the time Arakita had processed the idea.

“Oh, that’s fucking brilliant. You gotta be in an ugly tacky Christmas sweater for twelve days straight starting Thursday.”

“No way.”

“If you fail, you have to denounce your fan club.” Toudou screeched in response.

“I-I’ll have you know that absolutely none of my sweaters are ugly!” Arakita only laughed.

“Guess you better go buy one then.”

And so Toudou had. He’d hit the shopping district on Wednesday after class. Unfortunately, he was clueless as to where one would buy an “ugly Christmas sweater.” He had been into four of his favorite boutiques, but none of them carried anything that would appease Arakita. He had been about to give up, getting a warm tea from a café when he spotted the odd store. He hadn’t remembered such a shop being on that strip, but he also couldn’t place what had been there before. It must have been new, he concluded, because there was no way he could have missed it otherwise. The door frame was outlined in tacky silver tinsel, and the door itself held the most hideous wreath Toudou had ever laid eyes on. He stared at it for a moment, wondering who on earth would choose such an awful combination of colors before finally entering.

“A place with such horrendous decorations has to sell something tacky,” he mumbled, hoping for the best. If this place didn’t work out, he would have been stuck asking for Arakita’s help, and he knew his roommate would put him in something truly despicable. Shortly after entering, it was clear luck was finally on his side. Half of the store was stocked with classic winter attire—coats, gloves and hats—and the other half was filed with rows of racks of multi-colored holiday sweaters. He sighed in relief. He didn’t see anyone, so he began to wander around, sifting through the sweaters for something he could work with.

“Hello.” He was startled by the sudden strange greeting and stood up straight looking for the source of the voice. His eyes finally fell on someone behind the checkout counter, but he found himself double taking. Was that bright green hair?

“Um, hi.” Toudou replied. An awkward silence fell between them.

“Can I… help you with something?” The attendant grimaced and Toudou flinched.

“Uh, yeah. I-I just need an ugly Christmas sweater, so uh…” he trailed off. The other scoffed.

“What are you talking about, none of these are ugly.” Toudou deadpans before gesturing to a black and neon pink sweater with a large cat-head that spelled ‘Meowy Christmas’ in curly letters.

“I beg to differ.” The man didn’t budge, and he and Toudou stared each other down for a few seconds before the latter huffed and turned away. “Fine!” He fingers through the nearest rack and pulls the first one in his size. “I’ll take this one!” He stormed over to the register and threw it down dramatically as the cashier followed behind with a grimace. He glanced down at his chosen sweater as he waited. It was a simple red and white one with some kind of ornament pattern across it. Not too awful. He must have gotten lost in thought looking at the garment if the attendant had been able to read him so easily. Which of course had led to their current argument.

“Well if you aren’t here to buy—"

“No!” Toudou cried. “I’ll take it, just- just here!” He shoved his credit card at the man and didn’t stick around long enough to hear the guy’s ‘have a nice day’ once the transaction was processed and his shopping bag in hand.

And that was that. He wore the sweater to class the next day and suffered through Arakita’s torment and ‘mandatory’ pictures. His pride was more hurt than anything, but then Arakita casually mentioned that he couldn’t wait for tomorrow. So, after all of that awkward conversation he had made, he was back staring at that hideous wreath, willing himself to go inside. He shook his head trying to dispel his nerves. Not like he had a choice. He had to be wearing an ugly sweater tomorrow and, as tacky as it all was, he’d rather die than be caught wearing the same thing twice in the same week. If he were lucky, it’d be some other guy.

“Welc—oh it’s you.” No such luck. Toudou felt his fist tighten as he tried his best not to snap at the same sarcastic green-haired cashier. He took a deep breath before quickly walking to the side of the store he needed. He browsed through a couple of racks by the door, rolling his eyes at a brown one that was designed to make the wearer look like a gingerbread man.

“Just need another ugly sweater, if you would be so kind.” He grabbed the one he had been looking at and brought it to the counter with a frustrated sigh. The cashier frowned.

“They still aren’t ugly.”

“Highly debatable.”

“I’m just saying each of these sweaters are classically unique, designed with—”

“And I’m not taking fashion advice from a guy that unironically dyes his hair red and green.” Another staring match settled between them, and this time it was the worker folded He grumbled and looked away awkwardly.

“Cash or card?”

_______________________________

The third time Toudou stood outside of the little shop, he inwardly cursed himself for not just buying multiple sweaters the last time. Bad enough he had to deal with the rude cashier, but he was sure he looked weird as hell for coming back three days in a row. He glared at the brightly colored wreath as if it were mocking him, the bells on it announcing his arrival. His shoulders sagged in relief once he discovered he wasn’t the only customer this time. Two ladies were chatting and giggling near the coat section, and two— no three kids it looked like— were running amuck through the sweaters, knocking this and that down as they went. Toudou spotted the cashier who was looking conflictedly between the adults and children, and he quickly dove behind one of the sweater racks before he could be spotted. He wasn’t sure why he was hiding, but he stayed crouched, moving further into the sweater selection. He could hear the attendant trying to get the other customer’s attention.

