#they got gypped so bad

[midnightluck]

Aventurine is Rom-Coded

Back on my bullshit with more over-analysis for my best blorbo LET'S GO

DISCLAIMER I am not Rom, I am just an interested party, pls correct me if i'm wrong or disrespectful here it's been a long time since I got to deep dive this topic. Will be also discussing the slur as context with full knowledge of the context. ALSO I am BIASED take this with a barrel of salt, and I haven't cited my sources since I did this research in high school for writing Dick Grayson fic okAY HERE WE GO

So like, can we talk about Sigonia??? Like???? What the fuck kind of culture has "may your schemes remain hidden" as a general wellwish? Can we talk about how "Sigonian" is a slur????? and ALSO they are so Rom-coded, CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE CULTURAL GENOCIDE PARALLELS PLEASE--

So FIRST OFF, Romani != Romanian, Romani != "gypsy", Romani != criminal. Romani is a tribe, is a culture, is a way of life. It's nomadic and art-centric and Romani, as a language, is not Romanian, no matter what some folk use in fic (sources: 1, 2, 3). It's a language that borrows from most European languages, and because Rom are nomadic, they then spread that back to those countries. For example, the English word "love" is used in Rom to mean "money," possibly the basis for the idiom "show me some love" meaning "pay up". (also, side note: as there are different groups and traditions, there are some pretty widely varying dialects; here's some more about that if you're interested.)

The Rom culture involves moving on and traveling. This is fascinating for townies (derogatory) and for the vast majority of people because it's an alternative lifestyle, and often children or teens or young adults would fall in love with the people or the lifestyle and follow the caravan, at least for a while. This led to the Rom's reputation as babythieves and childstealers. "Lock up your children," people used to say, "because the gypsies are coming to town." Maybe some caravans did take kids, we don't know, because fresh blood is important to continue family lines? But citation needed and A N Y WAY

So the Rom would roll into town, half-show and half-trading, perform for money, spend money, and move on. Because they were transient, there was less pressure to maintain a reputation, and a lot of the "tricks" and bad trades led to the term "getting gypped" being coined from the word "gypsy," which is why it's a slur; it literally means "someone who is intending to steal from you". One such common trick was Ekkeri, akkery, u-kéry an, which was a "magic spell". Put your money into this handkerchief, say the spell, it doubles. Do it again; it doubles again. Oh, you want me to do it with all your life savings? Sure, here's the hankie, the longer you wait to open it, the more it'll grow, buh-bye! Ekeri Aikeri is likely the original basis for the common rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock, and like all nursey rhymes was presumably a warning: if you hear this, be wary. (sources: 1, 2, 3)

So the Rom became more and more marginalized, and as any marginalized group will tell you, that's not a winning recipe for longevity. There's currently an inherent, unexamined bias all modern kids are taught, to be wary of strangers, to be wary of "gypsies" because they're enchanting magical creatures who will walk into town one day and leave with your money or your heart or your dreams (see Shakira's Gypsy), but they're not, the Rom are people, and people are not one thing. The stereotype of a "gypsy" is constantly enforced and as the population dwindles, more and more people are assuming that the Rom aren't real people, that the way of life has died out, and why be careful when there's no one left to harm? Only there is and they are trying but they no longer have the infrastructure to support themselves outside of society and they have to give up their culture to be a part of society because society thinks they're extinct fairy tales. It's a lot like what happened with Native Americans in the US, except that there were more Native Americans, they had settled land and history, and they fought back. The Rom didn't have a place to defend because nomads, couldn't point to history because oral traditions, and now there's so little to prove they ever travelled the entire continent of Euraisa and spread culture and art and magic. The only things the wider world has left of Rom culture are in our words, and even then those are carelessly used and more weapon than word.

TL;DR I have a lot of feelings on this but LET'S GET TO AVENTURINE.

Unlike real Rom, he's got the eyes--everyone can see at a glance that he's a schemer, a liar, a storyteller and a gambler. He wears his heritage on his face and he doesn't try to hide it, just like he doesn't try to hide his serial number. Someone tried to own him, and he beat them. Someone tried to kill his culture, and he won't let it die. He's been a foreigner longer than he'd ever been Avgin, but that kind of heritage doesn't die, even when everyone else does. Take Sparkle looking at him and saying "What's one of your kind doing here?"

Sigonia IV is the planet; there were multiple races on it, according to the lore, and Aventurine was an Avgin, a race that was wiped out. "Sigonian" is like calling someone an "earthling"; you're not wrong, but you are grouping everyone in together, and the Avgin and the Katican are terrible enemies who would not appreicate that in the least, I assume.

In-game characters use "Signonian" over "Avgin" which feels like "gypsy" over "Rom". Aven is presenting himself as a "gypsy," letting people call him that, embracing the stereotype and leaning the fuck in because it's better to be a Sigonian than to let the entire Avgin culture die entirely.

It's a lot of weight to carry, but that's the thing about a magic trick: the real trick is hiding how hard it all is. Magic is the art of making the impossible seem easy and natural, after all; look at this shiny pretty distraction, isn't it flashy? Isn't it bright and pretty and so easy? Just a twist of the wrist to produce anything your heart desires, and never mind how long it took to set it all up (we'll discuss performative luck build next time!)

Anyway so that's my take on his identity and cultural issues; he's too visibly an outsider to ever be trusted, but he's too alone to ever be supported in a culture. He knows he's alone, and what's more, he knows that everyone is looking to him as their only example of what an Avgin is, of what they were. He is defining his entire culture, in defiance of society, and all he has to do that with is childhood memory. There's this fuckoff big weight on his shoulders which is part of why he can't die; his reputation is every Avgin's reputation, and he will defend that more bitterly than his own. Aventurine doesn't lose because Avgin don't lose.

[mrawkweird]

A lot of the more hyperbolic reactions have come from long time Sonic heads who sort of rightfully feel gypped. I've only seen episode one and various clips so far. Episode one being the one praised for feeling the most like the movies.

Though from what I've gathered, the show is at it's best when Knux is around or/and they really lean into the insanity of the situation.

I've heard people freak out and go "Damn, if the shows this bad then I got no faith in Sonic 3" like the muti million blockbuster is really gonna try and emulate the shit from the possibly less than one million streaming show, plus we already know the details about the trailer we just haven't seen it for ourselves yet.

I got to say at this point I just respect the hustle Paramount pulls with Sonic series, having the main draw be these expensive ass cgi characters but filming enough stuff with humans to balance out the cost so the movies are never too expensive so unless they go up against some expected to be box office juggernaut they're garneted to at least meet back their budget at the box office

Anyways I'm gonna watch the show at slow pace, possibly just on or two a day opposed to binging it.

Also would you believe me if I told you this wasn't the first Knuckles spin off with the complaint of not focusing on Knuckles enough?

I do believe it because I know that frustration mostly stems from the feeling that Knuckles won't ever get the credit they believe he deserves due to past events. The world could always use more Knuckles but I think the last thing this show ever did was disrespect the character. Hell, one episode even feels like a straight up tribute to him. One might even be able to argue that the series as a whole is a tribute. A very affordable tribute. When it comes down to it I think they just showed exactly why this thing still had a movie looking budget for a streaming series and it's because they used as much as could be afforded for it.

Also, if people enjoyed episode 1 most of all then there should be no worry about the third movie considering that was the one episode actually involving the director of the films. Like, I get we've all been burned before and not just by Sonic but I don't think we're back in "Ugly Sonic" territories of down bad like some would make it out to be. I have absolute faith that fans will be eating like Robotnik in those theaters come December.

[writerchickmarie]

John Lloyd Young At The Kravis Center - Publicly Phenomenal

The world is gonna hear that voice.

We all know that this is a Jersey Boys quote, said by Gyp DiCarlo about Frankie Valli. But now, more than ever, it pertains to the man who won the Tony for portraying him.

At the Kravis Center this weekend, John Lloyd Young told us from the stage that he has played Florida many times - but none of them were public performances. They were all in the form of the various galas, benefits, and other private events that he was asked to participate in...and we also know how generous JLY is with his time and talent, in supporting various causes.

Finally, for these two nights in West Palm Beach, JLY got a chance to perform for the public. And the public was completely blown away.

JLY's shows are part of a series called 54 Below At The Rinker. Through a special arrangement with 54 Below in NYC, the Kravis Center brings that special New York cabaret experience to the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center For The Performing Arts. Well-known Broadway performers come to bring the music alive, for a taste of New York City in southern Florida.

He brought the high energy right from the beginning, taking the stage in signature shades with his commanding "Lightning Strikes", showcasing his incredible vocal range. Then he invited the audience to participate on a rousing "Oh What A Night".

JLY introduced the stellar Florida band - Jon Curtis Rose on piano/keyboard/music direction, Paul Shewchuk on bass, and Ludwig Afonso on drums. These musicians added to the energy and ambiance with their incredible skills, and some new arrangements that shone brightly throughout the evening.

JLY told stories of choosing some of the songs for his My Turn album, along with how he brought Little Anthony out at the gala in Jupiter- which was especially appreciated by this audience. He performed "My Prayer", "Hurt So Bad", and "In The Still Of The Night", all done to perfection.

The next section included a breathtaking "Only The Lonely", followed by Roy Orbison's unreleased "Say No More"...which I believe JLY should record and release, because his version is that amazing. After some Smokey Robinson and Cuba arts delegation stories (including some new ones), JLY blew the roof off the Playhouse with "Ooh Baby Baby", stunning the new people in the audience with his remarkable vocals.

He then made his way around the room for "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me", reaching as many audience members as possible among the tables in the front and the rows of seats behind - thrilling some familiar faces and quite a few new ones. After a rich, emotional "Unchained Melody", JLY and the band took a break while the audience had intermission.

During intermission, I got a chance to talk to the couple at my table, who were seeing JLY for the first time. They were already completely blown away, and couldn't wait for the second half of the show to start. They love the sense of community that the JLY Friends have as well (when they discovered how and why so many of us know each other), and said they can definitely see why we travel everywhere as much as possible to support him and to enjoy his incredible talent. They said they might even join us at some point!

After intermission came the Jersey Boys portion of the evening. JLY performed "Walk Like A Man", complete with the iconic stage moves...and then "Big Girls Don't Cry" with more audience participation and some additional stories about Cuba, followed by some stories from making the Jersey Boys movie - including some that we have not heard before. The wistful "My Eyes Adored You" drew sighs from all around the audience. Then "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (done in the style of the Broadway show) gave everyone another thrill.

JLY took this opportunity to sing some of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" in Italian, as he had done on the first Craftours excursion in Italy. He also did another song from that set - something he had always wanted to sing. The Italian version of "Are You Lonesome Tonight" truly took my breath away. He followed this with one of our favorites, "Usted"...it was so good to hear the Spanish ballad again, with JLY's rich vocals and pure emotional delivery. I could hear the approval from all of the new audience members around me as well.

Next up was JLY's astounding arrangement of "The Air That I Breathe" with his thoughtful, passionate vocals. This section of the show finished up with a playful "Show And Tell", another one of our favorites.

JLY came back for an encore, with one of my personal favorites, "Maybe I'm Amazed". Everyone agreed that he not only rocked the Kravis Center, but all of West Palm Beach as well. The finale was a special version of "Sherry", with JLY being backed by Six Seasons - a half dozen talented vocal students from right next door at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts. We were all on our feet as well, dancing along with JLY and these superstars in the making.

After both shows, so many people that had seen JLY for the first time could not stop talking about how phenomenal he is. And the couple at my table from the first night? They said it was hands-down the best concert they have ever attended. They loved his voice, his personality, and his stories. They already want him to come back to perform again...as do several of the other people I heard speaking. It looks like public performances in Florida should become a regular occurrence!

They are discovering what so many of us already know - that John Lloyd Young possesses talent and heart in spades, and shares all of it generously with each and every person in his audiences. The world is gonna hear that voice...and I am so glad that we get to be on the journey with him as he reaches new fans and new heights. So proud to support him, in every way...and to welcome more friends into the fold!

[ansixilus]

I’ve never heard that using “Balkanize” to mean “split up into mutually exclusive smaller and opposed units” was offensive before. Has there been a movement to stop saying that?

With the context that I'm a white American of decidedly western euro-mutt descent:

My understanding is that it's like using the verb "to gyp" as "to scam", or using "to jew" as "to swindle". It's using a name as a verb, itself not necessarily a problem, but the verb only works because it calls upon a harmful stereotype. Gypsies, the variably offensive term for people more politely called Roma, were stereotyped as liars and con artists. Using a nickname for them as the very word for scamming only reinforces that. For complicated reasons historical Jews were often moneylenders, whose clientele were some degree of hostile and racist against them, so they had to be savvy businessmen in order to make a living, let alone a profit. Using their name to describe haggling to the point of swindling... again, stereotype reinforcement.

So... using the name of a region, specifically a region of people who historically haven't had a whole lot of political clout, often getting pushed around by the larger powers surrounding them... to evoke the idea of a group who's so aggressive and stupid that they'll devolve into infighting at the drop of a hat? Do I need to explain why stereotypes are bad?

Though I do admit to some curiosity about how I of all people got this kind of ask.

[dakibby]

A guy with Autumn eyes

So, to be honest I have no idea what to do other than writing about him.

He's my co-worker, came on September 2 and he changed my life from the first day. A shy, collected man who doesn't like to talk too much, who makes it hard to open up with new people, the gentleman who can't do anything bad to a woman, tall, handsome, the most beautiful face I have ever seen and most attractive eyes that took my heart.

On the first day of the meeting, the whole office was at a corporate event in a traditional restaurant, and that's when he took my heart. He was sitting beside me, my female friend was sitting on the right side and he was from the left. His friend was sitting from his right, the guy who introduced him to us and I will always be thankful to him. At first, I didn't have much interest in him, for me he was just a regular person who was too quiet for my character, so I didn't even bother to pay much attention to him. But at the restaurant, he noticed I liked the wine that they were serving us and every time he would pour it to himself he would gently ask me if I wanted it too. That's when I first looked at him in the eyes and felt how my world got stuck in those dark greenish eyes with magnified pupils. After that day he is my only crush.

He got his first "green flag check" when I broke my hand in a magazine. yes, I know it sounds funny but I was just trying to buy some cigarettes and water for the road from my village to my city and there was a metal basket right beside the cashier and I accidentally put my leg in it. logically I slipped since the basket was metal and I fell on my right elbow. three fucking hours I was sitting in a bus and thinking my small elbow would stop getting puffier and would get as small as It was before I fell but no, as it turned out I had elbow dysfunction which needed to be operated on, so I did it and even now, six months later I am walking with some metal sticks in my right hand. Anyway, after I got my operation and I finally got back to work I was using my left hand to write emails and stuff, obviously I was working slower than before but I was still doing my job. but I loved having my hand in gyps because my prince was beside me and even tho he was shy and non-talkative and he had a big shell around him, he was always beside me and was trying to help me with everything he could. I remember him always opening doors for me even when I was trying to be a strong independent woman who doesn't need anybody's help, remember him waiting for me before we would go to lunch so he could assist me with everything I needed in a market, him pulling away any basket that he'd see in a magazine so I will not be harmed anymore since I can't walk straight and his warm smile when I was saying that I am a strong independent woman who doesn't need any men help but in reality i wasn't as strong as i was acting so he had to help me.

