#LOADED with subtext and tension and all that good stuff

[shokuto]

Can’t believe Miles and Gwen are about to be the most well developed cbm romance of all time

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales Della Arc Reviews: The Spear of Selene or THE INCREDIBLE STORKULES, GOD OF HOMEROTIC SUBTEXT OUT OF MYTH!

Hello all you happy people and welcome back to my coverage of the Della arc! It’s our last 2017 episode before the Finale, and it’s a huge one as we delve into a fan faviorite that introduces a pair of fan faviorites, a drum of tzatkiki sauce worth of gay,  an asshole so odious getting sent to the bowls of hades and laughed at for all enternity after being cast out by eveyrone he knows really was getting off light, and at last some plot progression on this arc. At the time it aired mind you at this point Dellas been a beloved cast member for three years, and we’ve known what happened to her for longer than that. 

At the time though.. it’d been 8 MONTHS since the Great Dime Chase. Let that sink in. The Della reveal was the biggest hook of an already exceptional pilot: It not only promised to flesh out a character who’d had all of one story in the comics at this point in present day, but solve the mystery of why she was gone. Not only that but Scrooge and Donald’s feud clearly stemmed from this exact moment. And the first full episode in the arc confirmed it: Della had taken whatever “The Spear of Selene” was and apologized to Scrooge for it. So why had she taken it, why did Donald blame scrooge, why did Scrooge not blame himself, at least outwardly, where was she, what was the spear of selene...

As I pointed out last time airing order didn’t help and due to airing the arc episodes really close together, gave the impression the arc would not only move fast but take up more of the season than it did. In practice both arcs take up a fourth of the season not including the finale, which would take both up to about a third. The expectation on how much of the season would be taken up by the arc.. was on Disney for airing things badly. I will give credit where it’s do as they moved this episode up in the order to try and make up for it (and give themselves a huge mid season opener).. but then for some reason shoved the last episode before last crash, ie. the only one they coudln’t move, way back to right before that episode. “ Here’s an actual photo of the person who made this decision

As I said they did get better next season with only a few swaps and only for good reason. So props. 

HOWEVER.... this episode still has some  flaws with pacing and revealing info, with or without Disney drunk driving the schedule. The wait between episodes in this plot is an episode LONGER in production order... and dosen’t move the plot forward by much. I will get to that when the time comes.. and that DESPITE this treatment of the fans.. this episode is still one of the seasons best. How are both things true? Join me under the cut to find out. 

Thunderstormy to be precise and the Sunchaser is natrually encountering loads of turbulence with Launchpad barely holding int here while Donald’s buffeted around the back. Why Donald’s with them... 

But it’’s one of his only five starring episodes in the season, out of 9 appearances total the rest of which are cameos.  Yeah now seems as good as time as any to talk about Season 1′s Donald Duck problem. 

See Donald was promoted as a major part of the series, rightly so since he was reduced to a guest star for the 87 series due to a combination of Disney not wanting to overexpose the characters, people possibly not being able to understand his voice and thus making plots hard to understand, and Tony Anselmo being new to the roll at the time. So the reboot went all out promoting the fact Donald would be in it, front and center and gave him TWO character shorts to the rest of the casts one. Disney really went out of their way to show he’d be in there so as a certified Donald Fanatic, I was sure he’d actually be in the show a lot and on the adventures a lot. The crew were not blameless as both promotional arts featured him. Launchpad and Beakly conversely were asbent, so the impression given by all of this was that Donald would be central to the series and in a lot of episodes, given equal focus to scrooge and the kids. 

This.. didn’t happen as you all know. Instead as stated he’s up front and center for 5 episodes, and makes cameos in others, but generally is hardly around. Now there is KINDA an excuse to this as he doesn’t want to adventure, be in the mansion or any of that.. but it’s a REALLY weak one. He still at least could’ve made more cameos, the fact he was working on the boat all that time isn’t made clear till last crash, and his two spotlight episodes both have him dragged along on the adventure anyway, so it’s not like his not wanting to be there meant he woudln’t be forced to join in anyway. There were ways to include him, still have him in a supporting role instead of leaving him back at the mansion.. and even the second episode proved there was still comedy to be mliked from that.. and pathos don’t forget the pathos. So yeah this was easily the biggest mistake of the season and one season 2 largely corrected: He got four dedicated plots, and was around a decent amount in the first half of the season and while he DID get shot up to the moon... it was for valid reasons. They wanted to focus on Della and the kids, give her room to breathe as a brand new major addition to the show, and thus him being around and the elephant in the room of his and scrooge’s feud that was never dealt with on screen, would’ve distracted from that. And even with that they still gave him a focus episode that somehow added more depth and MASSIVELY advanced the main plot, and a sizeable roll in the finale. Season 3 likewise had things better: while he shows up as much as in season 1, the episode count is lower by one, and he’s a major part of the plot in every one BUT Last Christmas, with four of those having the spotlight on him in some way. They eventually did figure out how to use him far more ballanced. So yeah credit where it’s do it got MUCH better, but he still felt like a recurring character in his own series, that was still bad, and I still needed to give out about it. 

But Webby and Dewey have a mission even if Dewey dosen’t quite get what’s going on so they flip a switch to turn on a warning light of some kind forcing Launchpad to make an emergency landing on a gorgeous tropical island. To Huey’s amazement, as the place was apparenlty only a myth, though naturally the guidebook did have it’s aproximate location listed... Ithaquack, home of the gods. Naturally Scrooge and Donald want to leave as soon as possible for reasons we’ll get into but Launchpad , for once is being a responsible pilot “Better safe than.. something right? Scrooge is of course irate that Launchpad picked NOW of all times to be safe, and the Kids.. don’t listen because Huey sees a beautiful realm of myth, Louie sees a beach vacation and Dewey and Webby.. have work to do. Webby eventually fills Dewey in on why their here, having wrongly assumed he got why they were going to a mythical greek island. As Dewey delightfully puts it later “Don’t assume I know anything. “ So she pieces it together for him: Selene was the greek goddess of the moon... Della took the SPEAR of Selene. Ergo this island is the best place to find the Spear and failing that, Selene herself to get more info on it and Della. 

So we have our two plots. Scrooge and Donald dealing with their pasts and the gods, and Dewey and Webby diving into his mom’s past. And unlike the last review where a genuinely unsettling story about an abuse victim forced to manipulate her girlfriend not going into a murder vault was paired with Louie having to deal with a Sasquatch while Huey catches a case of Dewey’s stupidity somehow, these two plots are perfectly paired: Their both perfectly thematically connected, both dealing with the past, Della’s absence and Scrooge and the Twins past encounters with the gods.. but both being self contained outside of that, entirely unconnected but stilll necessary to be in the same episode. THIS is how you do two plots. But since they don’t really synch up again till the end, let’s cover each one at a time shall we?

“What if My Mom was a Bad Person?” 

The plot is pretty straight forward but expertly done: Dewey and Webby first check your standard Zelda dungeon which apparently has a cursed weapon at the end. We also get an utterly adorable and sweet shot of Webby comforting Dewey after he’s clearly shook from it. Awwww. Turns out it’s the SWORD of Selene. and quickly turns into a game of put the Cursed Sword back before we all die. 

Next up is a monster who nearly kills both protecting it’s spear.. the spear of POSIDEN. (Look at meeeeee). And since they aren’t going to be on a boat that isn’t a house boat anytime soon, they don’t need that and the monster cheerfully redirects them, with Dewey apologizing for calling it ugly. 

So all pretty standard stuff for the show and really good stuff.. but it’s the building tension underneath that truly makes the episode and leads to one hell of a climax for this plot. All the while Dewey is DESPERATE for some explination for his mom’s disapperance that isn’t her betraying Scrooge, maybe returning the spear because it was cursed or getting eaten by a monster. Just ANYTHING but the mounting and horrifying suspicion.. that his mom was a bad person who destroyed her family and betrayed her uncle and laughed all the while. Webby.. does not help, backing that side of things and constantly voicing hte idea Della betrayed Scrooge, so obsessed with solving the mystery of her life.. but so unfamilliar with people she dosen’t see the very real toll this is taking on her best friend. To her she’s just making a logical counterpoint.. to him it’s just another idea in his head about the way his mom could’ve betrayed everyone she cared about. 

So that climax is where it explodes. Our heroes find a scale model of ithaquack (Complete with Tiny Maniticore! It’s so cute Webby just wants to slay it)  and an opening.. with an ominous message about incurring the wrath of the god seemingly conforming the worst. So Webby prepares to find out the whole story.. only for Dewey to stop her. No one’s finding this out, whatever it is, no matter how far they’ve come. And given this is the biggest mystery of her life and she simply dosen’t understand WHY Dewey dosen’t want to know.. both sides are ready to fight for this. And Webby DOES try to back him down, pointing out he really can’t beat her in a fight. But Dewey’s already grown leaps and bounds form the pilot and is working smarter not harder. Beat Webby, who spent a good chunk of her life being honed into the most badass child on the parent, one who can take on several of scrooge’s worst foes one on one? Not on his life. But hold her off long enough for the gate to close? He can do that. 

So the result? One of the best fights of the series... and given the sheer amount of great ones we’ve gottten since this one it still says something it holds up THIS well. It’s an even, furiously paced fight, with Dewey using every advantage he has including tossing said manticore to keep up, but not slowing down one bit. It’s heartbreaking to see the two come to this but it’s an delight to watch. Webby DOES win eventually, though time’s running out to get in and she finally asks WHY. And  while the stakes have been crystal clear for both this whole time.. we get them laid out in the most painful way for both. 

Webby: We're so close to the truth! Why won't you let us find it?! Dewey: Because...*his voice cracks* what if my mom was a bad person?

It hits VERY hard. For Webby this has been a puzzle something to solve the greatest achivment of her life, her chance to make her mark... and her best friend just wanted to abandon it. But in one swift response, he disarms all of that.. and makes her see how insnstivie she’s been: He may not know his mom.. but he can’t bear the thought she was a bad person. That she left or WORSE, because she didn’t care about him, or scrooge or ANYONE. Knowing nothing is better than knowing she was a monster. 

Webby realizes what she’s been doing to her friend and is horrified and offers to back out. The answers.. aren’t worth destroying her brother. But her willingness to back down.. finally gets Dewey to see the light. His fear was valid.. but at the end of the day,  it’d never go away. it’d just keep eating him for the rest of his life, every time she was mentioned or he found something else out he’d just wonder if it was a lie and wonder wht he COULD’VE learned this day. And if Webby’s willing to sacrifice THIS MUCH to give him peace of mind... then he can sacrifice that peace of mind for the truth, for her, and for himself. So he pulls them inside. 

Inside they find Selene who suprises them.. and is then confused. Their not della. Also I guarantee mentally she’s thiking “Thank me I didn’t do it naked this time. “. After some confusion as to who this is, Webby explains that IS Selene, and Dewey begs for answers about the spear... only to find out she dosen’t have one. Nope. The sword seen before and a SPHERE, yes.. but no Spear. So the poor boy breaks down, back to square one. It’s hard not to see why... all this effort, all of this sacrifice.. and he’s no closer than when they first set down. 

Selene does help though... giving him an idea of who his mom WAS: one of her closest friends (And let’s face it  Della named the ship after Selene and Selene casually uses Della’s shower. If they didn’t go out at least once, I am an outer god. And I very much am not and they very much banged hard. Goodnight. ) , a good person who brought fun to everyone, and loved her family more than anything. Wether she betrayed Scrooge or not, she wasn’t a bad person. And her own orb shows it showing Della in her prime, brightly smiling next ot her family. Selene encourages the boy not to give up, that his mom always loved a mystery.. and he can solve this one and gently hugs the sobbing child.. with Dewey quickly pulling webby in. It’s genuinely touching and a satisfying ISH ending. 

The ish... is because while this is a VERY good plot, i’ll gush more about it at the end, it does have one supreme flaw: the mystery dosen’t progress. And with the huge gaps between this episode and hte next one, in BOTH airing orders... it’s unforgivable to not have EITHER plot give us any hints about what happened. I don’t ask for much, but they could’ve found a clue in the sphere Dewey got, or saw a memory of her that brought up the next place they look, just something a little. While it’s still a very fine story, the main plot suffers a bit by having one of the ONLY three episodes delving into the della mystery before it’s fully revealed in sunchaaser have almost no progress. Della was probably a good person, which comes from her ex who clearly still loves her so that’s not really reliable, and the spear isn’t literal. While the lack of progress works for the story in the episode itself.. it comes at the cost of any actual plot progression. We end up exactly where we started and have to wait SOME TIME before we get to the next spot on the tour. Well we did, you guys will find out Monday or Tuesday depending on if the finale goes up in the morning or Disney holds it till the actual airing. Please don’t you bastards. Point is it’s  VERY good plot, but it’s hampred by not really progressing the arc. 

The arc progression for this storyline is painfully slow, and tha’ts not on disney. In either order there’s a MASSIVE gap of 15+ episodes between what we learned in the great dime chase and what we learn in castle mcduck. It’s sloppy writing and I expect better from this team, especially since the Lena plot the same season is far tighter paced: each one builds a bit, both on Lena as a character (Why she’s doing this etc), her development as a person, her relationship with webby growing and Magica and her growing more and more spiteful with one another. They could’ve had at least ONE MORE subplot to build this up, especially since we really dind’t need the sasquatch episode but just.. didn’t for whatever reason and it’s still frustrating.  But as always credit where it’s due.. the next two seasons were better about it. 

Season 2 while not perfect, and we’ll get to it’s plots someday.. and I do say plots as not alternating between the two plots for season 1 was a mistake if a well meaning one as not to drive up the price for Kev but for future refrence if any of you want me to cover an arc for something I WILL have to cover all of it or any adjacent to it that flow into it. Point is they move faster and both Glomgold and Louie’s are pretty lowkey and low stakes so while enjoyable, their not moving incredibly fast dosen’t hurt the show. And the Moon plot has the best pacing of the three and possibly of the series plots period: We get filled in on Della fairly quick, getting answers on her WAY faster, get introduced to the moon and it’s people right away, get a whole episode on them, and the most importantly in sharp contrast? She returns HOME halfway into the season. 

