#and how we've already seen self-sacrifice set up

[aparticularbandit]

If Rio is Death and is after Billy for escaping his death.

If Rio cannot kill Agatha.

If they maintain the end of the initial Road story.

I think we might see an Agatha sacrifice for Billy.

Because she would be keeping him alive when she couldn't keep Nicholas alive.

Because dying might mean she could be with Rio.

Because finding a way to reverse her siphoning would mean that she can control it.

Because Rio cannot kill Agatha.

(Rio cannot kill; Rio takes what is already dead.)

Because if Agatha dies, Billy can probably bring her back.

If Billy dies, Agatha cannot bring him back.

[darkpoisonouslove]

HotD S02E05

I had things to say about this episode before I'd even watched it, which I'm sure tells you that everything is magnificent and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. I see we've now established a pattern of one episode being more setup and then the following having all the good stuff. I'm just kind of running out of patience and tolerance for the bullshit writing decisions that I'm forced to witness all over the place.

I see that the writers are really going to ignore Meleys killing all of those people during Aegon's coronation just to make a fool of Criston and make a victory that's already cost a lot cost even more. Personally, if I'd heard about all the people that were crushed by a dragon during the king's coronation and then I saw the same dragon killed, I'd be relieved at least, if not cheering. We heard so much about how killing the ratcatchers was bad because it alienated the Small Folk, but apparently avenging all the deaths of said Small Folk at your coronation is also somehow bad for PR? How am I supposed to take this as anything but anti green propaganda at worst and a sloppy plot device at best?

I swear to fucking god, if I have to hear one more time about how peaceful things were under Viserys' rule, I'm flipping a table. As if Viserys isn't solely responsible for this whole mess by not managing things better at least if he couldn't be bothered to keep it in his pants and not have any more children. I for sure enjoyed Rhaenyra admitting that he didn't teach her shit but it's so very funny how she says that now while in 1x10 she was explaining to Luke how her father passed all this knowledge down to her and she'd do the same for him. The writers are clowns.

I love how they were so set on making Aegon look like a fool, especially in last episode, but Rhaenyra is in the exact same position! How is her Council talking over her not the same as Aegon's council pretending he's not even there? And yet the show's framing is so insistent on how that's a great hurdle for her to overcome while in Aegon's case it's proof that he's not worthy to be king. To be pretty fucking honest Aegon is at a disadvantage because he's younger. Rhaenyra had time to prepare herself but she was the one who chose to hole herself up in Dragonstone and have sex with Daemon instead of being in King's Landing and ruling in her father's stead and building her positions.

Not Jace complaining about being kept safe at home to the same girl that his mother is treating as disposable just to not risk his ass. And they had to have Baela comforting him.

I've seen people complaining that Daemon is not supposed to remember his mother and they just included this willful incest to make him look worse. Enjoy! Clearly he's manifesting his complexes about being the most suited heir to the throne by having mommy tell him so and take him as a lover because he's just so great.

He's really funny, though. He's threatening left and right and then he can't even follow through because he knows he stands no chance without the people he was just threatening to burn alive. At least when Criston was threatening executions, he committed to them. Literally how are the Blacks in such deep shit when they have more dragons and more houses pledged to them? Looks like a skill issue.

They fumbled my Criston x Alicent x Larys love triangle so bad. I wasn't expecting them to actually do the funny thing, though they still can! With the way things went between Alicent and Criston, now is the perfect time for Larys to pull some Parent Trap shit to make sure Alicent is indulging. I think Alicent might be more receptive to hearing him out than Criston. His argument was the only one that wasn't based on her own mistakes in recent weeks. But he is now essentially saying "you have to make the sacrifice for our cause" when just last episode he wanted her to stop her self-sacrificial agenda and start giving into her impulses. The way that things have shifted since then is insane.

I see people also going "gotcha" at Alicent for the fact that the Small Council didn't back her claim and I must say... As a staunch Alicent supporter, who has constant brainrot about her, I have to agree with their decision. Alicent has done nothing but hinder them at every turn with her refusal to go against Rhaenyra. Thank god they don't know about her Sept escapades with Rhaenyra or they might have wanted her punished for treason. But yes, if I saw this woman completely ignore the fact that her six-year-old grandson was decapitated, I wouldn't trust her to lead me either. The way the writers have chosen to make her act is just completely nonsensical.

Listen, I know it's the same country and everything so the battle strategies would be mostly the same but I can't get over how copy-pasted HotD and GoT feel. The fact that both sides have dragons here should change things drastically and yet...

Daemon having the nerve to comment how awful of a person Aemond is. I'm sorry, did you project too hard? Tbh I hate how they've changed Aemond's character completely from the book and from the first season where he could have easily gotten the throne for himself but he didn't. And all of that just to have their parallels between Daemon and Aemond and still manipulate the viewers into siding with Daemon. I mean sure, he's refusing to recognize Rhaenyra as his ruler but he's still talking about them ruling together. Meanwhile Aemond went and straight up Dracarys-ed his brother. I have no words left anymore. Just fucking change everything so that Rhaenyra wins and put me out of my misery already. It's clear that that's what they want to the point where I'm not sure how they'll keep true to the story.

Corlys finally deciding to make Baela heir to Driftmark is the epitome of too little, too late. The fact that they made her decline too and with that stupid explanation. As if Joffrey or whoever's now named heir to Driftmark isn't "fire and blood" either. Istg this show fucking hates everyone that isn't Rhaenyra or her children.

Daemon, you had one job! Unfortunately, I'm going to have to say the same for Aemond because I hear he burns the Riverlands in the book. Like, bud, how'd you fumble that so bad? They are yours for the taking (assuming this isn't something the writers just invented).

Love how they gave Rhaenyra one (1) idea in sending Ser Alfred to deal with Daemon and then instantly upstaged it with Jace's idea for the Dragonseeds. Almost as if they are so afraid to let Rhaenyra do anything that they have the men around her do her ruling for her. I mean, this could blow up in their faces.

I have to say that I'm not even excited about next episode. What do I have to look forward to? The writers continuing to butcher all the other characters for the sake of their team Black agenda?

[midnightluck]

i am BEGGING you for those aventurine essays he is legit my fav star rail character

WELCOME TO MY NEW FAVORITE PIT IT'S BEAUTIFUL HERE.

Current essays (full of spoilers) I have already written out:

Why Aventurine is Preservation path and why he doesn't lose (see below)

An analysis of Ratio and Aventurine's interactions on Penacony

An analysis of Aventurine's planning and execution of said plan for 2.1

Why Avigen are Rom-coded and how Aventurine uses his own culture to hurt himself

Aventurine and the Masked Fools

Essays I have not written but intend to:

The incredible level of self-loathing it takes to call yourself a luck build when you only ever gamble against yourself and the inability to trust that it creates

The difference between stage magic and flourishwork and an analysis of the techniques and props he uses, including why he prefers roulette to cards

Presentation!!! The way he dresses and moves and uses his reputation as a weapon

Topaz and Aventurine's friendship and why they would never call each other friends

Literally anything people wanna know about him

That said, let's get started on why, exactly, Aventurine could never be anything but Preservation. SPOILERS!!!!

OKAY so let's discuss

I would like to begin by reminding you that Qlipoth is a Aeon of "patient, sacrificial, and protective actions", and I don't think I need to go into why Aventurine is the first two BUT I'M GONNA.

Patient--yes, duh. The amount of time it takes to set up stuff behind the scenes before you can even announce a performance--we've seen this from him already. He called Topaz directly after we left Belobog for her help specifically, which we can now assume was him asking to borrow her stone. This means that he had his plan already developed months in advance, and this is confirmed by him sighing over how long it took him to book this specific room in the hotel. Aventurine is patient in that most deadly of ways, the focused strategist mixed with the cunning tactician. He gets impatient, we've seen, but in that anticipatory way that comes from the fizzle of excitement in your veins before a performance, the jitters that aren't quite stage fright but aren't quite excitement, when your blood feels carbonated and your stomach flips because you know it's all in place, you know you've got this, but what if, what if-- and even in the face of that, he's patient.

Sacrificial let's take in two ways. Does he sacrifice? Yes, this man refuses to stop, refuses to accept peace, refuses to settle. He's giving up his own happiness because he knows that happiness isn't for the likes of him and he knows this so deeply he's never even bothered to want it. Aventurine isn't happy, he's unsettled in the most literal way, and he's unbothered by it because he isn't chasing a dream. He's not working toward an ambition, he's not after a goal; he's just living because he isn't dead yet, because he refuses to give up and lay down. He is the embodiment of "because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me," and is, in other words, #relatable to millenials haha.

He's also sacrificial. As a child of ritual, of expectation, and of the embodiment of hope, Kakavasha was born to be the hope of his people and he never got a say in it. He now carries their entire weight and culture on his shoulders because he's the only Avigen on the universal stage, and it hurts more because he barely even had time to truly learn what that culture was before it was taken from him. He probably considers his continued life as penance, as sacrifice, as the payment for his luck which didn't even help anyone he loved anyway.

And then we get to the hard one because people define protective in a very, uh, selfless context mostly? But it's not, or not only that. Aventurine is very protective; he's protective of his past, of his secrets, of his plans, of that which is his. (Sidenote here: money isn't his. Money is a resource, easily gotten, easily spent; gold and jewels and even status are ephemeral. We see this in that fucking bit of dialogue I LOVE ("I can, and it will be flawless" YAS KING IT SURE THE FUCK WILL!!!!), that he doesn't care for the treasure or the mystery, that he's after the role, the action, the thrill of being right, of wagering his life on the bet that he's right and that it's not death that awaits him.

So that's why he's Preservation, is because he could never be anything else. He's not driven, so it can't be Hunt, and he's not careless and instinctive, so no Elation (ask me about his relationship with Masked Fools sometime, I have THOUGHTS). He doesn't seek pain or to sacrifice for others and his wrath is very focused, so no Destruction, and he's not Abundance by any means, and Harmony is out because that's cooperative and unifying and he can't trust. Remeberance is restraint and he doesn't have that, and Nihility is for those who have given up on something, and Aven hasn't, he can't let his past go like Welt has, and all that leaves is Erudition. It suits him but it's offensive, and he isn't, is he, he's so internally focused on playing his little games against himself that he doesn't seek out multiple targets, and also he's not coldly detached; he's powered by self-loathing and that doesn't jive with Erudition, which is reliant on chosen loyalty and seeking.

IMPORTANT DISTINCTION: self-loathing is not self-destructive. Self-esteem and self-worth are not the same thing, and you can hate yourself just fine while still seeing value in what you do. Speaking of which, let's examine that thing he do, which is just straight up setting up giant convoluted plans in order to specifically bet his life on things. HERE'S WHY.

