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nerdy-stilinski · 2 years ago

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A Comprehensive Bitch-Fest of the Teen Wolf Movie

Alright guys, as promised, here is the comprehensive text post of the Teen Wolf Movie.

Under this cut will contain a pretty extensive plot (for those of us who don’t want to watch the movie). I’m gonna do another post under this one with my personal thoughts, and some fun little bones to pick with Mr. Davis surrounding canon (or lack thereof, as it were) and uh. Plot decisions all around.

Most importantly, though, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS! If you haven’t seen the movie, and you don’t want spoilers, PLEASE DO NOT LOOK UNDER THE CUT!

I’m sure there won’t be much anyone hasn’t seen, yet, but I digress.

⚠️HERE BE SPOILERS!⚠️

PLOT

We open with Liam and Hikari (the new kitsune) at some sort of restaurant in what appears to be rural Japan.

Somebody, who we later learn is Harris (and tbh, you would pick up on it if you paid any attention at ALL in seasons 1-3. I literally wrote IS THAT HARRIS????? WHAT THE FUCK the moment i saw him.), comes in looking for the triskelion container that the nogitsune is trapped in. He puts an Argent round on the counter, which I still cannot fathom why, because it’s never addressed.

Naturally, a scuffle occurs, Harris shoots Liam and Hikari, and he says something about how he wants revenge on Beacon Hills before he opens the box. A firefly flies out, you get the gist.

The movie cuts to LA, and shows a building in the process of collapsing. Deaton is out front, talking to a firefighter about how he’s called someone they call “the Alpha” to rescue a girl and her dog from the building.

Yep, you guessed it, folks. Scott McCall runs an animal shelter in LA next to Deaton’s new veterinary practice.

Scott obviously goes in the building, which partially collapses on him, but flashes his eyes at the dog, and saves the girl and the dog when the building collapses around them.

The main credits roll, opening the movie. It is evident upon opening credits that Scott, Allison, Lydia, and Malia are going to be the main characters. Kudos, though. The credits were cool.

We cut to Scott’s animal shelter (or Deaton’s vet hospital? unclear). Scott and Deaton have a discussion where Deaton has to explain the word “wistful” to a 30-year-old Scott and Scott repeats it like he’s studying for the SATs. I’m all for nostalgia but uh. That one icked me out. Anyways, Scott goes to lock up, and then sees a vision of Allison, reenacting the first night he met her when she hit the dog and took it to the vet. He shakes it off, but hears the dogs barking in the back , and he goes to investigate.

Surprise, it’s Argent pointing a gun at Scott. It freaks Scott out, but they bro hug it out, like men. He’s come back to see Scott because he’s been seeing Allison too, in these weird dreams and visions.

Argent has the katana the oni used to kill Allison, and is convinced they need to take it to Beacon Hills to put her to rest or something?

Scott, obviously not noticing that the vibes are Rancid, agrees, and they decide to head back to BH, which they both haven’t been back to in a while, it seems like.

Cut scene to Lydia, giving some sort of presentation and walking around a very high-end company of some sort. We find out that Lydia, instead of actually putting information in the booklets she handed out to the tour, has written Allison over and over again. (it’s also implied that the person they use as a plot device to introduce this was or is, in some way, romantically involved with Lydia).

Lydia runs to her office, where she has one of her banshee visions, and writes a ton of stuff on various pieces of paper in a pattern we can’t yet discern. She’s getting flashbacks of Allison the entire time.

Cut scene. Eli Hale (i squealed. im not above that. that’s derek’s boy, guys) is breaking into what appears to be some kind of impound lot. He hotwires what is apparent to us is Stiles’s Jeep.

Eli busts out of the chain link fencing, and is hauling ass and driving down a very recognizable Beacon Hills road. He flies by a parked Sheriff’s Department patrol vehicle, and we see it’s driven by Parrish.

Cut to what appears to be the Preserve. Mason, a deputy (more on that later. i hate it) walks over to the Sheriff, and asks if Parrish should deal with their consultant’s issue. It is clear they are talking about Eli, and the Sheriff says he’ll handle it.

Derek walks out of the forest (notes: DERKE. COMING OUT OF THE WOODS. SDJHFKDHSGKJHDSGH. DEREK. DEREK.) which has clearly been burned, and informs the Sheriff that the arsonist used chemical accelerant. He then tells the Sheriff that “we should be calling your son” to which the Sheriff replies “he has his own fires to put out.” This is one of MAYBE 5 Stiles mentions in the movie.

The Sheriff asks Derek why he keeps stealing the Jeep, to which Derek replies, “because he knows I hate it.” (your honor. that’s gay.)

Cut to Eli still driving, and the Jeep’s tires go flat. He’s ambushed by the Sheriff, Parrish, and his father. Derek tells him they’ll talk about it later.

Cut to the cemetery Allison was buried at. Scott’s there, and he goes to her grave. The cemetery is overgrown, uncared for. Lydia pulls up, and Scott thanks her for getting there so fast, but she just gives him a big hug.

They decide that they need to do something about this Allison thing, too. Scott repeatedly punches Allison’s marker, until it cracks.

Cut to the McCall’s. Scott, Lydia, and Argent are around the island, where the katana in its’ case is sitting. Argent asks Lydia what her drawings mean, and she says she has no idea. She hasn’t used her banshee powers in a while and is out of practice. When someone asks why, and she’s silent, Jackson walks in, saying “Stiles. It obviously has something to do with Stiles”

Lydia called Jackson in from London to help, and Jackson states that Ethan doesn’t know he’s there, because he doesn’t want anything to do with BH.

Jackson promptly starts putting Lydia’s papers together like a puzzle, which, surprise surprise, is in the shape of the nemeton, with the word “BARDO” written boldly in the middle (a refresher: bardo is the space between death and rebirth, as believed by Tibetan Buddhism)

Cut to Derek’s house, where he’s pulling up to (in the ugliest tan vehicle, a Nissan Xterra if my eyes don’t deceive me. bring back the FJ. this is cursed). He and Eli go into the house, and when Derek goes to hang up the keys, he promptly rips the hook off the wall.

He scolds Eli for breaking the law, yet again, to which Eli responds, “oh, because you never broke the law?” (good comeback, kiddo.) Derek then asks Eli if this is about “the other thing” and we learn that Eli still can’t shift, despite being 15. Derek insists that he can teach Eli, and Eli asks, “what if I’m the first hale to not turn into a werewolf?”

Derek tells Eli that it might make life easier, and when Eli asks “my life, or yours?”, Derek doesn’t respond. Eli runs to his room, and Derek mutters, in the way a tired parent would, “definitely mine.”

We cut to where Parrish is driving the Jeep back to the lot, and he drives by the building where the lot is housed, emblazoned, “Hale Auto.” (notes: ITS HALE AUTO. DEREK RUNS AN AUTO SHOP. SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP ETC. OHHHHH MY GOD)

Parrish walks into the shop, into the office, and Malia enters, butt-ass naked, and ambushes Parrish with a kiss. (again. more on this later. because absolutely not). they have sex (off screen obvi this is still teen wolf) and they have a conversation that makes it evident that Malia wants them to remain friends with benefits, and Parrish wants a relationship.

Cut back to Derek’s house. He knocks on Eli’s door, and asks him if he wants to practice lacrosse before his game (it was established earlier that Eli is pretty bad at lacrosse. it’s giving Stiles but more on that later)

Eli doesn’t answer, so Derek opens the door, and it cuts to the open window, obvious Eli has run away. (why didn’t he hear that? not sure. whatever.)

Cut back to the Preserve. Scott and Lydia pull up in Scott’s red truck to one of the gates, Malia standing there waiting for them. It’s obvious Scott hasn’t seen Malia since they broke up off-screen, because he’s weird about it. Lydia tells Malia she missed her while hugging her, and Malia says the same thing. Lydia replies “no you didnt” and Malia says “I wanted to.” that one kinda. it kinda got me idk.

Scott and Lydia have asked Malia to help them find the nemeton. They have the katana with them.

Cut back to... somewhere? An enclosed space, of some kind. Might be the weird Argent batcave. Anyways. Deaton and Argent are there, and Deaton is grilling Argent with riddles, which Argent answers easily, but with increasing agitation. Eventually, Argent snaps, and snarls at Deaton, face mutating to look similar to the oni. Deaton sends mountain ash into Argent’s throat, and a firelfy is forced out. It becomes evident to everyone at this point that the nogitsune is back, at least to everyone but Scott, Malia, and Lydia. ffs.

Cut back to Scott, Malia, and Lydia. Malia is sending them in circles looking for the nemeton, and it’s obvious she has no idea where it is. Scott yanks Eli Hale from behind a tree (very reminiscent of Scott in s1e1), and Eli’s been following them. He divests that sometimes he sleepwalks to the nemeton. Super normal. normal kid stuff.

Eli leads them to the nemeton, and they immediately try to get rid of him. Eli tells them they’ll tell his dad they’re here, to which they IMMEDIATELY (ie Scott) say “it’s kind of personal” which, from Derek Hale, is really fucking rich. but again. later. it’s pretty clear they’re excluding him because he might actually have, i dunno, an objective opinion. god. sorry. fuck this.

Lydia gets the sword in the nemeton and the nemeton absorbs it. not to be that guy but this is obviously a bad idea and we all knew it. (note: i wanna know why we didn’t instantly think that this is a bad idea this is so obviously a bad idea)

They all turn to leave, and at their backs, the nemeton begins to emit a light blue glow. they turn, and find Allison naked on the stump. Scott stares, and they’re all like “how is she alive??” like god guys

They drive Allison to the hospital, where Melissa is the first person to go “why are you holding a girl that looks exactly like Allison” like a normal person. Melissa gets her set up in a bed, yknow the drill.

