#and how he won't let go of this ideal even if he's disillusioned by it bc he's been fighting his whole life to get to this moment

[worthlessandembarrasing]

Had a revelation about how Gatsby coded Adam actually is, especially in TDT

[mikuni14]

I remember watching The Glory, already wary of the tiring approach to revenge trope, the compulsion to forgive, the obsession with the "purity" of the soul (and the desire for revenge as a negative feeling poisons the soul) and disillusioned in this matter. Every episode was me waiting, like oho! now she will probably "convert" and give up making her bullies pay, after all, the purity of the soul is the most important thing! 🙄 The perfection of this series is that it showed the literal nature of bullying, what effect it has on the victim (even years in the future), showed how this victim actually fights for herself, but has everyone against her: school, her poverty, her own mother, and allowed the victim her revenge, punish the perpetrators, end her revenge logically on the roof of the building and then GIVE HER A CHANCE FOR A NEW LIFE, without erasing her old life. From the point of view of the art recipient - it's EXTREMELY SATISFYING. That's why, for me, The Glory is a model of what a revenge series/film should look like. Because it also shows the consequences of revenge on the victim, but also on innocent people who accidentally become collateral damage. But it DOES NOT deny the victims this revenge in the name of "high ideals and ethics". Ideals and ethics that are somehow always required from victims, never from their abusers 😉 And it's the same with DFF. Because those who hurt Non never paid for it, never compensated their victim, did nothing to right the wrongs, atone… at least to make their own lives a little uncomfortable. Oh yes, they felt guilty and sad… in their homes, at their movie premiere, in college, free, having fun, planning the future, healthy and alive.

Coming back to The Glory - I remember a certain scene when Moon pointed out that the husband of her main bully visited her dingy, poor apartment and took off his shoes, even though he is rich and powerful and could give a damn, be repulsed or whatever. This one gesture moved her. Because he saw her as a person who deserved kindness and respect, even in such a small gesture. And in the end, this man did what was right, even though he paid a high price for it and it was inconvenient for him - even though he didn't have to.

Let me put it figuratively this way: none of Non's bullies ever went to his house and took off their shoes. And then didn't go through the "inconvenience" to do what was right. "Inconveniences" that have nothing to do with the "inconveniences" experienced by Non's family… That's why I can't help but side with Tan. And I never expected noble behavior from him. Because whatever Tan does (like Non did), is and always has been a reaction to what happened to them. Each of the characters made mistakes, behaved badly and stupidly - but ONLY NON AND HIS FAMILY PAID FOR IT, and it was a price disproportionate to the guilt. I won't judge Tan, let him cook 💖 And let him win. Let at least he be the one from this tragic family to win. Morality? Ethics? High, noble ideals? They were packed in a black bag with Non's body.

[thekitteninlove]

Part 18. Sorry if i leave some things out, i write what i can remember.

After Alice told Dalim that she might have feelings for him he says that it's so easy to deceive her it worries him. He was just behaving in such a way as to make her like him as he did before, at the bar. His plan didn't seem to work then, but now it worked. He did this so that he'd get her to help them with their research

Dalim: "A man who can handle women, treats them like princesses and is good at conversation. Moreover, one who's looks aren't bad and is assertive when it comes to physical contact, but not to a disagreeable degree...... that's the ideal man for women, right?"

(not every woman has the same tastes in men, some would prefer a shy and less assertive man)

Dalim: "You were successfully deceived. Which means your affection for me is fake"

At this point Alice surprised me when she realized he's saying those awful things to distance himself from her in order to keep her safe (she seems to be more perceptive in this route).

He warns her that if she really falls in love with him she'll regret it.

Dalim: "I might've not shown you my merciless side on purpose, you know?"

(then show it to me)

Dalim got up from the bed and so did Alice. In her attempt to keep some distance between them she moved backwards until she bumped into the wall and he was now right in front of her

Dalim: "They say love is blind"

He wondered if she saw him murder some innocent people for the sake of research would she forgive him because she loves him. He seemed to expect her to say yes, but she said that she wouldn't forgive him.

