zenithsky

[zenithsky]

the urge to write a fic based on the idea that kenta craves pete's scoldings cause he was so used to getting them as a child when pete scolded him in order to protect him from tony and that's the kind of love he knows from pete,,,

ping.orbnithi IG update May 30, 2025

Garfield: Please scold me, big bro 🥺 Ping: What lolol Cow Milk Pillar 😂

[zenithsky]

pit babe characters and their outfits

ever since s1 i paid a lot of attention to what everyone is wearing and what it might signify, so let's get into it - they're not as strict with it in s2 as they were in s1 but there are still some things for me to pick apart

i will mainly focus on kim, kenta and pete for the sake of this post, but i might get into the other characters at another point because i have opinions about them too

so let's start at the baseline: colour schemes x-hunters: white and light blue red racing: black and red tony: black those are the main three groups that everyone can kind of get placed within - and here we already see the alliance of tony and red racing in the shared colour, but as i said they won't be the focus here

let's start with pete: in s1, he exclusively wore dark blue suits - a mix of both colour schemes it's predominantly blue, so we know his main alliance are the x-hunters, but it is much darker, almost as if mixed with black - signifying his origins as one of tony's children i think it also signifies that he is not part of the hunters in the racing sense, he is a business man and thus much more like tony than any of the "blue" characters

in this picture we can see that even if his suit is black the shirt beneath is blue - outwardly he appears to be just like tony, a cut throat business man, but underneath he carries hunter - blue - values

in s2 he dresses pretty similar to s1, predominantly dark blue and black suits - but what is interesting is that we see him undress for the first time - both in the literal and figurative sense. he seeks an emotional connection to chris - or way? that's a different post though - and sheds his businessman clothes.

that's as much as i wanna say for pete's colours but we will get back to him once we talked about kenta and kim a little.

kim, at most points, does not fit into any colour scheme - he mostly wears shades of brown with other colours thrown in he's not exactly part of the x-hunters anymore, they are not his place in the (racing) world so he doesn't wear their colours anymore - he also doesn't wear the red racing colours anymore, which he partly did in s1 he is his own force, his own person and only involved in the events because he chooses to be - in fact he is pretty much the only character who could up and run away at any point but doesn't, which is why he has his own colour however, it is important to note here that it's mostly beige and light browns, which still have hints of white and work beautifully with blue - he is no longer a racer for x-hunters, but compliments them well and works together with them.

as we can see in this picture, he wears brown, beige and white - his own colours and the hunter colour

vs what he wore in s1 - when he was still part of red racing. formal, black clothes. he has fully detached himself from tony, unless most others that still have ties to him - emotional or physical.

now, let's talk about kenta - and if you know anything about me, you know i could talk about him for ages, but i'll try and stay focused

in s1, he exclusively wears tony's black, especially in the form of suits and more formal clothes, but always black. i think he is the perfect example of wearing someone else's colour, because unlike every other character, he never mixes it up. no other character always wears one specific colour - kenta does. a sign that he isn't his own person but only what he can do for tony? perhaps (definitely). he wears his proper shirts and tight fitted clothes, but he has no individuality. at least in s1.

but what fun i had analyzing his clothes in s2 because i realized i missed one important thing in s1: it's not just colours. it's materials and textures.

in s2 we see the first little bit of individuality in kenta's appearance when we take a look at his ear: there's a tiny piercing. it's not bold or loud, but it's there. the first sign that kenta is becoming his own person who can make his own choices, at least to an extent. he's not exclusively part of the uniformity that tony wants from everyone.

and then the scene when he eats with kim. i have so many thoughts, but i will focus on their clothes here.

kenta's clothes aren't skin tight is the first thing that comes to mind. they still fight him well but are looser, more comfortable. like he doesn't need to prepare to get up and fight every second, but can relax into more comfortable clothes.

the second thing is the type of clothes - now i'm no expert when it comes to materials, but they seem to be something akin to knit(?) - definitely something comfortable. did he have it in his closet before and just never dared to wear them? did he have dreams about feeling safe enough to be comfortable? or did he go shopping with kim? with pete? how did he get the clothes?

i think this is the first transition to kenta wearing his own black rather than tony's black. i don't think he will ever wear bright colours, he's still kenta after all, but he now wears a comfortable black. one he can breathe in.

but the t-shirt wasn't what excited me most. it was the slippers they both wore. but before we talk about them, i want to point out kim's clothes in this scene: they are also comfortable, casual and seem to be from a similar material as kenta's are. and they are black and white. the bottom (i'm not gonna make that joke, tyvm) is black - kenta's black, because it appears to be rather comfortable, and the top is white - x-hunter's colour. now, i am not 100% certain if it's his sweater or the lightning, but to me it seems kinda off-white. once again, kim isn't exclusively wearing the x-hunter white, he puts his own spin to the colour.

