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amelikos · 1 year ago

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Some character notes and episode notes for HZ027, writing them down for future reference.

I like how Liko and Mollie's relationship is highlighted in the episode. These two have been close since the beginning: Mollie entrusting Liko with her order at the Pokemon Center in HZ003, Mollie telling Liko about her past as a doctor and the reason why she quit in HZ011, Mollie helping Liko understand Mibrim's issues better in HZ021 (and complimenting her for being compassionate!), and now Mollie is encouraging Liko to be more reckless and assertive instead of thinking too much and being stuck. Given how Mollie is a doctor and heals, it really fits well with Liko's desire to understand more about Pokemon and empathetic nature. Liko learns a lot from her.

Dot being tricked by Spinel once again was good and I hope to see more of their dynamics in the future. It was nice how Friede tried to reassure her about experiencing setbacks and seeing things for herself. We usually see Friede being more of a mentor to Liko and Roy so I like when Dot gets to learn from him too.

Terapagos and the others playing with Kajirigame was cute. There were many nice Pokemon moments in the episode, I like seeing them do their own thing.

Seeing the Explorers in a setting other than missions or meetings was fun. They seem to be able to sit in a room together. I also like that their Pokemon are always with them and not in their Pokeballs, it really highlights the bond between them.

Onyx gets irritated by Sango's behavior. Sango said something intriguing which is that anything goes in the Explorers, so I wonder if she joined the organization because it gave her a sense of freedom?

Spinel and Agate's dynamics is interesting. I like how they seem to be able to work closely together (they were already in a laboratory together in HZ024), given how Agate asked Spinel about his misinformation campaign. So he probably told her that he wanted to do something like that and actually shared his plans with her. Despite that, Agate remains a bit suspicious of him, like when she asked him during the meeting if he knew something they didn't when Spinel suggested they shouldn't resort to force against the Rising Volt Tacklers. She probably knows how he is and tries to subtly get information out of him, even if Spinel immediately dodged the question. I hope we see more of them eventually.

Food being used in Dot's storyline as a way to get her out of her comfort zone, interact with others and try different things has been really good. She was a bit reluctant at first but it's nice that she eventually tried to help for the curry and look for berries with Liko, and finally shared a meal with everyone.

Roy seems to know how to cook and was skilled at cutting onions, I wonder if he used to cook with his grandfather?

Liko and Roy really got into the curry battle and it's fun to see that they were on the same page when it came to putting their hearts into their meal. Episodes like this one really reminds me that I enjoy the way these two click together and interact. Their friendship is good.

Friede feeding Cap was the cutest thing.

Zir reflecting on the word "friends" when he watched Gurumin's video was curious... I wonder what will come from it. Gurumin's video talked about how being with friends is reassuring, so I wonder if he wants to be like that to help Amethio. (Also, confirmation that he is indeed a Gurumin fan, which was obvious but still nice to see him actually watching her stuff)

Explorers meeting and they actually shared information with each other, for the most part. Spinel still doesn't reveal everything he knows since it's unverified information. He'd rather monitor Liko and the others and knows it's risky to confront them given how Oliva was summoned when he faced them. I wonder if he'll act independently out of curiosity since he seemed interested in Liko being the key to what he witnessed.

Amethio speculated that the one who awakened Oliva and Galar Fire wasn't Terapagos but Rayquaza, which I suspected too. It really feels like Rayquaza is guiding everyone to where Lucius's Pokemon are located. Interesting to see that Amethio didn't react to any remarks made towards him (but his Soulblades did) and remained calm. Seems like Friede's words about not letting words rile him up made him try to keep his composure? He listened to others and explained his thought process. He even agreed with Spinel when the only time they interacted before was Amethio being riled up by Spinel's words. I also thought it was curious that everyone seemed to follow his lead and that Amethio was at the center visually. Gibeon wasn't there, but Amethio gave a new direction to the mission since everyone agrees with prioritizing finding Rayquaza over Terapagos? I wonder about his place in the organization.

I liked how Dot noticed that Liko seemed to be pushing herself this episode, it shows that she is paying attention to her and knows how she usually is. It's not just Liko paying attention to Dot. The way they grow closer at their own pace is really good and I hope they get to talk more in the future. I feel like so many things about Dot are still a mystery (why she is on the ship, why she considered that IRL relationships were a waste of time, her family) so when the time comes, perhaps she'll talk about it to Liko.

#hz027 #character notes #episode notes #liko #roy #dot #spinel #agate #mollie #amethio

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felixcloud6288 · 1 year ago

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Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 37

Who would have thought the heist was a setup for the Super Heist?

It's been three days since the breakout heist. Poor Falman has been dealing with Barry and Lin for too long.

This chapter has a lot of reread value just in itself. We have Roy using a military line to make a personal call to a woman named Elizabeth. On a first read, this is an absolutely shameless and tasteless scene of Roy. He murdered Maria Ross just a few days ago and he's gotten over it to the point that he's hitting on other women. The personnel in the room reflect how the reader should feel.

Then on a reread, it's still shameless and tasteless, but at least he's not actually trying to flirt with a woman after everything that's happened. (I mean, he probably is genuinely enjoying flirting with Hawkeye, but he's putting on an act.)

Roy mentions wanting to go fishing. And then on a reread, we understand what he's fishing for.

Ed still doesn't know how to move forward after what happened with Hughes and Maria Ross. His table is covered in notebooks and paper. There are some wadded up papers as well. He's been trying to figure out how to proceed but has no ideas.

For the first time, he's asking someone else for some guidance but all Winry can think of is to confess she wishes they'd stop traveling. She's afraid they'll leave one day and never come back. But she doesn't want them to give up on getting their old bodies back.

How careless of Ed to dent his automail like that. How kind of Alex Louis Armstrong to escort Ed to Resembool to get it fixed.

And now, the Super Heist begins!! This whole thing is amazing because we get to see Roy's team show what they can do. 2nd Lieutenant Havok shows off his skill as a close-range combat officer, Lieutenant Hawkeye shows her sniping prowess, and we see how Master Sergeant Fuery's communications rig.

Hawkeye and Havok have several food cans lying around, implying they've been on stakeout for the last few days.

My favorite detail of Fuery's setup is he has two phone receivers tied to each other to create a something like a three-way call.

And this is the first non-bonus chapter where we meet the Good Boy. If he's going to be part of this operation, he needs a rank. Since he's a new recruit, I'll give him the rank of Private.

Poor Warrant Officer Falman is instead showing how inexperienced he is. He was quick to act and fired his gun without hesitation, but he was shaky during the whole encounter with Barry's body and he blew Havok's cover.

Also if you didn't notice, everyone's code names were based on their actual names. Riza Hawkeye is "Elizabeth". Jean Havok is "Jacqueline". Kain Fuery is "Kate". In the bonus material for chapter 10, Arakawa more or less points this out. It also mentions Vato Falman's code name is "Vanessa", and it's implied Hawkeye came up with the names. She named her black-furred dog Black Hayate (hayate means wolf) so overall, we can infer that Hawkeye is bad at coming up with names.

Barry realizes the whole situation that they're being attacked by his original body which has been fused with some animal soul. He thinks his body is trying to regain its soul and he can feel his own soul tingle with the same desire. Although his own twisted mind is translating that ecstasy as a desire to chop his old body up. Barry seems sad to see what happened to his old body.

Hawkeye does a similar eye thing to Roy, but her moments don't seem to linger as much. They changed color when she had to fire her gun, but then they went back to normal right after. But when she noticed Gluttony, her eyes changed in preparation of taking the shot. Sniping is stressful.

And Roy's eyes did the thing when he panicked that something might happen to Hawkeye.

The chapter ends with Lanfan confronting Envy and stating she can detect Envy has multiple souls in them. She launches a signal flare telling all parties in the super heist to converge.

back

Spoiler Discussion

Let's talk about the Super Heist!!!

First off, who are the primary conspirators? Based on all the conversation prior to it, we can assume Roy is the sole mastermind and the only people he purposely brought into it are Hawkeye, Havok, and Fuery. Meanwhile, Falman and Barry were unknowingly involved.

HOWEVER, because this spun off from the jailbreak heist, he had to bring other people in to support this operation and take care of the aftermath of the previous heist. Lin Yao and his retainers must have gotten clued into it because they're helping smuggle Maria Ross out of the country.

Meanwhile, Roy brought Armstrong into the Super Heist by having him take Ed out of the picture. When Ed and Armstrong meet Breda in the East area, Breda was fully expecting Ed, so Armstrong wasn't using Ed as an excuse to head east. He was instructed to bring Ed with him.

The biggest thing I'd like to know is whether or not Lin Yao was a direct conspirator in the Super Heist or if he figured out something was going to happen. On the one hand, Lan Fan didn't know if Havok was an ally so they were not clued in on some of the details. On the other hand, she was ordered by Lin to send a signal if anything happens, so they were expecting something and Roy is following the signal at the end of the chapter.

#fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchemist reread

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dr34mz · 1 year ago

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i hated tom's ass when i first started succession i thought he was a pathetic little brown-nosing kiss-ass that desperately wanted to marry into the roy family/empire/company, who loved the idea of being a roy more than loving shiv roy herself. he was so mean &antagonistic towards greg, who was his punching bag like he was to the roys. someone he can insult &they cant really talk back unless they want their shit rocked (emotionally &perhaps financially?) the fact that he had to just grin &bear shiv's one-sided open relationship further proved my point. i literally wanted shiv to end up w/ nate so they could write tom's character off the show lmao

BUT after boar on the floor my opinion of him changed since he covered for greg even though it would've benefited him to rat him out. then I'm like maybe he does care for greg? maybe he does "got him"?

but then i get MY shit rocked in safe room. first off the bit where he interviews the neo-nazi news anchor is the funniest scene in all of succession. SECONDLY the fake safe room confrontation bottle throwing was insane. if i was greg i would simply leave (but also i would never put myself in this situation to begin w/) but greg is putting up w/ it even tho there are witnesses to tom's madness? like he could just write him up w/ HR? if it was not already clearly established it is now fact that greg is so fucking whipped, pathetic, and spineless. just like tom!!

when tom finally admits to shiv his unhappiness in their marriage during the s2 finale it rlly redeemed him in my eyes lol. i think this is when i started to actually like him. the people's princess

i think tom &shiv's relationship is always reflected in tom &greg's relationship. shiv needs tom to be her pain sponge &tom needs greg to be his pain sponge. shiv loves tom when tom is subservient but doesn't respect him. tom forces greg into being subservient but actually seems to like it when greg stands up for himself. tom can't show shiv when he's hurt, scared, or angry but he can show all his negative emotions times 10 in front of greg. in front of greg he acts like a grandiose lord. i love his stupid overly complicated phrases.

anywayz i can say now that tom is one of my favorite succession characters. he wanted money& power, worked his way into it, then managed to successfully court a woman fathoms above him to obtain even more money &power. but shiv couldn't show him love or affection the way he needed to have a happy marriage. so he betrays her, becomes CEO &owns greg! tomgreg stans rise up

#tomposting #text #succession

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madigemme · 2 years ago

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Virtual Sketchbook #1

Pictures are in order of list*

1. WRITING AND RESEARCH –

Discussion: Introductions/First Artworks

Hello, my name is Madilyn Gemme. One fact about me is that I am always taking pictures. I own two photography businesses: one of my own, in which I take individual portraits (Film by Madilyn), and another, in which I take photos for my school (Mustangs on Film). After graduating with my AA, I hope to minor in photography and expand my business.

Roy Lichtenstein 1963 Whaam! Oil on canvas; 5’7” x 13’4”.

1. “Whaam!” and “Drowning Girl” are generally regarded as Lichtenstein's most famous works.

2. “Whaam!” does not feature a protective layer over the painting, meaning attracting dirt to the work’s surface was expected. Damage is even noticeable in some areas of the work. However, Lichtenstein made it clear he was aware of his painting’s vulnerability, and from these encounters, it is assumed he did not care for the risks posed by dirt deposition.

3. Dorothy Lichtenstein shocked the world following the death of her husband, Roy Lichtenstein, stating that he "was not a fan of comics and cartoons."

4. Roy Lichtenstein was an artist known for portraying adaptations or impressions of other artists' creations.

5. Roy Lichtenstein served in the army both during and after World War II.

The first time I saw this artwork, I thought of the movie Top Gun. Words like dramatic, action, and explosions popped into my mind. After realizing it was more of a hysterical or exaggerated way of portraying an army scene, I took the work relatively the same, but I was able to recognize the hidden serious tones. Based on my research, Roy Lichtenstein created this piece based on another comic, All American Men of War, which represents similar scenes of battle; however, Lichtenstein uses his personal style to exaggerate his portrayal. Glancing at this a second time following my research made me think of how battle scenes tend to be portrayed in pop culture, but gave me a chance to think of the military in terms of reality and the sacrifices our force makes that do not tend to reflect the comic books.

2. ART AND WRITING –

I created this popsicle piece in 2017 as a gift for my mom's birthday. It’s hung on my fridge since then and is very special to me as it demonstrates how close my family and I have always been. Looking at it every day serves as a reminder of who has always been by my side throughout life. To create it, I glued together popsicle sticks and utilized paint and detailed brushes to get those specific shapes and curves. In my opinion, I have improved artistically, but this piece is one of my most beautiful works. The fact I was able to create something for my mom, and for myself, that serves as a reminder of the love our family has for each other, is something that can’t be compared to any of my other creations.

3. WRITING A SELF-PORTRAIT –

I am a 17-year-old white woman from Florida and primarily align with the female gender or she/her pronouns. For fun, I absolutely love to express myself through photography. I even own multiple accounts to post my visions. In the beginning, it started off casual, but now I have progressed enough to charge for professional photoshoots. I’ve published through my workplace, The Copper Closet, and with my high school, where I also own a photography business called Mustangs on Film. Both are my greatest achievements. I also love going to the theater and watching new movies. One of my dreams is to pursue acting, although I’ve had little experience outside of my school’s theater program. I have worked in retail at The Copper Closet in UTC Mall for over a year now and love the environment there. I was previously in an unhealthy workspace, so the change was needed. Through it, I have met some of my greatest friends and discovered my love for fashion. I am a big supporter of cultural change and strive to donate and support movements such as the Black Lives Matter movement and the pro-choice movement. I consider myself very passionate about my views, and I hope to become more involved when I move to a bigger university. Another one of my passions is journalism. After I graduate from SCF, I hope to move into the media production aspect of journalism and fulfill roles in news production and reporting. I joined this class to look at art in an influential way. I love how pieces can make people feel different things and the idea of "no purpose" art. Sometimes people try to explain art while they are really just explaining their feelings. I love that art makes us do this, though. When I approach a piece, I always like to focus on how it makes me feel and the emotion or vulnerability that can pull something so unique and ambitious together to make me feel this certain way. My favorite form of art has to be photography. I obsess over the different visions and creations people can share, the way photos are a unique process, and how much work goes on behind the scenes. To me, art is creation, emotion, and collaboration.

4. ART PROJECT (SELF-PORTRAIT) –

For my project, I expressed my passion for photography by hand sketching my own photographed self-portrait that I took through my camera and placing it within the first camera I ever got. I also placed the pencil I used to sketch the portrait on the side, as sketching was the first form of art I found myself attached to as a kid. I distinctly remember sketching drawings for my friends and even random kids on the playground who wanted a weird monster or cartoon to take home. It was the first time I realized I had some artistic skills. Sketching guided me to where my artistic expression is now, which is why I have placed it in the back of my portrait to symbolize how my love for photography has built on the foundation of my old sketches.

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hymnoire · 1 year ago

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Laying on the bed, her thoughts are spinning and spiraling. Her eyes, stuck on the ceiling. The sheets are made of silk, the walls covered in velvet and the lights, dimmed. It is a small world within a world in this room, the World of Mask Girl. The lamps of colors; golden and red reflect on the satin of her dress and the glitters of her skin, her blond hair spread all around her uncovered face. The live with the community has ended an hour ago. She danced tonight, for them. It was a first, it was fun, for the praises to fall and drown her, heart emojis, gifts, virtual hugs and kisses. Her Stage. On this one she was a Goddess, the one and only, the Truth in a world of lies for them all : these men, her fans, her followers. They adore her. And as time goes, she adores the adoration they cover her in. A sound sings from the desk, at the other side of the room : a notification. Raising from her sheets, Mara sits down and eyes the screen. Crawling on the top of the bed she leans in line a cat to check on who is requesting her : T-Leo. A regular who talks to her every night. Besides her fame, Mara does not accept all requests. To begin with, she was not supposed to accept any, it wasn't necessary for the investigation now, was it? Some are of bad taste, others that make her uncomfortable but him? She always opens their conversation. There is something enslaving, on their side and on hers : the enslavement of being seen. Sitting down the leather chair, there's a corner smile on her rosy lips reading his words. He had a bad day and he wanted to see her to make it better. She had a bad day too - a day of fighting for her transfer to the homicide unit, a day of facing her hierarchy choosing someone else over her, a day of coming back to an empty home alone, a day of her phone never ringing for real life company. All these men, praising her, wanting her, dreaming of her were alone, lonely Oh so Lonely. Poor poor little human dogs wimping for a piece of Mask Girl. Wasn't she just equally... Lonely? There is something soothing to her, in realizing that despite wearing masks, despite hiding behind aliases in online spheres, true colors of a soul, theirs and hers, can only show here. Her thin fingers wrapped around her mask, she places it delicately on her eyes.

[ Mask Girl ] I am always online for you, Mon Roi.

