YO YOURE RIGHT
say it with me everyone: we were absolutely fucking ROBBED of noah and owen doing the tango challenge in ridonculous race
bonus:
SHADOWSAN PLZ I STG
Let themĀ š“ š š¶ š® š£ š¦ š³
Thinking about how Blyke is actually insanely strong, even by the standards of his world, yet he gets his ass kicked for the entire story.
From episode one...
To the first actual fight heās ever been in... (ch. 15) [Edit: second actual fight]
... to the approximate middle of the story... (ch. 197)
... Up through the very latest chapter as of me writing thisā (ch. 345)
ā Blyke repeatedly gets pummeled.
Over,
and over,
and over,
and over.
Itās really no wonder he gets insecure about it.
I mean, these screenshots were all taken from different fights. The amount of fights heās won, on screen, without backup is... once or twice against Zeke, once against Gou (Agwinās Jack from turf wars), and once as a vigilante solo act. Thatās four, max. There could be more that Iāve forgotten, but Iāve read this series so many times and I really canāt think of any. (No, I donāt count firing a warning shots to get people to behave as āwinning a fightā.)
compared to all the fights heās been outmatched in? Youāve got Rein from turf wars, Volcan, John, John, John, Lennon from his vigilante solo stunt, John again, the fight in the Rowden amusement park, the attack on Rowden hill, Ember, and now the authorities in general. Possibly more that I forgot. Thatās 11. He didnāt necessarily lose all those fights, but theyāre fights where he was way out of his depth and/or wouldāve lost without backup.
Anyway, point is: Blyke is no stranger to getting his ass kicked. In particular, he is no stranger to getting kicked while heās already down.
In fact, Iām gonna take an example from the turf wars match in chapter 15: Blyke has already lost the fight with Rein, yet Arlo hangs him out to dry. Arlo is the one whoās supposed to call him back to get healed, yet he just smiles while the others look at him expectantly, and Blyke gets more and more injured. Even Rein is questioning it.
I could and honestly probably will do a whole analysis on just chapter 15, but eventually Seraphina calls him back for healing. The way Blyke was treated in that scene was kinda heartbreaking.
GOD chapter 15 is my favorite episode but it leaves me with so many questions grrr I wanna talk about it but thatās another entry.
Putting that aside, Blyke is very protective, and compassionate to the plight of others when heās aware of it. After he sees the situation in Branish, he is immediately, rightfully pissed about the way society is. It opens his eyes to a world he hasnāt experienced, and it reframes how he thinks of John (still a ācrippleā at the time).
To the actual point of this diary entry (other than rambling about Blyke, that is), John is another character who gets repeatedly kicked while heās down. I donāt think I need screenshots to prove that. However, in my current reread of the series, I recently came across a certain panel that I do wish I had a screenshot of. Itās either Blyke or Seraphina who asks John āWhy are you always kicking people while theyāre down?ā And John responds: āBecause everyone kicked me when I was down!ā And I think thatās a vivid contrast with Blyke, who has been kicked while heās down, and chooses to protect people who are weaker than him. In particular, I want to point out that in order to protect them, Blyke is willing and actively chooses to get beaten quite brutally.
Mind you, this ^ is to protect people who he barely knows. He and Sera arenāt close, and the others are practically strangers.
Itās pretty much the inverse reaction. John says āOthers kicked me while I was down, so Iāll do the same on everyone else tenfold.ā Blyke says āI was kicked while I was down, and goddammit I will keep getting kicked if it means other people donāt have to.ā
Itās such a cool parallel, and the fact that when John was getting kicked, Blyke was trying to help, but when Blyke was getting kicked, John was doing the kicking adds so many layers to it.
you don't "hate kids," you hate being forced into a caretaking role.
you don't "hate kids," you hate censorship passed off as family values.
you don't "hate kids," you hate the constrictiveness of the nuclear family.
you don't "hate kids," you're just not used to occupying fully age diverse spaces so you're not used to the noise or the many different kinds of needs.
you don't "hate kids," most public spaces just aren't built for kids, and so the few kids you see are always uncomfortable and distressed.
you don't "hate kids," you hate the intense social rules assigned to kids and anyone who interacts with kids.
You don't "hate kids," you hate how society reproduces its most restrictive elements and how kids are powerless to resist it.
At the moment how I feel
She/her - Writer (ao3 @AgraAFTERdark), yapper, bottom feeder. Sometimes i serious but mostly i shitpost.
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