#even if he was mostly in the background | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aalghul · 1 month

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i saw an account post that, unfortunately, if you are a jason todd fan account then you’ve most definitely gotten an ask along the lines of “if you like fanon jason then you’ll definitely like canon helena/steph/mia” and was wondering if you’ve ever gotten an ask like that

I've gotten a few about Helena specifically, never Steph or Mia so I'm going to talk about Helena rather than generalize what I'm about to say to both of them too (because I was actually thinking about this a few weeks ago!)

Those people are right...in a way. If you want christian guilt (that Jason does not in UTRH and should not ever struggle with) and genuine efforts to be accepted by the Bats? You want Helena. A character whose relationship with killing can be benefited by people bringing her into their light without rendering her previous choices pointlessly antagonistic? that's Helena.

Then there's also the factor of Helena often, in canon, being treated as unstable and untrustworthy, no matter what she does to prove otherwise. and that's seen as a continued failing on her part, even if it's others that refuse to believe in her. Jason constantly being pushed into those situations in fanon and canon is very Helena coded. He's got her good and bad.

But if you like the Jason from UTRH era, arguably the best written Jason post-resurrection (which isn't saying much because...we all know how he's written most of the time), then Helena would never work for you because they're so different. Even with fanon, there's only a certain extent it can apply to. Helena's not Bruce daughter, he didn't raise her, she was never family for him outside the costume (or in it. but that hurts me to say), and she certainly wasn't Dick's sister. So those dynamics should be different inherently, even in fanon where they're altered to resemble something like what Helena has. There's still a history that Jason has here that she naturally doesn't.

I think it's too vague and unhelpful of a thing to say if you're trying to make people interested in Helena or change their portrayal of Jason. But I do see the basis of it.

#heavy on the catholic guilt btw. ik it's not the point but i want you all to let flashpoint jason go. helena's such a great character that #even i cared about her christian guilt and i seriously do not gaf about christians. but it just doesnt work for jason. give it up loves #i do not however think helena's being pushed out of the spotlight is entirely or even mostly due to jason lol #she was already being pulled out of gotham way before he became so similar to her. and then she got pushed to the background in favour of #male characters the same way steph and cass have been for quite a while now.#but if we're talking about fanon specifically? i think most ppl simply dont know she exists bc they dont read comics. even babs cass and #steph struggle to make the cut despite being much more well known so this is really a ppl not caring about female charas issue than jason #specifically stealing her light in fanon. the other male charas' fans arent exactly hyping her up daily either #anyways. maybe im not the best person to ask to begin with since i dont like fanon jason

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moltenhair · 1 year

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The more time that passes since the reveal of the ‘moon cassandra’ design the less I like the look of the “suit”. In big action poses where the limbs are all out and visible it’s fine. Or when she’s standing still and her arms are at her sides.

But anytime any of her body parts overlap they mush together into a big black blob. Especially on dark backgrounds, which was where Moonsandra spent most of her time.

her body completely fades into the background which is ironic. because this was supposed to be her ‘standing out on her own’. Looking at the below stills it took me a moment to find her left arm in the shot. Or her legs in the second one. She spends a lot of time in stills looking like a floating head.

Everyone else has some level of contrast that helps them stand out but it seems like the only part about Cass’s design that was meant to stand out was her hair. Edmund even, who is also wearing all black armor, has purple lighting accents on it and wears a cloak in a different color to add variation. When he’s on a black background you can still see his shape. It seems like the problems with this arc go all so deep that even on a technical animation/design level they didn’t know what to do with her. The main villain of the show shouldn’t be blending into the backgrounds there should be something to make her POP

This isn’t me bashing the animators obviously. they animate what they’re given they don’t decide what the backgrounds look like or how the characters are designed. This is another one of those ‘this comes from the people at the top’ issues because this was one of many designs they could have gone with and this was what got approved.

