#whoever wants to disagree about the himbo thing I have one thing to say: I have evidence :P

[alicepao13]

Rating the Kommissar Rex/Il Commissario Rex/Hudson and Rex human partners for funsies, in chronological order. Contains spoilers, some bias, and opinions based on superficial characteristics. I will take the blame for any distorted memories I have of the shows, although I did a full rewatch last summer. (Rewatch refers to Kommissar Rex and Hudson and Rex. I could only watch Il Commissario Rex once. Well, 0.75 times. I couldn’t find some of the episodes.)

Kommissar Rex

Richard Moser: The blueprint. Not necessarily the best one in my opinion (although if you ask kid me, yes), but they modeled at least two other characters after him in the reboots. Pretty nice (although a product of his time), street smart, recently divorced, and the first few episodes where he and Rex are getting used to living together are hilarious. Moser’s dry humor was good too, also his whump scenes where great. And I appreciated the nude scenes a lot (thanks, German tv of the 90s). 8/10

Alex Brandtner: The hot one. Also, more of a “new age” cop (new age here means post 90s, don’t get confused). Kid me didn’t appreciate the hotness but I watched it in my teen years, and oh boy. And the action scenes, while sometimes ridiculous and making you wonder why???, really showed the actor’s training in physical scenes too. I always liked the way Brandtner immediately bonded with Rex and then we learn of the tragedy with his own dog. Too bad his love life was even more non-existent than Moser’s. 9/10

Marc Hoffmann: I’ll be honest, I just didn’t care for him for the most part, but I did like the fact that for the first time there was a ship with him and Nikki. They went for a different style with this one and it shows. Marc is less type A than the previous two, not a bad thing, but by that point, it was clear that Kommissar Rex as a show was nearing its end and I think it sometimes showed. 7/10

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Il Commissario Rex (At this point, let me just say that I don’t associate the two shows with each other. And whoever has watched both, would probably agree with me. It hardly matters that the Italian show starts as a spinoff.)

Lorenzo Fabbri: Ugh, I don’t know what it is with this guy but I didn’t like him much. His style was a lot like Moser at first (adopting Rex, saving him from a miserable fate, learning to live with him, etc.). I absolutely hated the storyline with the forensics scientist throwing herself at him every chance she got and him trying to avoid her instead of flat out telling her he’s not interested, and then at some point they slept together??? Anyway, did not like. 6/10

Davide Rivera: I liked that guy but sadly we didn’t have that many episodes with him. He could have had more to offer as a character. More quiet than the sometimes too loud Lorenzo, and took some time to warm up to Rex if I recall. I liked that he took no flack from his boss (Sidenote: the boss didn’t like Rex at first and kept wanting to get rid of him, and I wanted to rip him to shreds). 7/10

Marco Terzani: I literally found one season of his episodes, so I’ll reserve judgment (if anyone has his second and third season, please give it to me lol or point to the right direction). He seems kinda reckless? He’s definitely attractive. ?/10, more research needed.

----

Hudson and Rex

Charlie Hudson: Started off as kind of mediocre for me, then he made me change my mind. When I started watching, I was hellbent on comparing every single thing of this show to the characters of the original at first, so I’m partially to blame for my initial perception of him. However, I won’t blame myself for the bad writing, pacing, and overall mediocrity of S1 that contributed to a big part of it. Anyway, they used some of Moser’s backstory (divorced, adopts Rex after his K-9 partner tragically dies) and expanded on it. Charlie has had the most development as a character than any of the others, which makes sense since he’s the first of Rex’s partners to live that long or not get rebooted lol. He definitely gets bonus points for having a love life too. And for not dying, despite all the whump situations he gets himself into. Definitely falls under the reckless category too. 70% himbo, 100% whump magnet. 9/10

[unabashednightmarepizza]

𝐸𝑦𝑒 𝑂𝑓 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚

Part 1

Aether, after witnessing the most bizarre things in the whole world when no one else did and was often watched with slacked jaws at how he could still be alive, couldn't help but look at himself and then the taller, blue haired man before him with a blank stare.

Did he look like a stupid boy?

"You don't expect me to believe in this, right? Even Y/N says more logical things-"

"Paimon wants to disagree! Wanting to adopt slimes and petting hilichurls even though they don't attack Y/N but only us is no good thing!"

Yeah... That happened, BUT! In your defence, those slimes were cutely nudging your leg with a smile and one of them even offered a pretty-shaped, shiny rock to you as a gift! ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ

( And most of the "New recipes" you learnt were from the Hilichurls, who suprisingly made amazing food and didn't attack you but... patted your hair? Even braided it even if it was a tiny one??Sat with you and ate whatever you cooked?? You though they were not that smart, according to what Aether told you but now, you strongly disagreed! They were great companions! Aether didn't know that you already befriended most of them and learnt their recipes, and you intended it to be this way hehe ｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡ God knew what their reactions would be and that was enough to make you want to spill the beans while smiling cheekily)

"Hmm? What's that cheerful face you are making, you think I'm making this up?"

