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fushiglow · 2 months ago

Note

I feel like I live in here geeking about music, and I want to nervously apologise but I won't this time.

Thanks to living in the furture I've heard the new Sleep Token album, and I'm having OTT thoughts with the song 'Past Self'. I was curious about your thoughts on it.

And honestly you have this love of music that I see in OTT and I can't help but want to ask you about it.

Anyway, I hope you feel less burned out soon Glo <3

Sending this when you knew I physically couldn't listen for many more hours was cruel. Jokes on you, I'm into that 🫵

Having given the album a full listen a number of times now, I think we may as well go on the whole Even In Arcadia journey in relation to Over the Threshold, and I'll share some more general thoughts about the album after that in case you're interested.

I hope you enjoy this, because I truly am the strongest yapper!

Sugar

First, a recap. For anyone who doesn't know, the Sleep Token associations with Over the Threshold were a happy accident. Shortly after I published chapter 6 in January 2024, someone left a comment saying that Satoru's song in the fic, Sugar, reminded them of Sleep Token's Sugar. I had never even heard of Sleep Token at the time, and when I listened, my first thought was, "Yeah, Satoru's music definitely sounds nothing like this."

However, the lyrics certainly spoke not only to Satoru's cheeky song, but to the fic in general. Games (little and big) are a recurrent theme in Over the Threshold, so it's not just "Sugar, I've developed a taste for you", but also "You must be crazy if you think that I will give up the game".

It was mentioned by readers quite a few more times over the months that followed, but I didn't think about it much more until I decided to develop Satoru's Sugar further in chapter 11. When I first introduced the song to the fic, I wasn't intending it to play such a big role in the story. It was simply supposed to be the "fun" second single sandwiched between the two more meaningful songs. However, Sugar took on a life of its own, at least in part due to the reader response to the song.

That's the most special thing about this fic. For a story that is so much about the dialogue between artist and audience, but also about the suffocation of creativity and the suppression of authentic artistic expression in a consumer driven music industry, being able to respond to reader reactions within the story itself is such a gift.

From the theorising about the photos in the parking garage to "sugar ooh" becoming a commonplace substitute for Suguru among Over the Threshold readers, as though people actually heard that catchy hook, you guys have more control of this story than you perhaps realise — and that is so deliciously meta. It's what Suguru describes in chapter 5:

An artist’s relationship with the public was a precarious, fickle thing, [...] their power [only] proportional to the people’s belief in them.

I feel exactly like Satoru and his team, identifying the fan favourite that emerges and giving it prized place in the encore to close out the show. The readers brought Sugar into focus in this story, which brings us back to Sleep Token, because the readers brought that Sugar into focus, too. It became the "theme song" for Dolce, because it grew into the fabric of Satoru's character for me via the readers.

Neither Dolce nor A Cappella would even exist if I didn't have such a wonderful readerbase willing to engage with me at this level, and I'm truly thankful for that. This story has grown beyond anything I originally set out to do, and it's all the more meaningful for it.

Caramel

Perhaps it's surprising to hear that I see Sugar as a song performed from Satoru's POV, along with its spiritual successor, Caramel, which became the "theme song" for Dolce's spiritual successor, A Cappella, in turn.

For anyone who's interested in getting a peek into Satoru's head in this fic, Caramel is your song. It really sums up the core conflict that this story explores, as well as Satoru and Suguru's opposing ideologies pushing up against one another. Suguru has a strong presence in the song. He's the "They can sing the words while I cry into the bassline" to Satoru's "I just wanna hear you sing that top line". He's the "mirror side-stage" that grounds Satoru, but also reflects back at him all the horrors of his role that he's never really confronted before.

In the end, Caramel sums up his quiet acceptance of the chaos of his chosen lifestyle, but only after exploring all the emotion that simmers beneath that perfect smile as he's pulled in different directions by his love of the performance, by the secret strain of the spotlight, by his love for Suguru, and by his fear of everything that threatens to reduce sweet sugar to burnt caramel at the bottom of the pan. There is such desperation in "Stick to me like caramel." I can't not hear it as chapter 13's "Can you hold on just a little bit longer?" while Satoru attempts to handle everything on his own. He wants to have his cake and eat it. Can he?

Of course, Sugar is less explicitly related to the themes of the wider story, but the release of Caramel has retroactively given the song a weight that supports this specific story in such beautiful ways. I never could have foreseen these serendipitous circumstances (I actually could, I'm Glod) but Sleep Token keep delivering for me.

There was Sugar, then Caramel, then Damocles which we've already discussed. Now, the release of Even In Arcadia brings three more songs that slot into this story, leaving us with five songs written specifically for fushiglow. Incredible scenes.

Past Self

The first, as you say, is Past Self. We've got games again, and the idea of dancing on the line which has come up a few times throughout the fic, but lyrically, this song is wildly fitting to Over the Threshold at a much deeper level. It's almost getting creepy at this point. First of all:

And you know I deliberate on cutting out the demons I still need a dark side, they just need a reason The passage of the hours into rushing through the seasons Falling through my mind with the leaves on the trees

Anyone else having chapter 12/13 war flashbacks? Changing seasons and falling leaves? Alright then!

Other stand out lines include "bolts out of my blue depths" (sobs), "did I get this far for nothing, or are you the reward?" (sobs harder), and "torn apart by the true believers that turned out to be faithless". Good lord, the themes are really theming.

However, the bridge section is such a departure from the rest of the song that I think puts Sleep Token's musical choices here into context:

And if this is love, then I am out of hesitation Head over heels at elevation Walking an inch above the pavement Taking it stride by stride together If this is real, then I am all up in a frenzy Not like before when I was empty Say that the story we tell is never-ending Taking it side by side together

It reminds me of the momentous turning point of chapter 8:

The gravity of it was startling. Yet Suguru felt buoyed by it, weightless on the current of Satoru’s faith in him — because no one had ever really believed in Suguru like that before. The feeling of it coursing around his bloodstream was potent and exciting, the way all drugs felt on the first try. It made his grin feel a little manic.

The whole song feels like taking a leap of faith, but in the context of the album, the unexpected sonic shift to upbeat hip hop rhythms and instrumentation is unsettling for the listener. The song bounces along in a way that feels like it might teeter off the edge at any time.

It even feels pretty unstable harmonically, like it's missing its centre. During the aforementioned bridge, it feels like we come close to reaching some kind of satisfying harmonic resolution for the final chorus, but ultimately the outcome of this leap of faith is withheld from the listener. It's smart writing. I really appreciate the intention behind this one!

Dangerous

Next up is Dangerous. Listening to the first 1:30 of this song felt like taking a bath in milk and honey — delectable but dangerous. More like scaphism than a spa treatment. I'm being silly.

But seriously, the gorgeous vocals cushioned by the reverberant pluck of guitar strings in the opening to the song are one of my favourite parts of the album overall. Nothing smart to say about this one though. It's just very reminiscent of Suguru trying to resist the dangerous addiction that is Satoru.

Infinite Baths

Even if I'm not head over heels in love with this song in its own right, as an Over the Threshold song, it is incredibly special. Enough to make me cry. In fact, in the context of the fic, it might be my favourite of all of them. [EDIT: No, I take it back. It's Damocles. Or Caramel. I don't know.]

But I'm not going to talk about it. Maybe we'll come back to it one day. For now, interpret this as you wish. Is it the balmy peace of the first half of the song or the violent supernova of the second that speaks to me? Hm.

I think the fact that I've chosen to focus on spiritual and celestial imagery with idols and stars in Over the Threshold — the idea of worshipping a concept that's bigger than reality — is a huge part of the reason Sleep Token's recent music resonates with the story.

I'm not familiar with the lore, but my hunch is that when they conceived of Sleep and Vessel and tokens of worship, they weren't thinking about celebrity, but those recurring themes have inadvertently played right into their experience of fame and thus make an appearance in a big way on Even In Arcadia.

Hooray for fushiglow and Over the Threshold, boo for the Sleep Token guys and the difficulties they've been facing. Fame sucks.

General review

As I've alluded to, most of my enjoyment of this album definitely stems from my own selfish application of its themes to Over the Threshold. However, in case you're interested, I'll also share some more general thoughts, because I personally think it's fascinating that looking at this album through the lens of my story vs in its own right changes my perception of it rather a lot.

I like music that's deliberate in its choices, regardless of genre. I like music that tells a story in its composition and arrangement and production, not only in its lyrical content. If all of those things marry together and support one another, that's great songwriting. For me, Even In Arcadia meets that criteria around half the time.

My biggest criticism of the record is that it feels hesitant in places, like the band lacks commitment to their ideas. There's so much experimentation with genre on this album and the experimental moments are what made me sit up and pay attention — the bold use of a reggaeton beat on Caramel; the unexpected sidestep into math rock on Gethsemane; just the whole journey through genre that is Emergence — but it feels like Sleep Token are held back by a reluctance to depart from their roots.

The gentle build to a breakdown where the drums and guitars come screaming in sometimes feels formulaic, like they're going through the motions expected of them as a 'rock band'. On a couple of occasions, the pivot to a heavier sound mid-track felt to me (to use an Over the Threshold-ism) like it limited the song from reaching the heights it was aiming for.

I think that's a shame, but also understandable, especially since this is their first release on a major label which comes with ALL sorts of politics. I even think that fear of the audience moving on is expressed in the lyrical content, especially in Damocles which, interestingly enough, shows a restraint on that front which is exactly the kind of musical storytelling I described earlier.

Some tracks feel out of place, like they don't quite belong to the concept. For me, the singles are definitely the high points of the album, alongside Look to Windward and Even In Arcadia. Even In Arcadia is a rich and immersive soundscape that delivers all the spiritualism of the lyrics with a vocal performance to back it up. That hoarse screamed last line that feels like it's reaching outside of the song followed by the soft "for me" evokes something larger than life; I think this song will be amazing live.

Meanwhile, Look to Windward is such a strong opener. It sets the tone really well, even if I don't think the tracks that follow always deliver on its promises. I love the Hans Zimmer-esque chords; it's very reminiscent of Holy War from Dune. Really strong melodic and lyrical content over the top of them, too, and I love the development into the plucked strings and vocalisations. This song is constantly growing and developing, exploring new ideas before returning to the original subject. It's a very complete and satisfying listening experience, which (I think) describes to the listener the journey the album will (attempt to) take them on.