#long post #not tagging because this is just a personal observation #but anyone can reblog it if they want #it's a good design... if it's static and on bright backgrounds only #otherwise it is not a good choice for a character who mostly operates at night and in the dark #she's not fucking batman #but even batman you can see because he has dynamic shapes and the artists make sure you can FUCKING SEE HIM #cass trying to take the spotlight and somehow fading into the backgrounds more than ever

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rearranging-deck-chairs · 9 months

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did they have 13 do anything like this? they shouldve had 13 do stuff like this

#someones like 'overcompensating?' and shes like aCTUALLY im compensating JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT thankyouverymuch #if anything im UNDERcompensating #ryan in the background mouthing: undercompensating?#look i think it's dumb and not particularly funny when men do it #when women do it however #i contain multitudes #thats untrodden ground #ever seen the biggest fragilest ego in the universe been worn by a WOMAN? thought so #she couldve been a bit more of a loser is all im saying #rights for this loser when hes a girl also #that post thats going around abt how the doctors typical flaws dont work well with 13 bc shes a woman?#im not smart enough to tell if thats true but #maybe tey shouldve like just switched some flaws or smth so it evens out and theyre still a loser #i mean 13 is still a loser but like in serious ways mostly #or maybe im just overinvested Not an impossiblity in fact a likelihood nigh Certainty #i guess 'i think his was a bit bigger actually' maybe counts but she didnt even respond to that one so

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mbat · 3 months

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i really wanted to try and write like, a thing explaining how i think steven universe future is one of the best portrayals (and my personal favorite) of mental illness in media, and how i think people misinterpreted it (me included at first, cause my experience over time has given me new perspectives) but i. AAA i literally dont even know if its necessary cause i dont know if people still think it was bad or a bad way to write steven (it wasnt!!) or like any of that, mostly cause. holy shit its just so obvious to me?

like i watch that show and i relate to him so much that i just understand it all and its so obvious to me and i dont know if other people find it. not obvious. like everything is right there in the text laid out i think

the main thing that i saw get misinterpreted when it aired was the second to last episode where steven turns into a fucking kaiju and everyone, again me included, thought that it felt rushed, but everytime i rewatch it i think... no it wasnt, actually. because we see it expecting a big fight or thinking it needs a whole lot to fix, but it doesnt. its not a fight, its someone having a mental breakdown and thinking theyre purely unlovable and evil, but being made to see that they are still lovable and arent evil even after all the bad theyve done, theyre loved unconditionally, and that other stuff mostly really doesnt matter (and hey, it can be fixed/dealt with later, its fine!)

its just my favorite show ever, specifically future! and i really wish other people would see what i see, but do i even need to try..? i didnt really write it very well anyway, but drafts exist for a reason. idk ive just been thinking about it a lot

TL;DR: i adore steven universe future and im wondering if anyone thinks its even necessary for it to be analyzed for people to maybe better understand it/do you think that there are enough people misunderstanding it that it needs a perspective to maybe help be more understood

#genuinely i relate so deeply to him in future #its such a comfort show to me when im having a bad time cause like #he goes through so much and does so much. but everyone still loves him and he gets a therapist and a happily ever after #and it gives me hope. yknow?#i just keep thinking about athena p saying she didnt like steven universe future and im like. GIRL YOUR OPINIONS ARE USUALLY GOOD WHAT #WHY NOT. WHAT IS THERE TO DISLIKE :[#steven universe #su #steven universe future #steven quartz universe #steven quartz demayo #su steven #steven universe steven #suf #my post #im mostly asking this cause it would be a lot of effort to finish it #ive got a first draft written but its very long #and im planning on turning it into a youtube video. not just posting a long ass essay on tumblr lol #so it would take me writing a second draft. maybe even more until im satisfied-#then id have to read it all out loud. and then make a drawing for the background video cause i #PHONE ISTG #cause thats just what i have in mind #then id have to edit it all sjfhsjf #its like. i want to. but im so demotivated about it. cause would it even matter #I MEANT FOR THE POLL TO BE LONGER I FORGOT TO CHANGE IT NOOOOO

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aroaessidhe · 8 months

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2023 reads

Wren Martin Ruins It All

YA contemporary romcom

student council president proposes to cut the school valentine’s dance because it's expensive and alienating for queer/single people, but instead the vice president (who he adamantly hates for being perfect) suggests they get sponsored by a popular friendship app

he decides to secretly give the app a go to “know his enemy” but ends up making a friend, and starts to catch feelings for him...and maybe realises the guy he hates isn't actually so bad either...

ace mlm MC, aro-questioning side character

I loved this so much! great MC with a funny internal monologue

despite the title most issues or misunderstanding are sorted out pretty quickly rather than drawn out for the drama and plot. which is refreshing

I was a little nervous about the concept of ‘ace hates the school dance and wants it shut down’ - there's a bit of a stereotype of aspecs being boring Fun Haters - but I think it did a really good job of showing the specifics of why, not dragging it out, and also that he’s just a snarky fun hater in general with not much weight behind it.

