#professor venomous character analysis
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Professor Venomous, the Hot Mess in a Lab Coat
Note: If you haven't seen the entirety of O.K. K.O., please save this until after you've seen all the episodes. Even if the PV twists are obvious, he's a HUGE part of the ending and an important part of K.O.'s character arc.
POINT's origin in show starts when Silver Spark, El Bow, and Rippy Roo officially join the main team as junior members. Laserblast and Silver Spark immediately take a liking to each other and Laserblast comes up with convenient excuses for alone time with Silver. From what little there is of them on-screen, Silver is absolutely infatuated with Laser, partly because of his flashy attitude, his years of experience, the air of mystery around him, and definitely the confidence. These two were in the early, honeymoon phase of their relationship. El Bow's graphic daydream involving the weird sucker French kiss sequence tells the whole story: If these two weren't working, they were doing other things. Very often and very enthusiastically.
Besides tonsil hockey with Silver, Laserblast has a series of questionable projects he's been working on in a secret sandwich shop lair. Dr. Greyman, the brains behind POINT, discovered two of Laser's mysterious orbs and the consensus was "these were made by villains." When Laser suggests using them to stop bad guys, Greyman immediately shoots him down, citing that they're too dangerous for anyone to use. Greyman accidentally sets off one of the orbs and loses all of his powers. The new mission is find and apprehend the perpetrator. Laser prioritizes covering up his lair and experiments; he's more concerned about his image and standing than the well-being of his teammate.
When he goes with Silver and El Bow to scope out the sandwich shop, he insists on going first and alone. He puts on a show about how brave he is and promises Silver he'll be back. Then Laser enters the sandwich shop/lair and "disappears" into a blackhole. Silver is heartbroken and devastated. She blames El Bow for keeping her from potentially making it in time for that small possible window of opportunity to save Laser. This causes a rift in their friendship for years after. POINT unceremoniously drops El Bow and plants him as solely responsible for Laser's "death." After that, El Bow slowly finds new meaning and actualization as Mr. Gar; it's so painful for him to think about his past, he prefers to consider El Bow as dead as Laserblast is. Even after Carol has made peace with losing Laser, Mr. Gar is wracked with guilt and grief. He still blames himself and puts up a wall between himself and Carol despite her attempts to reach out or reconnect for a long time. In a nutshell, Carol becomes more emotionally mature, patient, and empathetic with time and introspection. She understands the importance of open, honest communication and that's what repairs, even strengthens, her relationship with Mr. Gar once he actually talks to her.
Laser made it out of the sandwich shop in time to avoid the blackhole and hides in a nearby storm drain. The evidence that he's responsible for the spheres is gone, but he hears Silver say "he wasn't powerful enough to get out." That comment is enough to seriously wound Laser's ego. He retreats, ashamed and feeling small and vulnerable. He's lost his powers. In his mind, he's nothing without his powers. He's too insecure to face Silver Spark or anybody else. The idea of her being more powerful; that she'd potentially push him out of the way or underestimate his abilities is something he can't bear. So, he starts desperately experimenting on himself and trying to regain his powers. He's connected so much of his self worth to how powerful he was that he doesn't know who he is without special powers. Until he can "regain his former glory," he refuses to return to POINT or his former life. And he doesn't trust Silver or anyone else enough to be vulnerable or weak in any way around them.
In a way, Laser's reaction to Silver can be roughly approximated to how toxic masculinity can affect how a man views himself. Men are supposed to be strong providers. They can't show any weakness. They're the the master; the cornerstone of the financial health and overall lifeblood of the household. When a man ties his all of his value to a specific personal trait, like how much money he makes or how strong he is, it's a threat when his partner makes more money than him or she's more proficient than him at "his thing." This single trait is such an important piece of his personhood that it pretty much is him. It's difficult to extricate that piece and figure out a healthier approach to who he is outside of that one trait. And he's not going to talk to his partner when she seems more like a rival than a friend.
For all intents and purposes, Laserblast- at least the idea of who Laserblast might have been-died. He becomes Professor Venomous; a respected, renowned villain that's a threat because of his scientific prowess and powerful because of what status and money he gains as a result. He's more satisfied and satiated as a villain than he ever was as a hero. The ideas that POINT balked at are celebrated and encouraged by his fellow villains. It's liberating. While Laserblast was a mask, Professor Venomous is the closest he's been to full self-actualization. It's not full self-actualization, but he's happier as a villain than he ever was as a hero.
Enter Fink. She's arguably the most important character and interpersonal relationship Venomous has. There's ample hints that Venomous rescued her from a rough life surviving by herself out in the streets. They call each other "Boss" and "minion" respectively, but it's just a title. Fink is his adopted daughter. When Fink talks about him, it's with strong respect, admiration, and affection. He's a patient, gentle parent at his best. He brings Fink to every event he's allowed to. He makes sure that Fink has what appropriate weapons or toys she needs at an outing. Out of everyone Venomous interacts with, Fink has seen and intimately knows the kinder, softer side of him. It's why she stands by him despite everything.
Despite their strong relationship though, Venomous still avoids bigger confrontations. He ran away from Carol and avoids the reality of K.O. as his son when he's Professor Venomous. So when Fink starts complaining, he throws expensive toys, video games, and gadgets at her to appease her. Usually, Venomous offsets these materialistic solutions with talking to her at her level or active parenting. Though, at the height of the later Shadowy Figure debacle, Venomous has completely given up when he uses gifts as the only means of interacting with Fink period.
This is speculation, but it's interesting that Venomous never actively talks about himself as "Dad" until it's a direct confrontation between Shadowy Venomous and K.O. Perhaps, Venomous uses a set of mental gymnastics to place some degree of separation between his father-daughter relationship with Fink and his nonexistent relationship with K.O. Fink is his minion. She's an important piece of his daily operations as a villain. As long as K.O. doesn't know or realize his true identity, Venomous didn't have to think about the fact that he abandoned his son. There's a lot of complicated baggage attached to a potential relationship with K.O. If Venomous wanted to successfully navigate how they could foster a father-son relationship or at least a friendly dynamic, it means he'd have to be more honest and introspective with himself than he's willing to.
Throughout the show, viewers are introduced to K.O.'s dark alter-ego T.K.O. T.K.O. is initially treated as a separate entity. He's angry, he's frustrated, he's angsty. He wants to watch the world burn as a means of catharsis and for his own entertainment. The truth is that T.K.O. is the manifestation of K.O.'s unresolved feelings about his absentee dad, always following the rules without intensely questioning why things work a certain way, questioning authority figures in general. It boils down to: T.K.O. is a personification of the existential angst that comes attached with K.O. growing up and becoming better acquainted with the workings of the world around him.
Shadowy Figure is introduced as Professor Venomous' equivalent to T.K.O. Venomous thought he was content with "power" accumulated through money and villainous feats. That was enough for a long time, but then Venomous reached the pinnacle of villainry. He had inventions like a giant death ray; an easy button for threatening the squeamish Congresswoman for obscene amounts of ill-gotten wealth. When Venomous started seeing there was more to Lord Boxman and his Snidely Whiplash-esque rivalry with Lakewood Plaza, he realized he'd been in the throes of ennui. Throwing his resources and talents behind Boxman re-ignited his love of villainry. Boxman knew how to take risks and have fun. Unlike other villains, evil wasn't a careful, calculated set of moves or a set of ideas that needed to be run through bureaucratic red tape. Boxman's attacks leveled up in a deeply gratifying way for both of them.
Yes, Venomous had a partner and lifestyle that were a fantastic fit for him. But he still hadn't confronted the trauma of losing his powers years ago. Consciously, he thought he had moved on, but really, he'd bottled up these feelings and resentment for so long they took on a life of their own. That's where the more active split between Venomous and Shadowy starts. Venomous' "former glory" isn't enough anymore. Now, it's a ravenous ghost that demands bigger, better, more terrifying; power that can match, if not more deeply fulfill, how long these feelings and dissatisfaction have sat untouched. When Shadowy looks at K.O., he sees a direct outlet for achieving his deepest desires.
"Power" is represented as a DBZ-esque energy source that can destroy planets or even the universe at large. It's simultaneously an in-show love letter to shounen battle nonsense while acting as an abstract stand-in for a parent living vicariously through their child. Shadowy Figure is the beginning phases of an overzealous parent pressuring their kid to become the sports star, the Harvard Law doctor, or any number of other concepts. The parent wasn't able to achieve this goal for whatever reason, but then they look at their child as a malleable lump of clay. The child is an extension of themselves; the last chance to achieve this dream the parent holds as their penultimate achievement. This dream is more important to the parent than everything; to the degree it supersedes the fact their child is an autonomous, independent being with their own wants, dreams, and needs for their life. The child has become a tool.
While there is still a degree of separation between Venomous and Shadowy, it's brief hope that he can catch himself and pump the brakes on how he's overstepping with K.O. When he outright calls himself Shadowy Venomous, he's completely surrendered to his need for power. Shadowy Venomous is the realization of who and what he thought he wanted to be. Its the means to a horribly self-destructive bender. He can do whatever he wants. Nothing is a challenge or threat to his self-esteem now because no one is more powerful. And if they are, he has a means to make himself greater.
K.O. has a solid support system between Carol and his adoptive family Mr. Gar, Enid, and Rad. Though, even with a solid support system, K.O. wanted some kind of relationship with his bio-dad Venomous. Parent-child relationships can be really complicated and messy. Even if a child has a fantastic mom and stepdad, the right combination of feeling unheard, misplaced, or having certain emotional needs unaddressed can make the originally absent parent appealing. Even if this other parent hasn't contributed as much, there's a want for their attention and validation. They're here now. They're trying now. They have something other loved ones can't offer. More importantly, it's a means to fill an existential hole in their life.
When K.O. takes a moment to acknowledge T.K.O. as part of himself that he's been grossly neglecting, he starts learning the importance of self love and that acknowledging and accepting his trauma is part of growing as a person. He's been able to empathize and show compassion for everybody else around him, but he refused to give himself the same kindness and patience. Shadowy Venomous exploited this. T.K.O. hoped that Shadowy would listen to and commiserate with him in a way nobody else was because Shadowy seemingly had a similar chip in his shoulder. They're mirrors of each other, right? That's what the wanton destruction and chaos were all about. When K.O. finally gives himself the consideration he needed, he realized that looking to Shadowy was never about him. It was only about being the convenient part that Shadowy needed. Shadowy was never interested in really reaching out and developing a meaningful connection with him.
Because of his self-reflection, K.O.'s relationships with his chosen family will be fuller and richer because he's including his inner voice as part of those intimate, heavy, vulnerable conversations with loved ones.
Despite Professor Venomous royally fucking up, the ending montage in the last episode shows he's not completely irredeemable. K.O. deliberately asks about him, too. At the very least, K.O. still cares about the Professor.
The President of the Universe gives Venomous a personal planet to destroy. In a way, that's Venomous finally confronting how much losing his powers years ago affected him. He has a healthier means to process his feelings around that sensitive subject and it's highly effective. He repairs his relationship with Fink; he's a more active parent than he was previously and encourages her interests more. There's a scene where he tells Fink he doesn't like video games and suggests she practices her piano scales while he's gone instead of further gameplay. Years later, he's enthusiastically cheering her on from the audience after she, presumably, became a professional gamer and won a gaming tournament.
Venomous also apologizes to Lord Boxman after their messy break-up during his spiraling as Shadowy Venomous. One sequence features a wedding ring. The bulk of these scenes are very fill-in-the-blank or connect the dots, but they're powerful. Seeing Professor Venomous with a wedding ring means that he learned how to have a vulnerable conversation with Boxman and that they trust each other enough to make that serious of a commitment. Previous scenes are very much coded as them having a gay romance and building a blended family as "business partners," but this cements it and cinches those last few parts of Professor Venomous' character arc. Its honestly beautiful how Venomous comes around to his equivalent of the healthy, satisfying life and family that Carol has between Mr. Gar and K.O.
A redemption arc isn't realistic for every person that fits a Professor Venomous mold, but its meaningful to see a character like this work on himself. As an older fan, its appreciated how much attention and care are given to found family for all of these characters in a variety of situations and circumstances.
#ok ko#ok ko let's be heroes#character analysis#ok ko professor venomous#professor venomous#professor venomous character analysis#shadowy figure#shadowy venomous#tko#laserblast#voxman mention#character essay#i'm up at 3 in the morning writing about cartoon characters#hdthtfhztrjsryj *keyboard smash*#yeah....the voxman shipping corner is next#RIP my sleep schedule lol
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Sexyman Poll Analysis
Preamble
While the official total vote count is easily found underneath every finished poll, the numbers for each option aren't. All individual option numbers were found with math. (Total vote count) * (percent finished with)%. If any of my numbers are wrong, feel free to correct me! This is all just done for fun.
For the most part, to prevent myself from saying the same things over and over again, the format is going to be:
(Winner) vs (Loser). Total count. Won with (Winning count), loser had (losing count), for a difference of (difference). Any additional comments would go here.
Bonus ish
Here's the full spreadsheet, if you don't want to see me break it down in text.
Round 1
Round one had the most battles, the cleanest shutouts, and biggest differences.
Lewis Pepper vs. Professor Venomous. 34,726. Won with 17,710, loser had 17,016, for a difference of 694. Aside from the polls that had equal votes, this is the closest difference out of all of them, including the other 51%-49% poll in round 2.
Bill Cipher vs. Guzma. 38,543. Won with 24,282, loser had 14,261 for a difference of 10,021.
Almond Cookie vs. The Warden. 27,914. Won with 19,261, loser had 8,653, for a difference of 10,608. This was the least voted match overall.
Megamind vs. The Once-ler. 46,989. Won with 31,013, loser had 15,976, for a difference of 15037. This match up has the highest amount of total votes for round one, but it doesn't have much else going for it.