I feel like Infinite Baths didn't quite deliver on that return to the original subject. The circular nature of the album (it closes with the same chord and rhythm combination it opens with) is undermined by the way it kind of fizzles out at the end. We land back where we started, but it feels like an accident rather than a deliberate choice. I wonder why they chose a fade out. Is this what they meant by "drift with me" (such a drastic departure from the rest of the song and easily my favourite part)?

So, most of the tracks on Even In Arcadia probably aren't going to find their way into my regular listening, but I enjoyed it overall. I do love a good concept album, and I admire Sleep Token's dedication to their artistry and the elaborate performance of it all. I also think that the more ambitious an artist is, the more critical we tend to be of them, and that doesn't feel fair.

Still, the higher you climb, the harder you fall. It seems fitting to the themes of this album, so maybe it achieved its aims.

Good god, I hope this was enjoyable to someone. Congratulations if you got to the bottom of this post! If you did, let's make a secret club. Only people who leave a reply containing 🌭 are part of it. Welcome to the hot dog club. (?!)

Thanks for another opportunity to yap, it means a lot. I love talking about music and I love talking about this story ♥

#vor3 #♥#threshold fic #threshold ask #ask fushiglow #glo's infodumps #jjk #geto suguru #gojo satoru #satosugu #jjk fanfic

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anxiousapplepie · 3 months ago

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Hi, sorry, it’s me again! I started designing those OCs I was talking about in another ask I sent, and it just opened the floodgates for some ideas and questions.

And because I'm obsessed with meticilous research when I create ocs, I literally scoured through all the rose knights posts again and noticed just how little we know about green roses/coloured dragons, which got me really curious.

Anyway, onto the question. How do colours work with the green roses/coloured dragons? Is it like a mix of either color system, does it depend on how/what they identify themselves as/ how they were raised? Or do they change as they grow up like normal, or is it based on something completely different? How do changing colours work if that's even possible for them? I noticed that they can have multiple colours, but that's about all the hints I've managed to find out, lol

Also on a related note about dragons, their colour and magic is decided by how many close relationships they form, so like roses can change colour do they also change colour in response to losing/gaining those relationships? or do they have to form/lack those relationships early in life, and then no matter their change in relationships in the future, they stay that colour?

I understand if these questions might be too spoiler-y to answer, but I figured I'd ask anyway!

This question is less spoilery? but getting into hybrid magic is not a "one size fits all" kinda deal so it's going to be challenging to answer/pos (also you doing your RK homework makes me very pleased!)

Okay. Before we get in deep, let's do a recap of magic before we do the remix:

A Rose's color is influenced by their perception of self, and what they want to express the most to others. A Dragon's color is effected by their relationships with others.

As a result, Roses are typically born with white hair, gaining colors later in life when they mature and figure out how they want to express themselves. And Dragons are usually born with green hair, gaining deeper or paler colors when they develop more meaningful relationships... or when they start cutting off everyone from their life or feel alone.

So how does magic work for the Green Roses and Colored Dragons? Short answer: It depends on the individual! Longer answer: It depends what kind of color their magic naturally wants to be (eg green, one color that isn't green, or the whole color spectrum Roses have), and what "influences" their magic to change color (personal identity or relationships with others)

For example, some hybrids get lighter colored hair when they've got good relationships with a lot of people, and they'll get darker hair when they feel more isolated or have less friends. Other hybrids become lighter/darker depending how they perceive themselves (eg childish and immature for pastel colors, and serious or mature for darker colors).

Some Green Roses are... well, born green! just like a typical Dragon would be! But usually a Green Rose is born white, growing into their green colors when their magic figures out HOW it's going to reflect the soul - aka the "Rose" way with personal identity or the "Dragon" way with connections to others. And some Colored Dragons are born white or with a color other than Green! And the way their color changes is either the Rose way or the Dragon way too.

Of course some Green Roses/Colored Dragon magic is incredibly mixed up and confused... so sometimes it's impossible to figure out what is effecting a hybrid's color >:3c Only time, self-reflection and trial and error can help a character figure out what's causing their hair to change color.

#Rose Knights #put it this way #“seasonal Dragons” are 100% a thing #where a Dragon changes to lots of different colors over the year #and “evergreen Roses” are fun because they're always stable and are just that one color without shifting at all #honestly tho I'd categorize those evergreens in the same box as some White Roses #cuz that's a magic-color disconnect and not at all tied with personality or relationships #ANYWAY this is the tip of the color iceberg! Have fun making OCs mate! <3

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epicbuddieficrecs · 1 year ago

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Weekly Recap | June 24th-30th 2024

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians! Here comes a more reasonable weekly recap compared to last week :P

Complete

see the stars with my morning eyes by trippedandfell/ @trippedandfell (Teacher Buck AU | 3K | Teen): “So,” Buck announces, sitting down between Hen and Chimney at the concessions stand. “I think Eddie’s trying to get me to sleep with him and his fiancée.” or: Eddie calls Lucy his partner. Buck extrapolates.

kiss my lips, feel the rhythm of your heart and hips by Daffi_990_ao3/ @daffi-990 (Post-S7, Getting Together | 3K | Mature): After months of clawing at the ground and scraping through the mud of his memories of his relationship with Shannon, his childhood and a whole bunch of religious guilt, Eddie had finally accepted the truth about his marriage and himself. He’s queer. His sexuality isn’t the only thing he’s discovered though. Eddie Diaz is queer and he is in love with Evan Buckley.

Being Selfish by Inell/ @inell (Post-7x10: All Fall Down, Getting Together | 4K | Teen): It’s been a little more than six weeks since Eddie’s life became a chaotic mess. Luckily, he’s had Buck’s support and constant presence to help him get through it.

in the rough draft, [s]he loved you by iinryer/ @iinryer (S5, Outsider POV | 5K | General): during the flight home to LA after ramon's retirement party, eddie tries to write down some things he wants to say to buck

wrap your arms around me, baby boy by marviless/ @marviless (Getting Together | 6K | Teen): in which buck pretends to be asleep and overhears something he shouldn't.

🔥 i’ve seen a couple suns that set forever by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Post-S7, Christopher POV | 7K | General): Freshly home from Texas and faced with the prospect of his dad's feelings for Buck, Christopher's abandonment issues surface. A conversation with Bobby, and realizing the parallels between Buck's relationship with Bobby, and his relationship with Buck, gives Chris the perspective he needs.

i'll be the north star that takes you home by marviless/ @marviless (Post-S7, Getting Together | 8K | General): eddie is moving back to el paso for the summer.

Just to Chase the Pain Away by UnderwaterNinja/ @underwaterninja13 (BTHB: Public Humiliation, BDSM, Subdrop | 11K | Explicit): Buck makes the poor decision to go to a kink club to deal with his emotions. After he's left with no aftercare, someone comes to his rescue.

Firehouse Baby by Nejinee/ @nejineeee (S2-S7, Getting Together | 21K | Explicit): One day, Eddie put his hand on Buck’s thigh and Buck hasn’t stopped thinking about it since.

🔥 something touched me (like a knife-blade) by kithmet/ @kithmet (Alternate S7 Finale, Getting Together | 42K | Explicit): Eddie self-implodes. Christopher, seeking refuge, flees to Buck—whose priorities amount to, in varying order: take in the kid, get Eddie to talk to him, and keep the three of them afloat in the process. (Oh, and Tommy’s there too. He thinks.)

🔥 Further Than Blood (Or Than Bones) by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (Vampires AU | 50K | Explicit): Once, Eddie chose to save a newly turned against his better judgment. Five hundred years ago, Buck was saved by a rescuer he thought was a hallucination. Now they're together again and about to find out just how far either of them will go to try and deny what they are to each other.

🔥 Descendants of Cyrano by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (~S7, Dungeons&Dragons, Getting Together | 55K | Explicit): People have their characters romance each other all the time while playing Dungeons & Dragons. There's deep meaningful monologues and sometimes some crying. It's normal. "Normal" is definitely not the word for whatever Buck and Eddie are inflicting on the rest of the 118.

WIP

🔥 If You Can Make the Music by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon Divergent, | 2/5 | 5K | Mature): Spin-off Sequel to Evan Buckley & the Coma-Verse of Madness - Chapter 5 (Seaside): A year after a whirlwind two week love affair with bartender Buck in Galveston, Texas, Eddie Diaz finds himself coincidentally relocating to the area. But when he attempts to reconnect with Buck, he's in for an unfortunate surprise. (Part 3 of Coma-Verse)

Podfics

[podfic] but it feels like a fortress when the weather gets bad by TheBoyWhoWalksInTheLight/ @aro-of-artemis (Post-3x15: Eddie Begins | 20-30min | Teen): Buck has a nightmare about Eddie dying, but he also has a key to Eddie's house.

Re-Read

Like a Sack of Bricks by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (Feelings Realization | 2K | Teen): One word from Christopher, and Eddie's realizing he's made a serious miscalculation about his best friend.

#buddie #buddie fanfiction #buddie fic rec #buddie fanfic #buddie fic #epic buddie fic rec

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callmebrycelee · 15 days ago

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9-1-1: FLASHBACK

At the rate I’m going with these reactions, I’m going to be done recapping the series before the next season airs. Since I’ve been choosing episodes that are quite meaningful to me, I worry what happens when I run out of those episodes and I’m stuck reacting to episodes that are mid or my least favorite. So, I thought for this reaction, I’d pick an episode that I haven’t rewatched a whole lot. It’s not that this episode is bad. I … well, I’ll explain why I’m not a fan of this episode in the reaction. For today’s edition of 911: Flashback, I will be reacting to the season 1, second episode “Let Go” which originally January 10, 2018 on FOX. The episode was written by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear and was directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton. So, buckle up, hang on, and enjoy the ride!