I was helping him too. Since he is new and I had a big interest in interest in him I was always trying to act as a good senior colleague and give him advice about what to do and what to not do. that's when I found out he has a romantic soul and a melancholic heart. after that, I found out that he is in love with a girl who doesn't even care about him. yes, they were dating for a short time but it has been three years after that and he still can not forgive her. I remember the first time he spoke about her, well, we were texting about relationships and he just mentioned that the only girlfriend he had was three years ago and she was the best thing that had happened to him in his whole life, that's why he can't forget her and that's when my eyes filled up with tears for the first time.

As time passed by, I wanted to get close to him and at least have him in my friends. at first, I couldn't understand him, I think he was purposely talking to me with aphorisms and ambiguous sentences because he could feel that big ass crush on him that even I couldn't resist. don't get me wrong, I wasn't trying to always have his attention, or he was telling me to leave him alone and I wasn't listening to him or childish stuff similar to that. he knew I had an interest in him but he didn't know I had a romantic interest. to be honest, even I had no idea about that so how would he know? look I found out I was seriously in trouble when It was too late, in November or even December. he fought a cold and wasn't at work for two weeks, so what was I doing all this time? I was listening to his favorite music, texting him every day asking how was he and if he took medicine, sneaking my phone inside the workplace even though it's against the rules so I could text him back as soon as possible if he'd text me, but he was very very bad replyer. yes, yes, I know, he wasn't interested in me, he was just playing with me over the texts but did I care? heck no! I was communicating with the guy I liked and was happy that I had his attention. we were talking about everything and nothing and I was very happy that we never had that banal "What's up?" or "Hey, how are ya?" kind of chat beginnings.

he knew I liked watching Sky, and so did he. I remember us talking about wanting to travel in the cosmos and enjoying just wandering around galaxies. well, I wasn't surprised by that, it was obvious since his favorite movie is Interstellar and his soul has pastel color. he looked like a well-guarded castle to me. didn't want me to get close, was trying to tell me things that would confuse me and make me think that this guy was too weird and nerdy for me, playing games that would make me feel like he wanted to use me for sex, and then throw me in the trash and last but not least he was trying to tell me he is not a good person, but was I listening? no. and that's because I could see the pain he handles, the fear of people hurting his feelings, and all the love and warmth he has to give. so, step by step I reached the point where I could call him my man. no, he's not my boyfriend yet and I don't even know if he'll ever be since he still has feelings toward his ex, but I have hope, motivation and little bit of delusion enough to not give up and try my best to make him happy because he deserves it.

he told me that I and his ex have the same birthday, we were born on the same day, at the same time, only one year, and the birthplace is different. I had mixed feelings when I heard it because he said those words not as sure as he used to. "remember when I told you there was a girl I loved? the one I still have feelings for? She has the same birthday as you and she was the best, the kind of person who needs to be carried in the palm of your hand."

FUCK! My heart is going to break into a million pieces and you, whoever you are, if you are reading this, you will see how I will break my own heart and not even regret it. because she's as perfect for him as he's for me.

[pinerclassifieds]

Hanoi rocks oriental beat back cover

Hanoi rocks oriental beat back cover plus#

Don't blame Hanoi Rocks for all that - Hanoi got it right.

Hanoi rocks oriental beat back cover plus#

Nobody else who attempted to do this was as successful as Hanoi Rocks (others stank phoney phuckers) this, plus their decadent Scandinavian mystique, is the reason for their much-heralded influence on some of the more unfortunate developments of the big haired 1980s (Poison, Faster Pussycat, everything else like this). Hanoi fused (Stooges) punk with (Alice Cooper) glam the results were convincing because they were somehow righteous about it. If you like the name of this record, you will like the music inside. This LP gets half its points for the title alone. It has that "we are producing this, our first album, ourselves!" cheap tin-can reverb, which dates it a little. They produced the first album themselves. In England, that is.īangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks - Lick 1981 Reader shit! Seb Hunter? I LOVED "Hell Bent For To the history of Finnish rock and roll music. These people are all inexorably important. Razzle: plump drummer in spandex (killed) Gyp Casino: uncool / fortunately soon to be fired and replaced by Nasty Suicide: drunken rhythm guitar / tassels They were:Īndy McCoy: visionary gypsy axe god (Keef meets Thunders meets a Turkish buccaneer meets three junkie flamenco dancers and a paralytic tramp meets Lee van Cleef in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) / best-dressed man in History of Universe / songwriter / leader / sonic reducer, ain't no loser / substance abuser I am here today to write about legendary Finnish glam band Hanoi Rocks. Hello, my name is Seb Hunter and I am a 34 year-old bad-toothed limey liberal with long hair and an unwarranted superiority complex. It's a hoot! And it has lots of funny pictures! Everything else written on this page is by Seb Hunter, Britishman author extraordinaire. Buy it today! So I invited him to review Hanoi Rocks' catalog, he found the time and gusto, and here we go! If you like his writing style, definitely pick up the book from Fourth Estate publications. It's about Seb's youthful dream of becoming a glam metal star, but also serves as a witty-as-a-comedian history of the heavy metal genre. Not sure if it's been released in the US yet, but it's heating up the UK charts and the damn thing is funny as all goshdarn goodness. Seb Hunter is the author of a hysterial yet touching (?) memoir entitled Hell Bent For Leather: Confessions Of A Heavy Metal Addict. Hanoi Rocks (Guest Review By Hilarious British Writerman Seb Hunter)Įxciting Glam Rock from Finland! special introductory paragraph! Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks Oriental Beat Self Destruction Blues Back to Mystery City All Those Wasted Years Two Steps From The Move Rock 'n' Roll Divorce Twelve Shots On The Rocks Lightnin' Bar Blues

[dreamcatcherfication]

Handwriting asks: 39. a random fact about yourself, 41. handwrite a message to your followers, 28. favorite actors or actresses. - copresident of the murder lesbians club

My copresident has returned!!!

[ms3ox]

milky

Pairing: Akechi Goro/Reader

Rating: Mature, AU: Blood-Indicative Morality

Words: 4,763

Notes on on AO3, PLEASE READ: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40965519

TW: blood

“Ow! Ugh…” The battered first-year cradled his nose.

A group of three, likely upperclassmen, surrounded the poor boy, sneering at the milky-white liquid that deluged from his nostrils.

“What?” The tallest simpered. “You not gonna fight back, loser?”

He dug his hands into his pockets, churlishly towering over the quivering kid and relishing in the small pool of pellucid liquid that contrasted the dark black of his polished soles.

You pitied the boy.

The yellowed bruises that littered his stringy arms led you to believe that this was not the first time. Nor would it be the last.

Because your academy does not have the time to spare for such paltry matters as bullying.

They probably thought that no one saw how they picked the boy up by the scruff of his baggy polo at the end of the school day and dragged him by fistfuls of mangy hair into the small alleyway between two campus buildings. Or the way they reached into his tattered, blazer pockets and gypped his wallet for all it was worth.

But you did.

You liked to tell yourself that you were an average person; that the effulgent color that seeped from your knees when you tripped and fell the other day was a sign of your good-naturedness. It wasn’t hard, exactly— to be good. All you really had to do was avoid being “bad”. What you didn’t like was the fact that despite watching the kid get the light beat out of his amiable eyes for the past five minutes, you hadn’t stepped in to do a thing.

You wanted to.

But you supposed that your wallet was not nearly heavy enough to satiate their prodigality.

That, by all intents and purposes, was not good.

“Hey,” said a voice that made you jump. “Oh! I didn’t mean to scare you– my apologies.”

You shook your head, flashing a smile toward your confidant. “Don’t worry about it.”

In the corner of your eye, his head began to tilt. When he realized what you were looking at, his jaw wound tight.

“I’m going to go help him. Wait here.”

“Ah- Hey!” You reached a hand out to grab the frays of his peacoat, but the bullies had noticed him before you got the chance.

By the time you caught up to him, you caught the tail end of his abrupt introduction.

“What does the righteous ‘Detective Prince’ want with us?” The boy to the right of the tallest mocked, cracking his knuckles as if he were readying for a fight. “You gonna report us or something? Ha! You may care about ‘justice’ or whatever, but the administration sure as hell doesn’t.”

The detective remained calm, paying you no mind as you practically hovered over his shoulder.

“I am aware of our current administrative situation, and I assure you, where I will be reporting you is ‘sure as hell’ not them.”

The group faltered, the poor boy from before seemingly becoming an afterthought in the realization of what your friend had meant.

“Something like this would typically fall under ‘assault and battery’, which would mean, since all three of you are third-years, that you would no longer be tried as children.” A small, prescient smile decorated the detective's face. “I’m sure you know what I’m getting at.”

The tallest seethed between his teeth. “What do you know?! You think you’re so much better than everyone because you got a job with the police! I won’t take shit from pigs like you!”

The tallest lurched forward, fist brandished.

“Hrrk!”

Akechi stumbled back.

His briefcase took a tumble too, falling to the ground and cracking open at your feet. You rapidly crouched and collected the items– a pen, a pencil case, a wallet, and… a long, black, cylinder-shaped object?

You staved off your confusion, shoving all of his things back into the case and wobbling to your feet with it.

“Ah-!” You rushed to his side, peeking under the thick veil of his hair to see how bad the bruising on his cheek was. “Are you okay?”

The bullies made something of a snide comment that ultimately went in one ear and out the other. Akechi didn’t respond, but the steadying of himself on his feet was damning enough. It seemed the first-year had good enough sense to run away.

“Well–” he sighed, cradling his cheek, “I suppose I’ll have to add ‘assault of a law enforcement officer’ onto your growing list of crimes.”

The group snickered at his response, seemingly taking it as a joke before he whipped his phone out and began typing.

“Wait– you’re not–”

“I am.”

The tallest nearly choked on his own spit.

Once he finished typing on a screen you couldn’t read, Akechi tilted his head to the side, all twisted smiles and false innocuousness.

“Expect a visit from local law enforcement tonight,” he said, a pleasant edge to his tone that made a shiver run up your spine. “Your personal information is logged in my school registry and I’ve taken photo and video evidence of what has transpired here today. Not to mention that I could easily procure a warrant to check the security tapes.”

Akechi pocketed his device.

“If you have any sense left to spare, I’d be honest with the good officers.” He turned, waltzing away with a cockiness that he could barely hide. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll be let off with an ankle monitor if you play nice.”

The bullies chose then to be smart and made no moves to even approach your friend following his venomous, foreboding, yet still somehow-amicable judgment.

Before they could do anything further, you raced to catch up with your friend. Tapping his hand, you gave him his briefcase.

“Well, that was…” Your mind ran through at least ten columns of adjectives. “Ominous.”

Akechi let out a soft laugh, utterly unbefitting the mood.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t actually report them.”

You made a small noise of confusion.

“Think of it as a mind game, of sorts,” he continued, “I pretended to report them so that they’d become paranoid of the idea of incarceration. A good trick, no? Besides, the Shibuya Police Department is far too busy with other matters than to deal with a couple of delinquents.”

“Trick” is putting it lightly.

“Though maybe I could gather a few officers and pay them off to do some rounds…”

“Yeah…” You let out a nervous laugh at the sadistic tendencies of your friend. “What of the boy though?”

“The boy?”

“The boy that was getting beaten. He was innocent, and once those boys realize that they’re not going to be arrested, they’ll probably gang up on him even harder.”

Akechi’s eyes, for the first time since you’d begun walking home, had met your own.

“How do you know he’s innocent?”

Here we go.

Exasperation choked your sigh. “Must you question everything, Akechi?”

He tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “Such is my nature.”

You hummed incredulously, shaking your head.

“His blood was white, Akechi. Not gray, white. Whiter than probably yours– and that’s saying a lot.”

The detective’s chest bounced harder than it should have at your quip.

“And how do you know my blood is white, hm?”

Your retort lodged in your throat. It appeared as if he were joking, but you couldn’t help but linger on the weird look in his eyes. Shaking your head, your gaze focused on the sidewalk ahead.

“I mean, isn’t that the assumption?” Wow, you sounded super unsure of yourself. “You’re always talking about civil service and upholding justice… I think it's kind of a given.”

Even on the off-chance that Akechi wasn’t just trying to relish in the look of you second-guessing yourself, there were only a handful of crimes that could completely mire a person’s blood. You highly doubted that someone like your righteous detective friend had the capability of murder.

“I’m not so sure,” he teased, “investigative work does have a tendency to land me in some unfavorable positions from time to time.”

After seeing the heavy look of concern etched onto your features, he promptly assured you that he was only joking and that everyone in his precinct gets blood tests annually for that exact reason. To which you responded with softened shoulders and a content smile.

His brows furrowed, and he tilted his head questioningly. You felt the beginnings of a philosophical rant lick at your ears.

“But what is ‘justice’ anyway? How does one define such an abstract topic? I’ve seen some contend with the law because ‘justice is blind’, but is it really so black and white? My own justice is purely oriented from said legal perspective, but there are other definitions for ‘justice’, no?”

He was so cute when he verbally lost himself in his own head.

“All right, all right, Aristotle,” you giggled, giving a playful smack to his shoulder, “let’s patch that bruise up first and then deliberate the subjectivity of justice.”

“Well, this is certainly going to be difficult to cover up…”

Akechi hummed solemnly, pulling gingerly at the skin of his cheek and analyzing the vaguely knuckle-shaped mark.

You wrapped a bag of ice in a thin towelette. His face wasn’t too marred, but it was a tad swollen.

“I could always take you to get some concealer,” you answered, handing him the makeshift ice pack, “or you could try some of mine.”

He muttered a small “thanks” before daintily pressing the bundle on his face, then drawing his arm back and hissing at the touch. You leaned in closer to his side, inspecting the injury.

“Does it hurt?” With a small “oh!” you raced to your medicine cabinet. “Here, I’ll get you some painkillers.”

You snatched the small pill bottle and turned around. Then you saw his face.

“A-... Akechi?”

His nose was bleeding.

“Hmm?”

His nose was bleeding a thick, ichored black.

With confusion laden in his furrowed brow, he turned to the mirror and was horrified with what he saw. He gasped through his teeth, and scrambled for something to cover up with, the inky fluid already beginning to stain his palm.

