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beautymercurydragon · 5 years

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The Miraculous fandom is actually horrible. They claim Adrien is a terrible person/has sexually harassed Marinette. Sure, he is not perfect and might do things without thinking, but he’s definitely not anywhere on the levels of the likes of his father, Lila, Chloe, Nathalie, and Felix.

Felix: Stole his father’s rings that belonged to him ‘back’ because his mother ‘owns them’, deleted the kind messages from his cousin’s friends that were meant to make him feel better on the one-year anniversary of his mother’s death, aka FELIX’S AUNT, made Adrien look like an actual bad person in front of his friends, resulting in three of them getting akumatized, and more, but the fandom loves him

Chloe: Was a xenophobic bitch to Marinette’s great-uncle in season one, was at fault for everyone in Marinette’s girl crew along with some of the guys (Kim and Nathaniel) getting akumatized in that same season as well, treats her best and only friend like utter shit, still is a bitch to the entire class, endangered hundreds of citizens’ lives during the train incident in the Queens’ Battle, cried and moaned when she was called out in Malediktator and is pretty much behind the reason of her father getting akumatized, also put herself in danger when revealing her hero identity to the entire city, putting her and her family in danger of Hawk Moth, is also at fault for Vanisher, Rogercop, and Despair Bear, was 100% at fault for the Miraculer akumatization as well, excuses all of the shit she’s done by saying ‘everybody adores me!’, and finally, was actually a partial reason Miracle Queen happened, considering she actually gave in, everyone still adores her and is pissed about her redemption being ‘ruined’

Lila: Stole Adrien’s father’s book, which Adrien took for an actual good reason, she lied, threw her likely expensive computer across the room like it was no big deal when it actually is, willingly gets herself akumatized, tricked the people of Paris into thinking one of their heroes was killed while the other went rogue with her illusions, threatened a classmate that she hates when nobody else was around, tricked the entire class right after the episode where they praise Marinette and call her their ‘everyday Ladybug’ into believing her with her lies (the writers only did it for angst, Chameleon is the one episode I hate for the bad writing and poor characterization, everything else is fine), faked getting pushed down the stairs and injured, plays victim 24/7, got the same classmate she bullies expelled from school for a day and nearly put the city in danger again, got another one of her ‘enemies’ (Kagami) akumatized and almost got herself killed, and more that I could add but won’t

Nathalie: Willingly lets her boss terrorize the city on a daily basis, is just as horrible as he is, joined him with the other stolen Miraculous, lies to the boy she ‘cares for as a son’, doesn’t listen whenever Gabriel tells her to not be Mayura, told on Adrien to Gabriel about him being Chat Noir, and finally, she’s also at fault for the catalyst of horrific events that was the akumatization of Chat Blanc, both by ratting Adrien out like the snitch she is and breaking the news about breaking up with Adrien to Marinette at the Dupain-Cheng bakery

And Gabriel: TERRORIZES THE CITY ON A DAILY FUCKING BASIS, takes advantage of teenagers’ emotions for his own personal gain, has likely killed people with his akumas before the Miraculous Ladybugs fix everything, making him AN ACTUAL MURDERER, abuses and neglects his son both physically and emotionally, keeps his wife’s comatose body in the basement of his home and showed it to his son, likely scarring him for life, and right after that, whacked his son out of his house and across Paris with a cane, akumatized him in front of the Eiffel Tower on the spot as his son screamed for him to stop as well the girl who’s his partner begged as well and watched in horror, all of which resulted in him being killed by his son’s villain form in the CB timeline, manipulated Chloe into betraying Ladybug and Chat Noir and becoming the Mad Queen of the show, lets his son’s classmate (Lila) who’s done awful things help him carry out his plan as both a civilian and villain, has akumatized his ‘friend’ Tomoe Tsurugi once and her daughter/his son’s now girlfriend THREE times (counting Heroes’ Day), took advantage of Juleka’s anxiety attack in Reflekdoll to try and get her to assist him in defeating LB and CN again, has akumatized a baby (August) multiple times, along with four young children (Chris, Manon, Ella and Etta), along with his good friend Audrey Bourgeois and her husband on their 20-year anniversary, and at his own fashion show just so he could try to get his wife back for the millionth time, has akumatized nearly the entire Francoise Dupont school, and finally, could have caused actual global warming with Stormy Weather 2.

Yet all these salters still think Adrien’s a horrible, irredeemable person who’s a POS. All of the five above are much worse.

I’m a huge fan of Adrien. He’s one of the best-written characters in Miraculous, and I absolutely adore him. Do I agree with all of his actions? No. Do I think he can still grow and change with help from the right people? Absolutely, yes.

Nino, Marinette, Alya, Kagami, Chloe, and the rest of the class are all great friends to him and will help him learn and grow.

I may not like Chloe, but I definitely do think she has chance and potential for redemption, 100%.

Adrien and Chloe may not be perfect, but I still believe they can change. Anybody can, as long as they try. (I’m not including Lila, because she clearly shows zero signs of wanting to lol.)

Neither of them are fully grown. Throughout time, both Chloe and Adrien will find the time and chances to learn and grow. It isn’t over for either of them, not at all.

But yet everyone still believes Adrien doesn’t have a chance to grow, learn and mature. If you all think Chloe still has a chance to do so and change her behavior, then Adrien still has a chance and the time to grow and learn from his mistakes.

#pro-adrien agreste #pro-adrien #pro adrien #adrien agreste #adrien protection squad #adrien agreste defense #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculous: tales of ladybug and chat noir #anti ml salt #anti ml fandom #adrien sugar #anti adrien salt #anti adrien haters

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bytheangell · 5 years

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Not my idea but someone said imagine if flowers are linked to souls and the love between them. They would become more colourful when their love goes stronger and weaken when they have a fight. And they become gray not cause their love is gone but cause the other died. I mean.. this is painful but think how many times we saw flowers in malec scenes and their wedding! You can write about it if want, I would be grateful.

A Life Better in Color(Read on AO3)(Warning, Main Character Death)

Magnus knows what he feels for the Shadowhunter. It’s new, still fresh and uncertain, but it’s there. He grows much less uncertain when Alec lends his strength to him to heal Lucian. The trust that action takes on both of their parts, the bond it creates in that moment… Magnus isn’t surprised to see the vase of pink roses on the table grow a little brighter when Alec helps him up, and brighter still when Alec stays behind to help clean and share a drink. It’s small, barely a flicker, but it’s there.

It’s a start.

—

It’s difficult for Magnus to get a read on Alexander (it isn’t as if the Institute is ripe with floral arrangements, they don’t quite fit the all-black, I-could-kill-you-in-my-sleep aesthetic) so Magnus starts slipping him flowers. Just one here and there, pressed into the autopsy report he hands to Alec in the training room or conjured up while Alec isn’t looking to slip into his quiver when they discuss ‘payment’ for his services during Lydia’s trial. When Magnus returns, inevitably called back for either official business or to bail Clarissa and the others out of whatever new trouble they find themselves in, he keeps his eyes peeled for them. When Alec knows to expect him Magnus sees them on the corner of a desk, or resting by a rack of weapons. One day Magnus gets a single small flower - a forget-me-not, likely picked from outside in haste out of convenience and not for any deeper meaning - pressed into his palm as he passes Alec in the hallway. Magnus checks it daily to make sure what he suspects Alec feels hasn’t grown any less (and secretly hoping it’s grown more). The steady sky blue is a comfort that this isn’t entirely unrequited despite outward appearances. Magnus knows it’s the most he’s going to get from the man who refuses to openly speak on anything he feels, and he decides that it’s enough to keep hope alive for both of them.

