#but oh my GODDD it would be so cathartic.

[acutecoral]

Anyways, that was a fun first day! Especially given my main povs are mostly in Red Team, which...well, I honestly did not expect them to have spiralled that hard the last half an hour? It was glorious to have witnessed though. Despite the frustrations and drawbacks, they really did claw it back?? Somehow??

I'm still sort of in a state of being overwhelmed, since I had like 14 tabs on and swapped between povs when I had to, and somehow that hit a level of stimulation that wasn't debilitating but just enriching for my brain which is one of the funniest things that came out from this.

We enjoyed seeing Charlie tryhard at being tactical??? We didn't realise until he mentioned it, that for a good 3 hours, he had not cracked a joke and went off being a spy and eavesdropper to help protect and give an advantage to his team. Like damn.

Carre was a GOAT?? HOLY SHIT???? And also, it was great that Cellbit managed to help bridge the communications between Carre and the rest of the team, after having gotten really great at spanish thanks to Roier. But man, that was unexpected but pleasant as they rallied with each other to fight back and complete the quests.

But my personal favourite moment is how BOLAS?!??!?! started fucking spiralling. The frustration had built up so much, the event pushed them SO HARD, that they threw out their Whole Ass character arcs out for EVERYONE IN THE TEAM TO HEAR. I am not sure if that was just them being meta so it's not actually a canon confession, BUT!! THE FACT THAT THEY DID!! THEY FUCKING TOLD ALL OF THEIR TEAMMATES THEIR DEEPEST SECRETS.

CELLBIT HAD KILLED THE WORKERS. FOOLISH HAD BEEN TRYING TO PROTECT HIM FOR THE ENTIRETY OF HIS INVESTIGATION. SLIME KNOWS THE FLIPPA HE'S HANGING OUT WITH WAS FAKE AND WAS CORRUPTING HIM AND IT FUCKING SCARES HIM. JAIDEN WOULD STAB THEM ALL FOR CUCURUCHO. THAT MUST HAVE BEEN CATHARTIC IN SOME FORM AT LEAST. THEY HAD JUST BEEN PUSHED THAT. FAR. TO SAY ALL OF IT IN THE OPEN.

It's funny!! Like MAN. WHAT A DAY.

Other fave moments:

-Etoiles being sad about killing Jaiden and Philza. Him wanting to be with Red and have fun with his broooosss. He kept apologising lmao

-Tubbo and Carre's beef, but Carre apologises and Tubbo forgives him, that was really sweet

-Etoiles and Roier!!! Yessss give me more interactions of their cubitos thank youuu

-Bad being BOLAS?!?!?!?'s enemy #1 LMAO

-Foosh fucking CRITTING BAD, JESUS THAT WAS SO QUICK??? He did not escape damn

-Carre being hunted by Tubbo and Niki, and Cellbit helping coach him on how to hide his name in the map and he manages to kill Tubbo and Niki instead, JESUS

-Charlie's rants, nuff said

-Charlie and Cellbit fucking doing a stick fight pvp (Etoiles would have loved it so much, please let the man chill with Red next time he misses his friends)

-Tubbo and Aypierre??? Team up??? Oh my goddd, I'm so happy to see them working on the same side, like reminded of the fact that Aypierre had wanted to adopt him when Tubbo was first announced to join LMAO

-FOOLISH AND PHIL BEING FUCKING IMMORTALS????? THEY HAD NOT FUCKING DIED FOR NEARLY THE ENTIRE STREAM, HOLY SHIT, BOTH OF THEM ARE CRACKED AT THE CRAFT AND WERE POPPING OFF

-KAMETO??? EATING A PUFFERFISH?? AND GOING DOWN TO HALF A HEART AND FREAKED OUT LMAOOO (and then he ended stream KEK)

-Fit reverting back to his good ol 2b2t self, my man is toxic, let’s go, it's good enrichment for him, probably reminds him of the Incursions he participated 🥰

-SPREEN AND DANTDM CANONICALLY DEAD??? I mean, I feel it's a bit of a sad reveal since that means they don't have plans to come back to the server, but at least their characters got some sort of closure...?

-RUBIUS???? LOGGING IN??? BEING TURNED MORTAL???? Too bad with issues on his game not working, that sucked, hope that works next time and the admins help him to fix it and he joins!!!

-ARIN STREAM??? THIS MAN IS SO CRYPTIC STILL WHAT’S GOING ONNNN

-Bad??? Stealing Jaiden's strawhat??? BRuhhhhhhh

-Charlie goading Bad to a battle?? I think that was hilarious, but then the Sun Became A Deadly Laser and Charlied dried

-Phil did the entire Casulones emote oh my god, they finally did it

-But!! Red chose him to be the leader, and I thought that awesome, that's so deserved

-THE FACT THEY PUT THE RPers AND ENIGMA SOLVERS IN ONE TEAM LMAO, THESE GUYS BARELY KNOW HOW TO MAKE A BOOK AND HADN'T HAD LVLS HIGHER THAN 3 OH MY LORDD

-The bonfire, live sacrifices, and planned descent to cannibalism 🥰🥰

-Charlie joining other peoples vcs near the end and just BROKENLY checking in on them and telling them the plans of BOLAS???!?!?! and literally giving them the coords to their base LMAO