Cut back to the nemeton, which is glowing and spewing fireflies like it’s going out of style. The nogitsune appears on top of it, manifesting out of smoke, and says “chaos! pain! strife” in his campy little way.

Cut to Beacon Hills High, where the lacrosse team is filing in and coach is giving one of his goofy ass speeches. he was probably the only genuine nostalgia in this movie that I enjoyed.

Eli drops his crosse as he walks in and runs smack into the Sheriff, who’s standing right in front of the stairwell. Derek is actually in the stairwell, lurking in what I would describe as classic Derek fashion. Derek tells him he’s there to watch him play, and when Eli tells him he’ll probably sit on the bench, Derek tells him he’s gonna talk to coach about that. Eli protests, but Derek calls out to coach, and the Sheriff blocks Eli from running after him.

Sheriff tells Eli that he’s not really here to watch him play -- he’s here to provide support for Derek and his delinquent son. He then threatens to arrest Eli, have him tried as an adult, and put him in a state penitentiary for 90 days if he steals the Jeep again. Eli, looking nervous, asks if his dad put him up to this. The Sheriff says maybe, but asserts that he’d do it.

Cut to Derek in Coach’s office, and asking for more playing time for Eli. Coach negotiates four minutes, and only if they’re winning. Which is very Coach of him.

Cut back to the hospital, where Melissa, Scott, Malia, and Lydia are contemplating if Allison is going to wake up, or if she’s “normal.” Melissa is the one who asserts that we don’t know if this is the real Allison.

When they look back, Allison is gone from her bed. She’s obviously going through it when we see her -- getting flashbacks from when she was actively trying to kill the werewolves, hearing Kate, Victoria, etc in her ears, and this is obviously the nogitsune.

Allison, once they find her, is immediately combative, and trying to escape. She kicks everyone’s ass, including Scott’s, who she cuts across the cheek, and he heals, exposing himself as a werewolf. She only remembers Derek as the alpha, though, and wants to kill him -- she’s after the alpha. So she bolts, leaving them all behind. She runs into Deaton and Argent, who enter the hospital, and she runs from him, which is devastating for me even as somebody who is not an Argent girlie.

Cut to the Sheriff’s Department, where Mason tells the Sheriff that they have another problem. They’ve caught pictures of the guy in a dark, heavy coat with a hood (it’s Harris. We know it’s Harris) and he’s the one who’s been lighting the forest on fire. The Sheriff orders Mason with Parrish, and a new deputy with him, to the forest to investigate. This leaves one deputy alone in the department. I’m sure we see where this is going.

The deputy hears a noise in the cells, grabs his gun, and moves that way. The nogitsune is in the cell, and he tells the deputy he’s a kitsune who never knew he was a kitsune. He steals the deputy’s tails “to summon other bodies” which is about as frightening as it sounds.

Cut to the Argent’s batcave, where Allison is currently arming herself with a crossbow, arrows, daggers, and a longbow. The nogitsune is whispering her name, and she goes, armed, into one of the weird side pipes, where the nogitsune is standing. The nogitsune tells Allison it’s her friend, she doesn’t believe him right away, so it starts impersonating Victoria. The nogitsune is convincing her to get revenge on the people that stopped it, and its plan is to have the betas killed before the alpha. Allison just doesn’t know who the alpha is, obviously. There’s mention of the divine move, again, yknow.

Back to the BHHS locker rooms, where Derek is carrying Eli into the locker room because he twisted his ankle. Eli isn’t healing because he can’t shift, or whatever. Derek tries to encourage him to shift, and this is when Allison sneaks into the locker room, crossbow and all, and immediately starts trying to kill Derek.

Derek reacts on autopilot, and starts fighting Allison, telling Eli to run. He slams Alison against the lockers, wolfed out, and Allison notices that his eyes are blue. Derek obviously recognizes Allison and falters, but manages to run out of the locker room door. While he runs out, he gets shot in the neck, and he is immediately gushing blood, lying on the ground and crawling away from Allison, who moves towards him purposefully.

Liam shows up right on time to try and save Derek, along with Hikari, Scott, and Malia. Allison has left BHHS. The whole time Derek is bleeding he’s begging them to find Eli, make sure he’s safe, he’s gone to the shop. Scott tells Derek to hang in there, but Derek passes out. We’re unsure if he’s alive or dead (read: i thought he was dead. i was sobbing)

Cut to the scene of the arson with the Sheriff, Parrish, and Mason. The Sheriff recognizes the noise that precedes the oni, and immediately draws his gun. The oni appear, and immediately start fighting the Sheriff and deputies.

Cut to Scott’s truck -- Derek is still very much alive. But they can’t find Eli, and they’re afraid because he can’t run.

Back to the Preserve with the deputies. Mason is immediately cut down by an oni, vanishing into smoke. It looks like the Sheriff is going to get cut, but Parrish catches his blade with a flaming hand.

They’re carrying Derek into Melissa’s; he’s still bleeding from his neck, but keeps repeating “you have to find Eli.” At this point, Peter appears from god knows where holding a blowtorch? Because they mentioned they needed to cauterize Derek’s wound and people just. Have those. love you pete. Derek cries out “no!” repeatedly as Peter blowtorches his wound (spoiler alert: i cried like a little bitch again.)

Scott goes looking for Lydia to fix this little clusterfuck we have ourselves in, and before he leaves, Melissa asks Scott if there’s any chance that this is really Allison (essentially encouraging him to give her a chance)

Cut back to Eli at Hale auto. He’s driving Derek’s horrible car to fill it up, and the gas isn’t pumping well. It’s pouring rain, he’s nervous, and naturally Allison comes in hauling ass. She hits his car with hers, sending it into the pump, gasoline still pumping onto the ground. Eli manages to get into Hale Auto with his key.

Cut to the Sheriff’s Department, where Lydia, Jackson, Hikari, and Liam are in the Sheriff’s office. They’re all looking for clues. like. scooby doo.

And we’re back to Melissa’s! Where everyone (Melissa, Argent, Deaton, and Peter) has agreed that Allison is a replica meant to trick everyone.

And back to Hale’s Auto! So much happening sorry guys. Eli is limping through the shop and the cars in repair, eventually sliding down against one. Allison is also lurking through the shop, weapons at the ready. Eli slips around, and grabs a wrench. (note: okay eli be smart about this you dumbass 15 year old) And instead of being smart, he lunges at her with a wrench and promptly gets his ass beat.

Fortunately enough for everyone, because Derek Hale is down like Jeff Davis is so fond of, Scott shows up to save the day. They run out of the shop, and back by the impounded cars. Scott gives Eli the werewolf pep talk, naturally, because Eli doesn’t have a father already (sorry guys im so bitter), and he roars at Eli. Eli’s eyes flash gold, and he heals. Now they can run. They run through the forest, like they do in teen wolf, and Scott stops and tells Eli he’s gonna have to run. His hand is all gross where Allison cut him because wolfsbane, and he thinks he’s gonna try and talk Allison down.

Eli says “my dad told me he almost had to have his arm cut off once because of wolfsbane.” Scott replies with, “Eli, go find your dad. I think I might need his help.” (note: oh NOW you need his help scott) Eli runs off, Scott’s facing off Allison.

Back at the Sheriff’s board, and they’ve figured out that the arsonist is the same guy who was at Hikari and Liam’s place. Cool.

Okay we’re back to Eli, who is running in the road and almost gets hit by somebody. That somebody is the Sheriff. Nice, Noah.

Melissa, Argent, and Peter are at the crime scene (ie Hale Auto). Peter and Argent are going through the crime scene, deducing what’s going on. Peter states that Allison is basically in homicidal rage, which Argent states proves that’s not his daughter. Peter says they went into the woods, so they all go looking for Allison and Scott.

We’re at Derek’s house now -- Derek and Eli get a reunion hug, the Sheriff comes in, and Liam and Hikari are there, too. The oni are now also in the hall of Derek’s house. Great. Hikari fights them first, doing a great job - and she’s been run through and has evaporated. The same thing happens to Liam, leaving Deaton, the Sheriff, Eli, and Derek fighting the Oni. The Sheriff goes first, followed by Deaton. Eli watches Derek get run through, and right before he evaporates, Derek says “remember who you are” (it’s giving mufasa but tell that to my tears).

Cut back to the Preserve, where Scott is arguing with Allison to not try to kill everyone? I’m not gonna lie this was a broken record.

And we’re back to the Hale’s, where Malia and Eli are running. Malia tells Eli to run, but Eli decides that now is a good time to growl and attack the Oni. He gets evaporated into smoke the same way as the others, and Malia manages to get rid of the oni by pulling tarp off the window and bathing them in sunlight.

Scott tells Allison that she can get him if that’s what they need to talk, and STABS HIMSELF BY GRABBING ALLISON’S ARM AND SENDING WOLFSBANE RIGHT INTO HIS GUT.

Jackson and Lydia have decided to go to the site of the arson, where they’re trying to figure out what the purpose was, etc. (notes i made: jackson and lydia cannot make up for stiles stilinski)

Peter, Melissa, and Argent have made it to where Allison stabbed Scott (that overlook over BH), and Peter sniffs the ground, declaring it’s a ton of blood there, and that they need to find Scott within 6-8 hours so he doesn’t die.

Alright, Malia and Parrish are looking for silver weapons to defeat the oni and decidedly not talking about the fact that they’re friends with benefits. this was unnecessary.