If you bet money and you lose, then you lose, and Aventurine doesn't lose. Aventurine goes for the high stakes, high risk shit because of the risk, because of the stakes. He's chasing death in an abstracted kind of way; he doesn't want to die, but he doesn't value his life and there's not much worth living for anyway. He's also, as previously stated, the only embodiment of his culture, so he can't lose without it reflecting on...everyone, even if they're all dead. The only respectable way he can die as an Avigen is to die in a gamble.

So any gamble with his life on the line is win-win, and god isn't that adrenaline rush of standing on the ledge and jumping good, doesn't that make his pulse pound and his lungs stutter and his fingers shake, in a way that he can feel, physically, that he can know is him, is only him, alive, reliant on his own power, his own fate, his own skill, and on his luck--

Because that's the thing, isn't it, is Aventurine is lucky, but not in the way Kakavasha was. As a kid, he relied on his luck; after it betrayed him (by leaving him the only one left), he doesn't rely on it anymore. He uses it. He puts in time and patience and skill, and he stacks the deck and sets the dice and gambles that he is smart enough to have anticipated it. He's betting that he's prepared enough to weather the uncertainty. Aventurine isn't playing against us, or Ratio, or Penacony; the only one he's ever really betting against is himself.

[artist-issues]

To Re-Write Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Here's a peek into my storytelling process, and what I think the third movie of the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy should've looked like. You know me. Everything starts with the Main Point. (I'm not going to talk about what's bad about Rise of Skywalker in this post, it'll be long enough already.)

The Main Point: "Where there is love, there is hope."

Essentially, the main message of Star Wars is "Faith Triumphs Over Fear." Our main message supports that, because it's hard to keep the faith when you're alone, or feel alone. But when you have friends, or loved ones to fight for, keeping the faith is easier, and gives you something other than fear to focus on.

So. I'm going to structure this like "Where a Character Was at the end of TLJ --> Where They Need to Be by the End of EP 9."

Most of these characters don't need any more development. They learned a core lesson at the end of TLJ: now they just need to hang on and put it into practice no matter what plot points test them. Stick the landing. We already had their "Proposal, Argument—" now we need their "—Conclusion."

The only exception to this is Kylo Ren. He still needs development. You'll see:

Rey

It's Not About Who I Am; It's About Doing the Good I Can Do --> Tempted to Make a Selfish-Insecure-Identity-Based Decision; Chooses to Do the Self-Sacrificial, Good Thing Instead.

This means Rey needs to have a goal she's trying to accomplish, but this time there's not really a "and then I'll know who I am" element in it for her. Like in TLJ, she was going to find Luke for the greater good, but it was also, on a personal level, because:

But this time, after TLJ, she needs to start out on a mission that doesn't have anything in it for her besides the greater good... to show that she's grown in the right direction, she's not thinking so much about who she is and what she needs, anymore.

Then, on that mission, during that adventure, that character growth can be tested by having the opportunity to get sidetracked by something that could be self-validating.

I wouldn't make it be something about her parents again—we've exhausted that topic by the end of TLJ. But I'd make it something that has to do with being "The Last Jedi, the Heiress to the Light Side of the Force." I'd set the movie up with people telling her that, eventually, Rey will grow to be the legend Luke Skywalker was.

Maybe in the time between TLJ and this movie, the Resistance have run enough rescue missions of refugees or people oppressed by the First Order to pick up a bunch of kids or very young recruits. And those kids have heard of or seen Rey in action by now. Maybe Broom Boy is even one of them. And there are scenes of kids being in awe of Rey, or one of them even says, "after you beat the First Order, will you train me, Master Jedi?" or Maz herself makes a sage comment like, "Look how the Light has grown in you. The Galaxy needed that light...and the Force answered with you, like Luke Skywalker before you." Or during a fun opening-rescue mission, there's a scene where all of the people Rey is helping look up to her and explain who she is to one another in front of her.

Scenes providing her with an image of herself, as the future trainer of the Jedi Order, "when all this is over." Something that she could be tempted to find her identity in.

But then during the course of her mission, she has the opportunity to do one of these things

Gain Amazing New Jedi Knowledge

Kill Kylo Ren and Gain Renown as a Hero

Sacrifice Some Measure of the Power She Has Gained in the Force

And if she chooses the thing that will make her seem more like the Heroic Heiress of the Heroes, that would derail her from her mission and show that she's still thinking about herself—but if she chooses to just do the self-sacrificial, kind thing in the moment, it would help her mission. Yet, it should make her future as someone of fame and importance in the Force uncertain—so that option is also self-sacrificial. Thats the choice she has to make.

And when she makes the right one, we see, not that she got to Be Somebody and vanquished her fear of "dying a nobody" from the first time we met her—

—but that she's not even afraid of that anymore. It's okay to "die a nobody," if everyone else is better off. Because that was a self-focused fear, anyway, and it no longer has power over her. (For lots of reasons—one of which being she now has friends.) Character growth. Star Wars.

Finn

Good Can Win if We Focus on Saving Loved Ones Instead of Destroying Hated Ones --> Tempted to Get Revenge, But Sacrifices Revenge to Save Someone Else he Loves

This means Finn is focused on getting something/keeping something that will provide aid/protect the people he has come to love. Most of his screen-time can be focused on this, to build on showing how far he's come. He should have multiple opportunities to run away, whether it be from First Order troops attacking a Resistance base, or from the scene of a conflict when a rescue mission goes sideways—but instead he keeps staying in dangerous situations to help loved ones.

My favorite scenario to place him in, for this, is in a covert-ops mission where he's infiltrating First Order stormtroopers. He already knows the system, but we've only seen him exploit that knowledge when it's to save his own skin/cause hurt to the people who abused him in the First Order. He doesn't like to be around First Order troops because he hates them/he's afraid of them. But in Episode 9, after TLJ, I'd be showing Finn, choosing to stay where he's surrounded (even if unknown) by people who could uncover his true identity and kill him at any moment—and doing it because it protects the Resistance, in some way. I'd also broaden that focus—he's specifically doing it because it helps the larger cause, not necessarily because his actions will directly save anyone he loves, like Rose or Poe or Rey.

But—at some point in this movie, someone he's attached to dies. I think the most obvious choice is Rose, but she was the one who taught him about avoiding hate and saving loved ones. Revenge for Rose would be far from what Rose would want, so it wouldn't tempt him. So instead I think it should be either a new character that he spends most of the first act of Ep. 9 bonding with believably—or it should be Poe.

Poe, or a stormtrooper he really likes who has just come around to leaving the First Order when she is brutally killed. (I do think Poe, or someone we've seen him "grow up" with throughout the first two films, should be the one to die because otherwise it wouldn't be as tempting for Finn to get revenge, at this point in his arc.)

Then Finn pursues revenge, near the climax of the film. But at the last second, a-la-Luke-tossing-away-his-lightsaber, Finn gives up the opportunity for that revenge and does something else. Something useful, that saves Resistance lives, but causes the person he was about to exact revenge upon to escape.

That's how we see that Finn has come full circle—not only is he willing to stay when things get frightening and hard, and not only is he willing to fight for people he loves...but he's willing to act out of that love, not hate, because of what he's learned.

Poe

A Leader Sacrifices for the Greater Good of Others, Not For His Own Pride  --> Tempted to Make a Hero's Stand; Gives Someone Else the Opportunity Instead

This one is tricky because it's hard to make a scenario where a leader makes a choice that is exciting to watch...when the choice is "don't make a heroic last stand."

It's tricky. It's not impossible. (Rian Johnson did not see anyone up for failure. The TROS storytellers just refused to problem-solve when it got hard. Thats all I'll say about TROS.)

Basically, this means that Poe needs to start the film out at the head of the Resistance. He's still going on missions, but his role in those missions is coordination. One team gets to be the distraction—another team saves the day. Then when both teams are done with their missions, and it looks like they'll give their lives for those missions because there's no way out, in drops Poe. He's been coordinating everything; he's just the getaway car driver.

Then there's fun banter scenes where he reports back to Leia, she's critiquing some of the messy parts of the plan but ultimately proud of him, they bounce ideas off each other, and it's clear it still rubs him the wrong way not to be on the frontlines, but he's enjoying parts of the new challenge of leadership anyway. And they're closer than ever.

Eventually, however, Leia is captured, just before the climax of the film. Like Finn, Poe drops everything the Resistance has been working toward and is intent on saving her, and he's taking a very active role in that. But then, due to her own reminder, he chooses to abandon rescuing her at a pivotal moment to do something that will ultimately turn the tide in the Resistance's favor during the climax. He lets Leia make the sacrifice, and he himself is making the sacrifice of getting to save her and have her back, for the greater good. It's a harder path, but it's one she was preparing him for this whole trilogy.

All of this is if Poe doesn't die to further Finn's arc.

Kylo Ren

It's Better to Destroy the Past in Conquest Than Face My Failures --> I Was Wrong

Biggest one.

Kylo Ren is on the Dark Side because he believed that he was destined to be a monster, nobody would keep loving him if that was his destiny, and leaning into that destiny would help him escape the hurt that nobody-loving-the-"destined"-him caused.

I'm not going to elaborate on that, it's as plain as the nose on his face if you watch the movies and listen to what his family members say about him and what he says about himself. That's why he embraced the Dark Side.

But Rey, Chewie, and Leia are still alive, and all three of them can claim to know the "real him," and try to convince him that he was wrong—he was never destined to be a monster, and they do love and believe in the real him, no matter what he's done.

However, he isn't likely to believe them. He's least likely to believe Leia—she sent him away before he'd done anything wrong, and he has now done many things wrong that are singularly hurtful to her. He's second-least likely to believe Chewie, because he killed Chewie's best friend and Chewie shot him (and also, it's not compelling for the audience for Kylo Ren's mind to be changed by a character that doesn't speak English or emote with human facial expressions.)

He's most likely to believe Rey. Because 1) she did not kill him even after he chose to be a monster all over again, and she could've done what Luke almost did and prevented more monstrous deeds by killing him while he was unconscious. And 2) on a deeper level, she never knew "Ben Solo." She only ever knew the monster, and yet she's still choosing to tell him that he's not stuck as a monster.

So. The movie should start with Kylo Ren as Supreme Leader, doing his utmost to gain power, crush the Resistance, and wipe out any reference to the New Republic or the Jedi. But the key difference is that he's not singlemindedly focused on Rey and Leia and killing them anymore. That's not because he's grown from his "I want every gun to fire on my Uncle" obsessive flaw. It's because he finished TLJ by being closer to regretting his decisions than ever before. In his subconscious, he's afraid of encountering Rey or Leia directly ever again, because now he knows how weak his own resolve is, at this point. He'd rather avoid a direct fight unless he knows he can withstand "the pull to the Light." (He's not admitting any of that to himself.)

So he starts the movie on a mission. But now we enter our bad guys.

Hux.

Hux has only ever existed in these movies to be a counterpoint to Kylo Ren. Where Kylo Ren is explosive, emotionally led, and tangles his personal interests up in the interests of the First Order—Hux is calculating, a strategist, and dedicated to the First Order's cause.

