This singular frame was all it took to undo my very extreme hatred of Adam, Vivienne Medrano how dare you make me feel sympathy for this man-
Like, Adam before this scene? A blatant misogynist and a hypocrite who unabashedly revels in sinners' suffering. A guy who has no regard for anyone else, and who pisses pretty much every viewer off with patronizing jabs like "sorry sweetie" and "try to chillax, babe." Ugh, disgusting.
As the first man, it seems like he got an easy pass into Heaven. Maybe the angels were just saving face, given that their core pair of humans both took the fruit of knowledge of good and evil willingly, ordaining Adam on the technicality that "Eve did it first." But I think we can all agree that it was not on the merit of Adam's virtue.
And then Charlie draws blood during their fight in Episode 8, and, for the first time, Adam genuinely realizes he can be hurt. Like, for the first time in the duration of the show, in his entire fucking existence, someone shows him that he is not, in fact, an all-powerful symbol of power and superiority. He's just a guy with privilege who is just as vulnerable, just as flawed, just as human as the rest of them.
But once the mask is shattered, revealing the rather unexceptional man underneath, does Adam back down? Of course not—he doubles down. There's nothing worse than a narcissist who is virtually incapable of seeing the error of their ways, even when they're clearly backed into a corner. Bruised and bloody, he bellows that he's THE man; everybody should worship him.
For me, that pretty much hit the nail in the coffin. There was no redeeming a character like Adam (ironic, since he's one of the few characters in the show not in need of redemption).
So isn't it fitting, then, that his death didn't happen in some grand display requiring all of Lucifer or Charlie's might? Isn't it fitting that Adam falls to Niffty—not Lucifer, not an overlord, but a common sinner, who sees him as nothing more than a foot soldier that needs to be eliminated, a pest as easily squashed as a roach? For someone as self-aggrandizing as Adam, this has to be one of the most humiliating ways to die. The perfect end for an insufferable antagonist.
But nooo, Vivziepop didn't end it there.
Because INSTEAD, we hear Lute's heart-wrenching screams as she realizes that Adam has just been defeated; we see the look on her tear-streaked face when it registers just how badly he's been injured. The fear in her eyes at the prospect of living in a world without the angel she idolizes, the man she serves.
She's not concerned that she's just lost her arm, or that Vaggie is standing right there. In that moment, the only person in Hell is Adam, and all she wants is for him to stay with her.
Adam could have easily dismissed her feelings entirely. He could have spent his last breath hurling one last insult at Lucifer, getting the satisfaction of having the last word before his death. He could have thrown himself a pity party and cursed his fate.
Instead, this greedy, selfish, murderous fiend has the audacity to see Lute in his field of vision and flash her one last, tender smile.
We don't know for sure what Adam was thinking in this shot, but personally, I think it was something along the lines of I lost. Proud of you, Lute. I'll miss you. Goodbye.
Whatever his final thoughts are, we can surmise from his expression alone that he's accepted his fate, and that he's grateful his last seconds alive are locking eyes with someone who's important to him. Someone he cares about.
And THAT—that was enough to crack through that thick shell of hatred I'd developed for Adam and shatter it like the mask he wore for seven and a half episodes of the show. THAT 8-second moment was enough to make me reconsider my stance on Adam as an irredeemable villain.
(CURSE YOU, VIVIENNE!!!)
Does this scene cancel out all the heinous things Adam does throughout Season 1? All the lives he destroys, all the pain he causes to thousands upon thousands of souls? Absolutely not. But it does change my perception of Adam from "obnoxious egomaniac with no self-awareness" to "obnoxious egomaniac with no self-awareness that is a product of the flawed system he perpetuates."
And, I gotta wonder, what would Adam have been like if Heaven had been different?
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me, about five years ago: hmm, maybe I should spend more time cramming and less time researching stuff to make my fanfic sound plausible. No way is some obscure legal jargon and random crap about jurisdiction ever going to be more useful than taking care of all these prereqs!
me now, at my second job that has me rubbing elbows with lawyers and running around court and city hall: *surprised pikachu face*
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Okay, but there’s a strange sort of irony in this situation that only you guys can understand, especially those of you who’ve read TWiFFON. Like a brick joke, but in real life.