-Baghera killing Phil, Phil waving her goodbye before DEAD

-FOREVER SAYING THE WORDS THE BLACK CUCURUCHO GAVE HIM???? Not sure if anything came of that yet, but OHHH BOYYY

-BAD AND TUBBO??? TEAM UP??? BAD WITH THE AXE AND TUBBO WITH THE SWORD?? HOLY SHIT WHAT A COMBO

-MISSA PLAYING THE KIRBY STAR ALLIES MENU MUSIC WHEN WE DIPPED INTO HIS POV??? THAT SCARED ME LMAO DID NOT EXPECT IT

-The post-event wind down where everyone is chatting and vibing and talking to one another, that was a vibe and was really chill as everyone played tetris and watched each other's streams, and complimented Tina's tetris skills

Honestly, I'm sure there was so many fun moments despite everything, my streamers had fun despite the frustrations and discouragement

I am ecstatic where they may change about things going forward! I trust Q and the Admins to listen to the feedback from people and see how they can shift things to balance it out. We'll see!

Until then! Back on the bus we go!

Remember to stay clear of the pvp! You don't want to find yourself in the way of an axe or a sword swing!

[girls4etho]

sorry to skdg post incessently im thinking about it on this fine night. GOD i think ill be forever pissed off that i spent TWO. YEARS. preparing myself for dexter to die like i was ready the first time and he never showed up and then until the end released and i was like ok this is it this is where it happens and im ready and itll be so cathartic after how upset saracens death made me (launched the book at a wall) and then not only did he NOT DIE OR EVEN SHOW UP LIKE EVER but THEY RUCKING RESURRECT GHASTLY. LIKE EHAT THE FUCK. WHY. EHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU DO THATTT AND NOW I HAVE TO WAIT YEARS FOR PHASE 3 AND OH MY GODDD

[thearchivistsmanyeyes]

hi askf;hdf I fell down the TMA rabbit hole, 1st time, just at ep 120, & thing is JON IS MY LOVE, & I dnw be spoiled but of course went through some of your posts and like.. how... likely is it that my baby's gonna.... cant even say it.. DIE. how likely is he gonna die. Cos I can't. Like. I CANNOT deal with this atm. Would u recommend waiting with the listening until I could deal or do u think it'd be safe???? Also do u know how long tma will still be? Id thought it was finished already...

Oh sweetie 🥺 I will be very glad to help, Jon is the love of my life as well 😭😭😭 goddd I love him so much. Lmao so tma is in its fifth season right now, we’re not quite halfway through it I think??? And this is the last season, so it will end around February I’m pretty sure. I would love to tell you that Jon will be okay, but the thing is...he most likely won’t be 😭. First and foremost, tma is a horror & tragedy podcast, and Jonny has been pretty clear that it’s not going to have a happy ending. We don’t know for CERTAIN exactly that Jon will die, so there’s always that hope, but it’s pretty likely tbh? If you look at Jonny Sims’ other works (like the mechanisms) he hasn’t really...EVER...written a happy ending where the main characters live before. He’s more into the tragically beautiful endings I think, like where the main goal is accomplished but to do so the characters have to sacrifice themselves etc etc. or just completely heartbreaking endings. So yeah the fandom is pretty much in agreement that in some form Jon will not survive the end of this podcast which is DEVASTATING but I also trust in Jonny’s writing skills that it will be at least a satisfying ending. Either way I’m 100% certain it will make me sob

So yes, I know this probably wasn’t what you wanted to hear, but it’s sadly true. Honestly tma kind of fucked with my mental state especially in like season 3 bc it was just super depressing so I took a break & came back to it later, that seemed to really help me?? If that sounds like something you want to do it might help. Season 5 is actually not that depressing so far? Like SPOILERS they hehehe sort of ended the world which is Not Great but 1) yay fluffy gays and 2) people are actually getting called out for the shitty ways they’ve treated Jon which is super cathartic for me at least? So that might change eventually but for right now I think you’d be safe to keep listening, at least until this season heats up

This was SUPER LONG omg but I hope this answered your question??? From one Jon Stan to another I am so sorry 😭😭😭😆😆😆

[the-nysh]

Deku vs Kacchan 2, full episode live reaction/commentary

AHHHH it’s time and finally here, the important and long-awaited cathartic showdown I’ve been wanting to see animated for ages, as one of my most favorite parts of the manga, both character and relationship wise. ;A; Managed to stay offline and avoid reaction spoilers so I could see it fresh for myself without any distractions. So here we go with my whole in depth breakdown of the episode! 8’D Where I repeatedly get stabbed in the heart and end up completely losing my shit! Length: 4000+ words.