He's at his most passionate when giving speeches about the First Order's might, or when that might is being mocked, or when it is being misused. And he has always hated Kylo Ren. In the script for the Force Awakens, in Hux's introductory scene, it literally says "Hux hates Kylo Ren." That's what he's there for. To be everything to the First Order that Kylo Ren is missing—dedication to the cause, and finding his own sense of pride in that cause—and to hate Kylo Ren. So. When Kylo Ren gets to be Supreme Leader, and his personal issues are jeopardizing the whole First Order? Hux is going to put a stop to that. He doesn't have the Force. But he has control over his strategic mind, and he knows that Kylo Ren's weakness is his emotions.

So, Hux orchestrates some kind of scenario where they learn Rey's location, or next-known location. She's going after some important tech or artifact that could turn the tide of the war. Hux purposefully pokes at Kylo Ren's ego, and maybe faintly suggests that Ren is avoiding a confrontation with the girl who beat him twice and "murdered the Supreme Leader," until Kylo Ren flies off determined to get to the artifact or tech Rey is after first—and prove he's willing to kill her in the process. To himself, and the First Order.

Then Hux orchestrates an Order-66-style assassination attempt on the Supreme Leader with a group of loyal troopers. It should be in a starship flight over the planet Rey is on—Kylo Ren wouldn't believably be overcome in any other scenario. And he takes out almost all of his would-be traitor assassins during the attempt, anyway. But his ship does crash, and Hux takes the mantle of Supreme Leader, and our other heroes spend most of their time dealing with this rabid strategist and his war plans.

Meanwhile, Rey finds Kylo Ren who is barely alive and has to do something to save him. That something should, like I said above, cost Rey something. She should lose a particular Force-ability, or be permanently disabled in some (easily-hidden) way as a result of healing him—or she should lose an artifact, or lose something that would've boosted her identity as Savior of the Galaxy down the road.

But I wouldn't let Kylo Ren figure any of that out right away. For tension, I'd have him remain unconscious for the entirety of Rey saving his life and sacrificing something to do it. Then I'd have her need to hide him, then leave the scene, because she's still on a mission, and Hux has sent the Knights of Ren on the same mission. Then later, Kylo Ren can come to, catch up with her, and they can come to an agreement on looking for the thing they came for together, fighting the Knights of Ren along the way—even if they both know that this alliance will only last until they find the thing they each came to this planet for.

Kylo Ren has closed himself off to any Force bond with Rey. He's stubbornly insisting that he's using her—she's a means to an end. She's quietly certain that he'll come around, but she's not pushing it this time. She'll do what she has to do when they reach the end of their mission, but she's not worried about it. And she hasn't told him, or is hiding from him, the fact that she saved his life again. Because she knows, now, that he's not ready to hear any pleading or reasoning about coming to the Light. He has to get there on his own, and she can't force him (get it?)

They have lots of tense conversation and interesting team-up moments and almost-friendship, almost-betraying each other moments the whole time. Like they're in the Hunger Games in an alliance. Until eventually, the First Order's forces are converging on them (knowing both are alive) and Leia arrives—apparently to rescue Rey—and Kylo Ren, determined by this time not to let Rey go in any sense again, especially not to let her get to the end of her mission first, tries to board the Millenium Falcon and stop her. But it was a trap. Leia allows Rey to take a small craft to the end of her mission, while she and Kylo Ren face off. Leia won't let her son get in Rey's way if he's determined to stay on the Dark Side—and she certainly won't let him get the tech/artifact that might restore him to being the Supreme Leader.

(This whole standoff-stalemate-Leia trapping Kylo Ren in a ship with herself can be what Poe initially wants to save her from, too.)

Basically, at this point, whipping out her knowledge of Rey saving his life and pointing out that Rey believes in Ben Solo even after never having met him, Leia changes Kylo Ren's mind about all of it. If not for Rey and what Rey has shown him with her patience and steady faith, Leia wouldn't have been able to do this. But it works, and Kylo Ren leaves the Millenium Falcon as Ben Solo, finally, and he's determined to help Rey, who is racing toward the artifact/tech/final battle.

This is the bare bones. I'd add in or decide between a lot more elements—what is Hux's plan to wipe out the Resistance, what is the thing Rey/Kylo Ren are after, how does infiltrating Stormtroopers help the Resisrance in stopping whatever Hux is doing, does Finn have the Force, what're Chewie and the droids doing during all this, does Leia die at any point during her attempt to change Kylo Ren back, and is the final battle between Rey/Ben and the Knights of Ren? Or just one Knight of Ren who became the leader when they decided to turn on Kylo Ren and work with Hux? Or is the final battle against Hux and his forces?

I'd answer all those questions and try to do it in a way that interconnects Finn, Poe, Rey, and Rose's storylines. But this is just the bare bones of it all.

The conclusion is the tricky part. I don't think killing Kylo Ren works, even if he's redeemed. Not only because he's the last of the Skywalker/Solos. But because killing him makes Leia, Han, and Luke's hope for him feel kind of hollow. Especially if Leia dies to bring it about, which Han did already. "Our little Ben got to come back to the good side...for the last ten minutes of his life! Yaaay we always knew he could do it" NOPE. That's silly. And also, it's bad for his arc. He's a character that has been running from his bad decisions, thinking that stacking more and more on top of them will satisfy him. So what he needs is not a heroic-death-shaped back door out of the consequences of those bad decisions. He needs to face them.

And I also think, depriving Rey, a character who always wanted to stop being alone, of an organic if difficult relationship with someone who understands her, is a dissatisfying conclusion for the main character.

It would be best to have him live. And then he needs some difficult, but ultimately hopeful road ahead to mending his mistakes. Obviously the whole galaxy would be baying for his blood as justice, if they knew that the former Supreme Leader lived. So he probably needs to assume a new identity, just to avoid being executed for his crimes. (I don't think any Resistance member who knew Leia would be on board with executing Kylo Ren, once the war is over and they have to make that decision outside the heat of battle.)

Then he needs to do something that helps repair the wrongs he's done...but it should be something that costs him, personally. If he's come to value Rey as the only person left in the galaxy he cares about, I'd actually end the movie separating him from Rey. Not forever—because that would be as unsatisfying as killing him—but for the foreseeable future. Then I'd send him on a pilgrimage of some sort that will undo some things he's done. Obviously he can't bring back the lives he's taken. But, maybe whatever cataclysmic artifact or thing they were after did some damage across the galaxy during the climax—and Ben Solo can figure out how to reverse that damage, or repair the thing, but it'll be a long, hard road.

I might send Chewbacca with him. But that's it. It's basically atonement-exile, in disguise. In the meantime, Rey wouldn't be alone because she'd be with Finn and Poe (if he lives) and all her Resistance friends. And they'd start finding homes for the refugees from the war. I wouldn't directly end on Rey starting a Jedi school—not by herself. Only if she's doing it with Finn, or with Finn and Leia if Leia lives. Because again, we're going for "it ain't all about you and who you are, Rey."

That's what I'd do. Feel free to use this as a template or a springboard for your own ideas, (and hey send them to me if you do) because basically anything would be better than what we got with TROS. But this is just what I would do, bare framework.

[whumpninja]

This is a short one but I’m gonna say it’s fine because my last one actually went over (I’m trying to keep my Whumptober pieces under a thousand words.) So it all balanced out!

Whumptober taglist: @whumperofworlds

Prompt used: AI-less Whumptober, self sacrifice, “I’m the only one who can do this.”

Featuring: aaaaaaaangst, royal whump, emotional whump, medieval whump, references to offscreen torture

Whumptober Day Six: The Conscience of the King

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, you can't do this."

"With all due respect, Lady Saralin, I am the only one who can do this." The king picked up his sword from the waiting cushion and tested its balance in his hand. He wore no full armor, only a light mail shirt emblazoned with his crest. "Have you seen Lady Sennarose yet today?"

"Er- no, Your Majesty, not since-"

"She is in her chambers, weeping, where she has been for the last three days."

Lady Saralin sighed, sitting down in a nearby chair. "If you'll let me speak plainly, sir- Captain Tarius knew the risks. He is one of your soldiers. He knew that some day he might lay down his life for you."

"And what would that say about me? I will not be the king that sat on his throne and allowed a man to die for him. Battle is different. You cannot predict what happens on the field of war. But this? This premeditated holding prisoner my captain of the guard? This I can stop. And I will stop it, Saralin." The king took up his sword and placed it firmly into its scabbard on his belt. "It is arranged already."

"Arranged? Arranged how?"

The king sighed, knowing that his words would not please his advisor. "I made a visit to the witch's palace. We talked."

"Alone?" Lady Saralin's voice cracked. "She could have taken you prisoner too!"

"No, she couldn't have. Not unless I allowed it. But we've agreed. I will give myself up, and she will let Tarius go."

"Your Majesty-"

"I saw him." The king's voice dropped to a low, sad tone. "In her palace. She was torturing him. He can no longer walk."

Lady Saralin pressed a hand to her mouth in dismay.

"How could I tell Sennarose that I let her lover suffer for me? How could I see her treating my captain so cruelly and turn my back?" The king went to the open window, gazing out over the kingdom. "You are my regent. I know you will look after them." He drew a deep breath. "It is nearly sunset. I told her I would come at nightfall. I- I am going now, Saralin. Please watch over my kingdom, and protect my people. See that Tarius' wounds are attended to, and that he heals well." A small smile played on the king's face. "And make sure that he and Sennarose are married before too much longer." He took the crown from his head and set it on the chair. "That is yours now. I know you will wear it well, Saralin. I trust you."

The advisor's eyes swam with tears as her king turned to go. "Your Majesty, she will kill you."

The king turned, and he was smiling. "I know she will. But she will not hurt anyone else. That makes it all worthwhile. I am the only one who can do this. And so I will."

[dreamingon-forever]

hi i know this is random but i want to hear an opinion, Do you think if attack on titan had levi and hange relationship backstory or like an ova in terms of how they gotten close (I know it's quite obvious that they are) , do you think the dedicate your heart scene when hange is about to die would have hit alot alot harder than it already has ? (Obviously it was depressing for hange to die)

Oooh! This is a very interesting question. I think it could go both ways. One, if they had explored their backstory closer, I'm sure people would have felt more attached to them being together, and more understanding as to why it was so hard for Levi to let go of Hange. As we all already know, if he had been selfish enough he would have chosen to not allowed them to go, but because he treasured Hange so much, he put their wishes before him, and I think that is poetically bittersweet. And it shows already the level of trust and understanding they have for each other with just the scenes we've been given. Adding a backstory to them would magnify the extend of how much love they held for each other, and how much they gave up for the sake of the world. Seeing their backstory would also make it harder to watch them split off since their interactions would be played off from the years they've experienced together. Not only do I think it would make the Dedicate Your Heart scene more impactful, but I'm sure it would have made the confession scene in the forest also shift and be seen in a more romantic setting as well. I honestly think a backstory would make the meaning of sacrifice hit harder because of the added point of view as viewers where we see them grow closer together, and creating this unique bond that progresses naturally as they survive their ventures into the outside walls. I can only imagine how long it must've taken for two complete opposites to becomes so understanding of each other to the point they're the only person that fully gets them in the end. And being able to watch this progression would hurt like a truck by the time they bid each other goodbye.

