#Sam black

[sootchild]

Some magical Misfits from ep 9 of second season.

SAM!!! I love her so much.

I was saying earlier I would be fine with Sam and Evan being like platonic life partners but I change my mind and want them to smooch. I mean I'd still be fine with them not but I am Mike Tyson with those pigeons about them.

EDIT: I might draw them smooching because as an artist, I have that power. I can manifest that shit!

[worshippin]

btw sam saying 'i choose to learn. i already have power' was one of THE greatest, most badass moments in dimension20 history and i will fight anyone who disagrees

[thekoldun]

I think at the core of it is that Evan will always approach the Quohlye looking for a way to Win The Exchange, Obtain the Maximized Win Condition, and that's simply not the kind of knowledge that the Quohlye deals in. The Quohlye deals in understanding, connection, and that entails knowing that the best, most useful knowledge you could attain from it will still not lead you to the ultimate good. I think Evan chafes against this, against the idea of this mystery and ambiguity, but he also fundamentally understands that he simply is not compatible with that kind of magical knowledge. Sam is. The gift you receive from the Quohlye is not a server full of raw potential. It is not an antler shaped scar across your pectoral that is the mark of something ancient and cthonic protecting you. It is not raw creation smoldering off the surface of your skin, making you six and a half feet tall. It is understanding. It is knowing you have power and the amount you have is enough. Sam took understanding, and when Evan fought so that she could have even more, she was given something that would make that understanding shine bright and gold in her hair and in her hands. Evan knows that Sam made the right choice between understanding and power. Evan will still choose power. Evan will still demand power. The Quohlye offers an alternative. Does magic have symmetry or does it not have symmetry? Will you also get a cool color-coded set of powers or will you gain a gift that actually matches the magic you are approaching?

[bekabloodhound]

Sam didn't even have to THINK to answer the question.

[riz-em-up-gukgak]

Saw this quote and IMMEDIATELY thought of Samevan/Evsam. Their relationship means the world to me.

[xaverie]

So. I love Evan Kelmp. And - imagine that I'm trying to choose my words carefully here.

I've been getting annoyed with him over the last three episodes. Because. I don't like how he tends to impose his beliefs. About what is correct and should happen. On the other characters. And our Black characters, specifically. Which. Was really put on clear display by his interaction with The Qohlye.

Evan seeks to be understood. But I don't think he has.. put in the required effort to reach that same level of understanding with his friends, or in general. Perhaps because they haven't said things in the exact way that he needs to hear them. But he behaves as though he does understand, even though I personally think. That there are things he's missing.

The treehouse conversation. Lots of people seem to get and relate to Evan's side of the convo, which is fantastic! But not as deep an understanding of Jammer's side. Evan decides that the correct thing is for Jammer to come out not hide his magical experiences. He jumps to a few conclusions about the reason - first that maybe Jammer was ashamed, then that he wasn't confident it would go well.

Instead of asking for clarification about what "They need me to be Whitney, you guys need me to be Jammer" means, he had made up his mind. Evan likes that Jammer is magic because that is the way in which Evan feels most connected to Jammer, thus everyone should admire Jammer for his magical abilities the way Evan does. And if Jammer hasn't allowed for that it's some kind of rebuke of Evan, of magic, and of Jammer's own self. Therefore the only correct thing is to merge these identities, but really just be the Jammer that Evan knows.

And I'm not saying Evan is wrong here. But in the same way he's missing the fact that Jammer did try to expose his magic in S2E1, but he couldn't prove it because magic is fucking broken. He's also missing how naturally we, as Black people, fall into code switching. Not just historically as a method of survival, but for practical reasons, privacy reasons, or just to keep our peace. To treat that unilaterally as the same thing as a kind of toxic compartmentalization, or hiding the true self (all of them are true selves), was. Kinda. Sad to me.

Not to take away from Jammer's triumphant success on Galamanis or the freedom represented by growing wings, because this is what he chose and I love that he made those choices. But it also represents potentially giving up fitting into his mundane life and dream career, something he had fought so so hard to keep thus far, and destroying 'Whitney'. This, more than anything before it, might be a fundamental shift in identity.

The same way it made me a little bit sad that Evan had assumed Jammer didn't mean "family" literally, when I immediately recognized that of course he did. There has never been a point in American history where part of being Black and being family hasn't meant - we may have to be apart, but as soon I'm ready (as soon as we're safe), I'm coming back for you, no matter what. It is THE very first promise, the foundational truth, or the only thread of hope that tied so many Black families together through all these generations.

So while everyone recognizes what a sweet moment it was, I also hope people feel the gravity and the history behind "I dream of making that space for you." And the weight of how many people must have said that before him. And what a profound act of love it's always been because sometimes that's all we have.

When Evan tells Sam, "I think you are the most powerful wizard," she instantly replies, "I hope not." Evan's response to this was essentially - who were are is true whether we want it to be or not. Which, to be fair, is both consistent with what he expressed to Jammer and with his own experience. What it leaves out is that our hopes are also who we are. And that maybe the same way he mistook her love toward him for general gregariousness, he is still misunderstanding her a little.