Sans vs. Junkrat. 42,742. Won with 37,186, loser had 5,556, for a difference of 31,630. This match up nearly has the highest difference (mentioned in biggest sweep in summary) but what it's narrowly gotten stolen, it makes up for in highest individual vote of round one. Out of all the round 1 winners, Sans has a extra 5,336 votes above the 2nd most voted character.
Tony the Talking Clock vs. Black Hat. 31,634. Won with 18,348, loser had 13,286, for a difference of 5,062.
Raymond vs. King Dice. 36,764. Won with 18,382, loser had 18,382, with no difference. Seems to me as if Tumblr choose a winner randomly? I don't know enough about how polls work in the terms of a tie breaker. My instinct tells me if there was even 1 extra vote it would've been shown as 51%-49%, but also 1 percent of this match would've been about 368 votes, so there's a lot of wiggle space.
Wheatley vs. Doc Ock. 37,414. Won with 20,204, loser had 17,210, for a difference of 2,994.
Komaeda vs. Dr. Habit. 30,329. Won with 22,443, loser had 7,886, for a difference of 14,557.
Cecil Palmer vs. Slenderman. 38,130. Won with 20,209, loser had 17,921, for a difference of 2,288.
Jack Skellington vs. Turbo. 35,786. Won with 31,850, loser had 3,936, for a difference of 27,914. Turbo is the least voted for individual in the entire poll. Also, this match has the highest percentage win for the entire competition at 89%.
Ingo vs. Bruno Madrigal. 37,674. Won with 20,344, loser had 17,330, for a difference of 3,014.
Spamton vs. Purple Guy / Michael Afton. 36,280. Won with 23,582, loser had 12,698, for a difference of 10,884.
Loki vs. Alastor. 33,986. Won with 21,411, loser had 12,575, for a difference of 8,836.
Reign vs. Beetlejuice. 42,815. Won with 28,686, loser had 14,129, for a difference of 14,557
Herobrine vs. Benrey. 34,405. Won with 22,707, loser had 11,698, for a difference of 11,009. Final match of round one, but sadly a uninteresting one.
Overall, round 1 had an average of 36,633 votes, and the most records. (Lowest total vote match, highest difference match, and lowest individual count)
Strong beginnings!
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Ok I think it’s time to make an Actual Pinned Post. Links to specific posts + my tags list ahead!
Bisexualification Beam (casual joke post that was originally my pinned post. there is no escape from bisexualification beam. it will stay in my pinned post forever in one form or another)
Some of the tags I use, including links to view all posts on my blog with that tag:
neurodivergent thoughts -> has ended up being 99% about autism and autistic traits so far. Only a handful of posts have been made under this tag, but includes several meta posts about PV and Boxman that I’m proud of.
okko pride -> stuff related to being queer, e.g. pride flag icons and queer headcanons/art. Mostly reblogs, but does include a couple of posts about specific thoughts I have about trans PV and trans KO.
asdfghjkl -> my tag for the broad category of lighthearted / funny / jokey / meme-related posts
okko screenshots -> pretty much any post that includes screenshots from the show itself. also the tag that all my screenshots-of-funny-expressions-and-characters-drawn-smol can be found under
okko thoughts -> any post under the broad umbrella of meta / character analysis / plot analysis / theorizing about the show / discussing various elements of the show
okko comic -> generally anything with more than like, two panels, so there’s a mix of lengths and vibes in this tag, but please know that there are some really incredible multi-page fan drawn comics in this tag that you must see if you haven’t already
okko clip -> mostly video clips from the show, but kinda became my tag for fan-made videos too
okko edit -> my sometimes-remembered tag for gifs, pride flag edits, editing screenshots to make screenshots of characters have transparent backgrounds, etc
As far as character tags go, I use full names for most tags, e.g. ‘professor venomous’, ‘kaio kincaid’, and ‘lord boxman’. I also have a few tags for art of multiple characters, like ‘pv and fink’, ‘boxbots’, ‘pv fink and boxman’. I haven’t really made any tags for art in general that I’ve used consistently, but all the character tags contain a lot of art in them.
#pinned post#tags list#when I started this blog I was very thorough about using tags#in recent months I have stopped tagging consistently#but I recently downloaded xkit so I will try and use that to make tagging easier and go back and add tags to recent posts sometime
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I should look at this image and think “Wow this is such a powerful scene. It’s easily the most genuinely and visibly distressed we ever get to see Venomous, showing just how hard the realization that there’s been a whole other side of him forcefully taking control of his body in order to harm the people he cares for most without his knowledge, as well as the fact that Fink knowingly withheld this extremely important information from him, really hit him. It’s handled incredibly well and allows us to see a more vulnerable aspect of both Venomous’s and Fink’s characters.”
I instead look at this image and think “haha K.O. go D8″
#ok ko#ok ko: let's be heroes!#ok ko let's be heroes#ok ko lbh#professor venomous#ko#k.o.#kaio kincaid#let's get shadowy#i may be a professor venomous scholar but i am also a massive shitpost enthusiast#luckily here at daily-venomous i can do both because it's my blog and i say so#feels like it's been a while since my last ''character analysis that turns into a dumb joke'' post#yeah they're extra work but COB are they fun
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Professor Venomous...
I’m sorry, he was such an intimidating Villain.
Seriously, just rewatched the KO trap, and
Look at KO. Look at my baby. He just watched his best friends perish in an absolutely horrible way a SECOND time within minutes of seeing Enid melt and Rad freeze to death
and having to swim out of this
The, to his knowledge, REMAINS OF HIS BEST FRIENDS.
Seriously.... is it any wonder he tried to check a third time to make sure they weren’t clones.
I’m just thinking of other CN heroes having to deal with this kind of thing and just absolutely loosing their s***.
#Ok KO Let's be Heroes#Ok KO#Character Analysis#kind of#more like#Fear Analysis#KO#Kaio Kincaid#Enid Mettle#Rad X#Radicles#Professor Venomous#AngryComet Rambles
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You wanna know what’s kinda fucked up?
I’m pretty sure Shadowy Venomous and TKO hold some level of familial affection for each other.
So, TKO punts KO in the subconscious and goes to fight Venomous. He gets there and Shadowy Venomous/Figure introduces himself. TKO says he didn’t think he could get any worse- he’s probably thinking he’s going to get attacked again.
But he isn’t.
SV tells him he’s like him, that they understand each other.
We know from this that TKO literally can’t stop his desire for destruction or his rage or anything like that. Because, as KO’s bottled up emotions consisting of mostly anger and rage, that’s all he is.
But no one else has ever understood that. He’s always been told that he’s bad, that everything he does is bad. He has to be locked away. He’s not wanted. He’s not a person.
Has anyone ever really told him that they care about him just as much as they do KO? Everyone is saying how they miss KO- they only refer to TKO as an enemy. Dendy tells KO that he’s loved and appreciated- not TKO. Whenever TKO shows up, he’s only treated as a problem.
No one’s ever really told him “it’s okay to be angry” or “it’s okay to feel weak”. No one’s ever really tried to relate to him (except for Rad maybe in the episode TKO, but really he was just going for the aesthetic).
Nobody’s ever given him a chance.
Except: Shadowy.
“All my efforts to bring you out of KO have led to this. A new world awaits us, a world where we’re in charge.”
I’m not here for KO, I’m here for you.
Now, I do think there’s some level of manipulation here, yes. But I think at the same time, Shadowy’s being genuine here. He’s already taken over PV and has complete control, he’s more powerful than ever, he pretty much owns Boxmore- Why let TKO in? Sure, he knows TKO’s powerful and he might want that on his side. But-
“We got a lot of father-son time to catch up on.”
The look on his face here. It’s exact same expression TKO has up there. It’s worry, concern, insecurity, unsure. What if TKO doesn’t accept this deal? What if he rejects it? Rejects him?
Because TKO and Shadowy are the same. They’re both Turbo forms- the Jungian concept of a Shadow Self. Feelings you push deep, deep down. Parts of yourself that you reject completely. That are wrong. That you don’t want to acknowledge.
PV pushed those feelings down so hard that he didn’t even know he had a Turbo form like this. He knew on some level that Turbo was a thing- we know this from the glorb collar Fink has, we know glorbs have something to do with Turbo- because he never could’ve imagined he had one. That he still had power he so craved. He had money now, right? He didn’t need physical power anymore, he has no reason to feel insecure!
Except, whoops. You still do, dude. And we know TKO is the same way. Both TKO and Shadowy activate when KO and PV feel a powerful, sudden rush of emotional pain caused by their insecurity, their feelings of helplessness.
Because that’s what a Shadow IS. It’s your brain trying to protect you (and itself) from the emotional pain. You’re not willing to protect yourself because the only way that you can do that, according to your base instincts, you won’t do because of those “morals” things. So it’s going to take over now.
“Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll cover for ya.”
This way of things will make you much more successful, you won’t have to get hurt any more.
Of course, this is exaggerated in OK KO, because what we’ve got here is a metaphorical representation of the Jungian concept of a shadow.
ANYWAYS, to get off that whole tangent, Shadowy wants TKO to accept him. Shadowy, too, has only been met with rejection. So, of course he worries that he’s going to be rejected.
But he’s not. TKO accepted him pretty much immediately. So, look at his face here. It’s a sort of happy, disbelief, elation. Its not like an evil, yes my plan is going perfectly smile. It’s a I just got this thing that I’ve wanted for so long smile. He finally found someone that accepts him. He doesn’t have to hide anymore.
And again, TKO pretty much accepts him from the get go. Because TKO has found someone that accepts him. He’s not gonna get locked up any more.
And from this point on, they’re family. Sure they don’t say ‘love ya’ or 'good job out there’ or anything. Because they can’t. That’s not what they’re made of. So they say it in their own way.
They call each other father and son.
“Are you seeing this shit? Look how pathetic that is, we’re so much better than that!”
“We’re back” “SV and TKO rule” They want people to know that they’re a family- if you don’t like him, then I don’t like you.
Honestly, would TKO ever let anyone even put a finger on him, much less a fatherly arm-around-the-shoulder/head-pat? probably only a guy he liked.
And when Boxbot Big Mecha Friend kicks TKO back to Boxmore?
(he more growls here, i have no idea why the CC went with groan)
Look at that face. He can’t react with extreme worry or anything, because again that is not something he’s made of. But, he does start flying back to Boxmore. Except, then he takes one second to give everyone a look that says “oh you fucked up this time”, and then continues to fly back.
And is any of this healthy?? OF COURSE NOT. It is NOT okay or a healthy response at ALL to destroy your place of work or kick your husband out of the house because they rejected you and hurt you. It is not okay to take your anger out on other people. None of this is good for KO, TKO, Venomous, or Shadowy, and it certainly isn’t good for anyone else.
But it’s all they know. They can’t stop. This is what their family is, and in their minds if you reject that then they say fuck you.
#ok ko#ok ko spoilers#ko#professor venomous#shadowy venomous#shadowy figure#tko#meta#character analysis#my post
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whats so amazing to me about the writing for venomous as a villain is that. he rly is running from problems he created himself. like the statement “what purpose could i serve as a teammate? a partner? a father?” when in reality he already Was a beloved hero and partner, he was part of a major coveted hero group with a gf that had a locker full of stickers of his face. but he had so much blind personal self hatred towards his powers of draining energy (ie ‘depending’ on other peoples power), that he got one discouraging statement from somebody he cared about and used it as the escape he had Already been looking for. the desperation for his ‘Own’ power (despite already having it) was what lead him astray. he was the one that thought it wasnt good enough. his own research (and the attempt to hide it) was what made him lose those powers in the first place, and what spurned all the damaging self experimentation that followed. and then after All that this man goes and finds himself a new teammate + partner, AND adopts a feral rat baby that he could and Does try to dote on all the time. but bc hes still being evil or w/e it can be seen as less of a direct responsibility. like. he was fully Capable of being a hero partner and dad, he just genuinely didnt realize it and wasnt satisfied. every single one of these avoidant decisions he made were the only things that actually messed up his life. it was always his own issues with seeing himself as a hero that lead him to become a villain. so tldr; maybe the real shadowy was the insecurity and self loathing we made along the way had as a deeply rooted issue and dealt with irresponsibly sending us down a dark path long before the sandwich incident
#ok ko#ok ko spoilers#infodump#professor venomous#meta#like sry to be fake deep about cartoons but if shadowy/turbo etc is supposed to be that symbol of helplessness and anger#no wonder my boi started that hes like made of that shit#and like its rEALLY GOOD WRITING BC... THAT BLINDNESS TO UR OWN QUALITIES IS SUCH A RELATABLE SENTIMENT#AND IT CAN PUT U IN SUCH A DARK PLACE IF U ARENT CAREFUL LIKE....#BITCH... I GOT MY OWN SHADOWY ITS CALLED MENTAL ILLNES#but at the same time ofc self esteem issues cant just make u evil but . running away from everyhting can and will cause probs#and a lot of times those probs can hurt ppl and lead you to bad shit like its a great example of that side of it#and essentially what happens when u dotn fuckign cope or learn to cope poorly#like my pal........................ therap y#anyways im just gona feed venomous xanax from my hand like giving a horse sugar cubes and maybe thngs will turn ou tok#also this is the first time in a long time ive written a character analysis and tried to take myself srsly so pls go easy on my fragile soul#original
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SUPER LONG KO/TKO CHARACTER ANALYSIS THAT NOBODY ASKED FOR (part 3)
(longest one yet guys! hope you enjoy!)
First post
Second post
And now....the moment you’ve all been waiting for....
PART 3!!!
In this installment of KO/TKO character analysis, we will taking be a look at the episode: You’re In Control.
So, in this episode, we waste almost no time getting into the KO/TKO business! Which is freaking great in my opinion! (for obvious reasons)
We start off with seeing Dendy and KO experimenting with unleashing TKO.
The whole scene by itself was very interesting. But something even more interesting happened. Maybe most of you didn’t quite catch it, it was really quick and super easy to glance over, but take a closer look at it with me.
