#oooopsies

(Disclaimer that while I think the arcs do feature those relationships as themes they are only one theme amongst a sea of them, I'm not saying they are what the arcs are about, I'm only focusing on that specific thing)

Like, when you actually look at it there IS a pattern!

Li Ling's and Yang Cheng's arcs deal with romantic love, mostly in the form of attraction, crushes and a feeling of disconnection with your loved one (and a bit of jealousy if you choose to see it that way)

Li Ling has a crush on Moon, who is in a PR relationship with Nice, who is implied to have been an item with Wreck. And even tho LL likes Moon, he never actually confesses or pushes his feelings for her, so they go unexpressed. Wreck also completely loses communication with Nice, and that feeling of isolation drives him to take drastic measures, completely destroying him when he realizes that Nice (and his relationship with him) will never come back. This is paralleled with LL after Moon's death - the unrealized feelings that he might have had for her get completely negated by her death, making that relationship, like Wreck's completely impossible, since both of them end up essentially bonded to ghosts.

Then we have Yang Cheng's weird trio situationship in which there is a look of both canon and implied very obvious suppressed and unexpressed pinning by everyone involved. Yang Cheng likes Xia Qing but never confesses to her, she likes him back but refuses to be with him unless he makes up his mind, Shang Chao supposedly confesses to Xia Qing but also shows a lot of care towards Yang Cheng... man, this whole thing was a mess. And the core of the issue was Yang Cheng's ultimate inability to voice his feelings, process them and act decisively. All those unsaid things end up leading to, paralleling LL's arc, a complete severance of any potential relationship - with Shang Chao's literal death, Yang Cheng's symbolic one and Xia Qing crying next to two empty chairs.

The next arcs, Lucky Cyan's and Queen's are mainly about friendship (with a little sprinkle on the idea of "community" as well methinks)

In both of them, the importance of friendships (or just creating links with other people and not being alone, honestly) is pretty straightforward: Cyan was almost forcibly insolated from the other children at the Orphanage due to her status as holy maiden and whatnot, while Queen low-key insolated herself (although we still have to see whether and how much Micky might have encouraged that decision) by deciding to change society by becoming X, making her extremely competent since childhood.

Cyan ends up meeting Luo, who teaches her to play guitar, shows her that her luck powers might not be as perfect as everyone says (to her relief) and encourages Cyan to be herself and ultimately escape. She also eventually meets other heroes (Little Johnny and Queen) who accept her as she is, as well as supporting her when the whole Fear drama was unfolding.

Queen, on her own arc, has to be practically forced into forming friendships. It's quite interesting how she starts with a very clear rivalry born from a dynamic that, possibly without Micky's middling, could had actually become a friendship - that of Bowa. If Queen hadn't been so set on her goal, and Micky hadn't kept implying that Bowa's success was owned to Queen, maybe they could have developed a healthier dynamic, which is quite sad. Nevertheless, this shows the viewers a very important part of Queen's personality and general way of interacting with people outside of her family. She is extremely goal-focused, and her default mode of presenting herself to others is aloof and neutral, as if she wanted to portray a constant air of professionalism and competence. Luckily for her, this superficial barrier gets completely destroyed by Big Johnny's cuteness and ultimately her golden heart shines trough, which makes her grow very close to Cyan quickly after her defeat during the Tournament - both of them friendships that make her realize that she can actually rely on other people and show her true self around them, allowing herself to relax and not hyper-focus on her goal.

I feel like the following arcs are the most obvious: Loli's, Ghostblade's and Little Johnny's arcs deal with the bonds between parents and children, specifically that of the father and their kid.

I'm not going to go one by one because frankly that would take forever, but I think the general focus of those three arcs is the question of what is a good parent, as well as dealing with a failing one and the ultimate loss of them.