Kaeya: ಠ⁠ω⁠ಠ, Aether: ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ

Duh, so much so as being discreet Aether ರ⁠_⁠ರ

Kaeya, as the man who often hides his true feelings and thoughts behind a flirty and careless attitude, whined and pointed to his eye-patch with a pout

"Look at my eye-patch! It's a heirloom from my grandfather, It's a solid proof that we are blood related! Let's ask your friend what they think!"

Home boy was so sure you would side with hım just to annoy your companions LoL 😝

"Okay... Hey Y/N, is having an eye-patch a hereditary things?!"

*cue you looking around like a dog trying to determine where you were being called suddenly while cradling the PRETTIEST jewelry you had ever seen, zero-ing on to your friends up near the headquarters of the Knights*

"Nah, whoever says that bullshit is one hell of a Himbo and stupid!"

(did you... just call my precious main "a stupid Himbo"?? ಠ⁠ಗ⁠ಠ)

The Second Trait Aether Loved The Most About You: Brutal Honesty

It hurt whenever you said exactly what's in your mind okay?? ಥ⁠_⁠ಥ

That's why you toned it down, especially for Aether and Paimon, even if sarcasm was your love language... NO LONGER SAD AETHER AND PAIMON!

Now though, as they stared at Kaeya who was trying to hide his embrassment... It was only a source of joy for them

"My, my I didn't know that friend of yours had such a... brutal honesty." *Crying internally and trying to piece his shattered ego back together all the while pretending like it didn't hurt*

As much as Paimon was delighted to see the embrassment on Kaeya's face, since for once she wasn't the one on the receiving end of your honest remarks, she... wondered something none of the males did as she stared at your form down near the entrance of the city where you were waving excitedly at her with earrings on your other hand, purchasing them and speedwalking to where they were and slightly panting from the amount of running you had been doing.

Paimon turned to look at Aether from her shoulders with a confused face, pointing with her tiny finger to your form as the boy still didn't look at her

"Uh... Aether, how was Y/N able to hear us down there?", "Down there? What do you mean they were just... here..."

Aether was once again shocked to his core as he leaned over the balcony and stared at your form which was ... way too far away from where they were. Seriously, how did you hear him? You said you didn't have any powers!

And what gained your attention again?

"Hi! You know what, this place is amazing! I hadn't felt that alive in a long time! So... Where is the person who thinks eye-patch is heredi-" you exclaimed happily as you stepped up on the opening where the three were, playing with the shiny stones you got and the necklace you for for yourself while not holding back from insulting whoever that person was. Even those adults in your world was much smarter than that! But as often as it happened to you, you failed to take a look at the person who said that and see him and make the biggest mistake of your life...

By not realizing the hottest person you had ever seen in your entire life.

Was he really that handsome in the game too? The graphics surely didn't do enough justice to the gorgeous sight before you.

He was taller than you imagined, with those cool and perhaps exquisite clothing alongside the clinking sound his vision made against his leg. But perhaps,the tanned skin and with navy blue hair with lighter streaks waswhat made him even more cute in your eyes. Yes he was hot, obviously, but as he was looking at you with that teasing yet welcoming eyes of his... He looked so damn cute!

How could he both be masculine and feminine?! Why the hell did I fall for him as soon as I entered the city? No wonder he is "the top candidate for grandson-in-law"... *dreamy looks at him while planning 20 years from now on*

Kaeya, unknowingly but also having a gutfeeling about your flustered state at his body, bowed down slightly as he took a hold of your hand and kissed the back of it with that charming, side smile of his and let his lips linger there for a moment to watch your blush deepen slowly.

"It would be me, my lady/lord, I hope I didn't disappoint you with being... a stupid Himbo, I believe?" *Catsmiling at you with that flirtitous voice and rubs your knuckles*

*blushing while looking at the said person who cocked a surprised eyebrow at you who was blushing and looking at him- and the chest window obviously-with an open mouth, clearly down bad for him*

"Here we go again..." Aether, who definetly wasn't jealous of the sight before him and blushing at how intimate it somehow looked, facepalmed at yet once again... your attention being taken by a hot person. He only hoped that wouldn't occur again because he really didn't know what to do to get you away from them since you cried softly at being "seperated" from your true love or whatever.

*spoiler alert: it would only get worse as each day went by hehe*

"I'm surprised you didn't know such common knowledge, darling... Name is Kaeya Alberich, the Cavalry Captain. At your service."

"More like we are at your service!", "Stop flirting with my friend, Captain." A jealous Aether and Paimon exclaiming angrily with a hmph and you turned to look at the taller one with a quirked eye brow.

