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#would be a lot more interesting if said character wasn't an ex cop
berrymeter · 2 years
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god this game lying down for three thousand years shaking everyone around me at the same time some of it was so clunky but also SOME OF IT WAS SO GOOD & I LOVE THE CHARACTERS ABRBRBRBHRHHBAHRHABRHR biting killing & maiming VIDEOGAMES!!!!!!! even if it kinda had both persona & ace attorney syndrome (derogatory) (first one is :| writing in the “doctor patient relationship with an Age Gap” way second one is “comic relief” character who just can’t be allowed around women but is otherwise good somehow) it was rlly fun & the combat mechanics are so fun & ooobh... the twist with the main antagonist... wough
#perth.txt#ive witnessed two game endings today & both pulverised me#the other one was b.ugsnax (i have some issues w the game but ik i can be... idk annoying)#this one is c.alig.ula e.ffe.ct 2#if someone wants to play it fair warning the dialogue .#also some subjects are not handled well. like. genuinely#imo both kobato & shota got fucked over by the writers' worldview#in my mental rewriting kobato is not Like This & shota's just a guy w a vigilantism problem#making him an ex cop defeats the entire like.. purpose. unless the purpose is redeeming cops#uhhh kranke & doktor are also... shit#there's also a side quest w a bunch of npcs that is just very uncomfortable#but yeah someone killing a person on accident while trying to save someone they were threatening & feeling intense remorse over it#would be a lot more interesting if said character wasn't an ex cop#like that makes sense right?? i'm not being nonsensical right?#it just feels like they're trying to pin the issue of cops committing murders on 'bad cops' while... also excusing it? cuz it's 'necessary'#& he was 'doing the right thing' by not obeying the law... ok copaganda awfully suspicious of u to frame it like that#idk if ur gonna make a character w that exact premise if u REALLY wanna keep the premise just make them not a cop#if his problem is doing things on impulse him being a cop or a vigilante doesn't matter bc he'll do things either way#it's just that one of them is copaganda & the other is not#& the writing would still have to be refined then but at least it wouldn't be this#my thoughts are all jumbled bc sleep deprived & idk how to explain well but... gah
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thegrimreaperisanerd · 2 months
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hii i have a maybe somewhat difficult question:
how do you go about writing all of the police/detective stuff? I have no knowledge at all about that except having played the game a few times and watching bbc sherlock back when that was a thing.
I have so many cool kimharry things in my mind that i need to get on paper but i don't know how to involve all the cop stuff in a natural way because i don't know anything about it and don't want it to be too wildly incorrect.
so yeah.. how do you even learn the things for this?
thank you so much i love your work
Quite a difficult question I won't lie...... But I've answered at length so it's going under a readmore
This isn't my favourite thing to discuss online as it can trigger my psychosis, but I have an actual dismaying amount of experience with cops. I don't want to talk about it but... Bit like Cuno I suppose. Good ending for that kid is doing public services training ages 14 - 16, and going "oh this is shit actually" once he's got an out from his abusive parent, then working at a restaurant
I quite literally cannot go into detail - so don't ask because I WILL delete this post - but an ex military police officer told us a "funny story" about a "prank" he played on some kids in an occupied location during the late 80s that I recognised as psychological torture, but made my peers laugh. So I decided to become a faggot and poet instead.
~NOW FOR THE FUN ADVICE THAT IS ACTUALLY OF USE TO YOU!
Research:
Honestly, the amount of time I spend looking up stuff for writing is probably more than the time I spend writing. The internet's being fucked by SEO but it's a start. Like... There's plenty of info out there written on the police and their role in systematic oppression, I'm pretty sure there's free PDFs floating around on Tumblr actually...
If it's more "day in the life" I honestly don't know. Maybe reddit or if there's one of those "Ex-[blank} reviews [blank] in movies" videos on Youtube for cops, but obviously take everything said with a pinch of salt.
FAYDE:
Fayde is the best tool at your disposal. We bully Kim a lot for his dedication to the RCM but that makes finding out info pretty easy. EDC too! I've never played with high EDC so just typing in key words (especially names of other officers to try and get character info) and scrolling through is helpful.
Good keywords are "precinct", "RCM", "Militicia" as they'll bring up opinions/ info from other characters.
The RCM is not a traditional police force:
I would worry less about accuracy and more about being interesting. It doesn't need to be a perfect representation of police work since the canon makes a point of there being a distinction in the powers and roles of the RCM. Go listen to the collapsing tenement cut content. You don't need to write about them filling in forms if it's not relevant. It'll show in your writing if you're unsure/ bored.
Make them worse:
If you're going to write one of the officers doing something shitty (yes, that includes Kim and Harry) but worry that you've gone too far then I promise you haven't. Dickheads are drawn to positions of power and the impunity it gives them. There's a reason I wrote one of the 57's officers as a groomer.
Make them less competent:
Don't trust the police, but also don't expect anything of them.
As recently as Monday I had to call for the fire brigade because a lit (thankfully poorly made) petrol bomb had been left under a neighbour's car (I live an irritatingly interesting life for somebody who lives in the middle of fucking nowhere) nobody was harmed. Cop came to find me afterwards to get an interview from me since I'd spotted it and he told me, I kid you not, "Yeah, we're not gonna do anything unless anything else happens." Like, I expected as much but I wasn't expecting him to up and fucking say that. You're welcome for 85% of my council tax, you fucking moron.
Harry's a special case because he's, like, psychic and got "maybe if I solve *THIS* one my wife will let me sleep in the big bed" disorder, and nobody wants to read a case fic that they... don't solve (or do they..? *winks*) But if you care about realism you need dick-in-hand dipshits. Another favourite quote of mine from an officer two years back; "Is 'right wing' the good one or the bad one?" So the advice here is you're writing a cop well if you're reading it and thinking: holy shit please just go work at a TESCOs instead.
Don't worry so much:
You should write, first and foremost, for yourself. I like detective fiction, I have wasted an unfortunate amount of my life dealing with police due to my job and shit childhood. (I did originally write far more about this, but frankly it's better for myself if I don't bother. That's why it's taken me five days to answer this)
I've read/ watched a lot of detective fiction and I'm always more drawn to stuff that is less based in police work. Private investigators, investigative journalists, kid detectives like Nancy Drew, ect.
In particular my favourite book, perhaps of all time, is called Hideaway by Dean Koontz and is two fathers (one: the killer's father - a talented doctor who brought his shithead son back to life - and another, the doctor's most recent patient to be brought back from the brink who has developed a psychic link with the killer as a result) trying to stop him, but never actually meeting! It's one hell of a read if you need inspo.