Edit: several of the sub’s lines have since been shown to be mistranslated, which I still transcribe here for comparison’s sake, since I already have the manga’s script memorized anyway. :’D

Last ep left us hanging with Deku’s reaction to Kacchan’s proposal for a fight, so bam, I’m glad this ep starts off immediately with his fumbling answer to him (midpoint of ch117). Ahh, if there’s one thing I miss from the manga, it’s the panel of Kacchan’s deadpan reaction to Deku’s rambling. The anime instead keeps his face half hidden until–

GAH!!!! ;A; THERE IT IS!!! His sudden face of open and honest sincerity! (One of my fav manga panels actually.) Subs have his line as, “What part of you made All Might do what he did? Let me see for myself. If the way you admired him was correct, then does that mean my admiration was wrong?” Oh noo... :’O The anime doesn’t show his whole face warping into a pained, unnerving expression like the manga does (and in a way I was hoping to see that transition animated), but instead shows an extreme close up of his eye, desperate and dead serious. Gbhgh, very tense and chilling (omg plus that dramatic choir ost swelling in the bg is getting to me too).  

Flashback to both their childhood lines about All Might! UGH!!! I was not expecting baby Deku’s line to be that broken and watery! D’8 And said over the image of them standing opposed like that??!!! URGHHH fucking hell!!!

Crying and trembling baby Deku’s aspirations, said when he found out he was quirkless, with his dreams probably permanently crushed, and emotionally at his lowest, helpless, and most vulnerable point, REALLY GETS TO ME?! Fuck!! Just a prelude to seeing Kacchan’s turn at his most emotionally vulnerable too. (gwah, break for the opening, hah I forgot that hadn’t even played yet :P)    

….!!!!!! 👀👀 Shit, shit!! There’s almost no room to breathe here! Ayy they show Kacchan stretch his arms and note how Deku uses kicks now (yoo he’s observant and watches Deku too), but gah! You can really feel Deku’s ‘hold on, wait!!’ pleas, because holy fuck this is jumping into it so fast! I’m not ready either!! D8 

Ok, I can actually breathe a bit when Deku slows down to analyze which hand Kacchan will use, but ohh!!! They animated one of my fav effects, the popping sparks on Kacchan’s palm before he lets it all loose. :’D Hoo, “You like to read a lot into things, huh?” They don’t show the manga’s direct view of his smirk for this line, but do show the panels for their dual “Come on!” vs “Are you serious, Kacchan?” lines. (Hooboi, I’m recognizing manga panels left and right here. And why yes, Deku, Kacchan has been dead serious about what he wants from you this whole time.) 

Yooo, that one sliding shot of them closing in face to face from the preview, but damn, that extra shot of all the over the top destruction to their vicinity. Whew, now that’s impressive for showing the scale/magnitude and seriousness of his explosions. :O (The collateral damage wasn’t shown nearly to that extent in the manga however, so wow. Also uwaah at the chilling ost for when Aizawa is notified.)  

Ayyy!!! My fav bits of popping sparks are animated again. :D What isn’t shown is the manga’s detailed close up panels of them crouched on opposite sides of the road, but rather now they’re standing there, until Kacchan forcefully leaps onto Deku’s side. Visually this is an interesting and heyyy symbolic change. 

Mmmm!!! Deku’s pleas for him to wait remind Kacchan of when baby Deku used to say the same to him in the past. :’))) To wait for him so Deku could catch up from following behind. Hrgh, symbolic flashback montage time. ;.; “No matter how much I beat you up,” ehhh more like he knocked Deku back down whenever he intruded too close for comfort, to try and make him stay back and stop pursuing him (to no avail however), “you were always stuck to my back like glue…!” Yup, because Deku’s spirit never gave up. :’) Ah, and now present Kacchan telling him, “Don’t run! Fight!” feels like a very challenge TO Deku’s tendency to always stick close to him. The Deku he’s always known can’t just break that behavior now and run away, especially not when Kacchan’s actually invited/allowed him into his space this time (figuratively, by acknowledging and offering the fight)! :O

“Even though we both admired the same person…!” ;.; To which Kacchan also recalls All Might’s words to him from their final exam, and how their levels of growth are different. (ok and by the way, the ost during this part is !!!!!) Fuck, fuck!!! D8 All Kacchan’s repeated and desperate questions “why?!” during their rapid back and forth of mixed blows, blocks and kicks…! (omgggg this animated sequence!) To Deku’s surprise counter-kick back, and…

The trip and FALL. (btw ost completely silences now) It’s coming it’s coming it’s coming…! Notice the position of the street’s center divide line. How both of them are stopped so close to the center now, yet still edging on opposite sides. Deku, shocked and realizes Kacchan might be hurt…powers down and instantly runs to him with the familiar outstretched hand & offer to help! ;A; Throwback to the river incident when Kacchan also fell and Deku offered THE same question, “A-Are you okay?” Ooof, the instant nerve button and animated slap away!

Ffffruuggh!! Shit, it’s happening; Kacchan’s voice is breaking. ;A; How he teeters and stands up swaying. “Why did I end up having to chase after the back of someone who was always behind me?” URGHH oh goddd, I’m in pain with the raspy broken delivery already. Also, now that Kacchan’s standing up, his feet are parted on both sides of the line, where now both him and Deku are standing in the center of the road. “Why did a damn small fry like you get strong…and become acknowledged by All Might…? Why is it that you become strong…but I…” SHIT SHIT SHIT;;; “Why was I…” Ohhhh my god, the slow raise of his head…!