I will probably go into this again when I get to nothing will stop della duck but Season 1′s pacing and general wisdowm made me think she wouldn’t get home anytime soon and she’d return in the finale. Instead? We get a whole half a season fleshing her out further, seeing her connect with her kids, all that good stuff, WITH an episode advancing the moon arc, without that arc feeling unimportant, but still having the slow pacing. 

Season 3 meanwhile while again not without bugs, the last few episodes before the finale having no real build up to it really wasnt a good idea and I question why these two episodes were the ones leading into it, has two seemingly barely related plots.. that EFFORTLESLY merge into one, with one hell of a huge twist in impossibin that ratchets up the stakes. I don’t know how it’ll payoff.. but we’ll see. 

So they did get better, i’m still hard on it because it happened.. but I will never stop stressing how this crew usually corrected a mistake. If they fucked up, they LEARNED FROM IT, course corrected, and made it better and they listened to US. IN the good way, not letting fans run the series but listening to valid concerns and adapting to them. And given how fucking rare that is and how hard it must’ve been with the tight schedule, I.. I really appricate it and i’m going to miss it. And I can’t think of a segue so enjoy this picture of a turtle hitting a trapper in the face with a bat instead. 

“Someone Always Gets Hurt”

So let’s take it back a few hours. Hit it boys!

Donald tries getting the boys back on the ship, clearly fearing something coming for him.. and we soon meet that something. Yes it’s the hero of legend, the stork out of myth, the star of a LOT of Donald Duck Slash FanFiction only half of which he wrote, STORKULES!

In case I didn’t make it clear when I reviewed New Gods on the Block! I love this guy. He reminds me a LOT of the marvel version: Boisterious , horny (if in a far more pg version), Gay (Pansexual for the marvel version), flawed but still immensley likeable. Stork is a bit diffrent, a bit more naive, a bit peppier and entirely blind to the fact his father is a terrible person. But my love of the marvel herc means Stork was an easy sell for me and Chris Dimatopolis’ performance is second to none, only topped in this series by his later work as Darkwing where he got a bit more range than “Joyous ham who wants to bang”. Also I’m 100% convenced he’s made this memetic expression to donald at some point... 

If someone hasn’t redrawn that with Storkules yet, we have failed as an internet. And if someone has please show me. 

His crush on Donald is also endearing even if I don’t ship the two. And if your curious as to why it’s simple: Storkules is attracted to a version of Donald that no longer exists. Storkules craves a Donald whose a brave daring hero who loves adventure. And while still a brave hero when the situation calls for it as this episode will bare out.. he just.. dosen’t have the passion for adventure he did as a kid. While a LOT of that is loosing his sister for a decade, even once he makes peace with that and later gets her back... he just wants a normal life. His greatest wish was for one. He apparenlty “wishes for this every day”. He dosen’t hate adventuering anymore and by season 3 has come to terms with the fact he’ll never get everyone else to stop.. but I also think it’s always been obvious he clearly wants to one day. To have a normal life, settle down, find a girl, and if she wants to get married. Get old , fat and happy. I honestly think that’s the direction the finale’s heading in judging from the previews. I don’t think he’ll ever stop entirely, his family life’s too insane for that.. but he just dosen’t want to keep going forever and Stork, being an immortal hero does. They want diffrent things entirely and that just won’t work. Though that’s also JUST me and if you ship them or have a way around that, feel free. This is just my opinon. 

Anyways Donald’s not happy, the kids are confused  and Scrooge. has problesm bigger than simply not knowing how to say i’m not into you.... aka Zeus, king of the gods and of all assholes. He was originally supposed to be a swan due to a certian myth.. but they realized since that myth is both really fucked up and really not for children to not do that because why the fuck would you. Point is Zeus in myth is an asshole, a rapist, a cheating husband, and a vengeful, petty dick and that’s with barely any knowledge of Greek Myth on my part. He’s played by Micheal Chiklis whose famous for The Comissh and the Shield.. but whose famous to me for playing the ever loving Blue Eyed thing in the Tim Story Fantastic Four movies.. and honeslty, at least till marvel takes a crack at it soon, is the best screen version of the character. Look the film is flawed and I don’t remember a lot of it.. but his stuff in it just NAILS the character perfectly, at least the first one, and while the look is.. eh, he was the perfect casting. He just wasn’t in the right movie. So he’s naturally awesome here as history’s greatest douchebag. 

As for why Zeus is pissed at him unlike say Donald (The whole Spear of Selene fiasco) or Magica (Who while even worse than Zeus still lost her brother because of his callousness), or others he’s wronged.. Scrooge did absolutely nothing wrong here. During a beach party Storkules intiates, he reveals he used to be king of the beach and loved and worshipped by the people of ithaquack, which last time the adult ducks visited was a lovely hideaway for heroes. Scrooge naturally did a bunch of heroic and cool stuff, and upstaged him, and then bested him in various games and what not. Zeus claims they ran off because of this and because they didn’t want to party with a god bested by a mortal.. but scrooge reveals pottery showing it’s because Zeus threw a temper tantrum aka “a year long lightning storm”. So yeah for once all Scrooge did was just upstage someone who was already objectively horrible and who brought all of htis on himself. Scrooge even points it out perfectly “They didn’t leave because they liked me, they left because they didn’t like YOU. “ 

Pissing off the god who already didn’t like you for stupid reason goes about how you’d expect and when Storkules tries to cool things down by suggesting a game, Zeus turns it into a contest. His son against Scrooge’s nephews. Because he uh dosen’t want to lower himself. Yeah that’s it, totally not that Scrooge would kick his ass and then fucking kick his ass. Yeah that’s the ticket. 

So our boys don Toga’s, and gear up for the first challenge: grabbing the bag of winds. In case you thought Spongebob just made that up. Zeus of course opens it so Donald can’t just leave, but Huey simply thinks his way out and wins , Zeus demands best 2/3 and we soon get a montage of various events from chariot racing to sculpture where we get our title picture, lest you thought I was kidding abotu Storkules obession with donald. I mean there’s subtextually having a character have a crush on another and then ther’es making a naked muscular statue of him. I.. I don’t even have a joke here. He made a naked muscular statue of Donald. The only way they could be less obvious without just coming outright and saying it was if hte statue was of hima nd storkules making out. And i’m 100% sure Frank, Matt and Dana, yes Dana Terrace was involved in this one i’m as unsurpised as you are, only didn’t do that because Disney said no. 

Zeus declares one final round because he’s tired of this..e ven though he CLEARLY won the last one while Donald once again tries to just leave and Storkules finally calls him on it wondering why he’s given up adventuring and wondering what della would say if she could see him like this, having just given up and not caring anymore about any of ths stuff.  “Well she can’t! Someone always gets hurt....”

And that one very sharp and painful line both outlines Donald’s arc here, and for the season, and makes it VERY clear why he retired and why I felt like he was already on his way and the spear of selene was simply the final straw. He gave up.. because he was just tired of it. Tired of being the one who got hurt.. and devistated when it wasn’t him that time. When he lost his sister for what he felt was NOTHING. Sure hte stars would be great but they’d done everything and gone everywhere..w asn’t.. wasn’t that enough/ Couldn’t they just be done? Couldn’t he just stop. The spear gave him an excuse to do what he always wanted, but it also caused him to harden up and view EVERYTHING about his old days of adventuring as bad when like most things i’ts not that simple., There were good times, sunshine, giant sized gay men obessing over you.. okay maybe the last part isn’t a plus in his book, but point is there was good and his arc is seeing that and realizing he can’t just cling to his pain. He has to let go so he can move on heathliy. 

As for said final challenge Zeus tasks the boys and Storkules with stealing the golden fleece from a little girl. While this is part of a whole scheme... he undereistmaed his son’s valour and Storkules is naturally sent spinning over having to steal from a child and is sent into a crisis. Louie however has no such qualms, as he is a children.. and he’s also louie.. but as he tries to the child starts singing. As Scrooge puts it “nothing good happens when creepy children start singing. “ Very true, it’s usually a sign freddy kruger’s about to show up or your  about to be taken by a miltiary orginzation obssed with The Doctor. 

The boys plug their ears.. and Zeus’ plan becomes horrifically clear. Turns out he had no real interest in an actual contest this time, and has the child take control of Storkules to murder them. And gives the doucheist shrug imaginable when his OWN SON IS BEGGING HIM NOT TO MAKE HIM MURDER SOME CHILDREN. 

Scrooge naturally gets involved. Meanwhile Donald is trying to escape the lightning cage Zeus is using to make sure no one leaves... when he hears the boys cries of terror. He may hate this kind of thing.. but there’s one thing and only one thing that can make him snap back into who he used to be like it was yesterday. And that’s harming his boys. So Donald snaps into action and it’s a glory to see as Scrooge snaps back with him “Just like old times”. The two once again get a little closer to reconclisation by wrestling a golden pansexual to prevent him from brainwashdely murdering two children. God I love this show and this job. 

Huey however is more of the aim for the head sort and Louie simply uses his natural talent to talk the siren into working with him, with him as her agent. As he puts it Zeus just wants to use her.. he wants to use her too.. but to make them BOTH rich. She agrees, Louie wins, and Donald finally accepts storkules is his friend. Scrooge TRIES to use this to mend fences with Zeus.. but Zeus being a petulant dick wants another game and Scrooge simply throws a game of billiards or something like it to get this over with. 

So we get our wrapup. Dewey and Webby return, and Storkules and Donald say their goodbyes. Donald finally admits he’s his friend.. and in that one act finally admits he can’t just bury his past because parts of it are painful. And as Storkules puts it he may be done with adventure.. btu adventure’s not done with him. He’s got more of his old self in who he is now than he thought. Dewey also accidently wins and our family finds launchpad took the plane apart. There.. there’s no real ending. I can only assume Selene said knock this shit off when she found out or beakly later came in guns blazing. I don’t know. 

Final Thoughts: This episode is excellent. It has it’s fault: there’s no plot progression, and the ending is just stupid and is the only one of the series that feels like nothing was resolved. That being said.. the rest of the episode makes up for it. It’s filled with great gags as usual.. but the real meat is the character work. Dewey’s worries about his mom, and Donald’s attempt to literally leave his past behind, it’s really amazing stuff that elevates the episode past it’s flaws and into one fo the series best. Wheras revisting Other Bin reminded me it had a bad subplot that drug it down.. revisiting this one showed me just HOW near perfect it is with only a few things holding it back. Even with the dispaoitnment factor.. this one’s still excellent, with Ben, Kate and Tony all at the top of their games. Great stuff. 

Next Time on this Arc: Dewey has to face the future when the truth comes out. And Scrooge.. bitches with his dad for half the episode. Sure beats his dad sadly btu sweetly passing on to be with his wife huh?!

Next time on this blog: Amphibia time! Speaking of facing the consequences of lying to your family, Hop Pop’s FINALLY forced to face hiding the Box from Anne, and we also get an ivy episode. Super fuckin shooters. 

If you liked this review, consdier joining my patreon, link’s in the blog and next stretchgoal is a darkwing duck episode a month. Until the next rainbow it’s been a pleasure. 

[tirorah]

Road to Berlin’s ‘Road to Berlin’ Sure Was a Road to Berlin Episode

Hiya, everyone! It’s that time of the week, but don’t worry, your assigned reading is pretty light this time. Because, honestly? I don’t have much to say about this episode in terms of character arcs or themes or the like. Instead, you’ll find my brief thoughts under the cut, as well as my favorite stuff from Episode 11.

In the end, this episode was a follow-up to the ending of Episode 10, and also the start of the final offensive, which makes Episode 11 the middle chapter of a three-parter. This is always difficult to make satisfying--look at any pre-planned trilogy and you can see the struggle with ramping up the tension while also not blowing the series’ full load, as it needs to set up the final, climactic piece.

Consequently, Road to Berlin (the episode) didn’t do a lot of exciting things; it simply moved the story along. And that’s 100% fine. It’s just not as richly packed with content as most of the season has been. There was also some blatant reuse of old footage again (they really love that shot of Trude brandishing her guns, don’t they?) but again, I felt it was within acceptable parameters. I did feel like the episode was holding back a bit with the aerial combat, though. Seems the Ratte was the biggest star of the show for this week.

Without further ado and in no particular order, here are my favorite things from this episode!

Patton’s Redemption

Sort of. He was still a gloating idiot, but he actually valued Yoshika’s power enough to argue the 501st’s case to his fellow generals, and he showed admirable tenacity when the Neuroi’s full power gradually revealed itself. He didn’t shout nearly as often either, and was much more reasonable. Overall, he was far less cartoony and made a decent start at showing us why he attained his current rank.

Although I’ll never forgive him for this. That, and calling Yoshika a ‘little missy.’

This Line from Minna

It’s delivered calmly, but I like to think this is Diplomatic Minna Speak for ‘Fuck off and up yours, she saved your damn butts!’

And another thing: the doctor said it’d take Yoshika a week to be able to fly again, but Minna wants a delay of ten days, not seven. It seems she wants half a week extra so that Yoshika can recover more, which is both prudent and kind of her.

The Generals Being Children

Both amusement and disbelief filled me as I watched the generals of different nations bicker like bloody schoolyard kids. It’s true what they say: War. War never changes. (And especially not the ego of man.) The fact a bunch of grown men devolved into chest-thumping and throwing crap at one another is hilarious. Even Lucchini’s been more mature than that this season, and that says something!

Shizuka’s Turbulent Emotions

Again, Shizuka shows off her similarities to Trude; I feel like she’s definitely the type to hold this in until it comes spilling out in one ugly cry like it did here. She just wasn’t able to hold it in as long, likely due to her relative youth.

