#Throw It In (trope)

[rayraytail]

One of my FAVORITE Star Wars TCW fanfic tropes is when they ham up these interactions:

Jedi: *says something wise about the Force*

Clone Troopers: ... wth??

[centaurianthropology]

Let’s talk about THAT SCENE, shall we?  The big scene of episode 8, when both Alexander Skarsgard and David Dastmalchian acted their fucking asses off in a mess of mutual vulnerability, mutual aggression and betrayal, and mutual destruction. 

First off, I have to acknowledge the double-entendres absolutely littering this scene.  The mutual vulnerability!  The physical link-up, plugging into one another.  Digging into their most private (mental) places. The request for fucking restraint followed by an electronic blindfolding.  Shit, man, if there aren’t 18000 buck-wild Murderathin fics coming out of this one episode, the fandom is seriously dropping the very kinky ball that is this absolute shit-show of a relationship.

Anyway!  Onto more serious discussions. 

First off, we learn so much in such a short time.  This show has been a masterclass at utilizing a limited run-time well, demanding that everything on screen pull double or triple duty, layered with meanings and implications, and this scene is no different.  Through their mutual accusations, we get mutual confessions.  Murderbot uses an instance of mutual vulnerability to dig into Gurathin’s mind to try to find dirt on him, only to get lost in his thoughts.  It exposes Gurathin’s most closely-guarded secret—his unrequited love for Mensah—but also Gurathin’s belief that he is fundamentally unloveable.  And the accusation is read out in first-person, transforming it into a confession.  Because Murderbot very much sees itself as unloveable too.

And Gurathin has simultaneously dug into Murderbot, uncovering the fragmented memories of the massacre, and its actual name.  And much like Murderbot, what we see is equal parts accusation and a horrified confession.  Gurathin is in tears as he watches through the massacre footage (and kudos to the special effects folks for playing the footage over both Dastmalchian’s and Skarsgard’s eyes during the scene, showing both of them trapped in the same instant together), blurting out the revelation in third person rather than first, but following it up immediately with his accusations about being defective.  A danger to everyone around him.  One thought from something terrible.

Sounds a lot like self-loathing, doesn’t it?  And that’s what this scene is all about.  Two people who can’t help but dig and pry and hurt one another because they see themselves in the other.  And they hate themselves.  They are both terrified of being defective, of being somehow involved in terrible acts that led to deaths.  We don’t know if Gurathin killed people directly, but he almost certainly had the information he gathered used to kill people.  He was responsible, maybe.  Just like Murderbot.

And they are both terrified of falling back into that place.  It’s why they’re both terrified, more than anything, of being controlled.  Murderbot broke free of its governor module, but still works for the Company.  It still isn’t a fully independent being and never will be so long as it’s a part of this organization.  Its small pieces of full independence are its thoughts and its name, and Gurathin exposed both of those. 

Gurathin is terrified of falling back into substance abuse.  Realizing that it was medical painkillers that were the first step to getting him thoroughly addicted and compliant was awful, because it implies either a past physical trauma or—I think more likely—pain medications as part of the augmenting procedures.  You have to imagine having cybernetics laced into your brain and replacing your eyes has to be incredibly painful.  And from there it was a slide downward into addiction, likely deliberately by Gurathin’s employers.

But I also find it interesting that, despite the compulsive need to dig at one another and hurt one another, there is also another impulse at play in this scene: some degree of caregiving and weird trust.  Murderbot did NOT have to consent to plugging itself into Gurathin to try to bypass his pain receptors and act as a non-drug alternative to pain management during the surgery.  It may say that it did this because it would find Gurathin screaming to be irritating, but that seems flimsy.  And Gurathin DEFINITELY didn’t have to ask Murderbot to restrain him, or accept when it blanked out his vision as well. 

There is a weird, almost unconscious trust and care there.  I feel like this is something that is going to be more explored, and is the basis for something less destructive between them.  I also think it speaks to the impulse on both their parts to want forgiveness, care, trust, and love.  They don’t forgive themselves.  They don’t care about themselves as they should.  They don’t trust or love themselves.

But deep down, they both still want that for themselves, even if they are both completely incapable of articulating that outside of accusations at the moment.

This whole scene was just working on so many levels, and they weren’t pleasant or comfortable levels.  And I love how the show digs into that through these characters, their dumpster-fire relationship, and all the cracks in their psyches they keep exposing because of one another.

What this scene is really exposing is this mutual desperation for connection. They are afraid of loss of control, they are deeply self-loathing, but the seed of their personal growth lies in this craving for connection.

[egophiliac]

have you been keeping up with gozyuger? it's just... truly wild to watch

OKAY I'm finally caught up! and...wild is an understatement, huh! getting some real Donbros energy off of this one (in the best of ways though really) (just all kinds of super weird and super fun! 💍) (...also the blue ranger might have murdered a child?) (I mean probably not) (they wouldn't. but.) (what if)

I'm especially fond of Bouquet and Fire Candle, just because they encapsulate the two modes of my brain at any given moment

[mochatricks]

based off a fic i read…. i love them :’) GAY PPL

(read the fic here it’s very cute and silly give op your love: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60027655)

[sangled]

extremely underrated m/f relationship dynamic

[celestial-artisan]

Velvette: Breathe, darling, just breathe. Vox, sobbing: I've done nothing with my life! I'm a failure! Alastor: Well that's never bothered you before.