now, the slippers. gray slippers. gray is a mix of white and black. a mix of kim and kenta. they are a symbol of their worlds colliding, of kim taking kenta further and further away from tony. they are the first item of clothing that kenta wears that isn't black - and it's something he received from kim. it is also a sign of comfort. even in tony's house, kenta was always wearing shoes. it is safe to assume that he only ever took them off in his own room, if he even did that. perhaps he was always alert, always wearing the shoes, always ready to jump up and run into a fight for tony. now, he can't do that. he'd have to first change out of the comfortable slippers to his own shoes. he'd have to leave the comfort kim provided behind to join another fight. and we know he will do it, but i love the symbolism.

i love the idea of kenta reacting with disbelief when kim gave him the slippers. i love the idea that kenta secretly treasures them. i love the idea that kenta, for the first time, can walk somewhere and be relaxed. both in the literal sense of his feet not hurting from tight shoes and in the figurative sense that he can be at ease with kim.

now that we established that kenta is moving more and more towards comfortable clothes, let's bring pete back into the discussion. because now i want to raise the idea of kenta drifting more and more away from pete to kim being symbolized by their clothes.

for that, let me recap quickly: pete - dark blue and black suits kenta - black suits changing to black shirts

in this clip from s1, they are basically mirrors when we talk about their clothes - both wear dark suits, both are dressed very formally.

in this clip from their childhood, they are both in comfortable clothes, but dressed in opposite colours - they were never meant to be together. even at that time, their loyalties differed, but the material was the same. they were comfortable together. in fact, the only time in s1 that kenta was comfortable was with pete. is it a coincidence that that's when they're wearing comfortable clothes? i don't think so.

but now in s2, pete is still wearing his suits. kenta isn't. their colours are more similar than in their childhood, but their materials differ. pete is stuck in the suit, in the armor it provides him, in the seriousness businessman attire. kenta is drifting away from that. he doesn't want to be what tony raised him to be anymore. and that comes with abandoning his suits. his clothes become more similar to kim's.

i think that's so interesting because it does also mirror their relationship. to pete, kenta is still the child he left behind. he worries about him, sure, but he also severely underestimates him. he wants kenta to wait for him - to still wear suits - but kenta can't wait any longer. he wants to get things done. he's very much like kim in this regard. they both realize that there's no point in sitting around and waiting. tony needs to be dealt with rather sooner than later.

and while pete holds kenta back, kim supports him and comes with him so that kenta is protected rather than making him stand still. kenta is shedding his suit to replace it with a comfortable shirt. kenta is shedding pete's control to replace it with kim's support.

there are so many other things i could dive into when it comes to their clothes, but i think those are my main points. i love when shows signify character traits through clothes and i really hope they keep it up in s2 as they have in s1.

[zenithsky]

im thinking way too much about potential time lines for kim and kenta and i still haven't found one that makes perfect sense based on the trailers we've seen,,, there's just always something that doesn't quite make sense and it's driving me insane

it's not made better by my friend's theory that kenta dies at the end constantly haunting my thoughts whenever i try to think of their future,,,

and i can't decide if i want kenta staying with x-hunters or kim whisking him away to have some physical distance between his so-called childhood and his adult life,,, both options have downsides and advantages to them,,, no matter what i just really need kenta to end up being happy, idrc how exactly that turns out to be

[zenithsky]

im thinking way too much about potential time lines for kim and kenta and i still haven't found one that makes perfect sense based on the trailers we've seen,,, there's just always something that doesn't quite make sense and it's driving me insane

it's not made better by my friend's theory that kenta dies at the end constantly haunting my thoughts whenever i try to think of their future,,,

and i can't decide if i want kenta staying with x-hunters or kim whisking him away to have some physical distance between his so-called childhood and his adult life,,, both options have downsides and advantages to them,,, no matter what i just really need kenta to end up being happy, idrc how exactly that turns out to be

[zenithsky]

I'm sure y'all have seen arguments for what animal accurately describes Kenta.

Is he more of a puppy? He's got that wet dog vibe often and when he does the big puppy dog eyes, it's hard to miss. There's also a point of how characters have referred to him as being a 'guard dog' or just a 'dog' or 'mutt'. He's loyal to a fault and definitely knows how to be protective and bite back. He follows those he loves like a puppy and gives you the impression that being told he's a 'good boy' would have him smiling to the point you can see the metaphorical tail wagging behind him.

Or is he more of a kitten? Again, same argument could be made that he's got 'wet street cat dragged in from the rain' aura. Like some cats, he's avoidant any forms of normal affection and care. He's hesitant and wary of people and their motives except those he's chosen as 'his people'. He's not afraid to use sharp tools at hand either. But once warmed up, he could be the kind of cat that enjoys their solitude until they want cuddles.