He is nice, she thinks. Mara is surprised of how respectful of her privacy he is, never insisting for her to take the mask off, never insisting for her to take of her clothes off. The call is launched and she waits for him to answer. He is handsome too, Mara believes. Foreigners and older men always have that little spice to them - it's the way he pronounces the words with a french accent tainted english, it's sophisticated. Lonely - he is too, but what it is that Mara likes it even more when they're isolated like that? Perhaps it's the eyes, the more alone they are, the grander they worship the Mask. I'ts dangerous to enjoy performing that much, and she does : when she places her elbow down the desk, her chin in the palm of her hand, a smile on her delicious lips. She knows he desires her. She wants him to. The mask she wears when the calls are private is a little smaller, only covering her eyes, revealing her mouth for him to follow the words on them. "Bonsoir, Mon Prince." Her voice is suave and slow. Her french is not the best but they have their effect on him, she knows that. "I can tell you had a bad day. You usually come and find me a little earlier than that, didn't you miss me?" The question is a little bit of an act, the pout on, before letting out a discreet, charming laugh indicating she's just teasing him. "Mmm. Wait, what is it I see you're eating? This microwave stuff... they're never good are they? I would have cooked something for you instead, for us to share." She then adds with her thin smile never disappearing, on a calm; soothing voice. "I had a bad day too, Mon Ami, so I'm happy to see you. The world outside of our bubble is Oh so cruel, isn't it? You can tell me about all the horrible things it did to you and then, I will make put a smile back on those lips of yours with a little surprise, how about that?"

#OK BUT I LOVE THEM STOP ALREADY #I'm exciteddddddd #龍 : 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚 / the chameleon.#龍 : 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚 / interactions.

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samwpmarleau · 2 years ago

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i haven't had a lot of interest in ted lasso but that schmidt/cece comparison got me. do you think it's accurate? why do you love jamie tartt and why should he and keeley be together?

I love Jamie for a lot of reasons! They’re under the cut because this got long.

(Re: The Schmidt/Cece comparison, full disclosure, I think I’ve watched like one episode of New Girl in my life — you can thank @stonesandswords for introducing me to those two — but from what I understand, they end up together so I’m on board! The scenes I’ve pulled up of them on YouTube have also by and large had Jamie/Keeley vibes, which has been fun to watch. So while I can’t say whether it’s beat-for-beat accurate or not because a) I haven’t seen the show and b) Ted Lasso isn’t done yet, meaning at this point it’s more of an it’s-always-sunny-meme type of thing, what I have seen has provided some nice parallels. The answer to your last question is at the end of this post.)

Mainly I love Jamie because of his depth. On the surface, and he’s presented as such in the beginning, he’s just a dumb jock, but he isn’t that at all.

He’s not dumb, for one — he has a few malapropisms, but he knows what he means to say, it’s just the word(s) itself that he mixes up sometimes. Which can largely be attributed, I think, to the fact that he grew up poor and thus his education probably wasn’t up to par; he was scouted into football very young and so academics probably weren’t a focus in his teens either; and if you, like me, subscribe to the theory that he has dyslexia, that’s a big part of it as well.

He’s not just a jock, either. He’s one of the most emotionally intelligent characters in the series, for better or worse he says what’s on his mind, is very willing to be corrected, and readily takes advice both on a personal level and professional. He eats Keeley out with enthusiasm, too, what’s not to love?

And, of course, there’s the veneer he puts on to hide why he is the way he is. We think he’s a dick simply to be a dick in the beginning, but find out later that no, there’s a reason for that. More importantly, however, he breaks that cycle. As early as episode two we see that he wants to be more, which is compounded by the time episode six comes around, then obviously all of season two.

Despite growing up being physically and emotionally abused, he thrives on physical contact and genuine emotional connection. Despite having the “Be A Real Man” bullshit drilled into him, he seeks input from others (Keeley especially, though not exclusively) and craves validation. The little things, too: Whereas, it’s heavily indicated, James Tartt is a violent alcoholic, Jamie drinks as little as he can get away with; despite Jamie’s childhood (or at least adolescence) being stolen from him, he goes out of his way to make the kids he interacts with have a positive experience and look up to him; despite growing up with conflict, he doesn’t like it and removes himself from situations rather than escalates or continues them (with the exception of riling up Roy).

Obviously he’s not perfect. When we meet him, he’s mean and a bully and allergic to vulnerability that lasts more than two seconds. But he’s trying, and he’s made the most growth of anyone on the show, most of it all by himself. Yes, he got nudges in the right directions — e.g., Ted telling him to make the extra pass, Keeley telling him to talk to Ted, etc. — but at the end of the day, he was the one who made those decisions. He took stock of his life, said, “I don’t want to be this person anymore,” and changed his behavior. Especially for someone who had so much messed-up shit instilled in him, that’s huge! I love that he had the self-reflection to realize all of that, and that he took the steps to change it.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Phil’s part in all of this, as well. Jamie as a character is fascinating and I adore him, but I don’t think I’d be as enthralled if it weren’t for Phil’s acting choices. Even more than the main aspects of how he plays him are the subtle aspects. The flinches at sudden movement, the shutting down when male authority figures are yelling in his face, the fidgeting, the line deliveries, the way he actually made that free kick in 2x06 (okay, not that’s not an acting choice, but it’s still amazing), the way you only need to watch a single interview of the guy to see how good of an actor he is because he’s nothing like Jamie (this is one of my favorites for how insightful it is). He’s also very, very pretty.

I could go on for hours, but I hope that clears things up well enough 😄

AS FOR HIM AND KEELEY, I wrote about a lot of my thoughts on them here so I’ll try not to rehash all of that.

Were they good for each other long-term when the series began? No. I don’t think anyone has ever argued that they were. As mentioned above, Jamie had a tendency to backpedal as soon as he let down his guard even a little (though he let it down far more for Keeley than anyone else), and Keeley underestimated herself and didn’t take herself seriously. But we see how fond of each other they were and are, how when it’s just them they’re soft and silly together, how they value one another, and how they don’t diminish or patronize each other.

Most relevant for going forward is that they’ve both grown. Contrary to what much of the fandom would have you believe when it comes to talking about them in a shipping sense (which, sidebar: It’s so bizarre to me how people will acknowledge that growth for the individual characters, yet pretend it doesn’t exist when it comes to a possible relationship rekinding), neither of them — Jamie especially — are the same people they were at the start of the series.

Jamie has matured, readily shares what he’s feeling, lowers his walls, and lets people help him. Keeley has high self-esteem, gumption, ambition, and a lack of superficiality. They’re at similar stages in life, both of them having long, successful careers ahead of them, both of them relishing the excitement and possibility of it all, neither of them looking to settle down.

All of that paired with the intangible connection that brought and kept them together in the first place, their familiarity with one another, and the fact that they would know precisely what to avoid as a couple this time around, I think that gives them a very solid foundation on which to build a proper relationship. And on a more thematic level, there is something very satisfying, I think, about how it took them breaking up to become the people they needed to be to come back together again.

#if j/k isn't your thing then just skip the end #most of this is only about jamie #but i'll tag anyway for people who may have it blacklisted #jamie tartt #keeley jones #jamie x keeley #tl

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larenoz · 3 years ago

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There Has To Be Three - Updated

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Originally posted as part of @rnmmarchformeta but updated to reflect some new additions. Only three eps in and already enough for an update!!

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From the very beginnings of the show, symbolism related to the number three has been present.

The most obvious example of this is the mysterious symbol seen throughout the show. We see it displayed in the town lights when the power returns after Max causes the blackout. It has recurred so often in their lives that both Max and Michael have it tattooed on their bodies.

It is initially described in terms of being a beacon. In 1.09 Songs About Texas, Max sees the symbol on the flyer for the Indigenous faith healer, Arizona. It’s here that Max learns about the way the symbol mysteriously forms near certain people, and its link to the silent woman on the reservation.

We later learn that in addition to its role as a beacon, the symbol is used as a lock. It is the Pod Squad placing their hands on their respective circle on the symbol that unlocks Mr Jones’ cell.

And again, we see the number three associated with a lock and key on the box used to house Tripp’s diary left to Patricia.

But is the power of the design intrinsic or is it what the design represents?

Does the symbol in fact represent an important cultural or biological concept for the race of aliens to which Max, Isobel, and Michael belong? Join me dear readers on my journey into the “aliens need to be in groups of three to form stable relationships and be happy” head canon.

Could it be possible that the aliens only function successfully when they form relationships, be they romantic, sexual, platonic, sibling etc when it contains three people?

We see many different groupings of people, that don’t seem to work properly until they are together or that when fractured, bad things happen.

Pod squad - Iz, Michael, Max

Science Bros - Liz, Michael, Kyle

Family - Liz, Rosa, Arturo

Family - Liz, Rosa, Kyle

Friends - Liz, Maria, Alex

Barn Crew - Nora, Louise, Roy

The Parents - Mimi, Jim, Jesse

Manes Men - Alex, Flint, Greg

In 2.05 we are given an answer by Max:

“The thing is, there has to be three. Okay. There’s always three. Until the end.”

“Cause it’s all broken without three.”

This is confirmation from canon that at least for the Pod Squad, three is the magic number.

The question then becomes was Max talking only about their specific situation or is it indicative of the wider cultural/biological alien imperative?

