#Obv I don’t believe in reincarnation so I’m just gonna have to make do with this worthless heap of neurons

[cheemerthelizard]

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[terpsichoracle]

“Please, listen to me - and don’t scoff.”

I take issue with the way RTT is described in the various wiki entries I’ve seen for him, because they like to point out that the older cats merely tolerate him or are impatient with his activities.

A) no

B) really? No

C) evidence pls

but what he says at the start of Misto’s song is kind of telling, and I think it says something about who he is.

RTT has a reputation - he’s a cat that does what he wants, when he wants, which is - every cat tbh but he wants to feel special! he jumped in on the very very end of Jennyanydots’ number which is still rude, but he a) didn’t interrupt the song itself or the story and b) no one seems surprised or upset, they just go oh! it’s RTT being RTT. and he isn’t particularly kind to Grizabella; he’s kind of sarcastic in his interaction with her, but it’s not like he’s the only one to be dismissive of her.

During the Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles, he jumps in with the bagpipes at the end and Munkustrap is exasperated - but arguably less so than when Mungojerry and Rumpleteazer get their barks out of order or when the Great Rumpus Cat enters on the wrong side of the stage. This isn’t an RTT thing - this is an everyone around Munkustrap being a goof while he’s trying to hold it together thing lol.

RTT sings Old Deuteronomy with Munkustrap - they BOTH obvs have a tremendous amount of respect for Old Deut, but RTT is the one who specifically says the village is proud of him in his decline. And when Old Deut shows up, he gets fucking psyched - RTT is a cool kid but he also gets excited about stuff! He is also the last one to officially greet Old Deut; it’s framed in a way where they kind of stare each other down, which is especially notable because RTT is standing on the pipe to be tall (I also like standing on things to be tall). But Old Deut is obviously relaxed and smiling, and RTT’s got the biggest fucking grin when he bows. It gives me cheeky “you’re not the boss of me” vibes, but he is very much accepting of the fact that Old Deut’s in charge, and I don’t think he cares much either.

RTT is also consistently pictured near Old Deut, when he’s not on stage or skulking in the shadows; shaking hands with him, or resting a hand on his shoulder, or just kind of vibing near him. He’s the one who suggests a way to get Old Deut back, to boot, so - I just don’t really get the idea that he’s got a tremulous relationship with the others. He cares SO MUCH, SO SO MUCH. He’s just also REALLY COOL.

What this tells me is that RTT does have mutually respectful relationships with a lot of the older cats; he’s also especially close to Old Deut. The kittens love him because of who he appears to be, and he’s just as goofy as the other older cats but in his own distinct way. It also tells me that he does know when to be serious and he also knows how to make that clear to his peers.

I’m still ruminating on the ‘don’t scoff’ thing, but for the most part, am inclined to believe it’s about what he’s going to suggest. imo, the cats know Misto has magic; he uses it for Munkustrap and Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat, Cat of the Railway Train. It’s never been crazy, though - lifting the trunk or turning lights on is relatively small, compared to magicking an entire person back. So I think he’s saying ‘don’t scoff, I know Misto can do it’.

Which also stands in contrast to a trope I saw when poking at fanfiction - that Misto has magic and the other cats dislike or fear him for it. I never got that vibe! The cats don’t like Macavity much but it doesn’t seem to be because of his magic so much as it is because, you know, he likes to break laws lol. And I guess because of the kidnapping and stuff. They come together once a year to decide which cat is gonna reincarnate, Old Deut’s apparently telepathic, etc etc - I think the magic is just part and parcel of who they are as Jellicles and he’s got a little more than most. It was more of a “I know you can do a cartwheel, but can you really do a backflip?” kind of vibe. He is still cheeky and exuberant during the number - but it’s coming from a place of respect and belief in Misto’s abilities.

(or he’s just hoping really hard that it’ll work, but doesn’t want Misto to doubt himself - either way, his faith is justified or his faith is what it takes for Misto to believe in himself; it gets the job done.)

Which is funny because even Misto is like “uhh” at certain points while RTT is like NO YOU GOT THIS

Anyway this is, in part, why I think RTT is going to be the next Jellicle leader rather than Munkustrap

[whyarewecalledtheshipname]

saw that one “crack” idea on twitter about riku being MoM’s son lmao buttt it did remind me of a couple thoughts

which are that i fully believe MoM and that one Darkness are ex boyfriends LMAO

and in regards to riku’s parents. he does mention “our parents” in kh1. but the original post on twitter did mention this one line from the novel…

but as always the reason i think about riku’s parentage is bc of hercules lmao i mean??? i’ve posted about this before but—if riku’s parents were higher beings, only for riku to end up on the mortal realm AS a mortal for some reason

and now i’m wondering what that reason could have been. like was it voluntary or not? was it riku’s doing? his choice? cause at first i was thinking about how baby hercules was legit kidnapped

but tHEN i thought about player. bc players two lives feel, different. on one side, Player decided to sacrifice themselves, and be reborn. on the other side, xehanort was born with the memories of his past life, causing him to want to leave the islands.