And absolutely confused at what was going on.

Can a person not have some fantasy world where they can live with the Prince charming for a little while? Why were they acting-

"Aww, are you jealous? Don't worry, you two will always be my favourite person!"

Aether: *smug smirks while being hugged to your chest* Paimon:* holds onto your sleeve as you pat her softly, also smug smirks* Kaeya: *defeated yet makes a new plan to gain your attention back*

Aaand that was how your first meeting went by. You having a raging attraction on Kaeya, him both flirting with you and trying his best to stay strong at your honest comments, Aether tugging on your sleeve to get you away from him (jealousy who?) and Paimon... Begging for food.

Except, all you three got was a mission... even if you also agreed with Paimon with needing food.

"You know what? We can use an ice blade to kill them and later put them out in the wild! That way, the sun would melt the ice and the murder weapon would be poof!" ☺️😁

Paimon: EEEEHHH?! (⁠‘⁠◉⁠⌓⁠◉⁠’⁠) 😳😨😧

Aether: (⁠´⁠⊙⁠ω⁠⊙⁠`⁠) "Please don't handcuff me, I don't know them." and Kaeya: (⁠✷⁠‿⁠✷⁠) "I found my friend!"

Aether was so sure that he could end up in some kind of jail, just by listening to you say this shit but... well, you were his bestie, he had to roll with it.

"Don't you feel... I don't know, even slightly disturbed at the way your mind works sometimes?", " Half of my intrusive thoughts are 'Stab yourself with that knife.' while the other half is 'Stab that person with the knife.' What do you think?" ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ

Kaeya, ASF: Note to future self, don't anger the one with Aether *writes down, mentally scared and sweating*

"Sooo... what's in that treasure? Gold?" *Huge gasp* "Maybe even better, jewelries!" You side-eyed Paimon harshly while rolling your eyes. Sometimes, she really forgot that none of you were much of jewelry people and that she shouldn't get too excited over a "suspicious mission".

"The only jewelry you wear is a hairclip."

"Paimon thinks you are being a meanie- Oh, what's that pretty flower in your pocket Y/N?" Aether slapped his forehead for what seemed like the hundreth time at Paimon, who much like you was easy to loose her track, but still raised a brow at you, just like Kaeya who also eyed the slightly peeking flower in your pocket.

And the sight made him almost choke on air, as his eyes slowly drifted up and he finally looked into your eyes.

Star-shaped ones, much like his, staring right at him with wonder... Face flush with embarrasment and running, all alive and lively, without a worry or a simple knowledge about the significance of your eyes and... the five petaled flower, four white and one blue, you held between your lithe fingers with a soft smile.

And with one look at your glimmering eyes, came another set of headaches to him and you. One that he wasn't able to conceal and groaned in pain, but you did behind a kind smile.

"I'm not so sure... A girl came up to me, just before I came here, and told me that a man in a dark armor, blonde hair and a mask wanted her to give this to me." You shrugged your shoulders noncholantly as your eyes stayed fixed on the pretty flower. Even while playing, and watching some edits about the game, you have never seen such flower except on Lumine's hair. The flower almost seemed like a stone, so dull and colorless though there was some sparkles when you touched its petals. Maybe it was because the flower was away from its homeland, as cliche and naive as it was...You didn't know where it came from or what was the meaning of it, but for some reasons...

The flower made you feel nostalgic and left you longing for... something.

What was it? Why couldn't you exactly say it? Why were you not bothered or slightly scared that someone gave you flowers in a world unkown to you? Why would someone fancy you at the same day you came to Mondstadt? Who was that man?

"I wish I saw them... It's so unrealistic that someone would-"

"It looks like the one on my sister's hair..." your attention was immediately on Aether and how sad he looked. Your heart broke for him, while scolding yourself for straying from your real mission on hand which was getting somehow a clue about his sister, and as the caring and motherly person you were...

You hugged him thightly to yourself. He was a "cutie patotie" in your eyes, not that these people would understand your affectionate terms. And for now, this mysterious person could wait: You had more important matters, such as coddling the boy between your arms!

"Well, maybe, we will see that man again and he might know something about her! Maybe this is a good omen!"

I highly doubt it, considering where it comes from, Kaeya bitterly thought to himself with his fingers playing with his chin thoughtfully. He couldn't help but wonder if you were a spy sent here but quickly dismissed the idea since you weren't even aware of the Seven Nations yet alone Mondstadt or the visions. You seemed like someone who didn't have any powers, except knowing when Aether was in danger as Paimon said, super-hearing and being a skilled swordfighter.

And where you came from seemed like a mystery to you as well. He knows Aether said you two were from another world, but in a way... So was Khaenri'ah, and he had to know it...

Know if you were... another survivor that might have just forgotten who they are as a result of erosion.