Val McDermott is a good author for crime writing with less police input, too. She has a book called Killing The Shadows which is excellent. The Killer's motive is taking out crime writers who've romanticised psychological profilers after he was wrongly convicted. Fair enough! Until he starts... Killing about it? Sort of defeats the message... Anyway, what's fun about this book is that before each crime writer is killed (in the same way they wrote THEIR killers killing!! Love that) you get to read the first chapter of each writer's most famous work. So you are essentially getting six crime books in one (first chapter of at least) ...Also the main character's husband is a crime writer called Kit, which I've only remembered just double checking the book name now. Lol???
...This is just turning into me recommending books.
TLDR: write what you know, write what is fun, ACAB, don't even worry about it
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Rambling time again, been thinking about HSS again and how it's much better at slow-burn type romances than most modern Choices books. You have a variety of LIs, and while each of them can come off as somewhat "closed off" they do so in vastly different ways.
Emma is a shy wallflower who has bad luck with crushes and also struggles with her parents' divorce.
Maria is serious and stern and focused on her leadership work, overworked as she's striving for the top.
Aiden (my precious baby) is socially awkward, reserved, focused on his music and not making much time for else, and afraid of failure.
Michael (also my beloved) is aloof and more cautious about forming close relationships due to his experiences with being bullied in past schools, afraid of letting people down.
Caleb is more friendly and open but is dealing with being cheated on by his ex gf and betrayed by his childhood best friend (TNA take notes btw).
Like you just have this variety of characters who have different contexts for taking time to warm up to you. Sure, there are some similar characteristics (Emma and Aiden both being shy, Maria and Aiden both being overworked and afraid of failure), but their overall characterizations are fleshed out well and are different enough that I can distinguish them as different characters. And the MC is also really flexible, allowing us to interpret these romance dynamics however we see fit. That, and the series being 3 books long, really helps the relationship feel authentic and earned and naturally-developed.
Most modern Choices books- TNA, SB, Surrender even books I enjoyed like TPA, SW, and TCH- they just rely on the same formula of eccentric/flirty MC and broody emotionally-distant LI. COP switches it up a little with LI being the eccentric flirty one and MC being the broody one, I do like TPA MC being a little more suave James Bond-ish in nature, and TCH wasn't overly horny, but that's about it.
Not helping is the fact that these are almost all single LI books, you'd think PB making only one LI per book all the time would make it easier for them to have more variety in these LIs, but no.
HSS also has an advantage most modern books don’t: it had a very near and dear place to most (possibly all) of the staff’s hearts because the original app was a project many of them had worked on. Obviously they cared about it and they cared about the Choices series enough to try hard to do it justice.
The love interests in HSS are fleshed out as you said. The issue with most modern love interests is that for the most part, they’re very one-dimensional and don’t give us much motivation or desire to explore their routes and get to know them better.
And yeah, it sure doesn’t help that a lot of books these days are single love interest books. So unfortunately, if you don’t like the single love interest in a book? Tough luck, buddy. You probably won’t like the book itself either.
I do hope they’ll get better because 2022 was a very rough year.
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julianxpark · 24 days
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[cis male and he/him] Welcome to Aurora Bay, [JULIAN PARK]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [JUSTIN H MIN]. You must be the [THIRTY FOUR] year old [UNEMPLOYED]. Word is you’re [OPTIMISTIC] but can also be a bit [PASSIVE] and your favorite song is [KOOL AID BY ROYEL OTIS]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [SEABROOK QUARTER]. I’m sure you’ll love it!
INFORMATION:
fullname. julian park (줄리안 파크)
nicknames. none.
gender. cis male
pronouns. he / him
d.o.b. august 16th, 1990 | ( 34 years old )
astrology. leo ☀ cancer ☾  aries ↑
birth place. san diego, california.
hometown. san diego, california.
current residence. aurora bay, california. ( @aurorabayaesthetic​ )
occupation. unemployed / ex-actor.
religion. buddist.
tattoos. matching tattoo with cast mates.
piercings. none.
marital status. single.
sexual preference. pansexual.
family. ha-won park ( mother ), joon park ( father ), simon park ( stepfather ) , half-sister (WC).
children. none.
CHARACTER INSPO:
shane mccarthy ( will they or won't they by ava wilder ), smith jarrett ( sex and the city ), rick dalton ( once upon a time in hollywood ), vince chase ( entourage ).
PERSONALITY:
+ optimistic, friendly, talented. - passive, directionless, self-deprecating.
BIOGRAPHY:
Julian Park had never wanted to be an actor. That's what he has always said, the many times he's been interviewed over the years. When he was discovered at the ripe old age of 23, the ex-waiter would have had no idea what his life would become. All he ever wanted was to make good tips and get stoned with his friends, that was why he moved from San Diego to Los Angeles after all. That was why he was working as a waiter in the Bestia, an up-and-coming italian restaurant that attracted a lot of the Hollywood crowd. Julian had always enjoys schmoozing, knowing what people wanted to hear was his secret talent and it paid off in the hospitality industry. It wasn't until he was serving Roman Schultz, a network showrunner - that Julian realised that maybe there was more to life than charming your way into getting bigger tips.
When he was invited to audition for the lead in a paranormal drama aimed at teenagers, Julian nearly didn't bother showing up. What did he know about acting? Other than pretending to be interested in the random conversations with regulars and saying he was going to call a few one-night stands when he never had any intention of doing so, he had no experience with it. But as he read the lines aloud to a panel of producers and casting directors, Julian could feel himself become someone else. He became Harrison Chu. A ghost who haunted his love interest, a rookie cop, into solving his own murder.
And he would continue being Harrison Chu for the next ten years.
Off the back of the Twilight craze, the supernatural dramas were still on the rise but vampires were so done. The network said it was all about ghosts now. Throw in a 'will they or won't they' love dynamic between Julian and his co-star and it was a hit! The chemistry between the two leads was so intense that people often speculated that they were together in real life, although the two never confirmed it. The network would milk that tension for the better part of a decade.
The Hunt would air for nine seasons, from 2013 until the spring of 2023, when ratings had dropped far too low for the network to continue. Upon hearing that their ninth season would be their last, most of the cast and crew were relieved. All plot lines were exhausted to the point where it was borderline ridiculous. While they were like family, most of the cast were looking for other projects, wanting to grow as actors. But for Julian.. he'd only ever played Harrison. Shooting in Vancouver for ninth months of the year didn't leave much time for anything else, in between press tours, promo shoots and the convention circuit. The Hunt was the only experience he'd ever had in the film and television industry, and while it had made him rich and semi-famous in some circles, it didn't necessarily translate into range.
As things were finishing up on the show, Julian's agent kept pushing for audition after audition. Eventually, he did try out for a small indie movie with a well-known actor attached to make their directorial debut. It had Oscar bait written all over it and it generated a lot of buzz, but for all the wrong reasons. Critics said it was pretentious, the dialogue was stilted. And while Redditors online were lenient on Julian's acting, it did not bode well for his chances of launching into bigger budget films.