On the other hand, I also feel like for some people it can take away the special feeling of the scene. Because from what we have seen and read from the manga and anime, it leaves so much for us to interpret on our own about the in betweens of their relationship. When we're not given the full story, we can only interpret some aspects of their history together, we can only assume how they became so close, and that in itself is also a part as to why their goodbye scene hit so hard for some readers. Because based on what what one imagines had occurred in their past together it can be interpreted differently, and for those who envision a certain backstory can be affected differently. And if we had been given a backstory, it could destroy some expectations of how they see their relationship. An example is how we've seen Levi's character mourn before, but we saw for the first time Levi wishing to hold onto someone and be vulnerable to them. Because we have no backstory to Levihan we can only assume just how they'd gotten to that point, and I think that's magic in itself as to why the sudden shift in Levi's demeanor hit so hard in their goodbye scene. Where they in love with each other? Did they push back these feelings all this time until their end? Did they finally get the courage to confess at the end? Had something happened between them in their years together? All of these plausible possibilities depending on the viewer can influence how much the last scene means. And I think that's why Isayama probably left it like it was for their goodbye scene. I think Dedicate Your Heart already seems pretty self explanatory to how Levi felt for Hange, but how deeply it plays out depends on the reader themselves and how close they think the two actually were. Sometimes the missing pieces to a story creates the most painful conclusions because you'll never understand how they came to be.

Me personally, I would of course love to have a backstory to Levi and Hange. I want to see their progression from comrades to inseparable besties that can't go a day without teasing and shit talking each other. Because let's be honest, when had Levi ever let his guard down enough to joke so easily with someone? I've always wished for an expansion to their history. And I 100000% believe that it would've made me bawl even more at their goodbye knowing how far their journey had been together, only for them to end up on separate endings. But I can also see how the lack of backstory can also be a device used to bring out more pain since we lack so much of their story, and can only take what we've been given as face value to what had been their relationship as we know.

Thank you so much for the ask, anon! Really got me thinking there (and I might not have been typing this for over three hours now since you got me into a hole). I would love to hear what you think as well!

[meraki-yao]

thank you so much for your reply <3 i think grief is a good word to describe what i'm feeling. it might sound silly to some but the book has been one of my favourites since 2019 and the 'what could have been?' aspect of the movie's promotion devastates me bc the crew and the fans deserved more. i think im also a bit terrified of ppl moving on from rwrb to nick's other projects meanwhile i can't (and don't want to) do it, ugh it's just a mess of weird feelings and sadness and longing for something we've never had. not to mention how some people already talk about his new projects being upgrades from rwrb. that hurts me on so many levels bc henry is a complex and beautiful character, rwrb is a wonderful story and i genuinely think that even with all the changes they created something amazing.

Glad I could help <3

It's not silly at all. I'm in a similar position: if you've followed my blog you might have seen this but long story short my irl life is a bit fucked up and I was really, really depressed. (still kinda am) July and August, waiting and watching RWRB release became the happiest I've been since January 2022, and in the following months RWRB and the fandom (well, and my sister) nearly became my sole reason for hanging on. So trust me when I say I get the feeling.

I understand your fear, and I'd be lying if I say I wasn't afraid that the rwrb tag will be full of George instead of Alex and Henry, but please remember that liking something new doesn't necessarily always lead to leaving the previous fandom: I know for a fact that me and a couple of my mutuals are going do both. We're gonna be happy to watch M&G (personally not interested in the idea of you but the same applies) but we're still going to make RWRB content. M&G will be a great show but it won't have nearly the same emotional weight to me as RWRB. It's been five months, so those of us who hang around and are active are active for a good reason.

As for the comments about "upgrade", that's ridiculous and a very surface-level assessment. One of my best friends is studying to become an actress and we talk about acting often. Here's the thing: there isn't a thing called "easy" acting. Every genre of acting has its own challenges: for comedy many times you need to sacrifice your personal dignity; Sci-fi blockbusters you need to interact with nothing and make it look believable; even for things like kid shows you need to be hyperactive so the kids can focus and find it entertaining, which can be so draining. M&G is a historical thriller, TIOY is a romance, and RWRB is a rom-com. These are three different film genres, and each set out to achieve different things. For example in terms of relationships: TIOY needs to make the romance believable, RWRB needs to make the romance believe, funny, and be a fair representation of a queer relationship, and for M&G if history serves there's no "true love" relationship at all. You're right: Henry's a complex and beautiful character, and Nick clearly put all his heart into him. But you cannot take Henry's layers of grief, love, fear, and self-esteem, and say it is lesser than Geroge's cold ambition. Funnily enough, while Henry is so careful with his power as the prince, George rose to the same if not a higher level of power and abused it so badly, that it caused his assassination and downfall. A well-written character is ultimately, a human being, and there isn't truly a human being who's "easy to be". So don't listen to those haters.

I'm all ears if you still want to talk <3

[captainspiggbo]

So. . What if Satan gets Yukio?

[[Tw: mental health, depression, s*icide, death, unhappy shit, etc.]]

I really doubt this will make sense, but as per usual, I'm open to being corrected and spat at lmao. . . So uh, enjoy the read! 😅👌

Boo!

Look I'm not one to bring up season one's uh. . "Ending" unless I absolutely have to. . But in this newest chapter we see that Yukio and Rin are on they're way to the palace thing and can already assume based on the time skip; things are likely not gonna go well. . Demons require broken individuals, mind breaking is like they're whole schtick. . Only one of the twins has truly spiraled (i.e. self exit attempt), depression is a demon all on it's own; point is, you don't spiral just once. While Yukio is finally healing, he's no where near "better" and unfortunately that makes him a walking beacon of a target. I don't have too solid a theory as to how this will play out, but Satan can't kill them outright correct?? He hates Rin, but Rin is the best body for him, Yukio would be the perfect stepping stone to get closer to Rin. . Rin is headstrong, he won't break easily. . But who is the one person he loves more than anything? If I was a deranged, narcissistic, fuck who wanted to hurt my target to they're core the logical step is to remove who they love/care for. . The older exorcists can be easily removed, Satan's little lackeys are gonna maybe (HOPEFULLY NOT) pick off everyone one by one. . His mentor, his friends, potentially even his love interest, and finally Satan will take his brother. Do I think Yukio has the potential to die? Not really? (A part of him maybe??) But he would be a pretty good puppet to dangle in Rin's face, cause him to despair; act foolish or straight up give up the good fight. . No, we don't see Satan directly having a body yet in the future, but there is a hungry core feeding on the land. He just needs something to latch onto, a vessel to hide in that won't expire right away, just a sentient nugget. . I'm likely going too far, as per usual, but I believe something will happen that will make Yukio either self sacrifice or have his will broken again. I see Mephisto or someone under his direction removing Rin from the situation as to not let Satan get them both right away (also extending the fun, yippee!). Either way, Satan will have a decent body to build around as he waits to challenge Rin again whenever he pops up in the future. The goal won't be to "win" the fight outright, but to have a vessel that can hold on long enough to wear Rin down in order to finally succumb to Satan. I believe that is why we don't see Yukio in the future, Satan has him in some form or fashion and Rin will have to fight to get him back. . The goal of "killing Satan" was already not enough as we've seen, Rin couldn't do it (well he could theoretically but you get what I mean). . . Ooooor I could be talking out my ass as per usual and bringing back an element from a (assumingly approved by Kato) "ending" from season one is too far fetched. . It's not like she's ever set things up from the beginning or anything. . She totally doesn't like hidden meanings. . . 👀

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

rewatched 12x5 properly i think for the first time since the finale and wow. the doctors accusations back and forth of stupidity and bad taste, "yeah yeah the hypocrisy we've all seen it" i hear you but today im thinking about that hexagonal mirror ruth looks into at the start of the episode and what happens in 13x3 with their reflections that perhaps doing self-reflection is not the easiest thing in the world in circumstances such as theirs. with stuff in your head that you didnt put there and stuff out your head that you didnt take away and reflections that never match what you think you look like. plagiarising myself here but is every mirror a funny mirror to the doctor?

it's just so striking in this episode. yeah yeah self-insults like always it's fun but. theyre so scared of each other. theyre so scared of what each other's existence means to Their Self. and this sure is a bit more of an extreme case "i should know you or you should know me" but i dont think it's fundamentally a different experience than what theyre feeling in say the day of the doctor. this is a new complication with more grave implications but meeting another self i think must always feel like an existential threat on some level. why are you like that. what does that say about me. if you can never see yourself properly in the mirror, this is the only way you can see what you look like. but that person is never exactly entirely you. it changes.

then lee, what was up with him, right? he scanned as human on the sonic but he had his memories. thinking abt how painful chameleon arching yourself is normally already, i dont really want to imagine how you make it so you keep your memories. or whether you set up a system to recover the memories after, like a more complicated version of the hypnotic trigger like things he gave ruth. "keeping my promise" he says and theres this picture of them. they planned this together. what a sacrifice, right? like what martha did. and if we can assume that vinder was lee in 13x3:

VINDER: If this temporal hazing gets any worse, we'll have to relieve her of command. We can't risk the mission. YASMIN: We're your team. DOCTOR: My team... YASMIN: You talk to her. We'll cover. VINDER: It's all right, boss. We understand the pressure. Final push. We do this, you're clear. DOCTOR: Clear? VINDER: They promised they'll stick to it. Final attack. Retake the chamber, retake the planet, and you'll be free of all this. That's the point, isn't it?

paints a picture, right? all of this episode just painting so many pictures and we dont get to know any of it fully but theres so much Suggested it's like aaaaaaaa

gat is fucking fascinating and i adore her. found myself wishing she'd gotten to take the doctors back to her ship just so we couldve seen the three of them interact some more. does she report directly to tecteun or are there more operatives above her, i bet there are more above her, but who i want to see what she'd have done with them. or with ruth i guess, she would have had no reason to take 13.

like the bechdel test is not a real test but i sort of felt it here like,,oh theyre all women. even the judoon maybe. which is sort of interesting. even the invisible power behind it all! "who are you all ultimately working for?" it's tecteun! this scene is so fucking fascinating, theres such big plot stuff happening and we dont get to understand any of it yet for like another season, another almost two years i think it was in our time. this is like The All Of It, the Biggest Plot, and theres only women. not that you need to get all men out of the way for interesting scenes but. you know what i mean. the scene itself is fucking riveting. we dont get any answers. also gat calls the doctor an abomination to their faces, chefs kiss

i found 13s position as companion really interesting and i think if it were me in charge i'd have had the first half of the scene between ruth and gat filmed sort of from an outsider perspective. instead of putting the camera between them, keeping it behind ruth, to emphasise even more 13s and our position of not understanding what the fuck is going on, and also her powerlessness about it.

and then the last thing im thinking about is jack and the lone cyberman. "dont let it have what it wants At All Costs". "sometimes even i cant win" is right bc 13 was put in a position where either you destroy humanity by giving it what it wants or you destroy humanity by not giving it what it wants. kill humanity to save humanity there really was no winning option.