Notice that when TKO was about to come out, KO made this face:
But also take a look at the face KO makes when he’s apologizing to Rad and Enid after he and Dendy get caught:
EERILY SIMILAR!
Like even down to the slightly flowy hair the body has when its in the mid-way point of TKO coming out.
Now you may be wondering where the purple aura went? Well when TKO was about to come out then, he was getting straight up insulted by Dendy, He was mad. And we know that that purple aura only really comes out when he is angry or when he is using his levitation ability. Here, he wasn’t really angry, just feeling regretful and sorry for the actions Rad and Enid bring up. They weren't insulting KO, they were calling him out. Which is completely different.
Guys, TKO was probably also trying to say sorry to his friends. After all, he still considers them to be his friends, as i proved in the first post.
Enid and Rad are scolding KO about TKO for the damage he’s done and the people he hurt.
Take a closer look at KO as they are doing that.
If you look really closely (and try your best to ignore Rad’s hilarious face) KO has grown a tooth. A sharp tooth. Like a fang.
Now who do we know who has sharp teeth/fangs?
TKO!!
Notice, KO was showing signs of frustration and and regret, both are negative emotions. TKO is the manifestation of the body’s negative emotions, so it would make sense that he would almost come out when feeling two negative emotions, But remember, KO has to feel completely powerless in order for TKO to fully emerge. So if your wondering why he didn’t quite come out, he just wasn’t feeling enough negativity.
Now on to the next TKO moment.
After Boxman Jr. has pretty much beaten up everyone, KO suggests that he let TKO out. His mother tries to laugh it off and convince everyone that friendship and teamwork are the best way to fight.
But look at KO’s face change the moment she says “friendship”
He makes like a worried face. This is like the first time we see KO pretty much doubt his mother’s words.
That’s almost out of character for the KO we have come to know.
When KO begins to have his thought process about what is the best thing to do in order to stop Boxman Jr., Everything is blue, just like most of KO’s powers have been shown to be. (such as his power fists)
We hear what he’s thinking: “ Nobody gets it. I know they don’t trust me, but… Even Mom got beat up Boxman Jr. They can’t stop him. It has to be me.”
Notice how when he says “it has to be me”, the background changes to purple: aka TKO’s aura and his face changes to that mid-way KO/TKO face.
Now we continue hearing thoughts in KO’s voice but I’m pretty sure its TKO’s thoughts we are hearing based on the fact that the body begins to resemble TKO more and more as the thought process continues. Not to mention the background remains purple.
Now listen to TKO’s thoughts: “ I’m different. Teamwork may be strong, but I have the power to be stronger. I’ll save the entire Plaza all by myself.”
TKO sounds kinda smart here. Now im not saying that teamwork and friendship can’t solve a problem, but sometimes using brute force and strength is the way.
And notice he says “I’ll save the entire plaza all by myself.” and he says all of this while carrying his mother out of harm’s way.
Once again proof that ultimately, TKO is a good guy with serious anger problems that can be solved once he has a healthy outlet and is no longer in that cage.
TKO almost hit his mom in his debut, why would he bother saving her now if he didn’t care?
So by now KO is feeling all the right emotions that lead up to the level of powerlessness that he needs to feel in order for TKO to fully come out.
And then Enid and Rad are back at it again with their talent of being TKO’s last straw. When they say he isn’t strong enough and that he’s just a kid and that he isn’t even level one yet.
You’ve done it now...
Anyway, so then we cut to TKO and KO in the mind of the body.
And TKO is just shown to be suffereing in that cage. He’s been there his whole life, he got out once only to be thrown back in. The second time he got out he went back almost willingly. (which he is probably regretting right now.) And now that everyone knows he’s in there they want to control him. But like I said, no one person can control another one person.
Dendy and KO’s experiments have been toying with poor TKO’s sensitive emotions for Cob knows how long! I mean look at that thing!
That cage has claw marks on it now! CLAW MARKS!
Dude has been going ham on that cage! How much pent up anger do you have to have to put claw marks on a virtually indestructible cage? (Like the cage can really only be broken when TKO feels powerless enough and KO feels positive enough.)
gosh it must’ve been like torture!
So moving on, TKO pounces on KO as soon as he realises he is there in the mind with him and asks him what do you want?
Now you may be wondering, why doesn’t TKO know KO is there to let him out?
Well like I said in the second post, KO can’t hear TKO’s thoughts so that means TKO can’t hear KO’s thoughts. TKO didn’t know that KO just so happened to be thinking the same thing, that he is the only one who can stop Boxman Jr. And KO didn’t come in there to let TKO out because he heard his thoughts, he came in there by his own choice. I mean look at how excited TKO is when he is let out!
He honestly wasn’t expecting any type of freedom today. In fact he goes right into attacking KO since he’s mad at him for all the experimenting.
But notice that when KO says he needs him, his reaction is very surprised before he goes into this cocky attitude.
*gasp!*
Look at that surprised face. Seriously, if they can read each other's thoughts, why is he so surprised? Why is he attacking KO if he should already know Boxman Jr is his target.
And honestly, can we just witness this purple nugget?
how is he evil? He’s literally just a cocky edgy boy.
But honestly I think he’s so happy to here KO say that. For so many years he’s been trapped in that awful cage, deemed as unwanted emotion by KO. But now, he’s more than wanted, KO said he needs him.
So moving on, TKO locks KO up in the cage as he takes over the body. Remember when he came out and he gave his mom a little shock?
Now people think that’s because he was being mean again or he just had so much static energy on him that it shocked her on accident.
I personally believe that TKO did shock her on purpose. BUt not because he was being mean, I think it was more of a “love tap”
If you don’t know what i mean let me explain, Have you, as little kid, ever gotten a little too close to something that you didn’t know was dangerous, and then your mom or dad would notice and tap you on the hand kind of hard and say “No! Don’t touch that!”
Its okay if you don’t know what I mean, Not every parent does that. But my mom did, especially when I got too close to the stove/oven while she was making dinner. She’d smack my hand and tell me “No! It’s hot!”
It was never hard enough to make me cry or anything, but it kept me away from the stove until i was old enough to understand that it was very hot and I shouldn’t touch it without oven mitts or something. It was a love tap.
So I think TKO remembered how he almost hurt his mom, and he remembered how he can get when he starts letting out all his anger. He knows he’s dangerous to be around. So he gave his mom a little zap so she wouldn’t get hurt by him again. I mean notice how he turns away from her after he does it.He knows that woman isn’t his target. And you know he did it on purpose! he looks dead at her when he does it.
He just wants her out of the way. Scare her a bit. But he still kind of stands in front of her in a semi-protective manner.
Now moving on to the fight scene.
TKO sends Boxman Jr flying back into the Boxmore factory. Now, with most fights, that would be where they end. A robot gets tossed back to to Boxmore and the fight is over. But Boxman Jr isn’t just any robot, he’s a very powerful robot. (mainly because he has that chip in his brain that Professor Venomous gave to Boxman in the episode “Villans Night Out”
((Like serously, Ive seen a lot of people wondering why Boxman Jr was so powerful and I’m like, ITS BECAUSE OF PROFESSOR V’S BIOCHIP!!! like for real, how are yall forgetting episodes within the same season? Did you guys really just miss that whole episode?))
TKO knows Boxman Jr is strong. KO said he needed him. He may have acted cocky, but im sure he isn’t stupid. Im sure he knows that if KO willingly let’s him out like that, he must be fighting a very powerful foe.
TKO knows that it’s gonna take more that a good toss across the street to handle this Boxmore Bot. He’s going all out on this twerp.
Ive also seen alot of people get super confusded as to why TKO/KO were allowed to “beat up a baby”...
ARE YOU FOR REAL?? HE IS A ROBOT!!!
A ROBOT!!
Boxman created him just like all his “kids” (aka every other robot in the show)
Everybody knows that kids shows can always have brutal murderous fight scenes as long as its a robot that’s taking most of the damage.
And that funeral scene they have at the end of the episode? Boxman Jr. was still a robot, but he was the only one of his kind. There are thousands of Darrells, Shannons, Raymonds, Ernestos and Jethros. But there was only one Boxman Jr. So yeah, a funeral seemed a appropriate. But nobody killed a baby, they destroyed a robot.
But anyway, back to TKO/KO (that’s what your all here for after all)
Alright so remember how KO was crying for TKO to stop because Rad and Enid had fell? Well people are saying he is a monster for not caring enough to save his friends? Just so you know....
I don’t even think TKO saw Rad and Enid fall, he is obviously too focused on his fight. And your probably wondering “but he has to have seen them! KO saw them and he’s looking through TKO’s eyes!”
Okay but TKO zipped by them really super fast and like I said, he’s focused on his fight. And just because KO can see through TKO’s eyes, doesn’t mean TKO can see something that was in the corner of his eye. Especially if he’s zipping around as fast as he is in this episode. KO just happened to see a glimpse of his friends.
(and honestly why didn’t Rad just levitate? I know he was probably too shocked/and scared but...still..)
Also, people are saying that when TKO did this:
He’s being evil or that he is evil and honestly...
Just let the kid express himself. TKO knew he’d be going all out on this foe, a little self expression is what he needs to let out all that pent up energy and rage. Its harmless.
And then we get to that oh so touching part where Dendy hugs TKO. But notice what TKO does.
You’d think his first line of action would be violence, like throwing her off. But he doesn’t he just simply tells her to get off of him.
HE ACUTUALLY EVEN LOOKS AWAY.
He looks back at his target, Boxman Jr. Before Enid comes in and joins in on the hugging, he says “I have to-”
I’m willing to bet he was about to say “I have to beat Boxman Jr!”
TKO doesen’t even want to pay Dendy any mind. He came out here to destroy Boxman Jr. He didn’t forget his target, he is honestly keeping his eyes on the prize. Good boy, TKO!
Now moving on to when They all hug TKO, causing him to get sucked back into the body’s mind.
Notice that, the moment he gets sucked in, the cage breaks around KO:
And notice how when it breaks, it is blue, which is KO’s aura color.
I think this is the extact moment KO had the idea to make peace with TKO at all. I mean, look at how calm he is when he says “I can beat him”
He says it and explains it like he’s already thought the whole thing through. Because he did. That’s why the cage breaks before he explains himself and not after.
And I love TKO here, “the only thing i want, is to keep fighting...”
Just give the angry plum something to punch, and he’ll be a good boy! He’s a manifestation of negative emotion after all. He as to let it out some how!
And look how happy he is when he gets his new toy!
That’s all he needed.
And then they make that iconic deal.
“no take-backs..”
These chains are a sign that these boys are now linked.
And I believe it also means KO can never bring the cage back. Even if he wants to. (although if he does manage to bring the cage back for whatever reason, i wonder how it would all play out)
So after this deal, KO goes into the physical world to fight Boxamn Jr with the help of TKO’s power.
That fight was cool but lets take a look at some of the smaller stuff that happens.
I saw someone suggest that this scene seemed out of character. KO just plopping his friends on the ground. Maybe it does seem out of character for the KO we knew several minutes ago, But this is the version of KO that is now linked to TKO!
So some stuff might seem a little a out of character. Like that scene where they almost touched his hair but he swatted their hands away.
That’s a purple background! Even though he only swatted it to reveal an adorable hair cut, that’s still a purple background. Its still the TKO in him.
I mean if TKO’s powers are allowed to come out and help KO in a fight, why can’t some of TKO’s personality come out to? Makes sense to me.
HOLY SWEET POTATOES!!! THIS ONE WAS A LOT TO WRITE OUT aND HARD TO FIND SCREEN SHOTS FOR. (I had to make some of those gifs myself! The love tap gif and the gif where he drops his friends, and the ruin to all who appose me gif)
ANyway!!!
Hope you enjoyed your read! Part 4 is coming soon! We’ll be taking a look at....
You guessed it!
TKO’s House!!!
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF:
SUPER LONG KO/TKO CHARACTER ANALYSIS THAT NOBODY ASKED FOR!
#ok ko let's be heroes#ok ko tko#tko character analysis#ok ko character analysis#tko#ko#rad#enid#dendy#boxman#lord boxman#boxman jr#professor venomous#your're in control
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Alex Fierro's Introduction Full Breakdown
Okokok so. This is going to go full English-professor mode, where I'm drawing conclusions that are gonna seem a little far-fetched. That's what's fun about media analysis! I can say something is a symbol, and even if I don't have enough faith in RR's competency to know if he meant for it to be a symbol, it's still true! That being said, a lot of these choices I'm sure are intentional, either at a literal or subliminal level. Page numbers are going to be used not to assert a kind of authority or whatever— this is a Tumblr post, not an essay— but to help readers find the pages I'm referencing in case they'd like to do some digging of their own. Also, this is going to be really long. Really sorry to anyone with ADHD; I might make an audiofile of this so you can get the information without having to read the whole thing. With all that, let's get into it!
To kick off, let's talk about Alex being in the form of a cheetah when she first meets Magnus. Of course, there's the obvious impact of him seeing her but only so breifly, as well as introducing the conflict between her and the rest of Hall 19. But that could have easily been accomplished by almost any animal. The choice of a cheetah being implicated implies two qualities of Alex that will be recurrent throughout the two books she's in: 1. She has a tendency to run away, as we'll later learn when she describes how she became homeless, and 2. To Magnus, she's elusive. She can't be caught or held down. The event that shows this so transparently is how Alex refuses to define their relationship at the end of the series, despite it clearly surpassing the normal bounds of friendship.
But the cheetah isn't the animal Alex is in the form of when Magnus first gets a good look at her; she's a weasel. Weasel's bring up all kinds of connotations: ferocity, slickness, a lack of charm. When we want to describe someone as an untrustworthy person, we call them a weasel. RR had Alex take this form to play up her comrades' feeling of distrust towards her. She could be a double-crosser. But paradoxically, the up-front and vicious mannerisms of a weasel also have a transperency. She does not try appealing to her Hallmate's sense of goodwill because she doesn't have anything to gain from it. So even though there is the implication that she might be an antagonist, there's also evidence from her actions and mannerisms that she isn't. The weasel's long and skinny frame also allow for a smooth transition into Alex's actual body, which is convenient.