For now.

—

Alec arranges for the flowers at his wedding to Lydia to be white. It’s the safest bet - nothing to fade during his inevitable internal struggle throughout the ceremony. They color Lydia’s bouquet red artificially before she goes out - they both know that while they respect and consider the other a friend, there’s no true love there. This way there’s nothing to betray to the crowd watching that the smiles on their faces are anything other than genuine.

Everything’s going according to plan until Magnus shows up.

Alec isn’t sure what he’s going to do until Lydia says she understands.

He tries not to notice the way the flowers behind her fade ever-so-slightly to a creamier off-white as he turns away from Lydia to face Magnus, but he can’t tear his eyes away from a small pot of white flowers by the door. They’re the only ones he personally helped with arranging when they arrived and he was keeping busy to distract himself - and as his lips meet Magnus’ the flowers shift from white to a brilliant shade of red that just so happens to match the highlights in Magnus’ hair.

For the first time all day Alec smiles a genuine smile.

—

Magnus can handle Camille, but that isn’t the problem here. The problem is that he isn’t sure if Alexander can handle Camille and all of the devious tricks and manipulation she’s perfected over the centuries. He gets a clear read on Alec’s annoyance as the Shadowhunter ignores the Camille-initiated kiss he walks in on and goes to find Clary. For a few seconds Magnus thinks that maybe it’ll be a non-issue until he remembers the flower Alec gave him on the table where he sat it down.

It’s muted, no longer a vibrant red.

Magnus excuses himself and catches up to Alec, who immediately insists he doesn’t care about whatever he saw back there. Magnus simply holds out the flower to him in silent question. The conversation that follows isn’t easy, but it’s necessary. Magnus knows the life he lives, and the years that come with it, isn’t easy. Part of him expects Alec to walk away and never look back but instead Magnus watches him relax at Magnus’ reassurances. By the end of their conversation the flower, while not as bright as it started out, is a little brighter than before.

And so are the gleams in both of their eyes as they share a quick kiss before going to find Clary.

—

The longer Jace is gone the worse Alec spirals. It isn’t a fight so much as the simple fact that all of Alec’s love, all of his attention and thoughts and emotions, are entirely fixated on his missing parabatai. The colors drain around them and Magnus does his best not to take it personally. He cares about Alec, and Alec did break off his wedding to take a chance on him, but this is still new for both of them. He can’t imagine their budding romance would overpower the tumultuous fear Alec holds within him for the man who shares a part of his soul… but it still hurts to see a visual reminder of it at every turn.

It certainly doesn’t help the blow of Alec’s harsh words when Magnus is unable to track Jace’s location. It wasn’t a fight before, but it becomes one now.

When Alec comes to apologize he sets a small bundle of flowers on the table by the door. They’re a soft lilac in color, weak from the tension between them, the strain that Alec created by taking his frustrations out on Magnus. Alec isn’t sure Magnus will accept his apology… he isn’t sure he deserves to be forgiven. But he is, with the promise that he won’t push Magnus away again, and when Magnus walks Alec to the door a while later the flowers he finds there are a vibrant royal purple.

—

The thing that Magnus realizes over the following months with Alexander isn’t that his flowers fade the most while they’re in a fight or apart for long periods of time; it’s that they lose their color fastest when Alec is stuck inside his own head, convinced he doesn’t deserve the love he feels, and especially not the love he receives in return.

It’s those days that the bouquet on Magnus’ coffee table, the one that Alec continually refreshes with flowers he picks up at a market stand that’s along the way from the Institute to the Loft, always looks too soft and delicate, the colors practically nonexistent. When he wakes up to see them that way he reaches out to Alexander immediately. Sometimes it works, but more often it doesn’t.

Learning to give Alec space is one of the more difficult things Magnus has done in recent years, but he works on it. Unfortunately, Magnus gets plenty of opportunities to practice.

—

Alec, in all his life, has never seen colors as vibrant as the flowers around him after their first time. It isn’t simply the trust between them over the act of taking that next physical step, of letting his guard down enough to give himself over to someone else completely, but rather everything that happens around that moment which solidifies and strengthens the bond they share. It’s knowing Magnus feels just as vulnerable as he does and that the trust goes both ways. It’s seeing Magnus’ cat eyes and only becoming more infatuated, not scared away. It’s soft talks under golden sheets about fears and life and weaknesses.

And Magnus, though the realization startles him straight down to his core, finds himself surrounded by the most dynamic colors in centuries, something he truly didn’t anticipate. Even with Etta there was always something small lingering in the back of their minds, something holding them back, something dulling Magnus’ world just a little. But not here, not now. He wonders if perhaps he’s grown too invested too quickly in Alexander Gideon Lightwood. Not that it matters, because he knows he’s too far gone to do anything about it now.

It’s all they can do to embrace life in their kaleidoscope of growing love for as long as they can, because nothing perfect lasts forever.

—

After Valentine’s attack the emotions of the Shadowhunters and Downworlders present are so strong that the flowers around the church can’t help but be affected. The sorrow there is so strong after so many lives are lost in the blink of an eye that the flowers around them have almost all gone grey in silent memoriam, matching the stone walls that surround them.

The longer Alec searches, the longer he can’t find any sign of Magnus, the more terrified he becomes that those flowers mourn for his lover as well.

When they finally reunite, with the fear that consumed their entire beings slowly replaced with the comfort of ‘I love you’s, a single flower on the path beside them comes back to life.

—

It takes a while for the colors to return to their life after Magnus gets his body back from Valentine. Magnus doesn’t blame Alec for what happend, not fully, but Alec can’t stop blaming himself and Magnus can’t help the instinct to flinch away from the hands so quick to bring him harm in that cell, from the authority so willing to authorize the use of an Agony rune on the body he was trapped in.

But more than that, it’s the memories the Agony rune made Magnus relive, the ones he can’t shake which play out over and over again every time he closes his eyes. His mother taking her own life, his stepfather suffering at Magnus’ hands.

Both Magnus and Alexander each blame themselves, Magnus for allowing himself to be compromised and Alec for not believing Magnus sooner, and neither can fully love the other until they come to terms with this newfound hesitation between them.

They never speak about it out loud but they throw away every flower in the house. It’s a dark enough time without the reminders.

—

It’s a strange feeling for Magnus to carry so much weight over the blackening petals of a rose from someone other than Alexander, but the longer he gives himself to debate over what to do about the Seelie Queen’s offer the more certain he becomes that he’s only stalling - he already knows what answer he has to give.

He checks the rose frequently, wishing for more time, for the chance to find some way out of this that doesn’t involve choosing sides. But in the end he can’t be blamed for his decision- after all, it’s Alec’s deceit, Alec’s lack of transparency and broken trust which ultimately forces his hand. They’re leaders; they have to do what’s best for their people, and this is simply the way it has to be.

