#complete with an event that has pink and main hero b

[rottytops]

me: talks about how theres no fucking xeno axel after a million years

drpg: bet

[sharktoothedboys]

One Of The Guys - Chapter One

U.A were some of the best years of your life, no question.

the skills you learnt, the control you gained over your quirk and most importantly, the friends you made along the way. 

Which is the one thing you didn’t expect. As a Todoroki, prodigal child, you and your twin brother Shoto were raised in a stoic manner, to put it politely, You were both taught from an early age that you only needed each other and everyone else was weak and a big fat waste of time, even your other siblings.

So when the loveable red head, the brash blonde and the timid green haired boy, as well as a few others, managed to tear down your walls, you were m ore than surprised, to sat the least. But you wouldn’t have it any other way. Then of course you managed to break your brother down too and that’s when you both learnt the true value of friendship.

Fast forward 12 years, 28 years old, you and Shoto are having an event at your co-owned agency to celebrate its first very successful first year, You both decided to open an agency together when you learned that your father was talking retirement, neither of you wanted to merely have his agency handed over to you, so you decided together you would make names for yourselves as separate Todorokis from your father, even though the past is in the past and you were mostly on good terms now, Neither of you wanted anything handing to you in life without hard work and determination. Of course you took on a few investors in the form of your old classmates and fellow pro heroes. 

Midoriya, Denki, Bakugo, Tokoyami, Sero and of course your old secret crush, Eijiro Kirishima. Mina was around most of the tie as your best friend and soul mate as she put it, but she wasn't apart of the agency as she was currently on hiatus trying for children, which was never a bad thing, just not your cup of tea, even though you couldn't wait to see who future mini Mina took after. 

You were currently getting ready for the event, floating on cloud nine just thinking about seeing Kiri in a tux, it always made you weak when he wore a suit, and everyone thought it was adorable when you tried to adjust his tie because he was so tall and you were, well, not. Everyone saw how you two were and how you loved each other, it was just a shame the two of you didn’t see it from each other. Luckily the building you and your brother had purchased stood a mighty 27 stories tall and the top floor came fully equipped with 4, 2 bedroom apartments, which was ideal for all involved, and one of the main reasons you and Shoto decided to buy it in the first place. then you rented  the 5 floors below you to a hotel chain and restaurants and the rest of the building was your hero agency, something you were both immensely proud of. Obviously apartments had to be doubled up on, Shoto shared with Tokoyami to create the worlds quietest living space, Bakugo and Midoroya shared a place, Denki and Sero, and that left you with Kiri, straws were drawn and you are not how you got so lucky. Not that you were complaining. 

Back to getting ready! Mina was here to help! Fashion, hair and beauty were by no means your strong point, drop kicking a man and using a switch blade you could handle, winged eyeliner not so much, you could have just watched a video and become an expert in seconds, but you didn’t want to take away from Minas fun. Kiri had currently been kicked out and was in Bakugo and Midoriyas polce getting himself ready so you and mina could have girl time, b ut you you knew the truth, what Mina wanted... 

Gossip.

“Sooooo....” She began, but was quickly cut off by you. 

“Don’t start Mina.” You smirked at her, knowing what she was getting at, cheeks flushing slightly at the thought. 

“Oh come on (Y/N)!!!” She pouted “Its been 12 years!! When are you going to grow a pair and just confess already? Its so obvious that you two love each other, and I mean crazy movie kinda love! It makes me sick that neither of you have fessed up yet!”

“If he liked me, He would have confessed by now!” You continued “I mean, we’ve lived together for the best part of two years while we got the agency up and running, He’s seen me in just my underwear, dancing around in just a long shirt, HIS SHIRT! he’s sat with me while I’ve been in the bath and told me about his day! He’s never even made a passing comment never mind made a move on me!” 

you looked down sadly at your scarred hands and pouted.

“Well, you know what he’s like.” Mina said tucking a stray piece of hair behind your ear, “Its not manly to stare.” 

You laugh at her comment, as there’s a knock at the door and she raises herself to her feet.  

“I’ll go grab that, you are all done anyway, just need your shoes, they are by the mirror!” She said happily as she left your room, “You scrub up well.” 

She points to the mirror as she disappears behind your door to see who was here. 

She was right, you didn’t even recognise yourself! Which was a good thing, all eyes would be on you and Shoto today, the Paparazzi was going to be there, as well as all your old class A classmates, and class B , some of your old teachers and even your father was making an appearance, after 6 months of his retirement and not showing his face much while he enjoyed it, he was going to be a hot topic. 

“(Y/N)!” Mina yelled from the living area, “Its Bakugo!”

You quickly get up and put on your high high shoes, but it was fine, this you did watch a video on, because you didn’t want to make a fool of yourself, and no of course, you were a seasoned expert at walking in heels. you gave yourself one last glance and headed out towards Mina and Bukugo. 

“You ladies ready?” He asks as you round the hallway. 

I think so.” You answer, placing your phone in to your bag and giving hi a smile. 

“You don’t look to shabby (Y/N)” He remarked as you twirled. 

“Thanks, you don’t look terrible yourself Suki.” You replied, His nickname from school still sticking, not that he minded, you were one of the few people he tolerated more than others, mainly down to the respect he had for you as a person, he had definitely grown up a little, in body and mind.

“Shall we go?” Mina asked, linking her arm with Bakugo’s..

Yes they were an item, that’s why you couldn’t wait to see how mini Mina turned out, a pink haired baby Bakugo sounded to cute to comprehend! You’re still not sure how it even happened, but it did and there were an adorable couple and great together, you were so happy for them, you couldn’t wait until they had a child to complete their little family, even if it did mean Bakugo would move out eventually. 

“Sure, lets party.” You said with a hint of sarcasm, you hated these events in all honestly, but the free publicity would do your agency wonders. 

Bakugo lead you both out of your apartment and over the the elevators, The ride done was silent, besides Mina humming as she fixed Bakugos bow tie, and a small wince coming from you as your feet were already hurting.  The ding indicated you had reached your destination, the doors open to a barrage of flashes and “Over here’s” as the Paps had been patiently waiting for you all to arrive. 

The three of you made your way over to the reception room past the rows of cameras, you smiled and waved and happily answered as few questions thrown your way, as did Mina. Bakugo however just walked by, ignoring them all and made hi way into the reception room where the event was set to take place. Some things never change. 

You and Mina broke away from them, saying your goodbyes and offering them all a drink or two at the open bar later on. Just as you were both about to enter the grand doors to the reception room, the elevator dinged again and a cameraz man shouted. 

“Red riot has arrived!” 

You smiled at Mina and turned to watch him emerge from the elevator and make his way to you. but you didn’t expect to see what you did.

Your smile quickly faded as he appeared, but not alone, a pretty woman was basically attached to him, his arm protectively around her waist and he guided her gracefully past the paps and towards where you and Mina stood. He smiled and obliged to stop for photos on his way. his arm never leaving her hips.

Your mouth went dry, the colour visibly drained from your face and suddenly you couldn’t remember how to move as your body gave up on you as you desperately wanted to avoid this interaction. 

Who was she? 

“(Y/N)” Mina whispered as you stared in disbelief “Are you okay?” 

Her question pulling you back to reality

“Yes.” You lied, “Why wouldn’t I be, He isn’t mine in the first place, he can do as he pleases.” 

She knew better as you put on a fake smile as he got closer to the two of you. 

“Hi Guys!” He beamed and your heart skipped a beat, “Meet Kimiko, Kimiko, this is Mina and (Y/N)”

You put your hand out to shake hers in greeting and she gave you a look that could kill as she ignored your gesture.

“A pleasure,” She all but spat out. “(Y/N)? the person you share the apartment with?” 

She’d been in your apartment?

“I didn’t know it was a girl you lived with.” She said, words full of hatred. 

“Of course she’s a she, she’s my best friend.” He said happily, making you smile at him as he defended you a little. “Besides there nothing to worry about, right (Y/N)?” He asked, not giving you time to answer. “She’s one of the guys.”

You’re heart broke.

You held back the tears that felt like acid in your eyes as you felt Mina’s hand grab yours in a desperate attempt of some kind of comfort for you.

“Anyway, see you guys inside!” Kirishima said as he lead Kimiko inside the hall.

You let out the breath you didn’t know you had been holding and looked over at Mina and small, sad smile adorned your face. 

“See, its a good job I never confessed,” You chuckle out, holding back a sob, “I am just one of the guys.” 