so like, on players end, the whole thing was “voluntary”, but on xehanorts side, bc he literally doesn’t remember choosing to be reborn, it feels involuntary. like he was born in the wrong place, or like he’s meant to be somewhere else.

like riku’s line from kh1. riku wonders the exact same things, which is part of why i freak out about the riku/xehanort parallel so much.

bc given the fact riku’s lines, riku’s scenes, came first. only for xehanort to parallel them years later, like—both in bbs and khux—esp after khux reveals the reason behind his whole mindset is bc of being a reincarnation—

LIKEEEEE IT IS NOT COINCIDENCE.

???? how are you gonna show me this

riku being all “there have to be other worlds out there. and if there are, why am i here, on this one?”

xehanort, games later: *seems to ponder the exact same thing*

xehanort, games after that: oh the reason he wonders about other worlds and has the desire to leave the islands is bc he is a reincarnation of a whole ass other person who lived a whole ass separate life on another world

LIKE WHAT ABOUT RIKU THEN???

NOT TO MENTION————NOT TO MENTION THAT XEHANORT IS A FUSED HUMAN AND CHIRITHY HEART??? right????? (edit: maaaybe not actually but idfc lol)

WHAT ABOUT RIKU THEN

what about riku’s “chirithy aspect”, as i call it

ofccc these are all questions assuming the riku/xehanort parallel runs THAT deep. but IF IT DOES?????

Edit: because there's also this whole mystery/unanswered question about xehanorts whole ass MOTHER? Tf??

“i need to protect the person who matters, i need to leave this island, i am also a dream eater” BITCH WTF you want me to make of this???????

“what is he?” a reincarnation maybe????

but if he is—who is he a reincarnation of? WHAT is he a reincarnation of??

this circles back to the “riku is MoM’s son” idea LMAO and i support it wholeheartedly don’t get me wrong.

i mean MoM is obv not human, though supposedly he’s currently in a human form. but despite this he can still do shit no human should be able to do. eg. plucking his whole ass eyeball from his being, and continuing to SEE through it till the end of time. (assuming the eye is even his lol rip)

riku, despite being in a human form, also is implied to have abilities no human should have? the way he’s immune to darkness when realistically, all humans should succumb to it in some form or another. not to mention his dream eater bs, his self sacrifice SOMEhow spawning a whole ass NEW timeline for some reason. (i used to accept that it was bc of true love but what if it’s more—)

for a second i was like “wait xehnort fell to darkness tho” but then i remembered player was still just a human so we’re good lmao

ANYWAY i think it took my brain a good while to remember why the riku/xehanort/player parallel bothered me so much like, this has been in my head for a while now but i couldn’t get it out lol

like we’re always asking “what is riku” but my dumb brain keeps spamming “what WAS riku” bc that’s two things now that hint at some form of past life/past form and i don’t know what to think 😭

like you’re really gonna parallel riku and xehanort’s motivations, then drop this bomb about the origin of xehanorts motivations, then just? keep walking?

[obaewankenope]

For the ask game, all the even ones that you haven't done yet!

ls is Oh you utter arse 

10. do you think the jedi were right or wrong?

Fuuuck. They were right from a certain point of view? And also wrong, too?

Fucking fuck. Okay, so. The Jedi are an issue for me because they’re presented like they’re space monks, like Buddhists but they’re not. They’re an organised institution that has a core belief in a specific power that is technically beyond all living things even if they can harness them. That is like the belief in God. The belief in a specific thing that is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-seeing. Buddhists don’t believe that. They believe in harmony, in balance, in reincarnation. The Jedi believe you don’t die, you move on to another plane of existence: i.e. heaven.

So I have a major issue with them for the structure and perception of them in fandom and in the SW universe at large.

But, on some level, they’re not wrong with the way they deal with things. Life is about balance. You can’t have a constant stream of one thing without getting drops of water from that stream of Other Thing. It’s not possible because life, existence, is so complex and multi-faceted that everything interacts in microscopic to macroscopic ways that are so far beyond our current understanding that we end up scratching our heads in confusion.

Right. So, the Jedi are right about all things being connected and that there is some force out in the universe that affects all things. Now, I personally, call this gravity. Gravitational forces affect everything; quite literally everything. So you can argue that affecting gravity is the willful manipulation of the most divine power out there. 