We also finally got to see the one character arc thing in this episode I was hoping for: Shizuka and her relationship with orders. For the entire season, we’ve constantly seen Shizuka’s rigid obedience to orders reinforced. But when Mio tells her to keep the Shinden’s presence a secret, we see the first time an order brings her true, internal conflict. Although it culminated in a good cry and not her disobeying said order, I have a feeling she’ll buck the trend and either tell Yoshika about the Shinden, or fly it herself.

Finally, it’s nice to see that she doesn’t let her injury scare her, and channels her guilt into some awesome attack runs. Much credit to her; she’s grown quite a bit, and not because she’s emulating the others, but by growing into her new responsibilities as a combatant.

Yoshika Doing What She Can

Respect was earned by Yoshika this episode. Although she was obviously disappointed she wouldn’t be able to fly with the others into the final battle, she didn’t let it get her down and decided to do whatever she could to help. That meant we finally got to see her newly attained medical skills again! All those books she checked out in Episode 1 sure came in handy now.

If you will, think back all the way to Season 1, Episode 2 for a moment. A Neuroi attacked the ship bringing Yoshika and Mio to Europe, and a sailor was injured by shrapnel. Back then, Yoshika was severely shaken by the combat, and when she tried to help the sailor with her healing magic, she was promptly rebuked by someone else, as healing him with the shards still inside would only hurt him further.

But here, people rely on Yoshika’s medical knowledge and even Patton greatly respects her for it. Her suggestion to hole up in the Flak Tower is also a huge success, likely saving all of their lives.

Shirley's Amusement at the Ratte

Why, Shirley, what are you insinuating here? Surely Karlsland isn’t compensating for something! They just like their prototypes huge.

And Perrine’s Dismay

Harrumph! Size doesn’t matter, obviously! Just look at Perrine’s chest.

But honestly, someone else pointed this out too: the fact they’re relying so much on experimental and/or new things shows how desperate they are, and how fragile their gains are.

Speaking of The Ratte

The Ratte is awesome. The way its rounds punched through the Neuroi walls... *chef’s kiss* It’s obvious where the love and attention went this episode: all the carnage! We also got to see a lot of Berlin’s ruins, which is a nice change from fighting over ocean and rural landscapes. In my opinion, this was the way to go with the budget.

Also, Dem Walls!

They were so cool! I was amazed by the way they could reform to cover the gap where they were under attack! They even showed the little drones coming in to stack on top of one another. And later on, how the main body used the walls to shield itself from the Ratte’s full power was also very impressive! I love how powerful the walls were, but that the Neuroi’s resources weren’t infinite. That’s how you write your antagonist.

Not to Mention the Dome of Death!

Let’s be honest: we all knew a snag was coming. But not only was this a clever trap by the Neuroi, it also showcased the Neuroi using the debris to build more of themselves!

Miscellaneous Things

Something I didn’t mention in my Episode 10 post was Lynne’s support. She’s been really good at looking out for Shizuka! And she also scored a huge hit on the drone horde, which was great. And this time, Perrine also took the time to reassure Shizuka; as the one who was originally assigned to train Shizuka, it’s good she’s showing her gentler side now.

The 502nd made a brief cameo! I haven’t watched Brave Witches yet, which I’ll have to get on after this season finishes. It was also really cool to see how the other Joint Fighter Wings were pitching in for the war effort. The 501st are definitely the stars of the operation (as they should be), but there’s a multi-prong attack going on off-screen. Exciting stuff!

I also really like the little touches that RtB’s been so good at this entire season. For this episode, it’s the blue tulip on Yoshika’s bedstand. Seeing as the episode starts on the day after the ending of Episode 10, this means someone (maybe Perrine?) had a Queen of Nederland shipped out to Kiel really quickly, just for Yoshika. It’s sweet!

Finally, while Minna and Trude clashed during the previous episode, here they work together to support one another during combat. Trude comes to Minna’s aid the moment she’s attacked.

The Stuff I Thought I’d Get, But Didn’t

I’d speculated on this episode and came up with things I thought I’d get to see. But nope!

First of all, what’s RtB’s deal with Mio? I can’t believe Minna’s had more subtext with Trude than with Mio this season! Even when the two of them finally spoke with one another for the first time since Episode 2, there was no blushing or anything like that! Are the days of Minna and Perrine fawning over Mio over? Is there someone on the writing team who loves Trude like I do, and has the same problems with Mio that I do? This is really...well, weird. I can’t describe it in any other way.

Anyway, she’s now bringing the B-17 to Berlin, meaning she might get involved somehow (and is also bringing the Shinden, possibly so Shizuka can fly it.) But here I was, thinking, ‘Oh, that plane they showed Mio with in the opening, she’ll fly that, and it’s going to have anti-Neuroi armor!’ and yet I’m not seeing any indication of that happening at all. Mio isn’t even in that plane right now. It’s the Ratte who got the anti-Neuroi treatment, and again, Mio’s presence felt...functional, I guess.

There’s something about her screen presence that bothers me, actually. I didn’t think about it before, because she was absent so much it just didn’t cross my mind, but...what happened to good ol’ jolly Mio? I don’t mind her being a bit more serious--RtB’s been a more serious season, after all--but we haven’t had a patented Mio Laugh since the first episode, and I miss it. Let’s hope the final episode gives her a nice sendoff.

Secondly, for all the fuss they made about Yoshika and Shizuka’s conditions with that downright tragic ending in Episode 10, the two of them bounced back pretty fast. It’s literally been a day and Shizuka’s already running around fine? And Yoshika doesn’t seem to be experiencing any lingering negative effects of her overexertion? (Aside from the obvious.) For a season that’s so focused on consequences and a consistency in tone, I feel like the two of them got off a bit light.

I was also expecting Trude and possibly Minna and Lynne having sad moments because ‘oh no, people we care about are hurt!’ but because Yoshika and Shizuka seem mostly fine, that didn’t happen at all.

Usually, Episode 11 is the one that ends on a somber note, but here it seems they moved that to Episode 10, and instead had Episode 11 strike a more optimistic tone. No one really showed off their flaws, either; maybe Episode 10 was the bookend to that theme after all?

Into the End

The episode ends on a very interesting note. Everyone finds out Yoshika is also trapped inside the Neuroi dome--and why, exactly, was no one informed of her presence on the Ratte?!--and they’re ordered to mount a rescue operation for their besieged comrades.

And then Trude comes with this absolutely surprising revelation:

I imagine at least one staff member had a chuckle at the fact the cast is now embarking on another Road (in)to Berlin.

The what, now? This wasn’t built up or alluded to at all; I have questions, show! Not to mention, how does Trude even know about this? And why is she the one announcing it, and not Minna, the world’s best mom and team captain?

Anyway, the preview seems to indicate some sort of tunnel run--I briefly wondered if they’d have to venture in on foot, but it seems to be big enough for them to fly.

This shot is ominous.

I’m highly intrigued by this decision. Obviously, the final confrontation will play out outside, but to yank the Witches from the air and into a much more claustrophobic space is a confident move. I can only imagine the surprises the final episode has up its sleeve.

Anyway, all in all, this was a decent episode, and while it did have lots of neat little character moments, it’s obviously setup for what I hope to be a spectacular ending. 

Even if it doesn’t quite deliver next week, though, RtB’s been so consistently great that it’s already cemented itself as my favorite show ever.

[windschildfanfictionwriter]

Oh hon. I hope things turn around soon and that life lightens the load on you soon! Questions- I was discussing this some people the other day- what do you think Hermione and Harry bring to their friendships with Ron? We see him doing so much emotional labor there, and sometimes I get quite put out at how little it's returned. Would you talk at all about Ron's relationships with his parents and/or siblings?

Thank you for the fun questions! They’re making for great distraction today and I really appreciate it! 

With Harry it’s pretty straightforward. In Half-Blood Prince we see Harry actively encouraging Ron and hyping him up with positive reinforcement. Out of everyone in Ron’s life, Harry is probably the only one who actively says good things about Ron to Ron’s face. Harry thinks the absolute world of Ron and yeah, I don’t think Harry really understands how little Ron thinks of himself, but I do think Harry sees more of that low-self-esteem than anyone else. 

Harry suggests leaving Hermione behind to Ron just before Bill and Fleur’s wedding. Just the two of them. He does it in Order of the Phoenix as well, about there being two Thestrals and Harry and Ron going ahead. Harry CHOOSES Ron over and over and over again in the books. It is Ron who is in the lake, Ron who Harry doesn’ t know what to do without. 

For Harry, Ron is the person who is most important in his life, and this is vital. Like, we all know Ron isn’t aware that this is how Harry feels, but that doesn’ change the fact that this is definitely how Harry feels. Harry would go to hell and back for Ron. 

I still think the best friend relationship is one-sided a lot of the times, but that is because Harry isn’t VOCAL about his feelings like Ron is. Harry hypes Ron up in Half blood but there is a clear point to it and that is getting Ron to be better at Quidditch on the field in front of people (trying to help him get over his nerves), where Ron’s actions and words are always without an end goal. The only benefit to help Harry. 

See, I get it, Harry is a teenage boy suffering from PTSD who grew up in an abusive household- I don’t expect Harry to KNOW that Ron is the type who needs positive reinforcements in all parts of his life, to be told that he’s done well and to be validated. Harry does the best he can with the limited knowledge of emotions and experiences he has. 

Like... we can see Ron needs that kind of stuff. We’re observers of the world and frankly, older and wiser, but Harry is not. 

For Hermione... Hermione is much more an intellectual pull. Both Hermione and Ron love to argue and debate. They thrive off of it. Like Ron would get bored without having someone to give him a challenge like Hermione does. Whether it's debating the morals of creature enslavement or how to defeat dark wizards or how best to take care of Harry or whatever else the topic is. 

They bring different things to the table in concerns to being different types of intellectuals. Hermione is purely academic. Ron is experience and specialization. This means that they almost always have different views on topics and their passion for debating these matters means they both are intellectually stimulated and the thrill of the challenge is something Ron simply doesn’t get from anyone else. 

We see it in the way that Ron is hesitant with Harry and how Ron is downright uncomfortable with the idea of disagreeing with the twins. The only time Ron has argued with Ginny was a violent and nasty affair on both sides in Half Blood Prince. 

While Harry see’s their constant arguing as bad and conflict inducing, it’s clear that Ron and Hermione do not see it that way. Ron even reprimands Harry later (with the backing of Hermione) for Harry yelling at them for arguing in Order of the Phoenix. 

At times their argumentative personalities have caused a great deal of tension, but I believe its more relaxing and fun for them in the long run. Especially since neither of them have other people in their lives willing to challenge them in this way. 

As for Ron’s family... 

That one is a bit harder. It’s implied by Rowling that there is a lot of support to go around... but... I mean. There’s not really a lot in cannon scenes of support in seven whole books. 

-Ginny when Ron was humiliated trying to ask Fleur out while under the Veela magic... 

-Snowball family fight 

-Fred and George giving him the how to flirt book. 

-Molly being supportive of him being a Prefect. Charlie talking to Ron about Dragons. 

-Percy with the lake and the letter. 

-The Weasley’s being there when Ron was poisoned (with the twins who were apparently coming to see him for his birthday- cool implication there). 

-Molly remembering Ron needs new robes 

-Ron getting the fairly new broom (though that point kind of irritates me because Ron specifically makes note that he could only play quidditch now because he has a halfway decent broom which he got for making Prefect after he SPECIFICALLY asked for that as his reward BUT Ginny magically gets a good broom the next year for quidditch for no reason? Just like Ginny got the good dress for the Yule ball while Ron had those hideous robes? Like... I know its not Ginny’s fault, but come on Molly, wtf? Its no wonder Ron thought he was least loved). 

All in all, if we go by what Rowling implies with her comments about everyone adoring Ron then yeah... we can assume Ron had a lot more of these moments types of moments.

But it is a bit hard to picture when all the subtext in the books says the complete opposite. 

Like even the god damn portraits have a go at Ron. 

So I feel your frustration. Sometimes reading the books you just want to go... can’t anyone be kind to this boy for like five minutes?! Does anyone really support him!? 

But yes, I think Harry’s attempts at emotional support are genuine, if not quite as frequent as Ron needs. And I think the intellectual challenges are vital for both Ron and Hermione to thrive. 

Ron definitely gives more than he gets in concerns to support, but there’s a reason why Ron has stuck with them for so long. No one else values Ron the way Harry does and no one else challenges Ron the way Hermione does. 

The Weasley family loves Ron, there is no doubt about that, even if they’ve unintentionally fallen into the habit of teasing and roughhousing so much that they don’t realize there’s no positive support anymore. The accidental neglect isn’t intended even if it is prevalent. I think its a bit of a toxic environment, but one that would be EASILY fixed if there was just some form of acknowledgment or realization about it. Because each and every one of the Weasley’s really do adore Ron, I think. Habit is hard to break though. It really is. 

Thanks for the fun questions, I had a great time working on this! And things will get better, I just need to keep moving forward. So thank you for giving me one way to do just that. 

-Windy

[docfuture]

Princess, part 7

     [This story is a prequel, set several years before The Fall of Doc Future, when Flicker is 16.  Links to some of my other work are here.  Updates are theoretically biweekly–next update is scheduled for February 16th.]