“Um, ma’am. Can you— I mean, please keep your kids with you while you shop please.” Toudou winced at his awkward phrasing, but the ladies had gotten the message. With a quick shout from one of the women, the three kids we corralled, scolded, and reprimanded with no ice cream. Toudou couldn’t help but snicker, but his entertainment was cut short by the sound of approaching footsteps. His eyes widened as he saw a lanky arm reach down and pick up a sweater near him, most definitely from the rowdy kids’ antics, the sigh audible across the short distance. He scrambled for an excuse for being so inconspicuous, straightening himself to make it look like he was just leaning down browsing. He moved one rack away, then another to better position himself before stepping out. And right onto one of the fallen sweaters.

“Gah!”

He completely lost his balance, sliding a few inches sideways, his arms swinging in an ungraceful flail. He braced himself for contact with the hard, unforgiving tiled floor of the shop, but it never came. Instead, he collided with a warm body, solid and bony, but softer then the ground would have been. His surprised was short lived as he fell to the floor after all, a messy heap of hair and limbs.

“You okay, sho?” The question reached Toudou through his annoyance as he realized the guy had been trying to catch him. It was such a nice gesture considering how hostile they’d been with each other, even if they both ended up falling anyway.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” Their eyes met, and Toudou saw a flash of recognition in the other’s before the cashier turned away curtly. Toudou frowned, but when he got to his feet, he extended his hand down towards the green-haired guy still on the floor.

“Thanks, I guess.” Toudou almost missed the mumble, but he replied on reflex.

“No problem.” An awkward silence fell between them again, and Toudou had to ask himself how many more times he could use awkward to describe the two of them. If it wasn’t the clunky stretches of quiet, it was the stupid word choices or weird motions. Luckily, the cashier ended the stalemate.

“So, you need another one? Are you…” He trailed off as his face contorted into an ugly expression before continuing. “Are you collecting them or something?” He gestured stiffly to the racks around them, and Toudou couldn’t help the laughter that tumbled from his lips. The other flinched, but the student paid it no mind.

“No, no it’s still that bet, ha. I have to wear an ugly sweater every day until the Christmas Eve. Something dumb about the twelve days of Christmas or something, uh—” He fumbled for his words that usually came naturally, l feeling weird carrying an actual conversation with the guy. “And I don’t own any, or well, I didn’t. So here I am, uh, again.”

“Ah, well…” Toudou looked at the other expectantly waiting for him to finish his sentence. “Which one are you…” The student chuckled understanding what the other was asking. He leaned down and scooped up the knit piece that caused his fall.

“I guess fate chose the one for today,” he offered, the crumbled white and blue sweater in hand. He had taken a few steps towards the register when he realized the cashier wasn’t following. He turned back casually.

“Shall we?” That got the other moving, and they both made their way over to the counter, the soft chatter of the two women still in the store filling the background.

“Here’s your purchase.” The green-haired cashier held the bag out, and Toudou took it gratefully.

“Thanks again. For the sweater and the catch,” he pressed, a smile playing at his lips. The grin widened when he heard a mumbled ‘don’t mention it’ in response. “See you next time,” he shot a quick glance to the guy’s name tag. “Maki—”

“Wah!” Both boys turned to see one of the kids from before had started wailing. The mom began yelling again, and Toudou gave the cashier an apologetic expression before taking the situation as his cue to get out of there. He shuffled through the door and back into the chilly air.

_______________________________

Toudou felt far less stressed than he ever had before outside of the shop the following day. He didn’t even pause as he entered.

“Welcome—oh, uh hey.”

“Good evening!” Toudou chirped in reply. His eyes swept the store, and he realized they were alone this time as he began browsing the sweaters again as usual. When it looked like the cashier wasn’t going to say anything else, he took it upon himself to break the silence.

“Um, I’m not very good at picking out this kind of sweater.” A nod of acknowledgement was enough for him to keep going. “So, could you maybe, recommend one for me?” A few stiff moments passed between them before the cashier began to cross the floor.

“Sure…” Toudou couldn’t keep the grin off his face. The other moved between a couple of racks before selecting one and mumbling an awkward “this way.” Toudou bounded happily behind, excited that he had managed to bridge the gap between the two of them. At the counter, Toudou got a quick look at the sweater—a fairly tasteful silver and gold piece. But, before he could think of anything else to say, he had been checked out, receipt in hand. He lingered at the counter as he stuffed the paper in his pocket, watching the cashier switch his weight between his feet for a moment. He cursed inwardly, mad at himself for not getting the guy’s full name the day before. Before that kid had distracted them. And of course, the cashier wasn’t wearing his name tag today. He shrugged it off, and in true Toudou fashion, he improvised fabulously.

“Thanks, Maki-chan!”

Nervous about the other’s reaction, he grabbed his bag and bolted out the door.

_______________________________

The next day, as they both browsed the racks casually, Toudou explained the details of the bet. He sugar-coated it of course. He didn’t want Maki-chan to think he was vain. Somehow, the cashier got the idea anyway.

“What do you have against sweaters anyway?”

“For one, I’m more of a headband and scarf kind of guy. But it’s not the sweater part, Maki-chan, it’s the—”

“Don’t call them ugly again.” Toudou fumbled.

“Yeah well, they aren’t my style. They better get me that book I wanted for Christmas after all of this. I swear all my friends are jerks.”

“Sounds like a fitting punishment to me, sho”

“Hey!” He threw a soft punch that connected with the other’s shoulder as he pouted. “You’re a jerk too.” The cashier snorted.

“Well then,” he shifted to a different rack and pulled a piece off. “Here’s the perfect sweater for a guy like you.” Toudou frowned, but he took it anyway, rolling his eyes.

“Fine, I’ll take it.”