Both NuoNuo and LJ are missing their fathers (and I'm LJ's case, also his mother), or at least they think so (since you know, Ghostblade is actually not dead). Both feel that void terribly, with it shaping them in a way. NuoNuo cannot help but wonder what it would have been like to grow up with a father, how he would have been, etc, while LJ directly sets his life to revolve around seeking revenge for Sheng's murder. Nevertheless, not everything seems to be lost. LJ mourns his father, but strives to be a good father himself to BJ, while NuoNuo still has her mother and seemed pretty open to learn more about Ghostblade and get to know him better.

Loli and Ghostblade, on the other hand, have to deal with what happens when the relationship between a parent and their kid falls short. Luo Tong is well meaning, but he's always too busy and tends to overprotect his daughter. This leads to a building resentment on Loli's part, as well as an increasing need to prove herself in his eyes (the poor girl was so excited to be given a mission only to feel so let down in the next minute). Ultimately, Loli and her father are unable to communicate and understand each other, something they do not manage to solve before Luo Tong's demise.

Ghostblade is what happens when someone who at that moment is in a situation in which they are unable to be a good parent becomes one. He has his reasons, but after NuoNuo is born he is unable to make a change in himself or his environment to accommodate both her or himself to the reality of a baby, so eventually his wife decides to separate and Ghostblade is left with extremely limited contact with NuoNuo. Nevertheless, his entire arc deals with Ghostblade's realization of exactly how much NuoNuo means to him, and how much he actually feels and is willing to do when she is involved - a realization that eventually evolves into Ghostblade, the cold killer, choosing to protect LJ and for the first time "fail" his mission. The subsequent fight and its outcome pushes him to leave Mighty Glory, a promising first step towards the mending of his relationship with NuoNuo and the road of actually being a good father.

OKAY SO THOSE HAVE BEEN ALL THE ARCS

AND NOW WE HAVE ARRIVED, AT LAST, TO WHAT IS PROBABLY THE ONLY ACTUALLY INTERESTING PART OF THIS GODFORSAKEN POST

So now, you would be wondering, what about the next ones? Looking at the others, they should revolve around some kind of relationship as well right?

I think so! And I believe I could take a guess about which one it will be!

Warning: we have virtually NO information about the following arcs or the heroes in them, specially Dragon Boy and X! So this will be some heavy speculation on my part, I will be jumping to conclusions as if I were at the Olympics.

So. I was thinking.

The following arcs (Dragon Boy's, Ahu's and X's) could be about the relationship between a person and their mentor/role model/someone they admire.

Why you ask? What made you arrive to that conclusion?

Surprisingly, Ahu.

You see, Ahu seems awfully close and loyal to his owner, you can tell that he is willing to do basically anything if it would keep her safe, le make her happy. Therefore, the figure of that owner will be very important to Ahu's arc, just like Moon was important in LL's, Luo in Cyan's, etc etc etc.

But, do Dragon Boy and X have owners? Not really, no, not at all.

But you know what DB definitely has? A messed up relationship with Rock and Zero.

That's what made me realize that the important figure in the last arcs is not that of an "owner", but of a mentor, of someone the main character looks up to and listens to, someone who has influenced their live deeply and probably keeps influencing it at the moment.

So, Dragon Boy.

It really seems like this man has been influenced by Rock since he was pretty young. In the 21 episode preview, we see him being beaten up by a bunch of young boys while he was practically a kid as well, and then Rock shows up with a message: I have been looking for someone, someone who can become God. The implications of this scene, at least for me, are clear. Imagine you are a young person, hated by your peers, who probably feels alone and ostracized and oh so weak, and you are desperate, desperate to form any kind of connection, to feel strong and protected and safe. And suddenly this adult appears and it's like a miracle: he not only tells you that he can make you strong, but he also says that you are the person he has been looking for, that there is a place were you belong and a person you would matter to. So this adult not only takes you in, but he also introduces you to this all-powerful Zero godly figure you will eventually become, and he encourages you lashing out towards the people you see as wrongdoers, so you can also give in to the violent impulses you had developed during your youth.

WELL DOESN'T THIS SOUND LIKE THE MOST TOXIC MENTORSHIP SITUATION EVER.