[whateverthedragonswant]

So, I finally caught up on the past two cons for the most part.

As a writer, Dean's death will never not be tragic to me, in the worst way.

We can talk about bad messaging. We can talk about the ridiculous way it happened (rusty nail, anyone?). We can talk about COVID and how that impacted everything they decided to do behind the scenes.

But ultimately, it was not the right way for Dean to go out. I respect Jensen's opinion, feelings, and eventual acceptance on the matter (obviously) but there's some things that are missing here that aren't being talked about. By him, anyone else involved with the show, or even the fandom.

Dean didn't die a hero's death or a warrior's death as Jensen called it. A hero's death is when there is some form of self-sacrifice involved. There was none of that happening in that scene. Had Dean pushed one of the kids out of the way and then was impaled, or pushed Sam out of the way even, then it could be considered a hero's death. Even if there was no one to push out of the way, had Dean gone up against the Big Bad, dying in the process, again -- sacrifice. But that didn't happen either. No, instead, he is sacrificed in the story line (to set up Sam's endgame), sent to drive around Heaven for 40 years, and his agency is taken away from him. Had he truly been a side character all along, then obviously this wouldn't even be an issue. But he wasn't; he's been a main character since at least season 4 of the show or even earlier. The show may have started out with Sam as the sole protagonist but it had evolved by the time season 4 rolled around and Dean had been made one as well.

Dean only regains agency in that one scene in The Winchesters (1x13) when his primary motivation (Sam) is given back to him through the exposition he does in the scene with The Winchesters' characters, Bobby, and Jack.

Your hero (like I said, this includes Sam as well) is not supposed to lose their agency. That's the whole point. They're always given a choice even when their circumstances might not be of their own choosing. Think Jon Snow. Think Aragorn and Frodo. Think Iron Man. Even Buffy Summers or the Halliwell sisters. Maverick in the second Top Gun movie, sacrificing himself to save Rooster and then (not to spoil for those who may have not seen the movie yet) we see what happens. But the point is, he made that choice. Rooster made his choice. The two main characters of the film. The hero is always given the choice.

If this had happened when facing off with Chuck, even then it still might have been better. Chuck was the final Big Bad; you don't get higher than God in this fictional world, right? Again, that would have been a warrior's death.

And that doesn't even begin to address that this was not where Dean and Sam's stories were leading in the narrative. I know we've all talked about the "two finales" that 15x19 and 15x20 were respectively, but I do wish they had left it open-ended like they did in 15x19. That not only would have made more sense for their arcs over the past ten plus years but it also would have allowed (again, narratively) for a proper reboot/continuation/revival down the road. I am interested to see how the idea Jared talked about would come about and I'm sure they'll make it work, but seriously (and I mean no disrespect to Jensen, Jared, or the crew who worked hard on the episode) that whole ending was a disaster that just didn't need to happen. Both boys died to keep the parallel going but them being alive and on the open road would have kept that parallel between them going as well.

Dean already had a beautiful death monologue in 9x23 to Sam. While Jensen and Jared gave their all in that scene and I fully acknowledge that and appreciate it, I do wish we hadn't gotten that dialogue in the barn scene. It has nothing to do with ship wars or fandom drama -- it has to do with the character development for both boys being nuked solely by the dialogue in the five minutes it took for Dean to die. It literally undid every single thing that happened since 1x01 for each brother and everything they had been through. While I'm all for the beautiful brotherly moments (and Jensen and Jared acted the crap out of that scene), this just felt so completely wrong. I don't care about the forehead touch or the hand holding or anything else. All of it was fine except for that dialogue that mentions John, Stanford, etc. Just completely nuking 15 years, all to bring it back to the pilot. But instead of it being a beautiful tribute to their beginning while also showcasing their development and their journey, they brought it right back to that moment instead, in a way that just makes you scratch your head and go "what?" It reminds me a lot of Daenerys' death scene monologue actually - completely nuked character development and conflicting messages to the audience.

Like I said, I completely respect Jensen's (and Jared's) opinion on the 15x20 death and if Jensen eventually got to a place where he's at peace with it and that's how he views the scene (a warrior's death), then I'm happy for him. But writing wise, the way the show chose to go about it didn't make sense. And that includes Sam's ending as well. Sam may have honored his brother's wishes to live his life peacefully, that's great and true of their brotherly bond and to Dean's character, but showing Sam in the party city wig breaking down crying in the Impala years down the road was not it.

Sure, he missed his brother and there's nothing wrong with showing that, but again conflicting messages in the writing. He left Dean and hunting behind in the bunker and moved on with his life (the whole significance of him sitting in Dean's room and shutting down the bunker btw), marrying and having a family. He even had Dean 2.0 as his son, a part of Dean living on and Sam honoring his memory. So why the breakdown scene?

15x20 will always be a sticky point with me when it comes to the series as a whole. Like Jensen said once upon a time, those who like it and those who have issues with it are both valid. But me, I tend to lean towards the latter camp though I don't completely hate it. It's still part of our boys' story. I just wish they had decided to go about it a different way or at the very least, make some tweaks to make it make more sense in the end while staying true to the characters and everything they had endured for 15 years.

[desultory-novice]

How would you think Kirby would handle it if Elfilin died for real? Also do you think in a ideal world where most don't know true loss that anyone would be able to help?

EDIT: Due to the serious nature of this topic and the potentially detailed description of mourning I go into, I recommend anyone who is currently dealing with grief or loss or has experienced traumatic loss in the past and wish to avoid being reminded of it indulge in self-care and avoid this post.

Wishing everyone well.

Phew...Deep topic... Warning for discussion of death, loss, and grieving. Also Forgotten Land end game spoilers, naturally.

First off, I think there's two possibilities to consider.  1) Kirby is unable to rescue Elfilin from Elfilis and loses him that way. 

2) Elfilin loses his life sealing off the two worlds. 

Both would be equally devastating, but I think both would come around to the same general outcome. Let's discuss.

We get a glimpse of Kirby's reactions upon thinking he's lost Elfilin, and while it's relatively subdued-seeming, this is only the very first emotional response that comes to him. He's sad and he looks a little lost. Grief and loss are weird things - they effect us our whole lives long. Even if it's someone you didn't know for very long or know very well, it can hit you again out of the blue while you're getting a drink or laying down to sleep, "That person is gone." 

With Kirby and Elfilin, they may not have known each other for long, but they became friends and PARTNERS in such a short period of time. And the bonds built in battle (I mean, kinda. There is a bit of a war going on between the Dreamlanders and the Beast Pack, but it's underplayed) are said to be some of the strongest. Needless to say, his bond with Elfilin is a deep one.

If Kirby loses Elfilin to Elfilis, there's an additional emotional wound Kirby would take here and that is FAILURE. Kirby made it his quest to save Elfilin, and while people have died (or had other bad stuff happen to them) around him, it's never been because he -failed- to do what he set out to do. (For example, with the not-quite-but-looked-dead Magolor, it was Kirby's goal to stop him, and he did. He also needed to stop Haltmann, who, while important to Susie, was already braindead/had his conscious mind permanently merged with Star Dream by the time Kirby had even a remote insight what their relationship was.)

This would be the first time Kirby failed in a RESCUE mission and even if he got back up and continued the fight, it's probable it would be a blow to his self-confidence. Even doctors, nurses, emergency service workers, and caretakers who've been around life and death their entire career will find themselves asking, "What could I have done better?" I don't think guilt would ever stop Kirby from doing what he does, just like those who make it their job to save lives here do, but it would weigh on him. Which is interesting, because we've seen very little do so before now.

Now, if Kirby sees Elfilin sacrifice himself to close the portal, there's another aspect to consider: he is forever separated from King Dedede, Meta Knight, and the other Waddle Dees - I mean, as far as he knows. (Dimensional Rifts aren't uncommon in Kirby, but Kirby's never personally been responsible for them. And he wouldn't even know what dimension to START looking in to find them.) He also last saw Dedede in a bad situation, which certainly can't help. In this instance, not only has Kirby lost his new friend Elfilin, he's lost two of his greatest allies and two people who he almost certainly would have wanted/needed to help him through these new feelings.

(Of course, I think Meta Knight and King Dedede would find their own way back in time. King Dedede especially would fight like hell for it - once he recovered, that is.)

He still has Bandanna Waddle Dee with him, and there is a bit of salvation in the fact that he DID get to rescue Elfilin and they teamed up together one last time. Plus, he'll know that Elfilin died to protect him and all of Popstar. For a lot of people, knowing someone you loved died helping you or others out is a blessing during the grieving period. I think this would be the "best" outcome for Kirby in an "Elfilin has to die" situation. Not that death is ever ideal, but, you know what I'm getting at.

I can't say for certainty how the act of -mourning- would go for Kirby, but I definitely see food not tasting as good for a while, and him maybe just not wanting to eat. He may also find himself wanting to spend some time alone and just ending up in a daze. Bandanna Waddle Dee would make sure his idol and best friend doesn't wreck himself in his grief, and I think Kirby is the kind of person that becomes a shield for others when they're in trouble, so if a dangerous incident occurred while Kirby's still grieving, Kirby would spring up to handle it anyway. That's just the kind of puffball he is. But the feelings are likely to come back and linger once the dust has settled.

...Now, that we've covered the initial impact of the loss, and part of the grieving, let's see how he might deal with the impact of someone's death going forward.

I mentioned my own guilt at "killing" Marx in another post, and I do think Kirby (the series and the character) has subtlety come around to touching on the idea of loss and permanency as the games continue on. Think about how many games there are where he just walks away from the villain's defeat without batting an adorable eye. But just like he started coming around to the idea of redeeming the "bad guys" in Star Allies, I think the attitude of "The big bad exploded, time to go home!" is shifting in Kirby - especially now that Kirby has encountered actual, canonical permanent loss.

I'm talking about Sectonia and Max Haltmann, of course.

They were antagonistic to him at the time, yes, but they were both very important to people who were friendly to him (...err, after their turnarounds) and I think Kirby can recognize what that importance means now. I think recognizing that people you may not know very well and may not even like were very important to someone else and thinking how you'd feel if you were the person who loved them is a big step in the growth of empathy. So I'd say the Kirby of Forgotten Lands (assuming a linear timeline) has begun to learn about grief and loss AND how to re-evaluate those who hurt you from Taranza and Susie - which leads us to who would be able to help.