While he deferred to Sam on the matter of whether they should pursue the Qohlye or not, I think it was still Evan's (or Brennan's) idea that not only must all four of them be chosen, but that The Qohlye must be the best choice for Sam.

When the Qohlye says 'I think you're only here because you're convinced you need to be the same as your friends,' is he wrong? When he asks why she needs to be chosen by his magic specifically, she can't answer on her own. When Sam was given the choice between Power and Understanding she immediately chose understanding because of COURSE she did. (She instantly replies, "I hope not." I hope not. My heart breaks.)

And yet. Evan insists that she's given the power anyway. Because that's what fits neatly into what he already believes is correct and should happen. He believes in winning and rewards. He believes she deserves that power and that they need it. So even though I know he does this out of love, he doesn't even consider for a moment that he might be wrong.

Because Sam does get the power, she does thank him, and again not to diminish Sam's accomplishment - once again Evan gets what he wants and is proven right.

Except.

When The Qohlye doesn't give him the answers he wants in the exact form that he demands them. Evan decides that this is a crime for which The Qohlye deserves to die. The Qohlye, who helped return him to life. Who has a strong connection to his friends. (Who chose to be Black, which meant so much to Jammer that he cried.) Who asked each of his friends, in turn, if they thought The Qohlye meant what Evan thought he meant. Who demonstrated that he is not (and cannot be) obfuscating something that is apparently obvious to everyone else.

Evan refuses to accept that yes, The Qohlye can give him information, but cannot understand it for him. And Evan is not ready to Understand because Evan keeps choosing Power. Understanding takes work, even (or especially) when it doesn't come naturally to you. And answers will not always come in a clear and concise way. And this makes him so angry that he wants The Qohlye dead.

While Evan always presents his beliefs and demands as logical and rational, his reaction to The Qohlye's refusal to engage on his terms was simply entitled and immature.

[disastersappho]

relieved and delighted by the choice of sam to go to the qohlye, not even to seek the power but understanding, instead of the push towards seegenpelater—aabria and brennan have both instilled in me the horrors of enchantment magic, (mind control as “good-guy magic” should be an unsettling thought to us!) and it felt wrong to align sam with that, because while that magic comes easy to her, it’s not who she is.

she felt guilt and sadness about the whole dog charm because it took away consent and agency. sam resists the easy pull towards what people tell her about herself because she sees them for who they are, and knows that is bigger than what makes us useful or powerful.

she seeks understanding and knowledge while being self-assured in her determinism to be welcoming and open and kind with the most frightening of beings. her empathy knows no bounds, and stops her from becoming the champion of cannibal island.

she is sam motherfucking black, and she says who she is.

shoutout to danielle redford for portraying this amazing character!

[captainpondlilly]

10/10 start

[selkiesongss]

this has definitely already been said but god danielle's face card is LETHAL

[lilapetrichorwinteryrogue]

sam is so real for that

[audible301]

Oh I MUST scream about Jammer and Evan’s makeup

[sootchild]

Post ep9.

Got a full set of Chosen!

Some misfits.

EDIT: Realized I could be witty when it comes to Evan.

[crobones]

evan made sure to ask sam where she wanted to recieve the power like all of her friends did. evan made sure he asked sam if they should go to directly to Qohlye or to the mysterious island in the sky. evan requested that sam be in charge of the summoning ritual. evan made sure to listen to every word she had to say and hyped her up every step of the way, making sure to mention the threads she can see between them that she always strives to protect, and nurture, and strengthen. evan is moved to tears from just how kind sam is.

evan nearly threw hands with Qholye - an eldritch being as old as magic, all-knowing, all-seeing, and 5'10" with medium brown skin, very high cheekbones, a full beard just beginning to go grey at the tips, and grey at his temples, curly hair that's shiny and black, and sort of slender features, and those same bat-like wings extending out from his back, and a set of goat horns out and curled away from his face - not because he didn't think sam was powerful enough, but because it was another connection they could all share. and it worked.

he utilized the things he's learned from her and convinced Qohlye to share power anyway. because he believes she deserves the world. she does deserve the world. and he will do anything he can to make sure she has it. but she doesn't want the world. she just wants to be sam. and he knows that, but he'll try while they still have the chance.

[arotheosis]

as an aroace person I will say that personally I'm such a sucker for a platonic "I love you" and I'm happy to take it that way, but whatever form of love this is I am so happy for them regardless. I want them to have the happiest ending no matter what. (even if my heart sings for a poly pilot program QPR)

[bekabloodhound]

It took a bit to find the right words, but I absolutely loved how Sam explained her choice to reach out to the Qohlye, to truth and knowledge, rather than Seegenpelater and convincing.

[fangirls-just-want-to-have-fun]

"I...love you." "I love you."