…maybe they could believe that if the last flowers they gave to one another before walking away were faded and wilted. They are at the start: the stems weaken and bend over with the weight of the blooms whose colors dull to soft pastels. It might be enough to accept that this is it, except when Max needs help Magnus is there in the blink of an eye. Neither one of them can help the hope that rekindles and when they look again later the stems stand a little straighter, the colors a little brighter.

It’s their first reassurance that there’s no actual love lost between them despite the situation driving them apart, and if there is it’s not a complete abandonment. There’s still something there. There’s still something to save. It’s the only thought that keeps Alec going despite Magnus’ insistence that he can’t be with Alec and be there for his people as well. It’s the only thing keeping Magnus going the longer he forces himself to stay away and the more clinical his interactions with Alec grow when they do cross paths.

Magnus knows his all-or-nothing reaction of siding with the Seelie Queen is dramatic, and Alec knows that keeping the information about the soul sword from the Downworlders was wrong, but it’s too late to fix either decision now.

Every time Magnus stands behind the Seelie Queen, emotionless, he comes back to an empty apartment that’s a little more dull than the last time he left it. When he greets Alec with ‘What do you want, Shadowhunter?’ before nearly slamming the door in his face Magnus can almost feel the life draining from the flowers on the table behind him.

He’s losing Alexander and he knows it. After all, one can only hold on to hope for so long before they have to face the reality being presented to them, and Magnus is presenting a harsh one to the man he still loves.

It isn’t until the threat to their world is gone that they realize the victory, however impressive, means nothing without having the other to share it with.

The flowers Alec helps him pick out on their long walk home after an alleyway reconciliation are the most colorful Magnus has seen in days.

—

The immortality discussions between them are a trying time. Alec stays at the Institute to avoid a conversation he doesn’t know how to have. Magnus is too busy with clients to make social engagements with Alec and his family. They both know what’s going on but neither one of them knows how to fix it, not with words and not with actions, so they choose avoidance. Alec can feel his own insecurities draining the life from the flowers at his desk, just as they’re draining the life from the relationship he doesn’t know how to save.

It isn’t until Jace’s life is on the line that they both admit they said things they regret. It should be enough, but it isn’t. Their relationship remains strained, a mixture of personal doubts and shaken beliefs over the idea that love may truly overcome everything else. After all, Clary’s love for Jace isn’t enough to save him any longer. Alec and Isabelle’s love for Jace isn’t enough for them to do what needs to be done in the depths of Jace’s mind. Worst of all, Alec’s love for Magnus isn’t enough to keep him from going to Edom to strike a deal with his father; in fact, it’s the very thing that sends him there.

Faded flowers are all that greets Alec once the flames die out. Magnus is gone, and Alec is left to walk back out into the empty apartment and plan out his own worst-case scenario.

—

It’s the strangest phenomena when Magnus loses his magic. For the days of back-and-forth - of Magnus having no magic, and then Lorenzo’s borrowed magic, and then no magic again - it seems as if the flowers that surround them are as torn as the two men living such drastically shifting lives. From the Loft to the Institute, it’s the same: the flowers are all split very particularly down the middle. One half is bright, thriving, as if desperate to make up for the other sides which fade more and more even on the days when things seem okay, a clear sign that the appearances being put forward aren’t the whole truth.

Their love for one another is strong, and there’s no doubting it even on the darkest days. But there’s a disconnect. Though Alec suspects something’s not right even as Magnus smiles and uses the magic his body rejects, and Alec’s only proof are the flowers throughout Magnus’ firm denials anything is amiss. Alec knows that something is wrong, but he doesn’t know that Magnus can only allow himself to embrace their love when he feels he’s deserving of it, only when he feels like himself. How can Alec know when Magnus covers it up so well with eyeliner smeared on like war paint and yellow magic that isn’t quite right as a shield against the emptiness he feels right down to his soul.

And so the flowers split in equal halves, faded and bright, the lie and the truth, the dangerous line being walked by both of them between what’s real and what’s for show.

They wonder how long they can hold together as two extremes desperately clinging together as one before they split down the middle, too.

—

There are no flowers in Maryse’s bookshop to give Magnus any indication that Alexander doesn’t mean every single word that leaves his lips that night. Magnus knows they’re true, he’s felt it in him ever since the moment Lorenzo took his magic back - he’s broken, useless, more of a burden than anyone would wish to keep around. Alec’s words confirm the suspicion Magnus had all along: that he would’ve been better of dying with the false magic at this fingertips than living an empty life without it.

He has no home to return to, no way of knowing that every word Alec spoke was a lie to drive him away. Instead he wanders, lost and alone until a familiar pair of cat-eyes find him in the streets, while Alec returns back to the Institute and a balcony full of lifeless, drained roses where the red ones once stood.

—

Alec doesn’t know if it’s going to work but he forces Magnus to wait before going to Edom just one extra minute. He returns with the closest flower he could find: a red tulip. He doesn’t know how the rules apply across realms but he can only hope that the colors hold true no matter what the distance. He needs Magnus to know that he’s not alone there, that Alec’s love for him won’t fade over time, or distance, or anything else that may come between them.

When Alec manages to find a way to rescue Magnus, arriving in Edom with the same yellow magic at his fingertips that nearly killed Magnus not too long ago, Magnus tells Alec that he never doubted him, not for a second.

Very out of place in a realm of dirt and heat and ichor, a single red tulip sits on the seat of a throne, more vibrant than the day it arrived.

—

The day of the wedding the flowers around them are nearly blinding in their intensity. Knowing this would be the effect they intentionally chose ones which started on the dull side, but even so the way the flowers emboldened themselves as first Alexander, and then Magnus, walked down the aisle draws the eyes of everyone around them. If there’s any doubt that the love these two feel for one another grows stronger by the second that doubt is replaced by a brilliant assortment of colors growing brighter, bolder, with every second that passes during the ceremony.

—

They always knew there would come a day when the flowers on the table would turn gray. Neither of them liked to think about it but such is life, and the mortality of man is undeniable, so they do their best to come to terms with it and live with the looming inevitability. They, like most everyone around them, anticipate the day when Alec would end up very unwillingly leaving Magnus behind on this earth.

No one anticipated that it would be the other way around.

Alec is just coming home from a rather uneventful day full of meetings and playing nice to pass some amendments that are going to make a huge difference in the way implementing Downworld Cabinets across every country with an Institute will go over. It’s a big win for them, one he can’t wait to share with Magnus. Except Magnus isn’t home when Alec gets there, despite the fact that his last client meeting that day should’ve ended hours ago.

That’s when Alec sees the note on the table. ‘A friend in Marrakech needs help, last-minute emergency no time to explain. I’ll be late, call you later. Love you’. Alec puts the note down and resigns himself to heating up leftovers instead of going out for a celebratory dinner. He’s in the kitchen no more than 10 minutes but when he comes back out the flowers on the table are fading. It happens so fast Alec barely processes it before his hands fall to his side and the plate spills to the floor, forgotten. It’s over almost as soon as it began: all six of the roses are gray.