Previous: Part 6

     Full intragroup and intergroup relative advantage simulation run started.  Estimated time for results: 6 hours at current background priority.       Flicker finished her third high speed assessment of Practical Power Dynamics and supporting information on people and organizations that had used it.  It had sparked insights--it was full of interesting social science--but it was also full of traps.  Many of them seemed to be associated with naive scaling--the book's advice seemed unusually hostile to the incentive structures of large organizations, such as major corporations, government agencies, and international organized crime.  She didn't yet have the context to follow the social changes the book had inspired, other than the notable de-fetishization of gratuitous killing.  A long model run would help, but it would also take a while.       Flicker's focus was more on the personal.  Some of the advice on managing anger was intriguing, but it was unclear how applicable it would be for someone whose emotional processing was not entirely human.  What she had found most useful was the window into the thinking of a smart, astute human who had done serious work on the problem of long-term functioning with a large personal reservoir of anger.       She slowed down, moving herself back into squishy brain again, with active senses other than sight and touch.  Human senses, hearing and smell, for the sound from the high speed workstation fans and the cooling pumps for the server room, and the faint smell of the oil she'd used on a stuck robot earlier in the day.  She flexed her hands, which tingled as the normal flow of blood returned after a long bout of speed typing.       Her emotions shifted back to as normal as they ever got as well.       Journeyman was still watching.  It had been about a minute for him--and almost a day subjective for her, some of it spent thinking on her own while she waited on resource intensive bits of Database analysis.  She stood up from the high speed workstation and moved to the other end of the couch.       "The book's perspective on anger is useful," she said, "and there are some techniques that may end up helping with management--but that will probably take a while.  DASI is analyzing it and running simulations.  There is lots of subtext, and quirks because it wasn't really intended for someone with my level of power.  And we still have to sort through some of the traps, so I'll take my time, and it's securely recorded and backed up."       She handed the book back to him.  "Thank you for the loan."       "No problem."       Flicker exhaled slowly, releasing a bit of the tension she had built up.  "My level of background anger seems to be pretty high compared to most humans.  But not compared to the author of the book, apparently.  The way she talks about normal humans getting angry and calming down sounds like an anthropologist documenting weird alien behavior.  It's kind of funny because I find some of the same things weird.  So I can see why someone with normal human anger might find mine scary.  Like you do."       Flicker waved a hand.  "It's hard to explain because a lot of it isn't conscious.  It's just what I do, I don't know any other way.  But I can tell you something I know I do differently.  A lot of the things I see at high speed make me angry.  How could they not, if I care at all?  And my speed mind is wider than my squishy brain--it has way more short-term memory.  That's why I need to forget so much when I sleep--to keep the human part of me sane.  But some of the anger from the memories stays.  Only a little for each one, but it adds up.  More than anything I can do to calm down does.       "I have ways to dump that kind of anger, but only down to a certain point.  So I tend to be at or above my background anger level most of the time, unless I'm completely concentrating on something.  And new things can interact with the background and make it seem like I'm reacting disproportionately when I'm really not.  Does this help you understand better?"       Journeyman glanced down at the book, still in his hands, then put it back into his vest pocket.  "A bit.  I hope you're ready for some things that will make you angry, because I can't put them off any longer."       Flicker studied him.  "Speaking of traps and subtext, there was a bit in the book about not setting traps for yourself with unresolved conflicts.  We have one.  Have you been avoiding it to sustain your load-bearing social fiction?  Or because you were worried I'd be angry?"       "Both.  The spying you did the next time I was gone after scrambled memory day had some serious consequences."       "It was research on your background I needed to do because you didn't leave me any other options, and you never elaborated."       "You'd already stopped by the time I found out about it, and I didn't want to have that fight while you were my backup for the dicey mess I got myself into."  Journeyman spread his hands.  "You uncovered information about a fair number of my contacts.  One of them was a Diviner.  Doesn't matter how careful you are if you hit a canary secret from a prepared Diviner.  If the number of people who know it is small, and goes up, they can tell.  After I got back, I found a message from her telling me it had been fun, but she didn't want to die finding out the hard way that my new girlfriend was the jealous type.  She'd already disappeared.  I can't blame her--she knew you were my partner and correctly guessed you were the one digging.  Diviners that aren't paranoid about being hunted don't generally live to get old."       "But I wasn't--never mind."  She planned ahead based on plausible assumptions.       "Yeah.  My contacts don't know everything, and neither do you.  And that's the way it has to stay."       Flicker frowned.  "Okay, but I still don't understand the rules for how your magical communities function.  The information quality about them in the Database was really low:  A lot of implausible junk, some weird and disturbing stuff--most of it probably untrue--and occasional records of conflicts that left a body or bodies.  I wanted to find a good enough set of connections and opinions of you so I could see where you fit.  I was not trying to endanger anyone. That was why I put so much effort into preserving anonymity for everyone but you when I was digging.  And stopped when I realized it would fail.  I learned a lot of things I didn't expect.  Including how justified so many of the people you know are in fearing databases.  But only the Database knows who they are, I don't."       "They don't know that.  Limiting access to personally identifiable information can be a matter of life or death for them."  Journeyman smiled humorlessly.  "The torches and pitchforks crowds and burn-the-witch-itis have always interacted with privacy loss in ugly ways.  One consequence is that internal safety is an issue, and yes, that's something I have to balance.  I try not to make things worse.  But I did, when I became your partner.  I needed backup for too long, and you stopped waiting and started spying."       "I wanted to know about you, and if you'd been willing to sit down and talk to me--"  Not productive.  Redirect.  "I use the Database as a social prosthetic to keep from screwing up even worse than I do already.  You were being evasive.  I didn't know enough to tell if you were trying to get me to take a hint, so I used it to try to find out if I was taking the right hint.  There were Database privacy blocks keeping me from finding out what I wanted, and that stupid superhero social taboo against asking directly.  How else was I supposed to find out?  Telepathy?  Osmosis?  It was OSINT, active hacking and monitoring, or ghosting around to spy in person, and I picked the least intrusive option."       Journeyman nodded.  "That's what the Database told me, when I learned about the urgent trust hazard you'd created.  I understand.  But even open source intelligence is qualitatively different with your level of Database access.  Perceptions count for what I do, and it doesn't matter what you or I think, if my contacts start avoiding me because they're worried about a frighteningly powerful 16-year-old with high level Database access who is perceived as immature."       "How did this become common knowledge?  Did the Diviner tell people?"       "I did.  I knew there would be others, so I asked the Database for a list, got in touch with those I still could, and apologized."       Calm.  "Without telling me."       "I told you I'd handle the fallout--that it was a social problem, not a speed or power problem.  Remember?"       "Yes, but this was something I needed to know to correctly evaluate consequences.  And isn't it still a problem, just from us being partners?"       "At the moment, yes.  It's going to take time for me to rebuild trust."       Flicker shook her head.  Staying angry at him for concealing an apology would be both unhelpful and unfair.       "I see," she said.  "Any other unpleasant surprises you want to get out of the way?"       Journeyman clasped his hands and looked down at them.  "Several.  I've had time to think a little more about Doc not telling you things.  And you make assumptions based on what you think he must know.  But there is something I've picked up as a magician that you probably haven't.  Diviners tend to be paranoid and secretive, for good reasons.  A lot of Seers have serious trouble staying mentally healthy.  And true Oracles have to take extreme measures to stay sane and alive, and be really careful how they talk."       "What definitions are you using?  The Database says 'Seer' is used so broadly and vaguely it's almost meaningless."       "Ah, sorry.  Magicians can be sloppy with terminology, but what can you do?  A Diviner is a magician who specializes in information magic.  Seer is a catch-all label for anyone who sees or perceives things not accessible to normal senses that are at least sometimes accurate--they don't have to be trained and Seeing often isn't voluntary.  Breakpoint is an example of a Seer who isn't a magician.  An Oracle is a Seer who can see the future, know it's the future, and possibly affect it.  They are frickin' dangerous.  And rare.  And Doc comes across to me as an Oracle doing a very good job of hiding it."       "He isn't an Oracle, he's just good at long term extrapolation.  He does do some pretty weird analysis and debiasing tricks with Database projections, though."       "I think there's more to it, but it might not matter.  There are quirks he has, ways he talks about certain things, that make me wonder if he has a future-vision-o-mat down in the vaults.  And a way to stay functional as an Oracle is extreme compartmentalization--literally putting some things completely out of your mind.  That's risky if you get attacked, and I think Doc has been.  But he does have the Database, and the support for the kind of compartmentalization he would need was already there when I needed some of it, for the data I just put in escrow."       Journeyman looked back at her.  "So don't assume he has to know something because he knows other things.  And be careful about dismissing warnings if he can't share direct evidence.  Oracles can know without being able to show."       "That sounds pretty speculative," said Flicker, "but I'll keep it in mind."       "That's all I can ask."  Journeyman nodded slowly.  "And now for something else you'll probably consider speculative, but sure doesn't look that way to me.  Did Doc ever tell you how an Oracle duel works?"       Flicker sped up briefly to check the Database, then slowed again.  "No, but it sounds like something theoretical called a dual loop virtual time travel instability.  Does it involve nothing you can really see except strange apparent coincidences?"       "Yeah, that's what Doc called them.  I'm pretty sure now that the entire mess I got dragged into over a year ago--the deciding factor for my agreement to become your partner in the first place--was tangled up with a long running Oracle duel involving at least two sides.  And that's not even counting whatever indirect effect Doc's projections might have.  When I started to realize something was weird, I didn't think it had anything to do with you.  Aaand... I was wrong.  Figured that out last night, but it doesn't help much.  Even if you know you're caught in the gears, it's way too easy to tie yourself up in self-delusion, seeing things that aren't there..."       "Confirmation bias?"       "And a bunch of other kinds.  Multiply the problems in Doc's rant about using Bayesian analysis to catch a probability manipulator by a hundred.  And I'm fairly certain I was targeted to get at you."       Flicker frowned.  "Why?  Why am I not targeted directly?"       "You are--that would be Hermes.  There are multiple things going on, which is what makes this such a pain to try to unravel.  But you have a lot of protection from direct probability manipulation.  A bunch of older magicians that lived through the Cold War still cast regular little blessings against nuclear annihilation.  You get part of them because you can--and would--rip apart a nuclear war with thrown rocks.  And Doc and I still argue about the origin of some less obvious buffers for you that definitely exist.  But there's lot of hostile probability manipulation, too.  Like, everyone who can do it who wants to destroy the world or part of it, because you're pretty good at stopping that, and the easiest way to get it to happen is to trick you into doing it for them.  Now I'm not defenseless.  But it's like..."       Journeyman paused to think, then looked up at her.  "Suppose I'm somewhere with bullets and shrapnel flying around.  I'm better off than the average bystander because I have an anti-bullet ward.  But if I'm standing next to Armadillo and a bunch of machine guns are shooting at her, I'm in danger, because bullets miss and bounce, and my ward can only handle so much.  And if some of the gunners get the bright idea to shoot at me instead, I'm in real trouble, because what might only annoy her can kill me.  I'm the weak point."       He pressed a hand to his forehead.  "I think I'm your weak point.  In more than one way.  And yeah, there are things we could theoretically do to try to handle it all, but you know what those machine gun equivalents are very effective at preventing?  Calm, uninterrupted consideration of anything personal or contentious."       "I think we're managing okay," said Flicker.  "I mean, it's not exactly fun, but..."       "We haven't gotten to the contentious part.  And, uh... I'd kind of like to move somewhere neutral for that.  This is your home, and you may suddenly prefer I be elsewhere."       "I may even more suddenly need to talk to the Database, and the latency is lower here.  If I want you to leave I'll tell you.  And you can port out any time, if you stop feeling safe."       "I'm not feeling particularly safe now.  But I promised I'd stop evading, so...  Do you still want to go ahead?"       Flicker briefly consulted her reminder list, much of which now seemed outdated or inappropriate.  "I had a plan, but you derailed it by bringing up other stuff--important stuff--like you're afraid we won't ever get another chance to talk."       A steadying breath.  "So I'm wondering if I even should, with everything you say is getting in the way.  And you aren't acting or sounding okay.  When you came back to Earth yesterday, you'd been through something horrifically bad.  Forgot you'd been stabbed in the back bad.  Paranoia turned up, reliving things under cover, not all the way back yet bad.  I changed the subject to Hermes, then later botched my sleep-fuzzy attempt to help.  Partner, can you tell me what's wrong?  And how we might go about fixing the Oracle thing if you think it's interfering with you too much?  Because I can wait a little longer if I have to."       Journeyman laced his hands together behind his neck and shook his head.  "You're right that I'm not okay, but waiting isn't going to make it better.  I think bad shit would just keep happening.  And I know you hate incomplete answers, but I've told you as much as I can about what's wrong.  As for fixing things... I don't think there is any quick fix.  I put details in Database escrow just in case, but I sure don't want you going off on a rampage in another dimension because I suspect some of the inhabitants might be responsible for some of our problems."       "Then why bring it up?"       Journeyman smiled wearily.  "Doc's old rule:  Tell you what not to do clearly and first, because there may not be a chance for a 'wait, stop'.  And with the way things have been going..."       "Fair.  So you think we're just going to have to live for a while with incomplete information, bad luck, unfortunate misunderstandings, inconvenient interruptions, and so forth for everything we do together?"       "No."  He took a deep breath.  "We aren't going to live with it because we aren't going to be together."       "...Until?"       Journeyman spread his hands.  "Don't wait around."       Flicker stared at him with a hollow feeling in her stomach.  "What does that mean?"       He looked down, then back up at her.  "First:  You're 16.  I would not be okay with starting anything before you're 18.  Next:  Even if all the interference went away, I still couldn't be Make-Everything-Better Man for you," he said.  "I'm glad I was able to help you as your partner.  But it's not a healthy basis for a relationship.  And those aren't the only problems, but going through a list with the implication that the goal is to find a way around them all would be a bad idea.  Some of the issues are mine.  Getting together with you would not work, and I don't know when, if ever, that might change."  He shook his head.  "You have your own life.  You should feel free to grow, and learn, and become... whoever you're going to be.  And right now there's too much I can't tell you, you have too many good reasons to be angry with me, and I don't want to be used as a weapon against you."       Flicker stood, and looked over at the entrance to the server room.  "So you'll just blow everything up yourself.  It sounds like you want to drop our joint duty shifts, too?"       A pause.  "I wasn't kidding about the load-bearing thing.  At least for a while, I think they would just make things worse for both of us."       "Now that makes me angry.  I put a lot into our partnership, and trusted you to maintain it.  But okay.  It's not like you need your partner's backup anymore."       The hollow feeling had given way to the grim disgust of seeing a tangled mess she couldn't possibly have helped, because it was wrecked before she even started.  But it was best to be sure.  She sped up.       DASI?  Does Journeyman appear to be suffering from mental sabotage, mind control, or anything else relevant?       I do not have sufficient data to judge the soundness of his decision process, but his actions are consistent with his prior behavior.  He is showing signs of prolonged stress.  As are you.       Thanks.  I knew that last part already.       Amelioration measures are still in progress.  Please do not do anything precipitous.       Yeah, yeah.       She slowed back down and shook her head.  "I just don't understand your thinking.  Why even agree to our partnership, if you were going to do this?  And if your model of an attack on me is right, and not just a paranoid overreaction, why pull away... everything I thought we had, without even trying to help?"       "I do intend to try to help, after I spend a while recovering," he said.  "I'll stay in touch through the Database.  But first I need to see if I can track down some Diviners, because half the ones I know are indisposed or missing, and the other half are getting 'future not found' errors or disturbingly ambiguous signs of some sort of global catastrophe that may or may not be happening the day after tomorrow."       A sudden frown.  "You weren't planning on doing anything drastic to the planet that day, were you?"       "Not particularly.  I'm not even going to be on Earth for some of it."       "What."       "I'm going to the Moon to run Speedtest, finally.  Scheduled it with Doc this morning."       "Ah," said Journeyman, his face noticeably paler.  "I don't suppose you'd be willing to reschedule?"       "No.  As you said, I have my own life, and things to learn.  If you are seriously convinced some entity is actively trying to sabotage something specific that I've put off for too long already, tell me where they live, and I'll visit them with some physics.  Before catastrophe day.  Then you can find those other Diviners and see if the problem has cleared up or there is someone else who needs a visit.  An Oracle should be able to tell if their personal future is about to become very short, right?"       Journeyman looked down.  "I... don't think that's a good plan."       "Then maybe you should have raised your concerns before dumping your partner?"       "Priority interrupt," announced DASI from the wall speaker.  "A candidate psychological expert has been located."       Flicker sped up to read a summary on her visor.  It was good news that DASI had managed to identify and contact someone.  But she had conditions for her help and an unusual background...       Flicker puzzled over some of the details, then slowed down to frown at Journeyman.  "All right, if you really still want to help, the Database profile of this person is weird.  There seem to be rumors that she has some kind of magic resistance.   Have you ever heard of a Dr. Stella Reinhart?"