_______________________________

The next day, Toudou learned that Maki-chan’s full name was Makishima Yuusuke. He learned that his older brother, Ren, had opened the holiday pop-up shop for the season, and that Ren had designed most of the pieces in it. He learned that the cashier was studying fashion as well, following in his footsteps. He learned that he studied abroad in England for three years in middle school, but he wasn’t particularly keen on going back any time soon. How he had dyed his hair green back in high school on a dare but liked the results enough to keep it.

Toudou felt overwhelmed taking in all the new information and could only think to give the same back in return. He told the cashier how he was going to different, but still local university. About how annoyed he was with the campus dorms, but how excited he was for all the PT classes he was taking the next semester. He told him how he loved his parents and the traditional inn they ran up in Hakone but was glad he had come to Tokyo for school. He told him about his modest collection of headbands, and how accessories were the most important elements of any outfit. He was so caught up in the conversation, he almost forgot he needed to buy a sweater. He let Makishima pick one and bring it back to the counter.

“You know you could have just bought twelve of these on the first day, right?” Toudou groaned dramatically.

“I know, I know, Maki-chan, but I didn’t think about it then!” He ignored his new friend’s chortled laughter as he took his latest red and green monstrosity and left the shop.

_______________________________

On the seventh day, Makishima asked if Toudou had a favorite from his current collection. A family of four had left just minutes prior leaving the two boys on their own again.

“Nah, they’re all pretty much the same kind of ugly,” he shrugged, turning his attention back to the rack.

That comment sent Makishima on a mission to find at least one sweater in the store that Toudou didn’t hate. They spent the better part of the hour combing through the product. Makishima would lift a sweater up and Toudou would shoot it down, citing some excuse to name it hideous.

“The design’s too blocky.”

“Nothing with animals will ever not be tacky.”

“The sleeves on that are different colored!”

“That won’t go with my skin tone.”

Finally, they stumbled upon a crisp white sweater that featured a simple golden bow.

“Still ugly,” Toudou supplied, the corner of his mouth twitching up in a half smile as he brought it to the front. “But it’ll do as the least horrible.” Makishima scoffed but rang it up without a fuss.

And if Toudou had “accidentally” twisted the garment as he passed it over the counter so their fingertips could touch for a little longer, well, no one had to know.

_______________________________

“Okay, you had your fun yesterday, but now it’s my turn.” Toudou stood in the middle of the sea of sweaters as Makishima watched from his position by the register. “I don’t care if each of these things has some design history. You knooow some of these are atrocious, Maki-chan. So today,” he pointed a haughty finger towards the cashier. “We will find the ugliest ugly Christmas sweaters in this store—don’t give me that look! You know you have a least favorite.” Makishima simply rolled his eyes.

“You have ten minutes Maki-chan. Ready?” He paused for a moment to give Makishima time to sigh and make his way over. “Go!”

They scrambled through the sweaters, the time limit upping the ante on their search. Toudou had quite a few contenders pretty quickly but stopped short when he found one nestled at the back of a row. It used an extremely odd color combination, and for a moment, he considered selecting it, until he realized why it felt so familiar. The design used the same colored as that horrid wreath on the door of the shop. A week ago, he’d have called the sweater trash, now it held almost a sentimental value. He smiled to himself at the thought.

His phone chirped, indicating time was up, and he quickly chose one of his other options; a dark green one covered in tacky tinsel and thick Christmas lights that make a “tree shape” when you put your hands above your head. When he saw Makishima’s, one that make it look like a creepy Santa Claus was embracing the wearer, he conceded, and promised to bring a picture of him in it next time.

_______________________________

The next day, Toudou leaned over the checkout counter complaining about how he was running out of proper accessories for all of his new sweaters.

“Nothing I own matches all this nonsense. The headbands are easy, I have a thousand of them, but scarves, gloves?” He threw his arms up in frustration. “It’s near impossible.”

“They’re just sweaters. Wear them on their own.” Toudou gasped, scandalized.

“How dare you, Maki-chan! I told you before that accessories are the most important part of an outfit.”

Before Makishima could really get into replying, a group of eight or so students walked in. Coupled with the other handful of customers already in the store, it had gotten quite crowded quite quickly. Toudou placed his sweater on the counter—the “ugliest” one he had picked out the day prior— and pushed it toward the cashier.

“I should probably get out of your way and let you do your job. It’s uncharacteristically crowded this evening.” Makishima simply nodded, and Toudou could sense his uncomfortableness. He took his bag, shooting his companion a sympathetic smile. “Good luck, Maki-chan.” Then he was out the door.

_______________________________

“So, my friends actually thought I was buying these sweaters second hand all this time. Me. Thrift shopping! Can you imagine?”

“No, not really.” Toudou threw a punch at Makishima’s shoulder.

“You don’t have to be so blunt about it.” The attendant rubbed at his arm with a frown.

“You were the one who brought it up, declaring you wouldn’t be caught dead in someone else’s old clothing, sho.” Toudou opened his mouth only to close it again when he couldn’t come up with a good retort.

“Fair enough. But I’m not mocking it or anything, I just—”

“You know you’re a diva, right?” Toudou struck a dramatic pose, hands clasped over his heart.

“Oh, Maki-chan,” the sarcasm was clear in his voice. “You wound me.” The other simply shrugged, earning him another punch. “Asshole.” Toudou couldn’t remember who came up with it, but before he knew it, they were looking for the most pompous sweater design in the store. Of course, he had been the one to find it.