“(Y/N)...” Mina started but you abrup0tly cut her off.

“Shall we go inside?” You asked, dabbing under your eyes to catch any stray tears that had dared to fall, ignoring Minas concern as you turn and head inside the venue, a hug pretend smile plastered on your face. You were not going to let it ruin your big night you think to yourself as you confidently stroll in looking for your brother, it was an important night and you couldn’t let just “being one of the guys” get you down, not right now. 

[zoe-oneesama]

Serving up some LOOKS! I love Mylene's Ivan sweatshirt! Would you be willing to talk about what sort of style elements you use for each character? (If you already have and I haven't found it, please ignore the question, that's on me)

I mostly did this for Mendeleiev’s class back when Punch was starting Leave for Mendeleiev, and I did a small run down for how the Main 5 fashion will change in Scarlet Lady, but not Bustier’s class sooooo:

Marinette -[I’m copy/pasting from an earlier ask]- When she likes a color, she sticks with it. She has a versatile wardrobe, but pink must always be present. She has the hardest to nail style because she experiments all the time, but no matter what she doesn’t feel comfortable unless she has an outer layer. Summer, Winter, Shorts, Pants, she needs to the comfort of a jacket - for Tikki to hide in when her purse isn’t appropriate.

Adrien -[Also C/P]- Basic B*tch. He thinks he’s fancier than he is. Oh sure, his clothes are well tailored to him and fit well, but they’re basic as hell. Gabriel isn’t as “innovative” as he thinks he is. Most of his clothes have the Gabriel logo and he sticks to the brand…because Adrien has no fashion sense whatsoever. Oh, he knows in theory what works and can put an outfit together, but he doesn’t want to. If it were up to him, he’d wear tshirts with physics puns and cat themed jackets. But alas, when one is an icon…

Alya -[C/P]- Mom Vibes. Fashion is not her priority. She knows enough to do good for her figure, but otherwise can’t really be bothered. Flannels and jeans in varying heights and a snappy tshirt are all she needs. But she is drawn to things that remind her at least of superheroes or superpowers. Her ridiculous high tops with the spiky tongue? She thinks it makes her look fast. She’s also the one who’s going to embarrass Marinette by wearing trendy but “garbage” fashion: fanny packs, Jellies, ugs with sweatpants. Dammit Alya, you’re a beautiful human being, do you mind NOT dressing like a hobo on vacation?! (Secretly her favorite outfits are from Martinique, but she saves them for special occasions).

Nino -[C/P]- Precious trash goblin. Wash your shirts and the neckline won’t be so worn out! He likes graphic tees with his favorite bands and DJs logos on them (he’s partial to ones without the name of the band or DJ so he can find other fans) and prefers things to be loose. He’s also drawn to colors and he’s super chill when his “garbage” girlfriend rolls up to a date looking like she’s going to an amusement part with her four kids, because it means she can’t dump on him for not looking “put together” (she would never!). He’ll try to dress up every now and then for a fancier date or when Adrien manages to snag him a spot at an event with him, but it’s pretty clear he’s uncomfortable without his hat and headphones. He has a few Moroccan outfits that he brings out in the Summer.

Chloe - Expensive Fashion Forward Chic. She made a staple out of shaming anyone else who dared to wear her favorite color yellow over the years. She was extremely smug about being the first in her grade to experiment with makeup that she never bothered to get good at it. Her clothes are expensive with just a smidge of impractical - only someone with cash to burn would constantly wear white pants! She’s also the kind of person to put off dressing for the cold as long as she can- if she puts on all these jackets and layers, how will these peasants see my brand name clothes underneath?! A lot of her fashion decisions are based on long forgotten advice from her mother - gold over silver jewelry, always have something on your head, brand or nothing. She’ll only abandon a well worn trend if her mother directly contradicts it.

Sabrina - Nerdy, geeky, almost like she’s wearing a uniform. She’s preparing to be Chloe’s assistant best friend for life so she has to look the part. She’s long abandoned any hope of shining next to Chloe, so being flashy and showy is out of the question. Luckily, Chloe isn’t drawn to patterns, so that’s a field of fashion that Sabrina can claim for her own. Doesn’t matter where it is, something she’s wearing needs to have a pattern. Leggings are her favorite accessory and she’s taken to collecting Chat Noir merch (though it’s less out of admiration for the hero himself and more for her “role” with Chloe. It reminds her of the rare times when Chloe acts like they’re friends.)

Mylene - Bohemian, and a touch artsy. Peace is important to her and her vibe reflects that. She’s not super up for showing a lot of skin, but neither are a lot of girls in her class. She leans towards a muted color palette so that her hair doesn’t clash, though she usually tries to match one piece of clothing to some color in her hair. Her accessories are a bit childish and kitchy, like her monster head bead, and she has a huge collection of hair accessories, like bandannas and headbands. She has a lot of different passions with various levels of seriousness, so she’ll come to Marinette for advice on how to use her wardrobe to fit the level of professionalism she wants.

Alix - Sporty but on the lazier side. Fashion is such an anti priority. She’s the one Marinette will go to for her more out there ideas because she has no recoil to pants made of buckles or shapeless over shirts, but that’s as far as it goes. Her clothes are made to be weather resistant and easy to slip on (and so that her dad won’t be pissed if she wipes out and rips something). If it were up to her, she’d just shop out of thrift stores and pick out all the color blocked 80s windbreakers, but when your whole squad is held together by a fashion designer, you can only get away with so much. Her nicest clothes are made by Marinette for her professional races and competitions and her favorites have nods to Egypt mythology and history.

Ivan - Punk but like…beginners guide to punk. Let’s be honest, when you’re built like a brick house, shopping is hard - or at least not that much fun. Ditto when you’re a dude that just…doesn’t particularly care. Ivan has a bunch of cargo pants because they fit, they’re grungy, and they’re practical. SO MANY POCKETS!!! Beyond that, like Nino, he prefers to wear band shirts of his favorite groups. His hiking boots are the nicest things he owns and he has a few bracelets that he only brings out when he’s “dressing up”. The most colorful thing he owns is a hoodie/pants set from the Cartoon Monster Show that Mylene’s hair bead is modeled after.

Kim - Sporty and Serious. Sweatpants and running shoes. That’s the make of his wardrobe. After all, you need to be able to challenge anyone to a race at ANY TIME!! Dressing up for him means putting on a pair of jeans, and he’s pretty much always under dressed but also completely oblivious to the fact. Red is his favorite color and he’s partial to that one brand of sports wear that’s on his hoodie-shirt and sweatband. If something is waterproof (and therefore, sweatproof) he’ll give it a try AS LONG AS IT’S REEEEED!!!

Max - Geek Fashion. Max dresses like he’s already 65 years old, and with his best friend being Kim? He might be. He has invested in some good walking shoes because when your bestie is running off at any and every moment, you gotta do SOMETHING to keep up. His pants are higher up than most guys and his shirts are always tucked in. He prefers sweaters over sweatshirts and cardigans to jackets. We are comfortable in this house, not trendy!

Juleka - Electro Goth. Black is the main attraction, but she likes that punch of something neon - purple, green, even blue (Rose can tell she’s feeling romantic when she puts on some pink). She’s tall and likes clothes that accentuate that and she’s a fan of the details - shoulder cuts, lace inserts, epaulets. And despite covering half her face, she’s really into makeup (and she’s way better than Chloe). Does she have colored contacts? She’ll never tell.

Rose - Decora Kei is probably the best shortcut to describing her look, followed by Kawaii Fashion. Doesn’t matter if she burns to look at, she IS the embodiment of soft and cute! Obviously pink is her favorite color, bu she also likes pairing it with some other bright colors. Rainbows. Are. EVERYTHING. And she’s a sucker for bunnies and strawberries and angel wings ^^! How else is she supposed to have an amazing day if she’s not decked out in sunshine?!

Nathaniel - Basic but like Colorful Basic. He definitely hopped the skinny jeans phase and will continue to do so until he finally grows a bit. He holds onto clothes pretty long because there’s only so many times you can buy new shirts after getting paint and charcoal on them before you just stop caring. He aims for durability instead of fashionable, but also collects clothes with the logo from the show he likes. (And no one knows about his secret Ladybug merch collection that he only wears around his house).