Next: Part 8

[mrsspidermanmaryjanewatsonparker]

You seem pretty well versed in Peter and Mary Jane’s history, and I just want to ask, can you go in depth about Mary Jane’s personality? I know her history, her terrible home life, her history with Peter, but I want to know about HER. Her personality. Her dynamic with Peter. I feel these days that she’s been reduced to the “Pretty love interest” for Spider-Man, which I hate. I KNOW Mary Jane has a lot of depth and evolution as a character.

I know she’s a party girl. Fun loving. Spunky. Independent. Funny. Intelligent. Confident. But I want to know MORE about her, as a person. What else does she do in her life? How does she interact with other people? Before she got in serious relationships, did she sleep around? Was the type of gal that did drugs? Is she open minded? Those seem like weird questions, I admit, I admit, but they really help define her character. How energetic and charismatic is she? Does she completely control the life of the party?

Mary Jane has really become a character I’m really interested in, but I’ve never really seen her “Comic Accurate” personality adapted to a modern adaptation right. The closest I would say would be the Spectacular, but even then she felt too calm.

So I want your answer. I wouldn’t mind hearing an in-depth one. I know you’ve got idealized versions (And I do to, I think I can go on an essay long rant about why I think the two complete each other) but I want to hear YOUR opinion. And if you could adapt the story into the modern day, what would your idealized Mary Jane be like? How would she and Peter’s lovely history happen?

Sorry for the long, oddly specific question, but I really want to figure out MJ, and you look like you have the matching passion and knowledge to help interested fans in her like me.

MJ’s personality is tricky because it evolves over time. But modern MJ when written correctly would have, as we all do, multiple sides to her personality.

She can be goofy, funny, carefree, a party animal, a worry wort, self-deprecating, harsh to her loved ones, selfish, self sacrificing, brave, fearful (but never cowardly), ambitious, beat herself up, socially savvy, very confifident, innately sociable, can keep a secret and just about everything between all that.

 Her dynamic with Peter is also very complicated, it’s ort of easier to talk about examples you throw out at me. But I guess on a fundamental level her dynamic with Peter is all about mutual emotional fulfilment and how that is ultimately mitigates the extreme baggage that comes from life with a hero.

You can phrase it in many different ways but fundamentally MJ loves Peter because of his sense of responsibility.

In essence her Dad was her male role model in terms of a romantic partner, but in the negative. So she found herself attracted to a guy who on a certain superficial level (studious, a bookworm) was like her Dad but on a much deeper level was the polar opposite. Peter wasn’t a raving tyrant, he wasn’t a selfish dick, he wasn’t irresponsible.

She grew up under the fear of a (verbally) abusive man but in Peter she saw a guy who in spite of having a lot of intelligence and raw physical power to also be an abusive and exploitative person, instead NEVER truly abused his gifts and chiefly used them selflessly, even at personal cost.

It is not canon but a great summation of this is in Spider-Man: Reign #4 where MJ’s ghost tells Peter she didn’t love him because he could beat bullies like Flash up but because he could but never would.

Similarly in Web #6 MJ ponders how she could never marry peter due to the worry over his risking his life and how if he didn’t do that he’d have been someone she’d have jumped to marry. But then she realizes if he was someone who was selfishly going to use his abilities for fame and fortune he’d never have BEEN the kind of person she’d have fallen for.

So MJ, unlike Peter’s other girlfriends, is the one who loved him for the thing that most defined, him his sense of responsibility.

But it’s a double edged sword because in caring about him, she obviously doesn’t want him to be hurt, hence you have this brilliant narrative tension.

Wrapped up in this is the fact that MJ understands Peter’s issues with guilt and responsibility because she also renegaded upon her responsibilities and has felt guilty about it ever since because it also hurt her family.

So they are kindred spirits but whilst Peter passively stood by and let the burglar escape MJ actively ran away from her pregnant sister.* Then both of them kept that pain all to themselves for years before admitting it to one another, whilst also keeping their true personalities concealed behind public masks, meaning MJ gets that about him too.

But in confiding in one another they were able to remove those masks and be themselves in one another’s company.

You asked what else MJ does in her life. Mostly she has great ambitions in regards to usually acting, modelling, night club owning, stuff like that. MJ enjoys the spotlight and always has since she was a child.

Her interactions with most people used to be light and jokey or flirtatious. Now they are more even handed though she can be lightly flirtatious just because its in her personality.

MJ’s sex life is very much up in the air. Fans have presumed she had a lot of sex prior and after her first relationship with Peter but there is little on the page evidence confirming or denying this. Certainly she went out on a lot of casual dates.

MJ in terms of drugs is also something never touched upon in spite of her name. However the subtext of the Harry drug story implies MJ is aware of Harry’s drug abuse and she does dump him during that arc specifically when he is as high as a kite so it could be implied from this that MJ has little time for drugs.

When you think about it, between her abusive Dad and her need to maintain a facade around herself it’s unlikely MJ was going to use drugs. She wouln’t want to risk losing any control of her facade. She did smoke in high school though and later due to stress when she was married to Peter, but only briefly.

Is MJ open minded? Well...that depends upon the topic doesn’t it. She isn’t racist or homophobic. She was okay with doing a nude scene in a movie or wearing revealing lingerie on a modelling gig, only really being concerned with how Peter might feel about her doing that, so she’s no prude. She did display an initial prejudice against clones during the Clone Saga. Again what topic are we talking about.

How energetic or charaismatic is she. I mean...very charismatic and energetic most of the time. but it depends upon the situation. She’s not gonna be charismatic or emergetic after someone has died.

MJ could probably control the life of a party if she put her mind to it, yes.

Regarding the Spec cartoon, yes maybe MJ wasn’t comic accurate and more calm but in fairness everyone was because you aren’t going to present a modern cartoon with the same over the top characterization as a Stan Lee 1960s comic book. Peter was comparatively more chill in that show.

In terms of how I’d adapt her and Peter’s story and her characterization it would basically be as it was from the comics but with modern dialogue and pacing with more foreshadowing towards MJ having a hidden personality. I have mapped out my ideal Spider-Man TV series and in that you get MJ in season 2 ala her Romita era debut and then things are as they are in the comics up until she breaks up with Harry. I’d leave them separated unlike what happened in the comics (due to them repurposing an older story where they were together but that’s another issue) then have her and Peter fall in love as they did in the Conway run and break up as they did in the Wolfman run but change it from Peter proposing to MJ to asking her to move in with him.

My rationale is that in the modern day its very uncommon even for a college senior to be discussing marriage. You’d get the same thing with him surprising MJ with a crackerjack box or something but it’d have his apartment key in it instead of a wedding ring.

Additionally, I’d have her outright dump him (as opposed to the pair just not going steady anymore) and leave New York within the same story, the same story where Peter graduates, just because it’d make for a good season finale and makes the story more concise. In essence MJ just hard runs away from Peter the moment commitment rears its head.

This would lead to more of an impact in the next season when he’s dating Felicia and MJ (with no foreshadowing, which is how the comics made things happen) shows up at Peter’s door.

Again from there things would progress as they did in the comics except when we get to the MJ backstory episode I’d work her scenes from Parallel Lives into that too.

For reasons I won’t go into, for this hypothetical adaptation I’d bring the events of Hobgoblin Lives way forward in time so instead of happening when Peter and MJ are married shortly after the Clone Saga they happen shortly after Ned Leeds dies and after Peter and Felicia have broken up again. They would form the basis of another season finale wherein MJ’s role would be functionally the same as in the comic book but with two additions. Since this would be the season finale there should be some payoff for her and Peter’s relationship.

So after she, Peter, Flash and Betty formulate their plan to smoke out the real Hobgoblin MJ asks Peter how he copes with this stuff and he shows her by taking her out webswinging and we homage Sensational Annual 2007. Then later after Hobgoblin beats Peter hard he recovers at MJ’s place and she covers for him and they almost kiss before he heads off to save Betty.

I’d open the next season with the storyline wherein Peter proposes to MJ and they eventually get engaged. But instead of them marrying immediately I’d adapt loads of stories that in the comics happened after the wedding and use those to present challenges and doubts to Peter and MJ about getting married. It’d basically be a whole season about whether or not they will get married at all.

So you’d get things like the Jonathan Caesar storyline, the return of Black Cat, Kraven’s Last Hunt as the mid-season finale and the penultimate episodes would be the introduction of Venom. Obviously Venom debuted confronting MJ so there is that, but also Brock is a divorcee, the symbiote is literally one of Peter’s ex’s and a lover scorned, whom he tried to kill in a church bell tower. In the first Venom story and in my version Spidey and Venom end their first battle in that same church bell tower.

All of which is thematically juicy for an arc about relationships and marriage (because wedding bells get it).

I’d make 2 major changes though, one of which is Venom’s battle with Felicia from the second Venom arc would happen before he confronts Spidey for the first time and Peter would defeat Venom in his classic suit. The idea being that MJ makes a new version of his classic suit both because she prefers it and because it represents his true self vs the black costume which is what he’s like to be.

The classic suit = friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man/ the black suit = bad ass scary Spider-Man.

So only by being himself, by being the person MJ loves, can Peter defeat Venom this dark reflection of himself.

The story would end with Peter and MJ reunited but both clearly having doubts, as though Venom has ‘poisoned’ their future relationship.

The actual finale would mostly be an adaptation of ASM Annual #21 but with more of a focus upon the doubts each character has and unlike the comic we see HOW those doubts are put to rest. For MJ its having a conversation with Bruce and with Peter its having a conversation with the hospitalized Felicia.

Through their conversations the pair realize that rather than all the stuff they’ve been through (Venom, Kraven, etc) showing them they shouldn’t be together, the fact that they’re still together in spite of all those things proves that they can make things work. So the season wraps up with them getting married.

The next season would be a Harry Osborn centric season but MJ in response to Peter’s parents seemingly returning would seek out her sister and her Dad in jail and reconcile with them like she did in the Clone Saga.

Then I’d do the clone saga so that’s essentially going to be the same thing except obviously Peter will not be hitting any pregnant women in this version because fuck that shit. Also Peter and MJ wouldn’t leave New York although Peter would still temporarily retire as Spider-Man.

Finally I’d do a season set after the Clone Saga leading up to the pair reuniting with their kidnapped baby, Peter losing his powers and truly retiring forever, then we go into a Spider-Girl TV show.

   *This is important also because when MJ closed the door after Gwen died to comfort Peter she was choosing to do the OPPOSITE of what she’d done with her sister.

In essence Peter made MJ a better person, he made her confront her issues or helped her to do so and she grew as a result. She became a more heroic, more self-sacrificing and more responsible person. This was always the case since before they were dating Peter pushed for MJ to give a witness statement to the cops about a murder which she didn’t want to do out of fear.

In turn MJ made Peter fight all the harder. He very much needs her in his life as she has emotionally, mentally and physically saved him multiple times, see Kraven’s Last Hunt for an example.

[cometsweepandleonidsfly]

David Sims: “ As a fan of the TV show, I felt battered into submission. This season has been the same story over and over again: a lot of tin-eared writing trying to justify some of the most drastic story developments imaginable, as quickly as possible....[T]ime and time again in recent years, Benioff and Weiss have opted for grand cinematic gestures over granular world building, and Drogon burning the Throne to sludge was their last big mic drop.

Spencer Kornhaber: The penultimate episode of Game of Thrones gave us one of the most dramatic reversals in TV history, with the once-good queen going genocidal. The finale gave us yet another historic reversal, in that this drama turned into a sitcom. Not a slick HBO sitcom either, but a cheapo network affair, or maybe even a webisode of outtakes from one. Tonally odd, logically strained, and emotionally thin, “The Iron Throne” felt like the first draft of a finale.