Quick Recap

We begin the episode at an amusement park and right away I’m on edge. As a 80s-born millennial who grew up watching 90s and early-2000s horror movies, I was immediately reminded of the third installment of the Final Destination franchise. In that film, several teenagers, celebrating their impending graduation, board a rollercoaster. Our main character has a premotion of the ride crashing and she is able to convince several of her classmates to get off the rollercoaster before it malfunctions and subsequently crashes, killing everyone else on board. In our episode, we are introduced, briefly, to friends Devon and Chad (played by Sean Liang and Caleb Castille). Chad convinces Devon to get on a rollercoaster despite the latter’s apprehension of getting on the ride. Chad tells Devon there are two hot girls in front of them and if they get out of line, those girls will talk about them on social media and call them pussies. Whoa! I think this may have been the first time I’d heard the p-word on one of the basic networks. Chad is such a shitty friend, but he does manage to convince Devon to get on the ride. The two get on the ride but because Devon is a heavier guy, the bar that goes over them doesn’t lock into place. What’s even more messed up is the ride attendant checks their restraints before starting the ride and we can clearly see Devon and Chad are not secure. The coaster starts and Devon tells Chad he hates them as they go up the first hill. As the car goes starts to descend, the lap bar goes up and Chad flies out of the car.

Over at dispatch, Abby receives a call from someone at the amusement park. The 118 arrive and we see the car Devon and Chad were in stuck at the top of one of the loops. Devon is hanging on for dear life completely unaware his best friend is dead. Buck climbs up a ladder to get to Devon. Buck asks Devon to give him his hand and promises he won’t let him go. However, Devon is unable to hang on for any long. He resolves himself to his fate and lets go while everyone, including Buck, watches in horror. Back at the station, Buck is in total disbelief over not being able to save Devon. He tells Chimney and Bobby that all Devon needed to do was reach for his hand. This is Buck’s first loss as a firefighter and it’s hitting him hard. He asks if losing someone in the field gets any easier and Bobby promptly answers, “No”. Chimney diagnoses Buck’s issue as him viewing each emergency as a relationship when they are actually one-night stands. Athena and Hen arrive, and the latter tells the others that Athena’s going through some personal stuff at home and needs a little TLC. Athena is already a part of this group of people although she does make it known that she’s not sold on Buck just yet due to their terse introduction in the previous episode. However, since Buck did save Athena’s life during a home invasion, she is willing to give him a second chance. The two start their relationship anew and Bobby tells Athena that Buck is dealing with his first loss on the job. Athena tells him the reason first responders like themselves wear uniforms is so that at the end of the day they can take them off symbolizing the leaving behind of the job as to not interfere with their personal lives. Buck tells her every time he closes his eyes, he keeps seeing Devon falling. Athena assures him it will pass. Just then, the alarm sounds, and these poor men and women don’t even get to enjoy the delicious meal Bobby prepared for them.

Over at Abby’s, Carla Price (played by Cocoa Brown) arrives just as Abby is about to leave for work. Abby’s mother, Patricia Clark (played by Mariette Hartley) is locked inside the bathroom and Carla manages to get her out. Abby hugs Carla for her assistance and Carla validates that what Abby is doing is very hard. Carla assures Abby she is hear to help and tells Abby go get her life back. Over at the Grant household, things are still tense between Athena and Michael. Harry reports that May is still in bed so both parents go to check on her. May claims she is sick and can’t go to school. Michael tells Athena he will push back his appointments so he can stay home and look after her. She thanks him and leaves for work. We get our second emergency call which Chimney and Hen respond to. We see Athena abuse her power at a fast-food restaurant where she bullies her way through the drive-thru line so she can get four cheeseburgers. Athena shows up at a house where a man is trapped by two Doberman dogs in his living room. Hen lets the man knows Animal Control is on the way. She tells him to stand still. Athena tosses the cheeseburgers at the dogs and Hen coaxes them into the pantry. The dogs are taken away by Animal Control. Hen picks up on the chemistry between Athena and the guy (played by McKinley Freeman). Athena reminds Hen she is not divorced. Hen reminds Athena that her husband likes men. Athena is unconvinced. She is not ready to start dating. Hen tells Athena that in order for her to be there for her kids, she needs to look after herself. Hint-hint. Wink-wink. Nudge-nudge. It then dawns on Athena that neither the front nor back door to the man’s home was open so that means the dogs live there. The home’s actual owner arrives and both Hen and Athena realize they let a burglar get away.

Over at Abby’s, Abby and Carla bond over wine while Patricia is asleep in the next room. Carla asks Abby why she isn’t out with Tommy. Abby tells her that she has to keep reliving the worst breakup she’s ever had because her mom keeps forgetting they’re not together anymore. Abby also tells Carla that once her mother moved in, she just doesn’t have any energy left to give, especially when it comes to dating. The two of them then see a reporter interviewing Buck on TV. Carla notices Abby noticing Buck. Carla tells Abby that all firemen are dogs, including Buck. Abby says she’s been thinking about calling Buck just to see how he is doing. Abby says that Buck is the first person in years to thank her for help. Carla, being a good wing person, encourages Abby to call Buck. Abby gets up, goes into the next room, to make the call. Abby goes to make the call and Buck does pick up. He tells her that everyone keeps patting him on the back and all he wants to do is scream at them that people died. Abby tells him she’s had to listen to people die. The silence after they die is like no other kind of quiet. Buck tells her that all Devon needed to do was take his hand. Abby says there are some people who don’t want to be saved. Buck thanks her for calling and asks if he can call her again sometime. She says that is fine. He thanks her again and he says let’s talk soon.

Buck attends Devon’s memorial and speaks with his sister, Liz (played by Jee Young Han). She asks him about what happened in her brother’s final moments and Buck unintentionally offends her by implying that Devon gave up. She tells Buck that her brother was very happy to be alive. She says Devon was loved and he knew it. The sister then goes on to tell Buck that Devon wanted to live and Buck failed him. Yikes! Poor, Buckaroo! I know she’s grieving but that’s not what Buck needs to hear right now. Meanwhile, we go over to an office where two coworkers are dealing with a pervy window washer. While the window washer is ogling both women through the window, he slips and falls. The 118, of course, responds to the call and Buck tells Bobby he will go inside the building to make sure the window washer is secure. We don’t see the outcome of this particular emergency, but it is implied the window washer falls to his death. The next thing we see is Buck sulking in the locker room. Bobby listens while Buck tells him he loves being a firefighter because he gets to be tough while he’s helping people. Buck asks Bobby if he remembers the first person he lost in the field. Bobby can recall every aspect of the person of the person he lost on down to her outfit and toenail polish. Bobby tells Buck that he’s glad he can’t just automatically flip the switch when it comes to being affected by the not so nice parts of their job. He also tells Buck that if anyone ever tells him that losing someone doesn’t affect them, they are lying. He gives Buck the name and number of a trauma counselor. Bobby tells Buck he doesn’t have to talk to him, but he needs to talk to someone.

Buck goes to see a grief counselor named Dr. Wells (played by Autumn Reeser) while Athena and Michael see a marriage counselor named Dr. Glass (played by Tim Russ). Dr. Wells asks Buck what it is about sharing his feelings that scares him. Buck assures her he is not scared. Athena tells Dr. Gates she isn’t scared either; she’s angry. Buck tells Dr. Wells he’s only there because Bobby insisted. She asks him why he froze up during his last call. Buck says he hesitated. Athena tells Dr. Gates and Michael she doesn’t like being a fool. She admits to knowing that Michael was gay, but she wanted so badly to make a life with him. A family with him. She tells Michael she’s not ready to let go. Dr. Wells reminds Buck he lost someone and losing people is hard. Buck tells her he can’t shake the feeling that he could’ve done something differently. Michael tells Athena she is not a fool. He reminds her she is a strong, loving woman. He admits he’s the fool and he thought she would be able to fix him. Dr. Wells asks Buck if he blames Devon. Buck keeps wondering why Devon didn’t take his hand. Dr. Wells goes to sit near Buck, which feels very inappropriate. Buck asks Dr. Wells if she friended him on Facebook. She tells him she did, but it was before their appointment was scheduled. She tells him to delete the friend request. Michael tells Athena no one is trying to take her family. Athena tells Michael she can deal with a sexless marriage, just not a loveless one. Michael hesitates and Athena asks him what’s going on. Michael admits he’s met someone. Back at the office of Dr. Wells, we see her and Buck post-coital. She regrets their hookup and dismisses him from her office. Eww.

Speaking of inappropriate behavior, Athena uses the knowledge that Hen provided her during the Doberman phone call and uses it to track down the burglar. I don’t know how I feel about Athena’s methods of fighting crime sometimes. I respect that she’s a total-badass, Black, female in a male-dominated profession but I don’t like that she sometimes abuses her power, and we’re supposed to be okay with it because at the end of the day, she is able to take down the bad guy. I wish I could blame this on her anger and grief, but the truth is this behavior continues beyond the first season.

We get one last emergency, this one involving a man attempting to jump off the side of a high-rise. The man is Leonard (played by Shannon McClung) is threatening to jump because he thinks his girlfriend, Kelly (played by Azita Ghanizada) cheated on him with her coworker. The 118 arrive and Buck is none too thrilled to discover they are dealing with a potential jumper. Buck makes a dark joke about wishing the man would use a gun instead of joking. Bobby tells Buck he needs to do The Maneuver which Buck is uneasy about. Chimney volunteers to do it instead but Bobby is confident Buck can pull it off. Bobby goes up to talk to Kelly while Buck harnesses up. While Bobby distracts the unhappy couple, Buck repels down the building towards where Leonard is hanging. In perhaps the funniest moment of a pretty bleak episode, Buck kangaroo kicks Leonard back into his apartment. Buck is like, I may have lost two but damnit, I’m not about to lose three. Back at the station, Bobby commends Buck for saving the day. Chimney is jealous because he believes Buck is going to get laid because of his heroic moment. At that moment, Devon’s sister shows up wanting to talk with Buck. Liz apologizes for what she said to Buck. She tells Buck that seven years ago, Devon tried to kill himself. After his suicide attempt, Devon went to therapy and got better. However, two months ago, he started isolating himself again to the point where he wouldn’t leave the house. Liz is the one who called Chad and begged him to get Devon out of the house. Liz doesn’t blame Buck for her brother’s death – she blames herself. Buck tells her there’s nothing either of them could have done for Devon because some people just don’t want to be saved.