Alec looks around the room, desperate for any sign that this doesn’t mean what he knows it means, but the marigolds on the balcony (Magnus swore they were low maintenance enough even Alec couldn’t manage to kill them), the purple peonies they picked on their walk yesterday because it matched the highlights in his husband’s hair (Magnus had taken one and tucked it behind Alec’s ear before placing a kiss on his temple beside the fragrant bloom)… every single flower in their home has gone gray.

Alec takes a rose from the table and walks to the sofa where he sits down and stares at it, unblinking. He doesn’t cry, the shock is too fresh and the disbelief still lingering - this is how Jace and Isabelle find him an hour later after a number of failed attempts to reach him. They take one look at the flower he holds and know that he knows… and yet not having to break the worst of the news doesn’t make it any easier for them to tell him about the ambush Magnus managed to save several warlock children from, but not himself. It was quick, they promise Alec - Magnus didn’t suffer.

The knowledge doesn’t help ease Alec’s own suffering, however.

The longer Alec goes without crying the more concerned his family grows for him, and yet he doesn’t allow a single tear to fall until after they left (not for good, just to grab some things before returning to spend the night, refusing to leave him alone). He gets the worst of it out before they return but he can’t shut it off any longer: now that he acknowledges it, it’s like opening a floodgate of emotions.

Alec is furious at Magnus for putting himself in danger, he’s proud of the selfless legacy his husband leaves behind, he’s filled with frustration and sorrow and love, and yet the flowers around him don’t brighten or pale to reflect anything he feels towards the man he’ll never get to say a proper goodbye to - they remain a final, resolute gray, because no amount of love or anger can change things now, or ever again.

The need to stay busy is overwhelming but Alec is forced to take a personal leave, so he organizes the funeral instead. It isn’t in Alicante, though it could be - that was the sort of difference Magnus made in this world, the kind that would allow a Downworlder to be High Warlock of Alicante, the kind that would allow his funeral on Shadowhunter grounds if they so choose.

Alec knows, and Catarina agrees, that it isn’t what Magnus would’ve wanted.

When all is said and done, Magnus is buried next to Ragnor, along with his box of mementos which Alec adds the omamori to before closing once and for all.

Alec doesn’t allow any flowers at the ceremony except the single grey rose he leaves behind.

#magnus bane #alec lightwood #malec #shadowhunters #mcd #major character death #i mean the prompt kind of implies but just in case #I'm sorry this took me forever and a half anon but I hope you're still around to see this! and that you like it!#elle writes a few deadbeat lines #anon glamour activated #ask rune #long post

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sociopath-analysis · 5 years

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Sociopath Profile: Etta Davis

Illusive Target #15 From the 2016 HITMAN™ video game (also appeared in the sequel during 2019) Voiced by Catharina Christie

She is notable for being one of the more dangerous targets that you have to take out. And not without good reason. She is a perfect demonstration of how, as the briefing notes, “evil can hide in the most unassuming of places.”

She was a former nurse who worked at retirement homes and hospitals to find victims to kill, just like actual “angel of death” killers. Davis is responsible for dozens of murders across the UK, mostly using poisoning. Already, this shows her lack of empathy since she can commit so many murders and not even feel bad about it. It is also notable that she kills for the enjoyment of having power over others. She demonstrates this by the fact that she moved from poison to blunt objects and more violent accidents.

She shows herself to be rather manipulative both on a personal level and by using events to her advantage. She went to work at the Graveside Hospice due to the already high mortality rate there so it would be easy to cover her kills. She also has been speculated to slip poison into tea. Along with that, her exterior as a sweet old lady is something that is well-documented with many under her care. Her “soothing bedside manner and calm talk” are mentioned in the briefing. However, this is clearly a front.

“While the target may look like a harmless old lady, it is certain that she will kill again repeatedly, given the opportunity.” - Diana Burnwood’s briefing.

Davis also has a bit of an ego. She tends to be rather smug around her bodyguards and notes how she is superior to them since she doesn’t rely on technology like other people, almost to a stereotypical degree. She also likes dropping hints of her true nature around her bodyguards as well. She’ll allude to her previous kills in a vague way and even seems to imply that she is responsible for her husband’s death. All to show that she is one step ahead of the curve.

Which ties into the fact that she’s incredibly selfish. She only cares about herself and often loves to use others for her own gain. She has no qualms about using people to her own ends or killing people that formerly trusted her. She even convinces solders to escort her around Marrakesh and presumably listen to her talk their ears off, much to their displeasure. NPCs in the level note that the Headmaster had disappeared, and it seems to have happened around when she showed up. Considering the fact that she notes that they were “penpals,” it is implied that she had something to do with it, and didn’t care about him in the slightest.

Naturally, considering she’s a target, she’ll get what’s coming to her soon enough. Even if she did get away with it for decades.

Female Sociopath List

#Etta Davis #Hitman 2016 #sociopath #character analysis #profile

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henriettaprophet-blog · 6 years

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|| elle fanning, cisfemale, she/her || ( henrietta ‘henri’ prophet ) is a ( twenty ) year old ( sophomore ) at rockport university studying ( english + communications ). people say they are ( ritzy ) but also ( intractable ), and remind others of ( diamond-encrusted lighters, puppy dog pouts, baby pink stiletto nails ). bet they sure didn’t expect anyone to know about ( her hit-and-run accident in a stolen getaway car ) but someone does, and ( henrietta ) better cooperate if they plan to keep their lives. || james, 20, EST ||

hello! i am james (she/they) and first up is my lil troublemaker, henri !!!! pls love her and me thank u bye

henri’s pinterest is HERE ! it explains her sm better than i can

tw: hit and run

general info:

full name: henrietta eloise prophet

nickname(s): henri, etta, hen

b.o.d.: april 19th

label(s): the baby doll, the hellion, the icarcian, the minx, the prevaricator, etc.

height: 5′7″

hometown: syracuse, new york

sexuality: chaotically bisexual

biography:

awfully middle class, born and raised in new york

her dad’s a salesman for car parts with a small empire and her mother’s an accountant

an only child, minus her childhood cat (r i p socks); raised in a classic american suburban home with a white picket fence and two whole stories

and henri’s never been satisfied with it

she’s pretty much been a manipulative troublemaker since birth

it didn’t help that her parents spoil her; what henri wants, henri gets. no questions asked.

has left claw marks on her fellow students whenever somebody else wanted to be the queen during play time, or when somebody tried to take her favorite toys, or well...whenever henri got upset, really

like...man, could henri throw tantrums like no other. i mean hours of her screaming and crying until somebody gives into her

her parents are either blind to her antics or just straight up scared of henri, because homegirl has aggression like no other

anYWAYs she grew up in a normal home in a normal neighborhood with a normal day-to-day life

god, did it bore her

even when she created drama for her own amusement; i.e. spread a rumor that the head cheerleader in her high school had gotten chlamydia and the poor lass was bullied so badly she transferred (leaving the captain position to good ol’ henri, of course) or accidentally tripped the lead actress in her school musical off the stage and left her in a neck brace so her understudy (cough, henry, cough) had to take over

it just was never enough, because all henri ever had to do was bat her eyelashes and flaunt her pink lil skirts around and they’d hop right off her dick

wanted to be famous, or at the very least rich; to live in the lap of luxury in her furs and diamonds

but without any of the actual effort, ofc.