Lila - Gyaru was the search term I used. She’s one of the few with a not super saturated color palette, sticking to dark neutrals. She’s drawn to patterns, like polka dots and zebra prints, and tries to balance it with neutral colors. Plus anything that makes her seem “exotic” and foreign and more interesting, she’ll wear (as long as it’s stylish enough for her.) She cleverly toes the line between fashionable and trashy, showing just enough skin or using a just flashy enough pattern. Every piece she wears she’s crafted a whole story around how she got it, like her bracelets being a gift from street kids in Belize or her earrings being a prize she won when impressing an East Asian Prince. 

[refractistm]

Mobile Friendly About Muse

NAME: Dr. Kanako Urai ALIAS: Refractis PROFESSION: Doctor / Thief / Villain-eliminator HEIGHT: 5'5/165cm AGE: 30 BIRTH DATE: June 10th (Gemini) HAIR: Long pink EYES: Blue QUIRK: Atom/Atmospheric manipulation -Urai is able to manipulate the atoms in the air in a contained radius around her, thinning them or pushing them closer together to form solid barriers. Because there is no color, the mass she creates refracts light in an odd way, making it seem like she is manipulating the light instead and causing almost mirror-like masses. She can only create so much before the air gets too thin around her and she cannot breath.

Urai can make a personal bubble around her, however, in doing so she cannot move until she puts it down. She can extend this bubble to others if she is able to get skin-on-skin contact with them, freezing them both in place. She is able to suffocate people by doing this, but doesn’t go further than making them pass out.

In acts of desperation, Urai can manipulate her own atoms to add to that around her, but it is extremely painful and damaging, often taking her months to heal up from a small usage. What she creates is stationary and cannot be moved at will without being broken down and moved. Her quirk is extremely useful against physical quirks that use strength or projectiles. However, quirks like Thirteen’s, Present Mic’s, or Eraserhead’s can easily render her useless.

While she doesn’t pack a hard punch with her quirk, she can knock back opponents if too close. Her upper hand comes from the almost complete nullification of force when attacked. However, she has to build up the mass she creates to certain points for different forces. She can make them as thin as tissue paper to as hard as metallic glass. However, the harder she makes the masses, the smaller they are.

STATS: Strength: C Speed: A Technique: S Intelligence: A Cooperation: D

DAILY PROFESSION: Urai by day is a doctor for mostly side-kicks and B-list heroes, but she does have rotations in hospitals when larger events occur and more heroes are put in critical care. While she prefer to stay in her smaller clinic and does her upmost to keep any media away from her doors for her patients, she does so more because she cares for villains under the table as well. Her chosen specialty is for long-term care of injuries.

PERSONALITY: Urai comes off as a kind, slightly flirtatious, and bubbly woman. When it comes down to medical practice, she’s extremely competent and serious.

In reality, Urai is an extremely high-rolling, yandere, selfish little kleptomaniac. She loves high fashion, expensive things, and adrenaline. To feed this insatiable need for all three things, Urai in her spare time became a thief, using her quirk to lock down the place she wants to steal from and get out with her own man-made exits. Thus far, she’s been smart about things, keeping her identity secret with a mask and not using her quirk to the fullest when not out on her little sprees. She keeps items that are easy to hide and sell off to the underground those that could be tracked easier.

SIDE THINGS: -Urai is partially deaf in her left ear from an accident as a child. She can communicate in JSL and ASL, choosing to do so mostly with close friends or when she doesn’t feel like speaking to strangers. -Because of her quirk, Urai is able to hold her breath for a long time. -Urai wears reading glasses, but when she’s out and about she will wear frames simply for fashion. -If asked, Urai describes her quirk as a “personal shield and nothing more”.

REFRACTIS THE THIEF-

Kanako Urai is the notorious thief, “Refractis”, but few are aware of this. Those only closest to the doctor know her identity as both Dr. Urai and as Refractis, and those who do know have something to lose if they ever spill that detail out. Refractis is known to hit jewelry stores, museums with priceless artifacts and art, as well as banks. She is occasionally seen in small groups for larger operations, but it is under very rare circumstances, usually working alone.

On the even rarer occasions she is caught stealing information from business, organizations, and government, and that’s on the occasions she wants to be caught or gets too cocky.  

Refractis wears a rather scandalous costume with a few additions to it to enhance her quirk use and hide her identity. Parts of her costume light up to varying degrees of brightness as well as the large shield like attachments on her hips, the the shields use a much brighter and harsher light. They can detach from her hips from a quick release on the inner bars to be used as actual shields for defense and can be compacted down into the anchors they sit upon (Here are two 3d model tests that show off the outfit. Here and Here). While very durable, they can be broken with enough force. Their main purpose is to be used like flash bangs to help her get out of tight situations. Flashing them bright and quickly can blind and disorient her opponents. The lights upon her costume have multiple uses, but are mostly for show when using her quirk as they make the prism like masses shine.

On either side of her head are small butterfly wings that attach to a black mask that covers her eyes, upper cheeks, and forehead. Each wing has a clip with a light behind it, adding the glowing flair to her head as well.

She will on a whim dye her hair different colors to throw off people trying to figure out who she is. Dying it from blues and purples to blondes and browns.

[blackasmidnightcats]

Book 1 Nostalgia

WARNING: This post will have spoilers to the SGE series

The first book in any series will always hold a special place in anyone's heart I think. There is just something beautiful, whether the writing was phenomenal or lacking, about the introduction to a new world and the characters that you're going to know. After reading further into the series, sometimes you just wanna go back to the start, where everything was a lot simpler.

SGE kinda falls into this feeling for me.

I don't think I'm ever going to get over the interactions between the characters (and we haven't even explored most of them) because, personally, Soman is incredibly good with how he does character intercations but the story and plot have a lot to improve on.

And now comparing TSY with TCY it's very glaring.

Soman really has a problem with his plot so much so than with his storyline. It's very repetitive and the storyline suffers from it.

After Book 1, every plot seemed to be the same case; Sophie is an important piece to the main villain, Agatha tries to fix everything, Tedros is getting more crap than needed, annoyingly unhealthy romantic relationships are explored, and the other characters do things.

The last of these examples are really the only things that varies. Everything else is almost always the same in one way or another.

The first book doesn't really follow that pattern. It's a introductory book and I wish Soman did the same vibe as it in QfG.

Though Book 1 wasn't perfect. My biggest main problem with it was how Soman handled Agatha's development from thinking herself a freak and realizing that she was just a beautiful as anyone else (and Tagatha, of course. They had a very unconvincing start) compared to the detailed and precise handling of Sophie's decent and eventual acceptance her wickedness.

I said it once and I'll say it again: I miss vengeful, spited Sophie. Who made the School for Good suffer because Tedros didn't keep his promise and her very impressive Talent to summon Evil creatures at will to do her bidding.

This was the Sophie that I expected more from in the later books but might never get again. With the way that the OTK cover portrays her as the Lion, whether that would be a thing or not, it's clear that Soman wants the readers to look at Sophie in a better light and not as the anti-hero that she is but I could be wrong.

In Book 1, Sophie was incredibly selfish to the point that she wouldn't do anything for others even those that she should care about (i.e. Tedros in the Trial) and in the end, she had to pay for the selfishness by seeing just how Evil she could become and be seen as the witch that she was. Her development from Pink Princess to Witch of Woods Beyond was believable; her ambitiousness combined with her selfishness was what made her gain everything through manipulation and wickedness but it couldn't be hidden for long. Once everyone, including herself, saw what lied underneath her exterior, she lost everything and because of the things that she chooses to do, she naturally hurt and attacked the people that wronged her just as Evil does.

It was caused by a failed romantic pursuit, yes, but unlike the other later romantic relations that she had, the one in Book 1 focused more on the outcome for her character development than in the relationship itself. Honestly her relationships with Rafal, and Rhian, and maybe now Japeth, idk, make absolutely no sense with the importance that the story puts on it because these relationships didn't help further Sophie's character development. It stunted her really.

Now compare this to Agatha.

I think everyone and their cats agree that we all miss witchy Agatha in book 1 and I hope we write more of her in our fanfics like that since Soman won't do it. The thing is, with Agatha, unlike Sophie, whether she is written as a straight-up hero or as a sort of anti-villain with her portrayal as the Snake in the OTK cover, it won't be that far fetched. I don't know if Soman intended this or not but it's pretty frickin impressive with how he managed to make Agatha a pretty versatile character.

Book 1 did not to good with how she went from Graveyard Girl to Fairy Tale Princess. At most, we saw her heroic characteristics but Soman didn't put much effort with making it believable and we were left to our own imaginations with how she could have believably developed and grown into herself. It should have taken more than one chapter to make us believe that Agatha suddenly grew confident with herself and her own brand of beauty and how her relationship with Tedros should have started.

