Thalmor Thursday

Why Episode 7 is the worst episode in all of Season 2.

This fuckass Timebomb ship is the worst thing to ever happen to Jinx's character.

Ok so finally we're gonna talk about Boy Savior Complex and AU Girl Next Door Powder

This is gonna be long. Also, we're not only talking about Episode 7 and Timebomb, we're also discussing Jinx's suicide attempt and how her character's resolution is actually really sad.

First of all, Jinx never liked Ekko back. Season 1 makes it pretty clear that they're friends, and that Ekko has an unrequited crush on her. His feelings are clear, but she never shows any reciprocation. And, no, the art book that came out after season 2 concluded doesn't count. You can't just put "the boy with the unrequited crush" trope in your story and then retract it.

And now to get to the serious part... who the fuck is AU Powder?

Ekko gets transported into this alternate timeline where we the audience soon realize everyone is happy and none of the conflicts that plague the original story exist and everything is perfect and "as it should be". So this is the ideal world and the one where all these characters reach their highest form of happiness. Even Silco is back with Vander.

And in this ideal world Powder is... a waitress at The Last Drop? I rewatched this episode and I genuinely tried to pay attention to see what does she actually DO. Like what occupies her time in this universe. And between Vander's line about how she's "too smart to be spending her life in a bar" and the fact that she is at one point behind the counter (while Ekko is studying his books... imma get back to that) and the fact that we never see her in any other places besides the bar and her hideout and that one time Ekko takes her out... this seems to be it.

So in the perfect timeline, Powder has decided to stay back with her family once she's grown up, to remain with Vander and help him run his bar, and implicitly has no big ambitions of her own, and definitely no ideas that she would sacrifice her family life for.

Now... Powder/Jinx as a family person is not actually wrong characterization. This is pretty congruent with her character in season 1. Her entire story and literally everything revolves around her family and not much else. When she's Powder she's attached at the hip to Vi and when she's Jinx she doesn't seem too interested in the world outside of her hideout and Silco's office. So considering all we know, yes, Jinx does place family first.

And this is pretty assumed by the show. Now, I also characterized her like this in season 1! She is a family girl. And Jinx happens to have all these people with big revolutionary ideas around her, be it Vander or Vi or Silco or Sevika, but she herself never actually seems much interested in that. She has a small moment in arc 1 of season 1, which i think it's significant to mention comes right after Vi plants the idea in her head. It would've been one thing if these ideas stayed with her, but post time-skip she doesn't bring anything like that up again. She mostly acts like a bored teenager whenever Silco drags her to the river to tell her all about his tragic past that radicalized him. Overall, any time she exhibits any revolutionary spirit, it seems to actually be more of a personal vendetta for her.

So, okay, Jinx is a family girl and she's never really actually been about all these big ideas, I can agree with the writers that this represents her character.

It's just that... this much?

Man, COME ON. There were people making "Everything's Perfect" AUs since season 1, and they almost all had Powder be a student at the Academy. This girl was clearly passionate about her little inventions, her bombs didn't work but she kept and kept trying. You're telling me she would be completely uninterested in learning more about engineering, in getting a formal education in that, in doing anything with it? Since in this world, there's peace between Piltover and Zaun, we can't talk about any barriers to her becoming a student. And, for that matter, in League lore there's an academy in Zaun, too, that she could have attended.

Even Ekko points it out, man. Now, to the writers' credit, the story acknowledges quite clearly that Powder choosing to stay with Vander and help him run the bar is weird. It just... never explains it. Like why is she like this, though? Let's throw out some possibilies:

(1) in some scenes, there seems to be a little "jinxiness" in this Powder, too. maybe she's aware of that side of her, and doesn't like it, and fears that if she went off and did what she wanted, and was truly herself, it would ruin what she has, "things are good now" (in this case, this Powder is actually a tragic character. nowhere near ideal timeline stuff.)