started stealing shit in high school; from her ‘friends’ houses at first, just small shit that henri wanted for herself

once that thrill wore down she evolved into shoplifting, which was...much more dangerous, and made henri love it all the more so.

often got her friends involved, usually as bait or distractions from lil’ old henri as she swiped objects

like to keep a long story short, henri’s been stealing for...a good amount of years now, from various places

has probably stolen her parent’s credit cards (and her teacher’s....and her coworker’s....etc. etc.) a few times to buy real expensive shit online

she’s only gotten arrested like, a handful of times okay

one spring break, her senior year of high school, henri and her pals had flown to california to do some...shopping, and celebrity stalking, and other normal teenage girl shenanigans

to keep another long story short; they had broken into a celebrity’s home, stolen a buncha designer shit; and when they heard sirens? they stole one of the cars and took off

henri was driving, ofc. she wouldn’t let anybody else drive her getaway car, especially not that real nice sports car...

in the adrenaline of it all, henri ran into a biker full-on and almost skirted off the road.

luckily, for henri, she regained control of the car and...kept driving, without even looking back and despite her friends screaming in her ear

god only knows how they abandoned the car and made it back to their hotel, unscathed, only to hear about a nasty hit and run resulting in a death on the news.

they went back to new york the next day; none of them have spoken up about it. especially not henri. perhaps she’s why none of them spoke up?

anyways, she went to rockport to escape the small amount of guilt in her conscious

decided to lie about her childhood too, says her dad’s the ceo of a car parts company instead of just a salesman, her mother’s a dead broadway starlight, etc. etc. whatever made henri look richer than she was.

also, partially, so people didn’t question where she got all her designer shit.

went abroad because that’s what she mcfuckin’ deserves. probably stole her daddy’s credit card too.

also is fucking trash at school, is probably sleeping with people to do her assignments for her.

her goal in life is to acquire a sugar daddy, or multiple, and to marry an especially old one so that they die and leave her with all of his money. <3

personality:

her favorite color is pink and u will not forget it. she appreciates sparkles, furs, jewels, etc. etc. just everything cute and designer and expensive.

anyways she’s the kinda gal where you could be in an intense argument with her and next thing y’know, y’all are fucking. OR, alternately, she’s got a knife pressed against your neck. OR, alternately AGAIN; both. probably both

that being said; henri can come off as pretty..bubbly, ditzy, cute and innocent, with all the hair-twirling and fake laughter. her voice has a permanent innocent tone to it

but ultimately, she’s a bitch. incredibly stubborn, if you cross her once she’ll hate you for life and there’s nothing you could do about it

she may still act like she likes you, but, nah.

still expects to get what she wants and she will still throw a tantrum if she doesn’t get it. doesn’t really take no as an answer?

her mood shifts often, maybe too often, it doesn’t take much to tick her off.

pretty manipulative, often uses people for what she wants

she isn’t...book smart, but she’s pretty damn intelligent in other aspects

a selfish lil brat tbh

only looks out for herself, will betray u the moment she sees an opportunity that benefits herself, and is over all pretty remorseless

she feels intensely but she also refuses to believe that she’s ever in the wrong. represses any emotions related to sadness, or anything that’ll just dampen her mood.

doesn’t bother to hide that part of her, either. let it be known that she’ll use you

she always has a knife on her, and a lighter, and a credit card that likely isn’t hers. those are her three essentials.

suuuper destructive, will not hesitate to ruin your life or her own tbh

will do anything at least once, or twice, maybe even three times

morals? what r morals?

a day drinker; constantly high off of god know’s what, and really...any vice? she’s got it.

is a l w a y s partying, even if it’s just her

i wouldn’t call her hypersexual but like...homegirl’s got a very high sex drive and is probably out here fuckin’ multiple times a day

but yeah no she’s not a very empathetic person like...if you’re going thru some shit? henri doesn’t give a fuck

she’ll probably use it against you to guilt u into doing something for her, honestly

considers herself untouchable, and is pretty willing to do anything to keep herself free from death or arrest or anything, y’know ??

has a very big ego, too. like. god. she think she’s the shit. acts like it.

erratic, irrational, can get VERY POSSESSIVE and JEALOUS of pals, people she’s fucking. etc. etc. if she doesn’t like the person your talking to you will Know

a big ol’ fuckin’ liar

wanted connections:

literally.....anything.....just hmu

like alriGHT

gimme FUCK BUDDIES of VARIOUS SORTS.

really MANIPULATIVE relationships on either end, probably henrietta’s

maybe a few friends w/ similar interests of glam n glitz n beauty

e n e m i e s - let henri try and fucking strangle u, b/c i s2g she’ll try if she hates you

like just people to get into cat fights turned knife fights with

maybe a ride or die ?? a best friend of sorts ??

let her use people

but really i am down for anything.

EXES ? maybe ??

pleathe. let’s brain storm...together

#rockportintro #this is trash but it's fine im fine

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wendynerdwrites · 7 years

Note

Wendy, can you reassure me? I want to go see Wonder Woman, but ... Friend: "I hope you're keeping your expectations for Wonder Woman low. I went with a friend who studies film and she thinks the movie is not very feminist"

TBH, I found it feminist, but I’d really have to know what the arguments are. I don’t hang my standards for a feminist film on “Female lead who beats up people”, but I’ll admit, some nuances can escape me. But it is hard to give a full answer without spoilers and without knowing what the exact arguments are.

I’m of course going to say “go see it”. Even with its flaws, it’s one of the best movies currently playing, it could potentially lead to more female-centric films WITH female directors getting work, it might lead to Warner Brothers learning from the success and giving us decent Gotham City Sirens and Harley Quinn movies, and it’s also just a purely enjoyable movie. (even my mom, who normally doesn’t even like superhero films, loved it).

Could there have been more PoC taking more central roles among the Amazons? Yes. Could Etta Candy have had more to do? Yes. Did the characterizations of Charlie and “Chief” get to me? Totally (They had good characters, but the stereotyping was, uh, heavy. I mean, the Native guy is literally named “Chief”, FFS) But one of the things I enjoyed about the movie is that it doesn’t make the female empowerment about men through big moments where Diana has to “prove” she can do things despite being a woman where she’s framed as “showing up” the boys. (sorry, but those moments end up being more about the men than the women. And it does sort of reinforce the idea that men SHOULD be surprised by competent women, and yes, can even send the message to women that 1) Their skills are “threatening” and 2) That such behavior from men is acceptable.). In much the way Fury Road does, there’s no time wasted on “But you’re a girl” and “I feel emasculated!” People just do what they have to do and believe in each other. There’s a ton of “Diana, No!”/”Diana, YES!” moments, but it has more to do with her doing things that are superhuman (like deflecting a bajillion bullets and ripping apart trenches without breaking a sweat). Diana’s naivete, when I first heard about it before I saw the film, made me worried, because I was afraid that it would involve stereotypical moments where she has to be “humbled” or talked down to by (mostly male) characters. But it’s scripted very well. Steve knows she’s smart, he argues his points, but it’s never a one-way thing.