“Why was I the one who ended All Might?!” HHHRRUUGHHH!!! THERE IT IS!! The most pained face of desperation and anguish. At probably his most conflicted and emotionally vulnerable point that he’s ever been in the story ;A; Just fucking end me where Nobu makes his voice crack and go all shrill while letting it all out. Some animated sakuga on the delivery and shake of his head here too, kkrghh. ;.; “If I’d been stronger and if I hadn’t been kidnapped by villains, then that wouldn’t have happened…” (ost starts again, and hrgg yes, the animated wipe at his eyes) “All Might tried to keep it a secret…I couldn’t tell anyone! Even if I try not to think about it…it just comes to mind unexpectedly!” (fuck me upppp, the way they animated him shaking his head here ;A;) “I don’t know what to do!” THE TEARS!!! It…it finally happened, and welp, I’m a mess now too. ;A; Kacchan’s line where he wails he doesn’t know what to do, would have had extra context/weight with Twice’s chapter shown before it (as in the manga). Because Twice notes how important it is to know ‘who you are and what you want to do’...and right now we see Kacchan currently struggling at that same personal and internal impasse. (Fortunately it looks like Twice’s part will still be adapted later.)

The shock here, that Deku feels, that I felt when I first read this part in the manga…and the realization that solidified with it, made me finally understand who my fav character was all along. There was no longer any doubt or denial holding me back anymore. Kacchan is that bleeding heart. At his most openly raw and vulnerable, bearing his true self for the entire audience and most importantly, for only Deku to see. Oh no…MY BOYYYYYYYY!!! ;A; <3333 “He’s been carrying this with him this whole time…! More than me…this whole time… He’s been worrying about it…Thinking about it…”

Hrgh, and Deku understands now too, just how much self-blame and guilt Kacchan put himself through after All Might’s retirement. Kacchan had been in more pain over it than Deku. With Deku shouldering the responsibility of All Might passing the torch onto him with the ‘your next’ line, Kacchan had shouldered the responsibility of believing he was the very reason that caused the end to his idol’s legacy of heroism. Taking a stab wound through his own heart, enduring that burden all by himself, and without able to tell anyone about it either. All while keeping up appearances that he’s ‘strong’ on the outside, yet all along hating how weak he actually is. Because of his inability and powerlessness to prevent this huge loss from happening in the first place. 

“There might not be any meaning in this fight. There might not be any meaning in winning or losing. Even so, I thought that I had to go through with it. Because right now, I’m the only one who can accept Kacchan’s feelings.”

BOIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!! There it is! ;A; Because it’s so true. Deku is the only one who can possibly understand both the familiarity and magnitude of what Kacchan is going through now. Good lord, Deku monologues this while Kacchan slowly steps towards him, teetering on the edge of the literal white line!!! Ah wait no, he steps over it and runs to the other (Deku’s) side of the road!! URGHHHHH!!!! Destroy me with this visual ‘walking the line’ symbolism!! ;A; Even Deku braces himself over both sides of the center line, to receive and deliver an answering kick right back at him, in the physical language Kacchan wants right now. Here we goooo~

More Deku internal monologue: “He might’ve just wanted to release these feelings he couldn’t do anything about by fighting. Even if that was the case, I couldn’t just completely reject him. It was kind of twisted if you thought about it.” Hrm, choosing to word it as a ‘twisted’ way of thinking, huh. “From kindergarten to elementary school, middle school, and high school…We’ve known each other for a long time, but until now, we’ve never talked about how we really felt.” Krgh, fuck me uppp with that shot of them back to back together. ;A;

Ahhhh!!! This part of the action resembles Nakamura’s a bit, with the dynamic zoom ins, impact frames, and flashy flame effects. ;A; Can only just sit in awe and watch it happen. No thinking indeed.

GUH! All the way up to the physical strike Kacchan gives to Deku’s core…ouch ouch;;; That bit animating how Deku dents the railing from the force of impact tho. D8 Omg these manga panels are implemented so quick, with them reacting and continuing without pause! Deku backflipping off the rail, but Kacchan catches his arm and throws him. The recoil landing him back in same place where Deku first landed on the rail too. Gosh these details!! DD8    

“It’s only natural, but I’ve gotten stronger…” hrmm, the manga had it seem like Deku was comparing his slow reaction time to Kacchan’s rapid moves, while also praising him out loud too. Now, the subs have Deku talking and referring to only himself…to which Kacchan responds with “What’re you smiling about!?”…so which pronoun is the truth. But oh shit!!! Yoooo, that ost begins! 8’DD

“I’m sure you’re up to something! That’s what makes me sick! I can’t tell what you’re thinking! No matter how much I beat you up, you stick close! Even though you were nothing, it’s like you’re looking down on me!” *gasp* Only now, does Deku finally register and hear those words. It’s the same thing Kacchan told him during their first vs match, how he felt Deku was always looking down on him. They didn’t stop to listen to each other, and couldn’t even accurately read each other’s signals, this whole time! “That attitude you have like you’re better than me, like you’re seriously gonna surpass me– It’s an eyesore!” Because yep, Kacchan just can’t understand Deku’s intentions either. Can’t read or fathom why on earth Deku would bother to keep coming back to him regardless of all his attempts to keep him away.

