#and i will also unapologetically give her a sort of redemption arc

[maranull]

I'm too late for Bim's blorbo post, but it made me realise that Marika has climbed into blorbo status while I wasn't looking.

What the hell. Who let her do that?

[correlance]

I don't see this topic discussed very often, but Alastor is such a great foil and antagonist for Charlie, and a catalyst for her character arc.

In any narrative, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character, typically, a character who contrasts with the protagonist, in order to better highlight or differentiate certain qualities of the protagonist. A foil to the protagonist may also be the antagonist of the plot. [...] A protagonist is the story's main character, whose actions help propel the plot forward. An antagonist, while often a secondary character, is pivotal in creating compelling narratives by introducing challenges and conflicts for the protagonist to overcome. These two characters are seen as opposing forces serve as the driving forces behind the plot; with the protagonist representing the hero or central figure of the story, and the antagonist acting as the main adversary. Together, they create a dynamic, and often complex, relationship that draws readers and audiences into the narrative, leaving them invested in the outcome of the conflict between the two. [...] The protagonist's journey often involves some sort of personal growth or transformation, as they learn important lessons or face significant challenges [from the antagonist] that shape their character.

When we look at Alastor and Charlie as separate characters, they couldn't be more opposite from one another. Whereas Charlie is sincere, genuinely friendly, innocent, naïve, trusting, believes that there is good in everyone, finds hope in redemption, and is one of the most pure-hearted souls in Hell, Alastor is steeped in sin. He is a remorseless narcissist and sociopath who enjoys torturing and killing others; in life, he was a serial killer who targeted the "scum of the Earth" - abusers, rapists, murderers, etc. - for amusement, entertainment, and to enact his brand of "divine justice" on the guilty.

He is someone who is unapologetic, or even gleeful, about giving others the comeuppance that he believes that they deserve. Alastor thinks that "there is no undoing what is done", and that sinners in Hell - himself included - deserve eternal punishment, whereas Charlie wants sinners to be redeemed, and find eternal happiness, peace, and bliss in Heaven. There two couldn't have more opposing views that clash with one another; and, yet, Alastor and Charlie usually get along quite well, and are well-matched in other personality aspects, such as enjoying music, dancing, and working as business partners.

Alastor's character traits also balance out Charlie's traits well. Whereas Charlie is innocence, Alastor is experience; whereas Charlie is naïve and trusting, Alastor is shrewd, calculating, and mistrusting; and, when Charlie needs assistance in her darkest hour, Alastor appears to help her, serving a role as both her friend (i.e. shared interests) and her antagonist (i.e. having conflicting goals and beliefs), with the latter role being important in Charlie's character development in Season 2 and beyond. Without Alastor, there is no development for Charlie.

The entire purpose of the antagonist in a story is to shape, mold - or "guide", as Alastor puts it - the protagonist (Charlie), and serve as a catalyst for character growth. In Charlie's case, we have a classic case of what the Germans call a blindungsroman, or "a story that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood". From a character standpoint, Charlie is still in the "childhood" stage, but Alastor wants to help transition Charlie from "childhood" into "adulthood", and from "innocence" into "experience", in what one writer termed "the crucible of youth".

"The German word 'Bildung' is both a thing and a process, originally referring in a Medieval Christian context to how God actively transforms the passive soul of the believer. If sin deforms the believer, the sinner must passively prepare to receive God's grace, and this passive reception is a kind of molding by God to prepare the sinner's soul for redemption. From the very beginning of the idea of Bildung, the word identifies how people become who they are, and it has always assumed that 'becoming' is never simply an act of the individual will. [...] A universal truth seems constant...reaching maturity is often achieved at great cost, and only after severe heartbreak."

[scarycranegame]

here's part 2 of my 50 follower special!! for people who've just joined us here, i present to you...

MY BEEFY DIE FANDOM OPINIONS MEME!! ft. an in-depth explanation of each entry

sorry for slightly off-model drawings, it was my first time drawing a lot of these guys so. bear with me LMAO

explanations under the cut!

favorite character:

okay you probably saw this one coming but. yes. the rumor come out. i enjoy yellow face immensely. and it's not just because hes a silly goober guy (even though he is that too); it's mostly because i think he fits my personal favorite character archetype of "morally dubious business guy who's at least a little bit mentally unstable" particularly well, specifically in the sense that he does it in a way that isn't the stereotypical "sophisticated mastermind bad-boy sexyman" schtick... like. he's weird. he's unapologetically weird. he's a very non-standard character design in a world of already unorthodox characters, and he manages to give off an ominous yet innocuous vibe without being too on-the-nose about it; and on top of that, the show doesn't even really take it too seriously, so it doesn't really overstay its welcome for me :) also i just think hes really cute lol

liked by everyone but me:

alright this is a really unpopular opinion.. i get why people like them, but i just. don't, personally. since x is in another entry i'm just gonna cover four here. for starters, i really don't like four's voice; it's the one "annoying" voice in the series that i just can't look past.. besides that, though, i feel like his redemption arc & sympathetic portrayal in post-split doesn't really make sense for his character? because he doesn't really seem to feel bad, and the rest of the characters just. instantly forgive him without any notion that he actually intends to improve as a person... and then he doesn't, because in tpo.t, he goes right back to hurting people the exact same way with absolutely no consequences or remorse; basically making that whole arc irrelevant. like.. something's not adding up here. either post split or tpo.t's portrayal is incorrect.

didn't like at first:

this one was kind of a tough choice for me because i don't remember ever genuinely disliking a contestant when i initially got into this show? but i can say that i did find gelatin to be kind of. annoying. and the best part is that it's for a really silly reason that, in retrospect, doesn't even make too much sense? like. okay i first got into this show in middle school, and my first ever season was b.fb, and when i first saw it i was a HUGE donut stan (part of me still is LOL); so when i saw him yelling at gelatin all the time i just sort of. inexplicably started disliking gelatin for absolutely no reason. literally that's it that's the whole reason i initially didn't like gelatin. anyways hes one of my favorite characters now and honestly i couldn't tell you why (also sorry hes. very poorly drawn in this image. it was my first time drawing a lot of these characters)

would like to know more about:

golfie!! i like her a lot; i related to her a bunch when i first watched the show (especially since my best friend at the time was basically a carbon copy of tennis ball), and i'm really intrigued by her need for constant control over everyone on any given team she's part of, and how she began her career in science/inventing! it seems interesting that more recent bfd.ia seems to make this dichotomy between her and tennis ball, suggesting that she's more skilled than he is and/or has been inventing things for longer than he has.. also ofcourse there's the whole science museum "bozo" debacle from i.dfb, which shouldn't come as a surprise in that it intrigues me just as much as everything else about her character... maybe that's why she's so obsessed with being in control? also who the hell was after her in that scene?

least favorite character

people are really not gonna like me for this, but i genuinely hate x with every fiber of my being LMAO.. while it is mostly for personal reasons, it's also because 1. much like four, i find his voice really annoying, and 2. he kind of. never really does anything. he's sort of just a plot device at best, and at worst he literally just stands there and does nothing. even when he's the host in b.fb 9, he's tragically inept and does nothing of note at all. he's barely a character without four around (he literally sits down and gives up in the last few episodes of b.fb), and it's really disappointing because he could've been an interesting character foil to four! but he just. wasn't. all he really was is a "cute uwu cinnamon roll".

like the design, dislike the character

okay this one's a little biased because i'm still mad that bomby was partially why yellow face got eliminated in bfd.ia 9, but besides that, i think a bomb character is a really good concept!! a contestant that's both useful in a practical sense and useful in terms of themselves as an individual!! ...too bad bomby is basically just 2 running jokes in a bomb-shaped trenchcoat. literally, as far as i'm concerned, the only time he's ever actually done anything is when he explodes; and besides that he's just sort of. there to fill up empty space (and also get yellow face eliminated that one time in the stupidest possible way). i get it, it's an object show, but i really would've enjoyed bomby a lot more if he had a distinct personality instead of being. well. little more than an object.

like the character, dislike the design

this one i also struggled with but i eventually settled on naily! in terms of her character, i think she's an absolute delight to watch, and she's one of the rare instances of a running joke not overstaying it's welcome and actually seeming charming and witty!! i think she's a good example of a quirky and cute yet mischievous character, which i see a lot of people attempting to do with characters of their own and missing the mark just a little bit. in short, she really does nail it in terms of characterization!! the only gripe i have though is her design.. something about how her legs are kind of. behind each other. and how her face/head is just. flat. it really doesn't sit right with me.. and i don't even really know how i would change it! it's just.. slightly offputting to me.

similar personality

ironically (due to my previous entry), i think that the character i'm most like in terms of personality is price tag!! i consider myself to be pretty expressive and upbeat (or at least, i try to be a lot of the time; if i get too stoic i tend to get sad and that kinda results in a Not Great Time™), and as you might've been able to tell by the things i do here on this blog, i'm just a bit mischievous. a little bit silly. one might even say devious. but what you don't know is that in most situations where there's a bit of a problem, i tend to try and think of the most creative but rational solution (doing so, as far as i'm aware, results in a higher chance of compromise among others)! (also, yes, i can indeed do the :3 face)

fav ship

i've been a fries/puffball enjoyer since day 1, i'm not even gonna lie here LMAO.. to be fair, i enjoy a lot of other ships very immensely, too, but something about the fact that they seem to respect each other as equals and be on the same page a lot of the time just really gets me... like. they give power couple vibes; instead of trying to gain some sort of leverage over the other or reveling in the leverage they might already have over the other, they seem to decide to be strong together and sort of. combine their strength. and yeah i know people are gonna argue "b-but c.oinpin!!" well what about the bfd.ia thing from tpo.t 2. they never actually resolved that. dont even get me started on f.ireafy (someone else made a really good post on them) or t.engolf ("gb always said it was handy to treat your friend like a tool!!!") p.uffries forever lol

least fav ship

oh this one's biased as hell because. you know how i am about yellow face. but i actually have a legitimate reason to dislike y.ellowclock besides that!! okay so i made an analysis document that i've never released here regarding yellow face as a character, and while making that document i noticed that. during tpo.t 2, when clock is bitching about winner leaving to go recover bottle, yellow face backs away, which, to me, implies that he's. kinda sick of clock's shit. he doesn't wanna deal with his and winner's drama. and then in tpo.t 3 he straight up says clock is a boring person. and yeah people cite that episode as like. y.ellowclock genesis or whatever. but then if that was true then what the hell is up with yellow face in tpo.t 10? he still doesn't seem to care about clock and winner!! honestly it just never made any sense to me..

would befriend irl

okay im gonna be honest. i really like two as a host.. i liked them from the beginning!! even when they were kinda snarky and condescending, they were a lot nicer than four, and were even willing to give up their power as a prize for a silly little contest!! and that's not even mentioning their dynamic with gaty and their sympathy towards clock in tpo.t 7.. just. they genuinely seem really generous and caring and i think they'd be really cool to hang out with and talk to... coincidentally they're also one of my favorite characters (and my favorite host as well) so that's a plus also; 10/10 would help them plan the next beefy die season

would never befriend irl

even though i love blocky with all my heart as a character, i don't think i wanna be involved in potentially lethal pranks... it would either end in him killing me or both of us going to jail forever.. or, alternatively, if i tried to go the "i can fix him" route, i'd end up paying an ungodly amount of money for his therapy bill (i doubt he'd pay with his own money, even though his show probably makes a lot of money lmao) and then just never get paid back... or, alternatively, i'd end up in the same boat as woody when he joined the blocky corporate conglomerate (at least, prior to b.fb 29.. actually i feel like i should mention that i'm talking specifically about blocky pre-split and back, he actually seems pretty okay in post-split)

...and that's it!!

it's been a wild ride (and a pretty long one too) but i really hope you enjoyed reading this, even if you have different opinions from mine! again, thank you all so much for getting me to 50 followers; i'm so grateful that all of you have decided to tune in to the nonsense words that i post every so often, and i hope you'll stick around long enough to see the next milestone special!! <3

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

Recently I refound a screenshot I took with a post from Twitter that frustrated me and seeing @kitkatopinions post reminded me about it and I kind of sort of ish touched on it in my reblog but I realized it would be a king winding tangent and I should make me own post but the thing that started all of this was the point about so called “irredeemable” characters and the post in question was talking about how we all think Ruby WILL save Salem. Not might or maybe. Not defeat Salem but SAVE her and between that and the comment about irredeemable characters I have thoughts.

As you hopefully know I am not against redemption arcs. I like them a lot. One of my all time favorite arcs is Zuko’s redemption and his reunion with Iroh. It’s an amazing arc amazing storytelling brilliant. However what frustrated me about fans of the show excited to see Ruby “save” Salem is that these same fans insist that their are other characters who are “irredeemable” and that is it “wrong” to even write fanfics that redeem them. And it continually blows my mind that fans can insist that no matter what Salem, the woman who wants to end the entire world and has killed at least thousands and possible more, will be redeemed and in the same breath insist that despite her heinous and vile actions, her victims are somehow WORSE and no matter what CANNOT be saved.

How has the fndm deluded themselves into thinking that if Salem can be redeemed their are characters who are somehow off the table on the whole redemption thing. She has killed so many, manipulated used broken so many people. But somehow, this isn’t a problem for them. It’s not a deal breaker for them while things like robbing stores or making a morally gray decision in the middle of a nightmare scenario….is?

Like if we’re going to be setting hard lines on what makes a person redeemable vs not Salem should be considered someone in the irredeemable category. Especially if we’re going to pretend that characters like James, Adam and Torchwick are irredeemable the person whose done worse and on larger scale bad thing then them should also be cool spidered irredeemable. Her being a uwu sad woman doesn’t erase the horrific things she’s done and the harm she’s caused.

However, if RW/BY wants to be a hopepunk….then it doesn’t make sense for anyone to be considered irredeemable. As I’ve said, what’s more hopeful, you or a loved one forever being doomed to be evil once you make a mistake or knowing that their is hope and goodness inside someone, no matter how buried and hard to find it is, it’s still their if you’re willing to fight for it.

I would much rather have a Ruby who unapologetically declares “I know you think you’re too far gone. I know you think the darkness has swallowed you so deep their is no way the light can even find you. But you’re wrong. I’ll be your light. I’ll guide you out of the darkness and back into the light because I refuse to ever leave anyone behind.” Over one who says “well sorry you passed your amount of evil things you’re allowed to do before I abandon you so…sucks to be you pal you’re forever evil now.

Hopepunks are supposed to be stories that whole feel hopeless, refuse to give up on hope. They are determined to bring hope and joy to the hopeless. Hope in a hopepunk is even an act of rebellion. And what better world to have hope be rebellion then a world torn by war against what feels like and endless army of soulless monsters, where people are so desperate to survive they are willing to compromise their morals in the name of surviving. A world that have given up on kindness meaning anything. Let Ruby’s kindness be rebellion. Let her refusal to give up on hope and kindness show a world shrouded in darkness that they can still be kind and have hope.