Thankfully, Julian wasn't the type to take things too personally and it wasn't as if he was necessarily needing a job right away. He had nine seasons of residuals and a dedicated fanbase, but away from the spotlight, he felt adrift once again. Life had been so easy on set, with a strict schedule and places to be. While it was exhausting, at least it was something to do. Since studios weren't necessarily banging down his door and his agent kept forgetting to return his calls, Julian started looking for inspiration elsewhere.
An interest in surfing is what had originally brought him to Aurora Bay. The perfect waves that lapped at the shore was the perfect reset from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood life, but it was still close enough if he did ever want to go back and throw his hat into the ring again. And while he may have no plan lined up for his future, he's in the perfect place to rediscover who he really is behind the lens.
POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS:
coming soon!
CURRENT CONNECTIONS:
roommates with @robinsantos and @ziggykyeons
close friends with @tillycai
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anastacialy · 1 year
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finished wednesday on netflix tonight, so queued gifsets incoming. gonna look sort of hilarious next to all my festive posting, lmao. so be sure to block the tag if you're not interested, and if you are interested in an avid addams family (both the 90's movies and the television show) enjoyer's thoughts, i have a few very-spoilery opinions below the cut!
first of all, i liked it. it wasn't perfect, of course, but i enjoyed it!
it was wild to me to see there were a few people saying it was too violent? i know it used to be cartoon violence, or only reverences to violence, but i felt they delivered fairly well on that front. i was shocked to read some people took the piranha in a swimming pool bit seriously due to the fact that it was piranha... in a swimming pool. i laughed.
on the side of "the addams don't like murder enough" i definitely felt that. there was a slight toothlessness to them that i didn't love, but i do understand the reasoning behind it. by changing genre, it means there have to be stakes, there has to be some sort of line drawn between what is acceptable and what isn't. they did play with this a bit, too, when gomez was accused of murder and morticia said she had never loved him more, that was great. but y'know, the whole proving of their innocence thing was kinda meh. another post pointed out, morticia and gomez probably would have enjoyed that situation a bit more than they were portrayed to, based on theur prior characterizations. but again, i get it in theory. if your big bad guy is a murderer, then having your whole cast be murderers is a little harder to navigate. they took the easy route of "murder fun and interesting in theory, less fun and interesting in practice."
i was a little dissapointed by bianca's screentime, since i feel she deserved more of it. as a lot of people have also pointed out, (though i must clarify i am white, so take my opinion on this matter with a grain of salt) it was a little iffy having several "antagonists" be black, though i did genuinely like all of their characters, and obviously they all became not-antagonists by the end of things. it does also rub me the wrong way that there's a tendency to cast black men as (in this case ex-)cops, and that line from morticia to the mayor felt really tonedeaf, especially without any rebuttal. but again, my opinion on this matter isn't backed up by first-hand experiences, so take it or leave it.
i loved the dynamic between enid and wednesday. i mean, how could you not? i liked wednesday with bianca too, but in terms of shipping i do understand why people are leaning toward enid/wednesday. they got more screentime together, enid's inability to wolf out was the least subtle allegory for queerness i've ever seen, and that hug? hello? more romantic than any interaction with the love triangle guys by far. bianca and wednesday did get some great moments together, though, and again i wish they'd had more time to interact directly.
i have more thoughts but i'm having some trouble articulating them, so i might reblog this with some additions later when i'm more coherent. i love to hear more about what other people thought, though, so i'm excited to keep creeping in the tags tomorrow!
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thebreakfastgenie · 2 years
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josh/donna
I love Josh/Donna but I also hate Josh/Donna.
I think it's a great ship with excellent chemistry, but it's so dominant ind fandom I get annoyed about it. I don't have this problem with it in the show. When I rewatched the show after my years long hiatus I was surprised how much I actually loved Josh/Donna, because I had forgotten. I also can't relate to people who only watch the show for Josh/Donna because as much as I love them, the romance is not enough to keep me interested for 7 seasons without everything else going on.
Canon Josh/Donna is better than fanon Josh/Donna. That being said, canon Josh/Donna isn't perfect. It's a very well-constructed slowburn for the first 4 seasons, and then they probably should have gotten together. If not then, it should really have happened in season 6, but it didn't. I hate their "breakup" arc in season 6. I don't think it's true to the characters and I think it does a disservice of how much they mean to each other as friends and how much they've been through together. Having them not be on speaking terms for most of the primary campaign is a cop-out; having them actually have to navigate being on opposing campaigns while being in each others' lives would be way more interesting.
I also think Donna is kind of full of shit in season 6 but the show validates her and makes Josh the villain for the sake of girlbossing her, which is ultimately damaging to their dynamic. I wish there wasn't so much tension between them in season 7 because it makes them ultimately getting together a little less satisfying. We don't get to see the culmination of the first 5 seasons because that dynamic gets unmade and doesn't really get fixed before they get together.
That being said, they have a perfect first kiss and I would change nothing. What I don't like is the awkward "sleeping together but don't know if it's more" period. I don't think that fits them. I also don't like the way it's framed as Josh being scared to commit and Donna having it together. I can rationalize it but I know what the intent was and the intent is not great writing for them. It doesn't help that by that point I'm a lot less invested in the ship because Donna has become almost unrecognizable.
I'm also negatively bothered by the age different and power imbalance. If they were real people their jobs would be an issue, but not an insurmountable one (get reassigned!) and as they're presented in the show, we see what their interpersonal dynamic is and it's not one where Josh acts like he has power over her, it rarely seems to occur to him that he does. Also I think it's hilarious that when they finally do get together he's her boss again, and while he's not her direct supervisor he is in a position to decide whether she has a place in the transition/Santos Administration if they win. I think the writers knew that and gave her the FLOTUS job as a deus ex machina. Also, Josh and Donna dating during the Bartlet Administration would not have been a scandal. Josh isn't married, no one cares if he dates his assistant.
Ultimately with Josh and Donna I prefer to enjoy their earlier seasons dynamic and a post-series that is basically a return to that but in an actual relationship. And boy do I love that!! It's also a nice example of seeing the actors' chemistry and finding an unplanned but interesting romance.
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waterspoutskies · 2 years
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21, 27, 28 and 40! 27 is short so I hope 4 aren't too much lol
Four asks is fine~
21. Is there an idea you’ve always wanted to write, but haven’t yet?
Hmmmmmmmm. I will answer this in two parts, I think?
As far as fanfic goes, I simply haven't had time to entertain a lot of smaller stories and one-shots and headcanons- I try to roll those into my existing stories, though! Bit of a cop out answer but I can't think of much specific off the top of my head.