As Alex transforms into her usual human form, Magnus describes her as "a regular human teen, long and lanky, with a swirl of dyed green hair, black at the roots, like a plug of weeds pulled out of a lawn" (pg. 50). That simile at the end is of particular interest. Let's compare it to another time Magnus describes Alex's hair, in Ship of the Dead: "Her hair had started to grow out, the black roots making her look even more imposing, like a lion with a healthy mane" (pg. 136). By contrasting these two different examples, we can see the development of Magnus and Alex's relationship. The first time he sees her, he thinks of her hair as something nasty— note the word choice "weeds." Later on, though, he becomes more affectionate towards her, more complentary. The immedient negative reaction is less his actual impression, though, and more the reaction he expected to have based on everyone else's reaction to Alex.
Her clothes are equally as interesting; as Magnus describes it, Alex wears "battered rose high-tops, skinny lime green corduroy pants, a pink-and-green argyle sweater-vest over a white tee, and another pink cashmere sweather wrapped around the waist like a kilt" (pg. 50). Aside from the obvious fact that this outfit is a) bizzare, b) fire, and c) Alex's signature colors, which add a layer of style to what can otherwise be a somewhat boring series fashion-wise (excuse me, Blitz), the outfit reveals a crucial facet of Alex's backstory in a kind of subtle way. These are expensive clothes, like the Stella McCartney dress in Alex's room. Note the mention of fabrics (corduroy, cashmere) and patterns (argyle). These indicate wealth and status. Even the high-tops; shoes like that don't come cheap. But I'd like to return to the very first word of the section: "battered." Alex's wardrobe show-cases a proximity to wealth, but also shows that that proximity has been strained and lengthened, maybe for an extended period of time. Alex dresses like a rich person, but she isn't one. Least, not anymore.
The last word of that outfit-introduction is also of interest: "kilt." At the current moment, Magnus thinks that Alex is male. No one has indicated otherwise to him. Everyone has been referring to Alex with he/him pronouns. Samirah called Alex her "brother" (pg. 29). His first thought in seeing what he at first perceives as a guy with a jacket wrapped around the waist is That looks like a kilt. This thought tells us about Magnus: despite being open and accepting, he still has some lingering notions of gender conformity from his years in wider American society.
Magnus also indicates that the outfit "reminded me of a jester's motley, or the coloration of a venomous animal warning the whole world" (pg. 50). This is rather self-explanatory, but it's still worth noting that Magnus sees the outfit as something bizzare, strange, and even perhaps comical. This places Alex at odds with the other people Magnus has met. It also reveals that Magnus has zero fashion sense. But we already knew that.
After finishing up staring at the ensemble, Magnus finally gets around to actually looking Alex in the face. First Magnus says that he "forgot how to breathe" (pg. 50), which, yeah, relatable. This is justifed by saying that Alex has the same face as Loki, but the very same sentence that asserts that that's the case also suggests an alternative reason: Alex has "the same unearthly beauty" as her father. Here we can see the beginnings of Magnus's attraction to Alex, though at this point, he still has a lot of internalized homophobia. Though there's certainly some truth in that Magnus was unnerved by Alex's resemblance to Loki, the idea that Magnus pointed out that Alex was pretty without elaborating on that thought until about a chapter later— after he was informed that Alex was presently a girl— can tell us a lot about how Magnus perceives sex and beauty.
Of course, Alex's eyes are given special attention. She has cool eyes; what can I say? But I'd like to focus in on how Magnus here depicts Alex's heterochromia as "completely unnerving" (pg. 50). Again, let's contrast this with how he describes them after getting to know Alex a little better in Ship of the Dead. In Chapter 3, Magnus describes "[Alex's] dark brown eye and his amber eye like mismatched moons cresting the horizon" (pg. 25). Once again, this shows the development of their relationship— but this time, it's in a much more personal way. Eyes are the windows to the soul; they are culturally important and biologically important in inter-personal connections. In you look into someone's eyes, you're giving them your full attention, and you're implying a kind of closeness. The way that Magnus describes Alex's eyes in the second passage is downright intimate. At this point, he is in love with Alex, and it is clear when contrasting the two descriptions.
As my last point, I'd like to discuss Alex's first words on page: "'Point that rifle somewhere else, or I will wrap it around your neck like a bow tie'" (pg. 51). First of all, Alex saying this with a "perfect white smile" (pg. 51) on his face implies that she is used to being threatened. She is not afraid of being shot; she counters the promise of an attack with a promise of her own. This pleads the question: why is Alex accustomed to violence? What events of her past or qualities of her life have brought her to this point? The threat itself reveals Alex's trauma from being genderfluid in a society with rigid gender norms, as well as her antagonistic relationship with her father. Magnus makes a comment that Alex "might actually know how to tie a bow tie, which was kind scary arcane knowledge" (pg. 51). Like Alex's wardrobe, the idea that she may have experience in high-class fashion also implies her former status as a rich kid.
I could go on. I could break apart Alex saying "'Pleased to meet you all, I guess'" (pg. 51). There is a wealth of information in this short page span that tells us things about Alex Fierro in the present moment, quietly demonstrates things about her past, and characterizes the narrator Magnus Chase. This passage is also effective in hindsight in marking the progress of Magnus and Alex's relationship.
But I'd like to take a step back and look at not the pieces, but the whole picture. Alex Fierro gets a full page of pure description— her outfit, her face— and about a chapter of introduction. This comes after several chapters of build-up. Alex Fierro is an important character you need to keep your eyes on. Alex Fierro is emotionally significant to the main character, Magnus Chase. Alex Fierro is one of the most developed and well-rounded characters that Rick Riordan has ever written— heck, she's one of the best characters in middle-grade books period. The extended emphasis on her and her alone tells us exactly what role she's going to play in this story: she's the star.
#she IS the moment#I'm sure I missed a few things too#alex fierro#mcga#magnus chase#magnus chase and the gods of asgard#fierrochase#magnus chase/alex fierro#mcatgoa
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the OK KO finale and how it handled Venomous’s character
i don’t usually post fandom meta on tumblr like, ever, but i just have SO many thoughts about the OK KO finale i’d love to share, especially regarding professor venomous’s character arc, so i’m here to bring out some of my personal analysis about it!
all along i was prepared that we necessarily wont get an explanation to everything because of the time constraints the team had (thanks a lot CN) and i know a lot of people aren’t happy with how venomous’s character was handled in the finale and i, too, hoped that after all that build-up we would’ve gotten at least a little bit more satisfying conclusion to his character arc. he is my favourite character in the show so of course you could also argue that my expectations were a bit higher
that said i really did like the finale for what it was and after analyzing certain parts in more detail i think there’s more to venomous’s development here than meets the eye. i have a lot to discuss so buckle up folks this is gonna be some serious stream of consciousness
before i get into the actual analysis let me start by making clear how i interpret venomous’s character as a whole. i feel like many of his fans see that venomous, without shadowy’s influence, is a pure uwu bean who doesn’t actually want to do anything bad ever and i think that’s…. well, i don’t wanna use the word “wrong” because people are free to interpret him however they want but it doesn’t feel right to me. venomous is a villain. he’s evil. he’s selfish and power-hungry. he ENJOYS being a bitch and doing bad things even without shadowy’s influence. even ian jq himself confirmed he indeed is evil and not just bitter. he is good to the people he does actually care about (fink and boxman) but we’ve seen him be terrible to pretty much everyone who isn’t a villain and even as laserblast his morals were already questionable enough.
something we never got a clear confirmation for was whether or not venomous was exactly.. happy with how merging with shadowy turned out, if that was the kind of power he really wanted. ian told that he willingly accepted shadowy offering him power but i feel like he didn’t completely understand the consequences of doing so. he’s VERY weak-willed and insecure when it comes to the subject of power. he didn’t think through that it would mean shadowy completely overtaking him and hurting the only people that are truly important to him
when TKO punches shadowy out of existence and venomous turns back into his normal self, all that anger and hatred shadowy had is completely gone. since he’s back in control i think he realizes that he made awful choices, he fucked up bad and now the only people he cared about will probably never forgive him. it’s subtle but i think the pained expression tells me enough that he regrets that and he’s ready to face the consequences. he doesn’t talk back, no evil monologue, nothing. instead he’s like fuck me up TKO, i deserve it for ruining the lives of my daughter minion and the love of my life
he only gets devastated when fink runs up to sacrifice herself, because even if he probably believes that he doesn’t deserve her forgiveness, he still deeply cares about her and doesn’t want to see her hurt. even though venomous is evil, this still shows the core difference between him and shadowy as shadowy didn’t really give a shit about fink’s well-being
so let’s fast forward to the part where everyone gets to live their best lives and venomous is given his own planet to destroy because even after all this, he still wants to be the most powerful. you could say he learned nothing after all this, right? well, i don’t think that’s completely true. we can see him wear the laserblast helmet again and that is now the only power he has, which imo tells that he learned to embrace the fact that he already had plenty enough power all along, that his own power, albeit artificial, was always enough. this time he’s the one in control and he can do what he loves the most with fink by his side: being evil and wrecking shit up. this was a time-out he needed to spend time alone with fink again and fix their bonds and also finally live out his power fantasy; this time on his own terms, not under shadowy’s influence. as weird as the whole planet ordeal was to me on the first watch, it makes more sense to me now
so what about that part where venomous and fink come back to destroy plaza? i mostly think that was just meant to be a fun cameo and nothing too deep, but if i were to delve more into it, i like to think this could possibly be a turning point when venomous starts to realize how much he misses the times when he was attacking the plaza with boxman. when he says “we're back to finish what we started”, i don’t think he refers to the complete destruction of the world shadowy was after but the times he was simply attacking the plaza for the fun of it. the key being the fact that he says “we” as in him and fink, since as we know fink was never really up for shadowy’s antics
anyways, once venomous is over his tantrum, he realizes that simply being powerful didn’t fill the void in his heart. he’s had a lot of time to himself to reflect on everything and when he’s finally come in terms with himself, he’s ready to return to the person who filled the void in his heart to begin with: boxman
excuse me for delving into the voxman aspect of this all for a moment but i think it was actually better that they took time with them making up instead of, for example, it happening during the final battle. it feels more realistic to me and it gave both of them have some time to themselves and fix their personal issues before getting back into a relationship. and i think it’s absolutely sweet how it happened this way around instead of boxman trying to pursue venomous despite the fact that boxman has usually been the more clingy one. venomous truly regrets unintentionally hurting him and wants him back and even if he doesn’t really know how to express it, he is really trying (i think it tells something that he seemingly made the cake himself despite not being able to cook)
as for his relationship with KO, i do wish we would’ve seen a conclusion to that, but judging by what we see in the finale they no longer try to connect and you know, that’s probably for the best. i do believe venomous was at least trying to somewhat genuinely get along with him in let’s get shadowy and i’m happy we at least momentarily got that, but KO was clearly uncomfortable with him most of the time and venomous couldn’t connect with him because their interests and morals are like night and day, so in the end he couldn’t bring himself to truly care about him. he was a pretty garbage father to him and it only shows that sometimes it’s okay to not get along with someone just because you’re blood related. KO was still genuinely happy that venomous got to live his best life that doesn’t involve him in the slightest
in conclusion, yes i wish they had fleshed him out more at the end or at least have him face the consequences (P.O.I.N.T. deserves to beat the shit out of him tbh LOL) especially since he played a pretty big role in the show’s main plot, but i’m happy he at least got his happy ending and i’m not blaming the crew for cutting things short. they had lots of characters to give spotlight to in the finale and in the end, the show is about KO so it’s obvious that if they had to give someone more focus in the short time they had, it’s him. but at the end of the day, thank you for watching the show leaves us a lot of gaps to fill in ourselves so i’m just going to assume venomous goes through more development off-screen and hey, that’s what fanworks are for. i personally am plenty satisfied with just the fact that he gets along with boxman and fink again but i know not everyone will agree with my thoughts and that’s okay
i just truly love this show and i will miss it so much
P.S:
THEY’RE CANONICALLY MARRIED AND I’VE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER
#ok ko#ok ko let's be heroes#ok ko spoilers#professor venomous#voxman#ok ko meta#i love the evil snake man and i also love finding the positives about things#sorry for the wall of text but i hope at least someone gets something out of this!
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Best Beloved: Chapter 4
A/N: Hey y'all! This is a PM AU I’ve been working on. It’s a bit different than my previous fic series and I’m really excited to try something new. I hope y’all enjoy it. This story is told in dual first-person narrative, from Kaia (F!MC) and Damien’s POV. The first half of this story takes place during Kaia’s freshman year and Damien’s senior year of college. The second half is two years after Kaia graduates. There will be sprinklings of canon in this fic, but we’ll try to step out of the box for the most part. Thanks for reading, and please leave feedback, and/or if you would like to be tagged.
Catch up here
Series Tags: @burnsoslow @lady-calypso @irishwhiskys-blog
Synopsis: What happens when you find yourself crushing on your best friend? For years, Damien and Kaia have been best friends, while secretly harboring feelings for one another. Everything changes one night after a little too much alcohol and years of pent up feelings. Can they control their emotions and salvage their friendship, or will the feelings they hold for one another destroy everything they have?
All characters are the property of Pixelberry Studios. Thanks for allowing me to borrow them.
Chapter Summary: Damien struggles with the state of his relationship and Kaia meets Hayden.
Damien
I sat at my cubicle on a Thursday afternoon, putting the finishing touches on the report I needed to write up for my internship. I had landed a Securities and Intelligence Analysis Internship with a local security agency. My duties included collecting, processing, and analyzing, intelligence, and providing assistance to the senior analysts within the agency. If everything went well, they mentioned offering me the opportunity to join the agency full-time. To be honest, though, I had bigger dreams.