Jackson and Lydia are back at the arson site, and they’ve figured out that the arsonist (harris) is trying to create mountain ash. the trees he’s burning are rowan, which turn into mountain ash when burnt.

Meanwhile, Scott is trying to convince Allison that she wants him alive. He reminds Allison that her family’s motto was changed by her -- we protect those who cannot protect themselves, instead of “we hunt those who hunt us.” She promptly like, kicks Scott over. Scott, cmon, man.

The nogitsune comes back, to try and convince Allison to kill Scott.

We flash to some sort of shadow dimension illusion, where everyone who was “killed” by the oni is all tied up and decidedly not dead, fortunately. However, the Oni are back and they’re getting all menacingly close. This, however, does not stop Derek from being so excited to hear Eli changed. I may have cried about it. Again.

Flash to Peter, Argent, and Melissa, who are standing in the woods over the college lacrosse field, where a tournament is being played. We learn this is a trap from the nogitsune, and spoilers, this is where Allison has Scott. In like a storage room or something. This is, also, where we officially learn that the hooded man is Harris. Not that all of us called it or anything. But he’s the one who came up with the accelerant (like the hale fire. cmon guys. can we stop with the metaphorical dead horse.)

The nogitsune is threateningly moving towards Eli and sinking his claws into him. I’m sorry I don’t remember what he said I was too busy thinking about the parallels between Eli and Stiles and how I was already too hurt to be considering that.

Alright, back to Allison and Scott. Allison decides to save Scott by... burning the wolfsbane out with a flare? Despite having no wolfsbane? love the new canon, Jeff. Fuck you.

Scott has flashbacks to Motel California when she approaches him with the flare, but she does actually save him, Scott’s better, and Allison is remembering. hooray for love.

The nogitsune has spat Eli right out on the lacrosse field from the shadow dimension, and Scott and Allison come out from underneath it. Scott tells Allison to be safe, because she wants to find her dad, who doesn’t know it’s actually her and not some evil doppelganger. She asks him why he would be so kind after she tried to kill him, and then Scott says “because I’m still in love with you” (notes from the time of watching: you are not still in love with allison im fucking OVER IT)

Lydia and Jackson are under the stadium with Harris, who calls Jackson “you fucking imbecile!” nice use of the fuck word, Jeff. Die. He also keeps shooting Jackson which is less than cash money of him.

Eli and Scott learn that they’re stuck in the college stadium, because it’s a giant illusion. Scott tries to convince coach to get the people out of the stadium safely and calmly, and Coach informs him the only way to do that is to finish the game. So naturally, Eli has Scott’s old number (literally fucking kill me) and Scott is dressed? To score? and have BHHS win the tournament? whatever Jeff’s losing all of us at this point.

Back in the shadow illusion, Derek explains that Eli hasn’t seen his transformation since he was like, 3, because coyotes got into the house, and he transformed and got them out by roaring, and Eli was so terrified he was shaking (notes: that’s so fucked I hate it here)

And the lacrosse field again. Scott misses a goal so bad it hits the scoreboard and breaks it. Naturally. We learn, in a cut to Lydia and Jackson and Harris, that he’s been “pulling the strings and giving the nogitsune his pain” which he has in abundance or whatever. Lydia tells us that she had a recurring dream where she and Stiles get in a wreck, and he gets thrown from the car and dies. so she breaks up with him for that. i. okay.

Peter gets the quick on Allison, bashes her head into fencing, and she knocks out. Meanwhile, Scott tells Eli it’s his goal, and he scores the game winning goal.

We’re back to Argent, Melissa, and Peter. And a semi-conscious Allison. Argent decides that really is his kid, and he throws a wolfsbane knife at Peter. Which might be a bit dramatic but Peter would do the same so. whatever I guess.

Black smoke begins to roll, and everyone has been swallowed by the illusion.

We’ve now got Allison killing the Oni, which is feeling very reminiscent of s3. Meanwhile, Lydia and Jackson are back with Harris watching this happen, and Jackson is telling her that as a banshee, she can cut through the illusion with her scream. When Lydia yells Allison’s name, she knocks back the Oni, and apparently the sense into Allison, because we have an incredibly long flashback sequence that is Allison regaining her memories. Nostalgic, sure, but entirely too long because we all watched the show asshole.

Scott cuts a deal with the nogitsune that if he dies in Allison’s arms, the nogitsune will let the others go. Derek yells at him to not, and Scott manages to convince Allison to kill him. She shoots him with arrows 3? times? I think? Anyways, he’s in her arms and it looks really glum.

But then! The arrows are burning out of him, because Hikari is burning them? Don’t know the logistics but it happened. Scott’s wreathed in foxfire, nobody knows what’s going on, and Allison shoots the nogitsune in the forehead with a silver arrow. Sorry, this is where it gets very chaotic and i got very emotional so it’s jumbled as hell.

The nogitsune asks “what is that?” and Argent says “Silver, you motherfucker.”

Back with Harris, Jackson stabs him with a knife in his boot, and Lydia got his gun.

The nogitsune has evaporated, I wrote down that Derek said fuck at some point. Everything is looking good right now. Eli and Derek are going to shift together. There was a lot.

But now! The nogitsune is back. Saying that when Scott bit him, it changed him -- made him something more. His wrappings fall off, his eyes are glowing green, he looks vaguely werewolfish. (what happened to not being a wolf and a fox you fucking coward jeff. give me your address)

The nogitsune sends everyone into their own room of illusion, which all the werewolves (ie: derek, scott, and eli) break by roaring. Now, they’re all on the nematon with the nogitsune, holding him back. I can’t remember how Eli gets from the nemeton to the ground, but he does, so it’s just Derek and Scott holding him back.

Parrish comes up like, glowing pre-flame and is intending to burn him, and Scott tells Parrish to burn the nogitsune. Parrish refuses because Scott and Derek are holding onto him, and will die if he does so. Derek looks at Eli and rest assured you know exactly what’s gonna happen. It’s Derek.

He says something to Eli along the lines of like “remember who you are” and then tells Scott “you’re the alpha, Scott. It’s always been you” or something like that, then physically throws Scott off the nogitsune and the nemeton. Derek wraps onto the nogitsune while Parrish is holding on (why the nogitsune didn’t break free while Derek was throwing Scott off is beyond me it defeats the whole purpose of having Derek die) and tells Parrish, verbatim, “Light this fucker up.”

Parrish lights him on fire and it spreads to Derek (this is when I stopped being able to see very well because Derek burned in fire just like his family oh god sorry I’m really unwell about it)

right before Derek is engulfed in flames, he’s wolfed out, he’s looking at Eli, and his eyes turn from blue to red (true alpha. Right before he dies. I’m going to burn Jeff at the stake) And he goes up in flames, all of them do, including Parrish. When the flames clear, Parrish is laying on the nemeton, curled up, and it’s obvious that Derek died. The nemeton/illusion fades back to the lacrosse stadium where Eli is kneeling alone and Scott immediately gives him a hug obviously becoming Eli’s interim father and. I hate it.

We flash to Derek’s memorial. I can’t see the tv through the tears, but that’s okay. Scott tries to make it about himself by saying “he saved my life. then he said we were brothers.” and says something about how family isn’t the one you’re born with but the one you find, which is easy for the guy who still has a fucking father to say, huh?

Noah gives Eli the Jeep, explaining Derek hated that Jeep, but when it came to him in total disrepair, he fixed it right up. Even when it shouldn’t have kept going, it did. Then he says “your dad was a lot like that. we never understood why he wouldn’t break down and stay down. I’ve never seen anyone take the kind of punishment Derek Hale took and kept taking in order to protect the people he loved.”

We get Derek flashbacks. I still can’t breathe. Sorry guys, I’m crying again. Apologies.

“He kept going. He kept standing up, until the day he couldn’t. He had complicated feelings about that Jeep, but you don’t need to. All you need to do is keep it running. That’s all you need to do.”

We get a bit about Harris being put in a worse place than Eichen but I truly don’t give a fuck. I’m actively crying again as I type this.

The movie ends with “remember who you are” in Derek’s voice with Eli standing over Beacon Hills in the Preserve.

Fuck. Jeff. Davis

#teen wolf movie #teen wolf movie spoilers #teen wolf movie plot #god this is a lot of slander sorry yall #it is also SO long #long post #if y'all want this shit IN DEPTH but don't wanna watch it... here it is guys.#im here for all you fix-it ficcers who dont want to suffer through the movie #grace speaks #sorry this took so long i cried making it #im never watching this again #but if any fic authors have any questions or need clarification #please reach out #I'll post my thoughts tomorrow my computer is about to die

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pocketramblr · 4 years ago

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other main character meta- Ochako, pt 1

“Could you send me there?” you ask, while i blink, confused. “The world where someone else is the main character? not because i have any hypocritical biases against the one i got, just curious how the fandom meta changes.”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” I nod, thinking, before tapping my wand against your forehead. “Let’s start with Ochako.”

"I'm going to warn you now- I will have to slightly adjust the plot like I did with Mirio, just to actually let her be the main character."

"Yeah, that checks out." You nod, thinking about certain arcs where the female fighting teams get no coverage while the dudes get four different backstory reveals and full fight focus.

"Very well."

The show begins with a brief narration by the girl of quirks and super hero fights- all flashy. Then it zooms out to show the destruction, and a small construction team moving in as Ochako explains that just as there are new careers in society for heroes, there's also a bigger market for construction companies, one of which her own family runs.