One of my all time favorite redemption arcs is Zuko’s, and something about it I adore and gets me emotional every time is the reunion between Zuko and Iroh. At this point, Zuko is sure his uncle can’t and won’t ever forgive him and he’s certain that it’s what he deserves but he still feels he at least owes him an apology so he does. But instead of being angry and rejecting Zuko, Iroh hugs him, he loves him and assures him that he wasn’t angry, just sad he lost his way. And he was so grateful and happy that he found his way again. Imagine a Ruby like that who doesn’t hate those who’ve lost their way, who only wants to help them find their way back if they do get lost. Yes I’m channeling a fair bit of Iroh and Sora in my discussion of how I want Ruby to be but they are such perfect examples of what the show teased us Ruby would be like.

And no, it would not be weak or childish or whatever other insult you want to throw at her for Ruby to be like this. Maybe naive but….isn’t Ruby holding onto her ideals in the face of adversity so much better though? Her seeing the unthinkable and surviving a living nightmare but still having hope and still showing kindness is so powerful. Her offering forgiveness to those who hurt her because she believes in a United world and wants to be the change she so desperately wants to see. We where teased at this Ruby but it just didn’t happen.

The fndms insistence that certain characters aren’t deserving of redemption only serves to weaken Ruby as this simple soul who will save the world. A simple soul doesn’t arbitrarily decide who can be saved and who can’t. They don’t abandon people who need them the most. They just unapologetically help people. They show kindness and compassion to everyone around them. That is the kind of character RW/BY promised with Ruby, not this person who abandons people when it gets hard or who runs away crying and waiting for the solution to just fall into her lap. And I don’t understand why the fndm insists the Ruby we have is even remotely as good as the Ruby we where promised.

Give me a Ruby who believes no one is ever too far gone. Give me a Ruby who truly and unapologetically fights for ever life.

[kimium]

For the character ask: Natsu (fairy tail) and/or Junko (danganronpa)

(From this ask HERE)

Thanks, Anon! You picked some great characters! This is long, so the rest is under the cut!

Natsu (Fairy Tail)

Sexuality headcanon

Natsu is bi/pansexual. To me he is the kind of person to not really notice gender, but rather someone's fighting ability/kindness. He has shades of himbo, which probably adds to me thinking he thinks all genders are cool and interesting.

2. OTP

I really like NaLu (Natsu/Lucy). I think the big reason why I like it is because they are friends first and foremost. They bicker, care, and support one another as friends. So, even if I didn't ship them, I would be on board with them as friendship duo. However, since I ship them I think their friendship is an excellent springboard for romance. Many straight ships in media just bank on the characters being together because "they're a man and a woman", but have no chemistry. I think Natsu and Lucy have a ton of chemistry and thus they're my OTP.

3. BROTP

Natsu and Sting both have dumbass energy that when combined create an even stronger dumbass. I really love their interactions during the tournament arc and I like how they're sort of foils of one another, with Sting also being a bit of a hot-head.

4. NOTP

Natsu/Erza. To me they have sibling energy with Erza as the older sister and Natsu her little brother. They both care for one another and are there to hold one up, but both have some dumbass energy that's just enough for them to both get into stupid situations of their own doing.

5. First headcanon that pops into my head

It's been a long while since I watched Fairy Tail so I cannot remember if this is canon, but I think Natsu loves spicy food. Not only does he like spicy food, but it doesn't affect him. He can eat some of the hottest peppers in the world and barely flinch while others are Dying.

6. Favourite line from this character

Oh boy... there are simply too many episodes and lines for me to remember. So, I think I'll go with a scene, because that's easier. I have two scenes in mind.

The first scene is during the tournament arc when Natsu says something along the lines of "one point matters in the end" as he's competing in his first "battle". What I like about this line is how Natsu believes in always giving things your all, even if you think you're going to "lose". I think that mindset is very important for people to have, especially young kids, who don't know how to deal with loss and try to give up.

The next scene is a softer one: it's when Natsu first sees Zeref during the S-Wizard rank arc. I like this scene because upon first watch, everyone is as confused as Natsu. However, if you re-watch the scene, the tragedy, joy, heartbreak, and sorrow are so plain to see in Zeref's face that for a moment he forgets everything except Natsu.

7. One way in which I relate to this character

I think I relate the most to Natsu's unwavering kindness. He sees the best in people and that's how Lucy entered the guild: he simply believed she's a good person and gave her a chance. And that's what Natsu represents to me: chances. He never believes people cannot have another chance at redemption and that's a quality I think is very admirable.

8. Thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

Look, if I named everything Natsu does that gives me second hand embarrassment, we'd be here all day. He's just a goofy character and unapologetically living his best life. I suppose if I had to pick one thing it would be the motion sickness? But that's a shared trait all dragon slayers possess, so it's not just Natsu who embarrasses me.

9. Cinnamon roll or Problematic Fave?

This boy is the very definition of a cinnamon roll.

Junko Enoshima (Danganronpa)

I'm forewarning everyone: Junko is the character in Danganronpa I am the most "head empty" about. This doesn't mean I don't like her, it's just I'm pretty neutral.

Sexuality headcanon

I don't really have a sexuality headcanon for Junko. I just don't think Junko has ever thought about her sexuality and wouldn't care about gender. If she is looking for someone to date then she'd want someone who is interesting and not boring, which whittles the cast down to like two people? I think?

2. OTP

I don't really have a ship for Junko. I know in the light novel, DR0, she has an interesting relationship with Matsuda, but since I haven't really read the light novel (just a summary) I don't have an opinion.

3. BROTP

Again, I don't really have a clue. I guess if we went with a "non despair AU" then I think Junko and Naegi being a BROTP would be hilarious. Mostly because I think it would consist of a Very Confused, but Polite Naegi and a Junko who goes around calling Naegi her "bestie".

4. NOTP

I don't ship Junko with anyone so therefore I don't have a NOTP with her too.

5. First headcanon that pops into my head

Junko spent WEEKS deciding what Monokuma looks like and what kind of voice and personality she wanted to give Monokuma. Like, she literally did not sleep for almost an entire week planning what she wanted for Monokuma. All the Monokumas we see in Towa City are either beta concepts she scrapped or ideas she wanted to implement but didn't fit the "school" vibe she wanted. Also in this process I think she sewed a lot of stuffies and thus her (and Mukuro's) room were covered in bear plushies.

6. Favourite line from this character

I think my favourite line from her is from Danganronpa: Another Episode (Ultra Despair Girls), "Oh well. I suppose I'll leave the rest to you. Though, the next time I see you you'll be someone else entirely. I hope the future is one you cannot predict."

I think I like this line because it's directed to Kamukura and the call back to SDR2 (since you play SDR2 before AE, even if in the timeline SDR2 is after) makes me so happy.

7. One way in which I relate to this character

Junko is a twin and so am I. The thought of what she did to Mukuro, while utterly horrific and tragic, is strangely something I can understand as an act to "create despair." Not just for Mukuro who was betrayed but for Junko who did the betraying.

8. Thing that give me second hand embarrassment about this character

In the final trial for DR1 when she's flipping through personas and lands on the really crass one with her tongue sticking out... yeah... I know that her personalities are reflecting the final members of the trial (so this one is for Touko), but yeah... never liked that.

9. Cinnamon roll or Problematic Fave?

I want you to take Problematic Fave, put it at the beginning of the spectrum, then put Junko as FAR AWAY to the other side of the spectrum. That's just how much of a problematic fave she is.

[my-bated-breath]

Closing Thoughts on Vincenzo

No one asked, but here you go.

I watched the last two episodes of Vincenzo yesterday, but even in the midst of my viewing experience I was able to synthesis and analyze what I was enjoying and not-enjoying, what worked and what didn’t work (for me), so that itself says something about how immersive it was. Of course, Vincenzo is a great show — the action is sharp and satisfying, the schemes are elaborate and spectacular, the humor is cracky yet genuine, and the characters are so, so lovable. And I loved the romance side plot, because yes, I am weak. Still, the last 2-4 episodes strained some of that, and this is my take on why I felt not exactly disappointed, but underwhelmed in the final stretch. I’m also including what I did like at the very end, as that makes sense with how I’m structuring this kind-of-analysis.

spoilers below

Tension, Stakes, and Pay-off

The tension in Vincenzo has been ramped up ever since the death of Vincenzo’s mother, loudly and painfully declaring in that moment that “this is not a game” (contrary to Vincenzo telling Hanseok in jail that he’s toying with him). This leads to a chilling confrontation between Vincenzo and the antagonists while also uniting the residents of Geumga in all-out, unapologetic war. And there is no more game of chess — just one of cat and mouse, with Vincenzo descending upon his prey.

Hence, Vincenzo is noticeably less soft, and he strikes Babel with the steel of his resolve. His schemes feel much more sinister than mischievous as they had been before; he is ending this, once and for all. So, how does the show amp up the tension and stakes from there?

Well, it’s all in what I said before. The tension is teased out in Vincenzo stealing everything Hanseok has ever treasured and then taunting/threatening him in prison, and then with the Babel villains descending into chaos and desperation. The stakes, however, are less noticeable, because Vincenzo is kind of obviously winning. The stakes have already been established with Vincenzo’s mother, then paid off with her death, and then paid off even more with Vincenzo mercilessly seizing the upper hand.

That’s why I feel like Myunghee and Hanseo’s death just... happened. Because it’s been 3 whole episodes since Vincenzo has founded this new resolve, that sort of dragged out follow-up loses its thrill and gratification. They’ve been defeated now, completely and totally. But so what? They’ve been on the losing end for more than 3 hours of screen time now, and even their last resort of a counterattack didn’t hold much narrative weight (which is something I’ll get to later). Their deaths are not boring to say the least — I saw a post that said something similar to “Myunghee, a woman who danced to the music of others’ pain, died dancing to her own” and “Hanseo, a man with no heart, has a hole drilled into that empty cavity.”

But their deaths also happen very isolated from everyone else, not just physically, but emotionally as well. It’s almost as if Vincenzo’s clapping his hands and saying, “Let’s wrap this up now, I’m getting a little tired.” And while I wouldn’t say their deaths are unnecessarily cruel, given everything they’ve done, I don’t think Vincenzo does this in response to anything particularly substantial. Is this for his mother’s death? For Chayoung’s injury? For everyone else? Well, maybe, but it sure didn’t feel like he was contemplating that during or after torturing them. If I put the Vincenzo from the beginning of the show there in those two scenes vs Vincenzo from the end of the show, post character development and all, I think the only difference would be that beginning-of-the-show Vincenzo would still be unfamiliar with Babel’s crimes and see this as a waste of time.

A sort of side note: Now, one of the strong points of this show is its use of comedy in its otherwise very serious schemes (I still thinking about episodes 8 and 15 all the time). But with the impending climax and increasingly serious tone, there was no comedy to make said-serious schemes as engaging to watch. So now unable to rely on one of its greatest strengths, the show must rely on emotional impact. Or similarly: narrative weight.

Narrative Weight

In episodes 19-20, Chayoung is shot, Hanseo dies, and Chulwook is stabbed (and you think he’s going to die but he doesn’t). Who said there was no emotional impact in these episodes again?!

Oh right. Me.

Beyond Hong Yuchan and Oh Gyeongja’s death, injuries and fatalities suffered from our protagonists’ side don’t really have that many consequences. You can argue the consequences of Hanseo dying is that we’re all very sad, but both we and the characters are barely given a moment to grieve before we have to move on. What does Hanseo die for? He dies as an abuse victim just beginning to break out of the cycle he was trapped in, and that itself isn’t necessary a bad narrative choice, and he dies as a warrior in this Mafia vs Conglomerate war, but what does he die for? If it’s for Vincenzo and Chayoung to live, they pretty much get lucky with Hanseo running out of bullets. If it is to show that he had changed, and that this tied into some greater theme of redemption, then his death really isn’t really given enough thought for it to resonate well. I would’ve loved to see Vincenzo reflecting on Hanseo learning to trust and love again, despite all the mistakes he made in the past, and how that influences his own decision to embrace his version of villainous justice. But no. This is something I only thought of after reading a few Vincenzo posts and trying to justify my own moral for the show.

Don’t forget that Chulwook almost dies too. Like I genuinely believed he was dead, shed a tear for the daughter he would never meet, and then the show went like, “Guess what? Psyche!”

I’m not very fond of that injury/pseud-death-but-not-really.

And now we have Chayoung, the person who Vincenzo is the closest to. Don’t get me wrong, I amso weak for her never giving into Hanseo and asking for death over Vinceno getting hurt, for guarding Vincenzo from the bullet, for Vincenzo’s shocked and empty eyes, for Chayoung’s glazed gaze, for him desperately and powerlessly hugging her tightly because that’s all he can do for her now. Afterwards, she’s in the hospital, her shoulder is recuperating, and there’s a nice Chayenzo parallel to episode 4 when Chayoung was waiting by Vinny’s hospital bed. But afterwards afterwards? She’s just in the hospital. Sidelined from the climax.

Vincenzo told her, “I will finish this, for you.” That could’ve worked, because we could’ve seen Chayoung emotionally or spiritually with us during the climax and Myunghee and Hanseo’s deaths. But like I mentioned earlier, it really didn’t feel that way. Ultimately, the narrative tells us that Chayoung’s injury just means she can’t strain herself for a couple of days, despite initially delivering it so dramatically and emotionally.

As one of my friends said while we were discussing this episode: Vincenzo is the titular character, but Chayoung has so much to care for too. Her father died because of Babel, and she said, “We should share the danger.” Instead, we got a decentish-but-slightly-underwhelming scene where she is driven to see Vincenzo off. Okay then.

Characters

Speaking of, Chayoung receives much of the short-end of the character development stick in the last 4 episodes. I found this to be acceptable in episodes 17-18, and she does have that moment where she looked uncertain and nauseated at the death of the “hunting dogs” before shoving down her misgivings, clinging onto a facade of strength as she says “this is what I wanted.” Also, even though it wasn’t episode 14, I wasn’t complaining about the Chayenzo moments either.

But still, this is the second most important protagonist in the narrative and nothing about her really changes in these last few episodes. Nor does she experience catharsis alongside Vincenzo, emotionally or otherwise. There had been some buildup about whether or not Chayoung can swallow the cruel path that she has chosen, but if she’s not even the given the chance to make her own decision on said cruel path, that’s just wasted set up.

(I know that during the Babel Tower party-fiasco Vincenzo told Chayoung that he originally wanted her to push the button that’ll kill one of the hunting dogs, but then decided against it upon seeing Chayoung’s wavering face, but like. Narratively, if she was the one to press it, and then we had some follow-up character arc about her coming to terms with her decision... Oh, we could’ve had it all.)