I was proofreading my report when my phone went off. I looked at the screen and saw Alana’s name flash across it. I sighed and dragged my hand down my face. She had been blowing up my phone all day with text messages. After the frat party last weekend, we got into an argument about how I “disappeared on her” after our makeout session in the bathroom. I didn’t intend to, but when she stormed off and I lost her in the crowd, I didn’t make much of an effort to go look for her.
I felt like our relationship was going in a different direction than I was hoping. You could blame it on our busy schedules, and her turning down my proposal left a sour taste in my mouth. But as much as I wanted to deny it, I felt like Kaia coming back into my life had a lot to do with it. Feelings I didn’t know I had crept up on me every time she was around. Her touch, the sound of her laugh, and the sweet smell of her shampoo stirred up all these emotions in me. I needed to get them in check before I did something I’d regret.
My phone buzzed again and I groaned and dropped my head to my desk. I should have called her back and smooth things over, but I had to get this report done before I left today. I picked up the phone, and stared at it for a moment, then clicked the lock button and slipped in in my pocket.
A moment later, the research analyst I was paired up with rounded the corner of the cube farm and called out as he approached me. “Nazario. Do you have that research portfolio on current conflicts and security threats?”
I reached into my desk drawer and pulled out the manila envelope, handing it to him. He took the files and peered over my shoulder at my laptop.
“Thanks, man. Looks good so far. When you’re done with this, can you compile the materials from the counterterrorism report?”
“Sure thing, Agent McDaniels. I’ll have that to you shortly.”
He nodded and clapped me on the shoulder before walking off. I signed off on my report and hit “send” then leaned back in my chair with a smile on my face. This internship was easier than I thought it would be.
My phone buzzed in my pocket again. I groaned and pulled it out to see another missed call from Alana. I locked my computer and got up from my desk then made my way into the break room. Tapping my phone against my palm, I took a deep breath and dialed her number. She answered on the first ring.
“What?” she snapped.
“Baby, come on-”
“Don’t ‘baby, come on’ me, Damien. I’ve been trying to reach you all day! I’m sick of you always bailing on me all the damn time. First, you ditch me to go meet with your advisor. Then, you disappear during the frat party last week. And yesterday you fucking bailed on our date to go visit your mom. I know you have shit going on, but so do I. And I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a little reliability from my boyfriend.”
I groaned. We had planned to spend the afternoon together after classes, but Mom called yesterday morning, asking if I was able to come home and help her with something. And like the good son I am, I emailed my professors that I’d be absent, hopped in my car, and made the hour drive home. Now, I had to face the consequences. As much as I hated to admit it, I’d been kind of a lousy boyfriend lately. I wasn’t doing it on purpose, but with everything going on this year, I had to prioritize. “I know, Alana. I’m sorry.”
“Are you fucking someone else?” she accused.
“What?”
“You heard me. What about that freshman you’ve been hanging around the last few weeks?” she spit out, the venom in her voice leaking through the phone.
Was she serious? I never told her about me and Kaia, so I don’t know where she even got the idea from. Just because Kaia and I had history, didn’t mean that I wanted to sleep with her. Okay, maybe I did, but I sure as shit didn’t act like it around my girlfriend. I dragged my hand down my face, sighing deeply. “Who? Kaia? She’s an old friend from home. I don’t even like her like that.” Lie. “Why would you think that?”
“It would make sense. Look, I know our relationship isn’t perfect, but if you have feelings for someone else, the least you could do is let me know so I’m not wasting my time.”
I yanked the phone away from my ear and mouthed several curse words. After all that we had been through, she had the audacity to say that to me? I pressed the phone back to my ear. “Excuse me? Did you forget that I fucking PROPOSED to you? And you have the nerve to say I’m wasting your time! What the fuck, Alana?” I growled.
She went quiet on the other end and I had to check to see if she had hung up on me. After several beats, she spoke up. “It’s just...fuck, Damien. I feel like you never want to be around me anymore. Especially since you started hanging around with that Kaia girl. Plus, we're both always so busy, it’s like our relationship got put on the backburner.”
“Alana. If I didn’t want to be with you anymore, I wouldn’t be with you. I get why you’re upset. I do, but you have to understand that I have a life outside of this relationship. This internship is important to me. And my mom’s been having a hard time since my dad passed. I’m sorry for bailing on you, but you can’t go around accusing me of cheating on you every time. This relationship is never going to work if you do.”
“Well, what do you expect me to think, Damien? This new girl pops up out of nowhere, and all of a sudden you’re spending all this time with her,” she huffed.
“We have one class together, Alana. That’s it. We don’t go out to eat or spend time together on the weekends. Other than the frat party, the only time I’ve hung out with her was during our study groups. I’ve had female friends for almost our entire relationship and you’ve never batted an eye over it. Why is this one any different just because I’ve known her since we were kids?”
She sighed. “I really don’t want to talk about this over the phone.”
“I’m at work right now, but I can come over later if you want me to,” I said, tugging at the knot of my tie.
“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea, Damien. I just need time to myself right now. I feel like you’ve been smothering me lately, and I can’t deal with this.”
Jesus, this woman was making my head spin. “I don’t understand. First, you say I’m neglecting you, and now you say I’m smothering you. Which is it?”
“It’s...it’s complicated, Damien. I just don’t know if this relationship is worth it anymore.”
“Babe, what are you saying? Are you saying you want to take a break from us?” My chest tightened as I struggled to say the words.
She paused for what felt like an eternity before answering. “I don’t know, Damien. I’ll call you in a few days,” she said, before hanging up the phone.
I stared at the screen, anger coursing through my veins. I fell back against the refrigerator, digging the heels of my hands into my eyes. My department supervisor entered the break room and saw me leaning against the fridge.
“Hey! Everything alright in here?” she asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
“Yeah, just dealing with some personal stuff. It’s taken care of though,” I replied. I slipped the phone in my pocket and made my way back to my desk. I sat down in my chair, powered up my laptop and opened my school email. I noticed two new emails: one from my advisor and another from Kaia. Jesus, talk about shit timing.
I sighed and opened the one from my professor. It was an outline of the things I needed to do to complete the first half of my internship. I skimmed through it, taking note of all the important parts, then replied that I would have it to her by midterms.
I closed out the email from my professor and hovered the mouse over the one from Kaia. I wasn’t sure if opening it was such a good idea, but a voice told me to do it anyway. I opened up the email and started reading.
Hey Dames!
Here are the notes from yesterday’s lecture. I highlighted everything Prof. Ross said would be on the test. Let me know if you need anything else. :)
- K.
P.S. Hope your mom is doing okay. Tell her hi for me next time you talk to her!
Of course. I had texted her on the way to Mom’s asking her to take notes for me in class. Sure, I could have asked anyone else in that class, but let’s be real. I wasn’t going to. Any excuse to talk to her, I snatched it up like a dog with a bone. Her email was innocent enough, but just seeing her name pop up on the screen made my heart beat faster. I swallowed the lump in my throat and closed out the email. That must be why Alana was so upset. I sighed deeply and got to work on my next task. After about thirty minutes of struggling to stay focused, I powered down my laptop and walked over to my supervisor’s office.
“Hey! I have an assignment due tomorrow that I need to finish up. Do you mind if I take off?”
She looked up from her computer and nodded. “Sure thing. Just let me sign off on your timesheet and you can be on your way.” I handed her the sheet required for my internship credit hours and she initialed the document, then handed it back to me. “We’ll see you next week,” she replied, then went back to her computer.
I walked back to my desk, packed up my things and headed out. When I got to my car, I dumped my bag in the backseat, then climbed in the driver’s side. Pulling out my phone, I contemplated texting Alana. But after the conversation we had earlier, I decided to let her have her space. She would reach out to me when she was ready to talk. Until then, I had to be patient. Against my better judgment, I texted Kaia.
My breath caught in my throat. Yep, she was definitely flirting with me. Good lords, this girl was going to be the death of me. I’d been fighting feelings for her since my sophomore year of high school. It was easier back then because she was so young, but now that she was older, I was having a hard time keeping my emotions and my dick in check. If I didn’t get this sorted out soon, I was going to completely fuck up both of my relationships. I shook my head, put the car in drive, and headed back to the dorms.
***
Kaia
Sloane, Nadia and I sat in the library Monday afternoon, studying for our Comp class exam. Even though we were only a couple of weeks into the semester, our professor decided this morning that we needed to have a pop quiz on Wednesday and told us to be prepared.
“Ugh, this stuff is so confusing and not at all pertinent to my degree. What is an independent clause anyway?” Nadia whined, holding her phone in one hand.
Sloane leaned over and tapped Nadia’s note sheet. “It’s a clause that has a subject and a verb and can stand alone. Didn’t you learn this stuff in high school?”
“Psh probably. What does that even mean?”
I sighed. “It’s a complete sentence. You’d know that if you were actually reviewing your notes and not texting Steve.”
Nadia rolled her eyes and went back to her phone. “I wish we all had this class together so I could just cheat off your papers.”
Sloane snorted and I rolled my eyes, throwing a ball of wadded up paper at her. “Shut up and study.”
Nadia laughed and grabbed her highlighter, highlighting some sentences on her study guide. “Prepositional phrases are going to be the death of me.”
Ugh, this was so reminiscent of high school. I love my cousin, but she can be a bit flighty. “I’m going to be the death of you if you don’t study your notes, Miss Art Major. Just because this class isn’t,” I held up my index and middle fingers, making air quotes “pertinent to your degree, doesn’t mean you can slack off and not study. What’s going to happen when Steve gets drafted to the NFL and he dumps you for someone smart?”
“Steve would never do that. I’m too cute,” she gasped. Sloane chuckled and went back to her notes.
Ten minutes later, Nadia looked up from her study guide. “So, you guys going to Homecoming?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” I sighed, not looking up as I turned a page in my book.
“I don’t know, it might be kind of fun,” Sloane said, looking up from her study guide.
A grin spread across Nadia’s face. “I agree, Sloane. Plus, there’s so much to do! There’s the parade, the game, the dance. And Delta Sigma Phi is having another party!”
“They have parties every weekend.”
“Not like this,” Nadia retorted. “This one is supposed to be huge.”
I shook my head and went back to studying my notes. The idea of homecoming made me cringe. I only had bad memories of going. Most recently, my junior year. The game was a total blowout (the other team kicked our asses 55-0) and my boyfriend ditched me at the dance for the Homecoming Queen. I didn’t even bother going my senior year because I knew it was going to be a suckfest.
An hour and several chapters into our composition textbooks, Nadia groaned and smacked her head on the table. “I’m hungry, you guys. I say we take a break. My brain hurts.”
I pressed my forefingers to my temple and sighed. Sloane dropped her pencil on the table and removed her glasses, rubbing her eyes. “For once, I agree with Nadia. We could use a coffee break. I’m kind of going cross-eyed over here from reading and re-reading these notes.”
“Fine. I’ll go grab coffee. Who wants what?”
“Ooh. Get me a Strawberry Passion Fruit Boba Tea, please!” Nadia said. “And a banana muffin.”
“I’ll take the caramel almond latte,” Sloane replied. I nodded and grabbed my purse, making my way to the campus coffee shop. Whoever designed this college to put a coffee shop in the library is a motherloving genius. When I arrived, there was only one person in line in front of me. I perused the menu, trying to decide which caffeinated beverage would give me the boost I needed to power through the last leg of our study session.
When it was my turn, I approached the counter and put in Sloane and Nadia’s orders. The barista asked me if that would be all, and I replied there would be one more drink, but that I was still deciding.
“You should try the Cinnamon Roll mocha. It’s indescribable,” a deep voice behind me suggested. I whipped around and came face-to-face with a tall man with warm brown eyes and jet black hair. His soft pink lips were curled into a friendly smile. It was crazy how suspiciously attractive he was. Was every guy at this school an undercover model or something? He looked familiar and I studied his face, trying to figure out where I knew him from.
“How do you know I’ll like it?” I asked him.
“You seem like the type of girl that likes sweet things,” he winked.
I blushed then turned back to the barista. “I’ll take that.” She nodded and got to work making my drinks. I turned back to the mysterious stranger. “If I don’t like this drink, you have to buy me a new one.”
“That won’t be necessary, because you’ll like it,” he laughed.
I moved over to wait for my drinks as he ordered his. I smirked when I heard him also order the Cinnamon Roll mocha. Okay, guy. I see what you’re up to. As we waited for our drinks, he moved over and grabbed a stirring straw, sticking one end in his mouth. My eyes were automatically drawn to the movement as his tongue swirled around the tip of the straw. He noticed me watching and winked.
I cleared my throat. “So...um. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look really familiar.”
“I should. We’re in the same College Algebra class.”
I paused, cocking an eyebrow at him. “Oh?”
“Yeah, you sit in the second row. Let’s just say, I may have checked you out once or twice. No big deal. And since I helped you out with your drink order, you can help me out by telling me your name.”
I laughed. “It’s Kaia. I knew you looked familiar. And thanks for the suggestion, I guess. We’ll see how you did here in a minute.” He extended his hand and I took it, feeling his warm hand squeeze mine.
“Hi, Kaia. I’m Hayden. And trust me on this. You’re going to be so blown away by this drink, you’ll offer up your firstborn for another one.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed a stack of napkins as the barista called my name and slid the tray with my drinks across the counter. I moved to collect them along with Nadia’s muffin. Hayden watched me intently as I picked up the cup marked “CR” and took a tentative sip. When the coffee hit my tongue, my tastebuds were transformed to a new world. He must have seen it by the look on my face because a huge grin spread across his.
“What did I tell you? You love it, don’t you?”
“Okay, okay. You were right on that one. Any more life-changing advice you want to give me?”
“You got something… right…” He reached over and wiped a dribble of the coffee from my chin with his thumb, then brought it to his mouth, sucking the liquid off. My breath caught in my throat at the contact. I quickly composed myself and grabbed my items. As I juggled the drink tray with shaking hands, Hayden swooped in and took it from me.