Abby goes out to dinner with her mother and Carla. Carla pushes Abby to call Buck again. Abby leaves the table to call Buck who is still at the station. She asks him how he was doing. He asks her if he can ask a question and she says sure. He asks her how old she is because she keeps calling him on his phone instead of texting or using Snapchat or FaceTime. Abby tells him she spends so much time on the phone it’s her most comfortable form of communication. Bucks says he likes that she calls him. It’s old-fashioned. Abby says she has another old-fashioned idea. She wants to meet up in person. Buck asks if it’s a date and she says it will be a date. Buck tells her he has some issues when it comes to intimacy and if they go out they’re gonna have sex. He then admits to sleeping with his therapist. Abby says she isn’t interested in a sleeping together. Buck tells her he likes talking on the phone because it makes him feel safe and he doesn’t want to mess things up before they really begin. Abby says she’s fine with that. She returns to the table and tells her mother and Carla that Buck said no to going on a date. They are confused as to why she is happy about that. Abby tells them that sometimes the right kind of no is better than the wrong kind of yes. Lastly, in our final scene of the episode, things turn bleak again when Athena goes to May’s room and finds her unresponsive.

Observations

Sean Liang who plays Devon will later on play Pete in American Horror Story: 1984

Tim Russ who plays Athena and Michael’s marriage counselor will later on play David in American Horror Story: 1984

Had Carla not pushed Abby to call Buck, the two of them may not have ever dated, which means Buck would have never met Carla and recommended her as Christopher’s caretaker.

Buck sleeps with his therapist. The show sort of glosses over this regrettable moment in the show but let’s be very clear. That therapist crossed an ethical line. Let’s call it what it is. Sexual abuse. Buck was sexually abused by his therapist and it’s no laughing matter.

911 Lore

This episode marks the first time Buck lost someone in the field.

We and Athena learn that Michael is seeing someone.

Buck was enlisted with the Navy SEALs prior to becoming a firefighter. He tells Bobby that he was good at the physical part, he just wasn’t good at following orders. He says they wanted a machine; people who could flip a switch in their head and turn off every natural, human instinctive emotion but he couldn’t do that.

If we’re keeping score, Buck has slept with three people since the Pilot episode. Although, one of them was without his consent.

This episode marks the first time we see someone do The Maneuver.

Chimney is very jealous of Buck.

We see glimmers of Bobby is Buck’s Dad and Athena is Buck’s Mom in this episode.

Well, what did you think about the episode? Please comment on this post and let me know. I think this episode did a great job with world-building and character development. I still think our characters are a bit off from what we come to know them to be. Athena is very angry, justifiably so. Chimney is a bit smarmy. Buck is a walking hardon. Hen is a bit … I don’t know how to describe it. I feel like when she was giving Athena advice, she was very salacious. I feel like current Hen would’ve given Athena the same advice, but it would’ve been more heartfelt and less matter of fact. I know we only got her for one season, but I really liked Abby in this episode. I love her chemistry with Buck, I love her friendship with Carla. This episode cements for me while Buck is my favorite character. I feel like he’s much more complex than the others, Overall, great episode! Please remember to like and comment and be on the lookout for the next installment of 911: Flashback. Until next time …

#abc 911 #911 abc #evan buckley #athena grant #abby clark #bobby nash #michael grant #tim russ #sean liang #911 reactions #blw reactions #angela bassett #connie britton #oliver stark #peter krause #911 flashback #911 1x02

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maz53 · 6 months ago

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Galinda Upland's Gifts (Wicked 2024)

One really interesting way to see Galinda's growth as a character is through her gifts to others. It's clear that material items mean a great deal to her, but the meaning of those items changes as Part 1 progresses.

When she first arrives at Shiz, she expects "gifts". She's owed a private room, as well as a place on Madame Morrible's private seminar, and the adoration of the student/teacher population at Shiz.

Of course, Elphaba foils all of those things. Elphaba calls Galinda out in front of the crowd (to little effect), Elphaba and Galinda are forced to share a dorm, and Elphaba gets the attention of Madame Morrible instead of Galinda.

Fiyero is not a physical object, but a relationship with him is something else Galinda expects (as well as the flower he gifts her). And she "gets" him, for a time, too. However, Boq and his handkerchief were not part of Galinda's plan. The only meaningful gifts (and people) to Galinda at this stage are those she deems desirable. It is her own opinion that matters and that's all.

Which is what makes the next gift that much more interesting: Galinda's Grandmother's Hat.

At first, it may seem like this hat is a sentimental item; Galinda's taken it with her to Shiz despite it's hideoteous-ness. Yet when questioned, she states it's because she doesn't hate anybody that much to give it away.

Of course, when Elphaba appears, it's Galinda's first instinct to gift her the hat. A symbol of an inside joke with Galinda's friends that Elphaba's not in on. This gift is something that Galinda doesn't value, given to somebody who she doesn't value either.

However, when Galinda's at the Ozdust Ballroom, she receives a gift she hadn't expected: a training wand and entry to Madame Morrible's private classes. (see here for more of my thoughts on Madame Morrible)

Elphaba has given Galinda that which she most desires, on the same night only hours after Galinda had given Elphaba the worst thing she owned. It's this that begins to change Galinda for the better. No longer can she stand by and watch Elphaba be humiliated. Elphaba has become something meaningful to Galinda, and not just because she gave Galinda what she wanted, but because she did so even when Elphaba didn't have anything to gain from it.

If we recap the points I made earlier:

Galinda was promised a private suite, and in return Shiz get to coast on her parent's nobility

Galinda expects to study under Madame Morrible, and in return Madame Morrible/Oz can reap the rewards of her powers

Galinda expects others to do her homework, and in return they can be influenced by her popularity

Galinda expects Fiyero's attention (and gifts), and in return he can use her for the same (they're both putting up a front, just for different reasons)

Galinda has nothing to gain from Boq's attention (or handkerchief) as he wouldn't do much for her social standing or provide anything else she might need

However, Galinda didn't expect anything from Elphaba and is now completely floored by what she's gained.

When they return to the dorm, Galinda offers a secret of her own to find out a secret about Elphaba - an exchange that she expects to be reciprocated. When Elphaba freezes up, Galinda forces a tantrum to get her way because it doesn't match her view of the world. She even goes on to sing an entire song about how having connections and exchanges is the way life is.

During Popular, Galinda is convinced that in order for Elphaba to be liked she has to change to be more like Galinda. The entire song, Galinda is gifting Elphaba clothing and accessories - all of which are pink(ish), and none actually suit Elphaba or what she might want. It's Galinda's way of repaying her, but she's still thinking selfishly.

The flower is a key moment here. It's something that Galinda values because she's beginning to truly fall for Fiyero, but she gifts it to Elphaba instead. However, it's still pink. It's still not quite what Elphaba needs, even if she does want to be accepted it's not true to herself.

(and I'm not even going to touch the symbolism of Elphaba wanting Fiyero's love and Galinda giving it to her! Also Fiyero gifting Elphaba a flower after gifting one to Galinda... I'm going to do a separate post about Flowers I think)

The next gift we see from Galinda is the pamphlet she gives to Elphaba at the train station. It's the first thing we see her gift anybody that isn't a repayment and holds no expectation for a gift in return. In fact, Galinda almost forgets to give it to her. However, Elphaba defies Galinda's logic yet again by inviting her to join Elphaba to Emerald City. In my eyes, Elphaba recognised that Galinda was changing and truly cared about her too.

Yet, the message Galinda writes in the pamphlet is "I hope you get your heart's desire." - meaning Galinda doesn't know what Elphaba actually wants still. Yes, she knows Elphaba wants to be liked, that she wants to meet the Wizard but I don't believe she knows what Elphaba would ask for. Especially after being so confused that Fiyero and Elphaba are still thinking about when Dr Dillamond was taken.

It's still progress though because Glinda is realising that Elphaba might want different things to her, but Glinda still develops through the last of part 1.

She's conflicted when meeting the Wizard and seeing Madame Morrible. This is the moment where she's forced to choose to either commit to her own beliefs about the world or take a leap of faith. Despite Elphaba's "strange" behaviours, Galinda can't drop everything for one person. Glinda knows that staying close to authority will be better for her, and doesn't understand how Elphaba disagrees.

For the first time in Elphaba's life, she expects something from another. She asks Glinda to join her. Yes, she asked Glinda to get on the train with her to the city but that was in a response to Glinda's gift - it was an exchange. But here, Elphaba asks Glinda to fly away with her knowing that it won't be what Glinda wants (or mostly wants).

Glinda entertains the idea briefly, but knows she can't leave. Though she's aware, now, that she needs to offer something in return. It's her own lesson after all. And so Glinda reverts to what she knows best - material items. This time with a twist.

There aren't many options in the tower where they're hiding, but Glinda searches anyway. She lifts some black fabric off a rack, intending to look underneath, but realises it's a cloak. In that moment, something clicks for Glinda.

This black cloak is what Elphaba would want most. It's not something Glinda values, it's dark and old and dusty. But she finally can see (and respect) that someone else might value it. This time, it's only Elphaba's perception that matters - not her own.

And that is why I end up sobbing at this scene. Glinda has grown so much, and Elphaba finally feels acceptance, but it's too late for anything to truly change. (at least that's how it feels, I don't know too much about part 2)

Also Defying Gravity is a beautiful song by any stretch, but I especially love how Glinda ends the film mirroring the scene which started their friendship. The Hat versus the Cloak. She's come so far!