When Dany torched King’s Landing last week, viewers were incensed, but I’d argue it was less because the onetime hero went bad than because it wasn’t clearwhy she did. Long-simmering madness? Sudden emotional break? Tough-minded strategy? A desire to implement an innovative new city grid? The answer to this would seem to help answer some of the show’s most fundamental inquiries about might and right, little people and greater goods, noble nature and cruel nurture. Thrones has been shaky quality-wise for some time now, but surely the show would be competent enough to hinge the finale around the mystery of Dany’s decision.

Nope. The first parts of the episode loaded up on ponderous scenes of the characters whose horror at the razing of King’s Landing had been made plenty clear during the course of the razing. Tyrion speculated a bit to Jon about what had happened—Dany truly believed she was out to save the world and could thus justify any means on the way to messianic ends—but it was, truly, just speculation. When Jon and Dany met up, he raged at her, and she gave some tyrannical talk knowing what “the good world” would need (shades of “I alone can fix it,” no?). But whether her total firebombing was premeditated, tactical, or a tantrum remained unclear. Whether she was always this deranged or just now became so determines what story Thrones was telling all along, and Benioff and Weiss have left it to be argued about in Facebook threads.

The Dany speechifying that we did get in this episode was, notably, not in the common tongue. Though conducted in Dothraki and Valaryian and not German, her victory rally was clearly meant to evoke Hitler in Triumph of the Will. It also visually recalled the white-cloaked Saruman rallying the orc armies in The Two Towers, another queasy echo. People talk about George R. R. Martin “subverting” Tolkien, but on the diciest element of Lord of the Rings—the capacity for it to be seen as a racist allegory, with Sauron’s horde of exotic brutes bearing down on an idyllic kingdom—this episode simply took the subtext and made it text. With the Northmen sitting out the march, the Dothraki and Unsullied were cast as bloodthirsty others eager to massacre a continent. Given all the baggage around Dany’s white-savior narrative from the start, going so heavy on the hooting and barking was a telling sign of the clumsiness to come.

Jon’s kiss-and-kill with Dany led to the one moment of sharp emotion—terror—I felt over the course of this bizarrely inert episode. That emotion came not from the assassination itself but rather from the suspense about what Drogon would do about it. For the dragon to roast the slayer of his mother would have been a fittingly awful but logical turn. Instead, Drogon turned his geyser toward the Iron Throne. Whether Aegon’s thousand swords were just a coincidental casualty of a dragon’s mourning or, rather, the chosen target of a beast with a higher purpose—R’hllor take the wheel?—is another key thing fans will be left to argue about.

Then came the epilogue, a parade of oofs. David, you say you were satisfied by where this finale moved all its game pieces, and if I step back … well, no, I’m not satisfied with Arya showing a sudden new interest in seafaring, but maybe I can be argued into it. What I can’t budge on is the parody-worthy crumminess of the execution. Take the council that decides the fate of Westeros. It appears that various lords gathered to force a confrontation with the Unsullied about the prisoners Tyrion and Jon Snow and the status of King’s Landing. But then one of those prisoners suggests they pick a ruler for the realm. They then … do just that. Right there and then. Huh?

It really undoes much of what we’ve learned about Westeros as a land of ruthlessly competing interests to see a group of far-flung factions unanimously agree to give the crown to the literal opposite of a “people person.” Yes, the council is dominated by protagonist types whom we know to be good-hearted and tired of war. But surely someone—hello, new prince of Dorne! What’s up, noted screamer Robin Arryn?—would make more of a case for another candidate than poor Edmure Tully did. Rather than hashing out the intrigue of it all as Thrones once would have done, we got Sam bringing up the concept of democracy and getting laughed down. The joke relied on the worst kind of anachronistic humor—breaking the fourth wall that had been so carefully mortared up over all these years—and much of the rest of the episode would coast on similarly wack moments.

It’s “nice” to see beloved characters ride off into various sunsets, but I balk at the notion that these endings even count as fan service. What true fan of Thronesthinks this show existed to deliver wish fulfillment? I’m not saying I wanted everyone to get gobbled up by a rogue zombie flank in the show’s final moments. Yet rather than honoring the complication and tough rules that made Thrones’ world so strangely lovable, Benioff and Weiss waved a wand and zapped away tension and consequence. You see this, for example, in the baffling arc of Bronn over the course of Season 8. What was the point of having him nearly kill Jaime and Tyrion if he was going to just be yada-yadaed onto the small council at the end?

One thing I can’t complain about: the hint that clean water will soon be coming to Westeros. Hopefully, someone will use it to give Ghost a bath. As the doggy and his dad rode north of the Wall with a band of men, women, and children, the message seemed to be that where death once ruled, life could begin. Winter Is Leaving. It’d seem like a hopeful takeaway for our own world, except that it’s not clear, even now, exactly how and why the realm of Thrones arrived at this happy outcome.

Lenika Cruz: Do I have answers? Who do you think I am—Bran the Broken? Before I get into this episode, I need to acknowledge how unfortunate it is that Tyrion decided to give the new ruler of the Six Kingdoms a name as horrifyingly ableist as Bran the Broken. You could, of course, argue that the moniker was intended as a reclamation of a slur or as a poignant callback to Season 1’s “Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things,” when Tyrion and Bran first bonded. But given the “parade of oofs” this finale provided—including the troubling optics of Dany’s big speech—it’s hard to make excuses for the show.

Now that we’ve gotten our “the real Game of Thrones/Iron Throne/Song of Ice and Fire was the friends we made along the way” jokes out of our system, where to begin? I basically agree with Spencer’s scorched-earth take on “The Iron Throne.” I was already expecting the finale to be a disappointment, but I didn’t foresee the tonal and narrative whiplash that I experienced here. At one point during the small-council meeting, my mind stopped processing the dialogue because I was in such disbelief about the several enormous things that had happened within the span of 15 minutes: Jon stabs Dany. Instead of roasting Jon, Drogon symbolically melts the Iron Throne and carries the limp body of his mother off in his talons. A conclave of lords and ladies of Westeros is convened, and Tyrion is brought before them in chains, and they know Dany was murdered, and Tyrion argues for an entirely new system of government while being held prisoner by the Master of War of the person he just conspired to assassinate. Excuse me? (The way that Grey Worm huffed, “Make your choice, then,” at those assembled reminded me of an impatient father waiting for his children to pick which ice-cream flavor they want.)

David, Spencer—of the three of us, I’ve been the most stubborn about thinking this final season is bad and holding that badness against the show. I don’t fault viewers who’ve become inured to the shoddy writing and plotting, and who’ve been grading each episode on a curve as a result. But I personally haven’t been able to get into a mind-set where I can watch an episode and enjoy it for everything except stuff like pacing issues, rushed character development, tonal dissonance, the lack of attention to detail, unexplained reversals, and weak dialogue. All of those problems absolutely make the show less enjoyable for me, and I haven’t learned to compartmentalize them—even though I know how hard it must have been for Benioff and Weiss to piece together an airtight final act solely from Martin’s book notes.

...Much like with last week’s episode, I can actually see myself being on board with many of the plot points in the finale—if only they had been built up to properly and given the right sort of connective tissue. For all the episode’s earnest exhortations about the power of stories, “The Iron Throne” itself didn’t do much to model that value.

For example, I can’t be the only one who was let down, and at a loss for a larger takeaway, after seeing a high-stakes contest between two ambitious female rulers devolve after both became unhinged and got themselves killed. After all the intense discussion about gender politics that Thrones has spurred, and after seeing characters such as Sansa, Brienne, Cersei, Daenerys, and Yara reshape the patriarchal structures of Westeros, we’ve ended up with a male ruler (who once said, “I will never be lord of anything”) installed on the charismatic recommendation of another man and served by a small council composed almost entirely of … men.

Perhaps there’s no deeper meaning to any of this. Or perhaps this state of affairs is a commentary on the frustrating realities of incrementalism. I am, of course, beyond pleased that Sansa Stark has at least become the Queen in the North—a title that she, frankly, deserved from the beginning. But I haven’t forgotten that this show only recently had her articulate the silver lining of being raped and tortured. Nor am I waving away the fact that Brienne spent some of her last moments on-screen writing a fond tribute to a man who betrayed her and all but undid his entire character arc in one swoop. My sense is that the show’s writers didn’t think about Thrones resetting to the rule of men much at all, and that they were instead relishing having a gaggle of former misfits sitting on the small council. See? the show seemed to cry. Change!

At times, Thrones gestured more clearly to the ways in which the story was going a more circular route; this was especially true of the Starks. Jon headed up to Castle Black and became a kind of successor to Mance Rayder—someone leading not because of his last name or bloodline but because of the loyalty he’s earned. Arya’s seafaring didn’t feel out of character to me—it fit with her sense of adventure and reminded me of her voyage across the Narrow Sea to Braavos all those years ago. Sansa became Queen in the North in a scene that recalled the debut of “Dark Sansa” in the Vale, but that felt like a true acknowledgment of how much her character has transformed. I’ll admit, the crosscutting of the scenes showing the Starks finding their own, separate ways forward was beautifully done. It made me wish the episode as a whole had been more cohesive, less rushed, and more emotionally resonant.

Spencer, I think you smartly diagnosed so many of the big-picture problems with the finale—the sitcommy feel, the yada-yadaing of major points, the many attempts at fan service. So rather than elaborate even more, I’ll end this review by saying something sort of obvious: Viewers are perfectly entitled to feel about the ending of Game of Thrones however they want to. After eight seasons, they have earned the right to be as wrathful or blissed-out on this finale as they want; it’s been a long and stressful ride for us all. I’m genuinely happy that there are folks who don’t feel as though the hours and hours they’ve devoted to this show have been wasted. I know there are many others who wish they could say the same thing.” 

[nona-gay-simus]

Crash an burn anon here! This may take a while so I'm sorry if it ends up being a whole bunch of messages. There's a book by Joe Abercrombie called Red Country, which is part of a pretty big body of work all taking place in the same story. (Side note, if you like Game of Thrones, I will 100% recommend Abercrombie. Less blatant magic, but I personally find the Politics to be much more interesting. Also he focuses less on Important Families and just picks characters from all stations (1 of ?)

(2 of ?) of life to follow for the stories, usually a few for each book, which I tend to like better as a way of exploring Big Expansive fictional worlds). ANYWAY. In Red Country, there's a point where the focus characters come to whats basically an Old West style frontier town, which is owned basically 50 50 by the characters I ran into shipping. They're pretty minor characters but I tend to latch onto minor characters so I'm not surprised at myself for that. It's like as soon as I don't

(3 of ?) don't know much about a character I want to explore them more. In canon, there's pretty much no romantic or sexual subtext, they both just want total control of the town and by extension any further settlements in the region, because it's currently the furthest out of the "unclaimed" territory. Hence the wannabe-dictators comment. In canon, one of them ends up winning at the expense of the lives of a pretty solid percentage of the town's population and the life of the rival

(4 of ?) and later expresses dissatisfaction because within a few months of taking total control they find theyve come to miss the political tension that came with said rivalry. (I'm being super vague here because gendered pronouns would in fact be spoilers and I'd rather keep those to a minimum in case anyones interested). Those two are basically the only ones I've come to actively ship in Abercrombie's work that I've read bc again romance is not a major portion, but the impulse is like

(5 of 5) looking at a powder keg and going "oh boy, what if I dropped this directly into that fire over there to watch what happens". Just give that whole disaster an extra layer of Complicated As Fuck and Catastrophic for both those two and BASICALLY THE ENTIRE TOWN. Fun times!

Hey, crash and burn anon! Sorry it took me a couple of days to get to you. My lower back was hurting like a bitch and I didn’t feel like being on tumblr too much.

Thank you for the rec, but I probably won’t be reading it. I just don’t really gravitate towards that genre at all, and I only started reading asoiaf because I was watching the TV show and I was alerted to the fact that some stuff are much better in the books. (Like say, the Dornish plan, which was completely erased in the TV show. And also like. There’s way less rape, at least with the main female characters.) But hey, if anyone else wants to read it!

I totally get wanting to explore unexplored characters! I once started writing a whole fanfic about Johanna Mason from THG, including her backstory up to and including the end of Mockingjay, that was canon compliant, up to a point. It was going to be Finnick/Johanna, because I lowkey ship them. And Finnick was going to live. And that was entirely based off one line: “They can’t hurt me, there’s no one left I love.”

Also, yeah your ship sounds loads of fun! Good luck with it, and just block/ignore antis, haha! 

[tinkdw]

what do you think is the reason of them not pulling the trigger on destiel, i mean it's 2017 ffs :(

Hi,

Well what a loaded question, no, but really, I mean, all I can do is give you my opinion…. IMO Destiel is already canon, in the sense that it is clearly written into the story that Dean and Cas love each other romantically, so it is canon and it exists.

Therefore I think what you mean by your question is why haven’t they addressed it in the show yet, which is a whole other question which boils down to 2 things:  1. Production reasons.  2. Narrative reasons.

1. Production reasons.

1. It was accidental Cockles to start with but they saw that it lended something interesting so they went with it. It kind of just grew with writers working with the chemistry and the great storylines that could come out of this and they probably just had fun with it for a while not really thinking too far into it. They didn’t really know if they were ever going to eventually go there, so it ended up just being subtext for a long long time but eventually grew and bled into the core storylines and…. oops now we are all seeing it (even the antis) and its a clear part of the story (I mean, it’s really verging on text at this point).

2. The demographic. The show is apparently 50% republican and 50% democrat in the US and probably has a good number of conservative viewers and had been for a long time targeting a white, male, hetero audience who they thought wouldn’t like this pairing and they don’t want to lose numbers (I think they’ve got to the point now though where they know their current audience and aren’t trying so hard to go after this target audience anymore, I mean, you only have to look at cons to see its largely female and there is a huge non-conservative portion, especially with all the stuff around Misha).

3. Probably some no-homo stuff going on behind the scenes in TPTB and other aspects of the show. I’m not going to go into actor or producer want but I think this is definitely a part of the thing.