So, in DB's life, you see two "mentor" figures: one of Rock, who DB follows and probably completes shady missions for, and that of Zero, this figure DB potentially sees as the representation of power, fear, and everything he wants to become.

But Glass, you will say. Just because Ahu was an owner and Dragon Boy is involved in Rock's Special Manipulation Tactics For Emotionally Unstable Young Adults doesn't mean the arcs are going to be about freaking mentors what ARE you going on about Glass, you will say.

Well, the thing is. During the last (and next) episodes we have also had that sneaky sneaky arc.

The sneaky sneaky Nice arc.

So, here is the thing.

Nice also happens to have a Toxic Mentorship Situation Out of Hell.

As we saw in episode 20, Shang had been, until recently, paying personal attention to Nice's development as a hero, acting as a the person who not only have him the change to be a hero, but also fostered him in that world. So. A mentor.

And lo and behold, it's another toxic one! The difference with Rock is, instead of pushing Dragon Boy to the Dark Side since the beginning, Shang seems to have made sure that Nice completely relies on his identity as a hero and him first, and then he has been increasing and increasing the pressure on Nice, constantly reminding him and all he has is owed to Fear (and therefore Shang), that he is a failure that is never going to achieve true relevance, but at the same time he trusts Nice will be perfect and solve problems (do whatever Shang says or even implies) perfectly. Yeah, the manipulation is off the charts with this one, fam.

All of this comes to a head with Nice's desperate attack to the Alien site, and in the 21 preview Shang's ultimatum towards Nice: be part of the Top 10 before the Qualification Round for the Heroes Tournament, no matter what happens. Something that could very well lead to the Smile Incident, if Nice just happens to find out a top 10 hero (which Smile might be) severely weakened after a fight with Dragon Boy - since, as others have theorized, taking out a top 10 hero would put him one step closer to being one himself.

And we finally come to X, the big big mystery in this show. How could he fit with the mentor dynamic?

My personal theory is that Smile is X's mentor, and that he was the one that basically taught him to be a hero.

Think of it - we don't know what agency Smile was a part of. If it was FOMO, knowing that X works there in his civilian form, there is a pretty big possibility that Smile and X might have met there - and that's how Smile learnt of X's true identity (maybe X is part of Smile's work team at FOMO, maybe his powers came suddenly and somehow Smile found him out before he had completely mastered them, who knows). Also, funnily enough, IF Smile had been the one who had taught X how to be a hero, it would make sense. Smile wears a huge pompadour, S a small, very discrete one blending with his long hair. X's glasses are orange, the same color of Smile's suit (and jacket). Both of them have this retro aesthetic, both of them constantly smile (smirk, in X's case) in their hero forms. Even, if Smile's origins were as some kind of actor, comedian or talk host (which I think would fit someone whose superpower is being always smiling and making people happy), he might have been the one to teach X the importance of putting a charismatic, slightly flamboyant front that would attract the audience!

I am aware that this is a huge jump to conclusions, BUT (and only BUT) if I'm right and the following dynamic is mentors, I believe it would fit AND make a lot of sense!

Which leads me to the following point.

The arcs might also be about the breaking, fall or general destruction of that mentor figure and/or dynamic.

Why do I say that?

The Smile Incident.

And Ahu's owner being in a hospital bed, and apparently pretty often in danger.

We know something is going to happen for sure with Smile, and it wouldn't surprise me if Ahu's owner has a tragic end.

It wouldn't surprise me either if something happens that makes Dragon Boy see either Zero or Rock differently, or if Nice finally snaps and loses his hope in making Shang happy with him.

So, tragic ends for the mentors, or at least that relationship and figure of the mentor.

So, how do you act when that fundamental figure, someone who has been shaping you and your sense of being and identity for years, suddenly isn't there, or has become someone you can no longer recognize?

I guess will find out!

(or not)

(there is a big HUGE possibility I'm going to be clowned next episode)

(and this huge post was for nothing)

(OH WELL)

(ENJOY WHILE IT LASTS)