You couldn’t even bring yourself to care that the ice had spilled all over the floor– not with the way your mind reeled. Should you run? Call someone?

—No, Akechi is your friend! He would never…

You gnawed your bottom lip. Maybe it was just the lighting?

You were promptly corrected by the blackened stains that sprinkled his white undershirt.

Your brain was teeming with words, flickering between different questions every nanosecond– but even then, the only thing you managed to stutter out was: “...How?”

His eyes raked over your form. You were unmoving– bullets of sweat burgeoned all across your body, you could feel your heartbeat in your ears, and your eyes began to sting from how long you’d forced them open. Akechi swiped his tongue over his lips, the gears in his head turning before realizing that he was, in fact, still bleeding and required a tissue.

His mired hand dropped uselessly at his side as the cloth muffled his words.

“I know I said I was joking earlier…” he mumbled, “b- but–”

“No!” Your screech caught you by surprise. “No, no… this doesn’t… make sense…”

The white tissue had begun to poison with the amount of blood it soaked up.

Black pants, black gloves… how could you not have seen it sooner? And…

“That was a silencer in your briefcase… wasn’t it?”

His bloodied hand shot up, doing a poor job of looking defensive. “Let me exp–”

“When you were hit, you dropped your briefcase,” you continued, posture straightening, “Some of your things fell out of it.”

Between tissues, Akechi’s eyes widened.

“That long, black thing was a silencer, I presume.” You really didn’t like where this revelation was headed toward. “Why on Earth do you have that in your briefcase, Akechi?”

Akechi’s adam’s apple bobbed, eyes finding more interest in the floor than you.

“So… the weird calls you’ve been getting… and the tendency you have to disappear at odd hours… and– and the bandages–”

You felt tears brimming on your waterline. “Oh my god!”

Akechi took a rapid step towards you, seizing your bicep in his muddied grip.

“You can’t tell anybody. Do you understand?”

His voice grew hoarse, growling after every syllable. The fear from before coursed through your nerves. You shrunk beneath him, knees weak and hands trembling. This was not your friend. Who had you been entertaining all this time?

…God, you don’t want to be alone again.

“Let– Let go of me!”

Monster.

His grip softened.

“Monster?” His voice trembled just above a whisper. Somewhere along the altercation, Akechi’s newest tissue had fallen to the ground, exposing the smudges of dried ichor beneath. He withdrew, head bowed and fringe hanging just below his eyelashes.

“Promise me,” he muttered, “Promise me you won’t tell a soul. I… I can’t…”

He wiped the dried blood away with his sleeve, adding to the already morbid miscellany of stains on his shirt.

The world seemed to hate you. Making friends was difficult enough. You found solace with Akechi for that precise reason. But of course. Of course, fate would do this to you. Of course, fate would reverse the order— flipping the Star only to reveal the Tower licking at its heels. Hope, followed by complete turmoil.

Of course, fate would have it that the only person in the world you could securely call a friend would be a murderer.

“We should… wash that…”

He looked at you oddly– disbelievingly. “What?”

You gestured at his shirt. “Your clothes– they’re-uh-.”

Stepping forward, your fingers laced in his tie, pulling it loose from his shirt. You weren’t sure if the noise that came from his mouth was a breath or a gasp, but he clearly wasn’t going to kill you… so long as you didn’t tell anyone, right? You could… do that. You could. He’s still your friend. He wouldn’t have poured so much of his apparently valuable time into hanging out with you if it didn’t mean he cared, right?

It’s not like anyone would believe you even if you did go to the authorities. The Detective Prince? Murdering people? Ha! What a farce. They’d laugh you out of the building before you could say another word.

Your hands stabilized themselves on his shoulders, then glided down to his chest. Your stare nearly burned a hole through the juncture of the bottom of his neck and his clavicle.

“I’ll try to find a shirt that fits you. Keep… icing your cheek.”

You left him in your bathroom, trusting– hoping that you wouldn’t end up on the other end of that silencer tonight. The search for clothes was mindless. You touched the fabrics, ran your fingers over the textures, but it felt like touching air. Your nerves had worked themselves into a slump.

In a blur, you ended up finding an old hoodie your father gave you, which had always been three sizes too big.

Akechi’s shirt was fully unbuttoned by the time you returned, and it seemed that you still had the nerve to fluster. He turned with a languid impetus, keeping his movements short and stiff as he let you place the shirt onto his hands. He was treating you like a skittish animal.

You felt his gaze on the tops of your eyelids, but you refused to make the connection, instead finding purchase in the small divot between his pectorals.

“I’m going to order some food,” you droned, dropping the weight of the fabric fully into his grip, “do you have any preferences?”

How silly– treating a criminal with such respect.

But he’s your friend! He’s not just some stranger!

He’s killed people. Why do you think his blood is so dark?

But he’s always been kind…

He lied to you.

Your face scrunched up at your internal polarization. How do you even go about this? You’ve already concluded that reporting him is a fruitless endeavor, so how do you navigate this mess? Maybe the best option was to completely cut him out of your life… but then you’d really have no one to turn to. You don’t even remember hearing of a serial killer on the news but–

Wait… who has he been killing then?

The tension sunk your features.

“Whatever you want is fine with me.”

If you weren’t so tired, maybe you’d have seen the saddened smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Exiting once again, you tapped listlessly at your phone, placing an order at a local ramen shop. You remembered eating at a ramen shop with Akechi once and being offered a drink by some sleazy patron whom Akechi quickly shut down with one of his witty remarks that he always seemed to have tucked into his back pocket.

You only realized you were smiling when your face sagged back into a frown.

The T.V. might be a nice distraction, you thought and found fleeting mental peace by listening to the pantomime characters and their juvenile drama.

A pleasantly wrong voice interrupted your trance. “I hope you don’t mind me using your laundry machine.”

“No,” you answered meekly, “go ahead.”

In the corner of your eye, Akechi lingered before slinking away with his bundle of tarnished clothing. The subtle hum of the machine nearly drowned out his tentative footsteps, making him almost undetectable until he appeared beside you and joined you on the sofa.

“For what it's worth,” he began, sounding a little too unsure of himself, “I did derive genuine enjoyment from our conversations in the courtyard.”

Your sight fell out of focus, and you couldn’t bring yourself to force it back to clarity.

“And the study sessions at the diner… and…” His voice trailed off at your silence.

“Why did you lie to me?”

Your head turned to face him, taking in his malaise.

“I didn’t want to lose you.”

“That could mean many things.”

“It does.”

Whatever expression you gave made him visibly disconcerted, but he understood your silent plea for elaboration.

“At the most basic level, it means that I feared your reaction if I told you. Or that you’d get wrapped up in it somehow and I’d lose you that way.” He leaned on his forearms. “Truth be told, I’ve never gotten this close with anyone before… Can you really blame me for wanting to preserve what little I have?”

You huffed. “That’s rather oxymoronic.”

His eyes narrowed at the carpet. “It’s as I said before– I grew up lacking in a lot of areas. Money, safety, friendship… I thought that after my mother died I was fated to be alone. And… well, I figured if that was the case, then I’d at least make myself someone I, alone, would be proud of.”

You gnawed at the inside of your cheek. “So you’re proud of being a murderer?”

He made a small noise, apprehension pulling his limbs taut. He wiped his palms against his pants.

“It may sound a little morbid, but the murders themselves aren’t what I take pride in– but rather, what lies at the end of them.”

“So you have a goal then?”

He huffed, turning his gaze to meet yours. “Do you remember what I told you about my father? How he abandoned my mother?”

You nodded.

“All of it is to get revenge on him– to make him atone for raking my mother’s name through the mud so deep that she drowned in it.”

You could see the veins pumping fresh blood through the skin of his hand from how hard his fist had clenched. You didn’t have all the pieces to this puzzle, that you were sure of, but the memory of Akechi’s eyes stricken with a pain so deep, lips upturned in disgust, and knuckles so pronounced you could see his skin through his gloves back when he initially told you about his mother all those months ago gave credence to the idea of not getting in his way.

You didn’t agree with his methods, but abandonment seemed to follow you wherever you went. The feeling of your heart strings reaching out for a person who wasn’t there was something you were well acquainted with.

“If you’d like to stop being friends because you know the truth about me, I won’t be angry,” he finished, despondently sinking in on himself.

“I won’t”

His head snapped toward you.

“I can’t say I agree with what you’re doing… but I won’t stop being your friend.”

He outwardly appeared shocked, mouth hanging open and eyes wide, but his irises held the stars in them. They disappeared just as quickly as they appeared, much to your chagrin, when they spotted the bloodstain on your sleeve.

“Ah- I’m sorry for grabbing you like that earlier. I… panicked.” He rose to his feet, giving you a hand. “Cold water should do the trick. I’ll do my best to wash it off.”

You took his hand, wobbling to your feet and standing still for long enough that Akechi quirked a brow at you.

In a decision that never really crossed your mind to begin with, you wrapped your arms around his waist, nuzzling your head into his sternum. He still looked like your friend– felt like him too. And he smelled like he always did; like that–sometimes permeating– waft of absinthe and sandalwood with a note of marine. Comforting, soothing, usual.

You weren’t sure what you expected. Maybe you thought that something about him would change with this new information. Something about him that would make you want to hiss and reflex away like you’d put your hand into a boiling pot. But it didn’t. Akechi had not changed a bit between the time you didn’t know and the time you did. Maybe that was terrifying, or maybe that was assuaging.

The security you felt after his arms wrapped around you confirmed the latter.

Everything could go back to the way it was– no, nothing had changed at all to begin with. You wouldn’t be alone anymore. You could overlook a few things if that’s what it took. It wasn’t hard to be good. Just avoid being bad.

Upon pushing yourself away, you tried to search for the malice in his eyes, but the harder you looked the more empty-handed you came up. That familiar lidded, russet stare held your gaze softly, lightly twitching from place to place as he studied your own face.

A hand came up to cradle your jaw, ink still faintly nestled between the cracks of his palm. You’d only realized you were leaning completely on him when his grip around your back tightened to accommodate. Akechi’s thumb swiped across your bottom lip, fingertip settling in the middle of your lips and coaxing them open. His gaze had stilled.

You puckered your lips, giving the pad of his thumb a feather-light kiss and entangling your fingers with the hand that rested on your cheek in a silent affirmation of it’s okay. His eyes were so pretty up close.

Akechi sucked in a breath, physically wavering between wanting to push away or get closer. You pressed his stained hand harder onto your skin. His impulsivity would decide.

And it did.

You couldn’t see his eyes anymore, but his lips collided with yours– an equivalent exchange.

Your other hand traveled up the length of his shirt, settling on his nape and curling into his baby hairs. You closed your eyes for a better taste. Bubbling from his throat was a weak sound that made your nerves tingle. Your face grew warm under his palm, savoring the cloudy feeling of breathlessness between kisses. In fact, he hardly let you breathe at all. When you separated for a modicum of air, he grunted, angry that you were apart, and forced your lips together once more.

You groaned, tilting your head to the side and deepening the kiss. If you weren’t allowed to breathe, neither was he. You audibly smacked your lips together until the room began spinning and silently agreed that okay, maybe breathing is necessary to survive.

Akechi leaned his forehead on yours, heavy breathing filling the silence. Once your heart stopped beating the oxygen from your chest, he dove forward once more, ensnaring you in a searing, passionate–

Ding! Ding!

Ah.

Ding! Ding!

“The food. Right.” You reluctantly pulled away, praying that the delivery man wouldn’t notice the healthy rouge that tinted your face. Or the black bloodstain on your very white uniform shirt.

Shit.

You hid partially behind the door, accepting the bag with a dry smile. You flashed Akechi an even more awkward smile upon turning around. He seemed to reciprocate, so maybe it wasn’t as bad as you thought.

“I got you beef ramen. That’s what you got last time, right?”

He padded over to the kitchen. “I’m surprised you remember.”

“Of course I did,” you replied, taking out the bowls and grabbing utensils.

You opened your bowl and took it to the sofa, lounging between the cushions and grabbing the remote. Akechi, meanwhile, appeared as if he weren’t sure where to put himself. You beckoned him over.

“C’mere. Let’s watch a movie.”

He wordlessly joined you, carefully placing his own bowl on the coffee table and hunching over to eat it. You mindlessly clicked through a sea of suggestions before picking a random romantic comedy that appeared decent enough to entertain. Neither of you said a word while you ate. The movie was a nice distraction from your thoughts.

Yes, you were going to shove this information down into the deepest parts of you so the darkness there could chew on it and spit it out, never to be brought back to the surface again unless it was impossible to avoid. Akechi very plainly stated that he didn’t want you involved, so “involved” you will not be. Simple.

Healthy? No. Neither was the ramen.

You slurped up the last of the broth and set your empty bowl on the table. The arm you extended reminded you of the fact that you were still wearing your soiled shirt, and cleaning a bloodstain from your couch cushions was not something you felt like doing. You thumbed at the buttons of your uniform, undoing them casually and untucking the bottom from your skirt. You also casually forgot that you were not the only person in your apartment. Looking over, Akechi’s gaze was dutifully averted, but the tips of his ears shone bright red, making you giggle. He cleared his throat awkwardly, unsure of where to direct his gaze as you handed him the shirt.

“You said you’d wash it. I hope you haven’t forgotten.”

A devious grin tugged at the corners of your mouth as you watched his eyes flicker nervously between your chest and your face. You wanted to tease him more– play it up a little. You leaned on your arms, biceps pushing the mounds of your chest closer together. The action made his blush crawl from his ears down to his neck.

Akechi gulped, nodding along as if he didn’t look like a chaste deer-in-the-headlights.

You leaned in with a sultry chuckle, giving his lips a short peck before skipping off to your room. The confused noise he made replayed in your mind as you pulled a sweatshirt over your head.

After you were comfortable, you returned to your living room, spotting Akechi hunched over the sink and scrubbing at the stain. You walked over, leaning into his side. The stain seemed to be mostly gone; the only evidence that it had existed in the first place was the small, grayed outline.

“Thank you, Goro,” you purred, taking the shirt and wringing it out, savoring his shocked expression in your peripherals.

You carried the damp shirt over to your dryer and haphazardly threw it in. You could see Ak– Goro’s reflection in the metal.

He spun you around, caging you against the machine. He dove down onto you, shoving his lips against yours with a hungry grunt. You kissed him back with a passionate fervor, fingers hooking around his belt loops and urging his body onto you. He groaned your given name into your mouth.

“Can I stay over?”

He gave you little time to respond before capturing your lips once more. Your fingers played with his belt, steadily undoing it until it came undone with a clank.

“Of course, Goro,” you whispered, breathing his air, “Just don’t forget your tie.”