In terms of the Pod Squad, even though they are together physically, emotionally they are distant. The events surrounding Rosa’s death break the trust within the group and the closeness they had before that event is lost. It’s only once those secrets are out in the open and they begin to repair their relationship as a group, that they each start to heal their other relationships as individuals. Obviously, there are other events impacting their individual circumstances but the point holds.

Could this within its full cultural manifestation be that triads are the norm for the aliens? And that the 2.06 threesome is them unwittingly falling into the cultural norms of Michael’s society?

Does the threesome between Maria, Alex and Michael happen because they were already the most likely (basically people who are all outsiders in some way and therefore already breaking societal norms) to be open to unconventional relationship structures and therefore more open to acting on the drive towards a triadic group?

Originally posted by rosaortecho

Like for Kaliz, Kyle provides that balance, cause Max isn’t great at setting boundaries with Liz.

And even with Alex, Maria and Liz, their friendship was broken until they all came back together.

Even in non-romantic/sexual situations the characters tend to work better in groups of three. It isn’t until Kyle, Liz and Michael all start working together that they start making headway on healing Max and it’s only when they all contribute something equally (Liz regrowing the heart, Michael making the pacemaker and Kyle conducting the surgery) that they finally succeed.

I like that alien culture isn’t just a replication or mirror of our world. And that the differences provide a lens for us to examine our own cultural defaults. - eg monogamy (which historically hasn’t always been the default even in the West). Canon has explicitly questioned the assumption that the aliens experience sexuality in the same way as humans. Michael says in 1.11 Champagne Supernova:

“Oh, we are literally aliens, and you’re gonna hold me to some outdated binary of sexuality?”

And Isobel in 2.07 Como La Flor:

“I mean, what does an alien care about human gender constructs?”

It isn’t such a stretch to suggest that how their society structures its intimate and familial relationships is also different than humans? If aliens aren’t monosexual by default, it’s highly possible they aren’t monogamous by default either.

While allegory plays an important part in the storytelling of the show, I wish that they would also take advantage of their sci-fi setting to explore other aspects of the aliens’ culture. Use the sci-fi genre to explore how they are different as much as how they are the same as humans. The story so far has given us so many elements that could be used as a what-if starting point for exploring different possible experiences. For example, how The Expanse has shown that as humanity expands into space different distinct culture develop. In the show, we see the exploration of a polyamous Belter family that Drummer finds herself in - the #PolyamBelterFam

Realistically, we aren’t going to see this. Even though hey even went as far as having portraying a canon threesome but stopped short of fully exploring the potential of this event by giving us a fully realised polyamorous relationship.

Nevertheless, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the “three” symbolism and it’s going to be interesting to see if it gets developed further.

Update 11 Aug 2021 (Post S3 Ep 3):

So only three eps in and we already have new "There Needs To Be Three" content. Let's start with the most obvious!!

Our introduction to the home planet of the Pod Squad gives us this image of the night sky with Three Moons!! Which are sort of in the same configuration as the lock symbol?

In the dialogue of the show, Isobel actually uses the term "Triad" to describe the pod squad:

"Okay, you're right. We've all been hiding things from each other. And it has to stop.

We're not strong unless we're together. It's like you said; there has to be three. We're a triad."

(text courtesy of Saadiestuff transcripts)

In S3 Ep 3 we see Michael coming to possession of some enhanced turquoise. He ends up giving pieces to Alex, while Isobel also gets a piece. Both Michael and Alex use their pieces to boost or interact with some alien technology, while Isobel's piece enhances her empathic power.

This one is purely theoretical at this point, but what about the Lockheart Machine and Jim's Radio - is there a missing third machine to complete a machine/circuit?

#roswell nm #roswell new mexico #roswellnm #symbolism #michael guerin #alex manes #maria deluca #liz ortecho #rnm spoilers #max evans #kyle valenti #isobel evans

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red-winters · 5 years ago

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*Batfam fic-recs

*Some are Tim Drake Centric

**Some links are not working in mobile (and ONLY mobile) for some reason? And some titles that were bolded in the original post are ALSO not displaying on mobile correctly. Idk what to do about that, but you can still look up the fic, I guess.

The Bat’s Crest - livierambles

Note: I will always keep recommending this fic. It’s epic, thrilling, and hilarious and sometimes angsty. Also, everyone is confused, including the ones doing the confusing. Maybe especially the ones doing the confusing. Also, some Tim and Damian bonding, which is always nice.

Summary: Tragedy strikes the hero community when Bruce Wayne commits a crime so heinous even the best start asking for blood. However, as the heroes try to recover from the hit and carry out justice for their friends, a random assortment of people start acting oddly, including the current Speedy Tim Drake, a child hostage in Gotham, and a young man from an unremarkable circus amongst others. All of them seem intent on saving Bruce Wayne from the grasp of the Justice League for no apparent reason, going as far as betraying their previous allegiances.

Unknown to the Justice League, these people are equally confused. Clearly they're stuck in another dimension, but how do they get back? How did they even get here? Who else is stuck in this world? And how long will Tim's patience last? Back home, the Bat was a planetary symbol that struck fear in the hearts of criminals. In this new world, it has no meaning, save for the handful of stranded souls.

In the Shadows - Kieron_ODuibhir

(shortened) Summary:

“I’m not like you.”

The cowl still looked like something he was wearing, but Clark knew it was not. It flexed like skin when Batman narrowed his blank white eyes and said, “I can see you know that.”

Chirp - AmariT

Summary: Every piece of the signal Tim unlocked revealed more locks, and by the time he broke through the last one, he was already mentally rehearsing his many upcoming talk show appearances. 'Yes,' he told the interviewer, 'it was difficult for me, a ten-year-old genius, to break open the worldwide alien conspiracy. That's why it took a whole hour.'

When the crackling audio started, he expected some weird alien language. Maybe squawks and high-pitched squeals mixed with musical woofs. Maybe they wouldn't talk at all, and images would beam directly into his mind. Maybe they'd talk in practiced English with a Midwestern drawl like their other resident alien.

Instead he heard a low, guttural voice growling out of his computer speakers. "Robin," it said. "Are you in position?"

A Better Cage - Mangaluva

Note: I was absolutely DELIGHTED to see a Young Justice Crossover with the Justice Lords (Earth-50) from the animated Justice League series, which is near and dear to my heart. I admit I haven’t really had much time to hunker down and read this, but even skimming, it’s an intriguing piece of work. Also, Justice Lords.

Summary: Wally's grateful to have woken up at all, really. He just doesn't know what to make of the world he's woken up in. At least they want to find a way to his world as much as he does, if not exactly for the same reasons...

Common People - AmariT

Note: The Bat boys are all Bruce’s blood sons, but it still feels very much like a found family. I haven’t really read everything in this series, but I feel the author has an amazing grip on all the characters. Lovely and heartwarming.

Summary: His whole life, Jason’s mom had told him his dad was Bruce Wayne, but he’d never been dumb enough to actually believe it. They lived in a rundown, one-room apartment in the worst part of town, and in every single picture he’d ever seen of that rich bastard he was wearing a suit or sipping champagne worth more than everything they’d ever owned.

But if he wasn’t Bruce Wayne’s kid, then what the hell was he doing sitting outside the man’s office in Wayne Towers?

Red Robin and the Hood - momoejaku

Note: Haven’t read this in a while, but it made an impression. Though it’s a fic set during the Red Robin arc, it very much is about both Tim and Jason. Plus, it fleshes out the Pru and Z a bit more, too.

Summary: Bruce Wayne is dead. Superman brought back his body, and the family mourned him, holding a quiet funeral in secret so that the legacy of Batman could live on. But not everyone has been able to put him to rest.

Reeling from the loss of Bruce, his identity as Robin and his trust in his family, Tim Drake sets out on a personal quest that will take him across the world to prove what he knows in his heart: that Bruce Wayne is alive.

Though intending to make his way alone, Tim reluctantly accepts help from his predecessor, Jason Todd, who knows from personal experience that death is not always as final as it seems.

Together, they are Red Robin and the Hood.

Liminal Spaces - Calamityjim

Note: Skimmed this only since I’ve been busy, BUT it does look well-written, and I’m always a sucker for alternate dimension/dimension travel intervention-type of fix-its. It’s a very specific trope.

Summary:

Bruce's habit of collecting strays is not limited by dimension.

When Young Justice Batman comes across an angsty, seemingly abandoned by his Batman Tim Drake, he decides to step up to the plate and parent the crap out of him.

Little Bird’s Vengeance - KatHarkness-Katara

Note: Crossover with Avengers. Awesome fic with Tim and Jason and some Outsider POV (via the Avengers) of these dimensional stragglers. I think Tim’s team shows up in the later chapters, too. If you’re reading on mobile, it’s still very much worth reading despite FF.net’s horrible format and abundance of advertisements in the mobile version.

Summary: Why is life never simple? Red Robin's ended up worlds away from home once again, and now what's he to do? What do the Avengers want from him; do SHIELD have another agenda; and is there any way back? Pre-New 52. No slash. Rated for inevitable language/violent themes.