Now, I think Taranza and Susie would have pretty opposite views on how to help. Which is going to best for Kirby, as when someone is relatively new to loss, you don't want to pigeonhole them into one form of grieving. We're all different people with different but similar needs, and sometimes it takes some shopping around to figure out what is going to be the most meaningful/the most helpful to you.

Susie is likely to be the kind to gently (or not gently) push "Pinky" to move forward and point out they're not acting like themselves in hopes that Kirby will get back to a routine - and routines can be so important. Health is a combination of factors and not eating, sleeping, or moving can contribute to breaking the body down a lot faster when the mind/heart isn't it it. Taranza, who is used to holding on to grief in the long term and maintaining the precious memories of the lost, would offer Kirby lots of time and plenty of opportunities to reminisce and talk about Elfilin, knowing that the impact death leaves on us is huge and that the hurt may never go away.

Even if neither of them could provide the perfect solution for Kirby's grief, Kirby would still have some positive take aways from the fact that both of them are trying so hard to help him. (And I think they would, honestly.) 

In fact, there's a bit from another one of the Itsudemo Kirby books where Kirby is specifically hanging out with Taranza -while- Taranza is reflecting on Sectonia, and the text (my translation) says, "Thank you for your presence and the memories of you that always bring light to my heart." 

That right there is, I think, exactly the kind of resolution waiting down the road for Kirby in a scenario in which Elfilin dies. 

Whatever happens in game, the Kirby series tries to maintain a positive outlook, even if that means dealing with the loss of a friend. Kirby would eventually come to focus on the adventure and the memories and the fact that Elfilin cared so much for Kirby in the time they knew each other. Elfilin being gone can't change that.

[kerenobara]

Surviving the African Society as a Young Girl

A victim mindset and lack of accountability will get you nowhere. It is not your fault that you were born where you are, but it sure is your responsibility to keep on pushing, to wake up everyday and strive to improve in your own way. In the words of BTS's Suga-Win no matter what. You see, people already believe that there is a ceiling for us. This means that no expectations are placed on to us. Because society dictates- "this bunch is useless, only good for breeding". This gives us the freedom to be as great as we want. We are not a first born son or any son for that matter. How great they are to become is already dictated by the community before they are born. A path is already laid out for them under societal norms of manhood/masculinity or whatever the hell they obsess about. Which means, because they are boys, their ceiling and path is already dictated in terms of success. But us, our ceiling has not been dictated because no body in the African society thinks of girls as people who succeed in life. So you know what that means? It means that there is simply no ceiling set yet in terms of your success and you can aim to reach as high as you want. You just have to replace culture, society and religion with critical thinking, self-improvement and the search for knowledge. As you constantly improve on these three qualities, your wisdom grows as well. Society, religion and culture do not care about your intellectual improvement Contribute to your brain first. And I mean really contribute, not just cram a few things and then sit down to be redundant and lazy like the rest of them. Build your thinking process and exercise your brain. Always seek to acquire more knowledge. Forget the African society, forget the church and forget the village. None of them care about you anyway and that is the red pill truth. As a girl living in Africa, you are overall seen as nothing more than a child bearer and rarer. You are not seen as a person, you are simply a thing and your only use is to be a servant to everybody else. As a girl living in Africa, your name and the concept of success are not synonymous. You may not believe it, but everybody else around you sees you this way and that is the truth, take it or leave it. The ones who "don't see you this way" are the minority, and even they enable/pander to the mysogynist majority by never standing up to challenge existing ideologies or actively pretending to support misogynist ideologies in order to "fit in". So you're all alone. Everyone thinks you're the bottom of the barrel. Need I say more?

But just because this is the existing ideology, does not mean it is the truth. It is far from the truth. Instead of feeling sad and falling into a victim mindset, or seeking validation from others, we've got to strive to be the best that we can be, for ourselves and ourselves alone. You have got to work on yourself and focus on becoming an asset to you. We can't afford to be lazy and irresponsible. We can't afford to louse around and sacrifice our intellectual and overall personal development in order to focus on simplistic and easy to learn things such as "how to cook" and" how to clean"- which are things that anybody can learn how to do and grasp quickly. Every human being knows how to cook and clean because these are basic human needs. You are extremely lazy and hypocritical if your biggest pride is knowing how to "cook and clean" which is nothing more than a basic life necessity. You are hiding behind something everyone can do in order to avoid pending matters in your life that require you to actually take responsibility and work towards becoming a better version of yourself. Bravo, that is going onto my list of the most crass escapist methods I have encountered so far.

If you choose to play around with your life and waste time on stupidity such as boys, knowing how to cook, cramming the bible without even understanding it from a critical view etc, then your choice is respected with all honors. Our life is in our hands and if we act clueless about this in order to leave our well being up to others, that is a one way ticket to a life of mediocrity and misery...

The message is simple - BUILD YOUR BRAIN UP. CONSTANTLY WORK ON IMPROVING YOURSELF AND YOUR INTELLECT AS WELL. BECAUSE NOBODY IN THAT SOCIETY CARES ABOUT YOU GETTING WISER AND MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE.

IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE YOUR BRAIN AND THINKING CAPACITY SURVIVE IN THAT DAMNED ENVIRONMENT.

[adamsvanrhijn]

To be clear, in my vision, the end result of this hypothetical scenario (should it have occurred) is just him prolonging the inevitable and going through with it via another, safer-feeling medium, i.e. sending a letter which is what happens anyway — I do not think Mr Ellis is actually taking the Carly Rae Jepsen approach to love in the face of obstacles (but also not taking anything remotely near, say, the Oscar van Rhijn approach either)!

Based on the first film, Richard to me is someone who is very cognizant of the potential he has to influence others, and how he can effectively reach that potential if he leverages a combination of both his own personal talents and his social standing as a member of the Royal Household.

He is a very calculating person, and despite a very cavalier attitude, very aware, I think, of how precarious his life really is and that there could be consequences for his actions... while also being eager to position himself alongside Thomas, go to lengths to protect him on the basis of both what they have in common and his interest in him, and then express hopeful thoughts for a future he can envision. With effectively zero safety net.

He found out about Thomas in a 100% zero-doubt locked-in sort of way, in an incredibly high stakes situation, removed from his normal environment, and he went to bat for him and it worked! And then he got to immediately be rewarded for that, in that it worked and he knows its impact and Thomas is very open about what it means for him, and he obviously Really Really (x3) Likes Thomas... The things he values are front and center for him at Downton.

& I think he perhaps Needs that external presence and validation of his feelings in order to feel like it's all worth it (which he will feel especially strongly when not in his normal setting) if not to quite feel safe... while also knowing that, while the man he is in that situation is his truer self, he cannot actually be that man without immense risk and sacrifice. Again—zero safety net.

And I think from what we've seen of him, and from what we know of Thomas (irresistible catch to end all catches, etc), Richard [feels he] is far too prone to forgetting the risks when he can imagine an alternative which is close enough to touch, when it's another man he has already risked a lot for with, as far as we know, no consequences, and whom he loves.

All of this together, I don't think he sees the particular safety net he wants as compatible with a relationship with Thomas (or with any man but obviously Thomas is the one in question) — both because he knows Thomas and what Thomas wants, and this isn't it, and because the relationship itself makes him want to do things that are objectively not safe for him and high risk. Which has already happened.

And I also think, though this is way more Richard in my head than Richard in the text, knowing how considerate he is and the ways in which he pays attention to others, that if there is a level of deceit in his marriage —there may not be!—he wouldn't see a relationship with a man outside of a marriage to an unknowing woman as compatible because it wouldn't be The Right Thing To Do... at least at first.

POINT BEING, if Richard has already decided he needs a safety net, he cannot break up with Thomas in a way where he has to confront Thomas's reaction & response—because that would make him want to throw away the safety net, and he can't risk that.

So he sends a letter!

Richard Ellis could not have broken the news to Thomas in any other way than a letter because his whole plan would fall through the moment he heard anything remotely similar to "What about me?"

[larenoz]

Fic Rec - Reflections on the “open up my eager eyes” series

by @haloud

This is going to be a mix between fic review but mainly personal reflections on the stories. I promise no coherence or consistency whatsoever. Think incoherent ravings of a mad woman. It’s basically going to be raving about how much I love this series of stories. There will be sort-of spoilers. As always, read the tags and notes on the fics people.

Part 1 - tuck my hair behind my ears and touch my soul - Alex/Kyle, Michael - Kyle POV

This story kicks off my favourite Roswell, New Mexico fic series. It hooked me from the opening line, which is one of the best ever in the fandom, setting the scene perfectly - "It starts at the Wild Pony, that breeding ground for bad ideas."

This story is told from Kyle's POV and introduces us to an Alex and Michael who have found their balance, with themselves and with each other in a relationship with some dom/sub dynamics. It's a relationship that they invite Kyle into, initially for the night. While there's play with power dynamics and some angsty bits, the overall feel of this fic is intense but light? 

It's about everyone getting what they need, and in Kyle's case finding out what that need actually is. The characters are so spot on, an easy to believe extension of the characters we've seen on screen and come to love. 

Even when things get sexy and filthy and intense, there is still an underlying tenderness between the three of them that I just love. It's the combination of filthy hotness, believable characters and emotional connection that is complete catnip to me in a fic. 

There is a wealth of little details that give so much depth (story, character, emotions) to what is essentially an extended sex scene. In fact, they barely touch, the intensity generated by the emotional and mental connections that all three characters make. 

Part 2 - what yields the need for those who lead us - Alex, Kyle/Michael - Kyle POV

Kyle is back for another night with Alex and Michael, but with the D/s and physical aspects of the relationship turned up to 11. This one sees all three of them getting into the sexy action. 

But while the fic is smutty, Kyle never treats the underlying relationship that he is invited into as anything other than significant, and about so much more than sex - "I can do casual, but nothing about this feels casual to me." 

Both of these stories give us a slightly different take on the characters we already know. Alex’s iron control is re-purposed to give chaotic, adrift Michael freedom - by giving him boundaries, and to give Kyle freedom - by letting him give up some of the responsibility he carries everyday. Everyone gets something they need.

Part 3 - i just ask you to be patient - Michael/Kyle/Alex - Kyle POV

This story is about what comes after the amazing, kinky, hot sex. What happens when sex is off the table and they need to rely on their words? What happens when you put three people who’ve had their worlds shattered in different but inter-connected ways - together, trying to build something new? What we get is two steps forward and one step back. But that makes sense with these characters. Mis-steps through self-sacrifice and doubt. Not feeling worthy of love. The fear that comes with opening up your heart to other people. 

“I didn’t want to....take up too much space.” I mean, jesus. These boys.