"I've always wanted to help them with it, and my quirk would be useful"- a tiny, adorable Ochako finally appears, making rocks in a park float- "but to get a work license like that is expensive and selective- you've got to make a lot of court appearances and convince them why is a good idea and won't destroy the economy. It's much easier to get a hero license."

Then she explains: "Of course, once you have a hero license, you can make a lot more money than just by helping the company. Especially if... Your family company isn't doing very well." A series of tired but loving parents are shown working all hours to make ends meet.

"I want to help them- my parents. They've done everything for me, and they deserve a break. So that's why I'm going to be a hero- their hero."

The training montage is quick, using her quirk during school in training, after school in secret, around the house. She saves up money too, and studies, aiming for a scholarship.

She applies and tests for many hero schools, and the exams all vary widely.

The first episode ends with her looking up at UA, her final one, the one she really hopes to get into.

"Oh, that's nice." You nod. "And we even get to know her parents' quirks here."

"Yep." I agree. "In general, there's a lot more of a look at the financial side. It's pretty interesting."

"And the fandom?"

"Well, certain people get praised for the bare minimum, but I'll admit having a female lead is super uncommon for shonen jump." It's an improvement, though it's up in the air how much of one it will be. "There's also, because we saw a lot more hero schools, a ton of "students at different school" fics, either because they were expelled or because of the danger UA gets into."

"I do kinda feel like this universe is lucky for that sort of world building." You nod.

"It's very cool to see the takes on the aus. But, I will say there's a cost for this world building- the AfO stuff reeeeally comes out of nowhere and tends to not be popular with fans."

The next episode starts, and Ochako helps a boy from falling. "Love interest alert!" The fans notice quickly when the cute boy blushes and doesn't manage to say much before she walks away.

"They caught on quick." You note.

"And they aren't wrong." Not that it's any real feat to be right.

The exam starts, and Ochako is off in a flash. You see a few glimpses of future classmates- Iida, Aoyama, Kirishima.

She does well, racking up villain points and rescue points, until she's a little too ambitious and falls into the rubble. Her nausea is well established by now, everyone knows she's at her limit.

She can't get up.

The green haired boy comes back and stops the zero pointer.

And breaks every bone in the process.

Ochako saves him in return, lifting up the rubble and stopping his fall.

And then vomits violently afterwards.

"You know, I think quirks suck, actually." The fandom tends to agree on this after that episode/chapter. "But it is interesting that there's such a price for the powers, balances it really well."

"Ha." You shake your head. "They caught onto that, quicker."

"Yep." I can't even say it's more highlighted here, it's the exact same way it was shown in our universe- down to the sparkling rainbow puke.

"Though..." You can't quite imagine that's the only thing the fandom is saying isn't actually that great.

"Ding ding ding." I nod. "Did our own main character get treated just like a damsel in distress? Sure, she saved him back, but that just meant she could have floated away on her own in that time, even if it made her sick. Better that than dead. Is it the sexism?" I shrug. "Most decide to wait and see a bit, and by the time they work together in the first battle exercise figure it's a pretty even split between them saving each other."

"So no sexism?" You get happy at that thought.

I cough. "Ah, no. Both in the show and the fandom. You wouldn't believe how many grown men complain about the lady mc, even as they keep watching."

"And have her body pillow."

"Please don't make me think about that." I cover my eyes, but don't deny that it's true. "Anyway, yeah. Get ready for a lot of people to point out that even though the main character is a girl, every single other girl is flat as cardboard so far and that she only has developed friends that are guys."

"Hey, they aren't flat-"

"In the first season? Yeah they are. Unless you meant, physically, in which case..."

"I didn't." You protest. "But I guess I can see your point, at the start."

"Right. Let's continue on."

Uraraka goes to Present Mic to offer her points. The man pats her on the head, and skyrockets to the position of fandom dad.

"It's all about Dadmic and then Dadzawa here," I explain. "The fans were very disappointed to learn Mic wasn't her homeroom teacher, but yeah... He got a huge head start before Dadzawa fics got going."

"Nice. And it's all fanon?"

"Yeah, it may be a good thing he's not actually in it much, or they might realize how much they just made up on their own."

Then she gets accepted in, on hero and rescue points- she's third place overall, and she gets the scholarship.

On the first day of school, she actually gets to know her love interest's name- Midoriya!

There's also the quirk assessment, which really leads to the "expelled to another school" au and the "fire Aizawa and replace him with better Mic" aus, the first of which lasts much longer in the fandom use, but the second one was just as passionate for a while.

Iida becomes the second friend, and gives her the "Infinity Girl" nickname- which actually is the fandom assumption of what her hero name will be for quite a while, a la 'ground zero'.

Then it's time for All Might's first appearance on screen, to much applause of the students, and the announcement that they get their costumes.

During the first battle exercise, there's a lot more lingering camera work in the changing rooms. Ochako gets to expand a lot more on how she didn't want her costume to be that tight. It's uncomfortable, especially when she thinks about wearing it in front of everyone.

"Oh, I forgot she didn't like it at first... Does she just, get used to it here?" It sounds horrible for the plot to just say 'get used to it' to the main character being sexualized by costume makers outside of her control, especially as a child.

"Not on my watch." I mumble, waving the wand. "Don't worry, she'll actually get more costume changes each time, like some other characters."

"Oh good."

Mineta, regrettably, still exists. You find the fandom manages to be even more violent in his removal.

The battle does even out the opinions on Midoriya, as well as lead to a boost in Iida's with his charming little attempt at thinking villainously.

And cements Bakugo as rather hated. No one has really liked him, when the first thing he did was blow up at Midoriya, then get revealed to have called him a cruel nickname all this time. And then specifically hunt him down because all he cares about it beating him up.

"Yeah he's not gonna get a lot of fans here huh."

"He sure never gets first place in the popularity poll." I agree. "Most consider him the subversion of the rival trope to show is just stupid and violent and in real life, people like that don't go anywhere."

"Most?"

I look away. "How dumb of a discourse do you think you could see today?"

"Oh please, show me." You lean in. "It's nice to not have to deal with it in my universe, so I don't care."

The discourse is such.

Bakugo is gay-coded for Midoriya, the violence is a result of him being shoved off for a girl's love interest when she should be single and independent, and the homophobic creator is vilifying all gay people by saying they are predatory to poor straight boys with refused.

"They............... What."

"If it makes you feel better, that's a very brief minority of the fandom. My favorite response to it was "he's not gay-coded, he's bully coded you sanctimonious sumph of a shmuck.""

"Oh good," you sigh. "I'm glad we don't have to deal with actual queerphobic tropes like that."

I stare at you.

"What?"

I sigh. "Nothing, put a pin in that until I bring up the predatory bi thing with Toga."

Your eyes widen, and you start to have some regrets.

"Anyway, we can talk shipping later. Time for more."

The 'exit sign Iida' gives him a boost in being shipped with Ochako, (as well as Yaoyorozu) and also the general idea that "Ochako has two hands."

That one hand can have a boyfriend with a lot of cash to spare for her and the other is also played with.

"I missed the main trio, like this." You smile as they walk off into the sunset after school.

"Yeah." I agree. "Anyway, time for some near death experiences."

The USJ marks the start of the gradual, gradual growth of Dadzawa fics. It also focuses far more on Ochako, Mina, Sero, and Iida having to think strategically to get around Kurogiri. It's only after Iida escapes that we cut back to a slightly abridged version of how Midoriya was doing, then the other kids, before help arrives.

He does still through his first non bone breaking punch though, which makes the audience happy.

All Might saves the day. Aizawa is battered afterwards. Many fans start out by saying they were disappointed, since this was supposed to be the first big fight, and the kids didn't do much. Many others say in response that's the point- we're looking at first years, they had to think and help each other, but in the end they had to rely on adults.

And then the sports festival is announced. They want to do well, because this is how they get work-week placements, which could become internship offers.

Ochako thinks about Hado Nejire, the only intern of a top ten hero, and senior at UA, along with a few others who are on the up and up. She's determined.

"Really? You're bringing in the big three early?" You ask, glancing at my wand.

It's not sparkling.

I cross my arms with a huff. "Look. Nejire is at this point the only intern in the top ten, she would have been recognizable to the students for that, even if they didn't recognize the big three (which really means that they aren't actually called the Big Three by everyone, or at least not a wide enough group for it to be as big a deal as it's treated. Anyway.) But she wasn't, even if she should have been the most famous of the bunch, considering the coverage the first years got in just their first night. That's because a certain someone doesn't actually think of his female characters much, but he has to in this universe, so."

"Ok, yeah, that's fair. So does that change the sports festival?"

"Not... Much." I admit.

“What?”

“Well, keep in mind in the first universe, our main character didn’t make it past the second round in the one-on-one’s. So she’s not exactly guaranteed a win here either.”

You have to nod, admitting that is true.

“And the conflict isn’t so much about having to live up to any predecessor or breaking down some people’s walls via breaking bones.” I tap my wand against my chin, thinking. “There really is two- one about Midoriya, and one about Ochako’s parents.”

“Oh?”

“One, there’s been the Uraraka’s not happy about how much danger Ochako’s been in. Its been hinted at in the phone calls, but really shows up when we get to see them at home before the SF for the first time since she moved for school. They aren’t sure if she can stay there herself, or if the right thing to do would be to pull her out and maybe try a smaller school.”

“I suppose that's fair, if they haven't been able to actually see her or her progress.”

“Right. The second one is- well. in this, Izuku’s win of the first round, and then breaking out of brainwashing, is more about really piling on how good his mind is- all that brain power. This adds more pressure when we see Ochako being offered a plan from him to beat Bakugo.”