Anyway, I’m kinda digressing from the original question. Do I think the Jedi were right or wrong?

It depends entirely on the perspective of the Jedi. On the one hand, I could say: “yes, the Jedi were right because they fought against injustice and corruption and helped free the Naboo and didn’t want to be paid for their services hurrah!”, while on the other hand you could say: “nope, the Jedi were in the wrong because they took kids from their families, isolated them, and conditioned them until they were so emotionally repressed that the idea of dying didn’t even bother them half the time”. 

Both are correct.

Both are wrong too.

The formation of the Jedi arose out of the destruction of the Old Republic and the Sith came from the Jedi. The New Republic was created (the one Palps destroyed) and it had thousands of years to develop. The fear of the galaxy at the time was that the Jedi of the time would eventually overthrow the Republic and create an Empire because they had the power and resources to do it basically. So the Jedi willingly let themselves be de-militarised and became beholden to the Senate. This worked. After all, it’s one heck of a way to calm down tension if you willingly hand someone the key to your cage and let them lock you in.

But the problem is that the Order and Republic then developed and evolved together for thousands of years. And, no matter what it’s implied by Lucas or EU/Legends, I can’t for one second think the Order was free of corruption. That’s tripe. No institution so closely aligned with one that is corrupted is free of corruption.

Whether it was high up or only on the low-levels is something I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was either.

So, when you look at the actions of the Jedi, you have to consider the larger socio-cultural and socio-political environment in which they were made. 

By the time of the Clone Wars, the Jedi were quite literally the dogsbody of the Republic. I mean, in The Phantom Menace, they couldn’t even interfere in the Naboo Crisis without Senatorial approval (though they had Valorum help them out there but look what happened after). In a way, you can say that the way the Council sent Jedi to Naboo without the Senate’s approval purely because Valorum said so, as a form of corruption. Corruption with a good intention, but corruption nonetheless.

I do believe the Jedi’s habit of preventing or limiting contact with families for the initiates and padawans to be wrong. The conditioning and specific environment the children are raised in, isolated from outside influences, kept in groups where their entire social and personal identity becomes this strange mix of what is wanted by the Order. Nah. It’s horrid and I don’t approve of that.

But the fact that the Jedi tried to fight injustice where and when they could, that they willingly went to war for the Republic, on the Republic’s orders. That they burned themselves out and died for the Republic... I can respect that. I can’t respect the motives of the Senate, or of Palpatine and the fact that he set it all up.

But I don’t think the Jedi were in the wrong for doing their duty, just the initial steps to their system of training is wrong; and the fact that they apparently didn’t notice any of the Sith until they were being slapped in the face with harsh reality (and still denying it after).

12. do you care who rey’s parents are?

Nope. Rey’s parents could be a tree and a sand-dune for all I care. She’s a precious darling who is going to fuck shit up for the First Order and I’m going to cackle while she does it

16. which movie/episode have you watched the most?

Of the Originals, it’d probably be ESB. Of the Prequels... TPM or ROTS.

18. what is your favorite star wars book or comic?

Star Wars: Darth Vader #6 comic bc it’s when Vader finds out Luke is his and Padme’s son and just kinda goes right up there on the scale of homicidal obsession with a dash of “I’m going to kill Sidious and take over the galaxy and my dear boy will be mine to control and look at and remember my dead wife who I couldn’t save ho ho ho!”

What can I say, I like the level of crazy he reaches here.

20. what do you hope will happen in future movies?

I would really like it if Finn and Poe got together, dragged Rose with them so she can be reluctant about it all, and went looking for Rey on Planet Luke’s Lonely Rock. I’d also like it if Finn got trained with Rey as well, leaving Poe and Rose to basically twiddle their thumbs, make awful jokes and for Poe to rail on Luke 24/7 for “leaving the General”. Then I’d like for something to happen (maybe they ‘kill’ Leia and Luke/Rey/Finn all feel it; Poe too for added funsies of angst) and they all go off ready to beat the snot out of the First Order.

Rey and Finn end up dealing with Hux and Kylo and whatever piss-poor Knights of Ren are about. Luke handles Snoke (maybe sacrifices himself in the process, that’d be good maybe). Poe gets in trouble and Rose saves his ass then ends up saving Rey and Finn’s from some blaster fire by shooting the shit out of troopers from her ship.

Then the end is basically Rey, Finn, Poe, and Rose all deciding “well this was fun, we’re gonna go on holiday, see ya!” and leave Chewie to handle everyone just so they can read the holonews on the day Chewie finally caves and murders someone for pissing him off too much.

22. favorite droid?

R2-D2 obvs

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