(2) in act 1 of season 1, the reason Vi makes Powder stay back is because she fears losing her, after Vander tells her that she might lose Powder in a confrontation with Piltover. since Vi dies in this universe, on a job, maybe in that moment Powder internalizes that rocking the boat in any way is bad. Vi was spirited and had big ideas and wanted to be someone and it led to her death. so maybe this Powder gave up on all of that then. Vander seems like the type to give her a "look what happens" speech, too.

But these are just my theories. This doesn't ever get properly explained in the show. So then maybe Powder is actually content like this and likes this and maybe these people constantly pestering her that she could do and be more are just annoying nuisances to her, same as Sevika is an annoying nuisance to Jinx in the original timeline (although there it makes significantly more sense).

(Also, why is Vi even dead in this universe? They could've easily found another way for Piltover and Zaun to make peace. Guess Jinx doesn't even get to be happy in the Perfect Timeline, goddamn, girl really is cursed after all.)

If you're gonna spend an entire episode on fix-it fanfiction that is supposed to pander to fans and give them, on screen, what they always wanted to see, why didn't we get grown up Powder in a cute academy uniform, being a top student and working on school projects and being loved by her professors cause girl was a prodigy.

Instead... this is Ekko in this universe, actually.

Ekko is the "big idea guy" and he's working on an entry to the innovations fair and he gets to be Heimerdinger's pupil. To her credit, this Powder still seems to be very smart, Ekko comes to her for help cause he can't actually build his invention alone. But she only uses her intellect to help Ekko. I always thought it would be Powder who would be Heimerdinger's pupil. Instead, here, she's hanging off Ekko's arm, and being all cute, as he discusses Important Stuff with Heimerdinger, stuff that she doesn't get to be privy to, but that she is expected to help them with anyway.

So AU Powder is this very smart girl who is helping her boyfriend build his entry for a contest because he can't actually do it himself but it's okay she'll help him of course and no he can take all the credit she doesn't want to be recognized or anything or to go to like University that would be crazy she's doing it cause she loves him and she's sweet like that and she likes to help others and she doesn't have any character traits that make her difficult she's just a cute funny and relatable down-to-earth girl and she pokes fun at Ekko but like in a loving way and she likes being a waitress and she'd rather be recognized for her dancing skills and................ I'm sorry.....................

So you're telling me Ekko gets transported into an alternate timeline in which his childhood crush who never liked him back is stripped of all her personality, has no goals or ambitions of her own and has no interests besides being his supportive girlfriend, is devoid of all the traits that might have made a relationship with her difficult, and despite the fact that she never showed interest in him in the original world, here she is head over heels for him, always acting all lovey-dovey with him and being nothing but a cute and affectionate puppy.

This is every little boy's with an unrequited crush dream right here. Man, Ekko won more than any other character in this show. And she's mentally ill, too! He's hit the jackpot. Y'all what the fuck am I watching.

I'm sorry but literally ALL I COULD FUCKING SEE WHEN I WAS WATCHING THIS STUPID DANCE SCENE was that in this universe Powder is a good christian girl who stays home with her dad and loves her boyfriend and is always happy to help WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS GOOD GIRL PROPAGANDA get this bullshit OFF my fucking screen I cannot fucking believe what I'm watching here

Moving on.

Ekko has hurt Jinx more than any other character in the show.

Physically speaking.

Ekko is the one who does this.

Which leads to this.

Which ultimately leads to this.

It has always confused me and it continues to confuse me why no one in this fandom treats Jinx being injected with shimmer as a big deal, when this is the worst thing that happens to her post episode 3. And it's a point of no return for her character, she can't undo this. And yeah I know everyone thought Shimmer Jinx was cool in season 2, but her being turned into a half-dead monster is not a good progression for her character. She also goes through agonizing pain in the process.

Singed agrees.

It's Ekko who forces Jinx between death and being turned into a half-dead corpse. It's actually insane to me that no one in the fandom considers this and that this is never brought up in the show. If they wanted Jinx and Ekko to be a thing, you'd think this would be a big deal in their relationship. Ekko has changed her irreparably, for the worse.