His fly was quick to unzip.

[thefangirlrant]

Now that we’re five episodes into Tokyo Mew Mew New, I have a few thoughts I wanted to get out there, and no, they are not all about Ryou (but he is staying rent free in my mind 😆). The first thing I’m going to say (because I’m going to have to admit it eventually), I’m really liking the “new” Aoyama; I put “new” in quotes because he’s not really new, they just made the more subtle parts of his personality more prominent this time around, and I really like that.

He’s actually showing that he’s just as nervous and awkward as Ichigo, and I think it makes them more appealing as a couple; like I’ve said before, I also really like that their initial attraction to each other isn’t based on shallow features, like it was in old anime and even the manga.

Now, that doesn’t mean I’ve switched to team Ichiyama, I’m still hopelessly rooting for my boy Ryou (team ichiryou!), and speaking of Ryou and Ichigo, I’m so happy we got the rice ball scene!

😭 Keep giving me false hope, please! I also noticed there’s a bit of a pattern to the “triangle;” episode 1 focused on Ichigo and Aoyama, episode 2 switched to Ichigo and Ryou, episode 3 we went back to Ichigo and Aoyama, and then it switched again to Ichigo and Ryou for episode 4. 5 kind of gypped both boys, but we got see my new love, Seiji! ❤️ He is everything I’ve ever wanted in Minto’s brother.

Speaking of episode 5, let’s just talk about that for second.

First of all, Minto, while I totally get where you are coming from, it sucks when no one wants to listen to what you have to say, but you are in high school, which, in fact, means you are still a child. I was you, girl, I thought I was “grown up” in high school, but let me tell you, you are not, you are a child, when you actually grow up and become an actual adult, your parents and your brother will start treating you like one (trust me, this phase will pass). I’m a little disappointed we didn’t get a more detailed account of Minto becoming a Mew, but maybe that will come later (I hope).

Also, it’s a bit concerning that Minto literally agreed to work with Ryou and Keiichiro just because they said they “needed” her, and she was like, “no one’s ever said that to me before!” Umm, Minto, you don’t know these guys, you can’t just go giving your life away because they say they “need you.” I love my boys Ryou and Keiichiro, but Minto, have some better judgement, girl. I know Minto is trying to “prove herself,” but I have a feeling that’s going to blow up in her face.

Which brings me to my theory for the next episode. I’m assuming this will be the episode when Zakuro finally joins the team, and if we’re following the manga, it’s also when Ichigo uses the StrawBell Bell Version Up.

So let’s look at this from Minto’s perspective: you’re supposed to be the leader, you want to be the leader, but someone else gets the upgraded weapon, instead of you.... (The only thing that will soften that blow is Zakuro agreeing to join the team 😆) Something tells me once Ichigo uses the stronger weapon, that’s when the hierarchy will change, and Ichigo will be pushed as the leader.

Finally, the subject I’ve been putting off because it is possibly the most controversial: Quiche. Now, Quiche is a character that had a lot of potential in the original series (anime and manga), he had a lot of room to grow as a character, but then he.... didn’t. 😒 This new Quiche... well he’s bad and he likes it 😆 and honestly, I like him better as a character this way.

There’s not a lot of ambiguity, and it’s made very obvious that he is not good for Ichigo (and he’s only been in 3 episodes so far!). Something tells me there’s not going to be a lot of new QuichexIchigo shippers; what I mean is, new fans that this is their first exposure to TMM won’t be seeing Quiche as a good fit for Ichigo because it’s made very obvious that he does not care about her at all. (Then again, Quiche seems to have some kind of way with certain fan girls, so he might wrangle in some new ones 😅 something about the crop top, green hair, or the pointy ears 🤔).

One more thing, can I just say I love the word choice in this scene:

😆 If there is ever an English dub for this, can we please use these exact words! Ryou, you rascal 😆😂🤣

[miasma-of-fear]

*  RULES  : share  five  songs  that  represent  ur  muse  !  just  repost  ,  don’t  reblog

Tagged by: @inhuman-hearts

Tagging: @tucker-vision, @an-oc-to-rp-with, and @king-crane

01. Working Class Hero - Marianne Faithfull (cover)

When they've tortured and scared you for 20 odd years

Then they expect you to pick a career

When you can't really function, you're so full of fear

A working class hero is something to be...

A working class hero is something to be...

02. A Simple Desultory Philippic - Paul Simon

I was Union Jacked, Kerouac'd

John Birched, stopped and searched

Rolling Stoned and Beatled till I'm blind

I've been Ayn Randed, nearly branded

Communist 'cos I'm lefthanded-

That's the hand they use... well, never mind!

03. Thirteen - Johnny Cash (cover)

Got a long line of heartache, I carry it well

The list of lives I've broken reach from here to hell

Bad luck wind been blowin' at my back

I pray you don't look at me,

I pray I don't look back

04. Pony - Tom Waits

I run my race with Burnt-Face Jake

I gave him a Manzanita cross

I lived on nothin' but dreams and train smoke

Somehow my watch and chain got lost

I wish I was home, in Evelyn's kitchen

With old Gyp curled around my feet

05. Dead Flowers - Townes van Zandt

Take me down, little Susie, take me down

I know you think you're the queen of the underground

Send me dead flowers every morning,

Send me dead flowers by the mail;

Send me dead flowers to my wedding

And I won't forget to put roses on your grave

[wrenhyperfixates]

Loki Series Thoughts—The Variant

With the release of episode 2, I’m back with another analysis. Spoilers ahead!! This will be a combination of personal thoughts, theories, and objective analysis. This is overall, a positive review, so if you do not want to see that, I would not recommend continuing to read. I am however more than open to some friendly debate and discussion over any and all of the following points, whether you agree or disagree with them.

With all that being said, let’s dive in:

I feel gypped on the Holding out for a Hero fight scene. I mean, I liked how the scene was shot, especially with the whole loudspeaker thing (it set the mood very well), but where’s Loki fighting to that song?

Alright, I might as well address the elephant in the room: Is Loki OOC? Well, for my money, the answer is both yes and no. And I don’t mean to be wishy-washy; it really kind of depends on how you define OOC and/or who exactly you take this Loki to be.

What does OOC mean? To me, the literal definition of “out of character” would be the character acting in a way unlike they’ve been seen acting before. Likewise, according to Collins Dictionary it would be defined as “not typical of the apparent character of a person or thing.” Now, that’s a bit too black and white. What if you have a character in a new situation, how do you know how they’d react? By analyzing their past actions and seeing if they line up. And if you stop at this point and deem Loki entirely OOC, well you’re allowed to and that’s valid. I, however, would not say entirely is the word to use. Somewhat, yes, but not terribly and not inexcusably so. I’ll come back to this in a moment.

Who is this Loki? He’s the one right after the Avengers, of course, but he’s something different too. Think about it, the whole series is centered around how different choices can shape the very fabric of the universe. Wouldn’t it stand to reason that changes in Loki’s story would cause him to behave differently than what we’ve seen before? This is, in essence, a different Loki, albeit one who’s own narrative is shaped by a shared backstory with ours. It even says it on his jacket in big, bright letters: VARIANT. So while he shouldn’t be too dissimilar from the Loki we know, I do not think we can entirely look to the old to determine the new.

Now that we have that out of the way, we’re back to my somewhat noncommittal answer of the original question. Loki has some moments that seem OOC, but almost always has a (valid) reason for acting that way, both in and out of universe.

Loki’s OOC moments:

◦ The Renaissance Fair: And I by no means think this applies to his whole spiel. In fact, I think it was largely in character. What got me was “Which is absurd, because my people are, by nature, gullible fools. A trait that I, the God of Mischief, exploited time and time again simply by listening.” And then again, right after B-15 announces they are one unit away from red line. Though, my issue with the latter is how rushed it is. This could make sense because he’s worried about having time to finish his ploy. It’s a small thing to harp on for sure, though, for the point I am trying to make.

◦ In the hallway: This is where I think he’s most OOC. It feels rambley and pointless. More a desperate plea than a calculated last resort.

◦ With the librarian: I was hesitant to put this one in, but he seemed a bit unsure at points in his dialogue here. The inflection of his voice in the middle just sounded, like I said, unsure.

◦ The cafeteria (both times): More so in the first. The metaphor was, like Loki himself said, clumsy. But what I really think is OOC here is how excitable and obvious he is after Mobius concedes, “Not bad.” And the only thing on their second cafeteria chat is at the very end. His response of “I know” to being called clever, once again has an inflection to it that I would not typically associate with Loki—it’s too pronounced.

◦ Pompeii (beginning of scene only): Loki seems pretty flippant about the whole thing in the immediate moments after their arrival. (As an aside, I don’t think he’s necessarily unsympathetic here; he knows what happens and to keep himself safe and prove his point, he can’t branch the timeline.) To be quite honest, I think he might just be goading Mobius as he’s done to our God of Mischief many a time already.

◦ Before Roxxcart: He seems nervous, and his speech is a bit rushed again. Then again, this is something he wants—to be better. I’d think he’d be a bit more calm about it, though. Then again, with everything that’s happened recently, maybe it’s a natural response?

The reasons why he seems OOC:

◦ It’s on purpose: He knows what they think of him. If he plays into that, even in an exaggerated way, they’re not going to call bs on it.

◦ He’s been through a lot/Not our Loki: Like I mentioned earlier, not only is this a new environment, it’s a new Loki. He’s been shaped differently from our Loki because of how he was immediately thrust into the world of the TVA after many traumatic experiences.

◦ It’s an acting choice: No, it’s not one you have to agree with. But I believe Tom could be doing it to highlight moments where Loki is saying things he personally does not actually believe or that he knows others believe. Just to distinguish from the more calculated lying he does.

So, are there moments when Loki acts OOC? Yes. Is it inexplicable? No. Are the answers to those questions always the same from person to person? No, because like so many things, it’s all about how you frame it. And, of course, every person perceives each moment of time through their own eyes, with their own thoughts, in their own ways.

Loki has plenty of moments in character, too. In fact, I’d say he was overwhelmingly in character, for my understanding of it. In the earlier parts of the Renaissance Fair he is witty and lying with ease. At all other points that I didn’t mention, I found his vocabulary and inflection perfectly fine. I can’t think of any one moment his hand gestures particularly stuck out to me as out of place. And during his impromptu magic lesson, he seemed so sure of himself. He has snark without being rude. His interactions with “the variant” are on point. Even in the majority of the Pompeii scene, he’s not acting OOC, he’s just acting. He wanted to make an over-exaggerated splash to test his theory. Between that and speaking Latin, aren’t we seeing his cunning and wit?

Well, with that divisive and slightly negative topic out of the way, let’s move onto Mobius, his character, and his role in the show. He’s a bit different than the Mobius we see last time. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still moments where he seems to be manipulating Loki, or at least attempting to (the walk to the elevator; dangling a meeting with the Time Keepers in front of Loki’s face). In episode two, he’s presented as a victim. Mobius is just as much a slave to the “sacred timeline” as those living in it. He can’t go into the world and do the things he wants to do. Even any questions about time that Loki has, he answers seemingly by rote (perhaps drilled into his brain through propaganda?) or he can’t explain well (note, two times he somewhat hesitantly deems what Loki says as “an oversimplification”).

We’re also told that Mobius has a soft spot for broken things. That seems like a bold thing to say if Mobius hasn’t done something big before. Has he possibly ever used a variant like this before? Could he even possibly have a deeper connection to the rouge variant? Probably not on that second one, but it’s not wholly impossible. Though, going back to “has he done this before?” (and get ready for me to get absolutely insane now) do the rings on the table have deeper symbolic meaning pertaining to this? Yes, it could have just been for comedy, it may have just been a cool shot, but why put so much focus and emphasis on it like that with the camera and dialogue if it has no significance. Basically what I mean is, it’s symbolic of Mobius messing up. He messed up Renslayer’s table, maybe he botched a mission. Or maybe he even screwed up when working with another variant. Regardless of whether that’s symbolism, we do see him have a soft spot for the people at the hurricane shelter.

Mobius’s role in episode 1 was trying to break down Loki and recruit him. In this episode, he was more of a guide, more of a friend. Yes, there are lines like at Roxxcart when he says he knows he can’t be trusted, but there’s also a lot of camaraderie between the two. By the time Loki and Mobius are having their second chat in the cafeteria, they seem familiar with each other, engaging in what seems to be a friendly bout of verbal sparring. They seem, at very least, fond of each other, and I believe Mobius is, to some extent, on Loki’s side.

In fact, Mobius and Loki share something in common; they want something more than what the time keepers have preordained for them, even if Loki is more ready to admit that. Mobius is still, however, playing the part he’s been assigned, his “glorious purpose.” And, yes that includes some digs like that at Loki, whether Loki’s in the room or not, and whether they’re subtle or not. Is “I’ll delete him myself. He’s really arrogant.” really a dig though? I mean, it sounds like he could just be saying what Renslayer wants to hear. And when he talks about Loki wanting something more, wanting to change, I don’t think he’s actually talking about Loki. With the inflection and stage whisper, it almost sounds like he’s projecting. Remind you of anyone? Mobius will likely end up helping Loki, or may even turn into a tragic hero, his fatal flaw being his unwillingness to admit the TVA is not infallible.

The TVA workers. Isn’t odd how some of them have names and others don’t? Do they name themselves? More likely, I think whoever is in charge of a branch of the TVA gets a name, and all underlings get the less than human mix of letters and numbers with which to identify themselves. It also seems that the people with the most personality are the ones with names. B-15 has a personality, sure, but it’s more just in line with “I work for the TVA. This is what they want. I will do exactly that.” It’s almost lacking something that the named characters have lying beneath the surface of their character arc.

And then she gets enchanted, and if Wunmi Mosaku wasn’t already shining with the limited story for the character, oh boy she is now. When B-15 comes to, she is scared. It’s on her face and in that little shuddered breath. And when asked what happened, she seemed so unsure, timid. I’m definitely interested to see how that progresses!

Back to the workers in general, they didn’t seem as sad about their coworkers this episode as in the last. Even with C-20 it seemed to be a respect thing. I mean, they reset the timeline with their colleagues lying dead on the floor. I think in a lot of scenarios, dead soldiers would be given a proper burial.

Ravonna Renslayer and the time keepers. Renslayer is even more steadfastly devoted to the sacred timeline and the time keepers than anyone else. Why? Well, I think it’s because she is the time keepers. Any time they’re brought up, it’s quickly explained away with a simple “they’re busy.” That’s because they’re not real. But Renslayer sure seems chummy with them, huh? What other reason then its her timeline she has everyone protecting.