#maz53 #long post #text #wicked #wicked spoilers #wicked 2024 spoilers #wicked film spoilers #spoilers #galinda upland #glinda upland #elphaba thropp #character study #wicked meta #meta #wicked character study

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keyorden · 8 months ago

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Echo Parents (5. Chase)

So. A quick recap; TJ has reasonable, loving parents, with no indication that there is any problems beyond what any kid might have with their parents, potentially marred only by over-protectiveness (reasonable) Leo and Carl have overall positive relationship's with parents, with significant issues that aren't easily overcome, and contribute to their kids issues, which lead them to identify more with friends overall. Jenna, Syd, and Flynn have abusive parents, and much of the stories they have are about dealing with that, and how friends can share the burdens. Clint, Jeremy, Heather, Micha and Keith are all examples of when the support network Can't bridge the gap (In this case, their Flynn example, Keith, was taken too soon, and they had literally no positive examples to otherwise help) So, given all of that overall. What is up with Chase's parents. Going over everything, it's....strange. In all the other examples, the parents reflect the kids beliefs and values. In Chase's case, the greatest part's of his story are about his avoidance to conflict, his lack of desires, his own communication issues, and his inability to make meaningful decisions. But it really honestly doesnt seem like Chases parent's reflect this? Like, in Route 65, Chase mentions that his mom locked herself in a room, and the dad could only "Laugh awkwardly" at the impromptu outing. Then, there is the implication that they accepted the relationship, but nothing else. It is mentioned that they punished Chase for some of his behavior as a child (Which, in his own words, was dickish), like leaving TJ to clean Duke's yard alone, and there are other minor instances of mention, but nothing that leads to a really clear or obvious picture like anyone else. They held some barbiques, did some things that annoyed younger chase, and that is that. At best, given whats in Cannon (even more with the beginning phone call and Chase's remincing in Flynn's route), you could determine them as just being....normal parents. But that doesn't feel right. Its strange, for normal parents to have that much of an opposition to filmography, of all things. Carl's not wanting an art degree is a classic complaint, but Flim? Even more, it just seems...odd. Like, Chase isn't really defined by being normal. His parents seemingly not having a large impact, positively or negatively, on anything, without note, seems off. Wrong. I have ideas, of course, on things they could've been presented as. If his parents were awkward, never commuting to condemning or helping him after he came out, or even before not approving of anything he did, yet not outright rejecting him like with Sydney, that could fit Or, if Chase Felt like he had a normal childhood, and then realized he hadn't spoken to his parents in YEARS, that would also be a fitting commentary. Or if his parent's notably had a rocky relationship, more if they wanted different things out of Chase. Or even if they didn't want to have Chase at all! if they were somewhat openly resentful of being stuck together and having a child, yet not separating, and just not talking about it, that could also fit for him. Not like that is an exhaustive list, but what we do know of the Hunters is just so lacking and limp. Overall I guess I just feel like Chases parents are one of the few kind of dropped parts of Echo. Or, at least, something that wasn't handled with the kind of detail I think they really could've. Just, an untapped goldmine for things to do or talk about.

#echo vn #chase hunter #leo alvarez #tj hess #flynn moore #jenna begay #carl hendricks #spoliers

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outlanderfandomfollies · 2 years ago

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MIK s2e2: MĀORI CULTURE: Sam recalls some poignant moments when he gets a Māori "moko"

After reading a post about a TV Line recap of MIK episode 202, I decided to watch this episode about Māori culture for myself. I was touched by the scenes where Sam and Graham each tell their stories in the process of getting a nonpermanent version of a "moko" (or tā moko), a deeply meaningful form of tattoo in the Māori culture.

Tā moko artist Hohua Mohi explains that someone who wants a moko will "sit down for a good hour" and start talking about some part of their life that is meaningful, like their family, where they came from, etc. As they are talking, the moko artist is drawing, and consequently, every moko is unique and very personal.

The Story Behind Sam's Moko

SAM: Well my dad left, when I was, uh, very young, three years old, so I didn't--I didn't know him at all. HOHUA: Yeah. SAM: I actually didn't know his name.

SAM: And uh, my mum brought me up with my elder brother in the south of Scotland. She's--she's been very, very strong my whole life. And she struggled, I think, to look after two young boys.

SAM: Um, and it probably wasn't until I was… mid-20s that I finally, uh, met my dad. And, actually, very recently, I got to see him just before he died, which was uh, incredible, just to learn about him and his life.

SAM: And, uh, we spent a few days together. I work a lot, and I'm very fortunate. But I always put it first. So I guess, uh, relationships are difficult.

Sam's Moko Explained and Revealed

HOHUA: So, if you look at it, it talks about your--your father. It talks about your dad and then your brother in here. This manaia here represents your mum. And so it's obviously facing upwards. SAM: Yeah. HOHUA: I've been giving you advice. SAM: Ah, so she's been giving me advice, mm.

HOHUA: And if you look at it, rather than just follow a single line, all of these colors, they branch off, they branch off, they branch off. SAM: Yeah, yeah. HOHUA: And it was-- They came from you talking about how you wanted-- ultimately, you know, you don't know whether or not you're gonna settle down there, but you- you want to go and see the world. SAM: Somewhere else, yeah, yeah. HOHUA: So that's what--that's what this will remind you of. You know? SAM: Different branches.

HOHUA: Yeah, but also, no matter which way you branch off, never forget where... [speaking native language] SAM: Wow. HOHUA: Hmm. SAM: My friend. [shakes hand] So beautiful. GRAHAM: That is really-- SAM: Thank you so much. GRAHAM: It's pretty. SAM: Isn't that awesome?

SAM: A strange experience as well. GRAHAM: A unique experience. SAM: Yeah, just also very personal. It felt like going to therapy a little bit. GRAHAM: Yeah. SAM: But, uh, very, very honored. GRAHAM: Yeah. Yeah. Really, thank you so much.

Being a therapist myself, it seemed to me that the process of getting a moko is very much a therapeutic experience. The person getting a moko focuses inwardly and shares important parts of their past that define who they are. The moko artist appears not to be judgmental and listens at a deep level. Then the artist presents the moko, which is a visual symbol of something very unique about the person. And they also give verbal feedback to the person about what they have understood to be the essence of their story.

Sounds like a "therapeutic" encounter to me!

[edited]

___________ NOTE: Images of Sam's moko were enhanced for clarity and to accentuate the colors. Thanks @thetruthwilloutsworld for making the TV Line Recap post. I'd never watched any episode of MIK before. I'm glad I watched this episode. I enjoyed learning about Māori culture, as well as finding out more about Sam's and Graham's personal backgrounds.

#men in kilts #season 2 #episode 202 #maori culture #sam heughan #graham mctavish #moko #tā moko #hohua mohi #outlander cast #my gifs #my edits

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aleksanderscult · 10 months ago

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One thing that’s always puzzled me is how, during Alina’s time at the Little Palace, she and Aleksander only shared a handful of meaningful interactions—maybe three or four scenes at most. I understand he had a lot on his plate as the leader of the Grisha and had his duties as a general to manage, but it still feels like there was a missed opportunity for more connection between the two. If Aleksander really wanted Alina to see his perspective and not turn against him (even though I feel like she would still do that because it seems like Mal is always her only goal… 😪), wouldn’t it have made sense for them to have more conversations and moments together? It would have deepened their dynamic and possibly made Alina’s later decisions even more complex.

It’s almost like—more like it is—that Leigh Bardugo forgot that Aleksander had been waiting for the Sun Summoner for centuries, and then, when Alina is finally there, he’s practically absent. I get that he’s extremely busy, but why not add other scenes? There’s just this big gap in their relationship, which feels like a lost opportunity to flesh out their bond further. Why do you think Bardugo made this choice?

The lack of interaction feels so intentional, but I can't help wondering how the story might have shifted if we saw more of them together.

What about you? What changes would you have made to their dynamic in the first book? Maybe more time spent on Aleksander revealing the weight of his past, or moments of vulnerability between them that would complicate Alina’s view of him?

I understand your confusion, anon, but think about it from this perspective and all will make sense: This was Leigh Bardugo's very first novel.

See where my point is? And once you realize this then you understand why this book feels so amateurish. Most of all, it lacks another 100-150 pages of character development where Alina spends more time at the Little Palace and around the Darkling.

This way the reader would get more content about their mentor-student relationship, Bardugo would have the proper amount of pages to explore the Darkling's manipulation and Alina (and the reader) would feel even more bonded with the Little Palace. In canon we jumped from September - October straight to late December - January. We only got a recap of her time there.

Now what would I have done?

As an aspiring author that currently practices to writing and developing stories, I would explore Alina's time there more. It's important not to drag a novel with useless scenes but write down moments that even though would feel simple at first to the reader, will make so much sense afterwards when all is revealed and will make the reader go "Aha!". In short, that's what Bardugo should have done with the Darkling's scenes. I would personally have him around Alina even more but I wouldn't make him seem evil. On the contrary, my Darkling would deliberately let Alina be viciously trained by Baghra and then when he would step in he would be kinder, more understanding and more tolerant in order to gain Alina's trust. A manipulative person wants you to see them the way they want you to see them. (In canon, Aleksander was kind because that's who he was and not because of some grand plan which was such a waste). I wouldn't make him fall in love with Alina but Alina would have feelings for him something that my Aleksander would take advantage of, even after his schemes would be revealed. (I love some good-written manipulation, haven't you guessed it yet?)

Ah yes, of course I would change Alina's character. When you're in a foreign environment you unintentionally trust those that are kinder to you. With Alina I don't know what the fuck happened (mother issues). But I wouldn't write any POVs from the Darkling. I find it much more juicy when you don't know what the enemy is thinking, especially when he's cunning. It makes you guessing his next move and surprises you with it.

Also about the relationship between Genya-Alina. I would make the former more vengeful and darker (I'm sorry but I can't resist to such women in fiction 😩). She would be more focused in her mission than being a true friend to Alina and her kind words and actions towards the latter would be just a mask. In truth, my Genya would only care to see the royal family burned. This whole "I'm sorry for betraying you gonna go and betray the Darkling" wouldn't exist. She would know what she would be fighting for.

#well shit now that I read it again my own version is much darker #just the way I like my media actually 🙂#(damn now I want to write this)#anon asks #the darkling #alina starkov #genya safin #shadow and bone #grishaverse #AU #aleksander morozova #grishaverse trilogy

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snowblack-charcoalwhite · 11 months ago

Note

Remember that scene from episode 7, when Aemond tries to approach Jace on Driftmark, looking like he is about to offer his condolences but at the same time knows he shouldn't because even Jace can't acknowledge his real father? And Jace looks somewhat annoyed and Aemond leaves, then Jace glances at Aegon who is already in his cups and doesn't even notice him? There were no scenes like that in season 2. Short but meaningful, the scenes that reveal so much about the characters involved. We have Aemond who even after being mocked by his nephews still can sympathise with them in a way and the two (Aemond/Jace) can give us a 'what if' moment that creates the ultimate fallout more tragic. Then we have Jace who obviously is interested more in Aegon as a ringleader, an older boy he looks up to, and yet, it's Aemond, the boy he mocks for not having a dragon, the one who approaches him. These kind of scenes are important for the character building and also for making a stronger emotional impact on the audience when it comes to the fate of the mentioned characters. S2 had none of this and destroyed and undid whatever s1 built character and story-wise. Aemond's and Alicent's characters suffered the most, no doubt, but it was bad in general.