But because of the fact that she's now comfortable as both being a little different and unique in her own way but is still guided by the values of Good and holds it dear to her soul as well as her loyalty to those she loves, she can do great with the best of both worlds.

Agatha hasn't stopped growing since book 1 and I think that reason for that is because Soman knows that he has to square up whenever he writes her. Whether she's developing on her own or with others, she's always learning new values and finding ways to express them in the way that she's comfortable with.

Soman does express that he loves writing in Sophie's POV the most, but it can be a double edged sword if not careful. And I think Soman hasn't been careful.

Now back to the glory of Book 1.

Book one had the most simplest plot and most fluent storyline than in any other book. Even TLEA.

I think I could recall a lot more events in Book 1 than in the more recent ones because there was a lot more events and chapters that were actually necessary to the plot.

So, to go by statistics;

TLEA has the most recorded chapters in the series as of current before the release of OTK with 35 chapters and 3 parts to divide it.

It's followed by Book 1 with 30 chapters.

Then QfG is next with 28 chapters divided into 2 parts.

And aCoT follows with 27 chapters and 2 parts as well.

Last is AWWP with 24 chapters divided into 2 parts as well.

If going by this then OTK should either have a chapter or two more or less than TLEA but not less so than Book 1 because it's going to now be the official last book of the the series.

But that is besides the point. My main problem with the books' storytelling after Book 1 is how disoriented it has become.

Let me make an example with QfG and aCoT. These books are more or less very similar with each other in the number of chapters with only one being the difference while the start of the the "Part 2" portion was a bit different with QfG's starting at chapter 21 while aCoT's started with chapter 17.

But the reception and the fluency of these two books could not be more different from each other.

To say that QfG completely destroyed the fandom is an understatement. I can't tell of aCoT managed to regain the series's former glory for long enough to not let OTK flop but let's be hopeful.

Anyways, the fluency of the storytelling with TCY was wack and QfG and aCoT completely show that.

WARNING: Spoilers about QfG and aCoT will be discussed in this section.

I could not remember almost 70% of QfG because of how much I hated the plot and looking back at the chapters, I honestly could not believe that the asshat Rhian was only introduced on Chapter 21. Everything after Chaddick's POV chapter seemed to be a blur and Rhian's b*tch ass seemed to have corrupted the whole experience.

8 chapters. He was only in QfG for 8 chapters and yet it feels almost like he's been in it for more than half. Frick. He is traumatizing.

Basically, the middle part of the book, namely chapters 7 to 20, was all about the main cast trying to frickin understand wtf was happening. Agatha and Sophie were trying to figure out the Lion and the Snake thing while Tedros was back in Camelot doing (or failing or being sabotaged with) politics and also trying to understand why tf was Excalibur having a tantrum.

Then Rhian entered and I don't know why or how Nottingham and Robin Hood got involved but he did.

And then more figuring out stuff and sabotaging Tedros and then Rhian and Excalibur and then cliffhanger.

It was all very abrupt and confusing. More confusion was added all because there were more questions asked than actual answers and a sense of depression was felt in the end because nothing was really achieved.

Imma compare this with Book 1 later but first Book 5 comparison.

Now aCoT. It was just the storyline that we needed to get back to the hype that the series had. Was it a satisfying read? Yes but was it able to heal the pain that QfG inflicted? No.

The fandom did not come back the same again.

But anyways, aCoT, personally, had a lot more scenes and events that I remembered than in any other book besides book 1 but that there was the problem with this book.

Too many things happened with this book. So much so that the fluency of the story was sacrificed to tell it.

Look at it this way, several shifts in the book happened.

This all happened in Part 1 only;

Rhian became King and his regime was sort of explained.

Agatha was introduced to the First Years and got her Army.

Sophie was in some sort of GOT-esque knock off experience as Rhian's Captive Queen.

Agatha manages to save some of her friends.

The concept of OTK was explained.

Tedros's execution was on way.

Nevermind, Agatha and her army just straight-up hijacked it.

Prof. Dovey died as a sacrifice.

Okay, now to Part 2;

Reaper is a Gnome King.

The Crystal of Time was finally explained.

They finally find out about Rhian and Japeth's origins.

The Gnomes were ambushed and I feel sorry for them.

Sophie tipped Rhian off with the location because she believed that she would end it all.

We kinda get background with why Rhian wants to be OTK????

Rhian DIES?!?!?! and now Japeth's King ☠

They sort of manage to know about wtf happened with the Lady and Japeth

Tedros and Arthur have a heart to heart and he gets the Ring of Power.

Cliffhanger

It's a lot to take in and I don't really think that Soman should have cramped it all in one book.

Some of the plot points should have been in QfG so that it wouldn't be as depressing.

The whole of Part one was a book in itself and Part 2 was one as well.

At some points of the book, I sometimes got the feeling that it was gonna be the end but it just kept going and going and now I don't really know what's left with OTK. It can be both a good thing or a horrible thing.

Let's see wtf happens. I expect more action than drama Soman.

So again with Book 1.

Book 1 was a classic and the ideas easily hooked anyone interested.

It had the same unaswered questions with QfG but why did it suceed when QfG didn't.

First, is that Book 1 had its atmosphere clear from the start of the book. It was clear that the main thing that needed to happen was that Sophie and Agatha needed to realize the actual nature of their souls. There were more technical questions that needed to be answered but the main point that needed to be addressed was addressed by the end of the book.

And also the ending was also a cliffhanger but it a much lighter note.

Sophie and Agatha realized their capabilities and understood themselves but they still chose each other in the end and that sort of gave way to a much hopeful future for the two of them. (At that time, at least)

All the while, QfG was one depressing ball of events that led to one horrible moment to the other.

It was just sad.

And so I kinda go back to Book 1 from time to time to refresh myself with why I started this series to begin with and I'm always reminded with the possibilities and the explorations about good and evil and the complex duality of differences and parallels that so many things that Sophie and Agatha sort of beautifully personify.

I love reading the very first chapter of Book 1 because it so beautifully captured Sophie and Agatha and their complex relationship that I've always wanted to read in other books.

I always loved reading Sophie's amusing thought process and the reason why she does everything that she does; she does it because she believes that she deserves more and she'll everything to get it.

I also loved how Agatha was such a character that I've always wanted to read about. She's spunky and shy and lonely and reflective and despite everyone shunning her, she could still see the good and find it in herself to help them. She was simply wonderful.

I'm thankful that I found this series and I hope that a lot more books can talk about the philosophies and concepts that this book has managed to introduce. And despite all of its set-backs and nonsense, I would still recommend this as a read but to that they should also think about what they've read and maybe talk about what they've found interesting with it.

[kid-crashed]

Do you think the heroes would go to prides? Maybe to make sure no one gets hurt?

WOULD THEY GO TO PRIDE YOU ASK

Each city has their own respective Pride festivities, mostly in the form of large scale parades. Of course, each city with it’s own beloved hero invites said hero to their Pride Parades.

Metropolis:This is the equivalent of NYC Pride, and Superman goes every single year. The first years he went, he just flew over to make sure everyone stayed safe, but the next year he was specifically invited to have his own float. He stands on top and waves to the crowd, sometimes flying off the greet people watching. This year he took Jon with him, which was all kinds of fun. One of the people on their float gave him a rainbow bracelet, and he refuses to take it off.

Kon has always loved Pride, it comes with being an out and proud member of the LGBT+ community. He prefers walking (flying) rather than being on a float though. He hangs blue, red, and gold mardi gras beeds on every limb he has and tosses them into the crowd. He takes selfies with as many people as he can. You can follow him throughout the entire event on Twitter and Instagram under #superpride.

Central City: There’s nothing Central City loves more than a good parade, and there’s absolutely no way in hell the Speedsters miss it. Barry, Wally, and Bart each have “capes” attached to their uniforms so that when they run together the colors blur to make a rainbow flag. They don’t exactly run with the parade, so much as run around it. They split off from one another and interact with the crowd as much as possible. They hand out thousands of bracelets that say “Speedsters Love Me”. 

They constant;y invite heroes from around the US to come join the Central City parade too. It’s more fun that way. Blue Beetle usually shows up and spends most of his time hanging around Impulse. This past year, the scarab was decorated to looks like the bi flag. Wonder Woman came last year and walked along side a group of Trans Women, proudly carrying a banner that said “We’re All Sisters”. Kon, Tim, and Cassie went in their civilian clothes and hung out with Bart and Jaime once the parade was over.