Another thing I want to point out is that Chayoung has been a foil to Vincenzo in that she represents the happiness, love, and innocence now unattainable to him. (This is just his view, by the way, since Chayoung isn’t exactly innocent herself, which he could’ve seen if the show had only taken this direction.) That is to say, Vinceno’s most interesting character moments are drawn out of him by Chayoung: In his apartment, when they are under the ceiling-stars, and she asks him whether he has ever killed anyone. On the rooftop, when they decide that Hanseok must lose everything before he dies, and he promises to her that he’ll stay in Korea to see things through to the end, in direct contrast to himself at the beginning of the show. In the highway pass, when she embraces him after a gunfight, the closest he’s ever grazed past death. When they drink makgeolli together and he tells her about what her father wanted to say to her. When they sit together by the riverside and she tells him that his mother would have been proud of him.

One of my favorite parts of episodes 11-12 during the gun fight is just how emotionally present Chayoung is, despite not wielding a gun herself, or even being anywhere near the action. I’m not sure if I’m getting this right, but I think this is the first time Vincenzo had killed people on screen, so to see Chayoung embrace him so tearfully afterwards almost felt like he was being reminded of his humanity. And this also shows that Chayoung, despite saying that she would feel distant towards Vincenzo if he did have blood on his hands, loves him closely, so closely it hurts.

We think about Vincenzo, what it means to be a consigliere, and his distorted flashbacks of flesh and blood and killing and losing himself, and that teddy bear, slowly panning out to a child, staring at him in fear. We think about how is it possible for him to love again? Can he even know what love is?

Then Chayoung appears, a woman whose very presence unraveled the mystery that is Vincenzo. But the moment that Chayoung’s development was stunted, that was the moment Vincenzo lost his foil, and we, the audience, lost the ability to see how his past, present, and future reconcile.

Themes: Loving in Sin

In episode 20, Vincenzo and the monks have a conversation about whether he was worthy of love or not before being told that he was Vaisravana — and though he could never be accepted by Buddha, he would be appreciated at times, and he would have his own role to play too. I like this conversation a lot in concept. In execution, it would’ve left much weightier an impact if only we had seen Vincenzo’s journey to reconcile his villainy and humanity play out more, if we had a glimpse into the moral conflict warring in his mind. The last time the drama showed that to us — not told it to us — was with the death of Vincenzo’s mother.

I would add more, really, but I feel like my review up until here says everything I want it to. In my opinion, there was no real epiphany that Vincenzo reached upon hearing those words from the monk because he hadn’t reflected on it enough for there to properly be one. And the ending to Vincenzo and Chayoung’s romance would’ve felt a lot better if it was Vincenzo choosing to love her despite his fear of himself, despite his belief that he could only hurt people. (Also that ending monologue wouldn’t have felt so tacked-on, like, oh wait this is supposed to have a theme right? Here, this is vaguely related, right?)

Because a lot of this emotional potential was not quite met, I think the finale also had to resort to some cheaper ways to make us feel for the romance, such as Chayoung rushing to see Vincenzo off and Vincenzo leaving the diplomacy-relations party early (he very poetically disappears while walking behind this sculpture, but I thought it was hilarious that if the shot didn’t get cut off there in another 2 seconds we could’ve seen him walking out of where that sculpture thing blocked him lol).

Overall though, I’m pretty happy with the romance’s ending, at least conceptually. The way they incorporated the story of cow herder and weaver girl and the bridge of pigeons (not magpies!) that will allow them to see each other again every year was so bittersweet, and as someone familiar with this myth, it made me very nostalgic. Also, I do think it works better with Vincenzo’s themes that he would be apart from Chayoung in some way. They each have their own lives to lead, but although they met by coincidence, they’ll remain by each other’s sides by intention. He is a villain, and so is she, but villains love tenaciously.

[gwynpool]

it’s 2AM and i just finished Rule of Wolves (spoilers definitely up ahead)

first, to inform everyone, i read the spoilers when it got leaked in twitter cuz i can’t help myself. (it’s a sickness, i know) i think this is important since it definitely influenced my perspective upon reading the book. also, this is my first time being early in a party so yay me! going in ROW was easy for me because i started King of Scars the day before book 2’s actual release date so everything’s fresh.

secondly, this is really long so i’m sorry. i just have a lot of feelings and need to write it all down. on with the rant.

King of Scars was wonderful to me since it gave me my favorite Shadow and Bone character and the girl who i used to hate for being a mean girl but who I now admire with every ounce of my being. It also introduced a new ship that I am now obsessed with and is ruling besides my love for Jude&Cardan. Not to mention, it gave us Nina, whom though i’m not entirely a fan of due to all my love focusing on Kaz and Inej, allowed the connection between Shadow&Bone with SixofCrows.

Moving on, ROW was a ride and whirlwind of emotions. unfortunately, it wasn’t always the best kind.

I love the fantasy elements of it (tho it was a huge leap especially with the saints power thingy) and the politics because i am a sucker for scheming and stealing thrones.

the zoyalai teasing and angst was painful but in the best way since slowburn is what keeps me going.

nina finding comfort (and attraction, apparently) from hanne made my heart flutter because i haven’t gotten over matthias but this allowed a sort of closure and next chapter for our waffle-loving queen.

the promised wedding by leigh wasn’t what i expected but i’m not complaining since david&genya deserved nothing but happiness.

almost everything seems going well (aside from the fact that aleksander was ressurected apparently)and then everything crashes and burns and i just have to wonder why?

so the promised funeral alongside the wedding one, immediately comes after two? three? chapters as they were attacked during the afterparty of the wedding. and guess what? leigh killed the fcking groom.

the thing is i already knew he was going to die (with the spoilers and all) but i did not expect it to come immediately after the freaking wedding. not even halfway through the book!

being spoiled, i think, took most of the pain from the event but it doesn’t lessen the fact that it was completely unnecessary??? like though the characters grieved, nothing much was affected from his death? also, don’t talk to me about the character development for the survivors from this tragic event because there. was. absolutely. NONE.

and then we have the fricking darling ressurected. i love him in the first book of the grishaverse though i knew he was still a villain, don’t get me wrong. and my heart ached but was also relieved with his death in the third. he also inspired one of my all-time favorite fantasy villain(antihero?) in the form of Adelina Amouteru in the Young Elites series.

Ceased to be a Darklina fan and am now shipping Aleksander with Adelina because their power tho? like clings to like and they are both imbued with unfathomable darkness. somebody write fics please.

but bringing him back was what for exactly? leigh bardugo preached on how toxic the darkling character was and how we really shouldn’t like him in terms of agreeing with his ideals and yada yada. and yet she brings him back because apparently, he’s the only one paying her bills.

his conversation with alina tho had me expecting some darklina crumbs with fan service on the side since the stans were all raving about it on twitter *vomiting noises from toxicity* but i was surprised since it just further reminded us of how he truly is a villain in his very core and would do anything to get what he wants. so all in all it wasn’t entirely awful and it actually made me like Mal a bit. (never was a fan of him but that’s my issue, not the character’s)

setting aside the darkling issue a bit, the POV from Mayu was skippable. i mean obviously it still needs to be read for the Shu politics and the khergud existence but it just made me want to go to the next pov. Same goes for the “the monk’s” POV since you all know how i feel about him and the cult with it’s assembly and shit ended up also being unnecessary towards the end. honestly, i could do without the journey of the starless saint and his cult.

i truly enjoyed the fjerdan plot to my surprise and i like how nina kind of went through the last of us 2 circle of hate journey. it was definitely difficult knowing her pain and all that she went through and still choosing to be the better person. and yet, i can’t help but be more proud of her development. also, the supposed death of hanne got me going for a second and was actually ready to storm leigh’s home to fix her mistake. thank god it was plot twist. that’s all i have to say on the nina POV because i don’t wanna ruin my good feeling on this.

the crows cameo gave us a mini heist and it just made me miss reading their adventures. also the suli scene tugged at my heart.

imma skip zoya’s transformation but it utterly made me feel amazing and i have never been more glad that she’s kind of overpowered. she deserves it so fck all them haters. you can choke.

nikolai’s revelation and decision for the ravkan throne was not all that surprising, even without my knowledge of the spoilers. i honestly had a feeling that he was always his best self when he was strumhond and he only chose to fulfill the duties of the king because at that time, there was no other choice. so him giving up the throne to his beloved soldier, summoner and saint was a quite satisfying choice of route. there has been some others who would contest nikolai’s decision to step down as something unnecessary in the grand scheme of things but i would stand by my belief that nikolai made the best choice for ravka and for himself. not to say that i didn’t want to see both the queen and king side by side ruling but what are fanfictions for?

zoyalai is canon and endgame. finally. i can die now.

now the last two chapters was a toss up. for the first one was the darkling’s sacrifice. okay, so i was also spoiled by this from twitter but when i was reading the book, i keep expecting it to be brought up and it wasn’t. so i honestly thought that maybe that spoiler was a prank. lo and behold it was not and it wasn’t until the very last end. so the buildup was goddamn awful. the whole concept of the thorn wood and sort of atlas moment was just no. like you’re just springing this up now? when we’re supposed to be tying up loose ends but making sure it had history and buildup to well, back it up.

also leigh outright writing genya saying it was not a redemption for the darkling and him being unapologetic about his crimes (basically being a truly evil asshole) doesn’t remove the fact that it still comes off as a redemption arc especially with what is now the synopsis of SOC 3 but ill get to that. he still was the one who did a heroic deed and that fucks me up because it was just devastating to me after making peace with his end in ruin and rising. not because i was hurt that he died yet again boohoo but because it kind of invalidates everything that alina, genya, zoya and countless other victims went through.

on a side note, the darling stans on twitter who keeps defending his actions, i would really advise you to reflect on your decisions cuz it is honestly unhealthy. also, you lot talking smack about nikolai and zoya refusing to sacrifice their lives? stop twisting the story to suit your toxic admiration, nikolai was even first to offer up his life and would do so if it was actually possible. so just go hide in your darkling cocoon and stop hating on other characters to justify your favored aleksander.

the very last chapter aka coronation was good because it gave us inej ghafa cameo as captain of her ship and bonding with our resident privateer and also genya, alina and zoya bonding. but it was bad because apparently the darkling chronicles is still not over and now we’re supposed to grant him death like that’s going to make everything okay? i know forgiveness and breaking the circle of hate and revenge is a huge theme in this duology but honestly, this is just too extreme. with nina it was understandable and the people she hated were born of twisted mindset and circumstances but the darkling? hahahah no. he is a literal immortal who was delusional so now that he’s paying for his crimes, you want to allow him death because you have nightmares? zoya, goddamit no! same to you genya and alina. and so this will be the plot for the third six of crows? why can’t we just stop making this about him. now he gunna steal kaz’s thunder? over my dead body.

in the end, i gave this book 4 stars in goodreads because if i ignore the darkling plot, it was a really good use of politics and fantasy merging in a storyline. i can’t fault leigh for choosing to do this since it’s still her book so i definitely don’t have a right to dictate what i expected from this. also, i have a half a mind to believe that she fell in love with ben barnes and had him in mind writing this so i really cannot blame her because i have been under that man’s charms since prince caspian came out. the spoilers i read made me more open in reading this (backwards thinking but eh that’s how i roll) so i’m not at all crushed by what transpired. it was just weird and was lackluster in its attempt to give ravka some sort of peace. frankly, i just want to read the third six of crows book to maybe find some sort of calm in all this craziness and also delve in some zoyalai fanfiction because it was a long time coming.

shameless promotion but if you guys want to check out my nikolai duology spotify playlist, here’s the link:

[celia-dreaming-24]

tbh i totally disagree with the “grace would make a better villain” take some people have because .. not really? giving her a redemption arc would be a huge mistake (<- can we for once stop picking which character to call out 🙄) but she doesn’t feel like a top notch antagonist either

i preferred reading her character in Midnight Heir - there was just something interesting about her character. That vibe made me extremely excited for her villain arc in TLH until i learnt she was opposite of everything i wanted 😔

Hi anon!! Thank you for the ask :)

I sort of agree with this? I think that at the place we see her last (end of CHOI) she doesn’t seem like she’d be a good villain or a good hero. Grace is at this awkward place where she knows that she’s doing bad things but she still does them, but she doesn’t do them unapologetically. It feels like she feels very sorry for herself but isn’t willing to do anything to change her situation, she just keeps doing those bad things. I pity her, but I don’t exactly like her all that much.

I think that a redemption arc for Grace would be really good if done right (but I’m honestly not sure how it would be handled), and I think a villain arc could also be really good if done right. It really depends on where her character goes in CHOT, and how it will change.

But yeah, I definitely agree with that last point. Midnight Heir Grace was super interesting, and I think that version of her with a villain arc would be really cool to read about.

[killingeveperspectives]

Perspective: Can redeeming Villanelle make her character less iconic?

Have you ever heard of the Codex Gigas? Also known as ‘The Devil’s bible’, it is the largest illuminated manuscript in the world according to Wikipedia. It is told that a monk made a pact with the Devil himself and feverishly wrote the entire book in one night! As an acknowledgment to his partner he drew his monstrous figure in one of the pages. Said page looks different from the others, as if touched by some malignant magic. Today we know the reason for it: the page suffered the most deterioration for being the most exposed. For centuries people could not get enough of this character: The Devil. Indeed, we have codified ways to save ourselves from the metaphorical Devil – ourselves. We invented sins and crimes to tame something deeply primal within us. Freud called it id, the origin of all that which makes us tick: impulses, instinct, drives, libido. It reckons only two things: pleasure and satisfaction. If we could strip ourselves from all inhibition there would be impulse and sensation. It would be brutal ecstasy. But what would be of the world if all 7 billion of us would uncompromisingly seek to satisfy our impulses? Hell, so we don’t.

But through art we can glimpse at what this liberation would feel like. Some sort of existential voyeurism. Aristotle would call it catharsis, but what does he know? This is how some of the most remarkable characters were born, they mesmerize us by being their id – unapologetically, terrifyingly, charmingly – like the Devil himself. Characters like Hannibal Lecter, The Joker, Alex DeLarge; they are larger than life, unbind, amoral and extremely bright (and all male). Like Hannibal brilliantly put it in Silence of the Lambs: “Nothing happened to me, officer Starling, I happened” or like the perverted childlike Alex explain in A Clockwork Orange: “What I do I do because I like to do”. As simple as that. Pure satisfaction of impulse because they feel like it. When we, uneased by what they represent, want explanations or justifications, The Joker toys with us, always giving us a different version of his tragic background, as if he knew we want to give him an excuse and, in good joker fashion, he makes a huge joke out of it. They take it very seriously to explain to us what went wrong with them, because it doesn’t really matter.