_______________________________

On the eleventh day, Toudou was startled by the voice that greeted him. For the first time since he had begun shopping there, the green-haired attendant was nowhere to be found. Instead, Toudou was staring at a lean red-head, behind Makishima’s usual counter. He was confused for a long moment; Maki-chan did say he’d be working the 4 to close shift until Christmas. But when he saw the mole under the new person’s eye, the connection was obvious.

“What can we do for you today?” the man that must have been Maki-chan’s brother asked.

“Um, I need a sweater,” Toudou answered lamely. The man only chuckled—and was that a smirk?

“Sure, we have plenty. Feel free to browse. Just let me know if you have any questions.”

Toudou nodded and slipped over to the half of the small shop he had grown accustomed to over the last couple of weeks. He skimmed through the familiar choices, picking a maroon one without much thought before bringing it over to the counter.

“Is that all for today?” Toudou nodded.

“Yes, that’ll be…“ He trailed off glancing back towards the sweaters.

“Sir?”

“Just a sec.” Toudou briskly walked over to a particular rack and sighed in relief when he managed to find the oddly colored sweater from the other day. He threw it on the counter with his other selection. “This too please.”

“Of course.” He was sure it was a smirk this time, but he didn’t question it as he grabbed his bag and made his way out of the store.

_______________________________

“Missed you yesterday, Maki-chan.”

Toudou wasn’t sure if the comment was too intimate, but it was the truth nonetheless. He also wasn’t sure if that was a blush on the others cheeks or not, but he didn’t ask.

“Uh, yeah. I had to run an errand. Took longer than expected, so Ren said he’d work.”

“I figured it was your brother. You guys look alike.” Makishima nodded in agreement, and the two of them just stood there, opposite sides of the counter, a stiff atmosphere floating between them. Toudou was surprised when the cashier broke the silence.

“So tomorrow…” It wasn’t much, but Toudou had caught on immediately.

“Is the last day of the bet, yeah.” Toudou laughed, but it sounded a little hollow even to his ears. No good, he had to fix that. “It’ll be nice to get Arakita off my back, he’s been teasing relentlessly this last week. Made me pose for pictures and everything. Rude.”

“I’m sure you can’t wait to get back to wearing your diva wardrobe twenty-four seven.” This time the laugh was genuine.

“You have no idea. If I ever buy another ugly Christmas sweater again, it’ll be too soon.” He giggled when Makishima frowned at the word ugly. “Alright allll of them weren’t totally hideous.” The other scoffed, and Toudou gave him a knowing look. “Don’t give me that look. I was traumatized in some of those!”

“Well it was supposed to be a punishment. Be weird if you enjoyed it, sho.” Makishima fiddled with his hands beneath the counter, avoiding eye contact. When he looked back up, Toudou was waiting with a sweet smile.

“I might have been dressed as a fashion reject for the last week and a half, but some good things definitely came out of this bet.” Toudou swore he saw the corner of the cashier’s mouth twitch upwards, the closest he’d get to a real smile from his socially awkward companion. He took a deep breath, pushing off from the counter.

“Alright Maki-chan,” he spread his arms wide. “Can you pick me out one last sweater?” Makishima walked over to the appropriate side of the store, and Toudou tried not to let himself dream that there was reluctance in the cashier’s steps. After a couple of moments, he lifted one hanger and shook it in the air for Toudou to see. It was a modest design but had fiberoptics in the fabric making it literally glow. They laughed together as Makishima returned to the counter.

“You said my choice…” he prompted and Toudou waived his hand back and forth to cut him off.

“I love it, Maki-chan. I’ll take it.” They lingered at the counter a little longer than amicably appropriate before the cashier finally handed over the bag.

“I—” he stammered, and Toudou paused, expression hopeful. “I hope you get everything you wanted for Christmas.” Toudou deflated, but put on his best smile, nonetheless.

“You too, Maki-chan.” As he exited the store that evening, he couldn’t help but think that the only thing he wanted for Christmas, was the man he had left behind the counter.

_______________________________

Makishima strummed his fingers against the marble surface in front of him, his cheek cradled in his other hand as he leaned over the register bored. He had been cursing himself all night about not having the courage to give the customer he had grown familiar with his gift. He had never really been in a relationship and knew his flirting skills were absolute shit, but still he thought there was maybe a spark there? One that might have been worth pursuing. But of course, he had chickened out, so he sat on the tall stool all shift, wallowing in self-pity. He lowered his gaze, eyes falling of the neat white gift box sitting on the shelf under the counter with disdain. He could hear Ren’s obnoxious teasing about “that one special customer” playing back in his head again. He had special ordered it for the man, and now felt foolish for it. He had done it to go with a particularly special sweater—the only one his brother let him design—only to find out that the piece in question had already been sold sometime that week.

He sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day, willing his Christmas Eve shift to end faster. He had twenty more minutes, then the pop-up shop would fold, and he could get back to his regular schedule—and hopefully forget about the regret sitting in his chest. His thoughts were interrupted with the chiming of the bells from the door. He straightened up, bracing himself for an interaction he was not at all in the mood for.

“Welcome to—” His greeting was cut short as he felt as though the breath had been knocked out of him. Standing before him, was none other than the man that had been occupying his thoughts all day. His cheeks and nose were red from the cold, and he saw him dust what must have been snowflakes off his coat. Before he could take in anything else about him or the weather, Toudou was looking at him with a brilliant smile.