If protesters show up to the parade, they will suddenly find themselves whisked away by a speedster and dropped off at the complete opposite side of the city.

Gotham:Batman never makes an appearance at Pride, and a lot of people think it’s because of the whole “I am the night” vibe he’s got going on. In reality, it’s because Wayne Enterprises is the main sponsor every year, and Bruce Wayne always makes an appearance. In the past few years he’s worn a shirt that says “Proud Dad of Queer Kids”. Cassandra will sometimes sit next to him, but if she’s not there, then she just didn’t go.

The parade starts every year with a motorcade led by Red Hood and the Outlaws. Why is Red Hood, a known antihero leading a parade celebrating life? Well it’s definitely a way to start the show. A large rainbow flag always hangs off the back of his bike, while Red Arrow sits on the back, firing off rainbow colored smoke arrows into the sky. Once they’ve finished their run, the Outlaws can be found standing around any protesters to keep any fights from breaking out. 

Batwoman walks alongside the GCPD every year with the largest lesbian pride flag you have ever seen. 

The other members of the Batfam can be seen all over the parade. Nightwing usually does cartwheels and back flips for the whole parade with a bi flag tied around him like a cape. He has the biggest smile on his face and doesn’t stop telling everyone he sees that he’s proud of them. Sometime’s Red Robin makes an appearance. When he does he’s either a) running along the rooftops to keep and eye on everything, b) walking alongside everyone, decked out in pan flag colors, or c) a part of the motorcade with Red Hood. If Red Robin isn’t there, Tim Drake-Wayne is on the Wayne Enterprise float with a pan flag crop top and a massive smile on his face.

Signal and Spoiler always hang out at the top of a float, throwing beads into the crowd. If they have their choice, they try and get the float for the local pop radio station because it has the best music. 

In the past, the current Robin had just made an appearance for the sake of security. But this year he actually took part in the parade for the first time. He walked hand in hand with Superboy. They walked alongside Nightwing. Robin wasn’t exactly smiling, but Superboy was visibly excited to be there.

One very unique part of Gotham Pride is the Rogues Float. Every year, without fail, some rogues not in Arkham take part in the parade under an oath to not commit any crimes in the process. This past year, Poison Ivy made a massive float covered in flowers. She and Harley Quinn became a set of queer icons in Gotham after very openly kissing. Cat Woman and Two Face were also on the float this year. Harvey Dent swapped the white and black tux for blue and pink. Batgirl takes it upon herself to guard the Rogue’s float every year just to make sure none of them try anything. Nothing bad has ever happened though, so she tends to just end up sitting on the float and talking with Catwoman.

Other LeaguersHeroes who’s cities either don’t have massive Pride Celebrations or don’t have a specific city tend to act as extra security at Pride events. Any Green Lanterns who are on Earth will show up and make their presence known. Booster Gold sometimes pokes his head in. In the past he would show up with the older Blue Beetle. Shazam usually shows up in Faucet City, but he’ll also make appearances in Metropolis. Wonder Woman and Superman always go to DC Pride.

[strelitzicae-arts]

I decided to design a quirkless vigilante deku! His vigilante name is Asteroid (mainly just bc it sounds cool and matches the jacket that he found at a thrift shop).

Info about his gear and backstory under the cut!

If you can’t read the picture, it says little details about his gear. 

He has gloves for hand to hand combat, which is his main specialty.  

His mask has a voice modifier built in, with buttons and knobs so that he can change the volume, what voice he is using, turn it off, change the pitch, or mute his voice in general.

He has a knife that he only uses in emergencies, and hes only willing to use it on villain’s arms and legs so he doesn’t critically hurt them

He has eskrima rods, which is what he mainly uses when hand to hand won’t suffice

He has a FAKE gun, which he uses for intimidation purposes in emergencies

He has a backpack, which is thin enough that he can hide it under his jacket

He keeps a gps tracker on him, which he can stick onto a villain or can be used to track him if he is kidnapped

He has a first aid kit for obvious reasons

He keeps no less than 3 water bottles on him because hydration is key to success

He has a burner phone that he can use to call the police or family or whatever in emergencies

He keeps a locked notebook on him, so he can take confidential notes about villains and important events

As for his backstory, he’s still quirkless. After coming home injured from being bullied too many times, Inko signs him up for martial arts and self defense classes. She knows that he’ll need them in the future due to prejudice against quirkless people, but he ends up really enjoying them. He ends up taking multiple disciplines, and going into competitions.

However, he still wants to be a hero to help people, so Inko ends up going with him to start volunteering at soup kitchens, clean ups, etc. At first he doesn’t really get it, but as he volunteers more he becomes more invested in helping other people in small ways. He starts volunteering at bigger projects, like building houses for the homeless, to try and make a difference.

Because of this and school, he doesn’t have as much time for quirk analysis, but he still enjoys theorizing and talking about quirks on forums. He’s rarely at school outside of class due to training and volunteering, so he isn’t bullied all that much either.

However, the years of bullying from his childhood left their mark, and he is very shy and doesn’t trust easily. He has to work in the back at soup kitchens, because he cant handle interacting with so many people at once when helping serve. At clean ups and builds, aside from other people he sees there regularly, he keeps to himself. He doesn’t have any friends from martial arts classes or school, either.

Not to mention his self doubt issues. Despite what everyone says about him being a hard worker or helping others, he has a hard time believing it. 

He never actually intended to become a vigilante. However, one day on the way home he passed by someone who was being mugged in an alley. And because of his nature to help whenever he can, he used his martial arts skills to easily take down the villain. The person thanked him profusely, but he deflected the praise, saying that helping people wasn’t anything special. The person wouldn’t budge, and finally he relented and took a coupon they offered him, and went on his way.

And then it happened again. And again. And again.

By the 20th time, people begin to talk about it. Sure, its nothing big - just a forum thread with less than 100 views, but still, people know him. People think hes a vigilante. 

This isn’t exactly an ideal situation, but he can’t stop himself from helping others. Which leads to him defending a pink haired girl from some bullies who were beating her up.

Thats how he meets Hatsume Mei, 13 year old genius, same age as him. She insists on making him his friend, which he can’t argue against because a. he would like a friends, but friendship is hard b. Hatsume Mei is an unstoppable force, and Izuku is the furthest thing from an immovable object.

And then one day, while their hanging out, Izuku once again steps in to stop a purse snatcher, and Mei has a realization.  

“Hey, are you like, a vigilante or something?”

“Uh, I don’t think so? I just step in when someone is in trouble, which happens, uh, a lot.”

“So you’re a vigilante.”

Despite clarifying that he, a quirkless 13 year old is not a vigilante, Mei decides she will be his tech support. Plus, its good practice to try and get into UA by building Izuku some gear.

So that how Izuku ends up with a thrift shop hoodie with a shit ton of kevlar sewn in, other sturdy gear, some combat boots painted green with stars to match his hoodie, a back pack, a tool belt, and some self defense weapons. In order to not give his mom a heart attack by coming home with a stab wound, he and mei sewed kevlar into just about everything he was wearing, and he kept a gps tracker on him at all times so that, if he was kidnapped, they could find him.

Mei eventually also builds him some smoke bombs, flash bangs, and pepper spray, and in the process of helping her he realizes “oh hey, building things is fun and im good at it.” He even builds himself a pair of goggles with a zoom function, barely needing her help.

He mainly deals with small crime- the things police and heroes don’t notice, but he makes a name for himself. He tells everyone that he is Asteroid- small compared to planets, but still bright enough to be seen in the sky. No one knows who he really is because he covers his freckles with make up, he has a mask with a voice modifier, and he covers his hair with the hoodie, but they still thank his vigilante persona. One girl invited him to go to the bar with her and her friends, and two guys have tried to give him money as thanks.

Being a vigilante was actually pretty fun. He and Mei worked together to build better gear, and all the research that building gear required helped him do good in his science classes also. His teacher recommends him going for a tech school, or even UA’s general or support department.

He would like to go to UA with Mei, but he isn’t an idiot. Anyone who has been online knows who Asteroid is. There are multiple hero forum posts about him, and theres a small subreddit filled with people thanking him for helping them. One wrong move and someone at UA would realize who he is, and he’d be arrested. Sure, it isn’t technically vigilantism because he doesn’t have a quirk, but he’s still using force against others, and he doubts that smoke bombs are something a 14 year old is allowed to have. So, hero school is out of the question.