“Is…Is that what you thought?” (ah yes, and I notice how Kacchan is standing on both sides of the white line again) “I mean, normally, if someone keeps looking down on you, you won’t want anything to do with them anymore.” Ya Deku, because that’s the same thing Kacchan thought about you too, that he felt like he was also being looked down on, by someone who was perpetually and already deemed the weakest, so he tried to distance himself from the walking conundrum (the contradictory person he couldn’t understand: Deku) that incited those confusing and wary feelings. Avoiding Deku didn’t work, physically and verbally pushing him away didn’t work, because Deku always returned back to him. If Kacchan ultimately couldn’t do anything about it, then the only thing left for him to wonder, is WHY?!

“But like I said before, because I had nothing at first, along with the parts I hated about you, I saw vividly all the amazing things you could do!” UWAHH!!

There it is, the sub’s version of the ‘to the same extent as all of your unpleasant traits, your sheer amazingness at everything you do was so brilliant to me, it was blinding!’ :’))))) “You, who had so much that I didn’t have, were an amazing person much closer to me than All Might!” BAWWWWW!!! There it is! ;A; His ‘Kacchan sugoi!’ Comparing everything he admired in him to something much closer, reachable, and worth aiming for in his life than their far-off, distant idol, All Might. ;.; As the answer to Kacchan’s why: Deku had always chased and sought after him, because he was that personal source of inspiration. How Deku viewed the positives he saw in him was so important, it likely kept the hope of his aspirations afloat ever since he was a toddler, when Deku had otherwise nothing else to keep him going. Without Kacchan nearby in Deku’s life, it’s doubtful Deku’s spirit would have even grown as strong as it is today. Kacchan is that important to him!!

(Holy fuck this is only just the HALFWAY POINT of the ep!! ;A; They managed to cover THIS much content in 10 min, whewboi that’s impressive.)    

Omgg there it is, Kacchan’s unhinged grin at seeing Deku momentarily gain on him with a solid hit he could not avoid. Hoho, perhaps he likes it. ;) Finally getting a worthy answer and challenge to play toe to toe. His game on literally flares at that! Bonus: his eyes finally have a visible shine returned to them!!!! ;A;

Ok omg wait no, THIS animated part looks more like Nakamura’s style! Improvising off the manga’s panels for a flashy new set of choreography with plenty of impact frames!! 8D Fav part, to no one’s surprise: the shot of Kacchan’s glowing/sparking palm. Oh fuk that’s cool. <3

Hoho, and it’s not just Kacchan’s game that’s sparked, Deku’s has been too, to the point he even starts channeling Kacchan’s more ill-mannered traits. “This is gross, so I can’t tell you to your face, but…” (omg wut, gross? Heh goodness, Deku’s that embarrassed by it. :P) “When my feeling of ‘I have to beat you’ is stronger than ‘I have to save you,’ I inadvertently start spouting more insults. That’s the part of you that I hate, but the image of ‘victory’ I have inside me is of you.” …!!!!!! Urggkgh ;.;

Deku’s inner confession time. When he wants to win just as badly just as Kacchan does, aka his ‘what would Kacchan do?’ moments, without consciously controlling it, he starts behaving just like him too, foul-mouthed and all. :’D Even taking on the parts of him he dislikes. Kacchan’s influence runs that deep, and he’s set that much of an amazing, winning example to strive for, that Deku pretty much unconsciously becomes the embodiment of him whenever he gets desperate too. Whew, let that sink in. For how much Deku values Kacchan. :’D  

Hooo, love the shot of Kacchan leaping up, for the way it’s framed AND because his eyes appear to be glowing red. :’D Yuuus, adapting a manga panel so nicely!

“I’m not a nice enough guy to just go along with your stress-relieving fight.” Hoho! And yuus, Deku has his own backbone to fully stand up to him with his own strength. Omgg and the shot zooming in from afar with the camera doing a full rotation around them leaping at each other! Ahhh! So cool!

Deku’s not handicapped to stick to just his legs (that would be using only half his repertoire, which wouldn’t fly in an honest, all-out challenge vs Kacchan) “I want to beat you, the incarnation of victory!” ;A; “In order to meet the expectations of All Might, who chose me!” By delivering his classic, straight ‘smash’ punch!

Krhggh!!! The punch actually brings shine to Kacchan’s eyes too, at the moment he resolves not to lose. His trademark tenacity and resourcefulness are not to be underestimated! Omgg, the animation of his arm grabbing Deku’s sleeve! :O Flipping them into an explosive pile-drive right down to the asphalt.

Smoke clears, and AKLFHLGHGJHGJ?! It’s the pin where they’re both breathing and wheezing hard!!! (Truth be told, when I first saw this page in the manga, it left me going uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh for…what it almost looks like. :P) Fucking hell, animation team went even further with the tightening movements in the close up shots for each hold. ERMM 👀;;; Ahahaha wow, I can’t ignore how suggestive this looks, uh, and hears. Omg BONES pls. ;D

Yooo, and even though Kacchan won this, he’s not happy or gloating about it either. Rather he reproachfully questions Deku, while still taking heaving breaths over him, ahh and there’s less blood on his face than expected, that if he has All Might’s power, then what is he doing losing? “Even with that power…even if you made that your own…You still lost to me…Hey…Why did you lose?” Like Kacchan can’t believe it himself. Heck, even from the pained look on his face, it’s almost like he wanted Deku to win.  