The fact that this takes place in World War I has a lot of good reasons for it, but among them is that it works better thematically than WWII. Diana definitely doesn’t get why people are fighting this war and doing the things they’re doing, but you still get the clear sense that neither does anyone else, entirely. WWII, there WAS a genuine, straight-up villain where, yes, many of the Allies did not great things that enabled the Axis, but it was up against Nazis, so… WWI, on the other hand, was just a clusterfuck of unclear, mixed, and contradictory motivations, pettiness, and incompetence on all sides. If you fought for any side, it was simply because your country is on that side. So while Diana’s naivete still stands out, her confusion and struggle really does mirror any other character or even any soldier in WWI. She has a character arc that makes sense, is served by the setting, and she’s at no point infantilized or condescended to for it. So I was actually, truly pleasantly surprised by how well it was scripted. I know some might have some issues with Diana’s arc being naivete on principle, but honestly, I can’t think of a way for her not to be naive that a) would stay true to her origin story and b) not be totally disingenuous. She grew up on an island utopia totally isolated from the rest of the world where the biggest issue was “SHOULD we train Diana to fight?” and she’s entering the rest of the world in the midst of the biggest war ever, of course she’s not going to know things. Neither did any of the other people who entered the war who WERE raised in this world. Her naivete stems from her upbringing. And pretty much EVERYONE entered WWI totally naive, anyway.

Also, the way she does things, the determination she shows, actually make sense. She isn’t a complete moron or paranoid a-hole like the other “heroes” in the DCEU thus far. Despite being the “naive” one, she’s not incompetent enough to flatten entire cities like Superman, not as easily manipulated and paranoid as Batman, not as idiotically poor at communicating as Batman or Superman, she’s not got the near-suicidal hubris of whoever it was in Suicide Squad that claimed to be Amanda Waller. Like, objectively, she is easily one of the smartest, most competent, characters in the DCEU, even during her “you should be very proud of your ice cream!” phase, it’s very clear that both Metropolis and Gotham City would be waaaaay better off with her as their defender since she’s the only person who can actually wreck shit without DESTROYING ENTIRE CITIES FULL OF INNOCENTS, would never try to defend the world with an EVIL GOD WITCH whose only leash is a heart you’re not bothering to properly monitor (and then your other failsafe is a team of other people you can barely control, most of whom, rather than superpowers, just have excellent sniper abilities, martial arts, and a boomerang…? THAT was supposed to both combat SUPERMAN and your god-witch? Seriously, I will NEVAH forgive Suicide Squad for making Amanda Waller into such a corrupt, incompetent asshole. Sorry, tangent, but Amanda Waller is sacred to me, and making her such a FAILURE to me is like making Steve Rogers a HYDRA agent. Just… No.) and doesn’t get turned into Lex Luthor’s dumb puppet so easily or want to murder someone just because they’re super strong. UGH the DCEU…

She’s competent always. And while she does learn things from Steve and the others, she does everything on her own terms, and doesn’t get “shut down” in any way where she’s just so absurdly wrong about a thing and Steve Trevor just lets her know what’s what and she just starts doing things as he wishes.

Spoilers below:

Even when it seems like the moment comes where it seems like she’s “learned” that Steve was right and she was wrong all along, it turns out to be more complicated than that.

On one hand, he is right about people being grey morally, and that it’s not just one God of War making people do bad things. On the other, Diana is ALSO right that there is, in fact, a God of War still influencing people (even if he isn’t forcing everything and just “whispering inspiration”) and that he must be destroyed. And she still has the mission of the Amazons to destroy Ares she has to fulfill. He does exist, and she still has that mission.

Granted, there may be/are some things that make this movie seem less groundbreaking or feminist due to some possible constraints, like the deliberate courting of a family-friendly MPAA rating, and the superhero film and origin story formulas. And, like I said, there are flaws, but I honestly can’t imagine a superhero film, or think of many mainstream blockbusters (aside from Fury Road) that are more or even necessarily as feminist as this one.

I’d like to know what your friend’s points are. I’m not a student on film techniques, and it can come down to a perspective thing. I mean, there are people who seem to truly think that the live-action Cinderella remake is “more empowering” and “feminist” than the original animated film. Whereas I actually think it managed to somehow be LESS EMPOWERING and “feminist” than the 50′s film featuring female characters either being petty or dressing up and the line “leave the sewing to the women.”

It possible I missed something, or that I simply don’t agree. But I’d like to know what your friend has to say.

Still, go see it. Even go see it with her and see what you think. It’s awesome and fun. Is it the perfect feminist film? No. But I don’t even think that exists anyways, so…

#wonder woman #wonder woman meta #feminism #Diana Princess of Themyscira #Steve Trevor #World War I #movies #asks #sarellathesandsnake