“Need a little help with that?” he asked.
“Thanks. We’re just sitting over here,” I replied, guiding him over to where Sloane and Nadia were chatting. Nadia’s eyes lit up when she saw us approaching.
“Ooh! Coffee and eye candy,” she squealed, leaping from her seat to take the tray from his hand. “Who is this tall drink of water, Kaia?”
“Don’t you have a boyfriend?” I eyed her incredulously.
She sat down and handed Slone her drink before taking a sip of her own. “Hey! You can look at the menu as long as you don’t order anything from it. I’m Nadia. And you are?”
I shot her a glare. “Nadia, this is Hayden. He's in my algebra class. Hayden, this is my cousin Nadia and my friend Sloane.” He leaned over the table and shook each of their hands.
“You’re in my American Government class. Do you want to sit with us?” Sloane asked, taking a sip from her coffee.
Hayden looked around the library, like he was waiting for someone, then back to me. “Oh, I don’t want to impose. Looks like you ladies have your own study group going on.”
“Nonsense. Come, have a seat next to my extremely beautiful and extremely single cousin,” Nadia insisted, motioning for Hayden to take the chair next to mine.
“Nadia!” I snapped.
He grinned and sat down, raking his eyes over my body. I blushed as I took the seat next to him. He tugged his backpack from his shoulders and dug around, pulling out a spiral notebook. He then leaned over to see what we were studying. “Well, I don’t have Comp homework, but I guess I can work on my algebra homework.”
I glanced at his notebook and nodded. “I can help you with that when we’re done here.”
He smiled, sending the butterflies in my stomach into overdrive. He had a nice smile. Sloane looked up from her notes and addressed Hayden. “So, what are you majoring in?”
He paused and took a sip of his coffee, eyeing the three of us, then swallowed. “I’m actually majoring in photography.”
“Wow! A fellow art major! How exciting,” Nadia said, extending her hand for a high-five. Hayden laughed and slapped his palm against hers.
“Photography, huh? That sounds exciting! How’d you get into that field?” I asked.
“I joined Yearbook my sophomore year of high school and took pictures for the club, and I just kind of fell in love with it. I started taking pictures for fun and ended placing second in my state’s high school photography competition.”
I placed my elbows on the table and rested my chin in my hands. Listening to him talk about his love for photography made me smile. I wish I was half as passionate about anything as he was about photography.
The four of us settled into a comfortable conversation, neglecting our studying. We talked about our favorite (and not so favorite) professors, which classes we were looking forward to taking the next four years, and which spot in the student union was best for people-watching. We learned that Nadia and Hayden also shared two classes and the same advisor. Another hour had passed when my stomach growled and I looked at my phone to see the time was 5:30 p.m.
“Holy shit, it’s dinner time. You guys wanna go grab a bite?”
“I can’t. Steve gets done with football practice soon, so we’re going out after,” Nadia said.
“I’d love to, but I have a ton of homework I need to get done for my Spanish comp class. Maybe another time.” Sloane said.
I debated texting Damien to ask if he was free, but he sounded really weird when I spoke to him a few days ago, so I let it go. I shrugged and started gathering up my books. Nadia left first, with Sloane taking off shortly after, leaving Hayden and me by ourselves. He shoved the last of his things in his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, then followed me out of the library. We walked through the courtyard toward the dorms, surveying the sun as it slowly set behind the horizon. He stopped walking then turned to me.
“I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward, but would you want to go get a bite to eat sometime?”
I stared down at my shoes, kicking a stray pebble on the pavement. He seemed nice enough. But why was I so hesitant to say yes? I shifted on my feet and looked up at him. “Oh...um...I don’t know.”
He frowned. “Hey, no big deal. I get it. Just thought I’d shoot my shot.”
“No. I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that I’m not ready to date yet. I guess I’m still adjusting to the new school year. But if you’re ever up for another study group, let me know.”
He smiled, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah, sure. Do you want me to walk you to your dorm?”
“Nah. I think I’m okay. I’ll see you in class.”
“You too,” he replied and winked as he made his way to the dorms. I watched him walk away as I stood in the middle of the courtyard. What was wrong with me? This extremely good-looking and nice guy just asked me out, and I shot him down. It’s not like I already had a boyfriend, so why was I acting like a scared little bitch? I briefly considered chasing him down and saying, ‘lol j/k let’s go out sometime,’ but something held me in place. I just couldn’t figure out what it was.
#best beloved#pm au#college au#friends to lovers#perfect match#choices fanfic#damien nazario#kaia park#damien x mc#nazariolahela fanfic
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The Shipping Corner: Voxman, A Balm for Capitalist-Induced Angst
Note: I'm sorry this took as long as it did. I've been in a pretty bad slump recently and am just now coming out of it.
Lord Boxman is the black sheep among his peers. This is first established with Professor Venomous' initial distaste towards him and the later reactions he gets when he unexpectedly shows up at Billiam Milliam's villain yacht party. The only kinds of relationships Boxman has with other villains amount to strictly business transactions to create their robot minions. The shareholders that directly fund Boxmore are especially skeptic of Boxman's destroy the Plaza side venture and see this as a misguided, Snidely Whiplash-esque escapade. He's just a Saturday morning cartoon villain and they're the respectable big leagues. When Boxman funnels so much time, effort, energy, and resources towards the Plaza attacks, it takes precious time away from robot production; the one thing he does they consider valuable or worthwhile. They threaten to cut off their support if Boxman's production doesn't increase and then gladly replace him with Darrell when the opportunity arises. Darrell fits the exact mold they need for a CEO: he focuses exclusively on production.
There's no respect. There's no interest in or concern for Lord Boxman as an individual. The dislike is mutual. Of course Boxman doesn't get along with other villains. Most of the known names and faces on screen hold the purse strings and by extension, the fate of Boxman's entire operation. He feels like he has to put on his best face and performance to keep his business afloat. Without Boxmore, he seemingly has nothing and loses everything material. After Boxman was fired by the shareholders, he becomes absolutely depressed and floats around for awhile until Venomous finds him in his trash can. As much as he hates answering to corporate interests, he's locked in as a "robot manufacturer" as much as an Average Joe is stuck at a 9-5 job because of bills, a mortgage; and most frustratingly, how easily someone can fall into the trappings of letting a job define their self-worth or sense of self.
--
When Professor Venomous gets introduced, he's partly in Boxman's mental bucket of shareholder/necessary business relationships. Boxman goes to great lengths to hide K.O., Rad, and Enid after accidentally booking his business dinner on the same night as an antagonize the Plaza event. He's scared that his 'hobby' would dissuade Venomous from buying any more of his robots and break their already tenuous business deal. Instead, Venomous starts to see Boxman through literal rose-tinted glasses and becomes interested in Boxman's ongoing Plaza rivalry but uses the robots as a continued excuse to check in again on this weird, intriguing man.
Another interesting precedent is that Boxman is more fond of Venomous from the jump. When interacting with other business partners, Boxman is over-the-top and eager to please in video calls and plays the oblivious idiot in casual settings, but behind closed doors, he's bitter towards them. Boxman won't hug his own children and scoffs at open displays of affection. Yet he wants to touch or hug Venomous as often as he can reasonably get away with. Part of his behavior is the same eager to please facade he gives other interested business parties, but the bigger part is a legitimate interest in developing a more personal relationship with Venomous.
The pink shoujo sparkles and elevator eyes Boxman has for Venomous are a blatant indicator he finds him attractive. That's a surprisingly huge part of what kicks off his interest. Look at how he reacts to Dr. Blight in the Captain Planet crossover. Boxman initially shows skepticism and disinterest towards her crazy plans, but the second she flirts with him, the flip switches. The promise of romantic interest grants her access to the full power and force of Boxmore. When she leaves at the end of the episode, Boxman is disappointed. He wanted to continue their partnership, especially their potential interpersonal one.
In Venomous' case, he gets extra points for joining in the fight after the Plaza brats interrupt dinner. He asks about the design and Lego brick-esque connectivity of the Boxbots. He's not above participating in the Saturday morning cartoon skirmish. Rather, he misses that kind of fight and yearns to experience more exploits like it. Venomous is the only on-screen character outside of Boxman's kids that shows a willingness to listen to, try to understand, and engage with Boxman in a more personable, intimate way.
--
Professor Venomous fell into villainy after he lost his powers and realized how overbearing he found the moral code heroes have. Being a villain comes naturally to him; he likes the fruits of his labor in the vast amounts of wealth, prestige, and material power that he could gain. Fast forward to present-day in the series and he's the picture of a successful villain. He figures out the easy button for amassing stupid amounts of money by threatening a Congresswoman with a death ray. He's sought out for deals involving his scientific prowess. He's respected and liked among other villains to the point he's invited to Billiam's parties. Though while he has a comfortable position, he's become jaded.
Enter Lord Boxman. Compared to the villains Venomous is used to, Boxman dances to the beat of his own drum. He's more interested in defeating the Plaza than an endless vie for prestige, wealth, or power. He says he doesn't care what the other villains think of him and how he does things. No matter what happens, he's going to carve out his own path as a villain and do what he wants to with his life. Somehow, Venomous got tied up in a new, different kind of bureaucratic process as a villain. As a hero, he felt like an outcast and a loser everybody looked down on without super powers. As a villain, he has everything he thought he wanted but it was more of a means to make up for what he lost. It was more compensating and filling in an existential hole vs actually taking meaningful control of his life. In stark contrast to that, Boxman knows exactly what he wants and puts his all into every pursuit, consequences and obstacles be damned.
Collaborating with Boxman is an epiphany. Dreaming up new schemes and plots to challenge the Plaza is fun. It's fulfilling and satisfying to Venomous in a way that heroics and solo villain ventures weren't. There's one scene in particular after Boxman and Venomous join forces for the first time and lose spectacularly. Both of them are smiling; it's joyous. Boxman was down and out without Boxmore, but building Fink's attack trike was a spark of hope that he can rebuild even if its from the ground-up. Venomous just lost his nice house and all of his current material possessions because Boxman blew everything up. But then Boxman turned around and presented the exact existential solution Venomous didn't know he needed by suggesting attacking the Plaza. It's the dinner party attack, but this time, Venomous was a full part of the planning phases. He gets to share in and fully experience the devil-may-care and more whimsical parts of being a villain he thought were long gone.
Venomous offers to buy out Boxmore and root out the shareholders. Finally, Boxman is free of one of the bigger obstacles between him and his all-time favorite venture. Not only does Boxman have free reign, but also the equal partner he so desperately desired; someone that's on his same wavelength and as invested in his kind of villainy as he is.
--
Another important dimension to Venomous' character is his destructive spiral as Shadowy Venomous. Finding that 'missing piece' in Boxman and Boxmore respectively isn't a magic solution. There's significant baggage in how much emphasis Venomous placed on his need for power. This was such a huge quest and chunk of his life that its difficult to give up on the idea entirely. Its similar to how some people spend so much time chasing after a specific job title or promotion that this elusive thing becomes an important part of what defines them or contributes to their sense of self worth. Venomous left Carol because of a gross misunderstanding that she saw him as weak. He was missing the value he assigned to super powers for so long that every new solution was always a band-aid or a stop gap.
Someone can find a thing or circumstances that significantly improves their life, but they need to see and recognize this psychologically too for it to be completely effective. In other words, Venomous needed to recognize the real-time changes and results from joining Boxmore, then figure out how to weigh those continued changes with his own self-discovery or improvement.
Boxman started improving on being a more proactive parent. Unfortunately, Venomous started getting lost in his own head and pulling away from his other responsibilities or general life. A change as big as a new partner, surroundings, and blended family would be enough to kickstart depression; especially because Venomous hadn't appropriately addressed why he needed this abstract concept of what it meant to be the 'most powerful being.' Success and self-actualization weren't included with the previous accolades he achieved as a villain. It wasn't obvious and forthcoming with Boxman either. The lack of introspection and vulnerable talks with Boxman or anyone else is exactly what led to the wind-up and eventual "I'll destroy everything if it means getting rid of the years of resentment and frustration."
--
Both Venomous and Boxman have some sort of adult trapped in the shitty corporate world element to their character writing. In a nutshell, Boxman struggles with the existential threat of losing who he is to one specific job he performs; Venomous finds villainy gratifying as more of a hobby or extracurricular activity vs a full-time job. He's successful at it but the version he's successful at is more of a distraction or a means to fill in a missing part of himself than true interest in his corporate role. Boxman's approach to villainy is considered juvenile and worthless. Venomous still loves villainy but he wants the freedom to have fun and go all-out without worrying about reputation or meeting the specific standards that comes with his current position.
In 2024, after the various rise of corporate buzzwords trying to guilt employees back to pre-pandemic work standards and inflation vs stagnant wages, there's new weight to the Boxman and Venomous character allegories respectively. These two are that success story of Boxman giving the middle finger to a crappy boss and Venomous making that leap of faith from an empty, soul-sucking job to the more wild, out of pocket thing. Venomous' ill-obtained funds becomes that treasured pile of "fuck you" money that so many people dream about having and using to take a risk on something personally, meaningfully valuable to them. Or just having a window of opportunity to enjoy life the way they want to without having to worry about bills and necessities.
More importantly though, while they describe themselves as business partners, it's two single, lonely men building a life and trying to healthfully blend their families together. Part of this life is making space for someone new that makes the other man want to work on becoming a better, more thoughtful person. Regardless of where a person sits in their job hunt or even at the height of personal achievement, the most important part is the support network they come home to or regularly interact with.
Thematically, Boxman and Venomous are the opposite side of the coin to the more straightforward found family K.O. builds and maintains. It's a reminder that no one has to be lonely. They can and will find someone that brings meaningful, valuable things to their life; someone that makes them want to change and grow. While this is about an explicitly romantic pair, the message applies whether that hypothetical person and relationship is romantic, platonic, or a new addition to a found family.