Then again, she may only be second in command, but not to the time keepers. (I mean, omniscient and omnipotent beings who are relatively aloof and unreachable? They’re perfectly set up to be revealed as not real. Plus the constant non-answers when it comes to them, I’ll be more surprised if they’re real than if they’re not.) But in the comics, her plot line is interwoven with that of Kang the Conqueror, a time traveler, among many other things. Even more likely than her being in charge, is him being in charge.

And now for the variant. It’s not Lady Loki, we all know that right? Ok, that comes off a bit harsh, but she is listed as Sylvie in the credits for languages other than English. This was also who Sophia Di Martino was previously listed as on IMDb. I won’t get into her story in the comics now, but I’d bet we’ll take elements of that in her story in the series. And if you’re still not convinced that’s who this is, why have her blonde? It just doesn’t make sense to change that about her. Plus, Sylvie takes on the name of Enchantress. What does Loki say her powers are? Enchantments. She doesn’t want to be called Loki either. She does say the main Loki variant is her, but if she’s framing him or taking on his persona for her crimes, why stop now? Her language is distinctly un-Loki like, too. She also boldly declares “This isn’t about you.” And finally, there’s the foreshadowing in Loki’s line, “I would never treat me like this.”

I only wonder what her motives are. Is she looking for revenge on the Loki from her timeline? Or perhaps she’s working fo him? Maybe he’s dead and she’s avenging him? Or he’s alive and she wants to grab his attention? Maybe she has motives all her own. And what of Mephisto? Does he actually play a part in this? I’m just spitballing, I need more information.

When Loki finds the file. No. Like. Give a detailed description of this please!!!!! He thinks he’s evil. That he causes all that death with malicious intent. Even if he doesn’t, there’s clear pain over the destruction of Asgard. And look at his eyes, the only thing we’re shown as he process the information fully for the first time. He’s hurt, confused. Disappointed and angry with himself. The bit we’re shown of his face before it zooms in on his eyes portrays this too. He looks so lost in that shot. And he looks to be tearing up a bit.

Maybe I’m just being dumb, but what does it mean 9,719 casualties? Didn’t they all escape? His face as the scene zooms back out is... defeated. Scared. Scarred. He’s barely holding it together. Then something else catches his eye, giving him an idea. And I’m sure more than anything he wants to be distracted from the storm in his mind. So yeah, he’ll happily throw himself into his work. The epiphany on his face as he’s still recovering and discovering new things is just so perfect too.

The confrontation at Roxxcart. This was really well done, I felt. Loki felt in character, and he was fighting smartly, using what he could. Because clearly the enchantment also lent Sylvie’s powers to the person. But Loki manages to hang in there and dig for information while keeping the battle going.

He gets mad, too. He starts yelling. And that makes sense. He wants answers, and for so long he’s been denied them; it’s a recurring theme in his life. He’s losing control of himself a bit here. And that’s a large part of the reason why he goes through the time door. Loki doesn’t want to lose control again. I don’t even know if it was exactly a betrayal of the TVA. I don’t think he’s on their side, but I think he just saw that he couldn’t lose the variant again. Because for what he says his plan is, he wouldn’t have followed the variant. However, he does because he wants answers.

What about that plan though? I’m working a bit in reverse with this scene I realize, but bear with me. That look on his face as he stands, it’s calculating. I think he’s lying about his plan. I think he’s trying to bring the variant in, not work with them.

Also, I’m so concerned for C-20. What’s real? I want to know!! But we’re already getting a feel for Sylvie’s powers. The people she enchants live, but they’ve seen something they’d rather not. What other reason is there for the similar way B-15 and C-20 act? And I know she mentions telling Sylvie the time keeper’s location, but really, it’s their location to her knowledge. It doesn’t necessarily mean they exist. Or maybe it’s just Kang.

And Mobius at the very end of this scene, the very end of the confrontation, the very end of the episode. The last thing is him calling after Loki. And he sounds genuine, almost. It didn’t sound like he was fearful for his own life, but rather more worried for Loki. Though, maybe I have that confused and it’s worried about Loki. Whatever the reason, it sounded like genuine fear in his voice to me.

Finally, some random thoughts that didn’t fit anywhere:

Gugu Mbatha-Raw is so talented. I mean, I got a lot of emotion from Renslayer. Confident and proper at the beginning, panicked and afraid at the end. Even in her talks with Mobius, there’s many subtleties to pick apart. I think it’s heavily implied through her words and actions that she’s evil.

The casual magic use was great. Hope there’s more.

Why do setting off reset charges in the main timeline have a different effect than setting them off in the branch timelines? Like shouldn’t it wipe it, not make branches?

Loved all the rapport happening in the episode. There was a lot of good dialogue.

Despite the manipulations going on, I like the relationship forming between Mobius and Loki. I think they make a nice little duo.

I love all the Loki variants we’re shown. Very, very interesting. Just give us Jötunn Loki for real, please.

Loki was very clever this episode, particularly with figuring out you could hide in an apocalypse and at Roxxcart.

Does Roxxcart have a link to Roxxon?

Their little motto thing is a bit creepy. “For all time. Always.” Sounds like it’s just part of their propaganda.

“You see, I know something children don’t. No one bad is ever truly bad. And no one good is ever truly good.” I love this line. Seriosuly, why not use this sound bite in the trailers? Loki himself is morally gray, and I love that we’re addressing this fact of life; the world is not all black and white, not all good and bad.

CASEY!!!

In the second cafeteria scene, there is a guard in full armor just standing there. I guess they’re monitoring the employees. How likely does whoever is in charge think it would be for an uprising of sorts to happen?

Between sleepy Loki, him putting that jacket on, his hair, that talking to himself and that annoyed little shh in the library, and just being the happy goof that he is deep down (Miss Minutes scene and salad metaphor) Loki was just so adorable this episode.

I think it’s important Mobius said sorry when talking about ragnarok. He knows Loki cares.

Mobius does kind of understand Loki when saying he has an “insecure need for validation.” He’s right, honestly, albeit harsh. But that’s all he wanted throughout the Thor movies too, not to be looked down upon. To be treated as equal. As worthy.

Of Mobius’s two options for why he’s sticking his neck out for Loki, I think they both hold some truth.

Interesting how TVA agents like to keep souvenirs from lives they can never live. Though maybe Renslayer keeps them for a different reason. Like from timelines that were particularly a threat to order—her order.

The score is still on point. Loving the theremin.

Wow an explanation pertaining to time travel I’ve found no holes in. It’s unstable and they have to enter in real time (furthest point on the branch) because of that. Ok, yeah. Checks out.

I’m so glad they kept the title card from last week. I like it so much better than the one from the trailers, and it fits the vibe of the show better.

Is it bad I want all these new branches to red line? I think it seems a little too early into the show for that to happen, but maybe a few of them will? Perhaps improbable but not impossible. But think of the chaos! What better playground for the God of Mischief than a universe thrown into disarray.

And now, my final thoughts. A very good episode with a mainly in character Loki. I like how we’re slowly learning more with what’s going on, while still keeping an element of mystery. Though, Marvel’s twists aren’t landing as well as I think they were hoping (assuming I’m right of course. I’ve seen plenty of other people who were thinking along the same lines though, so). It’s lacking a certain je ne sais quoi that Glorious Purpose had, but I still enjoyed it. Overall, 8/10. Let’s just hope my rating doesn’t go down point with every episode.

Like something I said? Totally disagree? Really want to talk more about one point? Whatever it is, I’d love to hear! Reblogs and comments are appreciated. My ask box is always open, and anon is always on. I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Thanks :)

Me, after not liking one, but two episodes:

[stonecoldhedwig]

i like this prompt suits you. but lmk if you don’t like it and i’ll try to find a better one

“I’m allergic to flowers but I work in a flower shop – you’re a customer who’s very confused as to why I’d do that

Thanks pal for the prompt! This was adorable.

Here we are:

“Alrighty, so that’s a dozen white roses, the eucalyptus sprigs, and what else—oh! The gyp.” James looked up from his calculator and smiled at the middle-aged woman standing on the other side of the counter. “That’ll be twenty-eight fifty.”

The woman returned his smile, and held out a couple of notes. James reached out a hand to take them and—

Sneezed.

The woman recoiled, naturally repulsed. James immediately began to apologise profusely, only for Sirius to swiftly elbow him out the way.

“Twenty quid, the eucalyptus is on us,” Sirius said smoothly, dealing with the transaction. The customer smiled, all but snatching the bouquet of flowers out of Sirius’ hands in exchange for a twenty-pound-note, before practically fleeing from the shop.

“Thank you!” James called after her weakly.

Sirius looked at him, incredulous. “Prongs, what the fuck? You’re still sneezing? I thought you went to get a prescription for those super strong antihistamines!” “Yeah, but they give me the weirdest dreams. I had this awful one yesterday about how my uni professor Slughorn and I had to complete some kind of quest, but he kept turning into a lilac satin armchair. I can’t cope.”

“Pathetic,” snorted Sirius, but his tone was goodnatured. He turned and began to head into the back of the shop. “For that, you can clean the shears while Remus and I go fool around in the office…”

James threw a scrunched-up paper towel at Sirius’ retreating back and sighed, wiping his hands on his green apron. In Sirius’ defence, it really was utterly ridiculous—he was working in a florist, and he had hayfever that seemed to get worse every year.  James, Remus and Sirius had been working in James’ mother’s flower shop every summer since they started university. They had a good time, the pay was decent, and every penny that they earned went into savings so that they could go on what they called their Grand Adventure after graduation. The allergies hadn’t been that bad at the start, but every year seemed to make them worse and worse.

James turned, about to fill the corner sink with water so that he could clean all the shears when he heard the bell ring to signal the shop door opening. He turned and stopped.

Standing in the shop was a girl. That much was obvious, of course, because James’ wasn’t actually so terrible with girls as his friends liked to think, and was actually capable of spotting one in the wild. This, though—this had to me more than a girl. She had a shock of red hair, pinned loosely back from her face, and James was sure he could call it cinnamon and russet and auburn and strawberry all at once. She was mesmerising.

“Hey,” the girl said, and James felt his mouth moving, but no sound came out. Even her voice sounded good.

The girl looked awkwardly at James, her smile slipping into more of a grimace. “Um, I’m looking for some flowers for my best friend. It’s her birthday.”

James found his voice, finally, although the words came out squeaky and strained. “Right!” He gestured towards the floral display. “What sort of thing were you looking for?”

“Something simple, I think.”

The two of them moved towards the display and James began to chatter. “I like the stocks—they’re simple, and they smell lovely. Although, we’re all out of the blue and I do personally find the pink a little garish. There are those alliums at the back—see those big purple coloured ones? They’re very nice; related to garlic and chives, although you wouldn’t guess.”

James chattered on, asking for more information and pointing out the different flowers he thought were appropriate. He might have hayfever, but he was also the son of a florist and a botanist, and James knew his stuff when it came to flowers. They discussed the merits of roses—too romantic, too cliche—versus hyacinths; and James tried desperately not to sneeze. He thought that his streaming eyes must look like he was getting emotional over the flowers, and cursed himself.

The girl smiled, listening politely. When James paused for breath, she gestured to a group of flowers that James had suggested. “Oh, the peonies are beautiful.”

“Yeah, they’re—they’re—“ James turned away and let out the most almighty sneeze. His eyes were streaming as he looked back at the girl and smiled apologetically. “God, I’m really sorry, I have terrible hay fever and it’s just playing up today.” “Oh!” The girl’s eyes lit up. “I’m a medical student and I’m writing my dissertation on the management of allergies. You’d be an incredible case study!”

James grinned at her with a bemused look. “I’ve never heard anyone tell me I’d be an incredible case study before. I must write that down and let my ex-girlfriends know…” The girl let out a laugh—a full-bodied, genuine laugh that made something delicious and delighted bubble in James’ chest. “I do have a question, though,” she said. “Why the hell are you working in a florist if you’ve got such bad hayfever?”

James chuckled, looking down at his feet. “Yeah, it’s insane, I know. This is my mum’s shop—me and two of my friends work here during the uni breaks to earn some money for our big adventure after graduation. We want to go on tour with our band.”

“Oh, that’s so cool!” The girl looked genuinely interested. She nodded towards the logo on James’ apron that read Euphemia’s. “So you’re Euphemia’s son?” “James Potter, at your service.”

“Well, James Potter, I’m going to go for the peonies, I think.” The girl nodded towards the pink blooms that James had suggested. “They seem perfect.”

“Great!”

James busied himself with arranging the bouquet, taking longer than he usually would, and certainly taking more care. His mouth felt dry and he was furiously wracking his brains to try and think of things to say that would make the girl pause, stay a little while and talk with him. He already loved the sound of her voice; the light cadence of her words, the short snaps of her vowels. James could have listened to her talk all day.

Alas, nothing came to him, and after a couple more sneezes and an exchange of cash, James reluctantly handed over the bouquet.

“Thanks. Here—“ The girl reached out and snatched up the notepad and pen that were sticking out of James’ apron pocket. She scribbled something down and handed the paper back to James. “If you’re interested in being in part of my dissertation, you should text me. Thanks again for the help with the flowers—I think Marlene is going to love them.”

She turned to leave, and James glanced down at the piece of paper in his hand. Lily Evans, it said, with a heart over the I and a number below. It’s now or never. He looked back up again, his face breaking into an earnest grin and butterflies fluttering in the low part of his stomach. Some small bloom of courage flowered within him, and he decided to act.

“Hey,” called James, and Lily’s hand stilled on the door handle. She turned back, the sunlight catching the copper and auburn in her hair, illuminating the smattering of freckles across her nose and those green eyes that glittered like cut gems.

“Yeah?” she asked, and James could have sworn that there was something hopeful in her tone.

“You know this case study?” He waved the piece of paper. “Do you think it could happen over drinks?”

“Oh,” Lily breathed, and beamed. “Yeah, I think it could.”

[madisonrooney]

jersey boys weekend was....insane. which like obvs i expected but it was far more insane than i couldve predicted in the best possible way. more under the cut.

i think imma just let out a stream of consciousness that ill keep chronological as best i can

- its always hard to say if ill cry or not cuz sometimes i do sometimes i dont even with really really special things. admittedly, i was even more vulnernable bc when we got in friday night, there was an issue with our tix. they were supposed to be in the pit but the pit had been removed bc of covid. they had called me last june about changing my pit tix for saturday matinee but never addressed friday even tho they knew i had tix for multiple shows. given that was last june, naturally i forgot about it, so i never reached out to them or anything. so they just had to....find other seats for us. i was really confused and not sure if we were gonna get moved or something. admittedly tho, that still counts as “emotions being impacted by jersey boys” so. hey. but i was definitely also vulnerable out of excitement, i was feeling that all day.

anyway. yah. i fucking sobbed when ces soirees la started, even into silhouettes. like not just tears streaming down my face but like vocal, guttural sobbing. which admittedly isnt that appropriate in a theater, thats more of a concert thing, but i couldnt control myself. regardless it was euphoric. you have no idea how many times i have envisioned that moment in my head for the last TWO YEARS. it may have been slightly disrupted and i was a bit distracted, but i was definitely still able to be present in the moment to some extent.