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unrequitedmime · 6 years

Quote

Kassia does not even hide her hiccup of surprise as he enters the room. I spare less than a second to shoot her a disdained glance, but her eyes are on the figure in the red cloak. His presence is something powerful, and the superiority fills every corner of this dark room. His face is shrouded by shadows, but if I stare hard enough I can see a few loose strands of blonde. I don't stare hard enough. I barely look at him. Instead I study his entourage. Three figures in red cloaks spreading out behind him. Upon first inspection their coats seem identical to their leader's, but somehow they are not. His is deeper, more like blood. His is richer. Despite being bred from birth to hate that colour, I cannot help the flare of admiration in my blood. Red truly is a beautiful colour. Rone shifts slightly to my right, and I know that he is tightening his grip on the axe hidden beneath the folds of his midnight black cloak. Callus is deadly still beside Rone, his rainforest green eyes almost pinning the red figure in his place. Silence settles. I do not move. I removed my hood before the Kiditri's entered, so they are free to stare at my bare face. Sun freckled skin, long sweeping lashes, high cheekbones, pursed lips, and green eyes that pierce. My raven black hair hangs in a long braid down my back, losing itself in the darkness of my draping cloak. Many loose strands tickle the sides of my cheeks and the tips of my jaw. Let them know that the head of the Loppona tribe is a 17 year old girl. The figure in red slowly lifts his hands to the hood of his cloak, and I try my best not to roll my eyes at the dramatics of it all. I am not one for dramatics and manipulation. I am one for fists and blood. My fingers grasp my bow tighter. 'Young,' Kassia whispers to my mind as she studies the hands of the Kiditri leader. My own eyes flicker to his fingers. Sun tanned, callused, and young. He folds back the hood of his cloak. 'Holy shit,' Rone breathes to the cavern of mine and Kassia's minds, 'He's...' 'Young,' I finish. 'Beautiful,' Kassie whispers. There is nothing but silence for a long time. I know that the man is whispering to the minds of his entourage as I am to my own. I was right. Blonde hair. Bright beach blond strands that have a tendency to spike over his forehead as if they are ready to strike. Golden skin, although I am not sure where he finds the warmth of sun in the darkness of the Kiditri Forests. 19 years of age. A deadly smooth expression, not one crinkle or emotion to be seen on him, and eyes a colour that I cannot even define. Brown? Hazel? Orange? Gold? Bronze? He is a blank canvas. Something empty. Something broken. Something without the colour of emotions. "Assaia of the Loppona tribe," He purrs, his voice smooth and rough at the same time. His smile dances with frost and the yearning for blood, "How lovely it is to meet you." 'He is a manipulator,' Kassia breathes to my mind, 'Careful.' I do not bother responding to her. I study the man for as long as I please, taking my time to observe him. I do not look away from the shine of his eyes, or the careful pull of his mouth. I repeat his words in my head, mimicking the deceitful tone and pronunciation. He seems to be a leader of manipulation. And then my eyes catch sight of the position of his feet. One in front of the other, knees bent ever so slightly. My eyes trail along the careful and strategic grip he has on his staff. Loose in the fingers but firm in the wrist. 'No,' I whisper back to Kassia, 'He is a fighter.' "I don't recall your name," I reply, voice smooth and careless and everything that Kassia wanted it to be. I feel her whisper of approval tickle my mind. "Lorin," He replies, "Lorin of-" "-the Kiditri People," I finish dismissively, "I know." Lorin does not react like I expect him to. He only looks me up and down very slowly before pursing his lips in disdain. He is not impressed with what he sees, and he wants me to know it. "I find it interesting," He says finally, "That the Loppona Tribe expects a 17 year old girl to lead and protect them. Aren't most 17 year old girls busy chasing boys?" His bronze eyes flicker over to Callus, and I know that he can sense the connection between us. Between our hearts. Callus stares back ruthlessly. "Aren't most 19 year old boys stroking their lengths to thoughts of 17 year old girls?" Rone does not hide his shocked cough. He does not hide the way it dissolves into a laugh. 'Sai,' Kassia snaps to my mind, 'Grow up.' Lorin's expression darkens so fast that it seems to dim the already shadowed room. He becomes something threatening and deadly calm all at once. "I suppose most do," He admits smoothly, "But trust me when I say that I will not be stroking anything to the thought of any 17 year old girl. They are not woman enough." I feel the insult like a thousand needle pricks across my skin. I hear the echo of my mother's voice in his. "I am plenty woman." A cruel glint in his eyes, "You assume I was referring to you, but I was not. How devilish of you to be offended that I do not want to fuck you, Miss Assaia. Your lover boy must be bristling." I do not glance over at Callus. Only stare at Lorin. Prick. Stupid fucking prick- "If we are done with the child's play," Kassia says smoothly, voice cold and smooth and unrecognisable, "Perhaps we can discuss more important matters." "Yes," A dark skinned man behind Lorin nods in agreement. Lorin glances back at him for one moment, and in that second of shared gazes I know immediately that he is to Lorin what Kassia is to me. A best friend. "The deadwalkers." Lorin jolts and spins back to stare at Kassia. She does not look away from him, blue eyes bright and chin raised. "The deadwalkers?" He repeats, "They are a myth." "Wrong," Rone drones, "They're real, pretty boy, and they're killing both of our people." Lorin ignores the nickname and instead shakes his head, "Deadwalkers are a tale told to keep young children in their beds at night. They are not real." "Oh," Rone quips sarcastically, "You must be right, pretty boy. It must be the wild dogs that are leaving corpses to lay across the border without their souls and eyes." "Do not talk to him like that," An Asian girl with a black pixie cut snarls at Rone, taking a step towards him. I instinctively take a step towards her, my glare sharp enough to make a dog whimper. "He will talk how he pleases," I growl. Tense silence. The girl stares at me for a long time before slowly stepping back into her place. It takes a few minutes for the fire to calm inside my chest, and during those minutes Kassia gives her report of the bodies we have found. As she talks, Lorin studies me very carefully, most likely analysing my reaction to the threat in that girl's voice. I do not think he is even listening to Kassia's words. "If the bodies are being left on your side of the border, then it is not our problem," The dark skinned man cuts Kassia off. "We agreed," I respond, "Which is why we have handled it on our own for the past two months, but in the past two weeks we have found three Kiditri bodies on our side." "The Kiditri met their ends in a way worse than our own people. Despite the feud, this problem is now both of ours." Callus finally speaks, voice deep and clear. I feel it sweep through me and wipe away all of the nerves riddling my body. "The Deadwalkers are real," Kassia finishes, "And they are killing both our people." Lorin does not move, does not breathe. We wait. We have done all we can. Displayed the problem, offered the planks. It is up to them to build the bridge connecting us. "I will not sacrifice the safety of my people and line myself with you to fight a threat that does not exist," Lorin announces finally, and I feel something in me begin to crumble, "The bodies are left on your side of the border. The murderer is of your blood, not ours. Solve the problem before the dogs kill any more of my people or I will reign terror across your tribe." And then they head to the door. "Wait!" Kassia calls desperately, racing towards them. The Asian girl spins and points the dagger at Kassia's neck so fast that my best friend barely stops before it impales her. "Stay the fuck away from us," The girl snarls. I do not realise I have shot the arrow until it slices the skin on the side of the girl's neck. She hisses in pain and covers the gushing cut, staring at me in shock. Lorin and his entourage freeze and watch the blood ooze down the girl's neck. Lorin, in the doorway, stares coolly at me as I lower the bow and arrow. I stare at the girl. "If you threaten my entourage one more time I will shoot an arrow through your fucking eye." The rage fills her eyes fast, and she takes a slow step towards Kassia. "Etta," Lorin says levelly, eyes hard as he stares at her, "Grow up. He glances back at me for less than a moment before he disappears into the night. We are left in the silence. "Fuck," Kassia almost sobs. "What do we do now?" Rone breathes, voice shaking slightly. "We wait," Callus responds.

unrequited

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lifeisacinemahall · 7 years

Text

On the face of it, they couldn’t be further apart in exposition, scope, or even their target audience. If I wasn’t constrained by the anomaly of the expression – for, I’ve tasted both, but never attempted to write with one of them – they’d be legends of chalk-and-cheese. And yet both arrived circa 2017, and both in their own ways, shook up the watching audience.

Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins and written by Allan Heinberg, as we all know now, shattered the DC world and that of superheroes forever. It was, by Zeus, helmed by a woman, and that wasn’t the reason it re-pressed box-office records worldwide. It carried with it, a hitherto unseen and unfelt emotional space in caped crusades, that brought a whiff of genuine romance even as it split wide open global issues, that though it keenly observed during the flagging days of World War I, are more relevant than ever. Opening in a flashback to the wondrous and stunning locales of the mystical and hidden island of Themyscira, the inhabitants being the all-women Amazonian warriors, created by Zeus to save mankind – the only scenes where the director and cinematographer Matthew Jensen paint the screen with mind-bogglingly breathtaking colors and hues – we see the relationship between ruling Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen, all power and caring mother at once) and her only daughter – also the only child on the island – Diana, wanting to pick up the battle cloak and dagger from an early age; to her mother’s vehement and vigorous denial, the child is trained by her aunt, Antiope (Robin Wright, masterfully intense) to become even a more whiplash of a warrior than herself. And once the Queen mother realizes there’s no stopping her defiant daughter and sister, she lets you into a tantalizing line that tells you there’s more to revealed about Diana. But that’s later for you to discover in the movie. The lives of the amazing Amazonian women are upended when a fighter plane crashes near their island, and a grown-up Diana (Gal Gadot) rescuing its sole pilot, American pilot Captain Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). That’s also when, in perhaps one of the most invigorating and eye-widening action sequences in the movie, that Diana realizes that Zeus’ son, Ares, is out there in the world unknown to her tribe, and is somehow behind the catastrophic war; she also realizes, as the island is attacked by a German unit in pursuit of Trevor, of how hopeless her island’s weaponry can be, against the modern blitzkrieg of hot lead and powerful thermodynamics. Her adventure takes her out to the big, bad world with Trevor, and she runs in with the German psychopath-cum-General Erich Ludendorff (a marvelous Danny Huston) and his chemical-mania of a chemist Dr. Isabel Maru (a superbly evil turn by Elena Anaya) also known as Dr. Poison, which so nicely fills in her job description as well. There’s other characters who support Diana/Wonder Woman as she, with Trevor takes on the evil forces, with a little help from friends including the British cabinet minister, Sir Patrick Morgan (David Thewlis, shining as always), Trevor’s secretary Etta Candy (Lucy Davis), and a band of fighters that Trevor gets together for the mission.