Or is he some other animal entirely to you?

[zenithsky]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: พิษเบ๊บ | Pit Babe (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Kenta/Kim (Pit Babe) Characters: Kenta (Pit Babe), Kim (Pit Babe), Tony (Pit Babe), (mentioned) Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Non-Graphic Violence, its explained but not very descriptive, Tony's A+ Parenting, Guard Dog Kenta, Dehumanization, Collars, Objectification, as in Kenta objectifies himself, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Tony is maybe the worst person on the planet, Post-Canon, s1 but, Not Canon Compliant, for s2 and in many elements also not s1, Emotional Hurt, the comfort is very minor, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Ambiguous/Open Ending, i want to wrap kenta in a blanket but instead i hurt him, Ownership, NO BETA WE DIE LIKE TONY, everything i write is a challenge to see through how much i can put kenta before he fully breaks Series: Part 11 of pit babes Summary: To Tony, Kenta was never more than a pet, an object to be owned. To Kenta, his only role is to do well for Tony. Even if he gets hurt in the process. So, when Kenta kills Tony, his entire world crumbles in more ways than he thought possible.

[zenithsky]

That KimKenta Scene

Kim truly has so much empathy and understanding. Here's a man that no one would blame Kim if he hated him, but all Kim can see is Kenta's hurt.

I also just uhhh need to scream at the sun because we've never seen anyone ask Kenta how he feels about anything, and here Kim comes and rips the bandaid off of the gaping wound of Kenta's heart.

Kenta tries to dodge Kim's question, so Kim responds in true Kim fashion, by being more direct. And more than that, he sits down next to Kenta, putting the two of them on even ground. If he wants honesty from Kenta, he can't talk down to him.

It makes me think of the most personal conversation Pete and Kenta have had with each other so far this season, and how much Pete towered over Kenta the whole time.

But Kim meets Kenta where he’s at. And sitting next to Kenta also lets him see Kenta's face, because that's where the answers lie. Yes, he's heartbroken, yes, he's in love with Pete. It's written all over Kenta's face.

cue Kenta's internal flashback that Pit Babe knows it doesn't even have to show us:

bc the visuals of Kenta and Kim sitting side by side in black and white are such a distinct reminder of That One Time Pete Found Out About Kenta's Feelings. And while there's ambiguity about whether Pete actually truly knows how Kenta feels, the man is a touch empath.

Kim's solution to everything is of course to tackle it head on. "Just tell him, and then maybe you can be happy." Kim assumes that Pete doesn't already know because 1. When do Tony Chen's kids ever talk about their feelings? And 2. If Pete knew about Kenta's feelings, why would he treat Kenta the way he has. (And 3. If Kenta loved you, how could you do anything but love him back? Impossible in Kim's opinion)

And this tiny, self-deprecating smile Kenta gives here tears me to shreds. "No way." He knows there's no chance. He's always known there was no chance.

This is translated as "He just doesn't feel the same," but what Kenta says is "kao kae mai dai chop pom." He just doesn't like me.

I think they probably translated it the way they did to remove the ambiguity of the word "like," to clarify that Kenta's romantic feelings aren't returned. But the ambiguity cuts me to pieces every time I listen to this line bc if Kenta feels like Pete just... doesn't like him? As a person? Like Pete only cares for him out of a sense of obligation, but doesn't actually want to be around him? Like a family member who you're tied to, but you don't actually like? I need to go outside and scream at the sun.

And there's the Oh. on Kim's face. Because yeah, sometimes honesty has its price, and that price is having someone knowing you love them and them walking away from you anyways without a single reassurance that they care about you.

And I wonder how much Kim is reassessing all the interactions he’s seen between Pete and Kenta. The way Pete left Kenta with Kim. The way he said he would find an escape route for Kenta and then never mentioned it again. The way Kenta was willing to put himself at risk by leaving Kim's apartment to go talk to Pete, only for Pete to ask, “Do we have to do this now?” The way Kenta could have been killed earlier that day, and Pete never once asked if he was okay.

"Never felt anything for me." "He just doesn't like me." I'm falling apart at the seams I swear to god.

Kenta has spent his whole life chasing affection from Tony and from Pete, only to be abandoned by Pete and treated like an animal by Tony. And he just accepts it. He accepts that he's never had a father and that Pete doesn't even like him. I need to bundle him into a pile of blankets. I'm going to chew my arm off.

But it's okay because Kim is gonna bundle him up in love for me. I'm certain this is the first time anyone has ever told Kenta he could be loved. And Kim says it so easily, so matter-of-factly, like it's a simple truth. It doesn't feel like an empty platitude from Kim, it just reflects the way he lives his life. If you meet an obstacle, you either find a way through it, or you shift your trajectory.