He thinks about tech school, and almost has his mind set until one night, he finds a villain with a fire quirk. He has scars on his face, and has cornered a few girls in an alley. So Izuku steps in, and probably has his first real fight.

Sure, he’s been in skirmishes before, but nothing as extreme as this. The girls get an opening to run away, but Izuku doesn’t. This guy knows how to fight, and how to use his quirk to help him fight. Izuku is almost impressed. They trade blow for blow. The man with the fire quirk is wearing extremely thin clothes, so he feels Izuku’s blows harder, but Izuku is getting burned easily. Just barely, however, Izuku manages to knock him hard on the head with an eskrima rod (not how it was intended to be used, but it works), sending him down. Some zipties and pinching some pressure points, and the man is completely down. 

As he walks away, nursing his wounds, he thinks about what could’ve been done better. If his fabric was fire proof, he wouldn’t have been burned as hard. If he had something like a taser to shock enemies, he would’ve gone down faster. If he had better gloves, his knuckles wouldn’t be so bloody after that fight. It goes on and on. 

And Izuku knows the best way to gain access to those materials is UA’s support department. 

He calls Mei that night, and with a sigh, reveals probably he stupidest idea since becoming a vigilante.

[shinneth]

Gem Ascension Tropes (Peridot-specific: H)

Reference:

Primary Peri Post ▼ Primary General Post ▼ Full Article

Had To Be Sharp: If not the main reason why Peridot was such a Manipulative Bastard during her Homeworld Days, it was certainly what enabled her behavior more than anything else. The Peridot class is largely disrespected, unappreciated, and collectively the Butt-Monkeys of Homeworld gemkind. With very little in the way of personal rights, no hope for upward movement in their lives, and being routinely abused by higher-caste gems and their own kind (as Peridots are among the most common gems living on Homeworld), Peridot quickly gathered that she needed to focus on dominating her competition and care for no one other than herself. She would do whatever was necessary to get ahead, and eventually even opted to get her “competition” brutalized when it wasn’t necessary. This was the only way Peridot was ever commended for her efforts, and the main reason she was eventually promoted to head an interplanetary mission to Earth.

Hair-Trigger Temper: Mostly contained for the comedic moments, such as near the end of Act I’s first chapter when she can’t enter any of the Crystal Gems’ rooms… or when she snaps at Lion for being uncooperative in Chapter 3 (before immediately regretting it). She starts getting this way around Lapis in Act III before the Armor-Piercing Slap, but that’s mostly due to Peridot being in no mood to talk about her problems that Lapis can see plain as day and doesn’t hesitate to point out. Also noteworthy is the first chapter of This is Who I Am, where Peridot nearly attacks 5XF just for insulting Steven.

Hammerspace: Peridot’s most often-used post-ascension ability is to store various items (or fellow friends) into independent Pocket Dimensions that can be summoned at her discretion and dismissed just as easily. 

Hyperspace Arsenal: Meaning as far as combat is concerned, Peridot can easily will a weapon into existence, store it into Hammerspace when she’s done, then summon it to use again whenever she likes.

Hates Being Alone: Especially since Lapis abandoned her in canon, Peridot really does not feel comfortable being isolated. Even when she holed herself up in the bathroom to mope, she still at least had Pumpkin (and knowing other friends were very close by at all times). So, of course, Peridot had to suffer alternating between this and being with just White Diamond for nearly a week after she was stranded on Homeworld following Act I’s conclusion.

Height Angst: Although this is probably the least of Peridot’s many problems in the GA continuity, it’s significant enough of one that’s lingered since her early canon days that it plays into her post-ascension growth spurt.

Hero Protagonist: Much of GA revolves around Peridot transitioning from Plucky Comic Relief to this.

Heroic BSoD: Happens to Peridot twice in the main GA series.

First happens towards the last quarter of Chapter 4 of Act I, when her Heroic Safe Mode can no longer hold out after Peridot completes a major objective. A culmination of the PSTD from the No-Holds-Barred Beatdown she recently suffered at the hands of 9FC (and being conscious for the latter’s brutal execution) and the suffocating levels of guilt she suffers from regaining memories of her past life (also a recent occurrence) makes Peridot fully break down, though she has enough restraint to warn Bismuth and Lapis from interfering in her need to vent (although she does this in the form of a warning shot). Despite poofing an entire workstation full of Peridots (and Yellow Pearl), the only true casualty of this instance is Peridot’s old console, which is crushed into a fine powder by the time she finally comes down from this.

Fast-forward to Chapter 8 of Act III. Peridot’s life has gotten so much worse in a variety of ways, but what truly breaks her is seeing Pumpkin’s life fade before her very eyes. Being indirectly responsible for Pumpkin’s death and acting like a hysterical Jerkass when she could have been saying goodbye to Pumpkin only intensifies the levels of Peridot’s misery, which finally becomes too much for her to keep locked in. It doesn’t help that Peridot’s never suffered loss like this before, either. This Heroic BSoD includes a Brown Note-inducing Death Wail followed by an Angst Nuke that brutally tears up an already-dying Homeworld and destroys any possible way for the Crystal Gems to escape its imminent destruction. Peridot (who Involuntarily Shapeshifts to Chartreuse Diamond) nearly kills all of her friends and herself through this and is completely out of control; the saving grace is Steven (as Pink Diamond 2.0) coming in to halt the destruction with a Cooldown Hug and heal Peridot with some intensive Epiphany Therapy.

Heroic Fatigue: It doesn’t take long for Peridot to start feeling this. It almost makes her collapse within the very first chapter. It comes and goes after that, but what helps Peridot pull through this is to think of Steven.

Heroic Safe Mode: Strongly implied Peridot invokes this after the No-Holds-Barred Beatdown from 9FC, as she’s surprisingly functional and casual right after this (as much as one high off from sedatives can be, anyway), and contrary to her usual demeanor, is quite the Guile Hero when she fools Yellow Pearl into thinking she’s going back to work, only for Peridot to drop a Logic Bomb on her entire station, which poofs everyone (including Yellow Pearl, who becomes the team’s Skeleton Key in this form). Peridot’s behavior after this highly disturbs Lapis and Bismuth, and when they try to call her out on it, Peridot threatens them with violence if they try to intervene. Once she’s finally given some time to be alone, she slips into full Heroic BSoD.

Heroic Self-Deprecation: While psyched to legitimately be the leader of the Crystal Gems and finds that she enjoys this position when being serious about it, Peridot’s fully aware that she could have been better at her job in so many ways, and is under no delusion that she’s anywhere near Garnet’s level. She openly acknowledges her flaws to her friends late in Act I, and several Video Wills in Act II have Peridot outright lambast herself for being subpar at best.

Heroic Willpower: Due in part to her Determinator nature, Peridot was able to resist White Diamond’s influence for nearly a week. White couldn’t even draw Peridot out of her own gemstone without resorting to dirty tactics. On both occasions, Peridot only ultimately lost due to being unfairly tricked.

Hidden in Plain Sight: Nobody, not even Peridot herself, was aware she was a randomly-chosen Unwitting Test Subject. Not only did her visor constantly cover her Mismatched Eyes as Peridot never had a reason to take it off, but she was also the first heterochromatic gem to emerge in thousands of years. And of all potential possibilities, no one in their right mind would believe a low-caste gem like her would ever be chosen for such a unique and exclusive experiment; history proves all past heterochromatic gems were much higher on the food chain and none were Era 2s.

Higher Understanding Through Drugs: The injuries Peridot sustains in the No-Holds-Barred Beatdown with 9FC in Chapter 4 of Act I are so severe that she literally needs to be injected with high doses of sedatives in order to move or function in any way; after all, Peridot is not only borderline-crippled from the incident, but was also sent into catatonic shock. Despite all this, Peridot is still expected to report for work soon, so the medic who cares for her gives her enough painkillers to make her functional for the duration of her shift. While very obviously high as hell as one drugged with sedatives would be, Peridot’s at least able to walk and talk with her friends… as well as remember her objective for her current mission while her other teammates forgot about that detail after that traumatic event. In order to truly perform to the best of her ability, Peridot’s Heroic Safe Mode slips in to take over, which brings back haunting shades of the Sociopath she used to be. While very unnerving and unpleasant, Peridot’s performance is arguably more proficient this way opposed to not being under the influence of any drugs. Even Peridot’s critical flaws like being a Bad Liar disappear while under the influence, which makes her able to fool Yellow Pearl to fall right into her trap. Only after achieving her objective does her drugged state start to cause legitimate problems…

Hostage MacGuffin: Peridot’s Heroic Sacrifice at the end of Act I leads to her being this through the entirety of Act II up until about a third of the way into Act III. However, she slips back into this role towards the end of Chapter 6 until the end of Chapter 7. Bear in mind that by Act III, everyone is aware Peridot is simultaneously a MacGuffin Super Person, so White Diamond is using her as more than just a bargaining chip to lure Steven back.