As Kaeya was deep in his thoughts, Aether hummed thoughtfully as he hugged you back, though you three were in public, even if there was a cute pink tinting over his cheek. He really didn't want to "ruin" your mood with how crestfallen he had become at the sight of that flower but he just... couldn't help it. With the way he parted ways with his sister, no the way he was forced to, always left a bitter taste on his tongue. He felt like he had failed her, they had never parted before and they never had to go for such a long time with no communication...

He missed her so much... But still, he didn't feel the longing and missing feeling so much with your and Paimon's presence: By the way you always hung out with them, took care of them by trying hard to learn how to cook, watch out for both of them as they slept (even if he made you think they were safe and sound sleep and not awake making sure you were safe too), how you always praised him for his hardwork, patted his head and even helped train with him...

And the best part was perhaps letting you comb through his hair and re-braid them. He didn't let you, for the longest time. Since you two just met, and he didn't know anything about you when he asked and you only said you didn't "remember" much, he didn't want to show a vulnerability to you. Whether you would stab him from the back, tug him back harshly from his hair and kill him... He wasn't sure of what to think about you, considering the life on the wild was already dangerous, but when he saw you begging him to go over a "baby hydro slime" to pat "him", cooing at it from a distance as he held you back with tears in your eyes as a result of "cuteness overload" as you ran at him as soon as he let go of you and watched with a soft smile...

He really liked you a lot... As a friend and companion of course!

Seeing his face contorted in a frown, you pouted and pondered for a few seconds for a way to change the subject and a bulb lighted above your head, visibly brightening your face.

"So... what's the 'super secret' mission you had for us again? I hope it's something risky!" you turned with your whole body to Kaeya with your arms still holding onto Aether thightly, as the man in question raised a brow at how... content you three looked.

A weird trio indeed...

"Why, if I may ask?" he, just as chivalrously as expected of him, asked. He smirked under his breath at how you flushed, even though this headache of his was starting to get him irritated but still... couldn't help but soften when you look down at the blonde in your grasp with obvious tenderness and familial care and then-

"So that I can come close to-hmph!" *harsh slap by none other than a blushing Aether and a bonk by Paimon, who were done with your dying tendencies*

"Nothing... Just explain it, Kaeya."

*Kaeya, shocked... But still gives a long and detailed explanation of the mission and what you three were supposed to look for and overly exaggerating the story while you three are like this*

"The sky used to roar with the thunders as my grandfather would grasp the handle of the sword, the waves get stronger and the sky was covered with the black clouds and strong storms! My grandfather, with the power of the sword, once killed a silver-haired fairy, an abyss dragon-"

"This seems like a huge lie." You, deadass serious: Ehe , ehe

"We can't let the sword to get on wrong hands! We need to get to it first!

"Are you for real? Really Paimon? You believed in his words." As Kaeya watched you bicker with the "floating baby" with a pout while she yelled at you, he hummed to himself and silently made plans for what to do with you and his mission as you three slowly walked away from him.

He had to watch out for you... especially since you seemed like you didn't know about your roots and what potential danger you were in.

At all.

"Perhaps, I should scout the area more... Can't have our guests in danger, now can we?" he said to no one and went to his own office, where he could find some silence, plan his next move on the "secret mission" he gave you and hope to spend some more time with you and Aether, hoping that him and you two...

Ahh, never mind... He was used to loneliness anyways.

But well... Would you look at that! Things, just as usual, didn't go according to plan, as usual, and now you three were tied up together- Wait, Paimon could fly? Why was she here? (ಠಿ⁠_⁠ಠ)

"I thought you could fly away Paimon!", "Paimon got panicked, okay?!", "Of all times... Now?!" (⁠θ⁠‿⁠θ⁠)

For Aether, the worst part wasn't being tied down with you two... It was the constant corny jokes you made, and the most-irritating-yet-funny-statements-that-he-definetly-didn't-find-funny you did.

"You know what, mister treasure hoarder? This is the most I've seen a guy putting in efforts to get me... Are you sure there isn't a sparkle between us?"🫦☺️

"Singing in the shower is fun.... Until you get soap inside your mouth, now it's soap opera!"/ "What did the ocean say to the beach?.. Nothing, it just waved!" ｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡

Yeah, you get it. The pain of Paimon and Aether is real. ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ

Spoilers Alert: Your very much so bestfriend was already waiting in the Dendro Archon's land, who went by a certain name such as General Mahamatra and his ears ringed "without a reason" 😋

Boy was having the hardest time of his more than 3000 life ever by having to conceal his giggles and not irritate people even more. ಠ⁠﹏⁠ಠ

"Look Bro, I'd have reallyy wanted to act like a cute and girly girl who guys like you loves to prey on but It's against my codes, my morals! I just can't be one, just like you can't be smart enough to tell that I'm already outta the shackles~" you shook on tandem with the shackles between your hands and giggled before sprinting up towards them with Aether's sword that laid idly on the ground, fast on your steps.