But for my original stories, I've been fighting in off an on spurts for a couple of years now to make progress on some kind of musical. I'd love to write books of musicals on Broadway. I have a couple that haven't really gotten off the ground, Curtain Call and Hurricane, I'd love to do some more work on something like that.
27. What time of day do you prefer to write?
I have three set times for when I'm guaranteed the desire to write.
1. In the morning after I run and have breakfast. I do have to temper this though, as this is generally my most productive time of the entire day and I need to use it for other stuff as well!
2. During class. If I'm attending class, unless it's absolutely holding all of my attention favorite subject, I'm writing something. Helps keep my hands busy, and I find I listen better when I'm not distracted looking everywhere! It kinda accomplishes the same feeling as the writing down notes, tricking my brain into memorizing better.
3. I take a sleeping med, which means once I've gotten it I've got max 45 minutes until I'm just done for for the night. So when I get ready for bed, I always spend time writing- Either on red-shift device or on paper. This half asleep writing often produces some of my best random moments and dialogue beats. No, I don't know how I can do this.
28. Is there a part of [Fanfic Name] you’re surprised no one has picked up on yet?
Yes definitely. [Fanfic Name] is really interesting like that. (I wrote this before asking you to clarify which one you wanted.)
Beneath the Skin!
Uh, shockingly, not one person (Except Ruby who read it when I initially came up with the idea and so I guarantee has forgotten it now because she has goldfish brain ily Ruby <3) has made a comment about Smith giving Shadow his forging gloves- Or anyone else in the family theirs! I thought it was interesting no one said anything about that, wasn't sure if it was just missed in the length of the chapter or not of enough interest to note for most.
Another surprising thing, no one commented on Shadow learning the trade, which is fair, but he is bringing with him some of the tools he's been learning to make! Which was a fun little thing for me to include. He's not Four's level yet without all the physical practice time but he's getting there~
40. What area of writing do you want to improve in?
I've mentioned this one before, literal description. I'm serious when I say my stories would be entirely within a white room and the characters would not have an appearance if I didn't put conscious hard effort and practice into it. I'm horrific at this. My ex was killer at it too and I was viciously jealous of him for it.
Thanks Rav! These were fun to do and I hope you have more insight now to how my brain doesn't work~
Asks are from this ask game here!
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nothing-but-dreamy · 3 years
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ON THE EDGE ~ Pt. 5
Characters: Gavin Reed x fem!Reader; Connor; Hank Anderson;
Warnings: cursing
Words: 2.339
Back in the office, yn headed for the locker room to change some of her clothes and to get rid of the makeup. As she walked over to her desk, a cup of hot coffee and Gavin were already waiting. He handed her the liquid. She was freezing to death but it was worth it. She was able to place the bug as planned. Yn took the cup with a soft smile, “Thanks. That’s what I need right now.”
“You got rid of the makeup already? Too bad...”, Gavin said grinning.
Over the rim of the cup, she looked challenging at him, “Yeah, otherwise, I have to fear you will arrest me for prostitution. And I’m not sure if you really want to see me in handcuffs.”, she whispered with a grin and winked.
Gavin’s heart skipped a beat and he coughed slightly by the picture he got in his mind because of her comment. Yn noticed what kind of reaction her joke had on him but before she could ask, Hank and Connor joined them with a tablet. It was the device for the bug. Gavin stepped back and breathed several times to calm himself while the others sat around the desk.
“Turn it on. Maybe we will already hear something. I hope this thing works as well as the heavy's promised.”, yn said and laid her feet on top of her desk like Gavin used to do all the time.
Connor looked confused, “Heavy's?”
“Our hardware guys.”, Yn explained with a wink. Then JoJo started to talk and all four cops were listening intently.
“Hey Scott.”
“Hey Joker, why are you smiling like an idiot?”, Scott asked. The sound quality was excellent and so, they could differentiate the two men easily.
“Man, I met a girl in the park.”, JoJo said with excitement in his voice.
“Again?”, Scott asked, not impressed at all. It was the fifth time Joker had met a girl … this week.
“This time it's different.”
Yn felt Gavin's sullen expression glued at her. Obviously, she had done her job better than he wanted.
JoJo continued with his infatuation, “She was so incredibly beautiful. You know, like a divine angel with bright eyes and dressed in a blood red tank top. You should have seen her...you know.”, in the way he said it, everyone (except Connor) knew that he was talking about her breasts.
Yn snickered and looked up with a proud grin. She looked at Gavin then down at her top, which was still the blood red tank top, and then back at Gavin. She smirked. Gavin wasn't amused at all. He pressed his jaws together and looked at her with a dark expression. Hank had to bite back a grin as he watched the Detective. Something bothered him and Hank had an idea what it could be.
“And? Will you see her again?”, Scott asked, catching their attention again.
“Of course! She gave me her number.“, JoJo said proudly.
Gavin slammed his hands on his desk and jumped from his seat, “You gave him your number? Are you crazy?”, he called out.
Yn leant back in her chair and grinned. It amused her that he still saw her as a newbie, at least, she thought it was that, “No. Of course not.”, she said calmly.
“Good.”, Gavin said pleased and sat down.
“I gave him the number of your ex. I thought they would be cute together.”, yn said after a moment and smirked devilishly.
Slowly, Gavin looked up, his knuckles turning white again, “You did- what?”
But instead of answering, yn silenced him with her hand. She became serious and looked at the small device, listening to JoJo’s and Scott’s conversation.
“Yeah, yeah...tonight. In the warehouse down at the docks. Like always at eight?”, JoJo asked.
“Eight, right. Be on point this time. You know how much our boss hates to wait.”, Scott admitted.
“Hell yes! We got it!”, Yn called out. She looked at Hank as the oldest in charge, “Observation?”
Hank nodded, “Would be the best idea.”
“I could do that. I won't get tired.”, Connor suggested.
“Perfect! And I accompany you.”, Yn said.
Gavin looked from yn to Connor and back at yn. Everything happened a bit too fast, “What? Why?”
Hank stood up and nudged Connor to follow him, “We go to Fowler and inform him about the newest information.”, he said to yn and Gavin who didn't listen at all. Gavin was just staring at yn.
“What is your problem, Reed?”, she asked, slowly getting annoyed by his behavior all the time.
“You get yourself into danger! That's my problem!”, he argued coldly.
Yn huffed out, looking doubtful with one raised brow, “Danger? An observation? A snail race would be more dangerous than an observation because of all the slime. What shall happen? That I die out of boredom? I also have the handsome Terminator by my side.”, she pointed out, mentioning one of her favorite movie characters.
Gavin gritted his teeth. Looking away because of this comment and the memory of the dream he had of yn and Connor.