These are all kind of, well, appearing to be relatively moot points at the moment what with the season 12 story so far so I think more important at this point is:

2. Narrative reasons. 

Let’s take it away from all this. Let’s look at it objectively.

With any love story there has to be a certain amount of will they won’t they to keep an audience’s interest. Lets look at any movie, there usually is a great story with ups and downs and they don’t get together until THE END because that is the way it works. If they get together before hand it is generally met with a ‘problem’ or ‘break up’ that leads to them falling apart and usually back together again.

Which is why I keep going back to this, the standard 3 act love story structure:

Movie wise: the ones that stick out for me currently: 

Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, The Little Mermaid, 27 Dresses, You’ve got Mail, When Harry met Sally….

TV wise: 

The X files - Scully & Mulder. And boy did they say for years that there was nothing there and it was never gonna happen. Probably the best comparison also because of the nature of the show ‘not being about that’ so it was all subtext until the end when they decided to just go with it.

Friends - Ross & Rachel, with Monica & Chandler as the canon couple in between while the ‘will they won’t they’ of Ross and Rachel keeps going till endgame as that is the one everyone was more invested in *cough Sam & Eileen*.

Buffy - overall, not so much so clearly structurally paralleled but massively narratively paralleled in the 2 love interests in Angel and Spike who fit so well, with the two flipping between Cas/Angel, Cas/Spike and Crowley/Spike Crowley/Angel and back, its brilliant even if the structure doesn’t fit as well because of the nuances of being the both of them canon at different points…

So what do these and other love stories all have in common? 

They DON’T get together properly until the end! 

Because otherwise there’s not the tension of it all, there’s no drama, no ‘will they won’t they’.

That’s the way these stories keep us interested.

Also sometimes I see people asking why don’t Jensen and Misha talk about it? Why does Jensen get aggressive about it? I mean let’s say it WAS known to them, that it WAS endgame, they still wouldn’t tell us, not only is it not clever as it ruins the tension and TPTB would be pissed but it’s also probably in their contracts like all big plot points, like this stuff usually is.

So in the meantime I just like to see what is in front of us, what we do know and enjoy it as the hopefully fantastic story that it is (within a wider brilliant story of the whole of SPN) that should culminate in endgame Destiel.

Hey, if it doesn’t its not because we are crazy and the story wasn’t there, it will be for one of the other production related reasons that we don’t have control over (though personally I think given s12, it seems clear that these reasons are being crushed/put to one side now). 

So just enjoy it for what it is and hey, hope for the best but don't get so worked up about it that it will ruin the experience of the show if it doesn't happen :)

[erraticfairy]

10 Questions to Take Your Relationship to a Deeper Level

They might be uncomfortable. But that’s good.

Let’s face it: we all love taking shortcuts. And if we aren’t careful, our relationships are often taken for granted. But too many shortcuts can lead to a lazy, unintentional relationship that merely exists, instead of thrives.

If you want to shed years of emotional baggage, feel loved and cared for, and become your partner’s ultimate partner, then you probably want to keep reading, because with a list of deep questions to ask your boyfriend, you can overcome your intimacy issues.

Maybe you’ve been dating or married for several years. Or maybe you’re just a fan of soul-shaking depth that heals you to the core. Whatever your reason, you find yourself craving the ability to go deeper with your intimate partner.

5 Things That Ruin Physical Intimacy with Your Partner (And How to Overcome Them)

In the day to day of our relationships, a lot of stuff can get swept under the rug. Combine that with the fact that a lot of partners don’t really get to know each other on a deep level at the beginning of their relationships (or at any point) and you could be highly prone to emotionally stepping on your partner’s toes without knowing it.

I recommend asking some of the following questions once every few months, and others on a weekly basis.

For best results, clear all distractions from your environment. Turn off your phones, close the laptops, and switch off the TV. Make sure the kids are asleep and the dog is taken care of. Clear out any and all extraneous things that could potentially ping their way into the space that you are creating and handle them ahead of time.

It’s unbelievable how much even a 30-minute, distraction-free, emotional block-busting session once per week conducted from the comfort of your bed can do for your entire relationship. Don’t believe me? Give it ONE try and see what comes of it. If you don’t like it you never have to do it again. But this exercise could be the exact thing you need to take your relationship from surviving to thriving.

Here are ten questions to ask your boyfriend so both of you can go deep in your intimate relationship.

1. Is there anything I can do for you in this moment to help you feel more comfortable or loved?

Assuming that you are kicking things off right by lying down together in a distraction-free room, it’s always good to ask if your partner needs anything before you start leaning into the heavier stuff. Just like symphony orchestra members tune to each other before they play a concert, you and your partner might need to touch base before you get into the good stuff.

Maybe they want to lie in silence for a minute and breathe deeply. Maybe they want you to hug them and show your love with your eye contact first. Or maybe they need to quickly go and make sure that their cell phone is completely switched off. Whatever they need to settle in, let them settle. It will be worth it.

2. How can I better support you in your life?

Ahhh, the all-encompassing dream/mission/passion supporter. Sometimes this question will spark something for your partner, and sometimes it won’t and that’s OK.

Maybe it will come out as something as simple as “Could you please kiss me in the mornings before you get out of bed… even if you haven’t brushed your teeth? It really affects my day for the better if you kiss me before getting up and getting dressed.” Or it could be something as large as “I’m about to take on a really huge project at work and I really don’t know how much mental bandwidth I’ll have by the time that I get home. Would you mind making dinner for the next week and I promise I’ll make it up to you after this particular work sprint dies down?”

Whatever favor they ask of you, you aren’t contractually obligated to comply. But simply by asking the question and letting them voice their honest thoughts, you will be engaging in the dance of intentional intimacy.

3. Is there anything I have done in the past week that may have unknowingly hurt you?

Alright, brace yourself…this is where we start to head into the emotionally uprooting territory of this exercise. While I don’t believe that you need to shine a light on absolutely everything in the dark subconscious of your mind in order to have a healthy relationship, it is good to uproot the major things that get swept under the rug.

Whether it was something that you thought was insignificant or an argument that you had that you thought was thoroughly squashed, your partner’s answer to this question might surprise you.

Receive it lovingly, with patience, and let them tell their entire side of the story without interrupting. Truly listen to them. Recognize that, even if you didn’t mean to hurt them in the slightest, it takes real vulnerability and courage for your partner to voice frustration/resentment/discomfort with something that occurred between the two of you.

Sincerely thank them for sharing their thoughts with you (it’s not an easy thing to do for most people), and follow up by apologizing for the incident, or asking what you can do or say to help them feel more complete about the event.

4. When you come home from work, what can I do or say that will make you feel the most loved?

Depending on what kind of job your partner has and how they are as an individual, they might want something entirely different than what you expect as their preferred method of being greeted.

They might want to have as little communication as possible for the first few minutes as they settle into their new environment. Or perhaps diving right into physical affection is more their way of relating. Whatever they need, all it takes is one simple question in order for you to better understand your partner and to go deeper in your relationship.

5. Is there any kind of physical touch that I can engage in more that helps you to feel loved?

This question refers to non-sexual touch. Is there any kind of physical intimacy that they feel is lacking? Do they want to hold hands more? Do they love it when you play with their hair? Do they adore when you come up behind them and wrap your arms around them?

Ask, get clear on what would make them feel more loved, and then incorporate that kind of touch into your daily schedule to the best of your ability.

6. Do you think you will need more closeness or more alone time over the next couple of days?

Our individual needs for independence and intimacy vary greatly from day to day. Maybe your partner has been having an emotionally charged week and they need an extra large dose of words of affirmation, physical intimacy, and compliments. Or maybe they are charging full steam ahead in their career and they need a bit more space as they grab their life’s steering wheel for a little while.

A greater need for independence and alone time doesn’t mean that they love you any less, nor does a greater need for intimacy mean that they are needy. People simply have emotional needs that fluctuate depending on a huge variety of elements in their ever-changing lives. And the more you can accommodate your partner, while still being conscious of your own mental and emotional needs, the better.

People in the Strongest Relationships Share These 5 Types of Intimacy

7. Is there any argument that we had this past week that you feel incomplete about?

Similar to the third question in that this one directly brings up potential wounds from the previous week. By asking this in a different context, your partner gets to consider whether they thought your arguments felt complete.

You might have a gut-level resistance to asking this one (“But if I ask this, won’t they remember that they were mad and then get mad at me again!?”), but working through this uncomfortable moment together will make it so that the unspoken, underlying tension is allowed to dissipate.

Have you ever heard the expression “Saying no hurts for a moment, but saying yes hurts for months”? It basically says that when we are assertive and direct with our desires, it can be uncomfortable. But if we don’t, the trade off would be the low-lying anxiety that we feel by not being true to ourselves.

This question works much in the same way. It’s so easy to ignore the difficult moments from the past week. What takes courage and strength is intentionally working through it so that the dirt between you isn’t given the chance to grow into resentment. So be proactive… your relationship will thank you.

8. How do you feel about our sex life lately?

One of the main differences between your intimate partner and every other relationship in your life is that you (hopefully) have sex with your partner. And yet, along with money, what is ranked as the most common topic that couples cite as the most stressful thing that they don’t discuss that break them up? You guessed it: sex.

Ask your partner about their level of satisfaction with your recent sex life. Ask them if there’s anything they would like more of, less of, or even different sex acts than you’ve been having. This question will be easier to answer the longer you’ve been in the relationship, so have some patience if you’re a new item.

9. What are the main stressors currently in your life, and is there any way I can alleviate that stress for you, if only a small amount?

An open-ended question that gets people to dig deep and show their soft underbelly. This question is the easiest way to get a window into your partner’s mind by directly asking them what they’re currently struggling with.

As with any of the questions mentioned, feel free to calibrate the wording to how you naturally speak. Anything that gets across the subtext of “How can I lighten your load?” is a surefire way to increase the feelings of depth and connectedness in your relationship.

10. When do you find speaking difficult and how can I best support you through those moments?

This one is one of the questions that you can ask every few months or so, and boy is it powerful. Everyone has different emotional triggers that make them feel vulnerable in a variety of different situations.

Maybe your partner feels easily attacked when you do something that they interpret as criticizing them publicly. Maybe your partner tends to shut down when you argue about certain emotionally charged topics like sex, finances, or the in-laws. Or maybe something could happen in the bedroom that makes them feel inadequate or embarrassed.

Whatever the reason may be, there’s always a way around it that could make your partner feel a lot more cared for and loved.

I’m not suggesting that you become co-dependently obsessed with solving all of your partner’s troubles around the clock. And nor does every topic need to be talked to death. Some of these questions will speak to you more than others and that’s just fine. This exercise is merely meant to start the conversation that very few couples ever have with each other.

A lot of things tend to get swept under the rug in intimate relationships. The questions outlined above are simply a tool that you can use to lift up the rug, sweep out the accumulated muck, and get on your with awesome lives as a happily connected couple.

This guest article originally appeared on YourTango.com: If You Want To Go Deeper In Your Relationship, Ask Him These 10 Qs.

from World of Psychology https://ift.tt/2lj5tmy via theshiningmind.com

[psychotherapyconsultants]

10 Questions to Take Your Relationship to a Deeper Level

They might be uncomfortable. But that’s good.

Let’s face it: we all love taking shortcuts. And if we aren’t careful, our relationships are often taken for granted. But too many shortcuts can lead to a lazy, unintentional relationship that merely exists, instead of thrives.

If you want to shed years of emotional baggage, feel loved and cared for, and become your partner’s ultimate partner, then you probably want to keep reading, because with a list of deep questions to ask your boyfriend, you can overcome your intimacy issues.

Maybe you’ve been dating or married for several years. Or maybe you’re just a fan of soul-shaking depth that heals you to the core. Whatever your reason, you find yourself craving the ability to go deeper with your intimate partner.

5 Things That Ruin Physical Intimacy with Your Partner (And How to Overcome Them)

In the day to day of our relationships, a lot of stuff can get swept under the rug. Combine that with the fact that a lot of partners don’t really get to know each other on a deep level at the beginning of their relationships (or at any point) and you could be highly prone to emotionally stepping on your partner’s toes without knowing it.

I recommend asking some of the following questions once every few months, and others on a weekly basis.

For best results, clear all distractions from your environment. Turn off your phones, close the laptops, and switch off the TV. Make sure the kids are asleep and the dog is taken care of. Clear out any and all extraneous things that could potentially ping their way into the space that you are creating and handle them ahead of time.

It’s unbelievable how much even a 30-minute, distraction-free, emotional block-busting session once per week conducted from the comfort of your bed can do for your entire relationship. Don’t believe me? Give it ONE try and see what comes of it. If you don’t like it you never have to do it again. But this exercise could be the exact thing you need to take your relationship from surviving to thriving.

Here are ten questions to ask your boyfriend so both of you can go deep in your intimate relationship.

1. Is there anything I can do for you in this moment to help you feel more comfortable or loved?

Assuming that you are kicking things off right by lying down together in a distraction-free room, it’s always good to ask if your partner needs anything before you start leaning into the heavier stuff. Just like symphony orchestra members tune to each other before they play a concert, you and your partner might need to touch base before you get into the good stuff.

Maybe they want to lie in silence for a minute and breathe deeply. Maybe they want you to hug them and show your love with your eye contact first. Or maybe they need to quickly go and make sure that their cell phone is completely switched off. Whatever they need to settle in, let them settle. It will be worth it.

2. How can I better support you in your life?

Ahhh, the all-encompassing dream/mission/passion supporter. Sometimes this question will spark something for your partner, and sometimes it won’t and that’s OK.

Maybe it will come out as something as simple as “Could you please kiss me in the mornings before you get out of bed… even if you haven’t brushed your teeth? It really affects my day for the better if you kiss me before getting up and getting dressed.” Or it could be something as large as “I’m about to take on a really huge project at work and I really don’t know how much mental bandwidth I’ll have by the time that I get home. Would you mind making dinner for the next week and I promise I’ll make it up to you after this particular work sprint dies down?”