*evil giggles, and proceeds to knock out them all in two simple blows and sitting down to munch on the snack you brought* "We should make more of this one! It's yummy!" 🤤😋☺️

Aether, to his future self: Don't tempt Y/N's wild tendencies or anger ✍🏻

He was impressed tho, he never would have thought that you were a strong person, that much at least. He never ever thought of seeing you jumping up and down between enemy like it was a game for you, swinging a bat you found on the corner after letting go of his sword... How did you even find it? How the hell did you get out of those shackles?? Yet alone beat those buff men twice, maybe thrice your size??

"It's a trick I learnt in my world! You see, these little shits are not that hard to-"

"Oh, I see that our newest Honorary Knights are feisty~" *Kaeya fucking Alberich who entered dramatically clapping his hands as a look of confusion yet teasing in his eye, smirking*

The ungodly shriek you and Paimon let out at the sight of him ☠️😅

"Hmm... Remember what I said back when you two beat the StormsTerror?" he asked as he tidied around for the last time, sending the hoarders and thieves into jail with other knights. Aether looked at him for a few seconds, then his face lightened up visibly at remembering it as he picked his sword up from the ground.

"That whether we are a new ally or a new storm?" Kaeya nodded and for a second, turned to look at your form that was now petting a cyro slime cutely, cooing at it as the slime gurgled and made cute sounds to you. He chuckled under his breath at how cute and oblivious you were, and how different you were than the rest who would usually go for killing it rather than adopting them, and how people gravitated towards you naturally... Even though you had the potential to become so much more...

He wondered what your story with him, and with Teyvat, entailed...

Of what you would become.

"I think you are a new ally... Welcome, to Mondstadt." He said looking directly at your face when you turned to look at him with a shocked yet happy smile, knowing full well that he wouldn't leave you alone and you would indulge with any kind of shenanigans with him... By flirting back! ヾ⁠(⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠*⁠)⁠ﾉ

You had to take your revenge on him for making you feel like that😤

For now though... You had to have a good rest, preferably on a bed, so that this annoying headache ever since you got that flower would go away. Besides, as much as sleeping on the wild, cuddled together with the other two was cute and wholesome -except the times you watched over the two with a keen eye, draping your cape over their figures to warm them more- you desperately needed a good sleep like you used to have in your world.

"FINALLY! I'm so tired and I want to eat something! I'm literally craving and this close to cook Paimon-"

"Paimon is not an emergency food!" All of you chuckled at her answer as Kaeya helped you up and promised to treat you with Mondstadt's national foods as a special thank you which made your heart literally skip a beat at the flirty voice... Someone had to stop this man.

How did he always find a way to flirt?? Does he not run out of ideas?? Ahh, he knows the effect he has... Dangerous indeed, you sighed but nodded anyways. A little bit of fun wouldn't hurt anyone, right?

*cue the "Careless Whisper" entering your mind as he helped you and you both looked at each other for a few seconds and Aether butting in and pushing Kaeya out of the way to lead you himself, while the man was left dumbfounded but even more determined*

"So, how about we go and eat together Y/N? What did you say you were craving again?"

You were definetly going to be the Storm that caused havoc and turned Teyvat upside down.

For now though... You had to meet with some new people, after arriving to the city of course.

Oh boi, you weren't ready to meet all those hot people that would come across you lol

[pokckygamewithbatman]

I watched My Adventures with Superman. Pt. 2

Things have been brought to my attention (because whenever anyone brings up that show I see red). People have argued that the story actually follows the romance between Clark and Lois and isn't meant be primarily seen as a Superman story. Sorry I just, completely disagree with that. As much as I'd like the show to be able to be primarily about Lois and Clark, it's a Superman show; it's called My Adventures with Superman; not The Romantic Adventures of Lois and Clark. Couldn't even say Lois is the main character and that the title is from her perspective because it's very clear that this is still Superman/Clark Kent's story. So me going into the show with no expectations but wanting a superhero story, and getting a romance with some superhero sprinkled in was immensely disappointing. That said, from what I could tell the only thing that was motivating Clark to discover his powers (which I don't think he's ever had to do past the age of 15 in any other iteration of Superman) is his love for Lois, which is now explained.

I was also told that Jimmy's character is well done because it loses the gap between Clark and his human friends and coworkers, but Jimmy and Lois aren't meant to be a little less powerful, they're meant to have way more of a gap between them and Clark because Clark has to go be Superman, and having them so tightly knit takes away from his Supermanness. A character that only reacts to situations isn't adding to the story or improving those around him, as a main character should do.