While the id makes us organic, whole creatures, many attributes of it have been culturally dissociated from womanhood. The violent, self-preserving and egoistic impulses were replaced with nurturing, self-sacrifice and compassion – not surprisingly the only impulse afforded to women is motherhood (or sexual desire for the satisfaction of another). Therefore, women cannot fully materialize their humanity. These raging impulses feel alien to womanhood, something imposed on to them by circumstance so severe that it warps the nature of the female itself. Aggressive women are sad and broken, or vengeful, or mad, or sexualized – these are the portrayals we have been conditioned to expect from fiction. When compared to their male counterparts, even mild violence in a female character almost immediately requires an explanation: how someone betrayed them, or abused them, or they were conditioned into it. Rage and aggression are never theirs to own, it is always extrinsically sourced.

On a superficial level, the character of Villanelle doesn’t seem so unique. Immediately one could think of Nikita in La femme Nikita, who was a drug junkie teen, rescued and transformed into a cold-blooded femme-fatale assassin by the shadowy government group “The Centre” after they faked her death to break her from prison (Uncannily similar?). Or the movie Anna by the same writer, where a Russian girl accepts a KGB offer to be trained into an assassin in order to escape her abusive homelife. Or Marvel’s black widow who is also a Russian spy, apparently brainwashed by USSR to become an assassin. Other female assassins include The bride in Kill Bill who set off into a revenge killing spree after being brutally assaulted and left for dead, and other movies I vaguely remember about abused women becoming assassins to seek revenge, or shallow sexy female assassins with no purpose for existing other than being the sexy female assassin. However, all these characters were made into assassins by external factors. Villanelle is set apart from the typical femme-fatale assassin trope by owning her own joy of killing, by the rejection of the broken female narrative and the rejection of the objectifying male gaze. In order to unmistakably ground these traits alienated from women – violence, disregard, cruelty, indifference, sadism, risk-taking – in her nature, the character was written as a primary psychopath. Being an assassin fits her natural talents, not the other way around    

Villanelle could occupy a very special place among a roster of remarkable fictional characters like the ones mentioned earlier. She is the female embodiment of absolute, remorseless indulgence and rage, representing the unashamed satisfaction of women’s impulses, for her own enjoyment alone, with style and wit – A truly magnetic character and fresh perspective. In psychopathic Villanelle, women are allowed to reclaim these violent impulses, which is oddly empowering and humanizing. Give us that. Brilliantly, the cathartic element is mirrored by Eve herself. Eve too sees her unfulfilled and alienated impulses incarnated in Villanelle, which in turn sparks Eve’s exploration of her own identity. Ultimately Villanelle’s seduction to embrace impulse despite its danger is at the core of their electric attraction and conflict.

Thus, by retconning Villanelle in Season 3, the character no longer represents the provoking embodiment of female drive, managing to become an elevated female assassin trope, at best. The challenging take on womanhood, instead plays into all of the expectations. Villanelle is no longer a female true to her nature that gets a kick from being an assassin; but a troubled girl, tortured into becoming a killing machine by a past of abuse. A broken woman who rejects the violence instilled into her once she finds healing. Interestingly, it is not that she merely chooses not to kill but she is unable to carry on the act, signifying the deeper alienation of the violent impulse from her own self – the same impulse that once made her so iconic. This lack of impetus to kill is but a symptom of the decreased character’s libido in general: fewer shopping sprees, less savory eating, less unpretentious playfulness, less color, less eroticism, less aggression, less danger. Unfortunately, it also means the weakening of her dynamic with Eve. Villanelle is being tamed, and its well… not her best take.

We, the audience, perceive this lack of vitality oozing into the entire show, but once you shift what Villanelle represents this is inevitable. Villanelle becomes mundane, and it brings the nostalgia of the force of nature she once was. It leaves a similar taste as the brutal transformation of Alex from despicable nihilistic hedonist into a model citizen in A clockwork orange: a conflicted perverted sadness at the loss of Alex’s authenticity despite him turning into a “better” human being – ingeniously, his redemption was to gain his despicable impulses back. 

The initial character design of Villanelle was something unique and authentic. However, In the process of redeeming her, she might become a new iteration of a trope explored several times that simply reflect the current space of female characters and lack conceptual originality. Yet, there is still room for the recuperation of Villanelle’s transgressive power: a subversive redemption. By incorporating the impulsive indulgence and violence back into the character, Villanelle’s arc can be taken somewhere new, complex and truly special. A remarkable character we can’t get enough of – like the Devil herself.

[musical-chick-13]

Melisandre too please

OKAY STRAP IN MY FRIEND BECAUSE I WANT TO SCREAM ABOUT GOT WOMEN TODAY

• Did they live up to their potential? / In what ways was their potential unachieved?

I’m going to stick to the show because, again finished when the books aren’t. So, I really love Melisandre with my whole heart. You know, you have this mysterious woman who easily manipulates a powerful man, but it’s not just a standard femme-fatale I love power kind of thing. She grew up enslaved (at least in book canon, I can’t remember if this was ever mentioned in the show), and she’s in, essentially, a codependent relationship with her religious faith. It’s not for some sort of fake demureness or quest for purity, it’s because she thinks it’s genuinely the only thing she can do to save the world. She’s not a corrupt pastor, she’s an extremist who truly thinks she’s doing the right thing. But she’s not quite a competely-brainwashed, naive young victim, either. Obviously being sold into slavery and trained in the priesthood since forever ago influences her beliefs. But she reflects deeply on the nature of morality and owns up readily to the fact that sometimes she engages in acts of violence in the name of what she believes. It’s not an accident, people’s lives simply come at the expense of her service to R’hllor and faith in the coming of Azor Azai. She balances a very fine line between two extremes of the religious zealot morality spectrum, and I think she does it very well. The one thing I will say is that the show couldn’t seem to make up its mind on whether or not she was a fraud or whether she actually had Special Magic Powers. And not in kind of a “We won’t show you all the details of what happened, judge for yourself if she’s legit” way. They had her whole conversation with Selyse about using potions for desired fire effects, but she gives birth to shadow assassin babies and then literally brought someone back from the dead. If you’re going to make it ambiguous, keep it ambiguous. If not, make a decision and commit to it. Being completely shrouded in mystery; being a complete, unapologetic fraud; and being a supernatural entity entrusted with magic who sometimes misuses it “For The Greater Good” are all much more interesting than flip-flopping back and forth on characterization because you’re afraid to commit to a concept. Also, for some reason, in season 7 her main objective was to bring Jon and Dany together? Why? They should have explained how she got to that point and why she thought it was necessary. Also her death, but I talk about that in the last point.

• How they negatively and positively affected the story.

Positive: She brought Stannis into the story, leading to a discussion about whether or not the concept of justice is born from conformity to rules or a desire to put more good into the world. We are introduced to another religion in Westeros that helps enrich the worldbuilding and leads to a moral compass that is centered so differently from the other characters that it provides a fresh way of interpreting the story’s events and keeps us engaged. We are introduced to Davos aka Onion Dad through her and I love that guy.

Negative: She brought Stannis and Davos into the story, to the point where show Shireen died FOR NO REASON  which COMPLETELY RUINED STANNIS’S CHARACTER IN THE PROCESS. Stannis wasn’t supposed to be The Irredeemable Bad Guy, he was supposed to be another link in the chain that encompassed all of the different ways of looking at morality. Instead, they used his multifaceted, complex relationship with Melisandre to flatten out his characterization, make him the resident Pathetic Game Player We Are Supposed to Laugh At, and ultimately left off all degree of nuance by making him burn a child alive for shock value. I’ll never forgive the show for that. (Also, what with Brienne’s smiting of Stannis, Davos being the All-Around Good Guy and the fact that Mel’s death was so...anticlimactic...we’re also apparently supposed to see Stannis as the one primarily responsible for Renly’s death? Just? Ignoring Mel’s (and Davos’s) part in that? Sounds fake and narratively inconsistent, but okay.)

• What my favorite arc for them is.

-I think, probably after Stannis’s death (how said death came about notwithstanding, see above), when she realizes that she was...wrong? About her faith? She thought she knew how the world was supposed to work, like she had finally figured it out and unlocked some big secret, and then it just wasn’t true at all. And (kind of similar to what I said about Cersei) she has to rebuild herself. She and Davos have reversed their ways of thinking, where Davos believes-maybe not in R’hllor or any god(s), but in the existence of inexplicable and superhuman things-and now he has to convince her. And only then does she (and the audience) learn of her true power. (Which, as I mentioned above, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this. Her being a charlatan strikes me as a character choice I would want more in a story I was writing, but I’m not writing these books/episodes, lmao.) Her priorities become more skewed toward “Fighting the White Walkers and making sure whoever Azor Azai is has a world left to save,” which WE LOVE ORGANIC SHIFTS IN PERSONAL MOTIVATION WE REALLY DO Y’ALL

• What I think of their ending.

-Ugh. I don’t think I’ve ever actually talked about this, but her just going, “Well, my goal is done, bye” and then going out into the snow and just laying down to die is...how do I put it...utter bullshit. There was never any true payoff in her ongoing conflict with Davos, no resolution to her (weird, creepy) relationship with Jon or how he felt about her doing awful things but still being the person who brought him back to life, she didn’t even get a moment of dying in service of a cause she believed in (like, for example, Theon, whose ending I also hated but for much more personal reasons that have less to do with narrative structure and more to do with my feelings). She legit just said, “I’m out” and instantaneously died. Also...she, Davos, and Jon have been through a LOT. The fact that there was barely any mention of her or what her death meant save for that one conversation Davos had with Tyrion??? for some reason???? seems like a waste. If someone has been with you through multiple traumatic experiences, it doesn’t matter if you hate them, you’ll have some sort of feelings after they die. Davos never got retribution for Shireen, doesn’t that bother him?? How does Jon feel knowing he owes his life to the killer of an innocent child? How does Davos feel seeing yet another person die right in front of him, but intentionally this time?? *sigh* Emotional through-lines are a thing, people!

• When I wish they had died. / If I think they should’ve died.

-Ultimately, my biggest beef is that there was...nothing I saw in the show that suggested this was how she wanted her story to end. If you’re going to make a character feel hopeless upon resolving a specific problem or tie their entire reason for existing to one conflict, you have to have them talk about it or personally reflect on it? You can’t just stick that on as an afterthought to justify...whatever it was D&D were trying to justify. Melisandre has always had such a complicated relationship with Westerosi morality, and she NEVER got to see any direct consequence of that (and by consequence I don’t even mean, like...punishment or something, I literally just mean a result that happened because of it). She, again, legit just walked in the snow by herself and insta-died. It 100% felt like they just didn’t know what to do with this character so they just scribbled something in so they wouldn’t have to spend any time on her later because they didn’t care about her. (Which, obviously, they’re wrong. I love her and she’s so interesting this is a fact. Shame on you, D&D.) I do think, for her, it makes sense based on her religious ties to kind of...have a last-minute swerve toward penance. Not guilt or redemption, per se, but a way to honor the world she’s trying to save by way of choosing to die through a selfless act. Whether that be sacrificing herself as a distraction for the White Walkers or putting herself in the line of fire (ice?) for Jon because she thinks he'll help heal the world or (my personal favorite) fighting off a White Walker to protect Davos because she has finally come to sort-of understand his nuanced take on morality and that although he has some bad/dark parts, he is genuinely a good man and deserves to make it out alive. Let him have the life that Shireen didn’t get to have. Davos would be SO CONFLICTED because She Did a Good Selfless Thing For Someone Who Wanted To Kill Her But She’s An Awful Person What Do I Think About Good And Evil Now and the introspection would be delicious.

[internetremix]

In IR lore, what are the personalities of your personas? Basic likes and dislikes?

Kristen: Goggles is An Child and behaves as such. She's very cheerful, very curious, a bit mischievous and also 100% obsessed with making fanwork of her internet family... like a goddamn weirdo. She'll usually be hanging out with everyone, spot some sort of inspiration, squeak with joy and then rush off to write or draw. She's also the defacto leader of the Smol Squad, which is composed of herself, Shyner, Jojo and Chi-chi, and she's usually the one squeaking out ridiculous plans in muppet for dumb shit like stealing cookies and trying to trap people in fanfiction scenarios. She likes to help and can often be found doing such things as assisting Xander in his many schemes or just popping up to provide shit like charts or hold things for other people- basically whenever it would be funny to have some goddamn muppet backing something up.

She loves plush toys, particularly Crockernanner, and also loves sugar, star decorations, and cuddles. She likes being picked up and loves attention, and she's pretty consistently attached to at least one person, often her big brother Split if she's not with the Smol Squad. She is in eternal war with Phill since he bullies her constantly, and will occasionally try to set up elaborate traps for revenge only to fail miserably. Also she's a huge weeb. She does not like to sleep and will often go days without it before being dragged off by some bigger person to take a goddamn nap you ridiculous child.  She is also very afraid of thunderstorms, she doesn't like loud noises or the dark.

She also has... various flaws and problems. But those are spoilers and I have no idea when/if we’ll be doing story stuff with IRsonas so I don’t want to give too much away with that.

Sorry this is very long, I think about my child a lot.

Jojo: JoJo is also a very happy child... like, stupid happy all the time. Like, they don't really have a concept of being angry. they're either manic happy or a bit sad. They love to find any way to make anybody smile or laugh, whether it be a somber happy, or a crying fit of laughter. They thrive off of happiness. They're a bit mischievous as well, and will try to play pranks and swipe things to chew on. They'll just appear in random places you'd never expect. like, in the pantry, the vent, or in your drawer. They chew things all the time to keep their dragon teeth sharp! They do tend to come off as obnoxious and kind of useless sometimes? But that's ok.

They love happiness, rocks, swimming, sandwiches, Vanilla coke, coffee, pianos, stars, ghost stuff(horror genre), and laughter. JoJo is pretty similar to Goggles now that I think about it x_xJoJo is best friends with Phill, and will always be on him in some way. Like his leg, back, holding onto his scarf by their teeth, etc. They're also very close with Goggles and Shyner, and Scott (even though Shyner tries to chase JoJo off with knives, JoJo will take it as a game of tag or something)JoJo doesn't like being yelled at or being told to go away. They get spooked easily by loud noises. They always get paranoid when they think someone is mad at them and will go to ungodly lengths to make them not mad or slightly annoyed with them, which sometimes makes people more annoyed with them than they were before.

JoJo is just an exaggerated version of me XD

Atwas: Atwas is fairly easy going. They make light of things often, and often hide serious sentiments behind jokes. They’re the type to roll with goofy and silly situations, and are very “yes and” type that enjoys escalating things in the name of light-hearted fun. They enjoy playing pranks, especially ones that take advantage of their hologrammatic nature (being able to enter and ‘possess’ electronics is something that they take advantage of often). Being technically in the cloud and a part of the internet at all times, they will often chime in with fun (often unrelated or humorous) metrics about situations and people as they occur—and often forgets that having a HUD isn’t something everyone has access to.

Being ‘technically’ invulnerable, atwas isn’t phased by the more dangerous things that go on in the IR tower, but usually prefers being a spectator or commentator as opposed to being an active participant in general shenaniganry. They don’t have any particular animosity towards anyone, and will occasionally help manage technical parts and functions of the tower.