Idk, is the guy who beat you up and left you for dead really boyfriend material?

This is the first moment Jinx shows any interest in Ekko. Interesting timing.

I'm pretty sure she doesn't even mention his name post act 3 of season 1. She doesn't wonder about whether he's alright after the bridge fight (for that matter, neither does he). The first time when Jinx looks at him with any hint of affection is when she's standing on a ledge, ready to throw herself off.

Jinx has no one anymore at this point. Her old family is long gone. Silco is dead. Isha is dead. Vi has decided having a good time with Caitlyn is more important than her. This is Jinx at her lowest moment. Does she like him back or is he just the only one who showed up?

Ekko is a winner once again. His crush has been abandoned by everyone, and he is the only one left to comfort her. Luck like this is hard to come by. And of course, she's gonna be super impressed and touched by any sliver of affection now. Probably gonna look at him with big, grateful eyes, and see him as her savior. I'm disgusted.

By the way, this should have never been Ekko. If Vi was too busy with fucking Caitlyn, this should have been Sevika. Sevika is the only character who has known Jinx since she was a child, and who has been with her through every iteration. And she's the only character who has never cared whether she's Jinx or Powder or any other persona she decides to take up, to her she'll always just be an annoying kid. And to Jinx this might actually be comforting. Sevika is the only one who has a realistic perspective on Jinx, and recognizes her flaws, so her talking her down might have actually been very touching, and there are things she could tell her that neither Vi nor Silco could.

(The fuck could Ekko tell her, honestly? That he went off to an alternate universe where she was his perfect girlfriend, so she shouldn't kill herself actually? What the fuck.)

I also wanna talk a bit about Jinx's resolution as a character. Not her fake-out death, but her in the last episode. I think it's interesting that everyone who had a connection to Jinx is gone, namely Silco and Isha. Silco and Isha are both people she chooses, actively, and she is herself around. Instead, now, she's back to Vi and Ekko, the same people that were with her in her childhood. This is a full circle moment for her.

This is Powder right here, guys. Powder was a little girl who made a mistake and then she went off on this journey where she met new people and she was someone else and it was fun for a while but ultimately she realized what she was doing was bad and she came back to her family and is ready to be that little, sweet girl again. The problem with the Powder-Jinx dichotomy is that Jinx, as much as she represents all this bad stuff that the show has made clear, also represents Freedom and Power, two things that Powder definitively lacked. Her coming full circle, coming back to Powder, is not actually a good resolution for her. She's right back where she started, with Vi and Ekko. Her venturing off on her own and making her own decisions was ultimately a mistake that only lead to her suffering. We can take this all the way back to when she decides to venture off on her own with that bomb, despite Vi's disagreement, and the consequences plague her for the rest of the story.

I know everyone thought it looked super cool when she lifted off that hood, but I could only think it was tragic.

Was Yamori supposed to be gay?

While it’s not explicit in the text, there are a couple of hints about Yamori’s preferences. Firstly we are introduced to him with Nico, who is described as an “okama” from even before we meet him. “Okama” is generally used to describe a flamboyant or feminine gay man. It’s not a nice word either, especially how Ayato uses it. When we get to see Nico and Yamori together, Nico is thirsty af

My re-translation of his sexual pun that was missed in the original scanlation adds to how he acts around Yamori. Eventually we find out that he was in love or at least lust with Yamori, and that’s why he hung around him.

How does Yamori treat Nico? Outside of his torture room, quite well it seems. They met at a club (what kind of club??) and there’s this amazing image of Yamori bringing two bottles of (presumably) blood wine.

Then there’s the rooftop omake where Yamori opens up to Nico about missing his mother, and Nico offers to hug him. Yamori declines by saying “I really don’t want that, because your stubble will rub on me,” and it’s not that rude. He doesn’t mind having an openly gay man who is obviously crushing on him around him all the time.