Hot-Blooded: Not quite as notorious as Ruby is, but it does show with Peridot on more than one occasion. 

Hurting Hero: A trope that has a consistent snowball effect for Peridot the further along she goes in GA and beyond. Act I’s challenges of insecurities, the burden of responsibility, being selfless, defining how she feels about Steven, and the persisting fear of overall failure seem pretty trivial to what Peridot goes through in Act III. Then there’s issues regarding her origins, coping with a new life she didn’t want but had to take to save her friends, and especially her identity when she becomes Chartreuse Diamond. Post-GA stories don’t give Peridot a break, either; with the emotional baggage she’s accrued across GA, she’s still carrying a lot of that on her back. While she’s come to terms with most of it, her role in the new Era 3 is overwhelming, to say the least.

Hybrid Power: After ascending, Peridot has roughly the same capabilities as Chartreuse Diamond, although if she’s in her Peridot form, there will be a cap on her potential due to her inherent limitations. Even feats Peridot can pull off as Chartreuse can will often result in strain, fatigue, or pain depending on what she’s trying to conjure or invoke.

Hypocrite: She berates Lapis and Bismuth in the very first chapter of Act I for expressing desires of getting revenge against the Diamond Authority when their top priority should be to rescue their friends (while also pointing out how much of a suicide mission it is to retaliate on the Diamonds’ home turf); however, Chapter 4 shows Peridot not being much better when her plan to gain a Skeleton Key to Homeworld in the form of Yellow Pearl’s gemstone doubles as a way for Peridot to get back at her former boss for all the grief she put her through. This also extends to her more innocuous coworkers, as Peridot had no problems risking their lives poofing the entire workstation just to get Yellow Pearl’s gemstone. In her compromised mental state, she even briefly considers shattering her helpless poofed coworkers, but Lapis and Bismuth bring her out of it while not hesitating to call Peridot out on her hypocrisy.

This is revisited late in Act III, as everyone can tell something happened between Steven and Peridot while they were separated from the others in Chapter 5, which is causing Peridot to act like a major Jerkass to others while Steven stays conspicuously quiet. Lapis doesn’t hesitate to point out that Peridot has a serious problem and she’s sucking at trying to hide it. She references how Peridot forced her and Bismuth to be Locked in a Room way back in Chapter 3 of Act I to sort out their differences so that they wouldn’t become an issue during the mission. Yet Peridot refuses to face her problems and resolve them as they’re on their way to directly face White Diamond. Peridot can’t bring herself to face her issues at this time, so she can’t offer any kind of rebuttal. Instead, she opts to snap at Lapis and deride her for having skewed priorities, but of course this ends up biting her in the ass hard by Chapter 7.

[danaaxlove]

After 2016’s Suicide Squad, audiences had mixed reactions to the Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey trailer, (or should I say Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey now that the title’s changed). Some people loved it. Some people hated it. As for me, I decided to spring up two pigtails, spray them pink and blue, dot a heart onto my cheekbone, and head out like a giddy six-year-old, excited to see Margot Robbie bring one of my favorite crazy characters back to the screen. Boy, was I in for a surprise. But before I jump into that, here’s a quick film production recap.

“Do you know what a harlequin is? A harlequin’s role is to serve. It’s nothing without a master. No one gives two shits who we are, beyond that.”

Birds of Prey was initially announced in May 2016, ahead of the release of Suicide Squad, with Warner Bros stating that it was a spinoff film focusing on Harley Quinn and a couple of other female DC Comics heroes and villains, such as Batgirl and the Birds of Prey. Margot Robbie spent three years working on Birds of Prey and continued to present it to Warner Bros. until the studio felt the project was at the point it could be made. After a bunch of tugging and pulling and scrapping and editing, Warner Bros. and DC Films finalized a deal in April 2018, with Cathy Yan set to direct, making her the first female Asian director to direct a superhero film. Robbie was also confirmed to be producing the film under her LuckyChap Entertainment banner, as part of a first look deal she has with the studio. With all of that preproduction information out of the way, you may be wondering what Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey is about.

“I’m the one they should be scared of! Not you, not Mr J! Because I’m Harley Fucking Quinn!”

Directed by Cathy Yan, Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey portrays the return of Harley Quinn,

The squad.

(Margot Robbie), after her devastating breakup with the Joker. Upon the break-up, Harley is submerged in grief and struggles to move on with her life. However, the post-breakup blues are quickly subdued when Harley finds out that her breakup with the Joker places her as a red alert target for those she’s wronged during her time with Mr. J., especially narcissistic crime boss, Black Mask, (Ewan McGregor). And things only get more complicated when she crosses paths with pickpocketing kid, Cassandra Cain, (Ella Jay Basco), Huntress, (Mary-Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary, (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), and Renee Montoya, (Rosie Perez). Will Harley transcend this web of complications and prove to herself that she’s something more than just the Joker’s arm-candy? And does this cluster-bar of interesting characters coupled along with lessons learned from Suicide Squad guarantee this film being an A+ show? Dissection time!

“Here’s the deal, Quinn. You need me!”

That iconic smile.  😀

When I replay the events of the film while typing this article, the first factor that appears in my mind is story. I have mixed feelings about the story. On one hand, it’s fun, entertaining, and an action-packed frenzy, much like our lovely leading lady. But on the other, it’s just that and nothing deeper. It follows a typical action movie formula with no improvisational ingredients added to our bland elixir. There aren’t any unexpected, gruesome obstacles that raise the stakes for our main characters and causes our hearts to pound along with the raising tension of the film. And there aren’t any moments that elicit any empathy from us or leave us in awe. It’s predictable and quite linear—very A-to-B. Yan could’ve created an unpredictable storyline to match Harley’s unpredictable, quirky personality, (aside from the visually pleasing manic colors painting the film). But maybe she wanted to play it safe after Suicide Squad? So I don’t blame her. Nevertheless, this may also be a good thing for someone who knows exactly what they want. If you want to just want to kick back, relax, and have the film serve as a spoonful of entertainment rather than a syringe of seriousness—by all means, go ahead. Heck, the characters also added onto that entertainment factor.

“YOU KILLED MY SANDWICH!”

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn: flawless. Robbie is back in portraying the lovable,

Awaiting her breakfast sandwich.

makeup-caked psycho–and what a sweet goody bag treat it is. She completely satisfied my expectations in regards to how Harley would act in her own adventure, in real-life, etc. Robbie is perfect, and I hope she’ll return to whatever films Harley Quinn is needed in. Ewan McGregor as Blackface: entertaining and amusing. It was my first time seeing McGregor play a villain, and there wasn’t an awkward barrier that kept us from immersing ourselves into the film, like it sometimes happens with other actors. I’ve read from other reviews that some people considered McGregor to be too ‘cartoony,’ but I didn’t think that at all. Mary-Elizabeth Winstead was also fantabulous, (cute reference to the title. See what I did there? Har, har, har). But having said that, some of the characters could’ve still been improved. One big aspect of improvement that stuck out to me was the chemistry between the characters. Frankly, there could’ve been more of it. With Wonder Woman or Guardians of the Galaxy for example, (yes, I know I shouldn’t compare DC to Marvel), the characters were immensely entertaining by either being emotionally invested with each other and to the audience, bantering nonstop, etc. In Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, Harley’s personality obviously shines through, but a majority of the characters are just kinda there in the movie with Harley. It would’ve been nice if they had been more animated or vivacious in their personalities, (aside from McGregor and Winstead). You only feel the chemistry between the characters towards the end of the movie, leaving the viewer feel a bit cheated. And because of that, the various characters’ background stories get swept under the rug as cliched, rather than fulfilling their potential of being engrossing and enchanted with personality. But having described the areas the film could’ve improved in, it’s not that bad, especially when compared to other bombing reviews.

“Get ready, ladies.”

Move over, Lady and the Tramp. We’ve got a new pair of lovers.