They enjoy things like tech, cold weather, tea, fun statistics, darkness; and aesthetics like Film Noir and Retrowave.

They dislike things like excessively hot weather, being interrupted, getting too personal, having to put in a lot of “effort”, and being out of the loop.

Shyner: Shyner can easily be summed up to a tsundere in denial, and is the definition of an agent of chaos. If something goes wrong, she’s the one pouring a trail of kerosene to let the fire spread. She's loud, impulsive, and really doesn't give two shits. While quirky and charismatic, she’s also sarcastic and witty, reveling in the amusement of making fun of others. She’s often stubborn and impatient, thinking highly of her own beliefs and angered by those who dare to challenge her ideals. She also lacks a filter, and enjoys garnishing her words with colorful profanities. Filled with gripes of past trauma, she’s engaged in a constant internal war of turmoil and grief. She’s incredibly cautious and closed off around those she doesn’t trust, and can be very selfish.  Despite this, she’s loyal to the few people she cares about, going out of her way to put them first if a dire situation were to arise. She’s also very sneaky and mischievous, often finding amusement in spying on others. Her MBTI is INTP-T.

Her hobbies include stargazing, ghost hunting, spying, and Satanic worship. She enjoys melancholy vibes, horror movies, animals, thunderstorms, and has an unhealthy obsession with sweets. Yes, this child will stab you without hesitancy if you take her cookies. She dislikes seafood, big crowds, kiddie leashes, and is afraid of experiencing intense emotion she doesn’t understand.I love my satanic smol bean very much. If I may be so bold as to dive into the nitty-gritty psychology, Shyner possesses many flaws, a lot of which I personally struggled with growing up. She is a reflection of my past self, some gripes with my current self, and the perception of how I could have turned out if I hadn’t met my family at IR. Hiding behind the exterior of being a merciless bully, she still has an intense internal desire to be a good person, but gets frustrated and often derails herself in the process of fighting her desire to act on impulse. She keeps most relationships with people at arm's length, fearing that if someone were to think highly of her, it would only be a matter of time before they’re disappointed. If we were to go full-fledged story mode, she would most definitely have an intense character redemption arc, making the revelation that being shitty to those who care about her isn’t the way to run from her problems and hide away from her own sense of self-insecurity/hatred.

Phill: Phill likes mischief, bad jokes, sexual undertones, Jojo, sexual overtones, bullying Kristen, and the colour pink. That's it xD

Jojo: :D yay

Alex: Alex don't give a shit but is for whatever reason the bossman and is also as powerful as silver age Superman, just don't try actual murder of the crew and he won't yeet you into the sun

Moon: 2019 Moon is an idiot. If we didn't know any better, we would assume he was born from nothing but an old head of lettuce in Satan's refrigerator. Think like Scott from Monster Prom, but different. He knows his right from his left, but the compass is still just "NESW" to him. Impulsive, lovable, and kinda loud, this muscley dumbass will do practically anything you tell him to if he finds it enjoyable. When paired with a few people, he works well as a second to many dynamic duos. Brodingles and Moon/Split and Moon are two really good ones, dangerous shenanigans ensue. Can and will rap like a beast, any challenge to a freestyle will result in a career ending and a death being sentenced. Extroverted people pleaser, definitely shooting high to perform and when adapting to a character, goes a little too hard. This man played Gander in Charlottes Web and didn't stop making goose sounds for months. Did I mention he's also a disney princess? Singing, animals, mortal enemy falling to their death? Everything

Dawn: ToonWolf/Dawn's personality falls within the confines of recklessly adventurous who doesn't think things through entirely. They like to try and rope others into going on various hikes, treasure hunts, mythic/cryptid searches, etc. Unapologetic sailor mouth. They will fight for friends and family. Various animals, trinkets, treasures, and cool but useless garbage are brought back to the tower often (oops theres a liiiiiiitle bit of hoarding). Sometimes those animals consist of dogs, cats, lizards, bears, wolves, The Great Noble One, horses, lions, elk, you get the idea (Can I keep them?Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaseeeeee??????????).

Overall they are most comfortable and relaxed in/around water and likes a whole lotta things including sailing, swimming, adventure, stargazing, animals, mythology/legends, friends, family, and drawing.

They dislike waking up early, limitations, being talked down to, boredom, desert/hot/humid/dry weather, coffee, and the movie "Cube"

Tex: Tex is an avid cryptid detective + has a surprisingly good intuition when creating conspiracy theories about them to follow. Mm lots of memes and disguises. Smart, but usually just off on their own thinking about other stuff.Totally has a wall in their room dedicated to figuring all the cryptids out with like, red string and everything.

[onetwomint]

Just like with hiveswap it’s vague spoilers to let my emotions out time.

Under the cut for your convenience. Gonna tag too. All the tags.

Okay so

What the fuck?

What the fuck.

What the fuck???????

What the fuck!

Okay. Some good stuff. Not necessarily by quality. I just liked this stuff.

MEAT:

Roxy and Jade were NB. That was great.

Roxy later figured out they were a trans man. Still great.

Dave comes to term with being gay in spite of his unhelpful brother. Davekat is canon.

John and Terezi meet back up and sort out some feelings.

Terezi lets herself get over Vriska.

Explains a lot of stuff from Candy that had me confused as I read that first.

Karkat went for the leadership Echidna had destined him to take.

Learned some stuff about the ultimate self I guess.

Learned what happened after the fade to white in Act 7.

Established what a Prince of Heart can do besides tear out people’s souls I guess.

CANDY:

Swifer Eggmop and Cliper Borden are canon.

Karkat still assumes a leadership role.

Children are cute.

Rose and Kanaya adopt Vriska’s descendant and name her Vriska on the assumption that this will never complicate things later.

People are legitimately happy sometimes.

John and Terezi still happen but it’s less personal and more just using each other as an anchor to cope with things but it’s still sorta fun to read and it provides some basis for their interaction in Meat since Terezi interacts with both Johns.

Poly DaveJadeKat is canon for a bit.

We know where the Vriska who wasn’t (Vriska) and isn’t her descendant is.

Dave meets Obama and that’s about as cool as it sounds.

NOW the bad stuff (not bad quality wise, but for feelings)

MEAT:

Established what a Prince of Heart can do with his ultimate self.

Dirk manages to shatter Rosemary until like. the last page.

Dirk nearly ruins Dave and Karkat finally working things out.

Dirk let’s Jane take charge which opens the way for the same shit she does in the Candy timeline.

Lord English does more damage.

John is dead for real.

Dirk’s the only one with any clue what’s going on for most of it and that leaves most of the characters depressed.

Karkat should have won but Dirk made Jake suddenly decide to forgive the person who had slutshamed him on public TV.

Kanaya briefly gives up on her marriage with Rose on the basis that clearly, Rose wants to be away from her and she wants to spend her life with someone else which... Not only was terrible but it stirred up bad memories of a fic I shouldn’t have read where the same thing happened.

Dirk.

Jane’s pretty sucky too as an unapologetic xenophobe who doesn’t want the government to deregulate troll breeding.

CANDY:

Thankfully, Dirk isn’t a major player in this one. Unthankfully, that’s because of a suicide that was only meant to empower the Meat Dirk and loosely implies that he does this in every offshoot timeline which is horrifying.

Gamzee. He gets a ‘redemption arc’ that’s physically painful to read, feels forced, and ends in basically nothing good.

Parallels are drawn between Jane and Trump and they don’t seem wrong.

Jane runs everything indirectly and is fucking over Trollkind.

Cliper Borden is forced to dance on TV or serve in a labor camp.

Jake, Gamzee, and Jane end up in a relationship that mostly means things get worse for Jake and eventually his child.

John feels and questionably is responsible for every bad event due to picking Candy.

Johnroxy is a thing (which I actually liked) but it alienates Calliope and John’s depression leads to it sorta falling apart anyways, even if he’s trying to make amends near the end.

John sorta deals with some of the shit that Meat!John doesn’t, like being forced to contemplate Terezi’s death further because Meat!John left his dad’s car where the black hole could suck it up.

So my takeaways from the whole mess.

Hussie, I wish your epilogue closed things. Both Postscripts imply that something happens next and we don’t get to know what, at least not yet if ever.

The new take on the nature of the narrative is... interesting? If the pivot on which Dirk’s terribleness revolves.

What is Dirk DOING

Something something Lord english will enter the Candy timeline?

Something something Candy folks are passing through a wormhole to do... something.

What’s going on.

I like that Muse Calliope is back and probably on ‘our’ side but also it’s still confusing af

This all might ruin Dirk as a character for me. I didn’t like him much before, but I didn’t dislike him either except for his not handling things with Jake very well.

I did like Jane though. And I think I still like her as she was in Homestuck. But Epilogue!Jane is pretty flipping terrible. She’s... Basically a less overt form of Crockertier Jane. The Condesce would be proud.

Is John the most important character in Homestuck or no one special? Both are implied.

Robots are more capable of processing the ultimate self I guess.

I can’t wait to see the Prince stopped.

I want Rose back.

[deadmunds-ghostbee]

I’m not ready to have a meltdown yet like I’ve seen a lot today, but I still am having trouble seeing a way that a “love triangle” doesn’t make Anthony look profoundly uncaring and dickish. A lot of general viewers aren’t on board with him from S1, and they’re meant to be redeeming him…It is true he may not realize the extent of Edwina’s feelings, but the audience will know (whatever it is exactly). Now Anthony is going to still unapologetically make out with Kate while carrying on courting Edwina and this only worked in the book, imo, because Edwina was so indifferent to him. Even if Kate and Edwina never “fight” over him (I don’t think they will), Anthony is still going to hurt both of them to some degree.

I do think Edwina being “in love” will actually be her convincing herself she is because it’s “right,” and they both agree their match makes sense. But idk…I just think Anthony will come off quite badly regardless.

Lots of reactionary reactions lol but I’ll give people the benefit to calm down on their own time. The human brain doesn’t process info fast enough, and it causes all sorts of chaos. Best take a step back for a minute before you make your opinion, or at least that’s what I’m planning to do with the season. Will watch more than once before I have profound shit to say.

Anyway onto Anthony it’ll be interesting to see how they deal with the stickiness here. We can’t expect him to be redeemed too efficiently just bc it’s his season, in fact it shouldn’t be easy at all and he should earn that redemption properly. Starting him in a better place than the end of S1 would be a cop out. GA might still hate him but I don’t care. We all joke about gatekeeping him and I do too 😂

They did great work with him with season 1, all around. There were things he said to Siena that made me mad and were a little too ooc for me to like but most of that subplot was good even if she was just a vehicle for his arc.

I think there are a lot of details that we don’t know yet for S2 before we can make judgements. Does Edwina know his raking? Does she think he can fix him? Does he know her crush? (love charitha but love is a strong word that I think she is the only one using. A writer would say infatuation but you know actors lol) How advantageous is this marriage if the sharmas aren’t poor (probably decent bc scandal)? How open is she about wanting a love match?

I agree to a certain extend abt the making out. But we also don’t know who kisses who, how determinedly he courts afterward, how soon it is. If it’s icky I’ll leave that feeling for once we know for sure. I think we can confidently say they’ll all hurt each other. How badly we just wait? Sorry for the nonanswer ✌🏼

[ganymedesclock]

The only problem I have with a Lotor redemption arc is that redemption arcs only work if the character realizes what they’ve done is wrong is actively seeking atonement for their wrongdoings. Lotor does not seem to be seeking any kind of atonement for what he’s done to the Paladins and to Narti. Unless he has a huge turnaround this season, I don’t know how the writers will try to pull of a Lotor redemption arc.

Really? Because the problem I have with a redemption arc for Lotor is I think that with the words “redemption arc” people often do kind of a great disservice to the complexity of writing, the importance of context, and I feel like you’re failing to take into account numerous factors in the writing here!

However you personally feel about Lotor’s actions, that’s not up for me to dictate, but it’s pretty unmistakable that Lotor is presented as an antihero, not a villain. By which I mean, the writers have very obviously attached to Lotor all of the same symbols and gestures that they attached to the heroes: Lotor is young, visually he resembles the protagonists far more than any of the other villains we’ve seen, he’s associated- in fact, nearly drowning in the color blue, which, while we do have blue-tone villains (Hira and her associates in the alternate universe) they’re the only exception, and Lotor exists in the default universe in which blue is the color associated with all of our benevolent parties.

Value wise it is repeated and demonstrated that Lotor, whether or not his actions unfailingly align with them, values mercy, values compassion, values honesty. It is also pretty unmistakable, given Lotor’s tenure as emperor pro tem shows us his utterly failing to enforce his father’s empire and freely acquiescing, for no reason or gain, the only coalition planet he ever took (Puig) he’s also pretty clearly sabotaging the empire. His only interest in expanding it is soliciting the Puigians to “the new empire”- he’s pulling people away from Zarkon.

Lotor is, and from the start, unapologetically the head of his own faction. He and his allies were trying to live off the empire like a parasite until they were in the place to actually dispose of them- that didn’t work out.

As far as atonement: Your proposal here is that the only, only way a non-heroic character can become a hero is if they 1. outline everything they have ever done wrong, 2. regret everything, and 3. beg forgiveness from the heroes or some other form of higher power.

In which case, yeah, I really don’t think Lotor’s ever going to do that. In fact, I can think of numerous “redemptions” that looked absolutely nothing like that. That feels like a very rigid and suffocating framework that would, unless written very carefully and for a very specific narrow kind of character, be very out-of-character for exactly the sort of character who would, y’know, actually warrant one of those arcs.

Let’s talk about Lotor and his actions, shall we? You mention against the paladins, and against Narti, so, I’ll talk about those.

Lotor and the Generals attack the paladins several times- s3e2, s3e3, and s3e4. I will omit s3e6, because in this case, it was premeditated on the paladins’ part, and the generals were acting in self-defense. (I also wonder if you hold these same actions against the generals, as they were obviously aware and willing collaborators the entire time)

In s3e4, we are revealed to Lotor’s master plan at this point: he’s aspiring to get his hands on the Sincline comet, but only Voltron can enter the dimensionally becalmed ship carrying it. Zethrid states they tried to have other pilots get it out before, which... ended badly.

She also is a little sad remembering they (presumably) got people vaporized. Oops!

Why does Lotor want the comet? Again, because Lotor’s attempting to gain massive advantages that will allow him and his comparatively tiny group of conspirators, especially his inner circle, to challenge the empire and win. Personally, I think Lotor’s also keenly aware of the symbol Voltron represents to the universe- and is fully aware that constructing something on part with Voltron itself, out of the same materials, will allow him to challenge them on a grand level and command the attention of the universe- but that’s pretty much just an aside.

So Lotor wants the comet to use it against Zarkon. Considering that as soon as Lotor’s revealed to be building any significant forces, Zarkon drops a “kill on sight” order for Lotor to the entire empire, this tells us that simply, being able to fight Zarkon is a matter of life and death for Lotor. He will either be killed by his father, or he will gain the means to defeat, and thus, escape Zarkon.