However, when he’s in his torture chamber it’s a different story. He uses Nico as a punching bag so that he won’t accidentally kill his “toy” (Kaneki). Nico seems okay with this and expects it, however. Definitely some kind of weird BDSM thing going on, hmm? But then later when Nico objects to Yamori killing a child in front of it’s mother, he calls Nico “Kama-yarou” like Ayato does, and it’s probably the rudest homophobic slur he could use.

It’s a theme of the manga and anime that Yamori created a different personality after being tortured, and that “Jason” is the result of the sadistic CCG scientist breaking his mind. When we see Yamori around friends at other times, he seems perfectly nice.

Which brings us to Naki. Naki absolutely loves and adores Yamori, and Yamori cares just as much about him back. Their meeting was detailed in the end card of S2 of the anime. Yamori beats up Naki but doesn’t kill him. Naki immediately asks to become his underling, and the next we see they are dressing alike.

The only other glimpse we see of their relationship was an “Icon Talk” Ishisa-sensei uploaded for Naki’s birthday, where Yamori surprises Naki with a birthday present. Even though Naki says some stupid things, Yamori doesn’t get angry at him. This patient and kind Yamori seems to be who shows up around Naki. No wonder Naki loves him so much.

Another aside, Naki is jealous of Nico and is aware of his relationship with Yamori being sexual. He gets mad when he catches Nico stealing Yamori’s underpants.

Yamori has no reaction to this in the comic, so is he okay with it? Maybe he likes having guys fawning over him?

After Nico escapes when the Aogiri stronghold is destroyed in the raid, he talks about Yamori with one of the clowns. He said that he thought that Yamori would fill the empty hole inside of him, but instead Yamori kept making holes in his stomach! Ouch. Good thing he heals quickly. The clown says that he was letting himself be used by Yamori, and Nico says that there are only two ways of living - by being beautiful, or for someone beautiful. Well, Yamori was beautiful to him until the whole killing-a-mother-and-child thing, it seems.

Nico does feel some regret later on, that he couldn’t find out if Yamori called a woman’s name in his last moments. He did- his mother’s name. Nico was still jealous even after he was dead. Were they in a sexual relationship? Maybe. If Yamori was gay he was a closet-case. Using Nico on the side, but never committing to anything. “The lonely sadist” as he is called in the TG game.

Oh Yamori, we hardly knew you.

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anich17

5 years ago

My favorite part about the Venom movie is when people tell me how Carnage/Cletus Kasady, a character I have had passion for since the 90′s, is wrong from what I know. Like, brah, I know everything there is to know about him. I’ve bought every appearance since issue Amazing Spider-Man 344. I know this character more than you do. Red isn’t different from Cletus.

Cletus is literally Red. Every host from Maurice “Moose” Mansfield to Silver Surfer to John Jameson to even Norman Osborn act like Cletus Kasady. Why? Because Red has Cletus’ personality. They are one in the same. A symbiote picks up all of its first host’s traits. Carnage is Cletus. Cletus is Carnage. It’s why they say “I” instead of “we” like Venom. Hating Cletus is hating Carnage. Hating Red.

Red was only called Red in issue 362 of Amazing Spider-Man. Only reason I roll with it is because Cletus alone isn’t Carnage. His symbiote bonded to anyone else isn’t Carnage. Only together are they Carnage. Just like how Venom is only truly Venom with Brock and his symbiote.

He only mentioned Red ONCE as a female (I can live with this and kinda like it honestly), and that was Carnage USA where he referred to Red as his wife. The other was a Deadpool book that was non-canon to which the symbiote appeared as a woman. (Again I like it. It makes it more interesting). My point is, this is a character that defined who I am since day one. You are entitled to your opinion, but when I spout facts, don’t assume I am a liar. In fact, change my mind on it. I hate coming off as a self righteous guy, but to have people shame you for knowing a character you loved since the first appearance feels like shit.

To those who read the entirety of what I said. You rock. Here, have a Carnage Family Portrait.

I’m over thinking this and I am drunk. But damn does it still mess with me.