Of course, it comes at the cost of writing time, but between writer’s block and other stuff, not much was going on, anyway. Some ideas for original work, and I’m kinda torn about posting it because it’s a bit different from my fic.
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ok, i have more thoughts about gobo, specifically about the differences between his og and reboot personalities
in both series theres an episode where gobo has a kind of rise and fall, the og episode being "a friend in need" and the reboot episode being "all of us". the specific reasons for his rise and fall in each series i feel highlights the personality differences quite well
in "a friend in need" (s2e10) gobo's rise comes from him pulling off a super hard trick and giving himself a confidence high. he starts to believe that he can do anything, causing him to taunt sprocket while getting the postcard and to be sloppy when sneaking through the gorg's garden. it's this sloppy-ness that causes him to get captured and starts his fall. his mood completely shifts, now believing that he cant do anything
in "all of us" (s1e13) gobo's rise comes from having a dream that convinces him the only way to save the rock is to talk to junior, because he's confident that junior isnt as bad as everyone thinks and that he'll come through. gobo gets more confident (and rises more) after he talks to junior, and junior agrees to help. gobo's fall happens when junior (after his dad probably yelled at him) changes his mind and tries to capture gobo and his friends.
his rise and fall in the og is dependent solely on gobo's own abilities and what he's able to do, while in the reboot it's dependent on his confidence in others and his feeling of letting down his friends. og gobo is more focused on himself, while reboot gobo is more focused on others
now, this isn't entirely that cut and dry; there are plenty of scenes where og gobo is focused on others, or reboot gobo is focused on himself (no character can ever be that simple), but it still shows off their personality differences quite well. it's also cool how the rise and fall is kind of mirrored in both series
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💋 [i lurk around for one second and see this, it must mean ken should kiss miyako adiós]
"Mi-Miyako-san I... Uhhh...!!"
He's feeling too awkward RIGHT NOW. Especially with that sudden request. Oh yeah, they're dating right...? This wouldn't be that hard...
Except he never kissed a single human being in the world. He panicked -- WHAT IF MY KISS MAKES HER DISAPPOINTED AND THEN DUMP ME!?
"O-ok... I need... Um..."
He closed his eyes and just gave her a peck in the cheek. He will just study really hard how to kiss in the lips for the next time. Oh please Miyako-san don't get down for this silly act of love...!!
(Maybe he should ask Yamato about kissing... Or Jou. Someone might know.)
[😙 count: 2/5]
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the thing is i dont think garp is unrealistic so im not opposed to abusers who are just you know. But like. Judge is fucking nazi!!!! Eugenicist!!! And when I criticize the application of that from an abuse victims perspective especially when one piece in my opinion has such a difficult time with protraying abusers in a nuanced way i feel like the lack of nuance in regards to the vinsmokes is not welcome in my eyes. Especially with Reiju. I feel like there really needed to me more of a boarder point with their protrayal other than "theyre just bad". I feel like i could get on board with Judge if oda had anything to say with him, ever. (unfair on my part, there is scenes where oda does do stuff with him and its welcome.)
its a lot like the scenes where Sanji just gets beaten up in wci by his brothers? like I get it. I know things are bad. you don't need to have a 10 minute scene where nothing happens. (could you make it 2 minutes, maybe?) honestly i would prefer more boardly for Judge not to be a nazi because I feel like whole cake island in general has a tough time with balancing realism vs. fantastical situations.
I recently found out people think Judge physically abused Sanji, which by technicality isn't true, and a lot of the patterns in how one piece protrays abuse is tied to the mentality that emotional abuse is worse than physical abuse. (which is interesting in a lot of ways.) but I'm not going to correct anybody on that. there's grey areas. (when theres grea areas technicalities are bullshit)
in general actually i love the vinsmokes and how sanjis backstory was done conceptually but i feel like it needed more of a deft hand and a little more naunce and subtlety. if you have seen me talk about how i feel about the game persona 5 i feel like the way that game handles abuse is way better and also a lot of that would be appreciated. naunce wise.
i get it in theory not bouncing off someone else the way it does me. like for example i think it wouldnt bother someone as much that his protrayal is so ungrounded if they had more of a reference point irl. but i think even for eugenicist level evil judge comes off as too unnaunced for me to endorse him fully as a good protrayal of an abuser
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