Part 4 - a bookend to the weirdest of weeks - Michael/Kyle, Alex - Kyle POV

This one is all about Kyle. Not many fics have explored the impact of the revelations about Jim and Rosa on Kyle. What we’ve seen in the show hints that he has a really good relationship with his parents, probably the best out of all of the humans and so he had the most to lose when he found out the truth about Jim and what he did at Caulfield. This fic looks at how he deals with that and its specific impact on his relationship with Michael. 

Basically Kyle is a big ball of inherited guilt in this one. 

How do you build a relationship on the ashes of your fathers’ actions? How does Kyle deal with having “...two Jim Valenti’s living side by side in his mind to grieve…” In some ways it’s the perennial story of the parent we knew as a child versus the parent we see when we are adults. But it’s also about how do you reconcile your love for a parent when they have done something that has destroyed another person you love?

“Caulfield shattered Michael.” 

How do you grieve and think about forgiveness in those circumstances? How do you build on the ashes?

Part 5 - it’s a postcard, i’m settled - Kyle/Alex/Michael 

Domestic bliss, Michael loves a challenge and filthy, filthy smut. I love it.

Part 6 - the stumbling phase of the midnight waltz - Michael/Alex, Kyle - Michael POV

Not gonna lie, this one sort of hurts. This one is Michael slowly falling apart when Alex and Kyle aren’t there to help hold him together. Where Michael’s fear of abandonment led to some poor decision making, “...he left his phone under the bed, so the weight of silence didn’t hit so heavy.” He can pretend that he’s missing the calls because his phone isn’t there, not because no one is calling (even when they are).

Michael in this fic is just so fragile. It’s not an uncharacteristic version of Michael, but rather a version that we only ever see in flashes, easy to miss or ignore. But here, with nowhere to run and no one to hide behind, we see that fragility in its many forms. We know from previous fics that this Michael has been shattered by the events of his life and in this story we see those fractures grow and become more obvious.

But of course Alex, he sees and asks so gently “May I touch you?”, followed by “Are you ready for me to tell you what you need?”. Ahh, I love these boys.

Part 7 - blink back to let me know - Alex/Kyle - Alex POV

This one takes place immediately after the stumbling phase of the midnight waltz (previous fic). Alex is reaching out to Kyle for support, feeling raw after taking care of Michael. And Kyle uses his superpowers - communication, calm and support - to help Alex get back where he needs to be. This is an exploration of some of Alex and Kyle’s insecurities of brokenness, weakness and not belonging. But also of pieces fitting together.

Part 8 - i’ll be your key - Alex/Michael/Kyle - Michael POV

This is a story of spikiness and sharp edges. Of the fear and anger and frustration that comes with physical danger and not being able to protect the people we love. I love Michael’s concern for Kyle, his need to touch him, to make sure he’s alright but also his uncertainty that he is allowed to. Of Alex’s fear and anger at Kyle getting hurt, that it is his fault, a failure to protect him. Of Kyle’s frustration at tough guy bullshit and professional compromise. They are in a place where they are still finding their way, but are certain enough to tell each other the truth, but still living with the weight of legacy, guilt and insecurity.

But also where once they are sure Kyle is safe, Michael can be his dickish but likable self. 

Part 9 - tender, frantic, life-affirming - Kyle/Alex/Michael

This is all about the “tender, frantic, life-affirming sex” that Michael was angling for in the previous fic, but with a slightly lighter tone than the description would indicate.

Like so many of the stories in this series, even when we’re getting top shelf smut (which this is), we also get these small glimpses of the characters that gives them another texture, more depth - be it Alex’s sweet-shark smile, Michael being completely out of it or Kyle’s being overwhelmed. 

And I’m not gonna lie, I’m totally here for the dynamics in this one, which are masterful. Alex at his bossy, dommy best, Michael melting at being able to let go and just be, and Kyle giving and taking as needed.

Part 10 - say what’s on your mind - Kyle/Michael - Kyle POV

Names can be weapons, names can be shields, names have power - names are important. 

This story always hits me hard because name fics involving these characters are my kryptonite. I love them. This one is about Kyle and Michael calling him Doc. Because Kyle knows how much Michael fears hospitals, he questions why Michael calls him Doc. Kyle feels guilty, Michael thinks he’s fucked up, Alex drops everything to help. They are back to sharp edges, guilt and fear. I want to give them all hugs and a good talking to. 

Kyle runs, and Michael, god, Michael, he needs another fucking hug. 

But then, such heartbreaking tenderness and care.

Part 11 - give me all you’e got - Alex/Michael/Kyle 

Michael is getting better at asking for what he needs, and what he needs is Alex calling the shots for him and Kyle. Alex is happy to oblige. Porny, porn with feels. 

Conclusion

While the series is definitely about the three of them, it’s one of the few that explores in depth what a relationship between Michael and Kyle could look like. What the dynamics and emotions of that would look like, how they would both deal with not only their personal histories, but with the weight of family legacy.   

I love this series because we get angst and pain and hurt but we also get love and tenderness and protectiveness. We get harsh words but also soft touches. In a story about how three people find their balance with each other, the writing is perfectly balanced.  

I love everything about this series. It’s hot, it’s complicated, the characters read true and have depth and flaws and tenderness. It’s believable. It has everything I want in a fic. It really is word perfect. Go read them!!

open up my eager eyes by @haloud​

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1353715

[littlemisssquiggles]

We've seen Oscar extend a hand of mercy towards misguided foes such as Hazel in the show, but do you believe he would have the moral strength to risk his life and actively save someone whom he may dislike for personal reasons or would his doubts and reluctance win out over duty in the end?

Hello again Al. This is actually a pretty great question. One I’ve considered beforeand my Pinehead headcanon is that Oscar is a selfless kind of kid---the kind of hero in themaking with the drive to risk his life for someone regardless of feelings orany emotional attachment he had to said person. Oscar would do it because it’s the right thing. Oscar strikes me as the type to do everything in his power tohelp if he can and this is extended to anyone he meets; friend or foe. If Oscarwas willing to take the chance to attempt to reason with Hazel in spite ofknowing he’s the enemy then I think he would definitely attempt to save someone;again friend or foe, so long as it is within his power. And ironically enough,Oscar is the type of character to be that unapologeticallyselfless. Not only does he have thereincarnation granted by the God of Light but he also has the potential to usemagic. Magic, in Remnant is literally the power of the Gods bestowing its userswith abilities beyond the likes of anything one has seen.

If magic can be used to turn regularhuman beings into animals and empower them with the forces of nature then whatelse can magic do? Instead of developing a god complex, I can see Oscar comingto view himself as a self-sacrificing saviour willing to put his life on theline because in his mind; he is the one person who can make that daringsacrifice and not have any severe repercussions.

Unlike all those huntsmen andhuntresses who died throughout Remnant’s history to decide the fate ofhumanity, Ozpin---Ozma and the other Wizards of Light have the advantage ofreturning. When one of them dies, he returns as another. I can see Oscar willing to die because in his head, his death will mean something. If he’salready going to lose himself to becoming the life of another then shouldn’t heat least ensure that his life---the one he still has control of goes outmeaning something.

It is for this reason why I think should Salemthreaten to attack Atlas with her army of Winged Beringels, Oscar wouldn’thesitate to surrender himself. He’d willingly hand himself over to the enemy ifit meant protecting or ensuring the safety of a kingdom full of innocent lives.One life in exchange for the lives of millions. Oscar would make thatsacrifice. The only folks who might be against that are the people who careabout the boy---the smaller, more honest soul that is Oscar. I’m seriouslylooking forward to seeing how that part of the Atlas Arc plays out and hope itisn’t turned into a disappointing mess since it’s an opportunity to developOscar’s character.

I actually have two imagined scenariosthat can provide decent examples for Oscar’s noble side. Okay, so hear me outon this one. Once upon a time I was left a question prompt for any theories orideas for a Mombi/Tip interactions in RWBY. For my response, I depicted another bullycharacter reminiscent of CardinWinchester---a genderbent Mombi around Oscar’sage who acted as an antagonist to him during his attendance at Atlas Academy.For the sake of this theory, I will christen this boy Kid Mombi.

For this idea, it plays out similarlylike the events of Jaundice only with Oscar as the focus character. An Oscar-worthyarc of some sort. He attends Atlas. Unintentionally attracts the attention of alocal first year bully named Kid Mombi. Kid makes it his duty to ensure that Oscar’s first timeexperience at huntsmen academy is a living nightmare; harassing him to no endusing the detail about Oscar’s lack of experience as a huntsmen as a crutch tohumiliate him repeatedly. It gets to a point where Oscar becomes frustrated andconsiders quitting Atlas and being a huntsmen altogether. Fortunately he hadclose teammates such as Ruby and Jaune to help him through this tough ordeal.

Ruby offersto be Oscar’s Pyrhha---volunteering to aid him with hiscombat training through private lessons the two will share together. This is afeat I can definitely see Ruby doing for Oscar and she’s the most fittingcharacter to do this since she’s been in Oscar’s shoes before. She knows what it’slike to be the youngest huntsmen in an academy of older more experienced pupilsand have to work hard to prove her worth. Ruby was fortunate to have her familyand friends who believed in her and now she wishes to extend that hand toOscar; if he’d allow her.

I can see Oscar being firmly against thisidea at first due to his pride. But ultimately, he’d accept Ruby’s help. Thetwo start training together thus providing a good bolster for their budding friendship to blossom further.

On Jaune’s end; he offers Oscar someadvice on how to deal with Kid Mombi, using his experience with Cardin to offerOscar some guidance. This acts as a great bonding moment for Oscar and Jaune tofurther solicit the idea of him ultimately joining JNR to revive JNPR. Isincerely hope that part of V7’s storyline with Oscar is building upon his tieswith the JNR gang; particularly Jaune as he is the leader of the team.

I pray that partof Oscar’s side of things for the next volume is showing him developing therelationships that will be most detrimental to his character growth and story OUTSIDEOF HIS SHARED STORY WITH OZPIN. TheWriters need to invest time into developing Oscar as his own character. It isadmittedly very disappointing that even after a full three-seasoned arc, Oscar still feels lessas his own person and more as a vessel through which the CRWBY Writers canprogress Ozpin’s story. Even when Ozpin is taken out of the story, nothing muchhas been done for Oscar’s character. I find it kind of odd that the narrative triesto paint the consensus that Oscar is his  own person yet the writing has done little to nothingto truly justify that; at least in a way that feels satisfactory to those of us who genuinely want to see this done for Oscar. LikeI said, he needs this.

But to be fair, this is only my opinion and asalways feel free to respectfullydisagree if my words sound too harsh. At thispoint, I feel as if the only way the Writers plan on fleshing out Oscar isthrough his relationships. I’m okay with this if done right and with people whocare about Oscar for Oscar and not his connection to Ozpin. They’ve done wellenough so far with making Ruby someone on Oscar’s side.