“Hi Maki-chan.” Makishima still couldn’t believe the other was there and stared on, only speaking up when he saw Toudou’s smile start to falter.

“I—” is voiced croaked, but he pushed on. “I thought the bet was over.”

“It is.”

“But y-you’re here.” The smile was back.

“Yep!” Toudou took a few steps closer to the counter, hands behind his back as he leaned forward. “I wanted to come back. To ask a question—”

“When did you get that?” Makishima spoke pointing awkwardly at the other’s chest. He felt bad cutting him off, but he couldn’t help but stare in surprise at Toudou’s attire—well his sweater to be exact. He was wearing his sweater, the one he hadn’t realized had sold.

“Oh uh, I bought it before—that day you weren’t here. It, well, it reminded me of you actually, so…” he stammered, turning away quickly. Makishima couldn’t hold back the loud guffaw that escaped his throat.

“Well, that’s good I guess, sho. Since it’s mine.”

“Huh?” Makishima realized that probably sounded weird and clarified.

“I designed that one, the sweater. Ren said I could do one, and that’s,” he swallowed thickly. “That’s mine, my design.” Both blushed, the weight of the statement sitting between them. When Makishima couldn’t take the silence anymore, he spoke.

“Uh, didn’t you have a question?”

“Oh, yes! Um,” Toudou began to fidget, his previous confident tone a bit shaken as he paused mid-sentence for a moment. “When do you get off?” he blurted out quickly, blush even more prominent than before.

“Hah?” Makishima couldn’t quite believe what he had heard.

“I mean it’s Christmas Eve, and if you aren’t busy—obviously you might already have plans, but I figured it was worth a shot, and oh my god, of course you already have plans— it’s literally Christmas, I’m sorry for bothering you, I can just—”

“Six.”

“What?”

“I—” Makishima took a deep breath and continued, determined to speak clearly. “I get off at six. We close early today, sho.” Toudou smiled again, and Makishima felt warm despite the weather outside.

“Well then,” Toudou recovered as if he hadn’t been over analyzing everything a moment prior. “That’s great. Great, would you like to get dinner with me?” Makishima could feel the heat in his cheeks again.

“Uh, yeah. I’d like that.”

Makishima quickly began sweeping up the shop, and Toudou sat, prattling on about his roommate and classes as usual to fill in the silence. With a final wipe of the counter, after shoving Toudou’s butt off of it, he was shrugging on his coat, keys in hand. He locked and stored the cash box beneath the counter when his eyes fell to the gift box again. He grabbed it, tucking it under his arm as he flipped off the light. He couldn’t wait to see Toudou’s face when he opened it—a scarf tailor-made to perfectly coordinate with the very sweater he was wearing.

“Ready,” he mumbled.

“Then let’s go!” They filed out of shop and into the chilly evening air. “You’re gonna love this place Maki-chan, they make the best…” Makishima nodded, locking the door and shoving the key in his pocket. Toudou slipped his arm around his and leaned into him as he continued chatting, shivering as a strong gust blew past. The bells on the door’s wreath jingled with the breeze and the two paused simultaneously to look back at the familiar sound. They shared a laugh, then a smile, before turning back and walking hand in hand down the path.

#toumaki advent calendar 2018 #submission #toumaki #theyaoibandits

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furederiko · 7 years

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The remaining piece for Legendary Argo is finally here! Will the Kyurangers succeed in obtaining it? Get the answer on Kyuranger's 19th episode...