Also, in the balcony scene it's obvious how helaena and aemond have a great chemistry and it just made me even more mad because they had so little screentime together in both seasons. Same goes for Aegond. It's criminal they had zero good scenes , save for that one in e6 that is just used to not so subtly remind us that Aemond is a sadist. Also, why wouldn't Aemond just finish Aegon off because as long as he lives, Aemond is not safe? The answer: in the book he obviously didn't try to kill him at RR and therefore wouldn't want to kill him in the aftermath either, but these idiots just needed their shitty change to all of the sudden make Aemond a one dimensional villain, make Aegon as pitiful as possible and to show how terrible and dysfunctional the greens are as a family. However, they couldn't just kill Aegon off so early and that's why they attempted to fix their stupid plothole with that scene when Aemond threatens him. Like, what?? I'm supposed to believe that was enough for Aegon to shut up for weeks and then just leave? Nah. There were bunch of similar idiocies through the whole season and I'm sure that something seriously went wrong between s1 and 2 because the drop in quality is jarring. I'm not saying s1 was that great, but this one was abysmal. Probably Miguel leaving was one of the main reasons, but whatever it was, this season will remain a great example of what not to do when you make a TV show. I just feel sorry for the lost potential and also for the people who are planning to watch s3 because, unless you're a die hard tb stan with zero critical thinking skills, I can't see the appeal.

Ugh, I hope this rant makes sense 😅

Hello, and thank you for the ask!

You're making a very good point. Season 1 was by no means perfect; but there was at least some if not love then genuine investment in the story and the characters from the showrunners - one could feel that at least occasionally. I guess it really came from Sapochnik's end because Condal clearly couldn't care less. The show used to have a soul - and now it feels empty. And, as it has been proven time and time again through the entirety of cinematic history, it is virtually impossible to create a truly good film or TV show if you don't give a damn about its essence.

I saw some people calling season 2 "a trailer for season 3" - because of how underwhelming and lacking in substance it turned out to be, I assume. To me it feels like something in between a trailer for the things to come and a recap of an actual season that was filmed but not shown to us for some reason. Pretty much everything feels superficial - even the dragged out scenes supposedly added for symbolism purposes or whatnot. The relationships between the characters are underdeveloped at best, destroyed at most (for example, chemistry between Green siblings' actors is utterly wasted indeed); some plot points make no sense; quite a few characters seem to have got a personality transplant in between the seasons.

Actually, I can understand why people, even TG fans would still be willing to watch season 3 (some for Aegon and Larys storyline, some for Alysmond - whatever form it takes, some for other reasons which could be many). As for me though - at the risk of sounding too dramatic - I had too much heart poured into this show and got hurt too badly by what it has become to even think of continuing to watch it without feeling sick. At least, for now.

#asks #anti hotd #hotd season 2

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henrysglock · 1 year ago

Note

“Gay Mike vs Bi Mike makes a huge difference in his personal character arc, because it changes everything regarding his relationship with El, his relationship to his Reagan-supporter parents, and the blowback from all the homophobic bullies across the years picking on Will for being”

I mean I just don’t see how that’s true? I DO care about Mike outside of byler. In fact, he’s the character I relate to most and the one I find the most interesting. I think both gay Mike and bi Mike theories are valid and possible. I see both arguments and I nod in agreement.

And I feel like all the things you listed fully apply to Mike regardless of where he falls on the Kinsey scale? I go back and forth on it.

I think there are great people on both sides and see the argument for both. I just don’t see the point of fighting or drawing a line in the sand when we really don’t know anything for certain, y’know? I guess I don’t see much meaningful difference in the queer experience and what being bi vs. gay would mean for Mike’s character? It’s not that there aren’t smaller nuances, but to me, they are just that: small. The basic story and arc remains the same!

I would agree that everything changes depending on Mike’s specific sexuality if I believed a specific label changes things in general? But I’m bi, and it’s not like I would stop relating to Mike if he’s gay? Or if he’s unlabeled? At the end of the day he’s queer, and the queer experience is relatable!

To me everything’s fluid, and experiences and feelings can look pretty similar across the spectrum. I respect those who are able to “pick a side.” But I guess I just don’t see much value in “sides” if that makes sense? When Mike gets more focus in S5, I think it will be clearer. But until then, it feels like pointless fighting?

I’m willing to change my mind. But I haven’t seen anything that convinces me Mike’s story is meaningfully different if he’s gay or bi.

I guess I don’t see much meaningful difference in the queer experience...It’s not that there aren’t smaller nuances, but to me, they are just that: small. At the end of the day he’s queer, and the queer experience is relatable!

How do I explain to you that the difference between homosexuality and bisexuality aren't small, and they are meaningful, or that experiences as a gay person are different from experiences as a bisexual person.

I’m willing to change my mind. But I haven’t seen anything that convinces me Mike’s story is meaningfully different if he’s gay or bi.

Marie's page is a good place to start irt Mike:

And so is Em's:

Do your own research, Nonnie. Posts have been out there since 2022.

#asks #mike wheeler #byler #gay mike wheeler

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yanderefairyangel · 5 months ago

Text

I have been revisting Bravely default lately

I still love the game but I remembered that (like many people) I had issue with the big plot twist : Airy lying. Thing is that I remembered that I had gripes with it but I also found myself disagreeing with what people said about it.

I took these from a story recap made by Clemps, it's kinda old : https://youtu.be/Bj4pvZlQgKg?si=Z2duKA_gumYqS3Mw

But I am briging it up for a specific reason. As you can see in this part of the summary, he states that the party knew of Airy's nature and in fact, if you search for discussion about the twist, most people seems to believe the same, that they knew she was evil before they enter the last world when the countdown reached 0 and are asking themselves why the party is surprised

After refreshing my memory, I finally realized why I had an issue with people approaching the issue of the twist like that

See my problem with the twist comes down to one first issue being that Airy isn't that well fleshed out as a character, she comes off as the annoying loud voice fairy but we don't see her intereact with the party in any meaningful way which compared to how many relationship are well done between the cast just feel flat

We are talking about a game that makes you invested with the freaking innkeep dang !

However, the reason why I disagree with the statement that the party knew that Airy was evil was because I noticed something in the many dialogues people are refering to that I didn't noticed before

So the first dialogue about the twist is Braev telling Alternis something

The lines quite explicitely refers to Braev's motivations and a secret knew by only him, De Rosso and Yulyana

The dialogue ends here and you are back to your exploration of Eternia

When we go back to these two this is Alternis's reaction

We aren't given the convo but by Alternis's reaction, what Braev told him as to do with the truth behind the crystals. Braev tells him to not question the truth and to put an end to the vestal's party

This line explicetely reference the pillar of light before the game does

In the first world, Alternis never peep anything about the conversation that he had with Braev to Edea so what we the audience knows of this conversation seems to be strickly limited to the crystal and the pillar of light. What exactly regarding them ? We don't know.

It takes the second world for Alternis to say something different

Now we can connect this to the bit we didn't heard : when Braev told Alternis about his motives, the thing only 3 people knew regarding the secret of the crystal, it was linked to Airy deceiving the party into letting the power of the crystal run wild which should in turn end the world, meaning the only reason they tracked down Agnes was to capture Airy. Agnes replies it's not possible because the scriptures say otherwise and Alternis claims it was deceptions created by the Orthodoxy. After that Ringabel finally begins to regaing his memories.

in the 3rd world, things go as always except that Ringabel starts to question Airy, Ringabel bringing up Alternis words and the fact that Edea's father was also doubting the fact using the crystal would be a good idea, this leads to Agnes mostly to deny that. Ringabel also mentions fragments of his memories : the number 6 and Edea being killed by a monster.

When Ringabel and Tiz are talking together, Tiz questions what he thinks of Airy and Ringabel simply argues he meant that Airy can make mistakes however when question about Alternis, Ringabel say "I kept my silence in front of Airy" implying to the audience that the fact the group might be in a paralel world is somehow something that shoudn't be said in front of Airy. It's worth noting that in the party chat Tiz tell Airy that Alternis threatened to kill her but he doesn't say a word about Alternis claiming she is deceving them.

By this point in the story you need to awaken 3 crystals to unlock of Ringabel's memory : for the first one, he will say nothing, the second one he will ask Airy questions, then Agnes

The first memory he gain is him dressed as Alternis mourning the death of Edea, the second time Ringabel ask Airy what would happened if Agnes continued to pray even after Airy ask her to stop, this would lead to the crystal's destruction, the second memory involves Airy gathering light and Ringabel saying "this isn't a cure to rid the world of darkness" (the party convo has Airy scold Ringabel), the thrid time, Ringabel ask Agnes about the crystals and make a comment about the templar notes, then we unlock the final memory : it focuses on Airy's wings changing a pattern, saying "and after you'd come so far ? a pity" Ringabel begging forgiveness and remembering Edea among others, another close up on Airy's wings and that's it

After this Ringabel tell Tiz about the fact he remembers everything : he is Alternis, they are in a parallel world and

Tiz asked him dejected if he was sure it's not a dream, but Ringabel insist it's memories of an alternate past and then he asks Tiz to make his memories work

Tiz seems to agree and ask him about the "world before the last" where Ringabel answer that it was a 5

Tiz ask "it's ... decreasing ?" and Ringabel makes a remark about her wings bearing a pattern that looked like a 6

Then Ringabel expressed regret over his lack of action

Then Ringabel tells Tiz to tell all that to Agnes away from Airy and the boys plans to go to the Sage's house

Like in the last world, the party meets the Sage, he tells Agnes to go to meet him with one ally she trust, she chooses Tiz and off they are gone, and after endless ship teasing of Tizgnes Tiz tell Agnes that Ringabel regained his memories and that he told Tiz to tell Agnes "in private", Agnes express surprise upon the idea that Ringabel would be secretive and Tiz argues that "he believes Ringabel had his reasons", Agnes ask him further but Tiz wants to question the sage about the "angel"

In the previous world, the "angel" made revelations about the crystal that shook the party so here Tiz ask if she talked about something else

Tiz ask "was this a hypothetical future she saw" but the Sage answered that no, shefought against the evil won with her allies but they died. Yulyana shares the last words of the angel

He answer yes, Agnes react with shock and the sage argues he couldn't bring himself to harm Agnes

Tiz is interrupted by Agnes saying she can't bear to hear anymore

Now this might sound like a digression but I'll teach something I have only noticed recently despite having read that at least 10th times. In act 1 scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo never tell the audience the name of the girl he pines for. It takes us scene 2 to learn that from Benvolio. I hadn't noticed it earlier because of the fact that Benvolio knew this meaning Romeo had to tell him yet in act 1 he never mentions it

Why am I bringing this ? Well because not once is Airy refered to as the Evil one in this conversations.