“Oh that does sound neat.”

“Yep- but of course, she still refuses. It’s held up as a worse thing, strategically, initially- but then she comes up with a plan that Midoriya confirms in the stands is better than his, and proves to her parents that she’s smart and skilled enough to handle continuing at the school.”

You smile. “That is a cool arc to do, i guess, if very not traditional. But what about all the character setup and growth with Shinsou and Todoroki?”

“Oh, Shinsou’s largely gets delegated all the way later for the joint training arc, where Ochako’s team is directly against him. Todoroki...” I begin to giggle.

You wait for me to answer, getting more concerned the longer i laugh.

“Pocket?”

“Sorry, sorry, yeah. He actually tells her himself in this canon, a bit after stain. Oh! right, i forgot- the cheerleader incident.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes. of course they need this merch opportunity! But yes, it happens. The... shall we say, non-body-pillow portion of the fandom, generally saw it as the end of any goodwill to Kaminari, who had previously been seen as a tertiary possible love interest, since he’d flirted with her on the first day. Flirt, but harmless, and unlikely to be important. Then there was that breach of trust and international embarrassment, and anyway he’s basically the second least likely in 1a to be shipped with her now.”

“Wow. So none of that changed?”

“Well, the setup wasn’t under narration from Todoroki about how his mother was bought for her body and how much that sucked and impacted her and the family while on screen we see multiple girls tricked into barring their bodies and its treated as a laugh instead?”

You stare at me. “I’m not sure if that’s better or worse.”

“Neither am I.”

“So, the Todoroki reveal?”

“Right. So, first you need to know the Stain thing- the claims he has against ‘false’ heroes focusing on money is better spotlighted. After Stain’s arrest, Ochako hears a couple of sidekicks at Gunhead’s agency-”

“Wait!” you interrupt. “She still interned with Gunhead? Then what was the point of showing Nejire and Ryukyuu earlier?”

I try not to massage my forehead. “To build up to it. She only made it to the first of the final round, she couldn’t get an internship with a top tenner yet. She’s also got to learn how to disarm someone who fights with a knife. These things build up over more time, small steps.”

“Ah.” You’re satisfied, and let me continue.

“Right, so, Overhears a couple of them talking about Stain’s philosophy and ends up just feeling really bad about it for a bit, trying to figure out if she’s actually being selfish or a bad hero for, you know, wanting her family to not be crushed due to capitalism.”

“Poor girl.” You shake your head in sympathy, the freeze. “Oh. did not intend that pun.”

“It’s alright, i know what you mean. And yeah, she bottles it up for a bit, until the second day back at school. Then Iida reminds her that him bottling things up last week got several kids in mortal danger, and she begrudgingly admits that he has a point and tells them about what has been bugging her.”

“And they comfort her?”

“Well, Todoroki also offers to tell off Kaminari because at this point his mention of stain upset both her and iida, but yes, A lot of reassurances.”

You squint. “I feel like shippers.”

“You’re learning! Yes, Todoroki is just a bit behind Iida in terms of popularity shipping with her. and she does basically get shipped A Lot with each girl in her class too, like imagine double to triple the amount with each girl now, and for the minor guys- but yeah. There’s a lottttt of ships. This was basically called ‘todoroki’s introduction into ochako’s harem’ in the fandom.”

Shipping. fandom just can’t escape it.

“So, then she learns about Todoroki’s past? oh, and what about Hosu? Does she- and everyone else- actually think Endeavor saved the three??”

I snort. “Oh, no. Todoroki’s flat ‘yeah my father totally helped us, as you read on the official report’ basically tipped the fandom off that something else had. But nothing confirmed either, you know? Filling in the hosu gap is another trope in fics that is pretty common.”

“Neat.”

“Yep. But yeah Todoroki tells her his backstory a bit after his introduction into her ‘harem’ of friends. It’s really played up more to caution Ochako- its alright for her to want to help her family, and to work for money to do that. But Rei accepted the marriage offer for money for her family too, and it ended up breaking her. Ochako has to accept a balance- she can work to help her family, and its good, but there are some things she cannot morally do to help them, and other things that she shouldn’t do because she has to take care of her own health first.”

“Ohhhh.” You hadn’t quite expected that, but you sorta liked it, now that you thought about it.

I smile. “It is pretty neat, yeah.” I glance at my watch. “Look, i hate to cut you off, but this post is gonna end up thrice the length of Mirio’s and i think tumblr might stop me, so we’re gonna have to do a two-parter.”

“That’s fine.” You are gracious for what you’ve gotten so far, and do have questions that you’re excited to see answered for the rest of the series. “It’s been fun.”

“It has been.” I agree. “Lets take a break, but you can ask me any questions too, before I return for part two.”

#other main characters meta series #seriously u may send questions i will try to adress in part two #but yeah wow that got long #see you in part two

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fangirl-writes · 5 years ago

Text

The Brewed

Benny Weir x Reader

Warning(s): None

Notes: A little treat for my MBAV followers. You can thank @faithiebrock01 for the request and I hope I fulfilled your expectations! This episode was hard to write for because it jumped around so much.

Summary: Follows the plot of Season 1 Episode 11 “The Brewed”

If someone had told you that morning that you were going to be up against zombie versions of your high school teachers-

Well, you probably would have believed them.

You grew up across the street from Benny and Ethan and consequently were best friends with the nerd squad.

And you’d been through a lot. So, really, it wouldn’t have surprised you.

But any warning would have been nice.

Because barricading yourself in the girls bathroom wasn’t how you wanted your afternoon to go.

“Ethan!” You cried. “Benny! Someone! Help!”

With your back against the door, you fumble in your pocket for your cell phone. Hitting Benny’s number. “Come on, Come on, Ben, pick up your phone.”

“Y/N?”

“Benny!”

“Oh, hot stuff, thank God you’re safe! Where are you?”

“In the girls bathroom by the science lab. Where are you?”

“Too far away from there.” Benny said. “We’re in the bathroom on the other side of the school. Sarah’s not picking up, Erica’s MIA , and we’re not desperate enough to call Rory yet. But don’t worry. Teacher’s will never enter a student washroom.”

“I don’t think the unwritten rules of education apply when they’re mindless zombies, Ben,”

“You know who’s fault this really is? Sarah’s. ‘Why don’t you fight your own battles.’”

There was a banging noise and Benny screamed before the line went dead.

“Benny? Benny? Hello?” You started panicking. What happened? Did the zombie teachers get Benny?

You chewed on your lip in worry.

Yeah, you were worried about Ethan, too, he was your best friend, but Benny...

Well, with Benny there was always something else there. A aching feeling in your chest whenever he would flirt with other girls, butterflies in your stomach when he would compliment you or save you from the supernatural thing of the day. You loved all your friends, but Benny...you loved Benny more.

There was banging outside the door and you pressed yourself up against it, trying to keep whatever it was out.

“Y/N! It’s us! Ethan and Benny!”

“Benny?” You threw open the door and jumped into his arms.

“Hey, I’m here, too,” Ethan pouted.

You smiled and quickly hugged him.

“Come on, let’s go before they come back.”

As you all made your way to the science lab, they caught you up to speed on the zombie situation with the coffee, the ectoplasmic refractor, and the pig brain.

“Who would have thought that the bio-lab had such big pig brains,” Benny said, staring at the jar with a weird kind of joy.

“I guess, I did,” Ethan replied, grabbing the handle to the teacher’s lounge.

“Into the lion’s den, you muttered and you all stuck your heads in the room.

“Ok, over there, follow me,” Ethan whispered, crouching and crawling under the teacher’s foosball table.

Ethan went first, followed by you, and then Benny who was covering you as the zombies walked by, groaning.

“Ok, so,” Ethan hit Benny’s arm as he watched the teacher stalk by, his hands grabbing your arms, protectively. “we throw the pig brain, grab the coffee, and we’re home free.”

“I don’t think you understand the meaning of home-free.”

You glared at Benny as his phone rang.

“Turn that thing off!”

“Oh, so when I tried to call you again you didn’t answer but now-”

“Not the time, Y/N!”

“Hello? I can’t talk right- What? Really? That’s amazing.”

“Benny!” Ethan whisper-shouted.

“500 minutes, unlimited text. 30 bucks! That’s good, right?”

“Hang up!” You scolded.

He did so and stuffed his phone back in his pocket.

“Ok. Pig brain..” Ethan said, unscrewing the lid. “...is go.”

He threw the jar and watched as the zombies made their way over to it.

“All right. All right. I’m going for it.”

He quickly crawled over the the coffee dispenser and pulled a cup from the stack. “Ok. Ok. Right here. Ok. Ok.”

“Too many, oks, Ethan,” You whisper-shouted.

He turned around and screamed in surprise as one of the teacher zombies eyed him. “I dropped the sample.”

Benny pushed you behind him. “Take, Y/N. I’ll get the coffee. You guys go!”

“But Benny-”

“Go!”

Ethan dragged you out of the room and you both hid around a corner, breathing heavily.

You heard footsteps and looked at Ethan worriedly.

“Benny?” He whispered uncertainly. “Is that you? Benny?”

The footsteps drew closer and closer.

You threw yourself in front of Ethan and yelled, making Benny, who was the perpetrator of the footsteps, screamed and clutched the coffee maker to his chest.

“Benny!” You said, sighing with relief.

“Benny, are you okay?” Ethan asked.

“Never better. Check this out.” He leaned against the lockers with you and showed off the coffee maker and then-

“Cool!”