Clark being an uwu kitten himbo takes so much from his character as a sweet but noble person.

The plot is not well formulated, and it's definitely not a slow burn. From what I watched, the "slow burn" of Kryptonian lore stems from the fact that Clark literally can't understand what Jor-el is saying and not much else. That's not a slow burn, that's just creating a barrier between the character and his own story. Maybe it's later developed, but they don't show Clark as much more than a lovesick himbo puppy; personally I think he's more than that, even at the beginning of his Superman story.

It's clearly not an episodic series, or if it is then they're doing a horrible job. Each episode leads into the next, and the storyline continues. Just because Superman fights a new villain doesn't mean it's episodic. I'd be happy if the new takes made sense, but making all the villains just preteens with tech is so boring. Silver Banshee's backstory: she was born into a Gaelic clan who's firstborn undergo a ritual to prove themselves a worthy clan leader. While on a world journey of some kind, her father dies and her uncle deems her unworthy of being clan leader as a girl, so she does the ritual by herself, but is interrupted by said uncle, and sent to the underworld by the demons who were helping her with the ritual. She is granted passage back to Earth to find an old occult book. She then runs into Superman whilst on a killing spree and fails to get the book, but remains a Superman villain. Her powers include supernatural strength and endurance, as well as her famous "death scream", which effectively kills whoever hears it if she knows their name. Now, isn't that way more interesting than what this show put out for her; a trouble making preteen who's constantly fighting with her dumb brother and his friends whilst trying to get Intergang off the ground with her tech helmet that gives her essentially the same powers as Shriek from 'Batman Beyond'.

Stemming from this, why does the superpowered hero not have any superpowered villains? A non-superpowered hero with superpowered villains makes sense because the dynamic makes the hero (the one the audience is rooting for) the underdog. To make non-superpowered villains against a superpowered hero make sense the hero has to be considerably weaker, which just ruins the point of Superman.

[xprojectrpg]

Moment of Awesome - Kyle Gibney/Wildchild:Following a blow-up on the journals and a Danger Room session with the safeties off, Kyle is finally in a frame of mind to talk things out with Garrison Kane.

"You gotta work a lot harder to make me pissed at you, man." Kyle said. "I think Madin's a little jackass who doesn't know shit from shit, but I already know I'm an asshole who crossed a line."

"Good. So you eat shit and tell Madin they're the specialist bunny in town and everyone rejoices." Kane said. "And then after that, we figured out how to make Italian Beef and thank the gods that a hot redhead loves you unconditionally."

"Fuck that, I say I crossed a line. I'm not blowing happy thoughts up that kid's ass." Kyle grumbled. "Look, I can fuck up and say I fucked up, but they're not getting compliments from me. They're a naive little shit, me letting myself loose and saying dumb shit doesn't change that, and them being a little shit doesn't change that I was a dick." He turned and leaned against the cabinets, and rested his arms on his knees. "Olivier made me admit sometimes I like cutting loose. Sometimes it's easier to just be somebody's attack dog."

"Sure. There's nothing to think about. Put your head down, follow orders and fuck up who you're told to fuck up. But that's not who we are, which is why it is important to make this right. Who do you want Madin taking notes from? You or Quire?" Kane said with a nod. "It's easy to be a self-entitled asshole, but the only thing you can do is make other self-entitled assholes."

Kyle did not look up. "Kane, for like months at a time, more than once, that was me and I remember most of it. I'm so fucking just tired of, fuck, all the shit Quire and Madin preach, being our mutant selves? My mutant self doesn't get that because spoiled rich vegan kids freak out when you walk in holding half a skinned rabbit. Fuck up who'm told to fuck up, I mean shit, you know what Weapon X did to make me. I was designed to fuck up whoever someone told me to fuck up and the only reason I'm a functional person is because I spend a lot of time making sure everyone only sees dumbass himbo Kyle and not two inch finger claws can bite a guy's hand off Kyle." He shook his head, hair everywhere, still damp from a post Danger Room shower and sticking to his cheeks. "I know. Suck it up, don't scare the kids. I know, be a good example. It's just in my face right now and I slipped."

"It's also allowed to be hard, Kyle. I spent months with the people they idolize and believe me, they'd lose their minds if they ever really encountered the real deal." Garrison shrugged. "I'm also a cop in a mansion where ACAB is a mantra and I can't even disagree with them half the time. You know, I could have walked away. With Adrienne, or being an-" He cut himself off. No one needed to know about the Avengers. "Something more open. And instead, here I am. Because I took an oath. Because I believe in something that is bigger and more important than I am, eh? It's not a lot of comfort, but... fuck, I don't know... it's important. It matters."