A Displaced Red Robin - dragonprincess1988

Note: Worth reading despite FF.net’s horrible format and abundance of advertisements in the mobile version. Well-written fic! EMOTIONS! I love them. Younger Dick Grayson is adorable, Tim is a competent fixer-upper for other people but not so much himself. He’s kind of angsty and making YJ Dick want to keep him (and YJ Bruce, too, if you read between the lines). On the plus side, seems like he’s making good friends with Young Justice Roy. This fic was written before certain episodes of YJ came out, though, and the fic reflects/will continue to reflect that. Still, I give it five stars.

Author’s Summary: Tim gets transported to the cartoon Young Justice world, and he's not sure he knows how to deal with it. Attention: If you want to know about Artemis or people from Tim's world the final note on my profile is for you. Also, a special thank you to angel-gidget over at Tumblr, who made the wonderful cover art for this story.

The Till-then From the Ever Since - Keiron O_Duibhir

Note: Fandom classic. Definitely a must-read for Batfam fans, in my humble opinion.

Summary: It began, or seemed to begin, with Jason.

Usually that would have meant something in the order of fire and explosion and probably at least one gunshot wound, but for once (as Tim said, sourly), it wasn't actually Jason's fault.

The Wayne Family Ghost - pupeez4eva

Note: Please read this. Especially if you’re sad or anxious or just have time. I couldn’t stop laughing. It’s my go-to cheer-up fic. Absolutely hysterical.

Summary: In which Bruce realizes that having a legally dead son, who regularly hangs around the family, might be slightly problematic.

Bloodline - chibi_nightowl

Note: Complicated family dynamics, this time centering around Tim, Selina, Bruce and, surprisingly, Damian. Jason and Dick make an appearance as supportive big bros, too. It works. Take a read, it isn’t that long.

Summary:

“Mr. Drake, I can’t think of a better way to say this, so I’ll just be blunt. This file is for your first adoption. By the Drakes.”

Tim blinked. “My what?”

“You were adopted as a newborn by Jack and Janet Drake.”

“Excuse me, but what the fuck are you talking about?”

Talon!Tim AU Series by keeptogethernow

Note: Found family, from a different angle. Cool fic and well-written.

Summary of Tso’ape Mumbichi, first in the series: Ten years ago, two people made a deal with the devil--unlimited funds in exchange for their child. And now it's time to pay up. But there's no way to ensure that the child will cooperate.

Shutterbug Series by goldkirk

Note: Exactly what it says on the tin! Found family.

Summary:

Tim Drake is thirteen, runs the famous BatWatch blog that has spiraled hilariously out of control, has absentee parents that suit his purposes just fine, is training himself to run the streets at night, and is doing absolutely peachy, thank you.

Alfred and Jason disagree, and get Dick and Bruce involved in figuring out their weird next door neighbor kid’s life. Everything goes uphill from there.

Thursday’s Child - anthalogia

Note: Well-written and has found family and Tiny!Tim? Automatic win.

Summary:

He’s not the first child with nowhere else to go that Bruce Wayne has taken in. Dick Grayson was the first and the most high-profile – because no one would have thought Bruce Wayne was interested in ever raising a child, let alone the orphaned son of circus performers – but Jason was maybe just as much of a shock to society for being a street kid who came out of seemingly nowhere. Tim Drake is ordinary by comparison – his parents died in a plane accident. He can’t think of anything very special about him except that he met Bruce a few times when his parents hosted parties to keep in touch with Gotham society.

Or, tiny Tim Drake is adopted by the Waynes a little earlier than scheduled.

We’re Not Driving (How did we get here?) - TimTheToaster

Note: Short and sweet, a little angsty, and then very sweet.

Summary:

Tim stared at his phone, as if that would change what was on the screen.

Dick Grayson @FlyingDGrayson

It took some doing, and in some cases a little blackmail, but we've finally got the whole family together for a movie night! #WayneManor #movienight #familytime #schedulingisanightmare

15 minutes ago

Take It Back Now Y’all - TimTheToaster

Note: And Tiny!Jason has made his appearance. Also, Tim, I am begging you to please take care of yourself—ah, Bruce has made his appearance. Interesting. Also, I gotta say this author is good.

Summary:

There was absolutely no way this sunshine was from Gotham in April.

Not possible.

Which meant, Tim was no longer in Gotham, in April.

(In which Tim finds himself in the past, and tries to do the right thing. It's more complicated than he'd like.)

Takes a Little Time, Takes a Lotta Twine (To Get Us Back Together) - TimTheToaster

Note: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, beginning of reconciliation, and brotherhood. A satisfying, cathartic moment during the Red Robin arc to soothe your heart.

Summary:

Tim was in Gotham.

Tim had pretty specifically been avoiding thinking about Dick as much as possible for the last few weeks.

For the last year, really. No need to open that can of carnivorous worms.

Dick had other plans.

Everybody’s Heard (Bird is the Word) - TimTheToaster

Red Robin Era ANGST, but like, deliciously well-written. Also, protective Dad Bruce is always epic. Light bashing of Green Arrow and BC, though. But considering the situation (in this fic), kind of warranted.

Summary:

5 times Batman heard other heroes talking about his wayward brother,

And 1 time they were talking about his son.

A Choice to Make - scorbusfics

Note: fresh and interesting premise! Cool world building, too.

Summary: They have to choose. Dick and Bruce have to choose one person each to save, and one to disappear through the door.

“Send one of us,” Dick says fiercely, not for the first time. His face is dark and angry and desperate, eyes flicking from brother to brother. “Send one of us instead. I won’t choose.”

“Neither will I,” Bruce says.

But Tim knows.

Secret Places - RenaRoo

It’s ANGST, but the author knows how to use it well. Also, Jason’s line at the end killed me. Damn.

Summary: Tim Drake goes missing. The search to find him begins.

#fic recs #batfam #tim drake fic rec #batfam fic rec

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nightwingmyboi · 4 years ago

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It's been a few years since I've kept up with DC & this whole Rebirth thing is confusing as heck. Have all of Dick's previous relations and DCverse's lynchpin status been restored now, or is he still isolated? Did the batfamilies meltdown and victim blaming towards him post the Grayson fiasco still take place in current continuity? Did the Starfire, Roy and Jason Rhato mess still take place? Do they all still resent Dick for some reason or is that over? Sorry for bothering u with all this ^^''

No problem, not a bother. It’s confusing as heck to me too honestly...I try not to think too hard about it because it’s a mess. And honestly? Pretty sure DC doesn’t even know what counts and what doesn’t half the time. But to my understanding, here is what is happening:

Is Dick once again DC’s lynchpin? In theory, DC is once again trying to make Dick relevant and connected. But in practice they’ve been falling into the trap of just saying that Dick has friends instead of showing us interacting with his supposed friends. Honestly, Dick has never been more isolated, especially with the Ric Grayson stuff that is happening at the moment. So I’d say no.

Did the Grayson fiasco still happen? All the Spyral spy stuff still happened in Rebirth. The Nightwing: Rebirth comic actually begins by having Dick as Agent 37 retaking the Nightwing mantle. So yeah, all the stuff with his family hating on him still happened and is reflected in the dynamic they currently have with him.

Did RHATO still happen with Roy and Starfire? RHATO still happened. I would say that Roy doesn’t resent Dick to the extent that he does in RHATO, because in Rebirth he joined the Titans with Dick as the leader. I’d also say that their relationship does not contain the level of respect it once had. Roy is pretty quick to distrust Dick and doesn’t hesitate to attack him. Roy also calls Dick “Grayson” a lot. I can’t help but recall the many affectionate nicknames Roy used to call Dick (“wingster” was a favorite of mine) and wonder why he’s being so distant if they’re supposed to be friends. Now, as things are currently, Roy is dead. Dick wasn’t really shown to have a reaction (due to amnesia). Meanwhile, Jason was basically shown to be one of Roy’s closest friends in the aftermath. So if RHATO didn’t happen idk how that would have made any sense. Anyway, I think that overall Dick and Roy’s once close relationship has definitely taken quite the hit. As for Dick and Kory, I suppose they’ve made up. In Starfire (2015) #7-8, Kory discovers that Dick faked his death and they make out (even though Kory was literally on a date with another guy at the time) so I guess things are fine between them? DC just slapped some duct tape on that relationship lmao. Now in Rebirth, Starfire is on the Titans with Damian last I’ve seen. I don’t think Dick and her have interacted all that much?

I believe that’s how things stand as of now. Apparently DC may be changing things again and splitting the timeline up into “generations” in the future [x]? So things might change again, but at the moment Rebirth is acting as a way to mix all the history from Pre52 and Nu52 however DC likes it. It’s all kind of inconsistent. Idk man.

#thanks for the ask anon!#bottom line #the continuity is a freaking mess #ask #dick grayson #roy harper #starfire #RHATO

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lunar-years · 7 months ago

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💖💚for unpopular ask

💖: What is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series?

uhhh I have many. I would say my most unpopular are probably:

I don't care that the show had no big "endgame" ships. I actually appreciated it being left to interpretation on where we want the characters to go. And throwing them into relationships given where they are at in the end wouldn't have made much sense anyway. (beardjane was terrible but i don't count that as a 'big' ship lol. no one was shipping them. TOMATOES!!! -500/10). the show's focus was never romantic relationships to begin with fwiw so it's weird how much people center that in their conclusion about whether the show was good enough.