Yn saw that Gavin was on the edge… again. Once again, she had the feeling it had something to do with her but Gavin wasn’t much of a talker and liked to keep things for himself no matter how much she would push him, “Gavin, listen. Connor and I are going on this observation. You and Hank get the information in real time and you can plan the operation.”, she said and waited for him to look at her, “The operation I won't attend.”
“What?”
“I will be there to support you. But I will stay away from any line of fire. Therefore, you don't have to worry about me. Okay?”, yn said with a soft smile.
Gavin squinted his eyes and looked suspicious at her. He knew there had to be a twist somewhere. Yn usually never skipped action when it got offered, “What's the catch?”
“Well, I realized if I push you more, this vein on your neck could explode. And I want to prevent that. I still kinda like you, grumpy cat.”, she said with a wink and stood up to get new coffee for herself and Gavin.
**
Later, Connor picked yn up from her home. She had changed into comfortable clothes. To sit in a car, maybe for several hours, didn't demand fancy clothes. So, dressed in jeans and a big, cozy, black pullover she had snatched from Gavin once and prepared with coffee and a bunch of snacks, she entered the black car Connor had gotten from Hank. It would be less striking because it was an older model and looked more suitable for a drug scene.
They drove through Detroit to reach the docks. Soft rock music was playing on the radio but Connor wanted to level up his smalltalk skills. He knew yn would be the right person to train this so he asked: “You really wanna go on observation? I always thought humans wouldn’t like that?”
Yn chuckled, “Yeah, that’s true. For us cops it feels like doing nothing. Even if we do something but … observations aren’t liked by everyone.”
“Like Reed?”
"Yeah, but also Hank. Oh, speaking of, how's working with him?", yn asked interested. She saw a smile appear on the android's lips which let him look more boyish… even more handsome.
"It's improving. I mean, we had a rough start with the deviant case and the revolution but… we grow as a team.", Connor answered honestly. Through the darkness, he saw her staring at him. It wasn’t unpleasant … quite the opposite.
"I like to hear that. Hank is… well, since Cole died, he was too alone. It's good that you can change that.", the remembrance of Hank’s loss was still hurtful for her. She couldn’t imagine what Hank felt but to have a new partner by his side like Connor would help the old man to get back on track.
"Can I ask you something, yn?", Connor asked softly.
"Shoot it."
"How's working with Detective Reed?"
"With Gavin?", yn asked surprised. She has expected many questions but not this one, "Uhm… good as always. Why do you ask?"
Connor searched for the right words, "He's… We had some troubles as I came to the DPD. But you seem to be able to talk back to him without him getting aggressive and stuff."
Yn chuckled, "Oh, he gets aggressive but he knows I would defend myself no matter what he would try. We had been there at this point once. But...I see what you mean. Gavin can be a… how shall I say it-"
"An asshole?", Connor tried to help her find the right answer.
The android’s directness, caused her to laugh, "Yeah, absolutely. But no, I meant something like 'challenging'. Look, he's not a bad guy-"
"I got a different impression.", Connor said dryly.
"I'm not sure what happened between the two of you but... whatever it was, that you're an android is not helpful."
"Oh trust me, I already learnt that he hates androids."
"Yeah, but there's a reason. I don't want to apologize for his behavior but his mother was one of the people who lost their jobs because of androids a few years ago. He was a teenager as his mother got replaced. He had a rough time and he had to fight for a lot of things. Obviously, you, as an investigator, triggered his aggression once again."
Connor raised his brows as he made a connection between the different information, "You mean he thought I could replace you?"
"Me?", yn asked surprised.
"Hank told me that you got injured in your last case with Reed."
"Oh, yeah…”, yn nodded. Her injuries, that she couldn’t work for some time and the fact that an android investigator had appeared in the DPD at the same time might have had some effect on Gavin. Added to the fact that he still felt guilty and that he seemed to be bothered with something else, could raise his temper immensely, “Maybe that might be a reason...sure. We already have android support. But seeing you could have kindled his fear to get replaced by an android as well."
While Connor processed the latest information, the conversation slowed down. Both were following their own thoughts as Connor searched for a good observation spot near the only warehouse at the docks they could find. Suddenly, some of Gavin’s latest behavior seemed to make sense to yn. It shouldn’t be an excuse but Gavin Reed was a good guy … he just lost his temper too fast.
Connor stopped the engine and he and yn were reaching for the radio to turn it off. In the middle, their hands touched and both looked at each other with a sheepishly expression. Under his soft glance, yn felt her cheeks reddening. Connor noticed the color in her face and because he liked the sight, he wanted to see it again, "You're very nice, yn.", Connor said softly.
Yn blinked and looked at her hands, not knowing where these feelings were coming from … and what feelings it were in general, "Thanks."
Connor turned over and leant forward to her, imitating the movements he had seen on JoJo as he was flirting with her, "I really mean that. Compared to Reed, you're pure joy. I like working with you."
Yn looked up into his soft brown eyes. Was he flirting with her? The glance in his eyes, the smile on his lips, what he said, all of it was evidence of a flirty behavior but was this his intention? And … wanted yn that he did that? She liked Connor but … like this? Unsure about the answer to the last question, she tried to ease the moment, "Compared to Reed, a stone is joyful. But thanks, Connor. I like working with you, too."
Before Connor could say something else, a text message on yn’s phone distracted her and the strange moment was gone. She thanked silently for this kind of distraction while she read the message. She was surprised and thankful for Gavin’s timing, What takes you two so fucking long to get there?
"It's Mr Pure Sunshine. Turn on the radio station. Otherwise, he will crawl through the cord on his own to check on us."
Connor followed her instructions and turned on the radio with a not so amused expression.
"Hank? Gavin? We're here.", yn said as the line was free.
"What took you two so long to get there?", Gavin asked harshly, repeating his message.
"You know, I had nothing to wear and Connor helped me to pick out the right clothes as I just left the shower-"
"Yn!", Gavin grunted.
She could hear how annoyed he was, "Hell, calm down. We needed a bit to find a good place."
The hours were ticking by and the observation had been as boring as it sounded until the bug started to transmit. The information were good. The bug on JoJo was still sending a strong signal and so, Hank and Gavin could still hear what the dealer was talking while Connor and yn could see who entered and left the warehouse. As yn watched how a bunch of dealers AND seemingly the boss himself left the warehouse, yn was surprised that they worked so visible. Maybe the android revolution had made all the other criminals a bit more careless because they thought Detroit would have other problems?
“They’re leaving. The boss, as well. That was faster than expected.”, you said astonished.
“Then, I would say we’re done for today. Obviously, in two days there will be another meeting in this warehouse.”, Hank said.
“Good to know. Tomorrow, we should plan out the operation. Maybe we can get Captain Allen’s support. With his unit, we could arrest all at once.”, yn proposed. All agreed on this idea and the station radio got turned off.