- Wow, 2 weeks without Kyuranger feels like ages, eh? Well, not exactly *grins*. Anyways, let's start the episode with... PLUSHIES! Oh TOEI and Bandai, you just have to promote a product every time opportunity knocks, huh? But this time it's rather melancholic, because the bigger scene contains Champ who's still in pieces. Aaaaww... T_T. Painful flashback and all, this is an extended version of the cliffhanger we saw closing episode 18. What is Stinger up to? - At the same time, a massive armada of Consumarz is approaching Earth. Looks like Don Armage is getting... a little anxious about the planet, and that's because of The Argo. Rather than taking them all down, Commander Xiao thinks it's best for the team to race for the last piece of the Legendary Vessel instead. The #87 Carina Kyu Globe to be precise. One that is located in Planet Keel of the Carina System. Contrary to my complaint, turns out they DO need Pyxis to point out its specific location. TRIVIA: Carina is the Constellation of... Keel. As in, THE actual English name of a ship's crucial structural element. In this case, of course it's derived after the mythology of Argo Navis. Similar to Vela that was found in Planet Vela of the... Vela System, TOEI isn't even trying to be subtle by placing Carina in Planet Keel of Carina System. LOL. - Unfortunately, learning that his boss is getting cold-feet, Scorpio is more determined than ever to find the Argo as well. He revives another part of Madako, and tells the new gallant-dramatic personality version to watch over Earth while he's off hunting Kyu Globe in the Carina System. When I saw this episode on-air, I was quite puzzled to see how Madako is STILL alive. I mean, dang it, we all see how the persistent Octopus bit the dust in another universe! But on 2nd viewing, I've realized that there might be a logic to it. It makes good sense that Scorpio keeps a part of her body, for emergency cases, right? Which means, this isn't the remains of that Madako who died last week. What I still don't get is, HOW Scorpio manages to figure out the location of Carina? Did something we should've known occur off-screen as well? - We get to see Kotarou... on the monitor again. He's reporting that Stinger is missing from the HQ, and that the repair of Champ has probably reached around 60-70%. Unbeknownst to Xiao, Stinger himself shows up at the Orion not long after. To do what? To paralyze Garu and Raptor, and... steal Puppis and Vela Kyu Globe. Whooaaa there.... what's happening?! Is he betraying the team now? - The away team arriving on Planet Keel isn't faring better as well. While Lucky, Hammy, and Spada deal with rock-hard Malistrate Olmega (who somehow reminds me of "Tomb Raider"), the BN Thieves are attacked and trapped in vines by a mysterious person. Chamaeleon Green uses the #69 Caelum Kyu Globe to... 'fix' Olmega's face, causing the Malistrate to run off abandoning the villagers he enslaved. Village Elder tries to warn the three Kyurangers to avoid the Forest Guardian. But since they are racing against time, no time to hear long and winding fairy tale! LOL. - Said Forest Guardian who has captured Balance and Naga, is the Princess from... "Legend of Zelda". Wait... seriously? Nah, my bad... she just reminded me of Zelda. Her name is Eris (portrayed by gravure Idol Hinano Ayakawa), and apparently she has been entrusted to guard and protect the Carina Kyu Globe for many years. At least until "saviors in pursuit of the Argo" appears to take it. Eris might be a important character, but identity of the mysterious man requesting her aide might be a FAAAR bigger deal than her. I suspect this guy is going to play a VERY crucial part in future story. In fact, thanks to the tone-of-white costume he's wearing, can't help but wonder if he might somehow be related to... Lucky's past? Also... for some reason, the lower half of his face feels oddly familiar. There's something about it that rings a bell. Like I've seen it before. Could he be... a veteran Tokusatsu actor? Hmmmm... - Enough about Orion, and let's focus on Eris. Because there's a chance we might not see her again. Eris isn't only tough, because... she comes with a rather fickle personality. Eventhough she's clearly all over 'Ikemen' Spada (while shooting down poor Balance, who actually thinks she's her type), she doesn't trust the away team easily to hand over the Kyu Globe. Not even a very early (yeah, already?!) suitless roll-call is enough to convince her. Which is troublesome, because Scorpio has been spying them all these time, and ends up stealing the Kyu Globe in just one strike. Battle against Scorpio is ON!!! - The team is divided into two. Scorpio proves how heartless he is, by turning Olmega into his 'Zombie', and commands him to attack the village. Thus while Leo Red singlehandedly deals with Scorpio, the others have to stop Olmega. Much to Eris' dismay, who complaints that the Carina Kyu Globe she had spent all these time to protect, is far more important. Using the Shining Kyu Globe, Leo Red turns into Sun Leo Red and retrieves the item. A short-lived victory, because he has to let it go again in exchange for Eris' safety. - Dorado Yellow and the others manage to defeat Olmega, using the "Paper, Globe, Scissors" technique (utilizing Cancer and Scutum Kyu Globe). He turns giant, and that obviously calls for mecha fight. It comes with a catch, because Leo Red utilizes the Shining Kyu Globe once again, and this time powers-up both Libra Gold and... Ophiucus Silver. Yes... contrary to another previous complaint of mine, this power-up DOES affect other members too! Which is NICE. Then again, how come Raptor and Hammy weren't affected before? Don't tell me it's for men only (sexist much?). Oh well, the Hyper-Kick seals off Olmega's fate alongside his Consumarz. - Lucky's rousing speech about saving everyone, has converted Eris into his fans. She apologizes for not believing them, dumps Spada (don't worry Chef, you still have Raptor!), and namedrops the name of 'that mysterious guy' to the team: Sir Orion!!! According to Eris, Orion was "one of the saviors who once saved the universe!". Does this mean, he's a Kyuranger of previous generation? Or... probably is STILL one? NOTE: Wouldn't it be AMAZING if this previous 'saviors' consisted of mythological figures, like Orion, Herakles, Perseus, Cepheus, and Andromeda? It's a wishful thinking, but I'd go batshit crazy if that's the case. Also, don't forget that the Rebellion's mothership is also called... Orion. Hmmmm.... does this mean, there's a clear-cut connection somehow? Well... either that or TOEI is being really LAZY with names (casepoint: Vela/Vela, Keel/Carina, Scorpio/Scorpius, Oray-on/Orye-on. It's Tomayto/Tomahto, folks!). - But before Eris can explain any further, INTERRUPTION! The classic old Tokusatsu distraction technique has returned! Xiao suddenly alerts them about Stinger's situation, so the away team have to leave Planet Keel right away with a new goal: to retrieve ALL of Argo Navis components. Ouch!!! But what's Stinger doing with Puppis and Vela? Using both as bait to lure Scorpio out. Because it's time for a brotherly duel...