There’s also no discovering of sexuality or big coming out (just one-on-one) - he already knows he’s ace, and it comes up naturally a bunch, talking about how dances etc can feel isolating, the way the friendship app called buddy being called ace-friendly can feel infantilizing, avoiding dating because of the stress of having to check upfront if people about it, etc.

I would have liked to know more about his relationship with his mum? Though I understand that it’s clearly something he avoids thinking about - going too deep into his relationship with his parents might have changed the tone a lot. but still.

ARC from netgalley thanks netgalley

#wren martin ruins it all #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #asexual books #ngl as soon as i was like oh this boy is elliot schafer coded i was a lost cause #(re aro character - I have noticed a bit of a trend of “maybe aromantic but I don’t like labels” in YA #contemporary recently that I don’t love - but it’s not an inherent issue with this book)#I’ve read a lot of YA contemporary books where the portrayal of social media and made up apps doesn’t feel right; but this one did to me!#maybe it’s because it’s from the POV of someone’s who’s cynical about it.#(and types no punctuation no capitalisation…I could see my online-communication style reflected back at me…)#Even the confrontation at the end where feelings are confessed isn’t made into some big dramatic thing in front of everyone with no #communication. But it also doesn’t feel emotionally anticlimactic.#(maybe a couple of the reveals in the confession felt unnecessarily dramatic to me? like the story would have functioned without them. )#but it's common for comtemporary ya to overdramatise silly things for the plot and im glad this didn't #possibly this is just my adult opinion about teen narratives.#The adult characters (even though they’re mostly background) feel like real people.#and it has some good friendships. also he has chickens and they are very good #it did become increasingly obvious that it was the same ppl but also they’re emotionally stupid. and like….it's part of the genre.#we all know this going in.

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sysig · 2 years

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Requestober ask- I love that we got to see last year what costumes you imagined for Edgar and Scri as kids. What do you think they'd be for Halloween as adults? I kind of imagine Scriabin as some kind of vampire or illusionist magician, or something similarly dramatic/elegant/mysterious~ For Edgar, though, I'm not sure. Sheet ghost? Lol. I can only think of lady!Edgar costumes, like her being a princess or smth. I feel like it wouldn't be anything too over the top, either way. Thoughts?

Day 8 - Buggy

#My art #Requestober #Vargas #Edgar #Scriabin #You asked my opinion - that was your first mistake #Lol #This has been - and I can't stress this enough - running as a background program in my head for Two Years #Like I checked! I wrote this down in August of 2020! Maybe even a bit earlier! This has been bumping around back there for that long!#I just never had the energy/excuse to draw it and now I finally have haha ♪ Thanks for saying the secret phrase to work on my backlog #Also can you believe it was actually two Requestobers ago that I drew them as kids in costume? The heck is time right?#I do still remember my thought process behind it tho lol #Edgar's a moth - mostly because of Honey I'm Home that's the reason I drew him as a moth previously #He does make for a very cute little bug #Just can't stop drawing him as flying insects huh #And Scriabin is a bug zapper lol #The idea I was chasing was ''dumb couples costumes'' because y'know - bugs are So Attracted to bug zappers #To the point where they fly into them and get seriously hurt - very thematically relevant to their relationship lol #But it's such a silly costume at the same time lol it's so unsexy haha #I do love your prompt of ''Scriabin would be in something really attractive and suave and pretty and-'' ''No. Bug Zapper.'' lol #He's a dork! ♥ I love him #They've sewn patches onto his clothes as makeshift loop-secures to thread glow sticks through lol #And Edgar's is probably just some fluffy fabric cut into basic wing shapes and fitted with a tie clasp #Homemade dumb couples costume <3 #Now Ladyverse costumes - that's a road I still haven't tread and it is quite interesting hmmmm