I would like to reiterate that. From Lotor’s perspective, if he does not get this comet, he will be murdered by his abusive father.

With that in mind, Lotor looks at the comet.

He needs Voltron for the comet- well, now, he doesn’t have Voltron on speed dial. Obvious choice? Attack a coalition planet. Because Voltron’s trying to make allies, they’ll thus try to defend these allies. Voltron can either show up to defend them, giving him what he wants, or be a no-show, which denies him access to Voltron, but makes them look very bad in the coalitions’ eyes, which Lotor can then make his own offer to Puig, hop to the next planet, and repeat until Voltron makes an appearance.

During this occupation, Puig is merely a pawn on the board. We notice that Lotor, again, with his policy of mercy, leaves the occupation in the hands of Acxa, his right hand, who explicitly orders the rest of the generals to kill no one. This reinforces Lotor’s values, that while mercy is considered a shame worthy of execution to the empire, among Lotor’s generals, the most obviously merciful and inclined to restraint is the one offered the highest position.

So, Lotor takes Puig, makes his offer, and Voltron shows up to defend the planet, springing his trap.

Here, Lotor wants to confirm first and foremost that Voltron is intact. That established, he leaves, content, and pulls all of his forces out of Puig. Lotor stops fighting and attacking the paladins as soon as he’s seen what he wants, all five Lions.

Casualties of this incident: no lasting damage to the Lions, scared paladins, several injured Puigians, no fatalities except if any of the destroyed galra fighters had living occupants rather than drones- which is on the paladins, not Lotor.

Our heroes, who are unambiguously heroes, are more likely to have killed someone in that altercation than Lotor and his generals were.

Keith hangs a tracker on Lotor’s flagship, and, thus, chooses to pursue him, which leads to the next encounter, s3e3. Realizing the paladins are pursuing them, Lotor makes a decision to test them a second time- using his own personal fighter. After a few altercations- no lasting damage to the Lions, and all paladins summarily shook up but unharmed- Lotor is displeased- jeez, he can’t risk these people getting his comet for him, they’re suspiciously incompetent. They can’t even combine into Voltron, which means they wouldn’t get into the rift.

Because of that, he chooses to set the trap at Thayserix. It’s worth noting this trap hinges entirely on Keith’s willingness to keep chasing Lotor- unlike at Puig, he has no hostage, and his only bait is himself. He works to keep the paladins’ attention on him, and thus, off the cruiser and away from his generals. Again, we see Lotor actually does consider the losses of his subordinates as significant, unlike Zarkon, and more like the paladins.

Lotor has his game of merry chase, scares the hell out of the paladins, and again, chases them around/sets them up in explosions. Again, we see no lasting damage to the Lions, and no real damage to the paladins except emotionally. Allura freeze rays him, and, conceding defeat verbally, Lotor limps off- and the generals call in two imperial fleets as a smokescreen to cover their escape. Voltron is formed, and makes short work of them.

Casualties of this incident: Scared paladins, Lotor’s pride, no fatalities or injuries on heroes’ side. Two imperial fleets destroyed.

Again, our heroes did more damage than Lotor did. You could make an argue here that Lotor and the Generals were both quite callous at the losses caused by throwing those two commanders, likely not conspirators to Lotor’s “new empire”, to Voltron like a juicy bone to a guard dog, but if they weren’t conspirators, that’d imply as imperial commanders they were in the general business of attacking and subjugating other sentient races throughout the universe, so, it’s really up to you how that pans out morally.

So, this works out, as Lotor says himself: this is the very opportunity he’s been waiting for. The paladins can form Voltron, and they have a modicum of competence between them. While he’s prepared to profit from them potentially not making it, he’d really rather have the comet, and, so, it’s time to send them after his pride- so, like ringing a desk bell for service, he goes and turns on the beacon.

Voltron answers, a merry jaunt in another reality occurs, the sanctity of brains are threatened, computers are unplugged, Sven appears to assuage that Shiro-shaped hole in the fans’ broken hearts.

Two of the generals (unidentified, but not Lotor) shoot at and attack the castle before seizing the comet and making off with it.

Casualties of this incident: The paladins’ dignity, the Sincline comet.

This may not impress you much but let’s consider the casualties of Sendak’s raid on the Castle:

Heavy internal injuries and unresponsive state that required medical intervention via healing pod- Lance, electrical torture- Shiro, destruction of the castle’s crystal, Rover, most of the buildings in the Arusian village [immediate]...

Destruction of King Alfor’s AI, Shiro being actively, maliciously baited into a panic attack, Allura having a sobbing breakdown [did not emerge until Crystal Venom]

But sure- the fact that Lotor breaks out the kid gloves in a way that no other villain we’ve seen does dealing with the paladins is largely more a consequence of his minimal-engagement, overly frugal tactics and disinterest in fighting long battles, he still picked on the paladins several times, and that’s fair. Maybe you’re mad about that.

Lotor at this point has no good reason to regret it. He literally hasn’t even been given the opportunity to get to know the paladins, and I think you’re really kidding yourself if you assume any of them would respond positively to Zarkon’s son waltzing up and extending an olive branch that he inevitably won’t have the support of the empire to actually enforce- not that he could even do that, anyway, because he’d be executed as a traitor very quickly if he were caught negotiating with Voltron. 

In s3e1 Lotor talks about how “the masses” are easily swayed- them cheering his name in an arena once doesn’t mean that if he suddenly makes a highly controversial decision that basically demands they chose their loyalty to Zarkon or their five seconds of fondness towards him, when many of them were willing to back Throk’s coup against Lotor- yeah, Lotor’s not going to win.

From Lotor’s perspective, either he gets the comet or Zarkon kills him, and probably kills the four at-risk minority women he’s kinda trying to keep around and in power. At bare minimum the Generals would likely lose all of their standing since Zarkon certainly wouldn’t let “mere half-breeds” operate at that status.

He uses Voltron, Voltron gets him exactly what he wants and needs, and for their troubles, they were shook up and scared, but again, no lasting harm, physically or emotionally. The closest he came was scaring the hell out of Allura in s3e3 which he was largely unaware of her fear outside of where it affected her piloting and commented positively when Allura started turning the tables on him, acknowledging her competence and learning curve.

Even if Lotor really got to know the paladins, he wouldn’t feel that bad about it. After all, these guys face danger far greater than his threats all the time. He did what he had to in order to survive, they did what they had to in order to fight him. Fair is fair.

As far as Narti...

Lotor killed Narti and left her body on the cruiser. There’s no other way to slice that.

He did so because the only possible explanation for what had happened that he was aware of was that Narti had somehow betrayed him to his father- which is a big deal because, again, that tip-off led to Zarkon ordering the entire empire to murder Lotor on sight.

Narti did not do so voluntarily. Lotor had less than five seconds to consider the situation, did not know if Narti would start attacking them once she was discovered, and had no way of knowing what had transpired between Narti and Haggar. We, the nearly-omniscient audience, watched it happen and have, scientifically speaking, no fucking clue what happened.

Lotor has to make a decision right then and there if he’s going to leave Narti behind to the dubious mercy of the empire, take her with and risk being hunted down even further or killed and having the comet ships taken from him.

Immediately afterwards he is nearly unresponsive, uncharacteristically snappy when he does speak, crosses multiple lines he never has before onscreen with his generals, and makes an entire vocabulary of deeply upset, highly agitated and anxious faces. When Acxa attacks him, Lotor’s reflexes are uncharacteristically so slow that he actually doesn’t even turn his body to face Acxa before she shoots him. This is someone who was able to, from a standstill and with a sheathed weapon, run Narti through and pull his weapon out of her body in seconds. There’s no way he didn’t have the time to cut Acxa down.

Everything about this scene tells us Lotor didn’t want to do that, that the only possible thing that could motivate him to do that was the situation adding up to the undeniable conclusion that Narti had betrayed him first, and the only counter-evidence we have passed silently behind his back some twenty minutes or more before he even had an inkling something was wrong.

But okay- Narti’s dead, we’re all heartbroken. Maybe it’d make us feel better if Lotor was just, taken down a peg in a way that made it clear this was an awful thing.

Maybe like... completely losing the loyalty of his generals, something he can’t even bring himself to hold against them because he clearly regrets everything about Narti and the only reason he’s not trying to make amends is because as far as he knows it was necessary, and there’s nothing else he could’ve done.

Or just getting shot in the back and having to hurt himself to escape the situation.

Or just, the complete revelation that his dream of having a weapon that could challenge Voltron just nicely went up in smoke because all four of the people he trusted to pilot it with him are now decisively inaccessible, killing what the show has repeatedly emphasized is the greatest advantage for him- the support of a knowing, caring team.

Because I don’t really know how to respond to the implication Lotor doesn’t already regret the hell out of what he did to Narti. He’s borderline catatonic for the entire rest of the season afterwards and only seems to recover, coincidentally as soon as he’s contacting Voltron- people he’s not sure he can trust.

And our very first scene with Lotor tells us when he’s not sure he can trust people?

He lies through his goddamn teeth the entire time.

So, the only actually content seeming Lotor we’ve seen since Narti’s death is in the one context where he’s most likely to be faking every second.

So... even as superficial and character-inappropriate as I think your prescribed schedule for a reform arc is, Lotor arguably qualifies, in that pretty much the one genuinely nasty thing he’s done besides his comprehensive screwing over of Throk is also the one thing he seems to feel so awful about that it actively impacted his ability to defend or take care of himself- since, y’know, the guy who spent all of s3 and the first two episodes of s4 carefully taking it easy and protecting himself suddenly made five different incredibly self-destructive decisions in the span of two episodes effective immediately after losing Narti:

1. flung self and Zethrid at an experimental portal and burnt irreplaceable resources doing so, 2. dislocated own shoulders, 3. repeatedly tried to sleep while flying spaceship, 4. flung self into a sun, 5. went towards an area immediately after hearing a fatal explosion was likely to occur there

Like I mean if you don’t think Lotor doesn’t obviously regret killing Narti then I don’t. know what more to tell you.

[jisa-patryn]

Schrodinger’s Morality

I am so ecstatic about Doctor Who Series 10  - I finally feel like I can love the current Doctor Who again, unapologetically.  There is literally nothing I am unhappy about (Ok, I would have liked Missy to regenerate, but that is a thing that is very easily retconned in canon or in fanfic - the Master has historically come back from some really improbable senarios, ie. Crispy!Master, Cheetah!Master, Goosnake!Master, Regeneration-gone-wrong Simm!Master...it’s a thing and I find it difficult to believe Missy is permanently dead).

I’m not unhappy about Bill getting turned into a Cyberman, because she was able to fight for her own agency and ultimately chose to go off and have happy lesbian adventures in a form she chose. ��It’s like the opposite of the lesbian getting killed in a tv show.

I’m not unhappy with any part of the Master/Missy’s storylines either.  Granted, give me a villain redemption arc and I will glomp onto it with dedication, but I also think this one worked.  I was prepared to be upset that there would be the implication that Missy was only being redeemed because she was abruptly a woman, or that she was crying all the time because women are emotional, but that wasn’t what happened at all.  Instead we had an evolution of the ‘I want to be your friend again’ thread where Missy is choosing to put in the work to find her own sort of redemption.

In the past there has sometimes been a tease and a hope (at least, for me) that the Master might redeem himself, but his actions reliably betray that hope.  This time, it’s Missy’s actions that make her redemption arc real.  More to the point, it’s the fact that the Doctor doesn’t know that Missy decided to stand with him that moves this story from long-con to actual redemption.  It literally doesn’t work as a redemption arc if the Doctor was aware of what Missy would choose, because Missy’s choice would then be a performance for the Doctor rather than a decision she made for herself.  It fits with the extremis theme, but it’s also very true, because the Master has always been willing to play a role to trick someone.

(also I am not over the perfection of Simm!Master and Gomez!Master killing each other.  I mean, usually consecutive regenerations don’t like each other, which is one great thing about multi Doctor episodes, but the Master really did take it to a whole new level this time.  Plus, it is so perfectly in character for both Simm!Master and Gomez!Master, especially considering the choices both versions have made)

[gch1995]

I think this was season where I finally just got tired of this show, and I felt genuinely terrified about what would happen to my faves next. Yeah, that TLK was giving me hope that things could get better for Rumbelle, but every time A&E and these writers had given them hope for a special milestone in their lives on this show, or an opportunity for great character development that actually made sense, they would have Rumple and/or Belle (especially her) have a completely 180 degree spin in characterization.

At this point, I kind of thought that TLK wasn’t working because of Belle this time. Yeah, Rumple lashed out at her with that “just to wake you up” OOC bs in the UW, but he only said that in response to Belle after she unapologetically forced him to do what she wanted by stealing his dagger a third time to keep him from killing Gaston in immediate self-defense, and whiplashed him with false hope for their relationship a second time with that kiss, went to Zelena, and got that sleeping curse to put herself under to “protect” their unborn baby without his consent. However, we saw Rumple trying to do things Belle’s way, and making compromises. He had never asked her to change for him before. I was convinced that the TLK wasn’t working at this point because Belle refused to accept all of Rumple. Whenever he tried to make things work out with her in S5, he kept getting this weird whiplash she was giving him from one episode to the next in that was being used by the writers as a way to make him feel unworthy of love.

I was really getting annoyed by the OOC writing for Belle this season when she was on screen and fully conscious, aside from in “Bear and the Bow” (which was kind of OOC, too) because she was being used as a plot device to undermine any of Rumple’s attempts to be better, or just for A&E to further twist the knife into the Dearie/Rumbellers hearts that they did not care about Rumple or Rumbelle at all.

I didn’t want Rumple’s redemption arc to be all Belle’s responsibility, but now A&E and these writers were misusing her character as a whiplash of false hope for him having her undermine his attempts to make progress in his arc whenever she was awake on screen for more than those two Rumbelle-centric episodes, which were immediately retconned.

I liked that she suggested the Merlin/light magic prophecy thing for Rumple because it seemed like an interesting premise. If this show still made any fucking sense, if it was still intelligently written, if original and organic character development were still a thing, and if A&E still lived up to their self proclaimed message that this show was “about hope,” then I could promise you that they were going in that direction by putting Belle in a sleeping curse, so that Rumple could turn his curse into light magic by waking her with TLK...

But I didn’t have hope because this show was the very badly written “Captain Swan/Everybody Hates Rumple/Rumbelle Show,” and no one from the original cast had really developed in a way that felt at all organic, original, or satisfying ever since the end of 3A, least of all Rumple and Belle.

I’m honestly convinced that H00k, Regina, and Zelena were clearly the creators undeserving pets, who everyone else’s potential for better/redemption/development/original characterizations got screwed over to prop up, particularly Emma, Neal, Rumple, and by extension Belle who all “had” to be thrown under the bus in one way or another to make them look better post 3A.