You all stumbled backwards in fear as the masked Rory appeared from seemingly nowhere.

“Is that hot chocolate?”

“Rory!” You whined.

“Gotcha!” he exclaimed, pulling the mask off his head. “Check out what I swiped from the teacher’s lounge! Hicks took this from me in September!”

“Wait, you were in the teacher’s lounge?” Ethan asked.

“Candy, games, TV, couches!”

“Zombies?”

“Really?” Rory asked, innocently. “I just thought they were all really grumpy.”

Ethan sighed, shaking his head. “Whatever. We have to get this coffee to the chemistry lab.”

“Chemistry?” Rory said, wrinkling his nose and shaking his head. “Boring. I’d rather smack me some zombies.”

He put the mask back on. “RV away!”

He disappeared with his super speed.

“We better rearm,” Ethan said and Benny sighed, leaning his head against the lockers.

You help Ethan dislodge the fire extinguisher and you all head to the lab.

“Let’s get this cure going, huh?” Benny says and you narrow your eyes at him.

“Are you okay?” You ask.

“Never better. Let’s go.”

***

Sarah hands Ethan the ectoplasmic refractor.

“Oh, thanks,” Ethan says. “Did you see my mom?”

“We exchanged a few words,” She replied.

“Benny, are you sure you’re okay?” You said, placing your hand on his forehead. “You’re really sweaty and burning up.”

“Yeah! I’m fine,” He pushed you off him. “I’m pumped! Let’s do this zombie cure!”

“There’s definitely something going on here,” Ethan said, looking into the microscope. “These cells are like neurons. Like brain cells, but they’re mutating.”

“Ok. Mutant neurons. Cool.”

“Benny-”

You were cut off by the banging at the door.

“Company!” Sarah shouted. “Speed up the geeking!:”

“You can’t rush science!”

“You can if you don’t want your brain eaten!” You replied, handing Sarah the fire extinguisher.

She blew them back from the door.

“What happened?” Ethan questioned. “The neurons are gone.”

“What?” You asked.

“Just looks like plain old coffee now. It’s like it’s cured itself just sitting there.”

“Maybe it has to be fresh?” Sarah suggested, hitting the fire extinguisher again.

“Hot! That’s why the zombies hate the fire extinguisher. It’s cold!”

“Great...” Benny said, swaying a bit. “So we just wait here until January?”

“Can we just blast the air-conditioning or something?” Sarah asked, frantically.

Ethan laughed nervously. “Sounds like a plan. Benny, pack up. We gotta fight our way to the mechanical room.”

“Who are you kidding?” Sarah said. “They’ll break you like a fingernail. I’ll do it.”

“Oh!” Ethan laughed again and Benny clutched his upper arm. “If you wanna go.”

“Totally. Next zombie rescue is on us.” Benny said, practically leaning his whole weight on you. “Brain...”

“Benny, what’s up?” Ethan asked.

“He’s been bitten!” You cried, pulling up his shirt sleeve.

“Benny! Why didn’t you tell me?” Ethan asked.

He hissed in pain as you inspected the bite. “I thought you might...get cure...Fix...Benny. Can I bite your head?”

“Y/N...” Ethan said, grabbing you by the upper arm and pulling you away from Benny as he backed away slowly.

“Where the hell is Sarah...” You mutter.

“Benny, just stay with me. Not right with me, but, you know. ‘Cause of the biting thing.”

Benny’s head was in the table now.

“Just hang on, Ben, ok?” You said. “Hang on!”

The zombies moaned as they burst the door open.

Benny fully transformed and turned on you.

You screamed and you and Ethan grabbed onto each other.

The window crashed behind you and more zombie arms grabbed at your shirt and arms, you struggled against them and Ethan pulled you away with him as you both were back into a corner.

“Come on, Sarah,”

Ethan grabbed the fire extinguisher and blew it at every teacher it would reach.

Benny, the abnormally strong zombie, pulled it from Ethan’s hands.

“Benny!” You screeched and he looked over at you with dead eyes, he started coming towards you, he was face to face against the wall with you when-

The air conditioning kicked on.

One by one, each zombie hit the floor, their cells going back to normal.

You gasp as Benny hits the floor in front of you. You fall to your knees next to him and Ethan followed suit.

You pull his head into your lap and stroke his head as he started going back to normal.

Sarah comes back in. “We good?”

Ethan sighs. “Yeah. The zombies are all cooled off and catching some Zs.”

He yawned. “I get tired just looking at them.”

“You know what we need? A coffee.”

You laughed wearily.

“No. I’ll pass, thanks.” Ethan replied.

Benny picks his head up off your lap slightly to mutter. “Half-calf, low-fat, latte mochaccino. No foam.”

His head falls back into your lap as you giggle.

He looks up at you, picking his arm up to run his hands through your hair. “I love your giggle...”

You only giggled again and press a kiss to his forehead. “I’m just glad you’re back to normal. I was a little scared for you there.”

He chuckles. “You missed, you know,”

“What?”

“This.”

He pulled you into a kiss, lips meeting lips instead of his forehead.

Sarah and Ethan shake their heads.

“And the zombie movie comes to an end. Happily ever after.”

**** “I can’t believe I like that guy,” Sarah said with a wrinkled nose as “Cute Boy” and “Lazy Barista” talk to the press.

“This stinks. We saved the day.” Benny said, an arm around your shoulders.

“We?” Ethan said with a laugh. “You almost bit Y/N’s face off.”

“You mean like this?” He replied before kissing you all over your face, making you squeal and laugh.

“Augh. No. Gross.”

You laughed, pushing him off you. “Sorry, Benny Boo, but we unsung heroes have to take the high rode. Right, Sarah?”

You all looked over to find Sarah had disappeared.

“I hate their vampire speed.”

Sarah knocked the coffee cups out of the posers hands and the three of you watched them look around confusedly.

“Great! The high road.” Sarah replied, coming back.

Fin.

#benny weir imagine #benny weir x reader #MBAV #my babysitter's a vampire #mbav imagine #mbav x reader #my babysitter's a vampire x reader #my babysitter's a vampire imagine

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rachelbethhines · 4 years ago

Text

Tangled Salt Marathon - Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf

Ok, so I’ve tried and tried several times to get this posted, we’ll see if this is the time it goes through. Half the reason why this review series has slowed down is not just the multitude of real life stuff I have to deal with, but also Tumblr just refusing to work with me and deleting my posts. I also can’t save my work else where due to Tumblr messing up the formatting. It’s been a frustrating mess and so far no one @staff has come up with a tech solution or work around.

Summary: Rapunzel helps to rebuild Old Corona, (after its near destruction from the Black Rocks) which will become the permanent home of Red and Angry, who have returned to Corona to settle down. However, she begins to notice strange footprints around the area, as well as the livestock becoming more unruly and fearful. The group comes across a monster hunter named Creighton, who explains to the group that the area is being stalked by a werewolf, who possessed one of Corona's citizens. Aiming to save this person rather than kill them, Rapunzel sets out to find who it is.

When Was This Decided?

No seriously, when was this decided? It’s a pretty big leap go from ‘the rocks makes various towns inhabitable’ to ‘let’s rebuild!’ What’s changed here? Cause the rocks haven’t been removed and Rapunzel failed in her mission to nullify their power. In fact the rocks were not only reawaken in the second season finale but shown to be under the power of someone who’s intentions were made unclear to the heroes.

So I ask again; who thought this was safe thing to do now? What provisions have been made to accommodate the rocks? They blocked the well, remember, and destroyed the fields; how are the people getting food and water?

And most importantly why wasn’t the audience informed beforehand? When you change up the status quo in a story you need to provide just cause to the viewers. I legit thought I had accidently skipped an episode when I first watched because this plot point was not set up properly.

Why Were They Ever Left Alone to Begin With?

In a story where neglect is a central theme and motivating factor for all the main characters, it is super tone deaf to have those same characters perpetuating neglect themselves. The decision to live on their own should not be left up to Angry and Red because they are children. Children are not mature enough to provide for themselves neither emotionally nor physically and when placed in situations where they have to do so it psychologically damages them. Which the series already showcased with Varian so why is this suddenly deemed ok?

This Completely Undermines the Past Two Seasons

The entire conflict of the past two seasons was the rocks forcing people out of their homes. Eugene was made an orphan from them, Varian lost his entire support group because them, they drove out the Saporians from their encampment which prompted them to invade Corona, and Rapunzel and company spent an entire year on the road trying to find a way to stop them from spreading supposedly.

All of that has now been flushed down the drain with this decision. And its super insulting to watch because it’s the writers telling us that we’ve wasted our time caring about this plot for two years. You don’t resolve major conflicts off screen and without explanation; it’s lazy!

Also Where Is Varian and Quirin During All This?

This is not only their home and legal charge, but it’s also the ending to their ongoing story, and they’re not even here in a silent cameo.

Wouldn’t Quirin be overseeing the rebuilding of his town? Wouldn’t Varian be using his skills to find workable engineering solutions for them, fulling his season one goal of saving his home and making his village better with his inventions? Also wouldn’t Edmund want to catch up with his brother and help out now that he’s here?

In fact not a single person who actually lives in Old Corona is to be found in these opening shots.

Oh, But We Do Get Earl

Earl might be from Old Corona, or he might not be. We’ve literally never seen him before. The artists had to create a brand new character model for this character, the writers had to write new lines for him, and the casting director had to hire an actor and have him record these lines for only less than a minute of screen time, never to be seen again. Even though they legit had shepherd models already to go from season one that they could have used. It’s a waste of resources and a prime example of the mismanagement going on in this show.