Another example is his growing comraderywith the JNR gang, particularly Jaune. I can see the JNR gang becoming Oscar’sfamily team---his brothers and sister in arm and I want this dynamic so badly.More than that, I want Oscar to earn this relationship of his own accord. Iwant to see Oscar prove that he would make a worthy addition to the JNR gang. I’dlove to see more moments of Oscar bonding with each member of JNR. Ren includedbecause as of now he’s the one person that Oscar hasn’t shared a bonding momentwith. 

This is why I like the idea of Ren being the one to suggest to Jaune tohave Oscar join their team. Jaune andNora have more or less had their moments with Oscar. Now all I need is one withRen to complete that trinity.

I will be most displeased if the CRWBYWriters end up glossing over this development too and just have V7 begin withOscar already being a part of the reformed JNPR without showing how it got tothat. But I digress.

Going back to my example: so in theend, Oscar grows stronger through the help of his friends. It gets to a pointwhere he’s able to use what he learnt from them to protect Kid Mombi during atraining session that goes haywire. In spite of everything he put him through; Oscar saves Kid and in a twist, earns his respect. After this, Kid stops bullying Oscar and instead learns torespect him as a fellow huntsman. That’s one example involving a potential RWBYcharacter.

My next example is based on a theorywhere Oscar winds up unintentionallykilling Tyrion Callows. I know most fansare probably expecting Jaune Arc to be the one to do that but once more, hear me out. This theoryplays into my musing about Ruby andOscar being kidnapped by Tyrion to be taken to Salem only for the Rosebuds to make their daring escape; winding up stranded in the middle ofthe Dark Domain where they are forced to make the trek back to civilization.Granted there was one in such a dark world.

After failing to bring the children toher, Salem mercilessly disowns Tyrion for his failure, practically leaving himleft for dead in the Dark Domain too. This sends Tyrion into a psychoticbreakdown where he vows to hunt down Ruby and Oscar and bring them back to his goddess;dead or alive if he must.

So Tyrion begins his pursuit of thechildren and at some point, he manages to track down Ruby and Oscar. During hisassault, Tyrion poisons Ruby and threatens to take her life in front of Oscarif he didn’t play ‘good lil boy’ and surrender himself to him.

My Pineheadheadcanon is that should there be a standalone Dark Domain Arc involving Ruby and Oscar surviving together, it would provide theperfect setting for Oscar to hone his magical abilities. I still stand by myhunch where part of Oscar’ssemblance will enable him to take back Ozma’s magic from a Maiden; startingwith Cinder Fall.

In the event that the CRWBY Writersplan on keeping Cinder in the main narrative and not have her killed off inAtlas, I can still see Cinderthreatening Ruby’s life before Oscar with him unlocking his semblance to saveher.

I’ve heard a number of ideas for Oscar’ssemblance from fellow Pineheads and RWBY theorists. But for this squigglemeister, I’m still sticking with his semblancebeing Nullification or Negation. I still feel as if Oscar willpossess the power to render another’s semblance useless; maybe even temporarilydisable it.

I also like this concept for theadditional detail of it having a unique effect on the Maidens. If Ozma possessed the ability to bestow his magicto the Maidens as he did in Isaac’s lifetime as the Hermit then I believe itwould be most fitting if Oscar’s truepower allows him to take that magic back. So inthe event that Cinder shows up, Oscar will relinquish her of her Fall Maidenmagic, rendering her powerless while he in turn regains a portion of hisoriginal magical strength; making him stronger than the average Maiden.

So resuming my point with the DarkDomain Arc, my hunch is that during this potential storyline, Oscar would beforced to master full control of his magic since it plays an important role inhis and Ruby’s survival in the Dark Lands. While Ruby’s Silver Eyes kept themsafe from the Grimm, my belief is that Oscar’s magic offered them nourishmentand accommodation. Like since magic provides control of elements without theuse of dust, I figured it could be used to perform feats like manifest a rockenclosure for Oscar and Ruby to camp during their travels; create fire out ofthin air to keep them warm during the nights; grow food (or the closest thingto it) out the soil for them to eat.

I know the food part sounds a lilfarfetched. However in the World of Remnant episode on the Four Maidens, therewas a shot of the original Spring Maiden growing a sunflower in the palm of herhand I believe. It’s not even to say that she had a sunflower seed in her handthat she turned into a flower. She literally conjured it out of thin air. So ifmagic can do that then surely Oscar would be able to grow some kind of food tohelp him and Ruby through the trek. Even if it’s something as small as himgrowing a small apple tree out of thin air that him and Ruby could pick from.Oscar and Ruby are the two known beings in the series who share the God of Light’slight within them. Ruby has his eyes which can combat the Grimm and Oscar hasthe gift he gave to humanity centuries ago. That’s bound to count for somethingbut who knows.

Anyways, Tyrion threatens to kill Rubyand in a heated rage, Oscar uses his magic to subdue Tyrion. But to Oscar’sastonishment and Ruby’s; the kind of magic he manifests was one he’d never usedbefore. It was a darker kind of magic---one more akin to Salem’s. I can picture Tyriontaunting Oscar. Mocking him just to further enrage him. And when Oscar’s guardis down, he lunges to finish off the subdued Ruby only for Oscar to use hisdark magic again; putting Tyrion in such a tight death grip that heaccidentally crushes the Faunus; killing him in the process.

Imagine…Oscar using dark magic and his first act isusing it to kill someone out of unbridled rage. I can imagine Oscar being horrified by this. Even though Ruby does her best to comfort him and assure Oscarthat everything was going to be okay, Oscar is left traumatized at what he haddone. While Tyrion was an enemy. 

Someone Oscar tremendously disliked since heplayed a hand in Salem’s scheme to conquer Atlas kingdom; separating him and Rubyfrom their allies who they weren’t sure were still alive or dead. Despite beingthe reason the two rosebuds wound up stranded in the Dark Domain far away fromthe security of their loved ones on their own. In spite of the grief thescorpion Faunus had caused them, Oscar believed he didn’t deserve to die theway he did. By his hands. With his power. Something that was meant to be good. Do good.

It was the first time Oscar had comeclose to being exactly likeSalem and that thought frightened him most ofall.

So yeah, that’s my answer. Does this answer your question Al? Let me know if it does and as always, thanks for asking fam.

 ~LittleMissSquiggles(2019)

[moriganstrongheart]

Graphic Novel #1: Overviews & Outlines

I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to talk about when it came to the graphic novel. At first, I wanted to write about the characters, the process of making layouts or worldbuilding in general. However, I don't feel comfortable discussing these topics without illustrations to support them. I will eventually discuss them, but I've decided to wait until after I've gotten my new tablet so I can produce rendered illustrations, and my current 4GB RAM computer simply can't handle that.

The good news is I should be getting my new computer this week. The bad news is that I had already gotten it last week, but it blue screened immediately due to bad memory. The whole thing hit me pretty hard, so I needed the week to recoup and replace the computer.

All this to say that I decided to finally write out a more complete outline of the graphic novel's narrative. And once I was finished the outline, I started thinking a lot about the themes that had naturally developed throughout.

I don't want to get into specifics just yet—partly because of spoilers—mostly because the story is very malleable right now, especially when it comes to the later story arcs.

I realized that the dominant theme had inadvertently become psychological egoism—the concept that everyone works in their self-interest, even when performing some form of altruism. For a specific example: if someone decides to help someone else cross a busy street, psychological egoism proposes they are not doing it out of a sense of self-sacrifice, but instead because it benefits them in some way. The person doing the good deed is not necessarily aware that they are performing this action selfishly, and may believe the action is actively harming them in some way, though the altruistic return makes it worth their self-sacrifice.

To be clear, working in one's own self-interest is not inherently bad. The common belief in society is that if one is acting in one's own self-interest, then we are a horrible person, worthy of derision. But we've also seen in recent years that self-care is important to one's well-being, and self-care can be defined as "working towards one's self-interests". The concept of self-care proposes that one must first think of one's own needs before those of others, or else become overwhelmed by one's perceived responsibilities.

I believe the natural conclusion of psychological egoism is essentially the same; if someone is not properly self-interested, they risk bringing misery and harm on themselves and those around them. In other words, if one doesn't accept and acknowledge that their actions are inherently selfish, they're more likely to be miserable if they believe that their actions are for the good of others and so warrant additional sacrifice.

However, I don't think the concept that being selfish causes harm comes out of nowhere. Making decisions to further one's interest in the short term can cause real damage, especially if the long-term effects are not considered. Short-term gains are often transitory and fleeting, but offer the clearest rewards to those seeking them. For a specific example: an employer may bend their ethics in order to squeeze more money out of their employees, and then wonder why the public no longer trusts them or why they can't retain employees. They are acting selfishly, but don't consider the long-term effects and so reap the consequences of their decisions.

So to be truly aware of psychological egoism is to understand that our actions are made in our own self-interests and we should be much more mindful of how our decisions impact not only our own well-being, but also the people and systems that support our well-being, or:

Take care of yourself, but don't be a dick about it.

If it wasn't clear, I believe that psychological egoism is an accurate assessment of human behaviour, and I do my best to live my life within the parameters it sets. It's no wonder, then, that learning to be selfish the right way ended up being the core theme for my graphic novel, as well as being at the centre of the primary protagonist's character growth.

At first, I thought Morigan (the aforementioned protagonist) didn't have a character arc. I see things differently now, though I still think her development doesn't fit the traditional hero's journey mould. She ends up being the same, ruthless, foul-mouthed person that she started as, except that she comes to realize that her selfish decisions are negatively affecting herself and those she cares about, and decides to be more mindful of how her decisions rippled beyond the immediate.

In short, she learns to take care of herself, but not to be a too much of a dick about it.

I also cover some other minor themes throughout the narrative, in no specific order:

Police brutality

Systemic oppression

Separation of church and state

Exploitation of immigrants

Late stage capitalism

Post-war culture

Expansionism

Anti-work

Streamer culture

Effects of social media

Sheltered upbringing

Cultural awareness

Education vs experience

Military industrial complex

PTSD

Trauma

Ostracization

Class War

Wage gap

Religious fanaticism

Nature of the Soul

Determinism

Found family

The above list is most likely not comprehensive, as it's just what I could think of at the time of writing this.

These themes are issues I personally care about, and so my primary concern while writing is really to treat these topics with the respect they deserve. Because without proper attention, the inclusion of something like systemic racism can trivialize the real-life struggles people deal with everyday, especially in speculative fiction.

I'm sure we've all seen it before; aliens and fantasy races are most often stand-ins for people of colour, and they are almost always aggressors. Even in cases where the comparison is intentional—like the orcs in Bright—writers fail to take into account why systemic oppression would exist in the first place. In cases where it's unintentional—like the goblins in Harry Potter—it becomes a debate among the audience whether or not the author should be held responsible for reinforcing destructive prejudice.

The lesson seems to be that worldbuilding and theming should be deliberate, with mindful application of real world issues so that those that struggle with them find themselves being represented or empowered instead of ridiculed.

If you are an artist or an editor and have interest in being a part of this project, feel free to contact me