Speak of the devil! Because the man himself arrives, having heard the whole thing. Ayy, and we have both boys completing each other’s sentence upon seeing him too. :’)  

Kacchan’s “It’s too late…” while looking away, in response to All Might apologizing for not noticing, has me pained. ;.; Now, fully asking All Might the same ‘why’ about Deku too, for a clear answer this time. ‘I thought you were strong as someone who could already compete; he was powerless but more heroic than anyone else, so I decided he should also be able to stand in the ring.’  

“I’m weak, too, you know…!” ;A; Ah!!! Oh no, my heart. “I always wanted to be strong, like you! It’s because I’m weak…that I made you turn into that…!” Uhuhuu, oh no, my boy. <333 Ooof, and while the manga showed Kacchan’s pained, guilt-ridden face to All Might here, now the anime shows Deku’s astonished reaction to his line too. :’) Mmm, that moment of rare yet honest humility from Kacchan. Savor it, for the truth of how he feels.  

Double oof and BAWWWW!! Animated Dad Might’s reassuring and comforting hug!! ;A; That none of what happened to him was Kacchan’s fault to begin with. Along with All Might’s regret that he overlooked how this would affect him, only seeing his strength from the outside, and ending up making him bear that kind of burden alone. (He’s still only just a 15/16yr old kid to be dealing with this! D:), Krgghhh aww man, Kacchan really needed this; he’s practically starved for it. Even if the softness received from his idol’s compassion and a sincere apology still hurts. The reality still stings. Uwah, that dejected slap away from his touch. ;.;

“After being a hero for a long time, I’ve seen that being fixated on victory like you, Young Bakugo, and wanting to save those in trouble like, you, Young Midoriya…If either of those feelings is missing, then a hero won’t be able to carry out the justice he wants to carry out. Like how you, Young Midoriya, admired Young Bakugo’s strength, and how you, Young Bakugo, feared Young Midoriya’s heart…Now that your feelings are out in the open, I think you both understand. If you both recognize each other and can focus on making each other stronger, then you can save people to win and win to save people, becoming the greatest heroes.”

DESTROY ME RIGHT NOW!!!! ;A; It’s…the iconic LINE! Bonus YES!!!! Animating their slow, softening expressions to become more open as the realization sinks in, just like in the manga’s split panels! ;A; AHHHHH all of my feels! <333 Because it’s just as All Might says: that by supporting and helping each other improve, especially in the specialized areas where the other’s lacking, their combined strengths can become much stronger together than they could only operating alone. Greatest hero duo foreshadowing! 8D 

“You…had the strongest guy lay the groundwork for you. Don’t lose.” :’DDD That kind of humble encouragement from Kacchan to Deku, ahhh good.  

Omg, All Might’s extra line, “I should be bowing and begging you to keep this secret. Just how much will I need you to be considerate for my sake…? Sorry, thanks.” !!!! ;.; I don’t remember this line put exactly like this, but it’s just…compared to what All Might’s already had to do, prostrating himself in front of others to keep his word, Kacchan is…well, when things are truly important, he’s probably one of the most honest and faithful guys there is. He keeps true to his word; he can be trusted. :’) “I’m not being considerate. It’s just too big a risk with too many drawbacks to spread this around.” Heh well, taking the smart and logical excuse then. :P And just like Kacchan can be trusted where things matter, All Might deems it worthy at this point to allow him the truth behind everything involving OfA and its history too.

Hoooo, I love how afterwards, when both boys are following All Might, on both sides of the road now, they’re also at the same equal distance back, side by side, without either falling behind. :’))) Ahh small symbolism for what’s changed in their dynamic. “Jeez, damn Deku, why’d you have to go and tell me for?” BECAUSE HE CARES ABOUT YOU, DUMBASS! And didn’t want you to feel like you were being tricked or lied to! ;A; (Yet...Kacchan still felt that way anyway) Agghh well, these hopeless fools. :’) Bonus soft Kacchan. <3

“But unlike what I’ve been doing until now, Deku– Like how you’ve been watching me and everything around you and absorbing it to get stronger, I’ll also make everything my own to go higher. Higher than even you, the chosen one.” :DD Yuus! Kacchan’s conviction not to cease his own aspirations, but rather to focus even higher than Deku, and now with a greater awareness on how to approach that mutual climb.

“The…then, I’ll go even higher than that! I have to get higher than you!”   “I said, I’m gonna surpass you!” “And I’m saying that I need to go higher than that!” “What?!”