Kenta gives Kim such a dubious look in response, though, like the idea of being loved is a fairy tale he stopped believing in long ago. He can't believe that anyone would truly love him because no one ever has. As much as it's a truth for Kim that Kenta can be loved, it's a truth for Kenta that it's impossible.

Except Kenta still craves love anyways. It's why he immediately replaced Tony with Pete, why he's trying to make Pete proud, why he keeps showing up at Pete's in the middle of the night to go, "Hey look, I can be useful, won't you let me stay?"

I know it's impossible for Kenta to believe Kim right now. But even if he resists the idea of Kim loving him, Kim will be determined to prove it to him. Already, he's earned Kenta's trust through simple, concrete actions. More than anyone else right now, Kim is in a position to hurt and torment Kenta, and instead he keeps going out of his way to help Kenta. He has sheltered Kenta, he has kept Kenta from isolating himself, and more than that, he has seen Kenta without judgement.

And the fact that Kenta was willing to open up this much to Kim is proof of that trust. Kenta spent all of s1 hiding his pain and suffering, and the only time his mask crumbles around other people is when he is at a breaking point.

But with Kim, with the first person to ask how Kenta feels, he's able to let himself be vulnerable enough to say Everything I have ever done has been for men who never loved me. And in return for that vulnerability, Kim reaffirms that trust by telling him, It's okay, you can still be loved anyways.

[zenithsky]

Kenta: Can you take me somewhere? Kim: I’d take you anywhere 😏 Kenta: Okay so can you take me to the house of my adopted brother who I’ve been in love with my entire life so I can walk in on him making out with the doppleganger of a dead man that he barely knew Kim: Kim: Fine but we’re getting drinks after

[zenithsky]

i dont like how many parallels there are in the way pete is starting to treat kenta to the way tony treated him,,,

[zenithsky]

Yeah buddy that's why you looked completely unbothered while you were surrounded

Kenta's idea of coming out of a fight "fine" is like, only two broken ribs, a bloody nose, a gunshot would, and a couple taser burns

[zenithsky]

i love kim with his protective energy looking at kenta who kim knows very well is able to kill and decide that he has to put that man into his pocket and protect at all cost

[zenithsky]

i am BEGGING them to take the omega!kenta route like it is RIGHT THERE that man is so omega coded

[zenithsky]

i'm just saying kenta is very lucky i'm still stuck in a writers block the ideas i have to hurt this man /affectionately

[zenithsky]

diaryus has come to an end

is it how i wanted to end it? not really, but i wanted to leave it open even less. i hope this is an okay compromise

[zenithsky]

okay genuinely what's going on with the teachers in the on1y one?? i was so sure they're an established couple but it seems like they aren't?? you're telling me they're still pining for each other?? even though they run a cafe together and all those fun little things?? and didn't benny get introduced with "this is my partner"?? i thought this was a "we're gay" kind of partner, not a "we're colleagues" kind of partner :(

[zenithsky]

Poorest Little Meow Meow - Loser's Bracket Round 9: Kenta (Pit Babe) vs Zongzheng Huaien (Meet You at the Blossom)

[Submitted Reasons Under Cut]

Kenta: Morally questionable: Kenta participated in human trafficking, attempted to murder his first love, kidnapped his brother, convinced multiple people to sabotage Babe’s car on separate occasions, killed his own father Pathetic and or pitiful: Kenta’s tits are so big because they’re full of angst. Did he enjoy any of his crimes? No, but he did them anyways because he had been groomed into a tool from a young age. Was not given the privilege to leave the house as a child. Had a tragic unfulfilled love. Physically and emotionally abused by his father repeatedly throughout the show. Cries in the bathroom when no one is looking. Referred to as a dog by multiple people. Gets on his knees and begs for his father’s forgiveness for not being evil enough, but still gets stepped on and told he was never seen as a son. Saves the heroes of the story and ends up alone and discarded at the end.

Zongzheng Huaien: This feral cat went from pushing his excitable puppy boyfriend away to nearly razing a brothel to the ground because his beloved was there. He got his poor naive boyfriend to agree to forgive him for any misdeed, then promptly knocked him out, kidnapped his adopted sister, got him and his parents arrested and nearly executed, enabled a spiteful frenemy to torture said boyfriend and hit him with a curse so devastating it is literally killing him from the inside out, then shows up wearing the jewelry he pretended to hate when it was given to him expecting to kiss and be loveydovey. He has said that he will have Xiao Bao no matter what, willing or no, and he will torch the earth otherwise. He is a beautiful idiot who was abused by the man who brought him up and never knew love; now that he has fallen ass over teakettle in love he is going to make it everyone else’s problem. I love him so much.

[zenithsky]

every few weeks i apparently forget how to write cause why do i get stuck after like ten sentences no matter what