It’s Too Late In the Series to Waste Time On a New One Off Villain

Speaking of a waste, Creighton might have more story reasons to appear in this episode than Earl does but her inclusion is still a poor decision. The show already has an overabundance of villains, so many in fact that they shipped the bulk of them off in season two, and this is the final season; the season where we should be wrapping up plots and minor characters stories not kicking off new ones.

Taken on her own Creighton isn’t a bad character presa, she works for the episode, but when we could have gotten a resolution to Caine’s, Hector’s, or the Disciples’ story arcs instead it highlights how misused the series assets are.

All This Lore Will Be Forgotten In Just a Few Episodes Time

We finally get like some magical rules and backstory only for future episodes to ignore it from here on afterwards. Red can turn into a werewolf whenever she pleases, night or day, with little explanation as for why.

Just Arrest Her Rapunzel

You’re the acting queen. You have the power and the right to arrest or even merely detain someone who is threating your citizens and refuses to leave. In fact it’s kind of your job. You don't even have to throw her in a dungeon if you thought that too cruel. Just lock her up in a nice room somewhere in the castle until you’ve sorted out the mess yourself.

The series wants to treat Rapunzel as the underdog when she isn’t, and her failure to wield her power effectively doesn’t make her look ‘nice’ it just makes her look stupid and grossly incompetent. This is a conflict that didn’t need to have happened and Rapunzel let it happen.

Oh, So Now Y'all Riot

You didn’t complain when the king orphaned children with his crack down on crime. You rolled over as he dolled out overly harsh punishments to poor people who committed minor offences. You gleefully went along with the royals as they scapegoated a child for their mistakes, even as they endangered your homes. And ya’ll sat on your asses while invaders pulled off a coup and enslaved you.

But this is what you get mad over? A rumor about a mythical creature existing that your princess has zero control over. Seriously?

Man, I hate the townspeople in this show.

Pointless Dream Sequence Is Pointless

This scene tells the audience nothing new and just wastes screen time.

This Is the Wrong Lesson to Focus On Rapunzel

We do not tell the 12 year old to unload their phycological issues onto their baby sister!

You’re telling me parents were involved in writing this show? What the hell!?

Rapunzel you are the adult here. At 20 now you should be more adept to handle listening to the deep seated emotional traumas of a little girl than a fucking 10 year old! And if you’re not, or don’t want to, then it’s your job to find another adult who will.

That’s the core problem with this entire episode. It treats Red’s and Angry’s problems as some eternal issue that they need to work out and not as the inherent failure of the adults around them that it is.

It is neither Red’s nor Angry’s decision on weather or not they get live on their own. Nor is it their responsibility to be each other’s therapist. Yes, a change in living arrangements is always stressful and for children with abandonment issues it can be hard to readjust, but that’s when you need to step it up and deal with the problem; not shove it off onto the kids themselves!

Monty Is Useless

Is this all Monty is good for? Being a red herring in ridiculously simple mysteries? Is this why we wasted a whole episode introducing him back in season one? Really?

Why Are We Still Treating Old Corona As Being Separate from Corona Itself?

Look, I get that it’s a joke, but it’s a joke that highlights how poorly thought out the worldbuilding is in the series. Is the Coronan government in charge of Old Corona or not? If so then you can just make those lease laws yourself as the acting regent Eugene. If not then Frederic shouldn’t have had any say in the matter of relocating Old Corona’s citizens nor putting a child outside of his jurisdiction under arrest.

But more importantly this is a just a repeat of that vague level of responsibility Rapunzel has for people who live off the island. She can’t order a whole village to be rebuilt while simultaneously claiming that she bares no accountability for Varian and Quirin’s problems in season one.

Replacing Guns with Crossbows Isn’t the Safe Option That the Censors Think It Is

I find it kind of amusing that censors will ban showing a 17th century blunderbuss but allow it to be replaced by a weapon that is still mass produced today and can be bought in any Walmart across the country. Like I’m a major advocate for gun regulation in real life, but even I have to find this to be a bit silly. Crossbows aren’t some fantasy weapon. People still own and use them. But it would be seriously hard to get ahold of a working antique firearm.

Seriously This Is How the Girls Have Been Living and the Adults Haven’t Done Anything About It Until Now?

I feel like I’m beating a dead horse by now, but it’s so engrained into the episode I have to keep bringing it up. The show itself is visually telling us that Red and Angry can’t keep living this way, but it never wants to call Rapunzel and the other adults out for not rescuing them from this life sooner.

So All This Tells Me Is That Rapunzel Could Have Easily Checked Up On Varian In Painter’s Block, But Didn’t.

Remember they’re right next to Old Corona; meaning that Janus Point is also right next to Old Corona. Meaning that Rapunzel could easily have checked up on Varian right after Painter’s Block and choose not to. With each passing episode Rapunzel has less and less excuse for her behavior in season one.

Yeah Remember that Plot Point That Wound Up Being Entirely Irrelevant to the Story?

In jokes don’t cover your ass when you make poor writing choices. Quite the opposite in fact as all you’ve done is remind the audience of all the various dangling plot threads that you will fail to follow up on. The disciples plot goes no where and serves no purpose, and it should not have been introduced as this big important thing if you weren’t going to do anything with it.

Nice Idea, Poor Execution

I’ve heard fans of this episode tell me that they enjoy it because of this scene with Red. If you’re a naturally introverted person or neurodivergent and have trouble communicating at times then Red’s speech here can strike a cord. Which is cool; I’ll never deny someone’s feelings and if a piece of media speaks to you on a personal level for whatever reason that is great. What I’m here to discuss though is story structure and whether or not the story’s themes are presented well in context of what it’s set up.

The conflict here does not work from a pure structural standpoint because it’s a surface level deflection of the real issues. Red’s problem isn’t that she is being ignored, it's that she’s been abandoned. Now communication issues can arise from that abandonment and feeling heard can be step forward in working those issues out, but Red’s central trauma isn’t going to be magically fixed by people ‘listening’ to her, i.e. being granted whatever she wants, but by providing her with a real home and with a real guardian to look after her.

Because what Red wants on a surface level is harmful to her, and the reasons why she wants what she wants needs to be addressed more so than then sedating her angry outbursts in the moment. This is treating the symptoms not the cause.

So What Is or Isn’t Real About the Curse?

Once again, we finally get some actual lore and rules for magic and the writers are already throwing it away during the same episode they are introduced. I now have as little context for how the wolf curse works within the Tangled world as I did before the episode started.

This Is Sweet, But Once Again Context Brings It Down.

So just to reiterate, this a surface level resolution to the conflict of the episode that doesn’t actually address anything. It might feel like an appropriate ending but only if you ignore the fact that Red and Angry are orphans who’ve been abandoned but the adults.

Angry apologizing here to Red does not solve any of their problems, especially since Angry, as a child herself, is not responsible for her sister’s behavior, feelings, nor well being. That falls to the adults and they fail to address Red’s core issues and their own failings to her in their apologies as well. Not to mention that the very next scene undermines any optional progress that could have been made here.

Listening to Someone Does Not Mean Giving Them Whatever They Want

This does not fix anything. Red and Angry are still left to live on their own without any real supervision. Giving them a big play house is not providing for them, it’s spoiling them. Would you let all the other orphans in the local orphanage roam free without an adult to take care of them? No!? Gee I wonder why? Could it be because letting a 12 and 10 year old raise themselves is a very stupid idea? One that will potentially damage them later in life assuming that they don't get themselves killed in the meantime.

Moreover this is yet another example of the series overall problem with not understanding that compromise and resolving conflicts does not mean rewarding the characters at the end with everything that they want without having them work for it. That’s not how life works and it’s not how good story telling works.

This Is Beyond Irresponsible

No! Bad Show! Bad!

You do not get to pretend that negligence is the same thing as compromise. Yes I know Eugene said to come to him when they have a problem, but as demonstrated by this very episode children do not always know when to ask for help nor can they always find it when needed, that is why parents exist!

Nor does the show get a free pass for turning it’s main characters into child abusers who neglected three minors multiple times now. Even when they themselves are victims of that same abuse!

How utterly blinkered do you have to be to not see the problem here?

It’s the Return of the Pointless Parallels

Let me count the ways for how stupid this is.

Red and Angry’s conflict has no impact on the on going narrative. Even with them now being reoccurring characters they still manage to contribute nothing to the future storylines involving Cass.

Neither Rapunzel nor Cassandra learn anything from Red and Angry’s spat; Rapunzel because she refuses to acknowledge her own flaws and Cassandra’s not even here for any of it.

The sister’s dynamic between Raps and Cass is not well established and the writers mange to piss all over it by series end because of gay baiting and poor writing. Therefore relying on lazy parallels to other siblings in the show to bolster this connection falls flat.

Red and Angry’s argument has nothing in common with Rapunzel and Cass’s current fighting. One is about abandonment issues and the other is about shallow validation. Trying to tie these two themes together actually winds up undermining both conflicts.

Red and Angry are children. Rapunzel and Cassandra are not. That very much matters.

Red and Angry didn’t drag innocent people into their petty bitch fight and endanger them because they wanted to feel special.

This Makes Zero Sense

I don’t know; she looked pretty happy during Crossing the Line.

She was also able to control the rocks just fine then, so what happened?

Not to mention soon after this Zhan Tiri is telling her she needs some sort of incantation to control the rocks, despite being able to already control the rocks....

It’s almost as if the writers are full of shit and don’t actually know what they’re doing.

So Are We Remembering the Burnt Hand or Not?

