One of my favorite parts of phase 2 (and indeed one of the few moments I resonated with IDW Prowl) was when the neutrals were coming back to Cybertron and Prowl said that he refused to let Autobots be pushed aside and overruled after they were the ones who fought for freedom for 4 million years (the exact wording escapes me atm).
And I mean, that resentment still holds true even once the colonists come on bc like. As much as it's true that Cybertron's culture is fucked up, and as funny as it can be to paint Cybertronians as a bunch of weirdos who consider trying to kill someone as a common greeting not important enough to hold a grudge over.... The colonists POV kind of pissed me off a lot of times, as did the narrative tone/implications that Cybertronians are forever warlike and doomed to die by their own hands bc it just strikes me as an extremely judgemental and unsympathetic way to deal with a huge group of people with massive war PTSD and political/social tensions that were rampant even before the war?
Like, imagine living in a society rife with bigotry and discrimination where you get locked into certain occupations and social strata based on how you were born. The political tension is so bad there's a string of assassinations of politicians and leaders. The whole planet erupts into an outright war that leads (even unintentionally) to famine and chemical/biological warfare that destroys your planet. Both sides of the war are so entrenched in their pre-war sides and resentment for each other that this war lasts 4 million years and you don't even have a home planet any more. Then your home planet gets restored and a bunch of sheltered fucks come home and go "ewww why are you so violent?? You're a bunch of freaks just go live in the wilderness so that our home can belong to The Pure People Who Weren't Stupid And Evil Enough To Be Trapped In War" and then a bunch of colonists from places that know nothing about your history go "lol you people are so weird?? 🤣🤣 I don't get why y'all are fighting can't you just like, stop??? Oh okay you people are just fucked up and evil and stupid then" ((their planets are based on colonialism where their Primes wiped out the native populations btw whereas the Autobots and OP in particular fought to save organics. But that never gets brought up as a point in their favor)) as if the damage of a lifetime of war and a society that was broken even before the war can just magically go away now that the war is over.
Prowl fucking sucks but he was basically the only person that pointed out the injustice of that.
And then from then on out most of the characters from other colonies like Caminus and wherever else are going "i fucking hate you and your conflicts" w/ people like literal-nobody Slide and various Camiens getting to just sit there lecturing Optimus about how Cybertronians are too violent for their own good and how their conflicts are stupid, with only brief sympathetic moments where the Cybertronians get to be recognized as their own ppl who deserve sympathy before going right back to being lambasted.
Like I literally struggled to enjoy the story at multiple points because there was only so much I could take of the characters I knew and loved being raked over coals constantly while barely getting to defend themselves or be defended by the narrative so like. It was just fucking depressing and a little infuriating to read exRID/OP
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thinking about how dongsik and joowon are the inverse of each other. thinking about joowon's journey realizing that blood is not thicker than water, ties can be severed from abusive family members (no matter how painful that is) and that among many things, his father's cruelty is what took away and destroyed dongsik's family who actually were a positive force in his life. many things about beyond evil appeal to me, but i mainly want to put a pin on the central themes of the show, particularly the failures of adults and parental figures, how that ripples through the lives of their successors in an especially vicious and self-destructive manner. this is a commonality found between multiple characters in the show (minjeong, joowon and jeongje) - but i want to put emphasis on joowon's struggle with this because his path to freedom was walked to completion, in comparison to minjeong whose life was cut short and jeongje who we part with carrying the painful knowledge that he may never achieve absolution, as his journey has only begun.
the show, technically starts at the beginning of joowon's journey/arc. unfamiliarity and discomfort force him to adapt and self-reflect, because the only way joowon was able to free himself was by breaking every rule his father set for him, going beyond his selfish confines and breaking down the walls he built. joowon is unable to get his physical body dirty, he is emotionally closed-off and is incapable of understanding why the people in manyang, particularly dongsik, would look out for anyone other than themselves. he is selfish, rigid, guilt-ridden and bashful; but it is exposure to dongsik's unwavering faith in and patience for others (for jeongje, for sangbae, for the people of manyang that have wronged him for years) that erode his harsh edges. dongsik, although not without flaws and contrary to what his outer appearance and manner of speech radiate, is kind and forgiving. that kindess, that forgiveness, as well as joowon's own guilt and shame is essential to getting him to a point where he is comfortable bloodying his hands, his clothes, and his face to protect dongsik (+ jihwa and her partner. to protect his friends).