"Would you the become disillusioned and leave me?" Dalim asked

"If you'd be planning to do something wrong then i'd stop you and scold you if necessary" Alice answered

(you might as well punish him. spank the bad boy)

Dalim: "You think you're going to redeem me by scolding me?"

She said it's his choice whether or not he's going to be redeemed, but she can't just stay quiet and do nothing when someone's doing something bad right in front of her. She doesn't want to defeat the bad guy like in the stories she read, she wants to save Dalim from the wrong path he's taken and make him a prince, which in this case would mean to take him away from the tower.

He steps away from her. It seems like her words made him remember someone named Dee. Seeing how troubled he looked, she put his robe on him. He told her she recalled the time a kid told him they should run away together, but he couldn't run away with him in the end.

Dalim told her that as things stand at the moment there's only a bad ending awaiting for them. Even if he becomes a good man, his sins from the past won't be forgotten. Even so, Alice told him that she's ready for whatever the future has in store for them.

Dalim drew closer to her and took her hand in his, saying that he's happy that she told him that she wouldn't forgive him. It means that she sees him for who he is and wants to get involved with him. Upon hearing this she told him to let her get involved until the end, but the rest of her sentence was cut off when he lightly gripped her arms and kissed her.

[19-bellwether]

Oscar, Emerald, and the Lamp Prediction following the hints we got from episode one.

Salem sends out the grimm to hunt Oscar based on his scent. She needs someone to tell her how to use the Lamp. He's captured and brought back to her.

Oscar and Salem have a very unfriendly chat, and Salem learns he's Ozma's reincarnation if she doesn't already. The conversation promptly becomes even more hostile and the two have a chance to debate their motivations and ideals. They haven't been face to face in a very long time.

Seeing how Oscar won't willingly give up the instructions to use the Lamp, Salem ups the ante. She torments him as is hinted in the V8 intro where a winged version of herself is hovering over him as he clutches his head in pain.

However, this isn't actually Salem. In reference to V5, this is an illusion created by Emerald. She's been ordered to use her semblance to force Oscar to give up the information. Said semblance is a metaphor for gaslighting, fittingly enough.

Meanwhile, Emerald's relationship with Cinder continues to deteriorate. Neo's presence and barely-hidden hostility towards Cinder doesn't help either. Emerald quickly reaches her lowest and most disillusioned point yet.

Due to her own mental anguish, she might go harsher than normal with her semblance. Eventually Emerald manages to get one word out of Oscar: Jinn. She doesn't know what that means, but it leads her to accidentally use the lamp just like her Aladdin allusion does.

However, Jinn already made it clear at the end of V6 that she's not giving anymore freebies. Emerald must ask a question. So she asks why Cinder treats her this way. This may give us Cinder's backstory, and in the process makes Emerald realize that she needs to leave because Cinder can't give her what she wants or needs. Also Salem will want her head for using the last question, so she needs to leave now. The witch already made it clear how she feels about Cinder's 'assets.'

Emerald escapes and takes Oscar and the Lamp with her. This is how he returns to the main cast and how Emerald starts to build trust with Team RWBY. Oscar's aunt may not be here, but this Dorothy might find a different Aunt Em to help him instead. Credit to @alexkablob for pointing out that clever bit of naming.

The big question I don't have an answer to is how Emerald ends up with the Lamp. I doubt she'll plan to steal it unless she's deadset on leaving, which won't happen until her faith in Cinder is broken. Perhaps that faith is lost before she asks Jinn (probably due to a conflict with Cinder gone horribly wrong), and her question for the Lamp is used to affirm it in her mind. Reassurance that leaving is what she has to do. That'd let her both steal it and use it accidentally. There's a lot of room for speculation on how/when/why she steals the Lamp.

And finally, the wildcards in this prediction are how Mercury, Hazel, and Neo are involved. Maybe they'll go with her, maybe they'll help her escape, or maybe one will try to stop her. It's not yet clear where those three characters are headed, so they could easily throw a wrench into the series of events I've laid out. At the very least, Neo still wants Cinder dead and will take whatever chance she can if she believes she can succeed and then get away with it.