Ted going home to Henry was also Really Good and the Whole Point/Natural Conclusion of his arc.

I liked that RoyKeeley broke up. Didn't love where they went with it necessarily, and both of their characters deserved to be written soooo much better in s3, but I do think the breakup itself was a Good Thing that Needed to Happen for these characters to progress.

Given the season and events as they are written, I think Keeley is far more likely to get back together with Jamie immediately post finale than she is Roy. (I don't think she should get back together with either of them right away, mind you. My girl needs some time to not exist as part of a relationship, because she has clearly spent most of her life being in relationships and it has caused Problems to her sense of self worth that i am desperate for her to healthily address. And then I would ultimately very much like her to end up with both of them, lol. But I'm just saying finale Keeley totally WOULD get back together with Jamie).

In a very similar vein to all the above, a criticism i see ALL the time that absolutely drives me UP THE WALL is when people claim the writers fell into the ol' GirlBoss Slay trap with Keeley, where in order to make her an Independent Confident Businesswomen™️ they had to remove all romance from her storyline and claim that's why they broke roykeeley up. The writers wrote Keeley very extremely terribly in s3, do not get me wrong. But this argument that writers just hate romance and don't see how a woman can be successful and also be in love (when Rebecca, a very successful businesswoman with a major arc about wanting to find love is their lead female character, mind you), just feels like baseless ragey criticism from people mad about there not being a roykeeley endgame. Look, if that's what the writers were trying to do, they don't even come close to fulfilling the other end of that promise (trading her romance to make her a Caricature Slay Business Woman) because 1. they don't show Keeley becoming independent with her business at all (Rebecca just swoops in and saves the day) 2. they do a very poor job of showing her overcoming imposter syndrome and coming into her own and 3. after the breakup with Roy, they literally show her immediately jumping into another relationship. sooo. I think it's much more likely that the writers were attempting to show Keeley spiraling in the same patterns of self-destructive behavior she exhibited in s1 and s2. rather than attempting to wash away all her flaws I actually think they were trying to highlight and reflect on those flaws. Unfortunately they just did it very, very badly and left out the necessary other half of the arc that makes it compelling and successful: actually giving Keeley the space to recognize and reckon with those flaws. the problem is they too rarely let their own characters talk and have it out in meaningful ways. anyway.

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

Roy isn't like THAT but he's also not like that. you know. people are always falling in love with completely different made up versions they've got of him and then acting like their Roy is canon Roy. Idk who that guy is but he isn't Roy!!! ughhhhhh. sorry.

#ted lasso #asks

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treason-and-plot · 5 years ago

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REPLIES TO REPLIES

@sweetnovember77

I don’t think that I could wrap my head around it either. Particularly, if I had been traumatized by the first heartbreak.

Yes, absolutely, but I was thinking more in terms of Roy being an extrovert. It would be very hard for him to understand the mindset of an introvert, or to get his head around the idea that someone would prefer their own company to his!

@muses-circle

Sadly he has the emotional maturity of a 17 yea old, so of course Roy will make is all about himself and not get why his stuff isn't enough. I get why he acts like that, though. It's easier to see the problems when you aren't wrapped up in them. I just don't want Roy to lose the one woman who does really love him.

Couldn’t agree more. Roy does have the ability to be insightful though, when it involves other people. He just doesn’t like turning the lens inward, (or more correctly, doesn’t feel it’s necessary.) But he might have to do exactly that if he doesn’t want to lose Saoirse.

@wannabecatwriter

Honestly, a lot about Roy reminds me of Mr. Peanutbutter from Bojack Horseman. The way he can't really be without some woman in his life, especially.

I don’t know much about that show, sadly! I don’t think it’s available here.

@dreamsascend

Hopefully he does realises that.. but I believe he should also give himself some time to just feel and think for a bit. Soairse, too. Staying apart for awhile isn't a bad idea, give them both some time apart to figure things out about themselves and not just about their relationship. Don't see this as the end, Roy. It's only the beginning..

Great advice! I really hope Roy can indulge in some self-reflection, because I can’t see much future for them otherwise. The ball is in Roy’s court now.

@dreamsascend

A fruitful beginning ^^

@dreamsascend

Also on Soairse part, yeah! If she didn't leave..continues to stay with Roy. Sooner or later she's going to feel trap with him or the life she has with him. She had already felt it now even....

Yes, she does feel like that! She was dazzled for about 24 hours, but it wore off very quickly.

@ktarsims

She’s listening, but he can’t hear what she’s saying because he built up this vision and dream in his head about what it would be like once she arrived. I’d bet good money that he didn’t discuss much of it with her and just expected her to of course fall in line with his wondrous vision. And something she never bargained on was that right as she arrives she’s faced with a scenario where he’s been doing something really rotten and completely refusing to accept responsibility for it. It’s too much

The line ‘wondrous vision’ made me lol! Thank you so much for this. And yes, everything you describe is so true. Their honeymoon was over when Joël knocked on the door of the apartment.

@ktarsims

So she won’t just fall in line with this vision that he has. And that’s all he can see or hear. Nothing else penetrates. He can’t have his ideal vision. For possibly the first time in his life, he simply can’t have what he wants.

Oh my God, yes!!! And this is huge, for Roy. He can justify the failure of his marriage on the fact that Sonia is a lesbian, he can justify the failure of his relationship with Naomi on the fact that she is a psychopath (his words) but he cannot explain the failure of his relationship with Saoirse...because to do so he would have to accept a large part of the blame himself.

@streetlightaurora

😂

‘Stop staring at my Google balls!’

@muses-circle

@ktarsims agreed. It's a "expectation versus reality" issue. Neither of them thought this through.

#replies

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prettywitchiusaka · 5 years ago

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Royai Scene 85

Alright, folks! Sit your asses down, cause we got three days of new scenes coming up! And this one’s the start of a two parter, too!

Anyway, I’ve been watching Star Trek TOS (on and off) with a friend and really like the “Naked Time” episode, which is where the inspiration for this [articular scene came from.

The premise is similar to that of the episode - Eastern Command is slowly taken over by a rogue virus that makes people act on their deepest urges - only Team Mustang have managed to find a cure at this point in the story. Only problem is, Roy has no idea where Riza is and has gone off to find her, while the rest of his team (and any high ranking officials not affected) are trying to quarantine the building.

Of course what he doesn’t know, is that Riza’s been infected. Not that it’ll stop him though, as you’ll soon see.

Let’s begin!

........................

(The scene begins with Roy walking down a hallway, doing his best to avoid touching any surfaces. They may have a cure, but he’d rather not become infected if he can help it. Especially since they’re gonna need all the help they can get locking down an entire building. He also has one of his ignition gloves on, and fingers poised to snap just in case.)

(That’s when he hears a grunt that snaps him out of his thoughts. Raising his arm, he comes around the corner and aims for his target...only to gasp when he sees it’s just Riza.)

(She is sitting on the ground and pressed up against the wall, curled up in the fetal position. She’s groaning like she’s in pain...but seems fine otherwise.)

(Of course, he puts two and two together and puts his arm down. Then he slowly approaches her.)

M: Lieutenant?

(She looks up at him with horrified eyes.)

H: Colonel...

(He moves a bit closer.)

M: Are you okay?-

(She scoots away.)

H: No! Stay back! I have it...

(Roy gasps, stunned. He stops for a second and reflects on what he’s just been told. Of course, it doesn’t take him long before he returns to his usual calm composure.)

(He kneels down so he can help Hawkeye, but notices her tense up as he does.)

(He goes to put his hand on her shoulder.)

M: Then we need to get you to the hospital-

H: No! Don’t touch me! You’ll get infected, too.

(He stops for a moment, taking her words into consideration. True, he stands a pretty good chance of becoming infected if he even so much as touches her. But knowing what he knows, and seeing her in so much pain, he’s willing to risk it.)

M: I’ll be fine. (He wraps his arm around her, intending to help her up. She tenses up again.) The doctor’s have a vaccine, now. I’ll take you there and as soon as I see you’re taken care of, I’ll get vaccinated and get back to work.

H: But-

M: No buts, Hawkeye! I’m not leaving you here like this and that’s final!

(She gasps, only to relax a few seconds later, much to his delight. In fact, she relaxes a bit too much, he realizes. She looks to be on the verge of tears, like she’s about to pour her heart out to him.)

H: I love you...

(Roy is dumbfound. So much so, he doesn’t say anything. More because he doesn’t know what to say.)

H: People always ask me why I stay with you, this is why. You’re so kind and loving. Sometimes it’s like I’m the only one who sees that side of you.

(Roy stares at her sadly. Now he understands why she didn’t want him touching her; it wasn’t just to protect him, it was to protect herself, too. She knew that if he tried helping her in any way, she’d break their one rule. And they can’t have that.)

(He sighs.)

M: Hawkeye-

H: What? You’re going to say it isn’t true?

(He resists the urge to shake his head.)