- every. last. second. not only was just so perfectly written, paced, and acted, but felt so connected to who i am and what i love. not to say i didnt already know i felt that way about the show, but it had been so long. nearly twice as long as the longest id gone without seeing the show before (since i fell in love with it that is). not to mention weve all changed a lot over the last 2 years and im sure most can say they hold the things they love to an even higher value now, especially if those were things they couldn’t experience during quarantine.

- there was new dialogue between frankie and mary?? about knowing each other in high school?? not sure when that was added or why but my mom and i looked at each other like ???? that HAS to be really new cuz i listen to the jersey boys podcast and they havent mentioned it, and i feel like they would if they knew about it

- frankie valli is a short king. dont know how ive never said this before.

- gyp had a really good my mothers eyes cry and i grade gyps on that lol

- im starting to realize that i go ape is kind of a bop. is that bad.

- my dad came to saturday matinee. he hadnt seen the show before, id shown him the movie twice but he couldnt get that into it. but i think it finally clicked. i didnt get my hopes too high, i was sure enough he wouldnt hate it but if he just liked it ok that wouldve been enough. but he kept saying it was “awesome.” i heard him laughing at a number of jokes and i know he loved the music. he had to leave right after so i havent gotten much time to hear all of his thoughts but im def gonna call him soon to hear more.

- OKAY so after saturday matinee, we went to the stage door cuz i wanted pics with the tour buses. turned out, they were just all white but THE CAST WAS THERE. i didnt really know what to do since i know some places discourage stage dooring given the pandemic so i was just like as considerate as i could be but they were super chill, and i got pics with a ton of them + autographs??? normally i rehearse what ill say to actors in my head first and i did a bit leading up to this weekend, but i was pretty sure it wasnt even gonna happen, and in this case, i got no advance notice, i just had to jump right into it. they were just...THERE. so its safe to say i was a bit rambly and probably not saying exactly what i intended too but i also beat myself up too much in those situations a lot. they were all SO nice. i was so so so so happy and excited cuz i mean stage dooring is always exciting and more so for this show but the fact that it happened WHEN I WASNT EVEN EXPECTING IT TO. i was coming unglued looking forward to the show alone and then i got THIS on top of it. i wouldve been over the moon meeting just ONE cast member but i met a TON????

worth noting, one of the people i met was katie goffman who was doves cher understudy in clueless the musical!! i had been excited when she was announced for the touring cast back in late 2019 i think? so im so glad she was still in the cast and that i got to meet her.

i also got to meet kevin patrick martin again who id seen on tour and seen and met at 54 below both in 2018. i remembered him being super nice and he was super nice this time around too. more on him later.

also met the actors who played tommy, joey, crewe, and gyp

- my best friend @wander--meets--world came saturday night, also not having seen the show, just the movie. again, if she just liked it ok, that wouldve been more than enough, i couldnt really say for sure if itd be her thing or not. but she really liked it!! and had so many thoughts to share that we got to talk about at intermission and afterwards!!! over the years, ive had so few people to talk about this show with. i usually just rely on my mom who is great but i cant yknow meme with her fdhgjlkjd. jessica’s familiar with p much all my other main fandoms so we can discuss them, but we hadnt been able to discuss this, which is majorly high on the list. so the fact that we can now makes me sososososo happy.

it was also the first time wed seen each other in person in 2 years?? weve never gone anywhere near that long without seeing each other in the 15 years weve known each other?? and what better thing for us to have been doing than this. we also listened to plastic hearts, went to our fav italian place downtown, went to the 24 hour baskin robbins after the show, and watched cr1tikal in her car. ideal saturday night.

- after that saturday night show, we met a few more cast members, most notably jon hacker who was frankie, who id seen in newsies 7 years ago at the same venue, + as joey at new world stages in 2018, at 54 below a few months later, and then as frankie at new world stages the day after that. met him all those times except when he was joey. i had been so excited that he was a part of the touring cast and im so glad i got to meet him, and we talked for a while! he had such thoughtful responses to everything i had to say. and his poor voice was so gone, he left it all on the floor. (luckily he had a day off today which he deserved lol)

that night, i also met the guy who played nick (who today i realized played gerry when i saw beautiful three years ago and i met him then too lol???) and 2 of the girls who were also super sweet. plus i saw some of the same people from the afternoon again.

- then we had our final matinee this afternoon. we had a different frankie which was very exciting. ofc i love jon but i also love getting to see understudies, especially when youre seeing the show that many times in a row lol. katie was also on and she told me later it was her first time on this year, and i also found out it was her and her husband’s (who plays tommy) first time in the show together!

met that frankie at the stage door plus eric (bob) who id really hoped to meet (he was the only season i hadnt met yet, last piece of the puzzle!) and antonio (barry belson). antonio omgomgomg he was so good in the show so i was so excited to meet him and he gave me a hug??? and i told him like specific inflections of his i liked in the show and he was so touched and impressed that i noticed that??

over the course of making stories and posts on insta, multiple cast members have watched my story, responded to my story, liked my post, commented on my post, and now devon and kevin FOLLOW ME???? HELLO????

im truly just over the moon. again, i knew this weekend would be amazing but SO much more came out of it than i was expecting. like i said, seeing the show was more than enough. even if i only saw it once it wouldve been. but getting to be a crazy superfan and see it so many times was so...validating?? and it was fun to pay attention to more minor details. but then on top of that, the experiences with the cast were remarkable.

it was a little adventure. it felt kind of like the clueless trip (tho i think thatll always take the cake, both for the pure chaos of it all and the unique experience). still, it had the same vibe which felt so good, especially having not felt something like that in so long.

i waited three years for this. eagerly anticipating it to no end and having to deal with it being postponed twice. but it gave me everything i couldve wanted and then some.

rounds 13-16 complete.

[icantlose]

I am going to assume that this question was meant for the mun and not Wolf. So my apologies if I misunderstood what you’re asking for. 

When it comes to creative storytelling, character development is its lifeblood. If, at the end of your story, your character remains the exact same person they were when the story began, your readers are very likely going to walk away from you feeling empty-handed, gypped, like they didn’t gain anything meaningful from reading your story. Character development is what makes a story engaging because character development is what moves the story along. Moving the plot forward in a captivating manner begins with how the character views the world, this is dictated by past experiences, people they’ve been around, personal opinion – things like that. These sorts of things are what make up interesting character motivation. You see, if a knight is going to save the princess simply because it’s the just right thing to do, sure, you’ve got a motivation but you’ve got a really bland story. Why should I care about the knight? What’s the point of cheering him on? Do I really give a shit if the princess is saved?

As a contrast, in the first movie, Shrek begins the story quite apathetic and uninterested in the plight of the fairy tale creatures. He wants to shut everyone out and be on his own because the whole world has shut him out first; they don’t treat him like a person. He won’t admit it out loud, but he’s protecting himself from getting hurt. The plot of the movie moves forward only because he’s been promised that his swamp would be returned to him if he meets his end of the bargain. His motivation is peace and quiet, solitude, and apathy. He doesn’t have any attachment to the princess he’s rescuing, not at first. When Fiona begins to treat him like a real person with real feelings, he begins to feel differently. His guard drops, his opinions change, and his motivations change. The story shifts; he no longer gives a fuck about his swamp. He just wants Fiona. This is huge, because just a little while ago, he was scaring off humans and preferring to be all alone. This is how character development drives a story.

Development, though, isn’t a straight line, however. Sometimes a character can make progress, and then regress. This keeps the character dynamic; it makes them realistic. As human beings, none of us are perfect, and as we continue to grow, we’ll reach obstacles that will challenge us. Sometimes those challenges will bring out the worst of us; sometimes facing a challenge can resurrect old, bad habits. We have all have flaws! This should be reflected in character development. Seeing a character face this sort of thing, a failure, a flaw, is extremely important because it keeps them grounded. It keeps them life-like. Your character is something for people to connect to, and making them relatable like that will always draw people in. They’ll care about their struggles, their challenges, and their goals. They’ll want to see that princess rescued; they’ll want to cheer that knight on as he fights that dragon and scales the tallest tower, because they care a lot about that knight. Character development is a large aspect of storytelling because of how much it is responsible for. It links the reader to the character, it is immersion, it is character motivation.

To gain a better insight on how important character development is, I suggest reading Daphne du Maurier‘s book, “Rebecca”. The character and narrator is purposefully never named because she’s meant to be within the shadow of “Rebecca” the late wife of a main character. This unnamed woman is the second wife, and the story purposefully frames her as “Rebecca 2.0″, though her active characterization is defined much more than that. It’s an interesting writing experiment and it’s worth checking out. 

[natsubeatsrock]

Why I Don't Forgive Mashima over Graytear

Does that title seem hyperbolic?

I mean, Mashima’s done some crazy things within the series, especially with ships. But to not forgive him over one? Especially Graytear? This sounds like the kind of thing I’d make fun of if you switch “Graytear“ with “Nalu“.

And yet, here we are. On Thanksgiving of all days of the year.

Somehow, I’ve managed to avoid not shipping something that doesn’t end up becoming canon in most stories I get into. About the only one I can think of where a ship I’m really gunning for doesn’t happen is Fairy Tail. But I’d like to think I’ve been handling the ship discourse fairly well over the past few years. I don’t think that seeing a ship I don’t like happen is enough to create this response in me.

In fact, this post isn’t about romance. It’s not about how Mashima missed on obvious moments to make two characters I like fall in love and have kids. In a word, it’s about disappointment. Namely, my overwhelming disappointment regarding the canon handling of Gray and Ultear’s relationship.

Before I go further, it's worth mentioning two things.

First, this isn't a strictly analytical post. I'm not entirely sure how much of what I say in this post is tinged by my own disappointment with how what happened in canon played out. None of this is to say that Mashima is a bad writer for doing this, even as I obviously disagree with how he did this. Though I'd like to believe that I'm not the only one who feels the way I do about how Graytear played out in canon, similar to the views I share in many of my other posts.

Second, this post doesn't necessarily take the perspective that Gray and Ultear should have been a romantic couple. Full disclosure, Graytear is my favorite romantic ship for both Gray and Ultear. However, I'm not making the argument that Graytear should have happened in a romantic sense in this post. (That might be another rant for another day.) For now, I'm taking the perspective that their relationship should have been furthered beyond what we got in canon.

Part I: The Unfulfilled Promise of a Bright Future

All ships that don't happen represent missed opportunities. That's not always a bad thing. (No one's arguing Mashima gypped us out of the opportunity for a pedophilic ship by not making Mest and Wendy a thing.) However, it's often disappointing to see that there could have been a great ship idea that wasn't capitalized on by a writer. It's one of the big reasons fanfiction is fun to read and write. (Still feels weird to consider myself a fanfic writer.)

While I don't have too many examples of this for my own ships outside of Fairy Tail, the big one I look to is Zutara not happening in Avatar: The Last Airbender. I'm not personally big on the shipping discourse of the ATLA world, but living with someone who is a big Zutara shipper means I've seen and heard a lot of arguments that make it hard for me to say that there was nothing to the ship. For better or worse, Zutara does represent a lost opportunity for a ship involving one of the most peculiar (I mean this in a good way) relationship dynamics in the series.

Graytear represents a few lost opportunities. The big one involves the obvious connection between each of them and Ur. Gray's life was changed for the better because Ur sacrificed herself for him. Ultear's life, up to their meeting in Tenrou Island, was made worse when Ur gave her up, ironically to save her life. While Gray grew to have a positive view of Ur, Ultear came to have a negative view of her.

Weirdly enough, that doesn't mean they didn't want Ur back in their life. Part of the reason Gray goes to Fairy Tail is to find wizards that would be able to deal with Iced Shell. Ultear's reasoning behind learning Arc of Time is so she would be able to find a time where she could be with her mother. Despite their different views on Ur, they both wanted something similar - a world where they can live with Ur again.

Of course, it's worth mentioning that we know that Gray has a more complete perspective on Ur. Ultear didn't know why Ur gave her up in the first place, took on Gray and Lyon as disciples, or never came back for her. Ultear thought these things happened because Ur didn't want her anymore. In reality, they happened despite Ur wanting and loving Ultear.

During her fight with Gray, she learns that she had the wrong idea about Ur. She gave her up to deal with the balance of magic inside of her. She didn't come back for her because she was told that she died. And, despite having Lyon and Gray as pupils, she still loved her daughter, even though she thought she was dead.

In chapter 43, there's a flashback to a conversation between Lyon and Ur.  Lyon questions if he was supposed to replace Ultear. Ur rejects the notion saying that he was never supposed to be a replacement for her. Pity this likely happened before Ur took on Gray and neither of them knew of this moment. However, they both know enough after their fight to come to that conclusion.

During Gray and Ultear’s fight there’s a really cool call back to Gray and Ur’s relationship. When Ur goes to cast Iced Shell, her last words to Gray are words that many Graytear fans may be familiar with: “I will seal your darkness away!“ In its context, Ur is speaking about sealing away Deliora and ending his worries about the beast. Of course, as we all know, that wasn’t a complete sealing and Gray’s arc involves him dealing with this trauma for basically the rest of the series.

But, when Gray is fighting Ultear, he makes the same promise to her. He says that he will seal he darkness away. By this point, we know that Ultear doesn’t have the best view of Ur. However, his hope is to get her to see her mother in a new light. And, by the end of their fight, she realizes her errors and comes to have a newfound appreciation of her mother.

What this could have led into would be the start of a relationship similar to Gray's relationship with Lyon. They're not going to meet each other every arc and I doubt Ultear ever would have joined Fairy Tail. But Gray and Ultear would have much more positive interactions now because they've dealt with much of their Ur baggage. Maybe they could have come have a better, deeper relationship.

Two things happened by the end of the arc that made sure this wasn't going to be the case right away. 

The first is Ultear almost killing herself. Of course, Meredy stops her from going through with it. However, she fully intended to make up for her terrible actions regarding Meredy by dying. This wasn't the best sign of Ultear potentially trying to live on and change her ways. But, we'll get to that soon enough.

The second is the seven-year time skip. Gray stayed on the island and missed out on what happened with the world during the seven years. This wasn't particularly in their control and it's not as if their relationship was the only one affected by the time skip. However, it cut a lot of the potential for the relationship to further on, especially considering that, with the formation of Crime Sorciere, their possibilities to interact greatly diminished as Ultear is now actively avoiding being captured.