Gal Gadot: bows to no one.

In Aruvi (Waterfalls), the titular lead character, played by Aditi Balan, has no such luck with regards to friends or kin. This story is told in flashback too, but keeps cutting to the ominous present, where she and perhaps her only thick-and-thin friend Emily (Anjali Varadhan, singeingly fantastic) are being interrogated by police officer Shakeel Waqaab (Mohammed Ali Baig, very suave, extremely believable, but inflecting at times as if he’d rather be on an episode of CSI), and as you hear Aruvi’s story, you realize that much like Diana, she’s had a sheltered childhood, but not one of fantasy, but an everyday life, where she’s the apple of her father’s eye – Thirunavukkarasu in a magnificently etched and enacted supporting role – and has a regular love-and-tiff relationship with her younger brother. All this changes, and as far as you’re concerned, it happens in a scene that stuns, as you see Aruvi’s life upend, as you did Diana’s – only here, there’s no Trevor to lend a helping hand nor a mother to lend a supportive farewell, and a sullied Aruvi is kicked out of the house, despite her pained protestations. Director Arun Prabu Purushothaman doesn’t have the big bucks backing for this project, nor does he require the green bundles to tell the story he wrote – it’s in the turning of the blunt knife that he enjoys your discomfiture, not in the anesthetized comfort of a newly forged blade. In between cutting from a swift montage of the ever-burgeoning intrigue of the present and an increasingly chilling look at the past that got his lead character here, the director spares no wound and cut, and just as suddenly, the movie parkours from a social drama to black comedy to a visceral look at society’s unstoppable spinning of hypocrisy and exploitation. Backed by an ensemble of character actors who do wonders onscreen (as they do in Wonder Woman) – here, Arnold Mathew (playing Aruvi’s brother), Lakshmi Gopalswami (the TV host of Solvathellam Sathyam), Pradeep Anthony, Bala and others – Aruvi works best when it’s ripping off the skin of societal hypocrisy, zipping into a TED-like talk of happiness, and a cathartic revelation for a character in the TV studio. Where it does get weak is when the director spins the bottle of story much too long, giving himself and his Aruvi this indulgence that both might never get again. As in Wonder Woman, where the bar scenes and comedy tend to act as a plateau for the main mission.

Aditi Balan: water-falling in love.

Both movies also look, in their own lens-mounted ways, of the troubling times we live in. The focal point of these projects is women. And both of them are Wonder Women in the way they grittily pack a punch back at the world. Both characters step out into these worlds they haven’t seen earlier, much less prepared to take head on. But both realize very quickly that taking the bullshit by the horns is a much more messier and complex affair than they could have imagined or planned for. In a world designed by men, for men, and of men, in a sense both Diana and Aruvi are Amazonian warriors, their battles very cleanly defined by themselves even if circumstances have forced them to do so, their weapon of choice the best possible that their times have to offer. In Wonder Woman does Diana realize that the world’s such a big truckload of mess that even superheroes can’t quite resolve the mosaic of power struggles and the manic ambition of a few, or just one. Aruvi on the other hand does her best to take control of these very manipulative and destructive forces of reality shows and news mites that feed into speculation, metastasizing into false news, triggering meaningless late-night TV debates, making experts of all who care to appear on TV and indulge in shouting matches.

Thirunavukkarasu is all father’s pain in Aruvi.…

Both women succeed, if you can call it that, but pay a very heavy price for their success. If there ever was Pyrrhic victory, it is these two who bear the burden of it. From the principles of naiveté to steely determination for justice, these super women bear crosses that they’re forever nailed to. Aruvi also makes you think of palliative care, of how important it is for everyone, without fail, to have loved ones around them, as they make that one final journey, however painful the director makes it for you to watch.

..while Gal Gadot and Danny Huston play some deadly maneuvers in Wonder Woman.

And both movies work superbly well within the ground rules of engagement they lay for themselves – Wonder Woman is eventually a commercial explosion of entertainment, not pretending to be otherwise; Aruvi is more than a waterfall – it’s a flood of a wincing, progressively-tough-to-watch indie, not attempting to be anything else. And yet, both have power that they grant their women to achieve, and for that, both are extremely gratifying cinematic experiences.

The movies boast of fine lead performances – Gal Gadot is impeccable, walking the line of a radiant, magical superwoman, stumbling along to find the magic of love and the callousness of mankind, even while executing some truly fine action pieces. Aditi Balan as Aruvi is astoundingly splenetic, clawing at your soul with what has to be one of the finest debut performances ever. She’s magical too, in her own way, but more the dark, haunting variety.

The music score for Wonder Woman by Rupert Gregson-Williams is a typical blockbuster music sheet, and there, you won’t find anything alluring, except maybe for Hans Zimmer’s grungy theme. Composers Bindhu Malini and Vedanth Bharadwaj, however, aren’t bound any such considerations for Aruvi. Much like the break-out woman the movie portrays, their background score, especially, is a winner. Utterly unpredictable, rocking between Carnatic music and the unexpected pleasure of a bass, using trumpets to segue into hip-hop jazz, the musicians add their own layer of pleasurable unpredictability to the story.

And there’s another difference between the two movies. Wonder Woman, despite all the losses, gets a sequel. Aruvi, despite winning at life and because of it, doesn’t. But it is the pyrotechnics of the fantasy of one that make it easier to watch the inevitable poignancy of the other. And it is in the balancing out and propelling of these two stories, not in their canceling each other, that makes movie watching such a beautiful, uplifting, and powerful experience.

Aruvi Movie data powered by IMDb

Aruvi Director Arun Prabhu Purushothaman Running Time 2h 10 min Writer Arun Prabhu Purushothaman Stars Aditi Balan, Pradeep Anthony, Arnold, Mohammed Ali Baig, Thirunavukkarasu Genres Drama

Wonder Woman data powered by IMDb

Wonder Woman Director Patty Jenkins Running Time 2h 21 min Writer Allan Heinberg Stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston Genres Action, Adventure, Fantasy

‘Aruvi’ and ‘Wonder Woman’ reviews: A Flood and an Explosion On the face of it, they couldn’t be further apart in exposition, scope, or even their target audience.

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