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louonthemoon · 3 years
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I dont think the ending of Promising Young Woman is copaganda. I think if it was, the cops would've found Cassie on their own, and the detective would've noticed how Ryan was acting guilty.
But they didn't. Cassie had to had them information via the lawyer. And its shown that the detective was eager to rule that Cassie was suicidal. It shows how it took Cassie getting murdered for anything to happen.
Also, it wasn't Emerald Fennells original ending, she had to change it for the producers
This got super long. Spoilers below obviously
I agree that the film shows pretty clearly that cops getting involved does not equal justice, and the justice system itself is not made to serve Cassie. The film shows the justice system kicking into gear when Cassie forces its hand. It’s not as though rapists never get convicted; they do, when they’re unlucky. But Cassie manages to get her marks arrested in the end, and I think the issue people have with this moment is how it allows the cops to justify their authority. A “when the cops work, they work” kind of sentiment.
I think it’s fair to be skeptical about cops as a deus ex machina, swooping in to lock up the bad guys. PYW doesn’t resolve its cop problem, in that we don’t know what their presence means for the characters. But I would argue that the cops don’t represent resolution at all - they represent the start of another narrative that happens within the realm of the state, the justice system. Cassie ends the film, because Cassie’s narrative is what matters to the film.
Honestly, it’s a much denser ending than lots of ppl have made it out to be, even people who liked the film overall. If you’re interpreting the film uncharitably, you could say that it concludes that cops=justice. But idk, to me, the cops ending the movie means that Cassie’s story is no longer hers - it will have a public afterlife that she can’t control. The cops represent the entrance of the state, and maybe that inspires relief in people who have faith in the state. But the text & the wink, imo, undermines that relief. Because what the hell really happened here? The bad men might go the jail, but has anything been fixed? Healed? Has anything fundamentally changed? Cassie may have gotten what she’s been fighting for, but it’s a small individual victory that comes at an expense that’s hard to rationalize. I don’t think Fennell wants us to celebrate this outcome, but it’s definitely a complicated note to end on.
My problem is that people have pointed out how unsatisfying this ending is as a critique of PYW, when in my opinion it’s an obvious strength. Like, if you don’t feel relief when the cops swoop in, if you feel tense and skeptical, I think that’s something PYW wants to evoke. Again, the issue here is that people wanted something from the film that it was never going to give. If you’re reading the film as a revenge success story or feminist manifesto, this ending feels hollow. I responded by adjusting my reading of PYW, but some people conclude it was a failed take on the rape-revenge thriller. And yeah, ultimately I think they’re wrong, because by the end, I think it’s pretty clear that Cassie is a tragic figure, not a ~girlboss role model~. It's not wish fulfillment, it’s a tragic catharsis. I want to discuss the ending on its own terms & examine how the film portrays cops, but if we’re starting from the assumption that PYW is a success story, it’s kind of hard to have that discussion.
TLDR; The movie has cops in it, but imo it’s more interesting to talk about what that means than immediately dismiss it.
Also, I’m really curious about what you said about the original ending. I couldn’t find that information myself, so feel free to send the source if you have access to it. I remember reading that Fennell considered a happier ending but ruled it out early on. I don’t think this info would impact my reading of the movie, but it’s interesting that the producers preferred this ending. I didn’t think cassie’s death was a super audience friendly moment, haha.
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stray-tori · 3 years
Text
TPN Vol 8 - Chapters 66-70 Thoughts
[we're already on vol 9 but I'm slow with compiling]
I know I always rag on the "cop out" deaths and it is true that no corpse no dead, and I am curious if there will be any more worldbuilding regarding Lucas' survival (hello deus ex machina person) but uh. Idk. I'm sure it has a point and it makes sense in universe (having him be the reason for the knowledge among GP kids is good) but it just feels a little. Eh. Like it feels like paddling back on a small part of geezers guilt and feelings. In part it also feels like a "reward" for choosing the heroes moral side and going to help save Emma (why ever that happened - ig bc Gilda would blow up the shelter if he doesn't so. YAY).
...
Obviously the development is still his, and he obviously isn't expecting to find anyone alive there, but ig i felt like he was leading up to... healing more through the kids and not one epic Emma speech and "oh your one friend is alive btw" reveal later on. It feels like a spark of hope and happiness for him that I'm not sure if was needed narratively. He already decided he wouldn't harm them.
Like maybe they handle it very differently so i might be jumping the gun here but idk. It just feels a little... weird to me. Probably in a similar way how speeches about Norman hurt but also kind of get that "well uh about that...." Air once you know. I feel for the characters and their separation but it doesn't have the same weight it could have anymore.
In theory it reminds me a bit of the whole gate reveal structure in s2. With a setup being built up or established and a reveal just going "nvm that's not what we're doing".
It makes sense, I'm just not a huge fan of what it does for me for previously established things.
But i guess writing wise it puts its cards on the table with small scale Lucas and then Norman haha.
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I find it rly funny how much the arc sort of mirrors the s2 arc so far (character assumed dead is alive, new cast of demon kill children introduced, a plan to kill demons).
Ig that might be intentional, for all intents it's a good method of conveying character change. Or different specifics or how things might be judged differently with different specifics (like hunting for enjoyment vs. farming)
I'm totally jumping in on this too early but idk it's interesting to think about.
That and also our whole "There's someone I want you to meet" - "ITS NORMAN" jokes made me think, like you could probably ACTUALLY restructure some of this in a way that would allow Norman's return here instead lol. Could be a fun AU, esp since we have the seeds of a (small-scale) demon annihilation plan anyway.
I also just find it funny to think about Norman grumbling from his future self that Emma agreed to some random guy's plan so easily udkhjsd
Obviously the time is a bit of a mess -- it's only been 3 months? is Adam out bc Norman's escaped already or was Adam just shipped to GP? if he already escaped, our boy is quick - plus, why would he go to GP. the supporters in Lambda probably know it's been compromised, so aside from freeing the children, there isn't a lot of reason to go there and while that may have priority, I feel like 3 months is a bit of a short timeframe for Norman to settle in there well enough -- so it's more wonky than anything BUT IT'S FUN TO THINK ABOUT.
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btw I find it so funny how Emma has that whole "intent to kill" thing going on now, considering her later moral stance - like it's fair but coming from s2 it's a bit of whiplash haha especially since she's so determined about it right from the start. (though I have no idea if she ever addressed killing demons before this, memory bad)
Though notably she said "she wants to shut down the hunting ground too", not "want to kill them too" - and it's good that she draws a line but IDK IT'S JUST INTERESTING because what bothers her is the toying / no respect for their lives, right? - "this kind of hunt", not hunting in general.