I also think they originally meant to end the show with “Going Home,” but brought it back for Disney product and placement and H00k/CS because he was the only one who got any new sort of “development.” Except anyone still watching this trainwreck show with half a brain could easily tell that H00k hadn’t really gotten any better, he was still an inherently shitty person with a half-assed “redemption” arc that the writers were “selling” by making Rumple look terrible, and shining a spotlight on how much of the “worst” Rumple was.

If you think it gets any better after season five, then sadly, you’re wrong because this show was now fully run and written by gross, sexist, ableist, cruel, petty, and biased hacks, who never learned from their mistakes, no matter how much every fan called them out on their shit every time, and they had been slowly abandoning this show’s character driven integrity built by their mentor Damon Lindlelof from S1-2A ish for nearly five years now by turning OUAT into their self-insert male power fantasy/fanfiction on screen that disregarded any and all common sense, or input.

But, let’s pretend that this little slice of hope that they gave for Rumbellers in this arc of 5B was meant to finally give them the justice they deserved for both halves of our otp on this show, and that it wasn’t run by two vile little men who only seemed to be interested in giving hope to Rumbelle now just to tear it away abruptly for shits and giggles with character assassinating melodramatic magical soap opera “twists” that made less and less sense ever since the end of 3B.

Let’s pretend that the writing on this show’s piss poor excuse for canon still made realistic and organic sense whenever it gave you potential plot lines to actually do something new, compelling, and logical, only to drop them in favor of doing something wildly OOC, too stupid to believe, and often incredibly character assassinating for romantic couples on this show.

Let’s pretend that Belle’s love for Rumple didn’t switch on and off like a light switch from one episode to the next in a timeline of a day or less these days, and that she was still written consistently like a realistic human being with any sort of realistic human reactions, emotions, or strongly rooted believable individual admirable character traits anymore, and she didn’t change her mind about what she wanted and what she didn’t want for the plot to give Rumple and the audience a whiplash of (now often false) hope for redemption/reconciliation in favor of using her as a plot device for inexplicably contrived, stupid, and now often OOC and character assassinating Drama™️ for both their individual characters and relationship to cartoonishly vilify him in the narrative with some magical fuckery “twist,” whether it made sense or not, so that they could prop up Hook/CS onto a pedestal they didn’t deserve.

Let’s pretend that this show had’t become a total pit of despair and melodrama where characters got away with doing fucked up things to each other in the narrative all the time unless they were Rumple.

Let’s pretend that A&E and these writers were at all interested in trying to write a character driven, healthy, realistic, and complex slow-burn conflict and resolution between Rumple and Belle with a narrative that treated them as equally responsible for hurting each other without the narrative of “It’s ‘okay’ for Belle to hurt Rumple by leading him on with false hope, giving him ultimatums, controlling him with the dagger, banishing him from his home, and emotionally manipulating him by using his love for her as a weapon because she’s the designated hero, but if Rumple does the same, then it’s alll on him and because he’s the designated villain.”

Let’s face it, at this point in the canon narrative where you’re at now, Rumple had still never treated Belle nearly as badly as she had treated him on the show because abuse requires a direct target of illogical cruelty, anger, and control/restriction of the the victim, whether intentional or unintentional. He had lied, he had taken away Belle’s choices by keeping her in the dark in S4, and it was awful. She had every right to be angry. But that wasn’t abuse. At this point, Rumple had still never led Belle on with false hope for his feelings about her. He had still never treated her with irrational and needless cruelty, or accused for his problems in their present day relationship (aside from that one OOC conversation in the UW, which Belle triggered needlessly by blaming Rumple for “having” to “taint” her “pure” heart to save his life, and by going to Zelena). He had still never restricted her from being able to do this or that, given her ultimatums, acted like a hypocrite, or asked for her to change who she was in order for them to be together. He still had never given any of his enemies the means to hurt Belle, while she was going off and handing Rumple’s real dagger to H00k like it was no big deal. He still had never been lacking in empathy for Belle’s pain when she broke down in front of him, nor had he ever been unwilling to offer her emotional support when she reached out to him for it. He still had never blamed Belle for banishing him with nothing across the town line when he really should have.

I didn’t exactly like how he was being so vague and cryptic about the more sympathetic reasons behind why he took back the curse, but other than the fact that he was just being badly written, almost every time he had tried to be brokenly honest and emotionally vulnerable with Belle in S4 and S5, she either pushed him away with needless cruelty and refused to let him get a word in edgewise, gave him false hope, and no longer asked questions whenever things seemed off about Rumple because the writers dumbed her down.

I’m not going to talk about the horrific OOC travesty of 6A Rumbelle on both sides, but you’ll understand why most of us in the Dearie/Rumbelle fandom refuse to acknowledge it as legit canon Rumbelle when you see it. However, with the place you’re at right now in canon, it definitely seemed like Belle was coming off as the emotionally abusive one in the Rumbelle relationship, not Rumple. I was really worried that the writers were never going to address it as problematic behavior on Belle’s side of the relationship, and instead have her continue to get away with it until Rumple finally snapped, and treated her like the villain she kept unfairly pinning him as to try to “even out the playing fields,” and pretend like Belle was his “blameless victim,” even as she triggered his breaking point almost every step of the way.

Let’s pretend that Rumple would restore Belle’s faith in him to be able to be the one to turn the curse into light magic by waking her with TLK, and that we’d see a reunited Rumbelle learning to trust each other again, both of them being heroes together to stop external forces, and both of them getting fluffy and domestic pregnancy.

I would have believed it possible back in S1-2A, but on this show run by two unsupervised hacks who essentially openly admitted in interviews that they didn’t care about organic character/storytelling integrity, continuity, or writing that made any kind of sense for the audience to watch on screen anymore because they thought it was more “edgy” to mindfuck them by doing something incredibly stupid, “shocking,” and convoluted by pulling the rug out from under them instead, I really didn’t believe it to be possible in canon anymore.

One thing I think a lot of fans overlook about Rumple’s character, especially in later seasons with the OOC bad writing for him, is that, for a self-proclaimed villain, he sure does have a pretty huge martyr/hero complex too, which is why he fell in love with Belle in the first place. It is why I liked that he was interested in trying to do it in this episode, and in 5B before Belle did that 180 on him. It’s why he first took on the curse. He wanted to be a hero, but it’s very deeply buried under centuries of self-loathing, self-doubt, fear, abandonment issues, and the corruptive influence of the darkest of curses, which is why his biggest moments of redemption on this show tend to be in big self-sacrificing selfless grand gestures to protect his loved ones/do the right thing.

The thing with Belle was that she didn’t seem willing to let Rumple have a say, she didn’t make an attempt to try to fix things between them by making compromises with him after “Bear and the Bow” and “Her Handsome Hero,” and she was going back on her own personal values and the things that she insisted that she didn’t want Rumple doing when it convenienced her with a shifting demeanor and set of ideals that changed from one episode to the next as quickly as the flick of a light switch.

The thing with Belle is that she no longer had any deep, complex, consistent, or admirable strongly rooted values that felt like they meant anything anymore in canon because they changed her characterization faster than someone changed clothes, they were rooted much more in an incredibly shallow image of knights in shining armor, sword fighting, physical strength/endurance, and “trying to fit in with the cool kids” mentality by being anti-Rumple with the rest of her “friends” to vilify him, rather than empathy, perception, intelligence, common sense, or real kindness that the S2 Belle got from within her heart with “You can’t tell what’s really in a person’s heart until you truly know them.” Her personal values all got abandoned whenever they “needed” to vilify Rumple, or give him pointless drama these days to slowly break his already fragile heart and sanity by giving him unnecessary pain.

The thing with Belle in canon was that she had lost what truly made her admirably heroic and strong as a character back in the early days of OUAT because they had twisted her heroism into OOC, inconsistent, cruel, shallow, stupid, and petty hypocrisy and enabling of all her “friends” in this ridiculous quest they put her on to try to “fit in with the cool kids” by vilifying Rumple that would have honestly made the real!Belle of “Skin Deep” to the end of S3 feel truly mortified.

Oh, A&E and the writers would pretend they cared by having Belle spout platitudes of love, heroism, and how she’d always seen the man beneath the monster in a few episodes, but they didn’t really have her practice what she preached anymore when it mattered the most, or they had her string Rumple along with false hope because they “needed” to vilify Rumple, or they “needed” her character to give him pointless drama by constantly breaking him.

Belle was treating him just like everyone else on the show did now whenever she was awake for more than an episode on screen this season, a herocrite, except she had the privilege of being truly loved by Rumple, so she knew she could emotionally manipulate his feelings for her to get him on her side to help her out with magic whenever it suited her needs. Then, Belle would whiplash him again abruptly with OOC, blind self-righteousness, hypocrisy, or cruelty in response for no reason by telling him off, telling him what to do, refusing to let him have a say, or get a word in edgewise, belittling him, being a hypocrite by insisting that “heroes never resorted to darkness to be a hero,” and that Rumple could not use dark magic to do what he felt was right when it didn’t suit her, even when he wasn’t abusing it, and even though she had objectively both used and abused dark magic on several occasions now, quite often unapologetically ever since “Heroes and Villains,” in fact, whenever it was convenient for her ever since her debut episode on the show.

The Belle of OUAT had always been strictly anti-murder and magic when it was being committed for revenge, or selfish choices. She was only against magic/power when it was being abused, or Rumple was hiding behind the mask of the Dark One to shut her out. But she wasn’t against magic being used in immediate self-defense, using it to do little things, such as recreating the BATB Disney dance scene for them, and searching for Bae in New York with it.

The Belle I loved would never ever abuse the dagger on Rumple more than once, or be so cruel as to banish him with nothing across the town line forever when she didn’t need to. And, at worst, even if she did do it in the heat of the moment of her anger, the Belle I loved would have felt way more visibly guilty about it on screen than the Belle we saw in this piss poor excuse for canon afterwards, and she would have immediately apologized to Rumple afterwards when she saw him again in Storybrooke in tears when she met him again in that shop scene where he collapsed on the floor, dying from his blackening heart.

The Belle I loved would never ever leave Rumple all alone in Storybrooke in a coma on the brink of death for seven weeks just to go and save Emma in Camelot with little to no deliberation the second the Blue Fairy (the same shady fairy who gave Bae that magic bean to go to the land without magic, which led to Rumple losing him) gave her that pitiful rose in a jar for BATB Disney product placement purposes.

Granted, we never saw her and Rumple talk about the extenuating circumstances and factors that led to Bae falling through that portal when he let go of his hand in a moment of blind fear, but they were still making Belle look stupid and careless by not asking Blue any questions, and just leaving Rumple all alone on the brink of life and death for seven weeks with little to no deliberation or hesitation in a town in which she knows that no one else but her gives a genuine damn about him (and on rare occasions David/Charming and Henry, but they weren’t even there at the time to stay behind with him, anyway), just to go and act as a free and unappreciated walking/talking babysitter, while they all went off to save Emma.

Even if she “had” to leave Rumple behind in a coma for seven weeks in Storybrooke in the brink between life and death just to go and help Emma with the others, the least they could have done was given her more time on screen with Rumple to say goodbye to him, and shown her making arrangements with the others in Storybrooke who stayed behind with him to promise to watch over him and putting him in a hospital with Whale to check his vitals. It was still wildly OOC for Belle to just take that pitifully iconic rose in a jar of stupid Disney BATB product placement from the Blue Fairy, while immediately leaving the love of her life all alone in a coma for seven weeks just to go and help Emma with little to no hesitation.

The Belle I loved would never ever be needlessly cruel to Rumple by making his life feel worthless to her through saying shit like “Just to save you,” or “You’ll only make me do something I’ll regret” after “tainting” her now artificially “purified” heart in the piss poor canon to save him in the heat of the moment.

The Belle I loved would never cut Rumple off mid sentence, or cruelly shut him down whenever he did try to reach out to her brokenly, honestly, and/or gently for compassion, emotional support, and understanding just because she didn’t want to hear the truth because it was too hard for her to hear, or it went against her own now completely unrealistically changeable beliefs.

The Belle I loved would have made healthy compromises with Rumple, rather than acting like a blindly hypocritical and self-righteous brat.

Belle had never enabled Rumple’s problematic or toxic behavior in their relationship back in the early days, and she had never been a doormat to him. I never wanted that type of Belle for Rumple either. What I wanted and what I really missed was the Belle who listened to Rumple compassionately when he reached out to her honestly and brokenly by asking questions, and being willing to understand him and offer advice, though. I really missed the Belle who saw through his “This is who I am” mask bullshit, and pushed him to tell her what he was hiding because right now Rumple was wearing something of a mask because he didn’t want to get hurt by her again with this “This is who I am” crap, probably because of what happened at the well. and it should have been obvious to Belle that something was off. It would have been obvious to the Belle of S2, that there were walls that Rumple was hiding behind a little because he kept getting shut down by her whenever he had been emotionally vulnerable ever since S4.

I didn’t want a Belle, who was needlessly, overdramatically, and sometimes even triggeringly cruel to Rumple by kicking him when he was up and kicking him when he was already down, and only offering him scraps of affection when he was convenient to her, getting portrayed like the best relationship he could ever have because it shouldn’t have been. I didn’t want a Belle for Rumple who was given an almost total lack of empathy for him.

Now, she refused to make compromises with him. The Belle I loved would never ever put up with Hook and especially not Zelena’s shit, and she would never willingly go to them for help over her true love.

The Belle I loved would never ever let Regina get away with stealing her heart to use as leverage against Rumple.

The Belle I loved was a virtuist by nature, but not incapable of understanding that she sometimes needed to use darkness in the heat of the moment, or make morally gray decisions in self-defense. Remember the badass Belle from S2 who attempted to murder Hook in immediate self-defense when she unhesitatingly pushed that series of heavy bookcases in his direction to try to crush him when he cornered her in the library to try and kill her? LOL, me too! Too bad Adam and Eddy and these writers didn’t seem to.

The Belle I loved from OUAT was a badass cinammon roll! She didn’t like others being murdered for revenge, she didn’t like it when magic got abused, or when Rumple hid behind it, but she saw the man behind it. She was an idealist, but she also had common sense, intelligence, maturity, intuition, and empathy. She wasn’t above physically hurting others without hesitation in immediate self-defense when they threatened her or her loved ones well-being. She had strongly rooted heroic values in bravery, compassion, curiousity, honesty, open-mindedness, equal opportunity, perceptiveness, mercy, and second chances.

This Belle, I recognized less and less as my Belle on the show ever since the end of 3B. She seemed more like a plot device to push Rumple forwards or backwards in his arc, and it was doing a huge disservice to both of their individual characters and relationship together.