M: No...I was just going to say we should take you to the hospital, now.

H: I’d rather stay with you.

M: I know, but-

(She places her hand on his shoulder and moves in closer.)

H: I know you want it, too. I’ve seen the way you stare at me when you think I’m not looking. I know that deep down, you’d rather forget the military and run off with me.

M: Riza-

H: Don’t you want that more than anything!? To be happy and free...with me?

(Roy is silent for a moment.)

M: I do. But until I get to The Top, it’s best we keep our distance. And I know you’d agree.

(She smiles.)

H: Oh, Roy. I do...

(He smiles. He doesn’t even mind when it looks like she’s going in for a kiss...only to gasp when she misses his lips and collapses onto his shoulder.)

(He grabs hold of her arms.)

M: Lieutenant!? Lieutenant!? Hey!

(Upon seeing her back move up and down, Roy lets out a sigh of relief.)

(He positions her in his arms so that he’s holding her bridal style, with her head resting on his chest. He stands up and gets ready to leave...only to find he doesn’t want to. She looks so peaceful sleeping in his arms, he’d rather just stay here and cuddle up with her.)

Ha: Colonel!

(Roy looks up and sees Lieutenant Havoc - dressed in an early 20th Century hazmat suit - saluting to him.)

Ha: Oh hey, you found Hawkeye! Is she okay?

M: No. She’s infected. I need you to take her to the hospital.

Ha: You got it!

(He hands her off to the Lieutenant, even though he really doesn’t want to.)

(Roy pauses for a moment to reflect on that. Why? He knows she needs help, so what’s stopping him? That’s when he starts to wonder...)

Ha: Chief?

(He looks up to see Havoc.)

Ha: You okay?

(Roy sighs.)

M: I don’t know. I think I’ll go with you to be safe.

Ha: Okay.

(The two walk off and make their way to the hospital.)

#FMA 2003 #Fullmetal Alchemist #royai #royai scene #Roy Mustang #Riza Hawkeye #Jean Havoc #royai fic #royai fanfic #royai fanfiction

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m00nslippers · 5 years ago

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Jason is actually in-character in RHATO Issue #35!?

Wow, we got so much about the All-Caste in this issue. On the one hand, it kind of feels like it was pulled out of Lobdell’s ass, but on the other hand it’s badass and cool and the visuals are beautiful so I don’t even give a shit. Also like, there is just so much of Jason being Jason in the best and most pure way possible in this issue that it’s crazy? Let’s jump into the review and you’ll see what I mean.

We open on Jason in the midst of some kind of charity fundraiser with Isabel. Jason is looking awesome in his suit. The shoulder pads are toned down in most scenes finally, and he doesn’t look like he’s cosplaying Jafar anymore thank goodness.

First off, Jason doing a charity gala for Gotham’s poor is freaking canon now and I love that. Despite his new money and his fame, it doesn’t go to his head, he sees himself as separate from the rich people who didn’t have his experiences living poor on the streets. He still remembers that desperation and wants to help people. He’s a truly giving person that cares about others, always has and always will. Second of all, Jason is hanging out on the balcony being broody which is just Classic Jason™. He’s a loner, an introvert, he doesn’t like crowds. Especially crowds of rich kiss-asses. And he dislikes rich people. It’s so great when characters are written in-character, isn’t it?

And third of all, I love Isabel’s dress. It’s so classy, cream lace on black with a bow at the neck? Nice. You got style, girl.

So Jason opens up to Isabel and is unusually vocal about his thoughts regarding his negative feelings about Gotham and the rich and his father(s). It’s interesting to me because she’s the only person he’s ever really opened up to and spoken about this with. He’s not sharing his plans or involving her with his machinations, but he’s definitely sharing his thoughts, complaining even. This is unusually healthy behavior from Jason, to be honest. He usually bottles it all up and doesn’t say more than a few snide words out loud. Any insight into his feelings are usually given in thoughts, not dialogue. That said, it really shows how much Jason trusts Isabel with his emotions unlike anyone else, maybe even Roy.

The more I read with Isabel, the less I think she’s going to turn on Jason. I never believed that idea to begin with and I still don’t see it. She seems genuinely kind and loving. The only problem is that Jason isn’t as out of the game as he pretends to be and she’s going to be pretty upset with him when she finds out he lied, so I can’t see them lasting. I also still have a bet on that she’s going to die. I’m less confident in that prediction as I was before, but we’ll just have to see what happens.

So Isabel leaves the party because she has to work the next morning and we catch back up with Jason after the gala, getting into his fancy car with James/Wingman as his driver. We get the slightest little bit more of James identity reveal--more like clarification really. Wingman’s name isn’t James, or probably isn’t James, and Jason doesn’t know or care who he really is. Jason tells James that it doesn’t matter, that if he betrays him Jason will just kill him. And again this is just so reflective of Jason’s kind of apathetic view about how others think of him. He really just assumes people are thinking the worst of him, are going to betray him, so there’s no point getting worked up about it--if Wingman turns on him, Jason will be ready, it’s as simple as that. Jason has had too many people betray his trust for him to even care about trust at this point.

Now when it comes to Wingman, I am more and more convinced that James is Jason’s dad in a different body. I am like eighty percent certain now. James knows who Jason is and is loyal to him out of nowhere. James is concealing his true identity. James talks with a rougher accent and calls himself ‘a dope’, suggesting he’s just an average Gotham street thug. He hedges on his belief that Jason should have returned to Gotham, as if sympathetic to how much it bothers Jason to stay there. It just fits, in my opinion. I believe that in the experiments that Jason's dad was a part of when he was in prison, the same ones that created Solitary and mixed up his consciousness and memories with other inmates, Willis's mind was either fully or partially transferred to a different body as well and that is James. Wingman is either Willis’s mind in a different body, or a different person who got Jason’s dad’s memories. I also feel Jason’s Dad’s bat tattoo is going to come into play again somehow. We can only wait and see though.

So James drops Jason off at the docks where he has a freaking yacht ready too take him to the Iceburg Lounge. Suzie meets him there because she heard the Euro-Bloc 'coincidentally' got hit when Jason was in Paris, last issue. Remember that these guys were investors in Penguin’s criminal empire and the casino. Suzie seems to be on to Jason and expresses her concern once again about Jason getting her family involved in something shady that's going to screw them over when this whole thing was supposed to be them going straight. Jason promises her family is going to be okay, which is just inviting trouble. She says for some reason she trusts him, which just goes to show how much Jason inspires trust in people, even his former enemies. He gets on the yacht, and speeds off.

Okay, I know that Suzie had done some really messed up stuff in the past but like...I really like her and I hope her family doesn't get screwed by what is obviously going to happen with Penguin? I didn't like her character’s actions in the New 52 version of RHATO but I've really warmed to her and her sisters here. I really hope her relationship with Jason doesn't become soured after everything goes down, but it seems inevitable.

On the yacht, Jay does some reflection. I love how in-character Jason’s internal monologue is. I know that is an odd thing to be happy about, but sometimes I honestly wonder if the Jason I love is something I made up in my head and the canon doesn't actually support how I and many fans envision him--but it does! It does so much! This is all just so very right, how Jason understands himself but when an issue is painful, when it hurts to think about and he doesn't want to consider it, he just puts it out of his mind. He focuses on action and denies his his pain. Also, Jason acknowledging his growing friendships with his new teammates shows Jason's caring nature as well as his introverted and anxious side. He never means to adopt these people he finds himself with, but he just cannot help empathizing with them and coming to see them as 'his' people, no matter how much he tries to be distant. And yet he's afraid of them being hurt, or them hurting him. I love when Jason's personality is shown off like this!

On the way to the casino Jason is confronted by Essence, who wants to stop Jason from committing ‘petty revenge’ and falling to the dark side...or something. It's very vague what the hell her problem is. I guess she thinks Jason is just running around playing crime boss and that is inherently against the All-Caste code or something and she wants him to give it up but of course Jason doesn’t do what people want him to.

As they are talking, we get a little bit of a flashback showing their relationship, just a scene of them under a tree in All-Caste outfits when Jason was young and they kiss. It seems to me that she was the one who was into him for the most part and it’s both cute and sad that young Jason seemed so surprised by her affections. She still seems into him now, saying she doesn’t know whether she should kiss or kill him but Jason makes it clear he doesn’t have feelings for her anymore, not least of all because of the events in New 52 RHATO when Essence lied to and used Jason to instigate a confrontation with the Untitled which broke their truce so they could be destroyed. Remember that?

Basically they gear up to fight and Essence draws her freaking badass red swords and Jason draws his crowbar and katana and they face off in THE FUCKING ASTRAL DIMENSION, WHAT?!

We get just...so much about the All-Caste here.

Essence was the heir to the All-Caste but she didn't want the job, she wanted to be a warrior, not a peaceful leader.

'All' refers to the ability to see the past, present and future. Ducra, it’s leader, is omniscient.

Jason is the only human to have ever learned their techniques and not gone insane.

When Jason met Ducra, she saw his past, present and future and hoped he could overcome his destiny.