Kyle snorted, and looked up. "I know man, I'm here because I'm real fucking tired of kids ending up in the same place I did. I'm just also just tired of being tired of it. I know I put my foot in it, I ran myself exhausted in the Danger Room so I could stop and think about how to unfuck the situation. Sometimes it's easier to actually think if I'm dead tired. I'm working on it. I just. I dunno, man, I gotta think more before I can apologize, because my head's not on right. I'm not walking away, I"m not quitting anything again. I just gotta figure shit out before I eat crow, because you know how this goes if I don't. I could be as fucking genuine as anything, they're gonna pick it to death, and we'll be right back in the middle of this and it won't have made it better for them."

[esmeraldablazingsky]

I’ve finally hit my limit on the number of bad takes on the Lan parents I can see before I have to lay out all the reasons I disagree, so hello, I’m Blazie, and in this essay I will justify my visceral dislike of the assumption that Qingheng-jun married/imprisoned/had sex with Lan-furen against her will.

    Warning for mentions of rape (in context of Interpretations I Really Hate) and a very, VERY long post below the cut.

    Before I start going off about the finer points of all this, I want to make sure people are on the same page regarding what we actually know about what went down with Qingheng-jun and Lan-furen. What I say is based off the EXR translation of MDZS, for the sake of clarity, and although I don’t think the exact wording should be too important, feel free to let me know if you think I’ve missed an important bit of nuance or something (the whole story is in Chapter 64.)

    The story we get is told by Lan Xichen, and it goes like this: a young Qingheng-jun falls in love at first sight with Lan-furen, who doesn’t return his feelings, and at some point kills one of Qingheng-jun’s teachers over unspecified “grievances.” Although he’s understandably very upset over the murder, Qingheng-jun sneaks Lan-furen back to Cloud Recesses and officially marries her in order to announce to his clan that anyone who wants to hurt her has to go through him.

After that, he locks Lan-furen in one house and himself in another as a form of repentance. Wei Wuxian speculates that this was because “he could neither forgive the one who killed his teacher nor watch the death of the woman who he loved. He could only marry her to protect her life and force himself not to see her.” 

    A central detail of this story that I think people don’t give the import it deserves is that aside from marrying and protecting her, Qingheng-jun’s other option was to let Lan-furen be executed by his clan. His purpose in marrying her wasn’t just for kicks/out of a possessive sort of love, it was so she wouldn’t straight up die. How she felt about this arrangement isn’t stated, but I’ll get into that in a bit. In addition to that, Qingheng-jun and Lan-furen live separately, which was apparently purposeful on Qingheng-jun’s part, and runs counter to the interpretation that he intended to take sexual advantage of Lan-furen.

Though there aren’t many concrete details in Lan Xichen’s retelling, he does specifically inform Wei Wuxian that his mother never complained about remaining in her house. What exactly this signifies is unclear— whether she was simply putting on a brave face for her sons, or whether she was in fact at all content with the situation— but it at the very least serves to further muddy the waters on how she and Qingheng-jun felt about all this. 

Beyond what Lan Xichen and Wei Wuxian are saying out loud, there’s also quite a bit of subtext in this scene, especially in light of later events and revelations, like Lan Xichen’s confession for Lan Wangji at Guanyin Temple. 

So what is Lan Xichen trying to convey with all this? There’s a lot of memes about this scene, most of which err too far on the side of Himbo Airhead Lan Xichen for my liking, but one that I do find amusing emphasizes how Lan Xichen draws parallels between Wangxian and the story of his parents (Lan Xichen: [flute solo] please use your one brain cell to connect the dots.) If Wei Wuxian hadn’t completely lost his memory of Lan Wangji defending him against his own clan elders, one would assume that Lan Xichen’s story would have had a much better chance of hitting home. 

In hindsight and side by side, the parallels are much clearer— Qingheng-jun, “ignoring the objections from his clan… told everyone in the clan that she would be his wife for the rest of his life, that whoever wanted to harm her would have to pass through him first.” Similarly, according to Lan Xichen in Chapter 99, “for [Wei Wuxian,] not only did WangJi talk back to him, he even met with his sword the cultivators from the GusuLan Sect. He heavily injured all thirty-three of the seniors we asked to come.”

In that context, it makes a lot less sense to interpret Qingheng-jun as an aggressor towards Lan-furen, as in Lan Wangji’s case, the narrative clearly establishes that his actions are to secure Wei Wuxian’s safety. The action of Taking Someone Back To Cloud Recesses is— okay, actually, it’s a little more nuanced than I took into account when I started writing that sentence, so let me go a little deeper into Lan Wangji’s actions and how they relate to his father’s, story-wise. 

My intent is not to dive into the terrifying underworld of novel-versus-drama discourse, but simply put, Novel!Lan Wangji as he is written isn’t exactly the poster child for clear consent. (I’m going to entirely leave off the extra chapters for the sake of everyone’s sanity, so I’m just talking about the main body of the novel here.)