Ahaha, it shifts to their comedic bickering back and forth, as All Might muses how they’ve become more like proper rivals now. :’D Yuus, and now the secret behind All Might and OfA became a secret among the three of them. :’)))

Even more comedy seeing them both captured in Dadzawa’s tape! XD But what’s also so nice/fun about this is how they react like a pair of equally troublesome kids, both on the same page now. :’3 

All Might gives his astute explanation, “Young Bakugo felt responsible for my retirement. He had to face the exam with those pent-up feelings, and in the end, his inferiority complex exploded.” Hmm, exploded quite literally. “It was because I didn’t realize and was negligent in his mental care…It was a fight brought about by the failure of adults…” :’)))) I’m glad All Might is humble and aware enough to realize and admit all of this. Tending for the students’ mental health, especially after a potentially traumatic event, and especially as children with no frame of reference on how to deal with any of this alone, is so important. Even the adult teachers learn how to do things better. It’s also heartwarming to see how All Might takes up the responsibility for causing Kacchan to fail his exam, reasoning Kacchan was too preoccupied with the pent-up feelings over his retirement that he couldn’t properly focus. Trading Kacchan’s responsibility of shouldering the burden, onto his own. Dad Might is so good. <3  

Hooo, and yup, Kacchan owns up to what he did and admits he threw the first punch. :’DDD Oho, but Deku won’t run away from what happened either, “I also went in pretty hard.” Ayyy, slowly maturing boys. <3

*end credits break*

AFTER CREDITS SCENE!! Of their house arrest cleaning!!! :’D Oh sweet, Uraraka asks if they’ve made up. :’3 Yes, she supports them getting along too! YESSS then the quiet scene of them vacuuming alone! 8D

“About my Shoot Style… How was it…?” *long nervous pause, from both their povs* “The motions when you’re preparing to do a move are too big.” *cue soft mellow ost!* “Even when you got faster, I was able to just barely react in time. It’s not good for a slugfest.” “I see...” “When you used it with your punch, it made me mad.” *cue Deku’s honest surprise, and WOBBLY SMILE* ;A;   “I see…!”

HRGGHH yes, their newly soft, tentative, awkward, yet ‘normal’ interactions. :’D As tender as a band-aid freshly removed and the skin left to heal on its own. The awkward dorks are taking wholesome baby steps now. With Kacchan willingly offering Deku encouragement and fighting advice in his own way. ;A; (Heh, Deku’s mixed, overly telegraphed style made him mad when Kacchan actually got caught off-guard.) Boi I cry, especially when the ost finally started up, nurturing that collective awwww moment. They are good and learning boys, and this is just the beginning! :’D

PREVIEW TIME!  

…!! :O Yes, it’s Twice!! What was skipped from ch 115 looks to be moved here. (This ep61 adapted content from mid117-mid121.)  *gasp* OH SHIT, Overhaul tease!!! And…!!! *screeching gasp* IT’S HIMMMMMMM!!! ;A; MIRIO!!!

AHHHHH <33333 Although my hype was off the charts to finally view this ep in its entirety, ahh omg I have plenty of more hype in store to finally see HIM animated as well! X’3 Oooh, this shall be good, with the Big Three tease too!

[professional-anti]

Unwind, Chapter 1

Okay, I am excite!!!!! I know I asked before if ppl wanted Infernal Devices, and I know it seemed like ppl did, but ever since I read Unwind a few years ago, I’ve been dying to snark it. I’m actually floored at how many people like this book. I’ve even met ppl who hate SJM but love Neal Shusterman! And it’s confusing! For anyone who doesn’t know, Unwind takes place in a world where you can’t abort fetuses, but you can have your children “unwound” (aka organ-harvested) from ages 13 to 18.

I know. And we’re supposed to take this seriously!

The book starts with “The Bill of Life”, which lays out the rule of this new world. Basically, a second civil between pro-lifers and pro-choicers splits America, until a new bill “satisfied both the Pro-life and Pro-choice armies.” Basically, parents can “retroactively ‘abort’” their teenagers by sending them away to be dismantled for parts. A finger here, a brain stem there, etc.

This is just so mind-bogglingly stupid. Like, the stupid is SO MUCH. Imagine, right now, someone proposes this to you. It doesn’t matter whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice—you’d be horrified. If your pro-life, there’s no way you’d be okay with a child being murdered. And pro-choice people are not “child murderers” the way the right would have us believe. Soooo…this is stupid AF. And abortion isn’t about the teenage years! It’s about not being able to feed a child, not being able to take care of a child, not being able psychologically to go through pregnancy, not being able physically to go through pregnancy, etc. etc. etc. The list goes on and on. No one who wants an abortion is gonna be like, “Fine, I’ll give birth or whatever, but just wait until they turn 13!” Jesus.

Let’s dive in.

Part One: Triplicate Chapter one: Connor The book starts for real with this kid, Connor, and his girlfriend, Arina, hanging out on an overpass. They’re totes upset bc Connor’s supposed to be Unwound in one week. They decide to “kick-AWOL” together, which basically means run away. Then there’s this snippet of dialogue, which always makes me laugh (and is but a harbinger of things to come):

“AWOL…” [Ariana] says. “What does that mean, anyway?” “It’s an old military term or something,” Connor says. “It means ‘absent without leave.’”

Ooooohhhhh mmmyyyy goddd we get it, they’re in the future, look at how funny it is that they don’t know the term “AWOL”!!!! Spare me.