Jason and Essence seem pretty evenly matched, despite her being an immortal empowered by the Well of Sins. So yeah, Jason is a badass.

In the Astral Plane at least, Essence’s sword can make a three-eyed demon oni-looking construct thing and they can both do crazy energy blasts and flames.

So...if omniscience is part of the All-Caste arts/abilities, does this mean Jason can see the future/past if he wants?! I mean maybe he doesn’t use it because he doesn’t want to go crazy, but still that’s freaking cool. Also, this could be another explanation to hand-wave various points when Jason was acting crazy and out of character in certain preboot issues. Previously the explanation was ‘Lazarus Pit madness’, but now we have yet another thing that could make Jason go mad. Like...Jason is really just doomed to be crazy from all sides, isn’t he?

And since when the hell can Jason go into the Astral Plane?! That's it, Jason needs to do more magic stuff! I need a team up with Constantine and Zatanna, stat! No, that terrible arc in Trinity when Jason got possessed by a demon doesn't count. It doesn't even make sense with this new information, and Bizzaro still had backwards-speak like before the reboot and was really irritating, instead his of cute baby-talk. Like clearly the writer of that issue never even read RHATO.

But anyway, the two continue their fight, Jason with his kickass glowing swords and Essence with her red ones in the crystalline Astral Plane. There are crystal looking formations everywhere and asian-style clouds and they float on nothing, it’s pretty cool. The colorist does an amazing job as always, and the art is awesome in this issue, much better than it has been in my opinion. Essence seems to have the upper hand when she suddenly stabs Jason through the chest!

Is this the end for our hero?! Yeah naw.

It's revealed that Essence's sword is called the 'Blood Blade' and works kind of like Katana's cursed sword, it absorbs the soul of evil people it stabs--but if you stab someone innocent (or just not evil) your soul gets sucked in instead. And that is exactly what happens.

I don't think any of us were fooled into thinking Jason was actually going to die for even a moment. As it turned out Jason was playing her, pretending to be rusty at swordplay and the All-Caste magic and mad with revenge on Penguin (that last he didn't do the best job of being convincing, but she already thought the worst of him so it didn't really need much selling I guess.) He just wanted her to stab him with the blade so she would get sucked into it. I like that Jason's strategic ability is being shown off here, but I feel like stabbing him was her plan to begin with so I don't get why Jason needed to fight back at all? Eh, maybe she would have been suspicious if he just stood there and let her stab him.

So Essence is sucked into the sword because Jason isn't evil--surprise! Or not, I think it was pretty obvious Jason isn’t evil. He organized a charity in the first page of the issue for godssake!

Jason explains to Essence as she gets sucked into her sword that he isn't good or bad, he's “just practical as hell.” Which is just so freaking validating. Jason isn't evil, he isn't a bad person, in fact he is a good person with good intentions but you can't make the world a better place on good intentions alone. Sometimes you have to walk the line to get results and Jason draws that line further out than most, further out than Bruce, but his methods are necessary and they work and that's more than most can say.

I still don't know what the heck Essence's problem with Jason was, I guess she shares Bruce's terrible viewpoint, always believing the worst of our Jay, maybe she just had a grudge over Jason leaving the All-Caste, but at least this means my feelings from the beginning were probably intentional and not bad writing--those feelings being confusion as to what reason anyone could have to object to Jason's actions, because he wasn't doing anything wrong! All he did was lock up Penguin, when if he had been arrested for his crimes and not wiggled out of them with all his money, he would have been locked up anyway! His safe room was probably way nicer than a jail cell, to be honest.

So Jason takes Essence's sword and locks it up in his safe back at the Iceberg Lounge when who should appear but Penguin, back in black after having been released by Miguel last issue! It seems like Cobblpot has won Miguel to his side, probably by spinning some sob story that conveniently leaves out that he is a crime lord that uses his money to stay out of jail and oh, also he framed Jason's dad and tried to have Jason murdered and sent goons after him and was trafficking illegal weapons. Yeah, I bet he didn’t mention that part. Miguel is getting played, the poor kid. He’s too innocent.

Oh man, I really enjoyed this issue, there were so many parts when I was just like, "Yes! That is exactly what Jason would do!" and I'm not sure why I am so surprised when he acts in character, but I just am and pleasantly so. The art was also really great, I love with All-Caste stuff shows up because their aesthetic is just cool, and Pete Woods, the artist stepped it up. The fights were great, Jason’s faces looked a lot better than they have, he actually looks like a good looking twenty-something adult and not a snakey thug in most of the panels. Hopefully that trend continues. Also the colorist, I love this colorist, he does such a good job, kudos to Rex Lokus who really brought out Dexter Soy’s art too. I think his consistently really does help tie the run together even with the artist change.

Well, that’s it I'm excited to see the confrontation with Penguin and Miguel next issue and see where it goes! I think we get the Annual later this month? Or next month, that will also be awesome, and I’ll be here for it.

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samwpmarleau · 2 years ago

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Roy Kent: 2, 25, 26

Fair warning: These answers are largely critical of Roy because he’s not exactly a favorite of mine and IMO gets a lot more grace and credit from people than he deserves, so if you have a problem with that, then you’ll probably be better off skipping this post. AND PLEASE NOTE that I am NOT tagging Roy in this, as is proper etiquette when you’re being critical of a character, so don’t come at me.

2. When I think I truly started to like them (or dislike them, if you’ve sent me a character I don't like)

For Roy I have an answer to both 😬

I started liking him from the beginning, as the show meant us to and most people did. He was the quintessential gruff-guy-with-a-heart-of-gold, and the antithesis of Jamie the Antagonist. My affection for him only grew from there ...

... until it didn’t. It started a bit in the finale, where he was ready to beat Jamie to a pulp for having the ~audacity~ to be emotionally vulnerable, honest, and innocently-intentioned*, yet paid no mind to Nate both kissing Keeley without her consent and being angry that Roy wasn’t angry about it. Especially when Roy knew that Jamie had been abused by his father, threatening physical violence against him was, uh, not a good look.

But then I got further into meta and rewatches and stuff, and I realized that where basically every character has had growth, Roy has been almost completely stagnant. Roy at the end of season 2 is close to Roy at the beginning of season 1. He continues to have extreme anger issues, is almost always emotionally stunted, is massively insecure, and sometimes is very immature, particularly when it comes to Jamie.

Speaking of Jamie, that immaturity becomes all the more highlighted because Jamie has become everything Keeley wanted him to be quite well-adjusted and is not only aware of his faults, but has taken the steps to fix and atone for them.

This also has the unfortunate side effect of impacting Keeley’s character. She broke up with Jamie because he was a footballer, emotionally unavailable, immature, and didn’t communicate properly, yet she puts up with those exact same things from Roy. I’ll refrain from talking about my thoughts on the R/K ship because this is about Roy by himself.

I genuinely hope that in season 3 he does the work on himself and grows, I really, really do. I want to like him again. But as of right now, at best I’m neutral on him.

25. When do you think they acted the most OOC

I guess I’m not really sure there is a moment? To me, his actions align well with what we’ve seen of him, whether good or bad. I guess the closest would probably be the scene with Jamie’s apology? It’s not out of left field by any means, but as I touched on above, it reflects very badly on Roy to have seen first-hand what Jamie went through — and hugged him for it! — only to turn around and threaten to knock his teeth out.

Now, would Roy have actually knocked his teeth out? Probably not. A punch is likely as far as it would go. But that’s still awful — and more importantly, judging by how fidgety he became and how he stammered his way through the apology, Jamie certainly believed Roy’s threat was credible.

26. When do you think they were being “themselves” the most?

Similar answer to above. I think the writers and Brett on the whole do a really good job when it comes to consistency. The scenes I like him the most in are when he’s interacting with Phoebe, because those are the moments when he’s at his softest, and you can tell that he loves her to the moon and back. That’s the Roy I want to see more of going forward.

*Had Jamie made his love confession in season 1, that might be one thing, as far as questioning why he was doing it or what he wanted the outcome to be. But he made it at the end of season 2, when he was a completely different person. Everyone — including Roy — had a front-row seat to Jamie’s positive change, and he never once said or did anything improper with Keeley. He didn’t make a move, he didn’t flirt with her, he didn’t trash-talk Roy, he didn’t even pull her aside to talk with her privately!

The fact that everyone from Roy to Ted to Keeley herself was shocked at his confession speaks to that. Beyond which, I think it’s safe to assume that Keeley would have assured Roy of Jamie’s aforementioned innocent intentions, plus her own lack of reciprocity. What Roy should have done is hear Jamie out and give him the benefit of the doubt like he did Nate. But he didn’t, he went straight to DEFCON 1 rage machine, and I hate that.

Additionally!! Even after he claims he forgave Jamie, he spurned the fist bump then headbutted him after the team got promoted. I understand it’s meant to be comedic, but it’s still shitty.

———

send me a character and some numbers! [x]

#will i lose followers for this? remains to be seen!#although i think i've made my thoughts clear about roy (and roy/keeley) thus far #so presumably if you're following me you already know and accept them #tl #ask meme #stonesandswords

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