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todayisafridaynight · 10 days

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I’m fairly new to the fandom, but I do have a question if you can answer it! Why do people ship Daigo with Aoki / Masato? I tried looking to see if they’ve interacted before, but couldn’t find anything! Sorry for asking I’m just </3 dumb AND I LOVE YOUR ART OF THEM!!! Nerd looking ahhhhhh

hi ! welcome to the community i hope you're having a lovely time so far and ty for enjoyin my stuff :) no need for apologies it's a very fair question to have :]

i cant speak for everyone (all. ten people into masadai anyway) but Personally To Me i just think the idea of them together is very funny. thats quite literally it im afraid..

#snap chats #//twenty page google doc in the background// ignore that. it's mostly for comedic purposes #might also be my fault idk sorry about that. allegedly. idk ive had like three people tell me they started to ship them cause of me 🧍‍♂️#@mementoasts is another person who's drawn masadai and whose stuff i love and am inspod by .. i love their disneyland fic sm ...#there was another artist on twitter who posted a neat drawing of them but i cant remember who they were and i didnt bookmark it //screams//#recently there's been ANOTHER masadai artist ive started following on twitter - @wifekiryu. his account's n/s/f/w fyi before you go looking #he has a tumblr too @foxdies. i say cause i realized as much recently vjeaKLGJALKGJ #oh but I GUESS ill get deeper into why. /i/ personally ship masadai or whatever #first off they're opposing factions yet their character alignments Do Not Match their roles. stereotypically anyway #aoki who leads the 'surface' of society and is meant to be an admirable figure and someone 'just' when really. he sucks LMAO #though that's not atypical of politicians but just from a stereotypical This Is A Respectable Individual perspective of his role #daigo on the other hand leads the 'underbelly' of society- yk comprised of dangerous criminals and outcasts and whatnot #yet as we know him daigo's compassionate and considerate of his men- he doesnt treat them like tools like aoki does #if put in a room with the two daigo would be most people's choice of person to hang out with. probably open a trapdoor on aoki tbh #and i think thats really cool and epic i always love that kinda Subverting Expectations thing #theres also the fact they both started off like. edgy/angsty in the franchise and then brush up down the line #masato does a stronger 180. publicly. obviously but its still really funny they both have to get their act together #if you wanna talk about in-text reasons. there really is none LMAO I TELLS YOU masadai is pure crack #but if i wanted to pull a muscle reaching then there's daigo being on aoki's side while everyone else is on arakawa's during the funeral #im lying of course. mitsu was behind him. rgg tryna make me forget mitsu exist .... put him back in y8 ....#and ofc ichi joins that side to even out the seating but moving on another Goofy Reason is arakawa being like #'the chairman and my son are like p much the same age Surely he knows how he thinks :)'#and then i just think daigo being all smarmy about outsmarting aoki is really goofy and im choosing to interpret that as personal #they both also have issues with their dad. s. dad/s/. anyway.#tbh the google doc tag was a joke but i really could sit here and list every dumb reason why i think theyre funny together #like i started going over the tag limit so uhhhh yeah needless to say i have a lot of. dumb reasons 💀💀💀💀#one day ill use the main text for long rambles like this but todays not that day Point Is my imagination is rampant im afraid #so the short and sweet of it is I Think It's Funny. And They'd Be Terrible Together. Which Is Why It's Funny.#and the unfortunate part is anything i find funny i obsess over for a year so. //gestures to the mountain of bullshit thats my masadai tag/

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sneez · 1 year

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provocative puritan posing (inspired by this painting)

[id: a digital painting of thomas fairfax sitting at a small table in an interior. he is wearing seventeenth-century military garb, and is resting one hand on the table and holding a glove with the other. his legs are crossed in a manner which looks slightly (though unintentionally) suggestive. end id.]