dongsik recognizes joowon's pain too ("i know what it's like to be blamed for something you didn't do"). he sees his guilt, it's not inordinate to what joowon's done per se but a large portion of it brings so much shame to joowon ("please, stop doing unnecessary things out of guilt.") how could i have been so self-righteous when the man who bore me is responsible for so much misery? how do i rectify this, how do i absolve myself from the guilt? all dilemmas joowon grapples with, and dongsik, knowing pain and shame all too well does not grant joowon mercy when he is bowed down, forehead to cuffed hands while joowon's own are also cupping dongsik's, begging for it. mercy is letting joowon go, it's lifting the burden of responsibility off his shoulders - but instead, dongsik’s final request ensures that joowon truly atones ("i ask you to arrest me" - "no, how could i do that? i have no right") by informing him that the only way to live with guilt is to try and do right by the people who expect something from him. "joowon-ah", dongsik says as he softly picks up joowon's clenched fist, the look they share informs joowon that going through with the arrest is how he'll do dongsik right. it's what dongsik, his now friend, expects from him. that's what their final scene as partners is all about, in my opinion.
and something good does come out of dongsik's firm but tender confrontation. joowon gradually becomes a better person who seeks community and whose life, in return, is enriched by the friends that forming community gave him. dongsik and joowon's parting is bittersweet, but in letting joowon know that his actions matter to others and that he is wanted and expected by others - (jihwa, as part of the larger collective whose feelings towards joowon are influenced by dongsik's, texts him and checks in - that expectation to show up and empathy for when he does not respond is an invitation letting him know that there is a place for him if he chooses to occupy any) - dongsik sets him free.
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yandere yoo joonghyuk for kim dokja plsplsplspls
real and true. i think they’d both be crazy for each other…. a match made in hell heaven 😌 absolute menaces to everyone around them
i mean like. post canon, would either of them let the other out of their sight???? hell no lol if they could fuse into one person to prevent the other from leaving for any reason they would
[obligatory “this is an unhealthy relationship (probably) and should not be looked to for real relationship advice” dislaimer here]
now, i think dokja would be a bit possessive of all his group (kimcom) in a kind of “mama cat” kinda way. they’re his PEOPLE, and they’re only his. if someone hurts them, any of them at all, that someone will disappear real fuckin fast. he’s the leader of the group and he’ll be damned if he can’t protect his children and his friends.
this kind of goes the other way too, the rest of the group will kick in his shins (metaphorically) and force him to stay in bed using any means necessary (remember in canon when they literally sedated him to force him to take a break?) if they believe he’s ever in danger of fucking up his own health to pursue an outside goal. (which he’s absolutely allowed to do, but NOT at the cost of his sleep or his nutrition or his mental health.)
but christ, yjh and kdj to each other?? now, they have no worries about cheating or anything god no. but god fucking forbid you hold one up for too long while the other’s waiting for them. ESPECIALLY, good lord, if you flirt with one of them? you’ll be lucky if a sword held up to your face is the only thing you get lol.
these guys are a fucking menace to their local neighborhood, it’s basically agreed upon fact that you just shouldn’t talk to one if the other isnt in the room. especially dokja, his companion is downright terrifying if he learns you talked to HIS partner without him in the room good lord. nice guy with a scary boyfriend.
not that they’d ever really be apart anyways—christ they’re like bonded cats, “do not separate”. attached at the hip isnt a strong enough word they’re fused at the damn heart
this is more er. soft yandere i suppose. i explain my thinking more in the tags but basically i think they arent as murderous as your typical sorta “crazy in love” story because they’ve stabilized each other enough that they dont feel the need to do it so much. because if the one you love is Right There next to you why would you separate from them to chase after Another Person?
perhaps this isnt really yandere at all haha, i could be totally wrong with my understanding of how the trope works
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the thing is i think that like. afab and amab as terms arent like. a bad thing?? like if you're talking about urself and ur assigned gender happens to be relevant and is preferrable to another descriptor (eg if ur dysphoric abt ur body to some it may be easier to say ur agab rather than describing ur features) or describing a situation where thats relevant then like. sure! its just like any other word u just use it cus it makes sense- (note this only applies if YOU'RE using the term when you're talking about YOURSELF)
the problem is that when other people use or ask for someone's agab there's some kind of weird implication that it somehow changes how you behave, and that based on that you can put people into a new binary which shouldnt exist and negatively effects all trans people
people ask if you're amab expecting that to mean you're inherently more patriarchal, dangerous, "masculine" - and if you're afab expecting that to mean you're inherently more quiet, sweet, "feminine" - and BOTH of these fucking suck!!
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