In the first world, there is no mention of airy, only the crystal and the pillar. In the second world, Alternis explicetely accuse Airy of deceving the party and making the crystal run wild which would endager the world. In the 3rd world, Ringabel starts to suspect Airy, when he recovers his memories he tell Tiz about her wing pattern changing. The sage never tells us who the Evil one is and when Tiz wants to ask he gets interupted by Agnes.

Not once is Airy being explicitely refered to as the Evil one, as a matter of fact in the way of the true ending in the last world, the party only recognizes her upon her second form, not even her first evil form.

Speaking off, I checked and the party didn"t go "HOW COULD YOU DECEIVE US", the only one who did was Agnes, the rest was simply shocked that the Chasm was still there. The other one to be shocked is Edea who has never been filled on about this knowledge (like I kept mentioning Ringabel, Tiz and Agnes, not once did I mentioned Edea)

So having paid close attention to the dialogue I could only came to this conclusion : the party didn't knew Airy was the Evil one, we, the audience do.

We do because the game is sprinkling hints but the characters don't. You have to keep in mind that in the first world Alternis doesn't try to warn Edea and co mainly because (at least to my understanding) Edea's deflecting meant to Braev and him that she wouldn't believe them since Edea grew up believing Agnes was evil until she changed her mind. Not to mention that at the moment this dialogue plays, the hints given to us are about a secret lurking with the crystals and light pillar, which are being answered via De Rosso's side quest and the visit to the sage's cave in the second world.

This was meant to tell us the audience that the crystal might be dangerous if used in a specific way. This is at the end of the second world when we awaken all crystals that Alternis shows up and start to explicetely threaten Airy. When Edea questions him, he attacks saying "you aren't Edea, you are trying to deceive me !!!" and then starts to tell what Braev revealed : Airy is lying, she is trying to let the power of the crystal run wild and lead the world to doom. We are naturally drawn to think that this is what Braev revealed in the first world however the characters are skeptikal. Agnes says it's not possible because what she believes in says the contrary and Alternis claims it was lies crafted by the Orthodoxy.

The thing is that we were shown in the previous world that the Eternian knights were wrong about Agnes and that this was this realization that led Edea to change sides, so we can suspect Alternis to be believing Braev because of his contempt for crystalism, so idealogical differences. Besides, we have been waking up the crystals for quite sometimes now and Airy always stop Agnes at some point. Lastly, if it was the case, then why do the party always end up waking up in another world ? Keep in mind, by this point the party doesn't know it's parallel world so there is a lot of elements that might make them not believe Alternis. In both world they don't have a reason to suspect Airy.

The third world is another story, this is chapter 5 the chapter where the alternate ending also known as "false ending" is avalaible. Ringabel is the only one who gives credit to what Alternis said because he was starting to get his memories back. You have to awake 3 crystals for him to recover all of them. for the first one everything goes as usual, but Ringabel starts to remeber something after that. First is the death of the party, then it's the idea that Airy giving light to the Holy Pillar isn't a cure to darkness and the last one is the memory with the wing pattern. None of these indicates that Airy is the evil one. When Ringabel tell Tiz about the wing thing, we understand it's a countdown but Tiz doesn't seems to understand it as being a bad thing seeing as per how when he reunites with Agnes he argues that "ringabel had his reasons", meaning Tiz doesn't understand his reasons for not wanting Airy to hear about her wings. Ringabel also never finished his sentence in regards to Airy. "Airy is... She's..." She is what ? WHAT ? never told him.

Then we move on to the sage. Putting aside for a moment the fact that Tiz made up this meeting with the sage to tell Agnes about the wing thing and he ends up not telling her for a second, when he asks the Sage, the Sage never explicetely tells that Airy is the Evil one. Not even once. In fact, when Tiz was about to ask more informations about the Evil one, Agnes begs them to stop. And that's the end of the convo.

So the party never had any idea that Airy was the evil one. None.

What makes it worse is that the false ending is basically confirming this. See, I had never unlocked the false ending so I have no idea upon which point of chapter 5 you can unlock it but I do know that logically, given Ringabel's question and the fact that you need at least 3 crystals to be awake to unlock all his memories, the player will very likely try to unlock it by breaking a crystal at the 4th temple, so after Ringabel remembered and that Yulyana told them about the evil one and crystal regeneration.

And here is the dialogue

I think this scene makes it very obvious that the party only realized in this moment that Airy is the evil one. Not before, not after. Now. In this moment. They are starting to understand. This necessarily means that back then, despite all the informations we received : they had no idea !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the reason comes from the fact that at no point is Airy explicetely refered to as the Evil one. The first accuser is a former enemy and everyone but Ringabel brushes that off, in the first two worlds they had no reason to suspect her and we the audience not so much. It's the 3rd world, in transition with the end of the second that introduces the theme of questioning Airy and there we begin to see some cracks such as the fact that she is incapable of really explaining why letting the crystal be destroyed is bad or her getting so mad at Ringabel for simply asking questions, even if we are also meant to find it a bit strange as to why he ask such specfics questions. If you stop there and break a crystal, the party is able to realize that she is the Evil one.

But if you don't and you continue as always, you have to go through it two more times. And in the 4th world, the only real time the dialogue will be copy pasted for the 5th world, this is where we can really begin to question Airy since she is incapable to deliver an answer, as for Edea, she calls out Airy on that in the party chat but Airy still acts like she usually does.

I have already said earlier that Airy wasn't really as fleshed out as the others character but this also means she doesn't do anything very suspicious, the most suspicious things she does is being unable to answer to certains questions. This might alert us, but will that be the case for our party ?

By world 4, they don't visit Yulyana or even De Rosso anymore and they don't really tell us how to fix things. Yulyana in particular, heck he even tempts the party with the idea of staying in the 3rd world. So the party's choices are limited to 1) either break the crystal and take realization of Airy's true nature 2) go through with it and realize Airy was lying about fixing the Great Chasm

Because again, I cannot stress it enough, the party's shock was the fact that the great Chasm wasn't fixed, the only one who is shown to be shocked at Airy's words is Agnes. Whom in the fake ending is shown to not want to believe Airy is evil and almost fall for another of her ruse.

In world 3, when we're in the pillar of light, Agnes ask Tiz for forgiveness realizing it's the pillar of light that destroyed Tiz's village, Tiz reply they are doing this to destroy the source of the darkness, Edea ask how much longer they have to go through this and Ringabel replies, until the countdown is over. In the 4th world, when they are still trying to get done, the party has a chat where they argue that they should awaken the crystal to help this world environement. In the 5th and last world, they begin to wonder if they weren't dreaming after all.

None of these conversation ever hints at them knowing of Airy's nature, rather the 3rd convo seems to imply they interpretted Airy's countdown as meaning they have to do this until it reaches a 0 for the great chasm to close.

This right here means we players have been fooled. Much how I didn't realized that Romeo never told the audience about Rosaline but it was Benvolio who did in scene 2 because of my brain connecting the dots, we completely forgot that the party was never told or shown making explicit deduction about Airy, therefore that there was nothing indicating they did knew of her nature. We were lead to make that conclusion because of the hints the game gaves us : first starting lightly with the first world with a truth regarding the crystals.

That is answered in world 2, then with Alternis accusing Airy to want to let the power of crystal run wild which might end the world. This is something the party is skeptical of save for Ringabel, but we realize there is something wrong with Airy, that the party should be wary of her, that the Evil one was apparently with Agnes on the first meeting and that her wings pattern changes.

Given how Alternis explicetely accuses her of trying to unleash the power of the crystals to wild degree, then that that Evil one, although undefined, used deceit to drive the crystals out of control to open the world's barrier and that according to Braev, De Rosso and Yulyana knew of what he told Alternis, we can easily make the conclusion = the Evil one is Airy, and that her countdown wings is refering to something linked to great harrowing.

Now, you might be wondering : does pointing this out changes something ?

Well yes. See, to go back to the Romeo examples, the fact he doesn't even mentions the name of the girl he years for and that we learn it in scene 2 through his cousin makes his crush towards Rosaline seems even stranger. Like, you'd think that seeing how crazy he is over her he wouldn't shut up about her name yet it takes us the following scene to hear it. Therefore it's weird.

Here however, this means we have to reconsider what the audience knows vs what the characters knows. We know that what Braev told Alternis was also known of De Rosso and Yulyana and by corrolation that the truth about the crystal and the pillar of light in world 1 is linked to the truth Alternis of world 2 claims to hold. But the party doesn't know that. Alternis in world 1 never tell them anything and in world 2, he only says he heard that from the Marshall but he never said anything about De Rosso and Yulyana knowing it too. De Rosso doesn't make mention of that. As for Yulyana, in world 2 he only speaks of the crystals. In world 3, mean to corrolate to what Alternis claimed, Yulyana never name Airy, he only talk about the Evil one so while we are able to make the connection because of world 1, the party can't because they aren't aware of this information, moreover Yulyana seems to realize only know that the world traveling would be due to the Evil one successfully deceiving the party but ultimately he never reveal the identity of the evil one as being the fairy.