#fairfax #artwork #if you saw me reblog this the other day you were witness to the exact moment i knew i had to draw this #mostly just because the bloke is wearing a cuirass in the original painting but also because i am gay. we know this #this is very messy i was going to paint over it properly but i actually quite like the effect when it is very sloppy like this so here it is #dont look too closely or you will see just how messy it is. i didnt stay within the lines at all my bad #i am quite happy with it though! partly because i think i captured the way he looks (in my head) and partly because i drew a background for #once. i never ever draw backgrounds and i wasnt even intending to for this one but i started it and then kept going for no reason #obviously not an impressive background by any means. but a background nonetheless :-)#anyway i hope you are all well my friends! i am home for christmas so i am hoping to get lots of drawing done if i get my act together #i love you all very much. look at the puritan. look at him. you want to look at him

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quirkle2 · 9 months

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whyis he SCREAMIG

[finished piece]

#qktalks #he's in agony. that's why. btw #i have learned that i like making backgrounds If they're simple enough #this one is mostly clouds. that's doable. there's a treeline. some silhouettes. that's easy #the shit that everybody else does ? ill pass out instead thanks #anyway this is for a fic that i haven't even started writing . once again #jay stop drawing things from pieces of literature that don't exist yet #<- the devil talking. i do what i want

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nevertrulyset · 6 months

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Can't believe (actually can) they brought Patrick Stewart back as Professor Xavier in that Doctor Strange movie only to have him quote himself from X-Men: Days of Future Past and then die violently like he did in Logan.

#mcu spoilers #multiverse of madness #they didn't even mention the X-Men or explain who Professor X even was #he just showed up with the 1990s animated series theme song playing softly in the background #what if someone had seen MCU but not XMCU before and suddenly here's Captain Picard in a yellow bumper car #i will say his appearance was a surprise to me because i haven't actively kept up with marvel movies since...idk probably Age of Ultron #i mean i keep up with X-Men and Spider-Man but the core MCU has lost its appeal for me mostly #anyway #it's funny to think about how Patrick Stewart's first screen test for Jean-Luc Picard was in 1986 #and filming for X-Men began in 1999 #but as of 2023 #he has been on the big screen as Charles Xavier more than he has as Jean-Luc Picard #8 movies as Charles!#only 4 as Jean-Luc!#5 if you count the IMAX release of the Picard finale episode

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nomsfaultau · 8 months

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Another mini-arc of Fault is being released. Fault is an SCP SBI AU that deals with themes of dealing with the trauma and guilt of surviving, The SCP Foundation’s system of oppression, and naturally found family. The first arc is Tommy and Tubbo-centric, focusing on the sacrifices needed to survive, and then broadens to fully introduce the rest of the Sleepy Bois, alternative morality systems, and new terrible mental health strategies. While the story does get dark, it makes the moments of love shine all the brighter. Even if humanity hates them, these monsters have each other’s backs.

Mind the tags, and enjoy.

#wanted to do a fun art piece but my phone is to broken rip #writing a description was so weird. Cause the plot is so convoluted at this point I don't think a summary would be useful. At all.#like i could explain how the new chapter is abt Wilbur selling his blood to an eldritch monster in exchange for protection from his trigger #after he was left sole defender of the group as a combo of the cost of a blood god's rampage #+ Philza being completely stripped of his identity humanity and memories #and the bitterness of trying to retain familiarity with someone you love even though they're practically a stranger now #while tubbos arc is bubbling in the background as they start poorly coping with chronic pain/disability/resentment/relying on ppl they abho #and the growing hints of the magic systems lore and planting the seeds for later metafictional themes #this whole mini-arc is mostly foreshadowing for HUGE problems later on #mmmm i should stop rambling #fault au #sleepy bois inc #sbi #sbi au #sbi fic #dark sbi #sbi scp au #technoblade #wilbur soot #tommyinnit #philza #tubbo #clingy duo #scp au #scp fic #scp foundation #sbi fanfic #something to nom on

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spohkh · 4 months

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innocently watching boys planet and then key shows up????😭😭😭😭😭🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵 YAY

#i kept waiting for the kids to have to perfrm a shinee song.. but girl this is even better #absolute jumpscare (affectionate)#i put bp on for background mostly but now im like ESTOY PRESTANDO ATENCION I AM SEATED ESTOY ESCUCHANDO MY KIBUMMIE!!#hes soooo pretty ily bebe

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risingsunresistance · 1 year