I recall someone in IMDB’s reviews calling Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey “an Antifa film,” (I know—hilarious and dramatic). Another as being “a DC chick flick” and “Deadpool 2 knock-off.” But I completely disagree with those. Sure, it’s not what it could’ve been. But that doesn’t mean that it’s bad. I’m still glad that it was made. It’s fun, entertaining, and great for those looking for just that.

  Genre: Action/Crime

Rating: R.

Time: 1 Hour, 49 minutes

Final Verdict: B

PS: In case y’all were curious as to how my  “giddy six-year-old”  Harley Quinn fangirl looked like the day I went–here ya go! Enjoy the goodies, haha.

  Here's a little Valentine's treat for you guys! Dana's Film Review: Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey (2020). Check it out! #harleyquinn #birdsofprey #harleyquinnbirdsofprey #margotrobbie #film #critic #filmcritic #huntress #blackmask After 2016’s Suicide Squad, audiences had mixed reactions to the Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey…

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My Trip To LA's K-Town Night Market 2018

Last month, LA's own Koreatown held its annual K-town Night Market, an open market/block party! At the event, you'll find tons of street food and clothing (like KORE Limited), as well as music and entertainment acts. People come from all over Los Angeles to relax and have a good time. I'll be talking about a little bit of both aspects of the Night Market and sharing my thoughts!

THE MARKET

Clothing stands sell some of the latest Korean fashion if you want to update your wardrobe. The food stalls have crowds surrounding them. This year, there was a Vietnamese food stall hilariously named Pho King Awesome. Melomelo sold coconut drinks in actual coconuts; they were very sweet and perfect underneath the California sunset. One stall sold fantastic jalapeno-topped, cheese-covered Saigon fries. Other stalls sold yakisoba, ramen burgers, ice cream, big things of lemonade, and food that I couldn’t even begin to describe other than delicious. The indescribable food looked like something an alchemist conjured up. Imagine an alchemist fusing a cake with a grilled cheese sandwich, and yet it tastes amazing. If there was ever a place to completely ruin your diet and undo all the work you did at the gym in three hours, it’s the K-town Night Market. I’ll post some pictures of the food below. I can’t really do the chefs the service they deserve. Nothing I say could replicate the feeling of seeing delicious food soaked in fat and salt and having your mouth flowing with saliva.

THE MUSIC

Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for that long on Friday. I got off work at four, and thanks to traffic, it took me an hour and a half to get to the Night Market. I stayed for about 3 hours. I had to dip early because the parking structure I went to closed at 9:30- the same time the final performance went on stage. So unfortunately, I couldn’t catch the final performance of the night. I managed to catch the last half of local singer-songwriter Romeo. He has a great voice and was a talented R&B singer. I got to see a great performance by Nuna Gang, a self-called Hallyu Supergroup. They’re an LA based girl group inspired by K-pop. They are Jenny (African-American K-pop duo CoCo Avenue), Ashley (Joombas Music), Sierra, and Nami. Nuna Gang are all really cute girls and very charismatic on stage. It was a delight to see them in action. Despite a few technical difficulties at the beginning, the girls kept their heads high and continued on with a great show. Soon after, my favorite act of the night, THAGODSQUAD, performed. THAGODSQUAD is a rap duo made up of xKaita and T-Time. The duo uses anime sound bites as samples, which I love. For example, one song has the duo rap about the high life and achieving dreams, but the beat is inspired by "Shiki no Uta" sample, the ending theme to Samurai Champloo. I remember one bar referencing Gurren Lagann, namely the famous quote “Row, Row, Fight tha Powa!”  Another song had a "Cowboy Bebop" sample. THAGODSQUAD were the highlight of the Friday show for me and really made the hour-and-a-half trip worth it. As stated, I had to leave early and didn't get to see the GWNI, the final act of the night. I watched a few videos of GMNI’s performance when I got home. GMNI is a trap rapper, and he brought the heat. He ended the show with a ton of energy and everybody was hyped up. It was a great way to end the night. I came back the following day and made just in time to catch the tail end of the Ellen Min and Brian Li performance. Ellen and Brian are a YouTube couple who make vlogs. They have a nice amount of followers at over 200k subscribers. The couple performed by dancing to notable Kpop artists such as BTS, NCT, and the like. The two have a wonderful chemistry together, and you could tell they worked incredibly hard at perfecting their performance. After them was multi-instrumentalist and rapper, the young Abigail Pak. I love seeing young talent push themselves out of their comfort zone, so they can become better musicians. I think everybody can learn a thing or two from Abigail. The K-Town Night Market continued into the cloudy evening. Jasmine Clarke made a return to the K-town Night Market. She was there the year before. Jasmine Clarke has a sweet and demure voice, a big plus. Late of Odd Folks came on stage post Jasmine Clarke, and he is a strange artist conceptually. Odd Folks is meant to be an American boy band fusing together underground and Kpop music, but it’s just one guy, Late. Late himself is a chill rapper. He doesn’t rely on hard-hitting beats to make his mark but uses a nice easy-going flow. He goes for the more romantic, R&B style of rapping crooning in his songs. Think of artists like Verbal Jint, Jay Park, and Zion T. Late fit well with Jasmine Clarke’s demure performance, but what set him apart was his charisma. To wake up the crowd, Demi and the Destroyers came out, and they were as adorable as they were fierce. Demi is a beast and ramped up the crowd in a big way. The Destroyers are Demi’s back-up dancers, and Demi owned the stage with a powerful singing voice and dance performance. I’m surprised at Demi’s stamina. I got tired just looking at her. They owned the stage. It was a fantastic show. Choreography was on point. You didn’t know which way to turn your head and couldn't decide to look at Demi or the dancers.

The main events came out at 9:15. Ted Park had a crazy performance! He came out on stage with hot pink hair and matching hoodie. The performance was crazy. The bass was heavy, the beat hard. Ted Park is a hero behind the mic; you couldn’t keep your eyes off him. He takes cues from trap rap— his flow is tight, his delivery fierce. He’s funny as well, a real natural behind the mic. He knows when to joke around and knows when to pump up the crowd. The crowd got riled up: jumping and beating the ground flat. Guest rappers came on stage, and brought it as hard as he did. The stage was shaking from the people on stage. After Ted Park got the crowed tired, Kisum came in, decked in white, and closed out the Night Market. Kisum is a Korean rapper, coming from all the way from South Korea, and she delivered a great performance. Like Late from Off Folks and other Korean rappers, her rap is chill and melodic with a bit of an edge. Her flow is smooth as milk. There were hints of Kpop within her music via pop-inspired beats. Kisum is a great entertainer, she knows how to work the crowd. In fact, many mainstream Kpop fans who are not as familiar with Korean hip-hop will also recognize her name. Not only did she gain fame on the show "Unpretty Rapstar," she has also collaborated with people like SISTAR's Hyolyn and MAMAMOO's Hwasa. Kisum also brought a surprise guest: rapper Heize! Heize had her single "Star" reached Number One on all Korean music charts upon its release and has been a guest at KCON LA and KCON NY, the largest Korean convention and concert in the USA. As such, I didn’t expect a notable name like Heize would come to a small Korean cultural festival like the night market, but their duet was beautiful. It was a nice way to close out the night and a great surprse for all those in attendance.

THE BOTTOM LINE

I love going to the K-Town Night Market. I love the sense of community permeating throughout the festival. There was a booth urging people to vote to keep Koreatown as it is since the City of Los Angeles wants to split Koreatown in half— one side staying as Koreatown and the other half becoming Little Bangladesh. As of this writing, I don’t know what the people voted for. Each year, the food trucks offer a great variety of food from your standard pizza and tacos to fried Japanese food and Korean fusion foods. The food stands in the middle of the festival were fantastic and offer the best comfort food from Koreatown.My main interest each year are the musical acts. Even though I only caught a small glance of the Friday show, I still enjoyed what I saw. I recommend people go and check out the show, even for a little bit for a relaxing date or just to wander around for a bit, munching on a stack of fried potatoes. The real party is always on Saturday. The big names come out and play for the crowd. I also love how the Night Market showcases relatively unknown acts to a new audience as well. It’s a great way to spend a chill weekend, and a great way to ring in summer. Check out a few of my pictures below! Did you go to K-Town Night Market 2018? What was your favorite part? KyeongJun is a writer for WTK, where he gushes about his love for Korean rock music (You guys need to listen to Jaurim). When not writing, he's listening to the newest K-Rock bands. You can also catch him on WTK Radio where he hosts a show every Thursday night at 10 p.m. EST. Media: As Credited Read the full article