These things don't necessarily mean that Graytear wasn't going to go anywhere. Up to that point in the series, similar things could have been said about Jerza and they've ended up in a decent enough spot. Of course, that was dependent on Mashima's handling of their relationship during the Grand Magic Games. However you feel about the ship, it's undeniable that this arc set up their relationship dynamic for the rest of the series. Mashima used later arcs to further their relationship, but it’s been built off what happened during the Grand Magic Games arc.

As for Graytear, well...

Part II: The Grand Magic Games Arc Didn't Further Their Relationship

I don't need to say that the Grand Magic Games wasn't as kind to Graytear, as I'm sure anyone who is a fan of Fairy Tail could probably guess that. However, it's worth talking about things other than the one thing we're all thinking about. (Might as well save the best for last.)

Gray and Ultear hardly interact in this arc. Crime Sorciere and the training group Gray is with meet in chapter 263. They go their separate ways in the next chapter. They hardly talk to each other, much less do we see development in their relationship. 

I'm not expecting Gray to propose to Ultear. I'd like them to have one interaction at this point in the series that shows something that can positively change in their relationship. Jellal and Erza have half of a chapter to themselves and Juvia and Meredy have their moments with each other. 

When Gray mentions Ultear and Meredy potentially being their enemies, she gives an interesting response. She says that she's incapable of making up for the things that she's done throughout her life. In forming Crime Sorciere, she's trying to make up for that by helping as many people as she can.

That sounds positive, right? Ultear recognizes that she’s done bad things in the past and is trying to make up for it now. However, it doesn't seem that Ultear has fully gotten past that old mentality that death is the only way to seek redemption. It doesn’t seem as though she fully believes that she’s a better person because of what she’s been doing.

In essence, her darkness hasn’t been fully sealed away.

And when she leaves with the rest of Crime Sorciere, she tells Erza to take care of Gray. Now, there are a few different ways to read this, depending on how you feel about the various relationships in Fairy Tail. However, it's hard to read this as Ultear expecting to see Gray many more times past that moment. 

In fact, they'll only meet two more times past that moment. 

For the rest of the series. 

To be perfectly clear, this is because of the events of the Last Ages. (And, don’t worry, we’re almost there.) However, Gray and Ultear only interact a total of three times after the Tenrou arc. And one of them is only their technical meeting later in Sun Village. Depending on how you see it, that doesn't count. That Mashima didn't do much else before Last Ages shouldn't distract from the fact that he didn't do much before it happened.

The only other canon interaction between Gray and Ultear past that point in the series is their final meeting at the end of the Grand Magic Games. This barely counts as an interaction as is. Gray recognizes what happened to Ultear and is encouraged not to do anything because of it. I plan on talking about the meaning behind this soon, but consider that, for many people, this will be the last interaction between Gray and his master's daughter. Including their meeting at the beginning of the arc and their two different interactions on Tenrou Island, they only meet each other four times across the entire series.

It's not even as if we don't see Ultear after she cast the Last Ages spell. As I'll get to, she shows up in different forms to a few different people. However, Gray will never see or interact with Ultear past Sun Village and will never see her in person after the Grand Magic Games. No one talks about seeing her again to Gray and he doesn't get the explanation others received regarding her existence. (Though, to be fair, his moment happened shortly after her situation started.)

Well, it looks like we're already there, so let's talk about...

Part III: Last Ages - A Spell Made to Piss Me, Specifically, Off

Yes, I'm devoting an entire section in this post to the spell, Last Ages.

Considering most of the discussion about Last Ages as a spell is positive (up until it’s shown to not actually kill Ultear), I kind of have to.

This moment is held up by many to be an important inspiring moment for Ultear. This is the moment where she's truly able to come to terms with herself. She finds that her life is only worth enough to turn time back by one minute. But, by a twist of dramatic irony, that one minute was enough to save many different lives from death. Most importantly, her sacrifice was able to save the life of Gray after he was attacked by the mini dragons.

Okay, where do I start?

Ultear didn't need to sacrifice herself to stop the Eclipse dragons. Obviously, saving Gray's life, in addition to several other characters, is important and invaluable to how the series could go on from that point. But their lives were not relevant to the success of the Eclipse battle. Natsu’s was and his actions weren't affected by the Last Ages spell. If you think that’s hyperobole, consider that in the anime version of “Sin and Sacrifice”, their fight is quite literally the only thing that happens exactly the same before Last Ages take effect and after it.

I’d like to run a bit of a thought experiment. Imagine if Ultear did nothing. We can deal with the potential ramifications of Gray and so many other characters potentially dying as they come up or change that so they were always going to survive. But as far as getting rid of the Eclipse Dragons and Future Rogue? Natsu would still fight Shadow Rogue, break the Eclipse Gate with his bones, and the future visitors would all disappear anyway.

In fact, that version of events fits the same set of logic that using Last Ages requires of Ultear. Ultear feels that she's irreparably bad because her go-to idea to kill present-day Rogue proves that she can't truly reform. And after going through with the Last Ages spell, she initially believes her efforts to be worthless. If she were to find out that Future Rogue and the Eclipse dragons were defeated without killing present Rogue, that would put her in a position to realize she still has a ways to go before she can change her way of thinking. However, as the person who saved Natsu, she'd ultimately have a positive stake in how the events transpired. In essence, by saving one person, she was able to save everyone else.

Now, if Ultear was simply a one-off case of Mashima having a villain who has a longing for death to be the way they redeem themselves than I might not have as much of a problem with how things transpired. As it stands, she's on the same team with someone who had the same issue in Jellal. Earlier in this same arc, Jellal still had doubts about whether he should continue to live in light of his past actions. He's ultimately brought to think that he should live because of his conversation with Erza.

By the way, she’s also been with Meredy for even longer than that. She’s seen how she’s turned from an emotionless puppet to her own mage. Heck, Meredy should have harbored resentment and hatred over being the one to cause her family and village’s demise. However, she was the one to convince Ultear to keep living as long as she did.

Then there’s Gray himself. As callous as Iced Shell jokes end up being from fans, Gray never seemed to remove the technique from the table of possible abilities to pull from. He even went on to learn a stronger form of the spell. But every time he's gone to use it, he was prevented from doing so because of his friends. Each time, the lesson is that he isn't supposed to recklessly sacrifice his own life, even if it might save the people he cares about.

And it doesn’t stop with them. Fairy Tail is full of characters who start out as serious villains you’d think would never change or be good, have a change of heart, and do good for the world. They join Fairy Tail or other guilds, change their ways, and become better people than they were when we first met them. The arc this happens in involves that on an individual level with Flare and a group level with Sabertooth.

Are you starting to understand why I have a problem with how this played out? 

Many things done by Hiro Mashima are the product of his indecision and "free-form" writing regarding Fairy Tail. There are plenty of moments that show where Mashima wasn't exactly fully sold on the thing he'd end up doing just yet. If you read Mashima talk about his writing process, you almost get the sense that he isn't entirely sure of everything he's doing from chapter to chapter.

To be clear, this isn’t to say he doesn’t plan ahead. As he has explained it, while some details are solid in his head, others are a bit more flexible than others. For example, in the last arc, Mashima wasn’t exactly sure about the nature of Irene and Erza’s relationship. Looking back, you can see how that waffling affects how their story is told.

The decision to cast Last Ages doesn't strike me as that kind of move. This feels like an intentional writing decision by Mashima. In essence, he's decided not to go against the grain of characters he's previously written and even some he'd go on to write to have Ultear leave the series as a narrative force.

Or so you'd think.

Part IV: The Post-Last Ages Age

A lot has been said about Ultear's returns to relevance. When she was a part of the battle against DiMaria, I remember people talking about if her return was a cheapening of her sacrifice. I've even talked about her continued relevance as it relates to Gray since Last Ages, including a post for Graytear Week in 2017 about Gray remembering Ultear during the Silver fight.

While Gray's flashbacks to Ultear make sense, I'm kind of iffy on the logic behind Ultear's appearances in Sun Village and Alvarez Empire. We kind of got an explanation behind her existence in Alvarez, being that Ultear can work within spaces where time is messed up. This has been repeated again in the sequel. I don't know that I like the logic behind it, but I also can't say, as some might, that this is Mashima regretting his actions. It’s worth talking about some of the things that have come up through Ultear’s new appearances after casting Last Ages.

For Gray, her sacrifice represents something he should avoid. Almost every time he remembers her, the point is that she made a sacrifice so that he could continue to live. Therefore he shouldn't try to throw his own life away. If you read the post that I made for Graytear week, you know that I like that this theme was reinforced by Ultear's sacrifice.

However, this is a lesson that Gray has already learned. Arcs before with Natsu stopping him in Galuna Island. I even say in that post that remembering Natsu stop him then should have been enough to stop him any other time he used Iced Shell. Especially considering Natsu stopping Gray is remembered every time this theme is brought up. This motif is particularly annoying because, in effect, it makes Ultear's sacrifice a repeat of Ur's use of Iced Shell. Gray even says that he lost both mother and daughter because they were trying to save his life.

In effect, he wasn't able to seal Ultear's darkness away, just as Ur did for him. Ultear saved Gray, but she ultimately succumbed to the darkness in her.

This brings us to the final arc. Her longest post-Last Ages moment is her involvement in Wendy and Chelia's fight with DiMaria. At the end of the fight, she muses about how, if things were different, she could have been just like the two of them. When I first read this, it felt nice knowing that Ultear recognized she could have done things differently. Looking back, it's annoying to see that she recognizes that she could have changed but it would require intervention much earlier on in her life. As if Gray and Ultear's relationship had more of an effect on Gray than it did on Ultear.

Not a whole lot of people seem to talk about how Chelia sacrificing her ability to use for Wendy's safety probably seemed similar to Ultear wanting to use Last Ages. I remember the Chendy shipping discourse when the moment happened in the manga, but I wasn't struck by that alternative until long after I rewatched the events in the anime. I don't buy into the whole "Ultear coming back cheapens her sacrifice" logic that many people have posited. However, the parallel between Last Ages and Third Origin is weakened once you reveal Chelia is still able to use magic after it.

And in the sequel, she appears again to Jellal to effectively telling him to live for Erza's sake. This might be where Ultear's presence makes the most sense. Ultear sees Jellal as someone going to make the same mistake she made and she wants to prevent that. I can’t help but feel annoyed that this was the direction Mashima decided to take this moment in.

I feel that continuously comparing this situation to Jerza makes it seem that I'm bitter against Jerza. However, I actually do like Jerza as it has been playing out in canon, even as I think that Jellal's redemption situation is a mess. It was among the first ships that I came to like within Fairy Tail and I’ve never been able to fully distance myself from it, even as I’ve come to like other ships for both characters (mostly Erza honestly) outside of Jerza. I don’t mean to make these comparisons to seem jealous of a ship I don’t like getting what I want a ship I like to have.

But when there is a clear obvious example of what we could have gotten from Gray and Ultear's relationship in another relationship involving their friends, which also happens to be one of the biggest ships in fandom? It's hard for me not to think that Mashima's doing this on purpose. After the immediate euphoria of seeing Ultear come back washed over me and I thought through this moment again, I was pissed of about Mashima’s handling of Last Ages all over again.

One of the craziest things about this whole situation is that the anime accidentally gave us an insane possibility for Ultear post-Grand Magic Games. If you don't know, when Ultear's backstory was revealed during her fight with Gray in the anime, it was revealed that the lab she was in was headed by Brain, who was the leader of Oracion Seis. I say accidentally because I don't have any proof that Mashima meant for this connection to exist. Nonetheless, if she didn't go through with Last Ages, Crime Sorciere would end up meeting with Oracion Seis.

I would pay good money to see how Ultear would interact with Brain post-Tenrou Island. In one story written by a fellow Graytear shipper, intended to be somewhat of a rewrite of the series, Ultear meets with Brain and kills him, along with a few other members of Oracion Seis. Is this how it would go down in canon? Probably not under Mashima’s watch. Though, the idea is definitely intriguing.

Speaking of which...

Epilogue: How, Despite Hilariously Low Expectations, Fans Disappoint Me

I don't think fans were given as much of an opportunity to believe in Graytear's ability to succeed as other smaller ships in Fairy Tail. Of course, I say this as someone who wishes that they did end up in a deeper, hopefully, romantic relationship and knows people who feel the same way. But, I've joked about how small the Graytear fandom is before.

If you've read some of my recent posts about Lisanna and Nali, you'll notice that I don't have as much of a problem with Mashima over how he handled Lisanna as I do with the greater fandom treatment of her. To be clear, I have issues with how little Mashima did with Lisanna after Edolas and I do wish he did more with her in canon. At the same time, I can understand why we got so little of her, with or without Natsu.

Still, with a ship like Nali, you kind of hope fans take what happened in canon and have fun with the possibilities. While it’s not on the same level as the Big 4, it's not as if it's impossible to find people who like the ship and are making new content for it. I can't exactly blame fans for not doing this with Graytear to a similar degree. But, I figure I should quickly deal with some things I have heard said by fans regarding Graytear. (read: I have nowhere else to put this except the end.)

The worst I've heard many fans over the years is that they're like siblings. Considering Ur didn't see Lyon or Gray as her kids, I can't say that I agree with this interpretation. And considering one of the biggest ships in the FMA fandom is Roy Mustang and his alchemist teacher's daughter, excuse me for not understanding how we got to this take being so popular. (inb4 "Royai and Graytear are different")

Beyond that, there's the take that this isn't the ship that parallels Reina and Musica from Hiro Mashima's other work, Rave Master. However, talking about why it is and why the false comparisons to Gruvia are infuriatingly incorrect would take way too much time and we're already over three thousand words in (read: I made a post about this over four years ago and I’m absolutely working to update it). Suffice it to say, I don't buy that line of reasoning either.

On a related note, there is the notion that Ultear “fell on the sword for Gruvia“. That’s more of a romantically-charged argument then I’m willing to talk about here and may be more suited for another time. However, it’s worth saying now that I don’t know that Ultear thought that much about the specific relationship between Gray and Juvia in casting Last Ages. I’m not even willing to say that Mashima thought about Gruvia that way in his writing of Last Ages, even as I interpret Gray “smiling for her sake” during Gift to be about Ultear and not Juvia.

I want to end this post by saying that I am grateful for the fans who have agreed with me and a shoelace on the merits of Graytear (you either get the reference or you don't). I have a few ideas of how that could work inside and outside of my rewrite universe that I will get to soon enough.

It’s also worth reiterating that this is one of my least favorite aspects of Mashima’s writing regarding Fairy Tail. I don’t feel as strongly negative regarding most of Fairy Tail, even among the things I disagree with most fans about, as strongly as I do this. (read: It’s unlikely I’d write a post like this if Nalu became canon.) I highly doubt Mashima would do anything else with Fairy Tail that would warrant this kind of post from me.