... so like, if you were hunted by a demon in the wild, who didn't toy with you, just killed and ate you, that would be fine then? Idk, it's a very fine line and I get it, but it's interesting to think about. A quick, suffer-less death is of course a valid thing to want if you will die anyway, but you're dead afterwards in both variants.
Of course maybe I'm reading it wrong and it's just her sort of realizing that between mass production farms and GP, they really did have it good, even if they died an early death, and how this is much more hate-worthy than GF's method. Which is true, I suppose, and might expand on the building blocks of her moral development down the line (as in "there's different stages of demon-badness").
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Also a more funny thought but imagine if Lucas DID have the pen, would... Geezer-senpai just not find the way back? And even if he did would he even get into the bunker? That'd be one tragic ending pff. Tell the person to run away and they can't even go back inside sudhdjd
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Also i thought about it and isn't it weird that none of the books or materials mentioned what goldy pond actually is? Like youd expect sth that important to be in there.
We know WM wasn't at the bunker in the last 13 years and we know that the books he supplied to GF, the newest one was 2015. What if he was discovered or had to limit his WM activity 30 years ago?
So 30 years ago, he still sent people to goldy pond.
I'm just realizing.... That totally sounds like a setup for minerva to actually be on the demons side or a demon himself sjdhjddj. Like he orchestrates escapees (who are likely to be smart) and then sends them to GP where he and his noble friends can hunt them.
But where i was actually going with this uh, what if GP 30 years ago (potentially longer depending on how long ago he was there last) wasn't actually a hunting a ground? Why would you send kids there without a warning otherwise? What if it WAS a small human community (tho that would likely have been passed around by the inhabitants) or it was at least WM supporter base like the bunker, intended for humans to live there. Not sure about mansion then but YKNOW.
If it was, i wonder if it being discovered was a huge part in WM cover being blown OR if the demons decided to keep it secret bc you know this place is rly convinient haha
I also wonder how wm even finds and builds all these underground things lol. Bc it can't have existed since before the world split i think?
Man has some big construction projects running pfff.
I'm also not sure how that underground thing works-
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its tori is confused about minor things hour
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[Emma takes the axe with right hand, her right hand is still behind her as if she was winding up, but the axe is already thrown?]
like if she had the axe still in hand it'd make sense or if it was in her hand AND spinning, it'd be like "2 frames".
but this?? i am just-
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im rly late with this but the glove is Lucas' memorial. the pair will only be together again when they reunite :<<
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what I want to know is HOW. like the John thing is already questionable but I guess he could have gone back again?? but with this.
he has both gloves when they part he still have one glove on when his arm is gone. but the arm Leuvis has, doesn't have a glove?? So either Leuvis took it off but i wouldn't know why, and just dropped it on the ground for geezer to come pick up ORRRR he took one off for some reason?? maybe he threw it at the demon pff something is very un-continous here and i need answers-
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the duality of man... not wanting people to know a) your age and b) your name (which you may have forgotten, who knows)
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we just assumed geezer's name is censored here but I guess it could be anything haha-
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autumn-foxfire · 3 years
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I always end up thinking it comes back to Shoto *needed* a abusive father who also abused and coerced his mom whom he bought to pop out kids, separated the family, practised eugenics, talked trash about the whole family year after year and turned his brother into a murdering villain. While being a selfish, power hungry No 2 hero who is greedy, uses money and abuses power and is known for his violent heroics and generally disliked. He is next in line to AFO for doing every unimaginable bad but in terms of family abuse.
He could have been a quirkless top cop, he could have been a disabled ex-hero and had the same story. It was important he was what he was just an asshole corrupt top hero. Also to show he was running away from hurting his body and from responsibility by torturing his bought family to suffer in his place.
It was never about Endeavor. His story is like an afterthought to give substance to Shoto's story and bolster him and later, the rest of Todofam's stories. Pro Hero Arc's objective was to set Endeavor up as the symbol of downfall of hero society after All Might era. It was foreshadowed after Kamino Arc by Jin Bubaigawara's comments no less. And Twice being someone Hawks replaced for admiring as the ideal for the man's virtues unlike the sins of a man who was more fake than All Might's true inspiration on a TV. And this downfall was pinned on Endeavor as his personal failure as if to say he isn't the victim folks, move along. It is said as if to make it seem unfair but when it concerns Endeavor the plot always flips to show that wasn't the case it really was his fault. It kind of is. His arrogance, his delusional view of himself, his average competence in comparison to true heroes and his weak hero motivation(I'm No. 1 instead of altruism), etc were clearly depicted. And contrasted with All Might who did his best and was not the one in the wrong in the system. And the Commission who were evil ar dead.
Endeavor's character is frequently contradictory or inconsistent and modt of what he says or thinks is contradicted and depicted as his misunderstandings or sugarcoated delusions. In fact it won't be surprising if Endeavor commented on Toya having only a fire quirk and Rei nervously suggesting having another child to be the Ice sidekick to Toya but Endeavor only believed in one body to be the only hero and mistook Fuyumi's role as the cheerleader. To make every interaction or connection negative than it appears does seem the current purpose of plot.
But what never makes sense from a real person point of view is why marriage and child at 20. Very few people think I'll have a child and spend years grooming it to replace me while I'm being impatient right now. People can say 20 is adult enough all they want but thats two years after graduating from UA high school and its unusual unlike in the States. Didn't he have parents? They also practiced quirk marriage doesn't feel like a good enough answer.
He could have experimented on himself like Danzo from Naruto, he could have had a child with a woman he gets rid permanently- a clone with genetic modifications like in Star Wars or a child throgh a surrogate. Instead he needed the free nanny, cook, cleaner and housekeeper that came with a marriage to look after the child while he was away doing heroics. That is what is pointed out recently was Rei's sole role according to Endeavor.
AFO and his cronies could have been hidden in plain sight as miraculous doctors. Quirks can be updated once without suspicion(Deku never raised red flags?) AFO can give and take quirks. Endeavor was desperate enough to commit a legal seeming unethical practice so if Dr Kyudai Garaki ran a legal experimental scene where he lured in people who searched enough to find him, then why not Endeavor?
But I feel if that was the type of plot then it will be explained how Endeavor's body was not suited to holding cooling quirk or extra quirk would shorten his lifespan. Since Shoto is the real character who has to exist with his mother of a origin. And most likely is the scenario that Endeavor forced Rei to undergo dangerous treatment for pregnancy in one of Kyudai Garaki's machines. Its typical shonen plot btw torturing the mom to have a extra special child.