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#drawings that are so personal to only me and ark jdgjfg #this is gonna make sense to like 5 of you bc i dont even think techno streamed him getting the gear or explained it in a video #or maybe he did idk but either way #mmmm drawing a whole background was fun even tho it's just sketchy #(clogging tags to hopefully keep this *mostly* on my blog lmao)#technoblade #simon hypixel #awa #sb #if you were wondering. yes techno DOES have to crouch to go through the door #him being too big for the door is not an art mistake he's just huge #rising sun

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cave-monkey · 2 months

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I'm watching Monkey King 2009, and I know a bit of what happens to Six Ears later so I can't help but look at things through that lens, specifically the ways the FFM troop are a hot mess in a way that's actually kind of interesting and addressed in the show (to the extent a kid's show generally touches on those things). Like! The fact it's only the second episode and the troop is now two-for-two throwing Six Ears to the wolves at the first available opportunity! I decided to look back on what happened the last time they did this and go ahead and outline the thoughts I was having on it because, apparently(!), this was not a one-off! And I was not overreacting!

The very first fight scene in the series in Episode 1. Analysis, go!

Specifically, the part where a child is the one facing down the leader of the enemy warband, a combatant who already mowed through the advances of two experienced, trained adults with minimal effort, and the show...actually kind of goes a semi-realistic route with it?

Six Ears starts off strong and confident. He's basically an adult, his king put him up to this, of course he can handle it! He won't let him down!

And he does a pretty good job! It's very kid's show fun and punchy.

But then the Demon King of Havoc - an adult, a trained fighter, a blooded fighter - starts buckling down. And Six Ears slips up. And then he keeps slipping up.

It's not fun anymore. Six Ears is in way over his head and he knows it. So you get this (honestly kind of heartstring-tugging) shot of him glancing away while the Demon King approaches to look for his mentor and idol for help or guidance or something. He's a kid, he's scared now, and he wants his grandfather.

...and finds him asleep.

Now in most media I'd expect this to either be the mentor-figure feigning indifference or carelessness to encourage their pupil to handle the problem themselves (and implying in the process that they never doubted their pupil's ability to handle it - that they were never in actual danger), or this would just be building tension before the seemingly-oblivious mentor-figure suddenly intervenes at the critical moment.

But, of course, Six Ears isn't the actual protagonist, and that's not what happens. Six Ears looks to his king for help, finds none, and that's it. The Demon King of Havoc goes in for the kill and all Six Ears can do is run.

And he does, and he runs and runs and runs, farther and farther from his troop and anyone who can help because apparently no one was paying attention to the kid who was taking on the leader of the entire opposing force by himself, and he barely stays ahead of the sword, the trees the Demon King sends crashing down on him, and he's blatantly not able to do anything more than survive moment to moment.

And then he can't run anymore.

And the Old Monkey King doesn't show up. We find out he was never going to show up.

We get a shot of the Old Monkey King slowly waking up way back in the camp well after this scene, in response to Stone Monkey's hatching. (He also stands bolt right up, which is probably meant to be in shock at the giant stone rocketing into the sky wreathed in universe energy but I also like to think might also have been a "Where the FUCK is my KID" just so I can imagine someone was concerned about Six Ears during all this.)

Like, I cannot emphasize enough, Six Ears would be dead if Stone Monkey hadn't been hatching at this exact moment. An energy burst from the hatching blinds the Demon King long enough for Six Ears to bolt and start the chase again. That's what saves him. And then again when Six Ears manages to get the egg between him and a blow from the Demon King's sword.

Considering how eager the generals are to throw Six Ears to Stone Monkey when they're still convinced he's a legitimate danger in literally just the next episode, presumably just days after all this went down, and I...sort of think they were fully aware Six Ears was likely going to die to the Demon King. While I hesitate to say they didn't care at all, they showed in Episode 2 pretty clearly that they definitely cared way less about a child of their troop's likely death than they did about saving their own skins. Not enough to back him up, not enough to go after him when he's forced to flee, not enough to take on the fight in his place.

Which is tremendously messed up all on it's own, but it gets worse because these generals are all for treating him like a young kid when it's convenient for them. They see him as a child! But they're just as quick to throw him under the bus of adulthood as soon as that's convenient for them. Whatever requires the least effort from them, that's what they want him to be.