[tea-cat-arts]

Shen Yuan getting transported into pidw isn't "the system punishing him for being a lazy internet hater," but instead representative of "step 1 of the creative process: getting so mad at something you decide to go write your own fucking book" in this essay I will

[cyber-neptune]

These fucking tropes that I hate

Based on my last post

[broh3m3]

azul and riddles

[technoschnauzer]

I agree people seem to be getting too unrealistic with their ideas of “Curly could’ve done more” But I hate seeing “what was he supposed to do?” cause like- Stay with Anya(physically and metaphorically). Don’t run away from her and leave her alone to ‘fix’ things(she’s pregnant, she’s been raped there is no changing that) by talking with Jimmy.

Literally in my opinion all Curly really had to do to show he cared was stay there with her. Comfort her. Don’t say you can fix it, don’t say you can Fix Jimmy. Don’t say you can fix this situation and imply it can be made right, don’t imply you can make Jimmy better.

Of course there were other things he could do. He could apologize for not noticing sooner. He could give her something else to use as a weapon(hell a fucking PEN can be used as a weapon).

People saying there’s not much he could do are right, but Curly didn’t believe that. Even though he seemed to believe Anya he still tried to reconcile it with his view of Jimmy and believed he could do something.

If he’d stayed he could’ve calmed and comforted Anya, then talked with her. They could’ve made a plan together to try to avoid Jimmy finding out. Alllll he had to do was stay instead of running off to find his best friend.

[arkangelo-7]

The fact that DC isn’t capitalizing on the Billionaire Romance potential between Bruce in Clark is criminal.

It has all the markings of success. Tall, dark, brooding love interests that’s richer than God but has a tortured soul? Check. Small town protagonist who’s in over their head but too in love to care? Double check. Complicated family and/or workplace dynamics that could pull the couple apart? Triple check.

Superbat is like an Ana Huang book on steroids; I know I’ll never see it actualized but DAMN is Bruce and Clark’s dynamic perfect for it…

[joyfulhottubfuntik]

Here's one more stan twins headcanon, because i like thinking about them.

Ford has never really liked their dad, despite seeking his approval. That only solidified when Stan was kicked out, even though Ford didn't really blame Filbrick back then, it was more of a subconscious resentment building in him that he didn't fully understand and never thought about. And years later, when he and Stan are finally on good terms again, Ford learns more and more about the things his brother had been through and realises that Filbrick is to blame for most, if not all of them, let alone for the brothers' initial falling out. And at this point Ford is absolutely ready to throw hands with their father and absolutely would if the man were still alive.

Stan, however, is, despite his tough exterior, by far the more forgiving of the two. He's inclined to look for excuses for everything his father had put him through. Like, Stan's thought process would be that all of the abuse he'd endured in his childhood was alright because it toughened him up and if it hadn't, he wouldn't have lasted a day in the streets. But he would completely ignore the fact that he wouldn't have even ended up homeless if it weren't for his dad. Basically, his self worth is in hell, so, if anyone treats him shittily, he's very much inclined to assume that he deserved it.

So all discussions about their childhood between the two would always be one second away from turning into arguments. Stan would defend his father's actions towards himself and Ford would be in such complete shock and disbelief over how the fuck his brother's so fine with all of that. And of course neither would be able to express their thoughts in a somewhat healthy and emotionally intelligent way and of course it would lead to fights.

[nicsian]

Ohhh the Big Bad Wolf Pearl trailing Red Riding Hood Gem everywhere because she's just so hungry.. she just wants to take Gem's life once and for all because wolves feed and Pearl wants to bite.

But the Red Riding Hood is just too clever, knows all of the wolf's tricks and traps, knows when to move and when to irritate, because nothing is more fun than a silly goose chase, right?

[somekindabard]

I think it's really important for any yellowjackets fan that was not alive in the 90s to know how accurate that ice cream shop commercial was. Commercials back then were fucking terrifying. So were some of the toys and tv shows. Tai being haunted by creepy ass 90s character is so real. That is the most brilliant way to tie in the no eyed man and I can't wait to see what they do with it. It really adds to the supernatural vs psychological debate. I love how everything can be either or. Him being in the dreams/hallucination definitely feels supernatural! Aaaand it's also not far off that multiple girls saw that commercial as kids, it scarred them, and it stayed in their subconscious. It's just such good writing I love it.

That is one of the most realistic things so far. Every friend I know that is my age has at least one sworn enemy from the 90s that's haunted them to this day. Many of us have the same nightmare! Here's a few examples:

[fairfowl]

Headcanon concept:

Stone has worked for the government for most of his adult life. Prior to becoming Robotnik's assistant, he was involved with covert operations like assassinations and intelligence gathering

Maybe he was removed from the field and given to Robotnik because he got hurt, maybe because he hurt someone he wasn't authorized to

He's known violence, he's been treated like a tool

And in that Agent Stone is suited to understand Shadow and the trauma of being dehumanized

(De-hedgehog-ized?)

[madcatacres]

Leebyebye