Connor goes home, and we learn that his parents don’t know that he knows that they signed an Unwind order. Apparently he was a bit of a misbehavor, and instead of, like, not sending their child off to die, Connor’s parents have decided the totally reasonable thing to do is Unwind him. Because of course. And these aren’t, like previously abusive parents or anything. These are just parents. Shusterman is trying to show us how commonplace Unwinding is, and instead he’s showing that he can’t write well-written characters to save his life.

We also learn that Unwind orders are irreversible, which is one of the dumbest pieces of shit in this book. What if an abusive parent signs an Unwind order, and it comes out that they’re abusive? What if a parent has a mental break and signs an Unwind order? What if a parent forges the other parent’s signature? Can anyone Uwnind their kids? And wouldn’t that be a form of abuse, to hang an Unwinding over a child’s head? This is too dumb.

Also, Neal Shusterman is sadistic. Not in a good way, in a way that inspires interesting conflict and pain. But in this needless, “look at how fucking awful like just soo fucking awful this is soo awful do you see how EDGY AND SAD AND AWFUL THIS IS look at this fucking lOOK!” is ridiculous. Basically, ever since Connor found the Unwind order, he’s been acting extra good, bringing home good grades and buying his mom flowers and talking about his future. His parents are clearly in enormous pain. Not that this is an unreasonable choice for Connor to make, but Neal has set up this situation so it has to be like this. This is one of the points I’d be willing to concede as maybe a little to Extra, but we’ll see.

Connor runs away in the middle of the night and goes to Ariana’s house. Surprise, surprise, she’s not going with him. Color me shocked. I know ppl in the Unwind fandom hate Ariana for her cold-hearted betrayel, but, um, she could quite literally be given the death penalty for running away. I’m not saying it’s not noble to run away, but come on. Anyway, Connor’s having trouble finding out how to get out of town because “Juvey-cops” are always out searching for the runaway Unwinds. Apparently there are a lot of these runaways, which begs the question, IF UNWINDING IS SO UNPOPULAR, WHY. IS. IT. LEGAL. Like, I’ve already read this book, and in it, it’s only the counterculture that’s against Unwinding. It should be, like, ninety-nine percent of the country! This is isn’t subtle “misuisng the death penalty” or “mistreating prisoners of war”. This is “we are murdering children!”

Also. Juvey Cops. I CANNOT IT’S TOO FUNNY.

Apparently, all Connor has to do is hide until he’s 18 because they won’t unwind someone that old because he’s, like, a person now. Okay. Sounds legit. Gotcha. I’m sure the whole country’s perfectly all right with teenagers being seen as subhuman. Also, I know Neal is pro-choice, and this book sure is an odd way to get that message across. Fetuses! Are! Not! Teenagers! But! You! Are! Making! It! Seem! Like! That’s! Your! Message!!!!!! Ahem.

Connor finds a rest stop but oh no! Police! Excuse me, Juvey-Cops! He hides in the back of a truck, and, luckily, the trucker is sympathetic. Like literally everyone should be, but okay. So the trucker got into an accident and had to have his arm replaced with an Unwinder’s arm, and now he’s like “my arm has muscle memory from its previous owner and I’m sad and now don’t like the Unwind policy.” He’s also like, “You’re lucky it’s me you found and not anyone else” because apparently you have to be in a traumatic accident and have your arm replaced before you can be sympathetic to a teenager who’s running from being killed.

Before they can get on the road, though, the Juice Cops surround another car and force a kid that Connor knows out of it. Andy Jameson is being Unwound too! And then there’s this moment:

Well, the [Juice Coupons] didn’t see him. But Andy does, He catches sight of Connor, holds his gaze, only for a moment . . . . . . and in that moment something remarkable happens. The look of despair on Andy’s face is suddenly replaced by a steely resolve bordering on triumph. He quickly looks away from Connor and takes a few steps before the police grab him—steps away from Connor, so that the police still have their backs to [Connor]. Andy had seen him and had not given him away! If Andy has nothing else after this day, at least he’ll have this small victory.

First of all, third-person present tense is fucking off-putting and makes it sound like Elmo is narrating. Secondly, why tf would Andy give Connor away? Thirdly, can you say Gary Stue? Andy’s whole “victory” has to do with not giving away Connor, which, btw, is not such a big victory!! Because why in the world would Andy give away Connor??? It makes no sense!!!! This whole sentence is basically Connor trying to tamp down his guilt. “I’m not really doing anything to help Andy, but at least I could help him by letting him not give me away! I’m basically saving his life, here!” Whatever, we’ll let Andy have this. I guess.

Connor and the trucker (who still has no name) finally get on the road. Connor has a stupid Symbolic dream and then his phone rings which means…Connor…didn’t turn off…his phone… I’m done. I’m actually Done. Connor, do you want to be safe??? Or no?????

It had been stupid of Connor to leave his old cell phone on—that’s how they tracked him, and he wonders how many other kids are caught by their own blind trust of technology.

Omg, is Neal trying to say something about “kids these days”?? Hate to break it to ya, Neal, but most kids aren’t so blindly trusting that they’ll leave their phones on while RUNNING AWAY. We all know that shit is trackable!

The police catch them, Connor runs across a busy highway and carjacks a Cadillac. The End.

Ugh, that was exhausting. Cathartic AF, but exhausting. I think I’ll leave it at one chapter for today.