Seriously, who the hell is taking care of this kid? Because at this point it sure seems like the Old Monkey King - who is very old and very tired and whose body is blatantly failing him - is stuck not only trying to keep his troop in something vaguely resembling working order and secure them as much as possible for his imminent death no one but him seems concerned with, but is also somehow expected to be the primary (if not sole) caregiver of a young child. Something he can't be. Like, geez, guys. Let the man wither away in peace without piling on him more fraying threads of the things he can't possibly tie up properly before he goes, thanks!

Not to mention how this would blatantly conflict with the Old Monkey King's need to have a successor as soon as possible, since the most eligible adults in his troop are, apparently, all lazy cowards who are entirely unsuitable. He brings it up like two or three times in the first episode alone, so this is clearly something that's stressing him out, and his best option is still a boy. Meaning Old Monkey King is in a position of having to desperately (but trying not to show that he's desperate) push Six Ears to grow up just a little faster because he doesn't know how much longer he has left. There's just not a lot of room for him to just let Six Ears be a kid, in those circumstances. He needs a king. He needs Six Ears to make decisions and lead and take risks, even if the ones he's taking are far beyond the sort of things that should be on a kid's shoulders. He can't be his mentor and his grandfather and his king. No one person can be all three of those. Something is going to give. And so the Old Monkey King makes his mistakes. He piles too much on Six Ears too soon. He expects too much of him too soon. He nearly gets Six Ears killed in the first episode. (He accidentally leaves Six Ears vulnerable in the future to adults who want to use him.)

It's a fascinating little set-up. Obviously not really addressed in the show, since it's for kids and framed from a kid's perspective, which is also sort of genius? I'm thinking of the second episode where the generals are more than willing to dump Six Ears on the sacrificial alter, even physically carrying him out the door, an adult on each arm, like he might wise up and get scared and run (and if he did, like they wouldn't let him), and all Six Ears does is laugh. He's a kid. We've all been kids who think some of the most messed up things are perfectly normal simply because you don't have anything to compare it to. This is just the generals being the generals, obviously. They're so silly :)

But adults were writing this show, and I can't imagine an adult writing this not knowing exactly what they were doing. Especially knowing what happens to Six Ears.

Anyway, long story short: I want to fight the generals with my bare hands. I do not want to fight the Old Monkey King with my bare hands, but I do want to give him a long, disappointed glare over his cups that I feel like he would understand perfectly.

Also, someone needs to wrap Six Ears up in a burrito blanket and stuff him in a pillow fort with Stone Monkey where nothing can hurt them. That would be nice.

#images under cut #mhw09 personal #if this had a structure it went out the window real fast it's just me yelling about things at some point #okay look I guess I just had a lot to say after just two episodes. that's what blogs are for. (right? right. right.)#not even getting INTO how they talk about Stone Monkey #okay actually let's just not allow these guys around young teens at all. they can't be trusted.#you know what old monkey king how about you just point at one of the random background NPC monkeys we see hanging around and make THEM #your successor?#come on now #you're desperate and it's gotta be better than the literal child you are lovingly handcrafting SEVERAL major complexes for as we speak #and while we're on this topic how about you point to four random ones and make them your new Generals!#I mean sure the fact Ma Beng Liu and Ba are the Marshals/Generals probably means the others are somehow LESS competent or able #(maybe a cultivation level thing?)#but come on #actually I'm wondering if the Generals' lack of care for Six Ears comes from a similar place as their #fear and aversion to Stone Monkey #Six Ears is pretty blatantly noooot really a monkey “like them” either?#so wherever he came from I wonder if they had just as strong objections about HIM at some point #obviously they'd be mostly over them by now but...I dunno man #I wonder if they think of him less as a monkey kid and more as their king's weird alien pet project #oh! almost forgot! episode 2! the fact they off-handedly say they'll at least be hiding nearby in case Six Ears needs help #but uh...a whole-ass imp attacks him and they are nowhere to be found. Surprise surprise.#ugh they're the worst #they better get kicked into shape and grow better as people or they better get buried istg #that's a bit extreme #I mean it though #or at least replaced all right we'll go with 'get better or get kicked'

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