He means well, and I’m sure we can agree that he does actually love and want the best for Wei Wuxian, but his lack of communication on this point means that he accidentally gives Wei Wuxian the impression that he wants to imprison and/or punish him in Cloud Recesses at least twice off the top of my head (pre-timeskip, as we know, and post-timeskip immediately after Dafan Mountain when he actually drags Wei Wuxian back to his room.) 

That all likely has something to do with MXTX’s narrative kinks and regular kinks and all that, and can absolutely be taken with many grains of salt. However, these events establish how easy it is to misinterpret the action of Taking Someone Back To Gusu as an attempt to imprison rather than protect them (much to Lan Wangji’s chagrin.)

Failing to communicate his purpose to Wei Wuxian doesn’t mean that Lan Wangji actually had any intent of hurting or caging him— that was just a misinterpretation on Wei Wuxian’s part, and we, as the audience, find that out in due time— but as written in the novel, it can be really uncomfortable to read. Because of that, many people choose to accept CQL canon regarding Lan Wangji’s more possessive actions or mix characterization from different adaptations, which, to be clear, I completely understand and respect. 

However, Qingheng-jun doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt as often, which I frankly find baffling, because nowhere in the text does it state that Lan-furen objected to being taken back to Cloud Recesses, while even Wei Wuxian clearly objected the first few times. In fact, while we’re on this note, I’ll take it a step farther— I find it baffling that people seem to default to an unsympathetic view of Qingheng-jun, because nowhere in the text does it state that he overruled Lan-furen’s wishes in any way. The text doesn’t clarify a lot of things, actually, and that is part of the point. 

The narrators of MDZS are, in many situations, highly unreliable. This is, presumably, very purposeful! MDZS can easily be read as a sharp criticism of reputation and mass judgment and the concept of condemning people without knowing their motives! And I don’t want to sound mean, but guys… did any of us learn anything from that? Here, I’m going to put it in meme format for a second to convey what I mean. 

MDZS: It’s easy to condemn someone as a villain if you don’t know their story or the reasons behind their actions

MDZS: Anyway, here’s a character whose story and reasons behind his actions you know nothing about

Some Parts Of This Fandom: Ah, a villain 

    Memes aside, here’s what I want to point out. It’s entirely possible to assume Qingheng-jun was a bad person who disregarded a woman’s wishes in marrying and confining her when all you have is Lan Xichen’s (actually very neutral, thank you Lan Xichen for being an eminently reasonable and concerned-with-evidence character) account of what happened. It would also be at least that easy to assume Wei Wuxian was just an evil necromancer if he hadn’t un-died and brought his own story to light, or even to believe that Lan Wangji had somehow tamed Wei Wuxian into submission and being a respectable cultivator if you were an average citizen of Fantasy Ancient China with nothing but rumors to operate on. 

    The thing about Qingheng-jun and Lan-furen’s story, then, is that there is nobody left alive who knows the full tale. Nobody knows what they thought about anything, really. Nobody even knows why Lan-furen killed Qingheng-jun’s teacher. Wei Wuxian asks why, and Lan Xichen can’t tell him, but I think the best answer would be something along the lines of I don’t know, Wei Wuxian, why did you kill people? Your guess on the motivations of your own thinly disguised narrative parallel are as good as anyone’s. 

    So, while it’s not technically impossible to assign darker motives to Qingheng-jun, the cautionary tale of MDZS seems to warn against that exact assumption. 

    I’ve refrained from getting too salty on a personal level thus far, but now that I’ve said a lot of the more logical and story-based points of my argument, I will say that at least some of my annoyance with the interpretation of Qingheng-jun as a possessive rapist and Lan-furen as his victim stems from the fact that I just think it’s straight up boring. Where’s the nuance? Aren’t you tired of reducing these characters to the flattest possible versions of themselves? Don’t you just want to add a little flavor? 

    In a slightly more serious phrasing of that criticism, I find that making Lan-furen a helpless prisoner strips her of whatever agency she might otherwise have. To be fair, she’s more or less a non-character in keeping with the general state of the MDZS universe, but making her a damsel in distress only consigns her more deeply to hapless, milquetoast innocence. 

    It’s perfectly valid to enjoy ladies who have done nothing wrong, ever, in their lives, but like… Qin Su is right there, if that’s your ball game. There’s also really no need to make Qingheng-jun someone who doesn’t respect women. Isn’t Jin Guangshan enough for at least one universe? 

    Anyway, ultimately, you do you. I don’t like arguing on the internet, and will just ignore things I don’t agree with (or write an 1800 word vaguepost) like a mature human being. I’m just saying, if it’s a cut and dry tale of imprisonment and assault you’re looking for… you probably don’t want to turn to a woman who committed a murder and a man who loved her enough to forfeit everything to keep her safe.