#voxman#ok ko voxman#ship analysis#ok ko let's be heroes#ok ko#ok ko professor venomous#ok ko lord boxman#character analysis#ship discussion#shipping analysis#shipping#the shipping corner#theromancescrooge#i'm back bitches
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An analysis of villainy in “OK KO.”
“OK KO, Let’s Be Heroes” has a ton of diverse heroes. But we don’t see much of the villains besides Boxman and occasionally Venomous. Why is that?
Honestly, I think it is because of POINT. Say what you want about them being jerk totalitarians, but Foxtail and her team gets the job done. And if you as much as look at their headquarter the wrong way, their security system will destroy you. So when Boxman directly attacks the world’s most powerful hero team, all the villains panic. Sure, that is a reasonable way to react in this situation... But wouldn’t the villains WANT to attack and destroy POINT? That’s kind of their deal, right?
Weeeell... It might have been. Once. But with POINT being basically a military unit instead of a simple superhero team, things have changed. Attacking the city with a robot programmed to specifically “destroy POINT” is a thing of the past. POINT is too powerful.
Whenever we see villains associate with Boxman whom they dislike for being a “joke villain who builds toy robots”, it is because they do business with him. And that’s what we see, the villains being businessmen. The villains did not give up as such, they just picked a new way of villainy, turning into evil businessmen instead of classic cartoon villains like Boxman. And it seems to work out great for them. They are rich and can have luxury parties on boats. Life is good if you are bad.
Or is it?
I would like to make a parallel to the comic book “Wanted” that is nothing like OK KO, especially because it is unnecessarily gruesome. In it, we see villains who lives the good life due to the fact that they hide in the shadows, rule the world behind the curtain and can do whatever they want without consequences as long as they stay hidden.
But not all the villains are happy about it. Mister Rictus(a Joker-like character, just more evil) represents the kind of villain who is in the supervillain business for the fun of it(after all, making a costume so everyone can recognize you is not the best approach to do crime). During a meeting where the five most important villains discuss their affairs, he says:
“Don't you miss seeing your name in all the morning papers? Didn't it tickle you knowing that you and you alone were giving the children sleepless nights? My great fear is that we've become too respectable, my fellow felons. The man on the street should piss his pants when he hears the letters in our name.”
Professor Venomous would probably say that Rictus has a point.
Venomous is a successful villain. So successful that he doesn’t need to do much. Whenever he wants money, all he has to do is call a congress-woman, tell her he has a doomsday device and then threaten to use it unless he get paid a ton of money. Then he does business with other villains, investing his money in their projects so he can make more money by simply waiting and so on.
So yeah... he is bored. That is the problem with success. You stop being satisfied. He is well-liked by his fellow villains, but he silently resent them for wanting to play it safe and he probably resent himself for letting them turn him into a boring business guy instead of an evil scientist who wrecks havoc.
But then there is Boxman. He is the classical anarchist bad guy who could probably be very successful if he really wanted to. But he instead wastes his time with petty acts of villainy for the sole purpose of destroying a plaza because it rubs him the wrong way.
But he is HAPPY. He has something to do besides getting rich without effort and nudging shoulders with other villains and brag about how successful they are.
Venomous grows to respect Boxman’s love for chaos and decides to become his business partner as well as assisting him in trying to destroy Lakewood Plaza Turbo. Because getting your hands dirty doing the bad deed is so much more satisfying than to be a business guy who answers emails all the fricking time.
So the philosophy of being evil in OK KO is that you have to pick. Either play it safe and become powerful... Or screw the world over and have fun while getting knocked over and having to get up again.
#professor venomous#voxmore#Lord Boxman#boxmore#ok ko#ok ko let's be heroes#oklbh#point#supervillain
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Congratulations ALEJANDRO! You’ve been accepted as PLANET X with a FC change to SANTIAGO CABRERA.
Alejandro, your application literally left me speechless. Seriously, I truly don’t know what to say other than this is everything I could have hoped for and more (like, a whole lot more) in an application for Andreas. There was genuinely a moment where I was bouncing between all the parts of the biography, wondering where it all connected, only to read the end and just have my jaw drop. Every sentence of this application oozed with such confident characterization of Andreas in the best way possible. I seriously can’t wait to see him destroy me and the rest of our mutants on the dash!
Welcome to Mutants Rising! Please read the checklist and submit your account within 24 hours.
Out of Character Information:
NAME/ALIAS: Alejandro
PRONOUNS: He + Him
AGE: 27.
TIMEZONE & ACTIVITY LEVEL: EST. I’ll be most often available during weekends, given the hectic nature of my profession + studies, with occasional popping up during week days.
In Character Information:
DESIRED ROLE: Andreas Guzmán, aka PLANET X.
GENDER/PRONOUNS: Cis man, he + him.
DETAILS & ANALYSIS:
He wants you to see him as aimless. He wants you to see him as erratic. Uncertain as the X within an unsolvable equation. It makes it harder to see him coming that way, and it’s always far more damaging if you don’t know from which direction he will strike. A chaotic, whimsical, elusive figure in Miami’s mutant underworld, he sees the advent of the Chicago gangs as an affront but also an opportunity, an influx of new blood and interesting faces – new pieces within his chessboard, even, if he plays his odds right. If he is not seen coming.
The truth is, Guzmán’s power resides in how little it is known of him and his true intentions. Much like the planet he named himself after, Nibiru, he’s closer to a fiction than a fact, closer to mythos than reality, and he favors it this way; he has crafted a grandiose image of himself that goes beyond the confines of his birth name, beyond the confines of mortality, beyond the essence of man, because he needs to be more. Guzmán sees himself as a force of nature, as entropy, as a wildcard, an unpredictability that threatens any semblance of order or peace, and he will only reveal the reasons for his actions once the fruits of his labor have long ripened. He learned since he was very young that knowledge was a very powerful tool, and that just knowing more than everyone else wasn’t enough – he needed to control the very flow of information too.
So he is unknowable (as far as something can be unknowable) and he is unreachable (unless he deems it necessary to appear otherwise, and he often does), his mind fixated on the ever-changing, ever-morphing fabric of the world he’s living in, while he oversees the building of the next one. Building? Yes, he’s building a world after the death of this world, where he and his kind thrive as gods, and they’re given their rightful place: below him, but above all else.
BIO:
Content warnings: violence, murder.
OPTION ONE. A young man born to privilege and Texas oil royalty, with too much time in his hands and little in the way of scruples. His life already outlined well before he was born, a project molded with his father’s forethought, his mother’s aloofness, and a nonstop, near repulsive stream of cash. He was to become something great, just as those before him. He was to fit himself into the grand scheme of the Guzman family’s empire: a chief executive, a politician, a diplomat, a lobbyist, a lawyer, someone with authority and the charisma to move millions toward edge of the precipice, if so he happened to need them there. But there came one issue: much as they tried, the young man did not fit perfectly within this carefully constructed plan. While brilliant without compare, his brain was racked with maladies. He’d grown impulsive and hard throughout his upbringing, and worse still: enamored by celebrity, unwilling to listen, and prone to bursts of temper that rivalled his dad’s. It was during one of those heated arguments they liked to have that Andreas Guzman’s mutation blossomed: a passing comment and a venomous will transmuted to a tattered pulse and an itch on his father’s left arm. What is the likelihood of Edgardo Guzman spontaneously developing heart failure? Slim. He took care of himself. He was young. He had no genetic background that reasonably explained this development. And yet, it happened, a freak accident, a tragedy the likes of which you only see in movies. Edgardo died in front of Andreas, and while there was no possible way to pin the death to him, Andreas was convinced he’d played a role. He only later came to learn how.
OPTION TWO. A talent for numbers. Unbridled curiosity. And a knack for finding the most efficient solution even if it wasn’t the standard solution – those were the ingredients that made Andreas. A professor of Math 55’s course with a textbook middle class past, he came into the profession wholly on the desire to understand his gift and the world and pass his knowledge onto others. And as for the gift itself: he seldom used it, fearing its unforeseeable outcomes, anxious about its untapped potential, which was so much greater than anything he knew and so destructive because of it. Others weren’t so careful, however: when his mutant status was revealed and his exact mutation was discovered through an undisclosed examination of the university’s faculty, he was “persuaded” into accepting a job within Intelligence. Reluctantly, he gave in, hoping to be of service. You see, back then, he was innocent, an optimist with unshakeable faith, as all good mathematicians are, and it was only after years of deadening work as an Special Analyst, and years of exploitation by the emotionless, relentless hands of the State that the Andreas you know was born. This Andreas that granted the United States of America many a victory overseas simply by tipping the scales in their favor. This Andrea that fell ships, killed spies, manipulated foreign policies – all within the comfort of the little box they’d built for him. That Andreas – well, one fateful night, he ended up disappearing from the face of the Earth. Changed his name (he wasn’t born Andreas, of course he wasn’t) and bits of his face and killed his old life and resurfaced years later with fire in his eyes and one simple goal: Chaos. Turmoil. To strike fear in the hearts of those that had previously filled him with it.
OPTION THREE. A career criminal and kingpin, he was born in the slums of Venezuela to Chilean immigrants and had little choice in the matter of his fate. The streets were his teachers, the lessons hitting in a flurry between ages eight and nineteen; first lesson: lying; second lesson: theft; third lesson: robbery; fourth lesson: assault; fifth lesson: murder. He graduated with honors at the top of his class, and he had a talent for leadership that made other kids want to follow him. The boy was just lucky, almost supernaturally so, managing to survive more than one ambush and hit, making him evade prison more than once. Well before knowing about his mutation, he’d been using it, pushing its limits. It wrapped him up in myth, made his subordinates think he had some kind of pact with the devil or dabbled in witchcraft, and it was just as well because it made them develop near-blind trust in him. Over the years he upsized his operation, made it encompass whole regions of Central and South America – by this point, he sought mostly other mutants, giving them food, shelter, safety and dreams to chase after right by his side. He called this horizontal organization El Panteón (The Pantheon), and named himself its central figure. Together, they put small and medium-sized governments at their heel and switched policies in their favor – or simply murdered the dignitaries publicly if they did not cooperate. And in neither case it was enough for Guzmán. These bloody endings were still only the beginning. Eventually, at the age of thirty three, he settled in America – Miami, to be precise, with plans to expand The Pantheon to this untapped territory and bring about the next step of his plan. By the age of 39, the Pantheon had a foothold in Miami.
OPTION FOUR. The reincarnation of an elder being. Sounds crazy, but Guzmán honestly believes it to be true. The whole background of it came in the shape of dreams during his youth at an orphanage. What else could explain his predicament? What could explain the migraines? The premonitions? The ability to change what seemed unchangeable? In his teenage years he took to books of mythology, history, cosmology, mathematics, theology, conspiracy. Things none of his teachers, all nuns, would approve of if they knew. He learned about the presumed origins of mutations, about aliens, about ancient races and old forgotten gods that were very different to the God he was familiar with, that didn’t make sense to him. And he came to the conclusion that he was one of them. That mutants, as a whole, were, but they’d forgotten; their history had been taken from them. And just like that, at the age of seventeen, the malignant seed within his brain had been planted. Every action to be taken afterwards was just the means to his end as the truth’s very emissary.
THE ANSWER. None of these options are true. All of these options are true. To what extent? That is the actual question, and the answer is that Guzman won’t tell you. He will tell you, but only the false parts. He will tell you, but only if it’s a mix of falsehood and truth. Unreliable without compare, and with an ambition sharp enough to cut through diamond, Guzman will stop at nothing to see his vision materialized. The only things you can have for certain is that he’s charming, playful, hungry, and unable to see a scenario where he does not come out on top.
EXPANDED CONNECTIONS:
RICHARD MALLORY.
When I think of Guzman and Richard, I think of the Nibiru cataclysm. If Guzman is Planet X and Richard is the Earth, it only makes sense to imagine a catastrophic collision between them sometime in the near future. To Guzman, Richard represents the status quo that he so abhors, a system that pretends to patch up a bullet hole with a Band-Aid and act as though it’s enough. Richard stands in the way of the destruction Guzman craves, and it just so happens that right now they have a similar objective, but for different reasons, so Guzman is willing to entertain a begrudging partnership.
On the character level, I see them as foils of one another. They’re both highly intelligent and even idealistic men (if you’re willing to accept that Guzman is idealistic, and not utterly nihilistic), but where Richard desires cohabitation (“peace, unity, amicability”), Guzman wants radical, violent change, and it’s simply not compatible with what Richard wants for Miami or mutantkind in general.
HANA MERCADO.
Hana is one of the mutants Guzman has kept tabs on for a little over a year now. In her, he sees ample potential. He sees power. He sees confidence. He sees someone worthy of the new world. He has employed her in the past for several of The Pantheon’s exploits, and he has been respectful of Hana’s wishes to remain an independent force. They’ve managed a friendly relationship out if it. However, with the arrival of the new gangs, Miami’s landscape is rapidly changing, and he knows it’s time for her make a choice. After all, the alternative to joining forces with him is to let the newcomers seize control of their city.
EXTRA:
ON THE TOPIC OF:
HIS NAME: Much speculation has been given to whether Andreas Guzman was born Andreas Guzman or not, and he’s not about to tell you the answer. But he, in fact, prefers if you would call him X, since that is how he’s known by much of the underworld in Florida. Friends and family and enemies call him Guzman. Nobody calls him Andreas, unless they want to displease him.
THE PANTHEON: Guzman’s organization, comprised entirely of mutants at this point in time. As it was mentioned above, unlike a pyramidal structure where Guzman reigns on top, it’s more of a flat, loose entity, closer to a cartel. He’s still in charge, but outside of his direct orders, it acts mostly independently under the direction of several sub bosses. It wields its most influence in South America and Mexico, with a centralized focus in Florida right now. Allegedly responsible for an outrageous number of assassinations, arsons, and massacres, they have been labeled as an anti-human, pro-mutant terrorist group by the FBI. It’s not widely known that Guzman is responsible for its inception and much of their work, and given his elusive nature, they don’t even know what he looks like.