[fandomlurker]

A Ponderous Rewatch: “Win Big”

And so we begin. For real, this time.

And to start, we have to go all the way back to Animaniacs season 1, episode 2, with the very first Pinky and the Brain skit which is named “Win Big”.

Interestingly enough, the duo are not directly trying to take over the world in this episode. The premise is that Brain needs money to buy the one part needed for his actual plan to take over the world using a machine he calls the “Super-Conductive Magnetic Infindibulator”, which will “deplete hydrogen and promote gravitational collapse [to produce] a magnetic charge from the center of the Earth so strong that every person who has loose change in their pockets will be magnetically drawn to the ground and stuck there”.

…

For those of you who are new to the series and for those of you who maybe can’t remember the show very well, I want to say that yes, what you’re probably asking yourself right now is true: Brain’s plans are almost always this complex and completely absurd with giant, glaring holes in logistics. There’s been a long-time “theory” that while their theme song says “one is a genius, the other’s insane” and intends to indicate that Brain is the genius while Pinky’s insane, it’s actually the other way around. And honestly? That doesn’t exactly hold up to any kind of scrutiny at all. Brain is actually a genius…he’s just also very, very short-sighted and lacks a lot of common sense. He’s so focused on his goal of world domination that he forgets to account for even the most obvious of details that would completely ruin what he’s trying to accomplish. And Pinky? Well, Pinky’s a lot smarter than he seems, but I wouldn’t exactly mark him as a genius. He’s just more worldly, more emotionally intelligent, and has a knack for pointing out the obvious. For you D&D nerds out there, think of it like this: Brain is a high INT low WIS character while Pinky is a high WIS low INT character.

As for which one is “insane”? Disregarding the…let’s just say “problematic” baggage that comes with that word, I’d argue that Pinky is just neurodivergent and Brain has a lot of problems. Like, a lot of problems. We’ll get more into that mess much farther down the line.

In any case, the opening of this episode has Brain pulling Pinky away from watching what is obviously supposed to be The Honeymooners, complete with “Bang, zoom, right in the kisser!” quote and everything. That quote, or one like it, was what the character Ralph Kramden would frustratedly yell at his wife, Alice, after she’d dismiss a get rich quick scheme of his. It was an ultimately impotent threat of violence, as he never did hit her. A lot of folks before me have delved into how messed up and controversial that whole running gag was, so I didn’t particularly feel the need to go over it here.

However, it does become immediately relevant because as Pinky laughs at the joke and excitedly quotes it while Brain is trying to get his attention, Brain reaches up and gently holds both their faces close for a few moments…

“Stop saying that, Pinky!...”

…then more aggressively tugs Pinky’s face down as he finishes with “…Or I shall have to hurt you.”

“Oh, okay. Sorry, Brain. NARF!”

Isn’t it interesting how the very first thing this series does is juxtapose Pinky and the Brain’s relationship with that of the main married couple on The Honeymooners? Like, it’s certainly not the most healthy of a relationship parallel to make, but in Pinky and Brain’s favour their world is governed by slapstick humour and thus any and all violence is much less serious. Also, there’s Pinky’s…uh…special relationship with physical pain that will become more apparent as the series goes on. Like, of course this kind of behaviour is wrong and appalling in real life, but this is a Warner Brothers Looney Toons-style cartoon and there’s a big difference between the two.

There’s also this little tidbit of information on the Animaniacs wiki regarding this episode and its writer, Peter Hastings:

“Although Peter Hastings has stated that he always tried to have Brain threaten to hurt Pinky but never actually hit him (because he felt this was both funnier and truer to the character), Tom Ruegger and the other producers would often have Brain actually hit Pinky. Even in this very first short, the Brain does follow through.”

Moving on, though, after Brain Rube Goldberg machine’s his way out of their cage and points out that Pinky has an “inordinately short attention span” after Pinky gets briefly distracted by another TV show that’s a very blatant parody of Jeopardy, he explains to Pinky his latest plan for world domination.

“EGAD, Brain, brilliant!”

“…Uh oh, no, wait…what if they take off their pants?”

^ The face of a man who somehow managed to forget that clothes are removable.

See what I mean about Pinky having a knack for pointing out the obvious? It’s very much needed to counteract Brain’s complete lack of foresight and introspection.

“Then…we’ll have to take over the world quickly.”

…Though there’s also something to be said for Brain’s stubbornness.

So they need a part for Brain’s machine called a Infindibulator, which is for some reason listed in the Farmer’s Almanac??? Which to my knowledge doesn’t sell anything at all??? Okay, Brain, whatever you say.

Brain actually kicks Pinky directly in the ass to get him up onto the Almanac to read it,

which would be alarming if not for Pinky’s completely happy and sincere “Thanks! :D” afterwards. It’s a mere hint to Pinky’s…predilections. I find it interesting that it’s so subtly foreshadowed in this very first short. I know you newer folks might think I’m joking, but I assure you I’m not. You will see.

As a side note, it’s so odd hearing Rob Paulsen’s early Pinky voice in these first several Animaniacs shorts. I’ve seen fans say that it’s more lispy than the standard Pinky voice that we’re all familiar with, but to me it just sounds like Pinky with a very, very bad cold and a stuffy nose. Get this mouse some nasal spray.

So Pinky finds the entry for the Infindibulator and it costs a whopping $99000. Where would two little lab mice find that kind of cash?

It sure is lucky and convenient that the TV is still on during that moment and tuned into an episode of Jeopardy—I mean “Gyp-Parody” (Really, writers? Really? In addition to being a horrible and lazy pun, I would rather not have to type a slur so much, so I’m just going to call it the name of the show it’s based on) where the reward for winning totals $99000.

And here we go, the first of its kind. The birth of the most famous running joke from Pinky and the Brain!

“Pinky… Are you pondering what I’m pondering?”

“I think so, Brain, but where are we going to get a duck and a hose at this hour?”

…Believe it or not, Pinky’s bizarre answers do have an explanation and a certain logic to them, but we find out the hows and whys much, much farther along in the series. That said, I’ll be damned if I know how he got to this particular train of thought right now. The inner machinations of Pinky’s mind are an enigma.

So Brain gets the idea to become a contestant on Jeopardy to win the amount of money they need for their plan. Pinky points out that the questions on the game show are very, very hard and Brain would have to get all of them right, and I just love Brain slowly turning his head to face Pinky with the most deadpan “Bitch, are you for real?” look on his face.

To Brain’s credit, he doesn’t berate the other mouse at all for his doubts. He just very calmly asks Pinky to quiz him about anything he can think of. When Pinky asks him “What is pie?”, well, see above for the summary of the answer Brain gives.

He then asks for a harder question, and Pinky asks him which TV character says “Bang! Zoom!—“ before Brain cuts him off with a wack of a pencil for quoting something inane and annoying him again.

Though he quivers a little before the smack, Pinky’s fine afterwards. Smiling, even.

And he happily gives Brain the answer anyway, complete with bows. “Ralph Kramden! TA-DAH! :D”

But Brain is insistent on preparing to go on Jeopardy, grabbing Pinky by the tail to drag him off-screen and Pinky is…

Hmm.

He’s, uhh, more than fine with it.

Now we get the debut of the human suit mecha. It’s quite the staple of the series; the go-to for a human disguise whenever the mice need one.

And it certainly is…something. You may be noticing the lack of a human head. Don’t worry about it. Brain certainly didn’t.

I love Brain’s playful little “Honey, I’m hoooome!~” when he pops his head out, despite having a deadpan look on his face the entire time. He’s having fun!

“Ahahaha! Oh, that’s a funny joke, Brain!”

“I am not devoid of humour.”

Pinky is having a little less fun with his tail accidentally tied along with the shoelaces, however.

It’s fine, he’s fine. He’ll be okay! Pinky is indestructible.

He’s a pocket pal now. He’s fine.

Makin’ my way downtown, walkin’ fast…~

Okay, sorry, he’s hailing a cab instead. Effectively, too!

Oh hi, Warners, nice to see you! Doing a literal running gag, I see. Nice, nice.

Goodbye!

So if you were wondering how regular humans would react to Brain’s “clever” and totally made without proper foresight disguise, well…

“Wh—HOA! Hey, if you don’t mind me askin’, bub, what happened to your head?”

“Nothing. I am a mouse in a large, mechanical suit.”

“Hehehehe! Okay, all right, my fault for askin’, right? Heh.”

Yup. This isn’t the first time this kind of thing happens. I guess since they’re in Hollywood the taxi driver’s seen worse.

So Brain gets on the show (don’t worry about how, shh) and the announcer calls him “Brian” instead and Brain politely tries to correct him. I can’t exactly fault the announcer because 1. “Brain” isn’t a name and 2. Look at Brain’s gloriously messed up handwriting.

The host walks on in. It’s pretty cute that they gave him the parody name “Alex Quebec”. It’s a suitable pun and rhyme to hint at the fact that Alex Trebek was born in Canada. Rest in peace, Mr. Trebek.

The first question is in the category of celebrity shoe sizes and asks what size sandals Plato wore. Umm. Okaaaaay… Thank goodness this show first aired before websites for foot fetishists cataloguing celebrity feet was a thing. Also is it just me, or does that font looks like something off of The Simpsons?

I don’t know if I should be worried or not that Brain got the correct answer to this question. (Seven and a half, if you’re curious.)

Question two is totally a trick question, though. There’s no such place as “Lestho”. “Lesotho”, however, is a real kingdom in South Africa. King Moshoeshoe I was indeed the ruler in 1820 as Brain answers, although the place was called “Basutoland” at the time and didn’t formally become a kingdom until 1822.

Educational!

Question three is a normal if extremely hard question for anyone unfamiliar with geographic locations off of the southeast of Asia. There are a lot of correct answers, and Brain answers correctly with “Bikar, Ailuk, and Ailinglaplap”. As this post notes, he is totally flexing on everyone by naming very obscure coral atoll islands that are some of the furthest neighbours from the Isle of Yap.

You smug asshole, Brain.

We don’t get the questions Brain answers correctly in the following montage, but we do get a close-up of his handwriting. Look at this. Just…look at it.

We get to see the aftermath of Brain’s monopolizing of the scores, though. The other contestants aren’t looking too good. Note that it seems there were times that they did manage to buzz in to answer before Brain did, but they must have got all of their answers or at least most of them wrong. They’re both in the negatives.

“Any plans on how you’ll spend your winnings?”

“Yes. I plan to take over the world!”

“...”

“…Ah haha, my fault for asking.”

Pinky claps and congratulates Brain on doing so well so far, because he’s a sweetheart like that, and

Brain flicks him back into the pocket. Man, you’re so quietly mean in this first episode, Brain.

Now it’s the final question, from the category “Quotable Quotes”. I remember this kind of category as usually being the easiest on Jeopardy, so it’s kind of surprising that it’s the Final Jeopardy question.

Uh-oh.

Looks like someone forgot that Jeopardy questions aren’t all science, history, and geography-related. Sometimes they’re about pop-culture.

Brain is…not very good with pop-culture. And Pinky’s been banished to the bottom of the coat pocket.

Whoops.

“Umm. Uh, who is, uhh… I, umm. Who is, uhh… Who is…uhh, Pinky…?”

Oh Brain, honey, it’s cute that you got so stumped and flustered that you just blurted out the only name that came to mind (and because Pinky was quoting it earlier, but still!), but it’s also so very, very sad.

Of course that’s incorrect, and Brain is just so monumentally defeated.

“And how much did you wager?”

“Everything…”

HUBRIS!

We then cut to the mice watching Brain’s horrible defeat on TV, and Pinky suggests a few other game shows they could try: Wheel of Misfortune, $10,000 Pile-A-Mud… The latter of which is supposed to be a parody of the old game show Pyramid, which wasn’t around in that format by the time this episode aired, so…good luck with that one, Pinky.

But no, Brain doesn’t plan on going on any more game shows. He instead walks sadly over to their cage to rest for tomorrow night.

It’s then that we are witness to the birth of the other memetic exchange this show is known for:

“Why, Brain? What are we going to do tomorrow night?”

“The same thing we do every night, Pinky: Try to take over the world!”

That wink, though. It’s the confident wink that sells this and tells us all you need to know about the Brain. No matter how bad his defeat, how humiliated he gets, or how sad he feels about failing, Brain always gets back to business sooner or later. He has determination on his side. And Pinky, of course.

And that was the very first Pinky and the Brain short! A pretty good start for the series, really. Nothing spectacular, and definitely not the worst, just a good start that sets the tone of the series well and establishes several of the running gags the show is known for. The creators pretty much have Brain as a character down right away: serious but not devoid of humour, single-minded, stubborn, egotistical, smart, and determined to meet his goals. There are a few things missing from him that we get later, and he certainly softens a bit by the time the spin-off starts, but they’ve set up a solid foundation to build on so far here. Pinky’s character is a little more nebulous in this episode, though. He’s shown to be generally good-natured, smarter than he first seems, easily distracted but well-meaning, and willing and able to help Brain achieve his goals. Still, he’s missing the much of the overwhelming kindness and his enthusiasm for Brain’s plans and awe at Brain’s intellect that he has as we go further through the series. I mean, there are hints of it here, too, but it’s much more understated compared to later on. Not to mention that Pinky gains a bit of a sassy side to him that somehow still manages to be friendly, like when you gently tease your friends while still caring about them.

I understand that you can’t really squeeze all of that into the first, like, fifteen minutes or so of a series, though.

Also, the animation for this episode wasn’t exactly the best of the series. There are points where Brain looks kinda muppet-y and Pinky is uncharacteristically gaunt and gangly. I mean, Pinky is usually a little gangly but not as hunched over and his nose stretched out so much. It’s not the worst, either, and serves as a decent baseline of how the characters look. Wang Film Production looks to be the animation studio behind this one, and I’d say their style is the most “normal” quality of the ones that get to animate for PatB. They do settle into a better and more consistent style for the show, so I’ll try and be on the look-out for that.

I’m not sure if the other posts I’m going to do on this rewatch will be quite so play-by-play as this one was. Since this is the first, I felt the need to establish in more detail the kind of things that happen in your average episode of PatB and the general rhythm of the show. I’m definitely going to try and include every instance of the ongoing running gags the series has, though.

I feel I should also say that from now on I might have to double or triple the amount of episodes in one post, too. There are some episodes in a long-running series like this where not too much of note happens, I’m sure, and I know at least a few are either silent shorts, cameos in other Animaniacs skits or little music videos and you can only get so much out of those entries.

Yes, music videos. Including a cameo appearance in a Macarena parody. I’ll prepare as best as I can to cringe so hard from secondhand embarrassment that I morph into a pretzel shape.

We’re only getting started, folks. Things are only going to get weirder and more interesting from here on out.