Rumple was not innocent of his faults in his relationship with Belle, but the narrative constantly pointed that out. They didn’t with Belle, though, and I was getting tired of it because she had. I just wanted for her to acknowledge that she had fucked up with Rumple just as much in their relationship, and if she couldn’t give him the chance to try, or give him the chance to fight for her in canon when she woke up, I just wanted for Rumple’s redemption arc to be for his unborn child and/or another healthy main adult character/relationship on the show that was either platonic or romanticwith someone who actually gave him the chance to fight for them....There weren’t many characters left who hadn’t been so thoroughly butchered in canon in the main cast at this point that I’d want him with Rumple romantically or platonically besides Belle...Archie, Jefferson, or David, I guess.

But this current canon version of Belle was not good for Rumple, and soon it wouldn’t be good for either of them to be together if this Belle didn’t make up her mind about her personal values and feelings for Rumple, learn to start fighting for Rumple, or leave him for good. I really hated this emotional tug of war she was playing with his heart, blatant hypocrisy, lack of empathy, inability to own up to her own mistakes, and abrupt vilification of Rumple out of nowhere, even when he did nothing to deserve it from her.

It couldn’t be healthy for either of them in canon, if Belle kept getting characterized in this way. If Belle didn’t start fighting back for Rumple when she woke up, continued to refuse to give him the chance to fight for her, continued to refuse to let him have a say, and continued to not offer compassion and understanding whenever he did try to reach out to her brokenly and honestly, then I didn’t want her with Rumple in a canon romantic relationship when she woke up because she was slowly breaking his already fragile mental health by being written this way, so that they could vilify him.

If Belle kept up this wildly OOC, unrealistic, and unhealthy emotional whiplash as a device for their plot twists of giving her contrived and unrealistic reasons to go from being loving to being pissed off at Rumple within a timeline of less than a day, instead of looking at both her and Rumple’s real and in-character issues equally, so that they could misuse her as a plot device to vilify him or hurt him by triggering his breaking point, and continued to portray her as the “blameless victim,” then I really didn’t want this version of her character with him romantically in canon as currently written again when she woke up because it wouldn’t be healthy for either one of their mental healths.

If only one person in the relationship is ever expected to make changes for the better and own up to their mistakes, then it’s not a healthy relationship, and so far Belle seemed to be the one unwilling to own up to making mistakes, not Rumple.

She didn’t even have any sort of admirable, believable, strongly rooted, or compelling set of personal values that she stuck to for more than one episode anymore because they had butchered her into such an illogically OOC hypocritical plot device in Rumple’s story, who broke her own personal values of proclaimed heroism, not wanting him to use dark magic but using it herself when it suited her, and her faith and encouragement in his potential ability to turn the curse into light magic within a day.

The reason why most people in the Dearie/Rumbelle fandom tended to side with Rumple more than Belle was because she was written by A&E and their team of hacks as more of plot device for Rumple’s story than an actual realistic human being and character after “Skin Deep” in canon from the moment she became a main character in the cast in S2, and they decided that she would never have any sort of realistic reaction or signs of trauma after being locked up for 28 years.

At least they mostly wrote Belle’s character as an individually and consistently admirable, badass, intelligent, optimistic, loving, perceptive, open-minded, humble, and empathetic heroic young woman in S2-S3, though. She may have just been a love interest in Rumple’s storyline. She may have gotten mini-fridged for Rumple’s man pain way more often than I would have liked. I had gotten annoyed with the Lacey arc. I had gotten annoyed that she wasn’t in Neverland with Rumple. I had gotten annoyed that she didn’t have any realistic traumatic reactions to being imprisoned. While I always loved Rumbelle and only have ever shipped them with each other in canon and fanon romantically once I found out about it in “Skin Deep,” I was annoyed that Belle didn’t get more storylines outside of just Rumple. She was a MPDG side character in Rumple’s story after Bae as the second most important person in his life, who he loved, which was a bit annoying.

But at least A&E didn’t outright destroy the beauty of both her and Rumple’s individual characterizations, integrity, and relationship together on screen for character assassinating Soap Opera Drama™️ by using her as a mindless plot device with no consistent individual psyche or personality of her own to vilify Rumple. At least, they let Robert and Emilie shine doing it by writing Belle as a good love interest for Rumple and vice versa in the few scenes/episodes they were in who consistently brought out the best in each other (aside from the Lacey crap).

Yeah, it was annoying that Belle didn’t have more of a story outside of Rumple that enhanced her character. However, at least they weren’t outright destroying the beauty of what little believable consistent individual characterization she had in her screen time by turning her into a mindless puppet on strings without a psyche of her own mid season four as a plot device to push Rumple forwards and backwards in his redemption arc with their spitefully misogynistic, OOC, character assassinating, and stupid “Everybody Hates Rumple, and Hook is the bestest ‘hero’ EVAH ” bullshit narrative.

That’s not an excuse for his bad choices in their relationship either, but at this point in the canon narrative, she was being written as just as much, if not more of a toxic influence in Rumple’s life to be that was not good for his mental health.

That is not me saying that Belle alone should have been responsible for Rumple’s redemption arc, their should have been internalized character development on this show too, but there really wasn’t in these characters because A&E and these writers didn’t have the talent or skill to write that, so that it was what it was.

I found it annoying that there was this set of double standards against Rumple from S4-S6 that he had to want to change for himself, and not for Belle, or anyone else, even though no one really gave him a good reason to try to change, and learn from his mistakes when none of them really ever did either, and they rejected his every attempt to try to be better, or do the right thing by derailing in the writing themselves and rejecting him, anyway.

Everyone expected Rumple to change for the better from S4-S6 for himself, even though no one else had really changed for the better themselves either, and mostly gotten worse themselves too. Yet they got away with it because the writers loved them, they were “redeemed” or “heroic,” and/or they gave them a strong support system of loved ones, who let them get away with the same shit, if not worse that they demonized Rumple so mercilessly for so much as considering doing so mercilessly.

Rumple had lied, had kept Belle in the dark about his shady plans, and he had taken away her say in all of it in S4. It was awful. It was wrong. However, he had never done any of it with any sort of cruelty, or any desire to control her in S4. He was being selfish, dishonest, and an emotional coward in S4. Not abusive, though, because abusive behavior requires a pattern of having a direct target of cruelty, and overreactions in someone’s behavior with another person, whether they be intentional or unintentional.

That is not me saying that Belle didn’t have every right to be angry with him for lying to her, and breaking up with him. But at this point in the series, Rumple had still never been cruel to Belle, he had never blamed her for his problems, he he had never insulted or belittled her, he had never stolen her autonomy (aside from that one little half-second freezing spell he cast on her in 4x01, which was wrong and gross, I’ll give you that), he had never given his enemies the means to control her or destroy her, he had never asked for her to change for him, and he had never led her on with false hope for their relationship. Belle had been doing, had done, had said, and was still doing and saying one or more of these abusive behaviors with Rumple on the show more than once now, and she was still getting away with most of it in 5B and portrayed as “heroic.”

As far as I was seeing at this point on the show, Belle was getting more points from me for being the emotionally/verbally abusive one in the relationship in canon between them than Rumple as currently written from S4-S5, which bothered me because how long was it going to take before his sanity and patience with her finally snapped?

Of course, it wouldn’t excuse Rumple for finally lashing out at Belle in response either. It would still be wildly OOC, shitty, and gross. Of course, I didn’t believe that Belle would ever “deserve any of it” from Rumple for being a bitch to him either. I would still be angry with him. I still wouldn’t excuse him either.

I’m not an abuse apologist, I’m not a misogynist, but I knew that if Rumple ever finally snapped with Belle by finally overreacting to her needless cruelty, the show’s piss poor excuse for a canon narrative would still be painting him as the “total monster who’s all to blame for his issues with Belle, who I was supposed to hate,” while Belle was still being portrayed as the “blameless victim of Rumple and the hero, who I was supposed to want to protect from her EVOL estranged ex-husband, and wrap in a blanket to hide from the world, even as she needlessly drove Rumple to his breaking point every step of the way by pushing all of his buttons over and over again for far longer in the canon narrative of their their broken relationship first by being written as uncharacteristically, needlessly, and triggeringly cruel, overreactional, hypocritical, petty, unapologetic, emotionally manipulative, and stupid from the moment she started abusing the dagger back in S4, even though he was still the only one who genuinely loved Belle for being Belle and cared about her when push came to shove, and even though none of her other so-called ‘friends’ gave a shit about her.”

That doesn’t mean that I think Belle would “deserve abuse” from Rumple in response, or that I would excuse him for overreacting and finally snapping at her either. No, I would still call him out for it, too, I would still think it was wildly OOC, and I would still feel angry. However, I would just be acknowledging that Belle provoked Rumple needlessly first by constantly overreacting, constantly making him feel unlovable, and emotionally/mentally abusing him for far longer now on the show ever since she had started using the dagger in S4, and even though everyone cheered “hero” in the GA and narrative when she abused Rumple, he would still be mercilessly vilified and framed as the “worst” for it, though.

Of course, neither of them would be allowed to escape each other healthily from the vicious cycle because the show wouldn’t allow them to have anyone else but each other to rely on for support, so they made them both OOC when they separated.

The Rumbelle relationship was so one-sided now, the show was so pettily anti-Rumple now, and the writing was so overdramatically soap operaishly OOC plot versus character driven these days that there were no lows I didn’t believe them capable of not sinking to with overdramatically OOC toxic romantic magical plot fuckery Drama™️ after what they did to CS in 5A.

I was tired of having to take sides between Rumple and Belle. I was tired of Belle getting figuratively and literally forced into this box that she did not fit in the narrative of S4 and S5 as this “super pure, blameless, and strong abuse victim of Rumple.” If anything, Rumple had more often been the victim of Belle’s emotional/verbal abuse ever since she started abusing the dagger in S4, and I was worried that they were going to vilify him by having him finally snap to “justify” Belle’s OOC inexcusably shitty treatment of him, and to “make up” for what they did to CS in 5A, no matter how little sense it made.

Of course, A&E and the writers forgot the fact that just because they made Rumple look horrible, just because they made him do inexcusably shitty OOC “shocking” horrible things to the other characters, it still didn’t absolve any of them from their inexcusably shitty treatment of him, or any of their inexcusable crimes. Just because they might make Rumple do inexcusably horrible things to them, it still didn’t absolve Emma, Hook, Belle, Regina, Zelena, Snow, or even Henry for their inexcusably shitty treatment of Rumple, or excuse them from their hypocrisy, or felonies/crimes.

I just didn’t need to see that potentially happening to Rumbelle next season. I didn’t need to see canon!Rumple potentially getting tainted for me. Not after what happened with CS in 5A. Not after the Rumbelle drama with the irrevocable damage done to Belle’s character in S4 and S5 that tainted her for me in canon being more than bad enough in the canon narrative as it already was, which is why I finally quit watching after 5B.

This show was way too disappointingly and “shockingly” predictable at this point with its inorganic storylines and arcs, especially for Rumbelle, which is sad because A&E claimed this show was about “hope,” and led us to believe that they loved Rumbelle for nearly the first two-ish seasons of the show once upon a time (pun intended). I guess they got distracted by CS.

I’ll always love the in-character Rumbelle of S1-S3 in canon, and some in-character moments/episodes on screen after that. Of course, I’ll always love, ship, read, and write amazing fanon Rumbelle! However, it really seemed to me now that in canon, while both Rumple and Belle had done bad things to each other, this version of Belle seemed to be the one getting written as the more triggeringly emotionally abusive one in the narrative to him, who was now often breaking his already fragile heart, patience, and sanity, sometimes unapologetically and deliberately now, which really was starting to make me scared for Rumple and how they would misuse her character to hurt him, or ruin him when she was awake.

But A&E and these writers must have felt so proud for ruining canon Belle so much for me that it made me dread what would happen next to her and Rumple’s characters/relationship on screen next with how much they were writing her like such a inconsistently OOC mindless emotional whiplash to vilify her beast.

They really had run out of ideas now, and were so desperate to prop up Crapstain Swan that they were actually making Belle, another formerly strong female and feminist character into an OOC emotionally abusive, artificially pure, and hypocritical whiplash and plot device in her story with the man who she was supposed to bring out the good in by being misused by these writers to needlessly shatter his already fragile heart and sanity, so they could vilify him, while she acted like a doormat to a bunch of her so-called “friends,” who treated her like shit with no apologies to spare.

Meanwhile, they were turning Emma Swan into a codependent, violent, and annoying damsel-in-distress, who abandoned her family and personal values, so that she and Killy!Poo could be framed as the “most healthy couple on this show” when really they were just the gross, cheap, and shallow conventionally attractive rip off version of Rumbelle that Eddy had a boner for. These writers honestly disgusted me with their obsession over Hook/CS, which seemed to lead to the utter destruction of two truly strong female heroines, Emma and Belle, and the only truly compelling original non-gender conforming male lead, Rumple.

Hook’s inherently toxic masculinity and misogyny being romanticized by Neal’s death, the utter destruction of three beautiful characters, and the show’s most beautiful, compelling, complex, and entertaining non conventional het ship on this show, really pissed me off to no end. He was like an infection that spread all over everything that truly made this show great.

I know that there is nothing I can say to you that will make you change your mind about not watching next season, but just remember that it’s “Once Upon a Hook” now, or “Once Upon a Wasted Potential.” But our favorite characters and ships essentially died on screen in 3A. Our Emma, our Rumple, our Belle, our Rumbelle, our Snow, our David, our Snowing, our Regina, and our Henry all essentially died in “Going Home,” and live on in the only thing about OUAT left that generally still makes sense, and feels worth staying in this fandom for: OUAT fanfiction on ao3 and ff.net for Rumbelle, Swanqueen, and Swanfire.

There were hints of the fantastic characters/ships they once were here and there on this awful crack!fic OUAT soap opera AU on screen, but for the most part these characters/ships were now just hollowed out shells of the wasted potential of their former selves driven by purely external OOC magical plot fuckery, writer favoritism, and soap opera angst that was so ridiculously badly written, forced, inconsistent, melodramatic, unrealistic, and stupid that it wasn’t even worth blaming the characters for any of it anymore at this point on this tragically laughable joke of a wasted potential television show. A&E and their team of hacks fucked them all up. Blame them for destroying our favorite characters in favor of OOC, stupid, and plot driven melodrama, not the characters themselves. I could understand if any of it made realistic or logical sense, but it had made less and less realistic and logical sense for six seasons now, then completely derailed past the point of no return after “Going Home” because two-and-half seasons of consistent, justified, original, satisfying, and mostly believable character development and characterization was clearly all that Adam and Eddy could handle coming up with on their own when they were so plot versus character driven after Damon Lindlelof left.

OP IS SPOILER FREE!

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“firebird” impressions

{Quick request to anyone reading: I’m watching OUaT for the first time, and I want to avoid spoilers. So, if you want to discuss something spoilery, I’d be grateful if you could start a new post for that. Thank you!}

OK, let’s just lead with the headlines:

Belle in a box!

…OK, there was more to the episode, but this is definitely the funniest bit. Not much else to laugh about, really. This is finale territory, after all, which means almost everything is Dire and Serious.

Told you.

More under the cut.

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