Whatever favor they ask of you, you aren’t contractually obligated to comply. But simply by asking the question and letting them voice their honest thoughts, you will be engaging in the dance of intentional intimacy.

3. Is there anything I have done in the past week that may have unknowingly hurt you?

Alright, brace yourself…this is where we start to head into the emotionally uprooting territory of this exercise. While I don’t believe that you need to shine a light on absolutely everything in the dark subconscious of your mind in order to have a healthy relationship, it is good to uproot the major things that get swept under the rug.

Whether it was something that you thought was insignificant or an argument that you had that you thought was thoroughly squashed, your partner’s answer to this question might surprise you.

Receive it lovingly, with patience, and let them tell their entire side of the story without interrupting. Truly listen to them. Recognize that, even if you didn’t mean to hurt them in the slightest, it takes real vulnerability and courage for your partner to voice frustration/resentment/discomfort with something that occurred between the two of you.

Sincerely thank them for sharing their thoughts with you (it’s not an easy thing to do for most people), and follow up by apologizing for the incident, or asking what you can do or say to help them feel more complete about the event.

4. When you come home from work, what can I do or say that will make you feel the most loved?

Depending on what kind of job your partner has and how they are as an individual, they might want something entirely different than what you expect as their preferred method of being greeted.

They might want to have as little communication as possible for the first few minutes as they settle into their new environment. Or perhaps diving right into physical affection is more their way of relating. Whatever they need, all it takes is one simple question in order for you to better understand your partner and to go deeper in your relationship.

5. Is there any kind of physical touch that I can engage in more that helps you to feel loved?

This question refers to non-sexual touch. Is there any kind of physical intimacy that they feel is lacking? Do they want to hold hands more? Do they love it when you play with their hair? Do they adore when you come up behind them and wrap your arms around them?

Ask, get clear on what would make them feel more loved, and then incorporate that kind of touch into your daily schedule to the best of your ability.

6. Do you think you will need more closeness or more alone time over the next couple of days?

Our individual needs for independence and intimacy vary greatly from day to day. Maybe your partner has been having an emotionally charged week and they need an extra large dose of words of affirmation, physical intimacy, and compliments. Or maybe they are charging full steam ahead in their career and they need a bit more space as they grab their life’s steering wheel for a little while.

A greater need for independence and alone time doesn’t mean that they love you any less, nor does a greater need for intimacy mean that they are needy. People simply have emotional needs that fluctuate depending on a huge variety of elements in their ever-changing lives. And the more you can accommodate your partner, while still being conscious of your own mental and emotional needs, the better.

People in the Strongest Relationships Share These 5 Types of Intimacy

7. Is there any argument that we had this past week that you feel incomplete about?

Similar to the third question in that this one directly brings up potential wounds from the previous week. By asking this in a different context, your partner gets to consider whether they thought your arguments felt complete.

You might have a gut-level resistance to asking this one (“But if I ask this, won’t they remember that they were mad and then get mad at me again!?”), but working through this uncomfortable moment together will make it so that the unspoken, underlying tension is allowed to dissipate.

Have you ever heard the expression “Saying no hurts for a moment, but saying yes hurts for months”? It basically says that when we are assertive and direct with our desires, it can be uncomfortable. But if we don’t, the trade off would be the low-lying anxiety that we feel by not being true to ourselves.

This question works much in the same way. It’s so easy to ignore the difficult moments from the past week. What takes courage and strength is intentionally working through it so that the dirt between you isn’t given the chance to grow into resentment. So be proactive… your relationship will thank you.

8. How do you feel about our sex life lately?

One of the main differences between your intimate partner and every other relationship in your life is that you (hopefully) have sex with your partner. And yet, along with money, what is ranked as the most common topic that couples cite as the most stressful thing that they don’t discuss that break them up? You guessed it: sex.

Ask your partner about their level of satisfaction with your recent sex life. Ask them if there’s anything they would like more of, less of, or even different sex acts than you’ve been having. This question will be easier to answer the longer you’ve been in the relationship, so have some patience if you’re a new item.

9. What are the main stressors currently in your life, and is there any way I can alleviate that stress for you, if only a small amount?

An open-ended question that gets people to dig deep and show their soft underbelly. This question is the easiest way to get a window into your partner’s mind by directly asking them what they’re currently struggling with.

As with any of the questions mentioned, feel free to calibrate the wording to how you naturally speak. Anything that gets across the subtext of “How can I lighten your load?” is a surefire way to increase the feelings of depth and connectedness in your relationship.

10. When do you find speaking difficult and how can I best support you through those moments?

This one is one of the questions that you can ask every few months or so, and boy is it powerful. Everyone has different emotional triggers that make them feel vulnerable in a variety of different situations.

Maybe your partner feels easily attacked when you do something that they interpret as criticizing them publicly. Maybe your partner tends to shut down when you argue about certain emotionally charged topics like sex, finances, or the in-laws. Or maybe something could happen in the bedroom that makes them feel inadequate or embarrassed.

Whatever the reason may be, there’s always a way around it that could make your partner feel a lot more cared for and loved.

I’m not suggesting that you become co-dependently obsessed with solving all of your partner’s troubles around the clock. And nor does every topic need to be talked to death. Some of these questions will speak to you more than others and that’s just fine. This exercise is merely meant to start the conversation that very few couples ever have with each other.

A lot of things tend to get swept under the rug in intimate relationships. The questions outlined above are simply a tool that you can use to lift up the rug, sweep out the accumulated muck, and get on your with awesome lives as a happily connected couple.

This guest article originally appeared on YourTango.com: If You Want To Go Deeper In Your Relationship, Ask Him These 10 Qs.

from World of Psychology https://psychcentral.com/blog/10-questions-to-take-your-relationship-to-a-deeper-level/

[mytrumarareviews]

Fire Emblem Awakening vs. Fates

Fire Emblem Awakening came out at a time when the future of the Fire Emblem franchise was on the line. The game was a make or break for the franchise and honestly, it was a really risky move to not only spend money on making a new game in the franchise, but they also had it translated and localized, effectively doubling the company’s work load and cost. But the game succeeded due to the character creation and much better support system when compared to other games. There was also the addition of the casual mode, which allowed players to play a little less safely and opened the franchise up to a broader demographic of gamers, it also brought in a fairly large female demographic when compared to other games (about a 11:8 ratio of players, or 55% male and 45% female).

And you know what, the games are fun. Though I’ve recently been seeing people going back and saying that Awakening was better than Fates on all levels, and honestly. I don’t really understand that all that much. I really loved Fates, it was probably my favorite game of the last year, which is a close battle with Pokemon Moon (it was a shit year in gaming). So to explain this let me do a small analysis of each of aspect of the games.

Fire Emblem 13: Awakening

Story:

The first act is at best decent, the second act is pretty good, and the third act is terrible.

What? You wanted more? Okay, here we go.

I’ll be referring to acts by the villains we see throughout them. So I’ll be starting with Gangrel’s act.

Gangrel’s act is fine if you look at it as a standard good vs. evil act rather than looking for anything thought provoking. The biggest thing that bothers me about this act is that Gangrel is just evil, he’s not so much Saturday morning cartoon villain (I’ll get to Validar later) as he is just the stereotypical, crazy character. I can’t even hate him because he’s just so laughably pathetic and poorly written. So many people hate him because he laughed at Emmeryn’s death. But Emmeryn’s death was extremely forced and really unneeded. I know it caused Gangrel’s armies to stop fighting, but the thing is, his entire act could be cut out and the game would be better. You could say that there was a rebellion in the neighbouring nation. You could even have levels where the Pelagians are fighting against you and keep in the attempt on Emmeryn’s live. Gangrel was an unnecessary character in a game that already has way too much going on. Hell it’s revealed in a DLC that Gangrel didn’t actually die during the fight with him when he joins the main cast. He was a completely pointless villain. Honestly I found this portion of the game extremely poorly written. Even if Chrom uses violent methods to win wars

There are other things in this arc that I could heavily criticize. For instance, it’s later revealed that Virion is a lord from another nation. He even acts like he doesn’t know any of you when he’s been fighting along side you against the Pelagian army. This even happens if you married him. Virion has no point in being a playable character until Walhart’s act. In fact, the only reason he’s even around is to hit on Sully. Meaning his entire purpose boiled down to chasing tail until later in the game.

Okay, it isn’t all bad though. There’s one level that’s really good. It’s chapter 10, named Renewal. Mustafa is portrayed as sypathetic and a soldier doing his job for the sake of his family instead of being portrayed as just another one of the many commanders you fight in this game. I always try to go through this level killing as few enemies as possible because they’re all fighting for Mustafa instead of for Gangrel and you can spare most of them if you go straight for him. You still kill him, but he begs you to spare his men, who no longer have a reason to fight Chrom and his army. There’s a very human aspect to this level, unlike literally ever other level in this act of the game.

Well, I suppose we should move on to Walhart’s act now.

Wallhart is a good villain. He holds very similar beliefs to Chrom and is a foil to Chrom’s character. He should have been the villain for the entire game and they really shouldn’t have made the game about killing some Fell Dragon that we don’t even see in a flashback until the final act of the game. Walhart stands on what he thinks his is moral ground. He knows that the quickest way to gain unification is to conquer, so he takes on the title of the Conqueror. He’s even fighting against the same evil forces you are. There isn’t a single level I felt was out of place in this part of the game nor do I think that any character, with the exception of one, is a poorly written character. I really actually like this act. That said, there’s not too much I talk about within it. With one exception. Excellus. Because they just had to have one evil character in this group. Yeah, that was pretty bad.

If anything I would suggest the game just for this act. And hell, you can actually download DLC to have Walhart as a playable character. Meaning that Chrom didn’t actually kill his foil and finish off a character arc. Well fuck off Nintendo.

Now let’s move on to Validar’s act.

Oh, sorry wrong villain. I can barely tell these two apart when it comes to their character.

Validar is extremely poorly written. Not only is he a cultist, to a dragon of death that eats souls at the table like everybody else, but they try to pull this Vader like thing with Robin and him in Walhart’s arc. I pulled a Skeletor voice with him when reading the dialogue out loud and it fit really well, too well. A lot of this stuff sounded like something a Saturday morning cartoon villain would say. The same could actually be said about Aversa, though she’s more of a lackey to Validar than his superior. She does however show more of a human side as she attacks you for having killed Validar, somebody she had respect for. For a character who has a weapon named after her, she sure doesn’t have a lot of character.

And then we get to Grima. Who’s also Robin from the future. And you’re literally fighting yourself. So, there’s one thing that can’t happen at this point and that’s Robin dying. Why, because Morgan has even been conceived yet, and Morgan has to potential to be a character, given that you married somebody. This is why i hate time travel plots, there’s often no tension because you know how it’s going to end. Robin can’t die, there for there’s no tension to see them die. 

But, like Gangrel’s arc, I did like one thing about this act. When Lucina finds out how and why you kill Chrom in her future she confronts you. If you’re her mother then she’s extremely reluctant to do so. Telling her to kill you so Chrom won’t die only makes her more reluctant and later Chrom comes by to reassure Lucina that their bond is stronger than Validar’s magic. It gives all three Robin, Lucina, and Chrom very human qualities. But that’s only if you’re her mother, if not she doesn’t have any reservations about killing you. Chrom has to stop her.

The Ending:

It’s shit. Chrom gives a speech about how they either killed Grima or put Grima into a slumber. And yeah, that’s it. People reassure Robin that her death would detrimental if you put Grima into a slumber but she’s just depressed.

In Conclusion (of this part):

The game doesn’t actually have a really good story. It has a massive up to it with Walhart’s act but the rest of it just kind of sucks. It basically felt that they had ideas for three different games starring the same characters but instead only created 1, which was to their detriment.

Gameplay:

This game is way too easy. It really speaks to how broken the combat system is when you can get any character to 80 health without bogging them down with items that raise their health. Not to mention that you can actually use a second seal with your character to go back to a base class from an advanced class with only minor detriments to your abilities. this means that if you put enough time into it you could potentially max out nearly ever stat on the Avatar character. Second Seals and Master Seals are broken in this game. See both of them send you back to level 1, but you still have most of the stats that you had earlier and there’s no limit to how often you can use them.

I don’t actually mind the idea of breaking weapons, it serves to slightly nerf your character, so you can’t just constantly use a single overpowered item.

In other words, this game has a lot of major balancing issues.

I was capable of beating the entire game using only Chrom and Robin. Playing the game on Lunatic mode would be a lot harder and it’s a welcome challenge.

They do have a good reason as to why Chrom and Robin can’t die in casual mode, which was a great addition in this game and was the reason I picked it up. Chrom is basically the motivational centre of the group while Robin is their tactician, if either were to leave the battle field their army would be at a detriment. It’s a nice bit of subtext to go with the sub-par story.

Music:

It’s great and fits the tone of the game. It’s nothing special, but it doesn’t distract from the game. Yuka Tsujiyoko did a decent job on.

Characters:

Well, I already talked about the villains, and Virion. But this game has a decently interesting cast of characters if you’re willing to use them. Though I never really gained an attachment to any of the characters, I can see why a lot of people would. 

Though there are a few characters I don’t like.

Tharja is a yandere, though she doesn’t really have any reason to be. It feels like there was a cut scene where Robin saved her, but it would make more sense for her to after Chrom, whom actually convinced her to change sides.

Henry doesn’t need to exist and only serves to be an annoyance. He shows up out of nowhere and has no bearing on the plot what so ever. I honestly don’t see the point in his character when every character has a comedy relief side to them.

Gaius is a thief who was looting Emmeryn’s castle as part of the Pelagian army. He likes candy, that’s his entire character.

Both Tharja and Gaius can be easily accidentally killed because they’ll attack you.

In Conclusion:

This game was fine, it was decent. A good 5/10 for me and that’s not a number to really sneeze at, it’s a middle of the road game with a lot of problems to it and that’s about it. If you don’t want a really complex story with complex characters and a shade of grey morality, then go ahead and buy it.

Next time I’m going to do an analysis for Fates using the same material.