As told through Rei, Endeavor's character is one who runs away from responsibility and pushes it onto people instead of doing anything himself or troubling himself to suffer at all and shows no remorse afterwards or makes no noticeable effort to do sone action to sepict the same. His endeavoring is only that- a show of endeavour, no substance. In terms of plot having a child makes sense but think of him as a real consistent human character, it no longer is. Rei's assessment contradicts what she excused during the Pro Hero Arc. If he only runs away why would she be so deluded to think he is trying to face his past and not just giving her flowers because he got what he wanted completely at last. It doesn't explain anything about his character beyond being empty words to explain why he should be given a chance. And currently the family really doesn't need him they needed Dabi to be saved and it was said in the raws Shoto stated he did not feel "saved" by having to lend a hand to Endeavor.
I do agree that a major aspect of Enji's character is to provide greater context for both his sons, one who is a main character and one who is a main villain, as well as used to highlight the flaws present in hero society but I disagree with that being all he's supposed to be, at least not anymore.
Hori has gone through great lengths to try and flesh out his character beyond what he originally wrote though it was kind of awkward at the time when he started to do so because he had already dug Enji into such a horrible hole, slowly retconning aspects of the Todoroki family past (such as him "buying" Rei to be his brood mare) in a way that wasn't jarring (by making the family unreliable narrators which is something one would expect) but sadly he couldn't change the image he had already built for Enji for the most part.
I also agree that because Hori had began to flesh out Enji more, there has been more contradictions in his story when you start to pick it apart (such as how he's supposed to be the most stubborn character and yet gave up before he should have), but these issues are really only something a reader that likes to analyse the story will notice, not that of a casual reader (which I guess Hori should be thankful for). I'm not sure if Hori planned to make Enji into a more likable character from the beginning or if he changed plans midstory (...which to be honest, the way his story is written does appear to be the later), but because of the drastic change, it has left us feeling a bit of whiplash.
I do disagree with your last sentences though, Enji is important to the family and important to saving Dabi (kinda). Unlike Shouto, who is trying to break free from Enji and because of that he doesn't need his father, Dabi is desperate for his father's attention which has evolved into hatred and spite. It needs to be Enji that reaches out to him (and I wonder if this is why he decided to have Enji begin to reform as well, to be in a place where he'd actually try to save his son? Hmmm...).
Enji is an interesting character but a lot of his writing has a lot to be desired at times, is what I'm trying to say T-T
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I was reading ur post about the Brazilian education system (which sounds fucking incredible by the way) and it reminded me of smth
I have no intention of becoming a teacher, but my sister is one and she works in a primary school (her class is ages 5-6), and when she was in university she showed me loads of things about the reflecting realities study
I think it was made in 2017 and it was a study on how well children's books reflected the world around us, ie how many books published had protagonists of colour and obviously the results were dire
I'd have to look it up but there were very few people of colour and a hell of a lot of white characters, but what was especially interesting was that when Black Lives Matter got more prevelence last year a lot of publishing houses got put under pressure to add more people of colour in their books
And when the 2020 reflecting realities study came in and while there was more people of colour and less white people, the number of animals being the main protagonists completely jumped up
And it's just terrible because of stories with main casts of animals still fall into the exact same racist stereotypes. Like often they follow the protagonist of a cute fluffy animal as they struggle against the predetory snake or bear, both of which are completely different to them physically and explicitly a threat - this could also be stranger danger
And I mean, what's worse is when they're consciously trying to use animals as an allegory - I mean Zootopia? Anyone? Disney making the allegory for people of colour into literal predetors really wasn't the woke moment they thought it was
And I was just thinkinf about how this kind of follows through into the fantasy genre. I'm gonna be tentative here because Im no expert on this so call me out if you think I'm wrong. Like I'm glad that the shadowhunters cadting directors hired more actors of colour to the team because othereise it would be overwhelmingly pasty, I can't help but notice the decision to cast Luke, the only black man, as an animal and how they changed his character entirely as well
Because (this is not pro cc) Luke in the books was a gentle white bookshop owner, and the show changed him into a cop, and the second time we see him or so he's been injured from fighting (ie not depicted as gentle) ? For some reason (this could just be for plot purposes but u know) There's whole essays online about how media uses black cops in shows and movies to prevent criticism against them but that's a whole other post
(tentative again but do you think that it was kidn of to distance itself from real world issues? Like shadowhunters can obviously be read as the fantasy police force, but by making Luke a downworlder and a cop I feel like maybe they're moving as far away from being properly critical as they can)
That being said, I love show Luke I think he's fantastic, and I way prefer his competancy instead of wimpy white book Luke but I think he can fit the trope in media where characters of colour are depicted as animalistic, ie TWILIGHTs wolves being all native people!!! and I feel like often it just helps to reinforce a lot of the aggressive stereotyoes against poc
Idk how to finish this. In conclusion publishing houses seem to find it easier to publish stories about animals than people of colour and that's a big fat problem. Also how instead of you know publishing books by authors of colour several responded to criticism by just rereleasing collections of classics with black people on the cover - like that solves anythung
Idk I thought you might find the study interesting, it obviously goes more in depth that I have talked about so I can link it to you if you'd like (however it is a study based in Britain based upon British publishing houses so no worries if you aren't interested)
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that does sound pretty interesting! id like to see it if u have it easily, but if not, no worries. i think understanding the specifics of the context in other places always helps u understand ur own better, and we have similar studies in brazil with pretty much the same results
the whole animals thing is so crazy. like both in the sense of animalization and just that genuinely animals are more appealing to have as mc than poc for publishing companies diajasoidja god
also i've never seen zootopia or heard of it being a racial allegory and id like to unlearn that information
about luke: yep. i'm not sure they cast isaiah because he was a werewolf, i think it's genuinely just because he was a good actor (especially because so many other originally white characters got actors of color in the show) but sh and tsc did pick the race of the downworlders in the most cursed way. the two most important black characters were both werewolves (i know ur in s1 but maia also exists in tsc so), literally ALL the werewolves except for russell were either black or latine, even the minor ones (bat, alaric, gretel), the only jewish character drinks blood (COME ON), raphael is also animalized a lot "on account of being a vampire" whereas simon is not (and even camille isn't and she was supposed to be white so)
the decision to make luke a black cop will always be something i'll hate. can we stop trying to make cops diverse. cops are oppressors. get out of here with the propaganda
im not sure the thing about luke being hurt is supposed to imply he's violent tho, i think it's more supposed to be like "poor him, a great serviceman of the people, risking his life at the job" which is copaganda and therefore still racist, but, in a different way daoidjsaj
i think there could have been a good critique/parallel there with luke being black and a cop and an ex-shadowhunter downworlder, but that would have to be handled REALLY carefully so im actually kind of glad sh didn't even try to do that. also it would require luke to have actual growth as a character instead of just being clary's caretaker #4, and his internalized anti-downrorldism and bootlicking tendencies to be addressed and become a liberation plotline. which again, sh could never
but yeah same, in the end i love show luke, mostly because of who he could have been, but at least he's not useless like book luke. but like... why make him a cop when you could, very easily, do Anything Else
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