Overall: This wasn't a perfect episode. In my opinion, it veered somewhere between just okay and good. The humor seemed a bit forced, and ruined the serious aspect of Don Armage's desperate all-out invasion towards Earth. But what I did love about it, was the way it teased future developments using the 'Quest for Argo' as the foundation. Not only we've seen hints leading towards the arrival of future members, it might have also opened up possibilities to dive and/or peel even deeper into the past. I wouldn't be surprised, if Orion is later revealed to be the man who created the Kyu Globes in the first place. And perhaps, there might even be a link between him, and the true identity of Don Armage. For the same reason, I also hope that Eris will show up again in future episodes, despite how annoying her personality might have been. We're still not even halfway through the show, so it's unclear what kind of arcs we'll be seeing next. Here's hoping the writers will make good use of these potentials... Next week: It's up to you, Kotarou! Go save your big-bro Stinger... PS: Don't miss out the 1st teaser for Summer Movie "Kyuranger the Movie: Gueath Indaver no Gyakushuu". The title alone (direct English translation is "Gueath Indaver Strikes Back") is already an obvious shout-out to "Star Wars", but THIS? I mean LOL TOEI, that's obviously a Death Star, right? They're not even trying to be creative about its design... *sigh*. Oh, and apparently Over-Time omitted the footage that was aired right after. It was a promotion for Zyuohger Returns' V-Cinema, in case you're wondering. That one is set to be released TODAY, on June 28th, 2017!

Episode 19 Score: 7,7 out of 10

Visit THIS LINK to view a continuously updated listing of the Kyutama / Kyu Globes. Last Updated: June 27th, 2017 - Version 2.05. (WARNING: It might contain spoilers for future episodes)

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

#tokusatsu #SuperSentai #kyuranger #uchu sentai kyuranger #uchuu sentai kyuranger #review

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notori · 8 years

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RWBY Volume 4 Thoughts

I watched it all in one shot today and, well, spoiler-y comments below the cut!

So straight up I just want to say, in my opinion, this was the weakest volume. Go ahead and disagree, I’m not here to start fights - I just found it lackluster across the board. It left me wanting RT to pick themselves up and get back to volume 3 level next time. It wasn’t supremely awful and I’ll go over the good along with the bad, but I guess my overall sentiment was “Okay, better luck next time. Waiting on volume 5!”

So the good: Ren. Just... Ren. The only time I felt something deep in this volume was Ren’s backstory and his interactions with Nora. Not only super cute between them, but he’s always been a mystery and it was cool to see where those two came from and so on.

The bad: That was really the only moment I felt something! At least on the same level as how I felt throughout volume 3 (or even say, the Project Freelancer arc of RvB - point being, I know RT can do better). I mean, I was kinda concerned about Qrow. I like him - even if he is the archetypcal silent mentor guy who we now know literally has magical levels of angst to keep himself away from people. But I wouldn’t have been too heartbroken if he died either.

I did like Blake and her family. That was sweet - especially with her father and comparing it to Weiss’ family. However, it compounded too much with the other characters having split up and Qrow being himself that they repeated the (been there done that) conflict of “It’s not good for me to be around you! You’re better off! -OVERDRAMATIC EXIT-”

Back to the good: Still on Ren but, that grimm! Such a cool design! Major props to whoever came up with that. Creepy, powerful, all around the haunting image I expect when something terrible from someone’s past comes back.

A little bad: The team being split up didn’t work for me. I know a lot of people probably liked it and obviously the production team did but me? Nah. Didn’t care for it. Take Weiss for example - a titular character - what did we learn about her? Her dad’s a douche, her brother’s a douche, she’s pissed off with the rich people and makes an escape. So... wait... we didn’t actually learn anything about Weiss. We already knew she was headstrong. We already knew she would defy her upbringing for the greater good as we saw at the end of volume 1 when Blake was revealed to be a faunus. Sure, it takes a lot to stand up to family, but given who we knew Weiss to be... didn’t seem like it’d take this long or be this hard. It felt like she got set back when the entirety of her action taken this volume was to leave her home... which was done rather quickly (from a screen time POV) with seemingly minimal consequences. Of course there could be more to it that we’ll see in vol. 5, but as for right now? Again, lacking.

A bit of good though: The scene where she summoned the knight was cool! Also, and maybe this is just because I was watching with headphones, but the sound effects have improved over the years. So good job on that. Not just this moment but the grimm cries, ships, everything ambient really resonated and was pretty cool!

On that note however: Not my favourite volume for music. Which kinda sucks because I’ve always loooovved the RWBY soundtracks! The end credits song of the final episode was the only one I’d want to have of my phone. Same deal, I know RT can do better so I’m hoping they pick it up back up in vol. 5.

Where it really fell apart for me though was the characters, and again this comes back to the team being split up. Weiss got the least progression, but even the others... I guess I felt like no one grew this volume (except Ren, which is cool, but he’s a side character).

Ruby was backseat to Jaune. I didn’t want to say it. I’ve been defending Jaune for a while all through vol. 3 but this one was just... bothersome. Let me clarify: I like Jaune. But I feel he’s a good guy trapped in a bad narrative. All of team JNPR are side characters! And sure we can love our side characters, but do not try to give them this much of a spotlight. In fact this is my only criticism with Ren’s arc: I loved it, but it was Ren’s arc - not anyone from team RWBY - and it was the most interesting part of the volume. Look at what Ruby actually accomplished this volume or how she grew. Did we learn more about her? We saw... Ruby worries about people - which we knew. Ruby is a badass with her scythe - which we knew, but also saw better of before. I know the fights won’t be as good without Monty but did anything Ruby do in vol. 4 even come close to her decapitating that bird way back at the start of the series? Even from an info dump standpoint we learned nothing about the silver eyed people that we didn’t already know. They’re special and they’re being hunted. Yeah... most special people are in a world of magical strife.