This means the audience's knowledge of Airy's evil nature was divorced from the party !

And now I finally understood what I was trying to convey, why I couldn't agree with the fac the party "knew" Airy was evil while also having issues with the twist : the real issue isn't that they knew, the real issue was that the game dropped too heavy hints for us to assume that the party wouldn't come to the same natural conclusion as us !!!!!!

Again, I can't stress this enough, the party doesn't realize her nature as the Evil one and it never shown to come to that realization, the only time we effectively see them piecing elements together to reach that conclusion is when we break the crystal and get to the false ending. We see Edea recalls her father's words, we see Agnes opnely tell Airy she suspects him and recall her convo with Tiz and the sage and then Ringabel accuses her of being the evil one. Tiz's dialogue confirming that he didn't knew before Ringabel brought that up !

This means that if you choose to continue with the next 2 worlds, the party never came to that conclusion !!

And now what I mean by "too heavy hints". We clearly were able to make the connections but it might be weird for us that the party didn't when we are able to realize that in world 3 and clearly the game wants us to take awareness of that, to start suspescting Airy however there is severals issues in the way the hints are handled

1- Braev and Alternis

In world 1 Braev never tells Edea, and as I said before, it's likely she doesn't believe him. She saw the ritual work at least 3 times and Airy didn't do anything to make Edea suspect her of anything. But neither he nor Alternis try. I get that doing this in world 1 would have made Airy potentially suspcious too early, that being said the issue it raises goes beyond that

2- De Rosso and Yulyana

Accoriding to Braev, what he revealed to Alternis in world 1 was something De Rosso and Yulyana knew as well. Because of world 2 where Alternis reveals more, we are compelled to make the logical conclusion that Braev also told Alternis that in world 1. However, Alternis doesn't mention an evil one, only Airy, yet Yulyana when ask, never mentions Airy but only the evil one and De rosso says nothing about it. The issue is that based on these fragements alone and how they were received by the character : Braev believed that Airy was evil when in reality, according to Yulyana that would have been the Evil one that would do that. That is based on the party's pov, these informations feels like different and unrelated lest they try to connect the dots. But us, the audience, because we knew in world 1 that the reveal Braev made was also known by these two and that this reveal is the same as in world 2, this means that Yulyana at least knew that Airy was the Evil one. In fact, the fact he tell Tiz and Agnes that the Evil one was with them when they meet means that he recognized the Evil one, which he wouldn't have been able to do had he not known it was Airy. So this begs the question : why didn't Yulyana warned them in private when he could ? Likewise, given how Ringabel was able to remember Airy in the fake ending, does that mean Ringabel suspected her of being the Evil one ? Then why not tell Tiz

Also, I precise that Ringabel never mentioned the Evil one, the first one to ever call Airy that was Yulyana which further supports the idea that this ending is meant to be unlocked after speaking to Yulyana (if it is available earlier)

The problem of knowedlege isn't the party, it comes from the character that drops hints, Braev and Yulyana. These two know too much so as a result, hints meant to guide the audience ends up putting the audience in a position where they believe the character have reach the same conclusion because they haven't been given enough reason not to do so or to ask why the characters aware of it don't speak up. The reason is simple : the knowledge of these characters was solely meant for the audience to be able to pick on things before the characters could but unfortunately it went too much and thus it just created two types of questioning : why can't the characters comes up with this realization ? and why can't Braev and Yulyana tell them the truth in private ?

Given this whole "prophecy thing" and the instruction of Og Agnes, I am tempted to explain Yulyana's decision as "he did what was told" whereas with Braev, I already explained.

As to why the party can only realize this in the fake ending, I don't think it's stupidity, I think it has to do with the themes

1- Infinity

Ourobourous is a reference to infinity, the snake that eat his own tail. The multitude of world in Bravely default is meant to reflect that, however infinity also means repeat hence why we are put in a circle. This could also tie to the notion of Wheel of life in a way, the party is repeating an infinite circle over and over again. We luckily have to do it only 5 times, but in universe it happened 6 times. To make sense of Ourobouros, obviously it has to link to the idea of infinity hence why the true ending is more relevant

2- Trust

I have already said what were my issues with Airy and that's because, I can't stress it enough, BD built solid relationships between out 4 leads. During world 1, the whole story is about them trusting and doubting each other, trusing each other again etc. The more they travel, the more their solidarity and closeness grows. Agnes is initially reluctant to let Tiz comes but quickly come to rely on him, to ask himw whether or not they should trust X or Y person. As the journey goes on, they all come to trust one another, the Eisenberg arc is the occasion for some tension among the group but they quickly tie once more. This continues in the following world as well, in fact the discussion in world 3 specifcally involves Agnes saying she will trust Ringabel because Tizz trust in him and the side quest involves the 4 of them saying they don't want to stay in that world, they want to stay together and finish what they started. It's important to remember they all are isolated : Agnes lost all of her friends, Tiz's village got destroyed, Edea turned back on her country and everyone she loved and Ringabel is amnesiac, he has no home. So their boudning and trusting one another matters to them immensely. By that token, it would only make sense they extent this to Airy.

In fact, Airy's deceiving nature is meant to foil the honesty of the 4 warriors.

That's why I can't bring myself to agree with people thinking the false ending is better or should have been the true ending. Thematically speaking, Airy showing her true colors so quickly because of the group's distrust makes the whole "trust and we'll go through this together" sound much weaker. That's why thematically wise it makes more sense for it to be happening much later.

Furthermore, the idea of tying the true ending to Airy goes against the pun of (F)Lying (F)Airy mean to point to her nature, she is associated to deceit and even her defeat is still deceitful. She even barely talks about Ouroboros in this one compared to the true ending.

So the reason why the party might or not take awareness depends on whether or not the player choose to make them trust Airy or mistrust her

3- have the courage to disobey

It's a notion that comes back and people call it the "main theme of the game".

Some argued that since the only ending where you do that is the fake ending then it means the true ending is useless and messes up the theme.

And here is why I disagree. Yes, this ending is what happens when you disobey Airy through disobeying the game's instruction and her boss dialogue makes it very obvious you did what the sage told you. However there needs to be some context here.

Agnes is a wanted woman and anyone who allies with her would be considered a criminal. Edea herself disobeyed the orders and became a traitor based on her desire for justice. In Ancheim, Agnes goes against the king of the country to make herself heard. In Florem, she goes against the rules of fashion when partaking in the beauty contest. In Einsenberg, we face a civil war, we also see disobediance via Egil's refusal to listen to Tiz. But we also see disobediance from the enemies : the eternian knights behaving badly, the thiefs of Ancheim, the girls of Florem, the Black blades in Einseberg etc.

Disobeying itself isn't a good thing it's only a matter of when, of context, nuance (something Edea has trouble accepting)

But in this context, regarding the saving of the world, the people we fight, the Eternians are constantly insisting we are wrong. At first they are a bunch of cartoonish villains so not listening to them is easy, but the more we progress the more we meet Eternians that aren't "black as pitch" to quote Mmgrgr girl, and the more we travel worlds, the more we are meant to ask ourselves : were we right to disobey in the first place ? This is why the game is trying to slowly makes us come to conclusion that maybe we didn't.

In fact, if we changed PoV, it's likely we'd be the villains and the Eternians the heroes, especially when turns out they were right

However, in this context, disobeying to Airy means we did what we didn't do back then, we aren't disobeying the Eternians anymore. In fact, the realization taking place comes from a recollections of flash back including the Marshal telling us to stop before he faints.

Ergo, by disobeying Airy we do have the courage to disobey her, to suspect her... but that's not limited to this ending

If we do that, we go for the easy way, the short way we just have to defeat her but there is no guarantee Ourborors won't try again

However, continuing the circle, the thing people argue doesn't make sense, we are choosing to disobey the game

Other example : there is this horror game called The Path where there is only one rule "go to grandmother's house and stay on the path". If you obey, you get the bad ending, because you choose the easy way. If you disobey, the game gets longer and you get the true ending. Other example : slay the princess. You have one goal : go to the cabin and kill the princess there. You can choose to go for the easy way and get the "happy ending" or disobey and get to the truth of the story.

Bravely default operates on the same way : The ouroboros ending is the true ending because it's the most difficult choice : continuing to place trust in someone that becomes diffucult to trust in and having the courage to continue to disobey not just to our enemy and the people who told us we were wrong, but to the game itself. That's why the game bombs us with hints leading the audience to suspect Airy might be lying, to the point it is in the very title of the game. The game makes it clear that the party is at wits ends, they can't bear it anymore as well. The game has given you in world 3 all the hints : about what can happen when the crystal get destroyed, about the fact you can at least do it to 1, about the fact Airy and the Evil one are the same, something our party didn't seemed to realize yet. It's encouraging you to got for the easy way, giving you keys to do it, to help the party realize the truth before it's too late.

But what if you don't want to do what the game is telling you ? what if you want to continue to put through these innocents characters through the same pain again, and again, an existential nightmare fuel ? What if you want to disobey the game itself ?

The true ending is a reward for the player daring to disobey it, for having the courage to trust in a path that is constantly being doubted endlessly, this is the main reason why I think reducing BD to this aspect is uncharitable when this also incompasses faith, confidance in yourself and trust, things that Agnes learns through her acts of defiances and resistances

So again, the twist is very clumsy in it's technical aspects but at the same time, the rest of the story is enjoyable to me, I think there are aspects when people criticize it they seem to misunderstand which distract from the real issue of the twist (the hints being too heavy) but I also don't really like people arguing that the false ending is the better one and the most logical one when it is ... unsatisfying imo

It's cool and it inscribes itself in the themes but it doesn't feel like a finale, it doesn't have the same satisfaction thematically, narratively, mechanicaly as the true ending. The true ending is grandiose, it's a perfect tie of BD's themes and characters arcs. The false ending isn't as satisyinf narratively

Is the way leading to the true ending clumsy ? Yes, and I don't blame people for not being as forgiving as I, but the way some seems to prop up an ending that feels much weaker to it in many aspects... I just can't get behind it

#bravely default #bravely default flying fairy #flying fairy #airy

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