HIS POWER: Guzman’s mutation is very powerful, yes, but it’s also incredibly difficult to work with and, if he’s not careful, it can be world-breaking. Years of trial and error have allowed him to hone his craft, but the carefulness still remains – it has to. It’s not just luck and likelihood, it’s also how they present themselves. Like a genie and its three wishes, he has to be precise about what he wants to occur, and plan for contingencies in case something gets out of control. On the other hand, it’s a very nifty tool for general mischief-making. He can let loose from time to time and probability meltdowns will take place: glass will shatter, tremors will shake the earth, and cars will crash. Sometimes they will happen without his input, this because the power has a direct connection with his mental status. It’s not pretty to be able to see the probabilities of everything and the millions of path you can possibly take. As such, on the worst days, he’s prone to nightmares, migraines, hallucinations, nosebleeds. He hides all this very well, but sometimes they can be debilitating. He self-medicates.
NARRATION: Guzman is an unreliable narrator. He’s plagued with delusions of grandeur, as a byproduct of his mutation, and many things he says will simply not be true. He knows how to lie. He knows what to say in order to get what he wants. But also, he genuinely believes things that have no grounding in reality. The idea, ultimately, is a gradual revelation of the aspects and bits that are true for Guzman – whenever the interaction allows it.
RIGHT NOW: The most succinct way to put what Guzman does for a living is: he’s a crime boss. He pushes drugs and weapons in and out of America. He also makes money using his mutation (he’s won the lottery a few times, won multiple sports bets, card games with six figure pots – through frontmen, naturally). He uses this money to keep tight control of Miami and fund his many projects.
MISC: sangrelobo.tumblr.com | mockup blog for the man himself.
ANYTHING ELSE: faceclaim changed to Santiago Cabrera.
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Comparing KO’s (OK KO) Character Arc to Cassandra’s (TTS)
Ok THIS^ actually bothers me and I really hope it’s a shit-post. Sorry, @astratic, but you have inadvertently signed up for some Character Analysis.
Let’s establish one critical difference between Cassandra and KO before we really dig into this shall we?
Cassandra is a fully developed, fully functional adult roughly in her early to mid twenties.
KO is a CHILD, who’s age is literally 6-11, though fans typically agree that he acts in the 8-9 range. Additionally, he is commonly head cannoned to be on the Autistic Scale and/or ADHD.
Because of this, their decisions and actions need to be seen through different lenses.
Point 1: work tirelessly to become a hero like [parent] who you idolize
KO:
This statement perfectly depicts KO’s goals. KO strives to be a hero in order to help people to the best of his abilities. He hates being useless and powerless to help his friends, so he trains to be a better hero and works through his struggles with their help. He lives to be like his mommy and his father-figure. I mean, look at him when Gar praises KO and tells him how proud he is of him.
Cassandra:
Cassandra’s goals are different. She wants to be a guard at the end of the day for glory. She wants people to see and acknowledge her abilities and strength and admire her for it.
Yes, making her dad proud is a benefit of that, but that is NOT her driving motivation.
Point 2: Become discourage by lack of progress and hindrance by social status
KO:
Social status was NEVER KO’s problem. His stalling in progress, as I mentioned in another post, was a mental block. He couldn’t tap into his power He came from lower middle, working class family with a single mom.
Cassandra:
Social Status was her problem, but only up until the 1st season finale where she was placed as Captain of the Guard.
She had regular progress in getting more time and respect as a royal guard. The fact that She CHOSE to leave that behind in order to follow her crush on some half-baked, unplanned road trip is only the fault of her own. She threw out the chance she had been waiting for for her entire life to follow Rapunzel.
And than was given numerous opportunities through out the trip to leave and pursue other goals.
Point 3. Be Mentally Ill
Okay, first OP, you could phrased that WAY better.
Secondly, the mental struggles our characters face are completely different and largely incomparable so to group the two is insulting to both characters.
KO:
Disassociative Identity Disorder (or multiple personality disorder)
Possible Undiagnosed Autism and or ADHD
KO develops Disassociative Identity Disorder, due to his frustration at lack of progress, the manipulation of Shadowy figure, and his bottling up of negative emotions. KO is mostly unaware of what happens when TKO is in charge and vice-versa. It took the two a long time to figure out how to work together and eventually merge back into one personality.
He also demonstrates some traits typically associated with Autism and ADHD, though some of those could be on account of his age. It is a common head cannon amongst fans that his either and sometimes both.
Cassandra:
Cassandra doesn’t have to deal with any mental illness until the season 3 finale where it can be gleamed that she’s working through depression if you squint at it.
Yes, there is the Blueberry Ghost, but she was never a result of Cass’ mental state so much as her being host to the Moon Stone.
Her struggles lie in reigning in her anger and her pride so that she can see problems from unbiased perspectives and apologize for her actions. And that is left still unresolved by the time the finale comes around.
Point 4. find out long lost parent is actually horrifically villainous and have a whole crisis about it.
Perhaps, we need a little reminder here before I dig into this one:
KO is a child figuring himself out and Cassandra is an adult figuring out what she wants in life.
KO:
KO had been struggling with his darker side for quite some time before he asked his Mom about who exactly his dad was.
This was something the show had demonstrated time after time that bothered KO, not knowing who his dad was.
So he finds out his dad was this big time hero, and gets reassurance from that fact that he comes from great heroes, so he too can be a hero. Only for that to be immediately tossed out the window when it’s revealed that the only person he hates in the entire world, the person he dubs as the truly evil villain, is actually his father.
His whole world is not only shook to its core, but his self-confidence as well. Laserblast was a great hero who turned villain; what does that mean for a hero-in-training whose already struggling with that darker side.
Praise Carol for not killing PV on the spot.
Additionally, PV didn’t actually know KO even existed until a few months before this incident, and wasn’t even sure if KO was his kid (KO does coincidentally share a lot of Physical attributes to Gar) until KO came busting in, wearing Laserblast’s helmet and bragging about how his dad was a great hero.
So when they attempted to have that father-son relationship, it was as awkward and strained as it should have been. (I’ll get to the OK KO Finale in just a minute)
Cassandra:
Cass could have cared less as to whom her real parents were. She had her dad. She had her goals. She had her job. Who her parents were and why they dumped her on the Captain was irrelevant to her life.
She didn’t care until Season 3, and that whole season was OOC for everybody,
Even then, it wasn’t so much as a crisis so much as an excuse to use to fight Rapunzel. It didn’t matter that Gothel was her mother, it mattered that Gothel picked the Sundrop over her. Which in all honesty was the best thing that could have happened to Cass.
Her “crisis” revolved around a dead woman’s shattered legacy more than her mother.
Point 5: Fall under the influence of said Villainous parental figure
KO TKO: (again, a CHILD)
TKO was used and manipulated into letting his darker side show by Professor Venomous/ Shadowy Figure, (this is my opinion), in order to actually have something they could relate to eachother on.
Yes, Shadowy Venomous saw TKO as more of his tool for power, but you can’t deny that he wasn’t motivated to have his son by his side.
Additionally, KO had at this point literally locked away a part of himself because he didn’t have the tools to deal TKO with this mentally or emotionally. So he responded the best way he could and pushed the problem down so he and others wouldn’t have to keep cleaning up TKO’s messes.
KO was in desperate need for someone to understand how he was and how to help him.
And guess who was there.
Cassandra: (again, an ADULT)
Cass was never led on by Gothel, she was led on by Zhan Tiri.
Cass was delusioned that the moonstone was hers by Zhan Tiri just as much as Rapunzel was delusioned into thinking stopping the moonstone was her destiny by Demanitus.
However, Zhan Tiri really didn’t make Cass do anything, she never pushed her past the breaking point, she never forced her to do anything.
Baked Ziti only prompted Cass, reminding her what she was angry at.
Cass was perfectly capable of ignoring her and doing her own thing.
Point 6: suddenly and dramatically betray everyone you love even as they plead with you to stop. Become convinced they all hate you except for [villainous parental figure] who is actually just manipulating you to gain power.
This point is actually a very good description of what happened to both, given different contexts. Again, remember that KO is a child who is significantly more easily influenced than Cass should have been.
(Note: again, Zhan Tiri’s not her Parental figure and neither was Gothel)
Point 7: ruin everything and destroy your home
KO TKO:
His destructive rampage was motivated by the betrayal of the one person he believed to understand and support him entirely. He was literally grabbed by the shirt, lifted in the air, told he was nothing more than a tool at best, and that the plan to conquest together had been a lie.
Wonder where I’ve seen THAT BEFORE?
(Sorry about the low photo Quality, I quickly search and screen shotted so)
(yes it’s this scene that made me think Mad Ben and TKO would get along)
Cassandra:
Which betrayal are we talking about? Because both involve trained guards rightfully attacking Cass for injuring the crown royalty and wrecking the castle.
Point 8/9: snap out of it at the last second and be horrified at what you've wrought/ the world is fixed by an incredible magic. Reconcile with your loved ones. Flourish
KO:
This is accurate.
But KO didn’t have to lose his power to see how bad he messed up. He was actually at the top of his game. He probably could have taken out the President of the Universe if he really wanted to. Instead he begged for everything to get fixed, and wished that EVERYONE (even Professor Venomous) could live their best lives.
Cassandra:
She was only repentent AFTER she lost her power. Even then, she does not apologize for her actions but rather the circumstances and ONLY to Rapunzel herself. She does not care that she caused a world catastrophe, and still wouldn’t have had she won.
With how it was executed, Cass did NOT deserve such an easy redemption. She should have had to work at it. She should have at least attempted to apologize to the people whose lives she ruined. To the people she’s hurt. Not just Rapunzel. Rapunzel has no right to forgive her in place of everyone else.
Eugene should not have to forgive her.
Varian should not have to forgive her.
The Brotherhood honestly deserves to fight her in combat.
She should not have been able to ride off into the sunset and avoid the consequences of her actions.
BUT I digress.
IN SUMMARY:
KO and Cass, while they share some similarities, do NOT have the same Character Arc. At all.
Sincerely,
TheAngryComet
#I was enraged when I read this#Ok KO Let's be Heroes#OK KO#KO#TKO#MKO#Kaio Kincaid#Professor Venomous#Shadowy Figure#LaserBlast#Shadowy Venomous#Mr.Gar#Gar#Eugene Garcia#El Bow#Carol Kincaid#Silver Sparks#Carol Garcia#Tangled the Series#TTS#Rapunzel#Cassandra#Moon!Cass#Moon Cassandra#Lightly Salted#Erm..#okay more than a little#Salty#Salt#Character Analysis
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Oscar Pine &The Little Prince (Analysis pt. 2: the snake)
I was planning on including this in my original analysis post, but ultimately decided against it due to the length of that post and the fact that this part of my theory is more speculation than drawing parallels. (As a side note, all of my rwby analysis posts are tagged 'kira overanalyzes rwby' )
I've established in my previous post how I think Oscar and Ozpin's story relates to/parallels The Little Prince. Here are my thoughts on the snake, and how the ending of The Little Prince might tie in to RWBY
At the end of The Little Prince, the Prince speaks with a venomous snake, asking it to bite him so he might return home to his Rose. It is true that many characters in RWBY (especially Tyrion, due to having his own poison) could represent the snake.
But I think that pondering who might be the RWBY equivalent of the snake isn't really asking the right question.
The Prince only seeks the help of the snake because something is keeping him from returning to his Rose. In the Prince's case, it is his own body ("I can't take this body with me. It's too heavy."). What if, in Oscar's case, it isn't his body in the way, but the second soul sharing his body: Ozpin?
I find it very interesting that, in the book, the Prince never actually refers to it as dying. In fact, he even denies that he'll be dying, telling the pilot "I'll look as if I'm dead, and that won't be true..." And later, the Pilot concludes that the Prince did not die, because he did not find his body. I don't believe Oscar will die, regardless of whether or not this theory pans out. But these elements in the story of The Little Prince seem to indicate that despite his parallels to the story, Oscar isn't in mortal danger.
It is implied in the story that, one way or another, the Prince overcame his obstacles and rejoined his Rose.
Ozpin sharing a body with Oscar, having been an older professor (and also with his dedication to his mission), makes it difficult for Oscar to form any type of relationship with Ruby. It would certainly make a romantic relationship troublesome, for obvious reasons. It seems likely that Ozpin could be the obstacle keeping Oscar from Ruby, like the Prince's body keeping him from his Rose. In fact, Ozpin seems to be an obstacle in general. Oscar has repeatedly expressed negative emotions towards becoming one with Ozpin and losing his individuality. So, could that obstacle be overcome in the future?
Once his mission is complete, could Ozpin possibly die and leave his last incarnation (Oscar) behind to live his own life? Or could the two be separated at some point, again giving Oscar back his individuality?
Another line near the end of The Little Prince stood out to me. When the Prince is trying to convince the Pilot not to come with him when he goes to see the snake, he initially worries that the snake will kill the Pilot. But eventually, he concedes and allows him to come, saying "It's true they don't have enough poison for a second bite..." Now admittedly, this is a stretch, but when applied to the context of RWBY, that line seems to somewhat support a theory of one soul within the body dying/leaving without the other. While in The Little Prince, it is obviously referring to 2 separate people, but could the same concept apply to 2 separate souls? (And, as an aside, what would happen to Oscar should his body die before he integrates with Ozpin?)
Overall, I think that it is possible that should the snake parallel events in RWBY, that Ozpin will be the one to fall, allowing Oscar to be with his Rose. These parallels, plus Oscar's desire to retain his Oscar-ness and not simply become one of Ozpin's lives, leads me to hope think that maybe Oscar can have his own life eventually, separate from Ozpin.
(As with my other posts on the subject, this is all mere speculation, for the fun of theorizing.)
#rwby#oscar pine#ozpin#ruby rose#rwby theory#rwby analysis#rwby6#rwby6 spoiler#the little prince theory#kira overanalyzes rwby
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