Yang’s arc I liked, although it was kinda weirdly done. It’s like they couldn’t decide if they wanted to go dark and give her the grit of PTSD or keep her screen time more upbeat compared to the others. I kinda wish they had stuck with keeping her traumatized though, without it being her wallowing. Because that’s not actually how trauma works 100% of the time. It happens, yes, but it’s more than just feeling listless or being easily startled. We see her go from freaking out over the sound of a broken glass and having nightmares, to being fully okay when her father jokes about the attack. It’s all well and good if she’s over it - and I get that RT has VERY limited time to work on RWBY - but it came on sudden to see her be okay with it. Especially because it was implied through the joke that she and her father had been okay with it for some time.

Blake’s story was... kind of marred by Sun. I get the same feeling about him as I do about Jaune - except Jaune has (for all narrative purposes) been paired with Pyrrha. Sun is still after Blake and is just so stereotypical about it that I can’t not be rubbed the wrong way. Ships aside, I just wish that they could be friends. And unfortunately, they can’t be just friends if Sun is clearly into Blake. Now it’s just going down an all too familiar - and ugly - road of the poor guy who likes a tsundere who doesn’t want to be his friend! They can’t be friends unless they both want to be friends - and it’s clear from not only Sun’s actions, but the way RT is framing it with the comments from her mother and father, that Sun is not in the story to be Blake’s friend. He’s there to be a potential love interest.

Which brings me to my next point: Don’t. You. Dare. Bait. Us. Again.

Arguably my biggest point, and the thing I most want Rooster Teeth to know: We know when we’re being baited. We all do. It’s just a matter of some being willing (or naive) enough to put up with it, or those who have been through the cycle too many times to fall for it. These are my stern words of warning: We know you’re doing it. Don’t do it again. Representation only counts if it is within the story, not said by creators.

My kinder words of advice: At this time, you cannot run a male-female platonic relationship side by side with a budding male-male or female-female one. I can see how in the well-meaning creator’s mind it can seem almost obvious to treat two potential love interest as equal regardless of gender - on paper that sounds great! But in practice, in a world where LGBT+ people are constantly being told that their love, their friends and family, their very lives are second best to cis-straight people... It’s too threatening.

I did notice how Blake was adamant about denying Sun’s advances. And sure, her mother could just be being the playful motherly type and this is all a ruse for the big surprise that is Bumbleby. Yes, Blake and Sun could be just friends and their banter nothing more - hell I know I’d change my tune right quick if everything they did was literally being good friends and nothing more. It’d go from stereotypical boring guy-likes-girl-he-can’t-have BS to subverting the trope in favour of a healthy, fun, platonic relationship.

But you know that’s not how it’s coming across. And that’s where it sucks. Even if you didn’t know how Yang and Blake looked or acted at the start was reminiscent of a potential relationship, you know by now. You also know - given the blatant jokes throughout - that you were writing Sun and Blake’s interactions to at least look like the start of something romantic. Even if the end goal is to trick us.

What I’m saying is, we’re tired of being tricked. Mainly because tricks never work out in our favour. The few times they do, it’s short lived, usually ending in murder or suicide or something else terrible. This is why - at least right now was media is only just getting a handle on representation - if you are going to have LGBT+ rep you have to do it by denying any other possibility. You need to outright say “THIS CHARACTER IS NOT STRAIGHT LOOK HOW FUCKING NOT STRAIGHT THEY ARE!!! SEE THAT OPPOSITE*(For lack of a better word)-SEX CHARACTER BESIDE THEM??? BEST BUDS! THAT’S IT BEST BUDS DON’T WORRY ITS COOL BECAUSE THEY ARE SOOOO NOT STRAIGHT.”

If you don’t, especially if you tease a straight ship alongside it, we are so vastly outnumbered (by our oppressors no less - and yes, people who send ship hate specifically to LGBT ships because it’d interfere with their straight one IS oppressive - trying to silence us seeing ourselves in characters). Teasing LGBT+ fans by saying “yes, you’re here in this story... somewhere... we just haven’t shown yet...” and then writing a possible straight romance that would torpedo your leading LGBT+ one is downright a slap in the face. And don’t act like you don’t know it. And if Bumbleby IS where Blake’s romantic life is heading, don’t make tried fans who are used to getting hurt jump through the emotional hoops, or dragged through the emotional mud, of a straight ship alongside it. You don’t have to hand it to us on a silver platter, but make it clear that others are not happening.

(*Side note: I have zero qualms with bisexual Blake. More power to her. But the fact is her relationship with Yang is far more suited for a better romantic plotline than her relationship with Sun. It’s not because he’s a guy. It’s because he is nothing more than the average down-on-his-luck well-meaning goofball who’s primary character attribute is “I LIKE BLAKE”. And if they did anything to change that now it would only feel forced for the sake of trying to justify the ship.)

We are on volume 4 and you’ve said since the beginning that there are LGBT+ characters, even who we have already met, but just don’t know it yet. You have one last chance, volume 5, to remedy that - and make it count. The excuse of “we don’t know how to write romance” falls flat when you have Jaune and Pyrrha, and Ren and Nora.

Overall thoughts: It was alright. But if volume 5 could be my last unless they pick it up. Ways to do that include: Make Jaune and Sun better characters. Make the titular team the main characters again - together. Up to par music and fights. And - deal breaker - reveal some of these LGBT+ characters.

#rwby spoilers #rwby volume 4 #rwby4 #review #bumbleby rwby #lgbt+ representation #spoilers

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