Does the hand matter or not? Is it ever a motivating factor in what Cassandra decides to do? Is her waning control over the rocks connected to her burnt hand; even though having a burnt hand is what allowed her grab the moonstone in the first place? Did the moonstone heal the hand? Does Raps singing the healing incantation later on heal it? Does Cass have a forever burnt hand?

Who the fuck knows!

Not the writers that’s for sure, cause it never comes up again.

Don’t introduce plot points and then not resolve them. That’s writing 101 guys.

Wait if she needs the incantation to control the rocks and the angry thing is a lie, then how the heck is she controlling them just now? Make up your dang mind show!

I swear I lose brain cells whenever I have to rewatch the evil Cassandra plot. It is so dumb you guys.... so, so dumb.

Conclusion

It’s not the worst thing ever but series has far better episodes on offer than this one. Even in a season as suck ass as season three.

So there’s praying that this review posts this time and if you enjoy my writing and would like to support me in my projects feel free to leave a tip on my Ko-Fi. Thank you.

https://ko-fi.com/rachelbethhines

#tangled #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #anti-tangled #anti-rapunzel #anti-Cassandra

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djemsostylist · 4 years ago

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This is not Eda Yildiz's Story...

With SCK’s return in season 2 and this highly polarizing plot, I’ve seen a lot of talk and debate about plot and character and the direction of the show. I’ve complained enough on my tumblr that I think it’s pretty obvious where I stand, but lately I’ve been thinking less about what I hate and rather why it doesn’t work. Like it or hate it, I think we can all agree that the plot and direction of the show is strange. The story has been a mess, arguably, since the early teens. Once we’d finished Ayse’s initial arc, it was clear we were moving into “plot” controlled territory, and that trend continued. I don’t think anyone can deny that the new story follows a similar narrative “shift” that seems to have dominated the story since the 30s. It feels different, and I think that feeling has continued even with the return of the original writer. It sort of crystallized for me when I was watching one of summer’s new show, Cam Tavanlar. 40 minutes in and we had yet to meet the male lead, and it was then that I realized that’s it.

I’ve seen a lot of talk about how feminist SCK is, and how this is “Eda’s” story. Fans have long asked the question “when is Eda going to graduate?” and it’s a valid question if Eda is our main character, since that is one of her two primary motivations. It's worth noting before we begin that I like Eda--I loved her for the first 28 episodes, her portrayal by Hande is excellent, and she is a fun and easy character to love. But rewatching the early episodes of the show and then watching Cam Tavanlar made me realize the issue at hand: this isn’t Eda’s story, and she is not, nor has she ever been, the main character. The story of SCK is the story of Serkan Bolat--I just don’t think anyone realized it.

Let’s think about Eda for a moment. When we meet Eda, she is a down-on-her-luck college drop out. She’s lost her scholarship and is stuck working at her aunt’s flower shop until she figures out what to do with her life. From the first episode, we learn a few things. She has two main goals--graduate, and be with the man she loves. We also learn a little about her character--she is determined, strong-willed, stubborn, impulsive, kind-hearted, and loving. She believes in seeing the best in people (unless their name is Serkan Bolat), and she values family and friends above almost everything else. Her introduction shows her as slightly frazzled, a little overwhelmed, and very young.

Over the next 11 episodes, we learn surprisingly little else about her. These are the things we know:

She lives with her aunt after her parent’s untimely death which affects her to this day.

She blames her grandmother for their death and is scared of her control.

She and Melo have known each other since they were children.

She works with orphans and loves the idea of helping children.

She loves plants and flowers.

She likes dogs.

She has plans for two children someday.

She wants to study in Italy.

She used to own a charm bracelet.

She is claustrophobic, which is likely connected to her fainting when she is stressed because of a claustrophobic situation when she learned of her parents’ passing.

What we don’t know could fill books. We don’t know exactly why she blames her grandmother for their death. We don’t know if Eda actually knows/has met her grandmother after her aunt took her and left. We don’t know how she met or knows either Ceren or Fifi. We don't know why she wants to be a landscape architect, or what drew her to want to study in Italy. We don’t know why she never pursued any other options when she lost her scholarship. We don’t know how she got the scholarship in the first place (grades, essay, project, some combination?). We don’t know her long term goals other than graduate and get married. Does she want her own company, is there a project she really wants or a company she would love to work for? We don’t really even know her feelings on relationships and marriage. How long did she date Cenk? How did they meet? What did she hope for their future? We don’t know anything about her childhood or how she was raised, and we aren’t even that clear on her relationship with her aunt, since it vacillates from almost no guidance at all to extremely controlling and manipulative. The point is, Eda is still, even 39 episodes in, more a collection of traits than a fully realized character.

Eda starts Episode 1 as a headstrong, independent, impulsive, kind, strong-willed, determined woman who wants to graduate and be with the man she loves. She ends episode 12 exactly the same--different man, same goals, same traits. She ends the way she starts.

The next 12 are the same. Eda starts as a headstrong, independent, impulsive, kind, strong-willed, determined woman who wants to graduate and be with the man she loves. She ends episode 24 the same way. This time, everything is the same as it was 12 episodes ago--same man, same goals, same traits. Again, what changes does Eda truly go through in these episodes? Any? Does she learn to think before she acts? Does she learn to temper her stubbornness? Does she define her future goals?

Let’s look at Serkan Bolat. When we meet Serkan, he is the successful CEO of an architecture firm returning from a business trip. His main goal--his only goal--is to achieve success and recognition in business. We also learn a little about his character--he is a stubborn, strong-willed, independent, closed-off man who prioritizes work over everything. He believes love is a fairy tale, and that all relationships are ultimately contracts no different from work contracts. His introduction is calm, cool, collected, and in control.

Over the next 11 episodes, we learn A LOT about Serkan. We learn:

He had an older brother he was very close to. His brother was the golden child and the center of his family, who was a musician. We learn that Serkan was very close to him, and that his brother’s death rocked the foundations of his entire family.

He was sent away by his father to boarding school at an early age because his mother had a mental breakdown and couldn’t cope and his father wasn’t capable of handling it.

A lot about his relationship with his parents, their goals and expectations for him, and why he is so closed off and has a hard time making meaningful connections as a result of how he was raised.

That he has wanted to be an architect since he was a child, which is how long he has loved magic and the stars.

He studied astronomy in college.

He believes in supporting the education of young people.

He rescued his dog.

He moved home to be close to his mother who suffers from agoraphobia.

Where he met all of his close friends and enemies.

His feelings on relationships and marriage.

His fears and insecurities.

His hypochondria.

His various talents (horseback riding, car racing, swimming, guitar playing).

In fact, there is very little we don’t know about Serkan Bolat.

Serkan starts episode 1 as a strong-willed, closed-off, business minded asshole who believes all relationships are contracts and doesn’t believe in love. He ends the first 12 as a more open, giving, softer version of himself, who believes in love and the importance of a relationship and whose goal is no longer just to be a businessman, but to prioritize the needs of the woman he loves over his own.

Over the next 12 episodes, we see Serkan learn to navigate what it means to be in a relationship--to learn to trust, to give and take, to let go of control, or let his feelings guide him, and to be open and honest with what he feels and how he loves. We go from a Serkan who couldn’t say the word “love” when talking in private to his best friend and thought apologizing by email was the best choice, to a man who can sit in a room full of people and declare openly his love for the woman beside him. When the series comes to a close in 28, we have a Serkan Bolat whose priority is love and family, and whose main goal is to become a husband and father.

Serkan, from episodes 1-28, experiences an entire arc, from consummate businessman to family man. He goes from closed and cold to open and warm. From a man who can’t even bring himself to explain that he doesn’t love his ex-girlfriend, to a man who can openly sit and talk about how much he loves his fiancee. He goes from a man whose friends drift around the periphery of his life, to a man whose newest friend is a former business rival. He grows and changes and develops, and each of the storylines, from the fake contract in 1-12 to the breakup in 13-24, to working towards marriage in 25-28, all bring this about.

Even the story is shot to show us Serkan's pov. How many times do we see Eda through his eyes? How many times do we get to focus on Serkan and his reactions, whether it’s to Eda, to news, to his feelings? Think about it. If the story is really about Eda, then all the focus in the teens should be on Eda. And while we certainly see her reactions, the story is squarely centered on Serkan and his feelings. 13 is about his relationship with his father, dealing with his company in crisis, and making the choice to go to Italy with Eda. 14 is about him coming to grips with the news and deciding what he wants to do. 15/16 are watching him deal with the fallout and the loss of Eda in his life. 17 is about his fears and hopes for children and a family with Eda. 18/19 are him coming to realize how desperately he wants and needs her in his life. Eda gets reaction time sure, but she’s not the focus--Serkan is. Think about the episodes I just described--what does Eda really do in any of them?

Even their family and friends. Eda’s life is filled with people who are less characters and more set dressing for her story. Ayfer begins and ends our series as a character who seems to be whatever the narrative requires--she has no real defining personality traits, and her backstory is nonexistent. She has no life beyond Eda and the girls, and it isn’t even until after Ayse is gone that we start to see hints of her maybe becoming a real character. The results were disappointing, but I give props to the writers for giving Ayfer some kind of plot beyond “the flower shop is suddenly in a monetary crisis”. Fifi, Ceren, and Melo don’t fare much better. Ceren we know has the desire to be a shoe designer and has a rich lawyer daddy. She at least gets a side plot with Engin where we can see her as more of a person than Fifi, who was basically never a character at all. Melo fares the best, although much like Eda, she is boiled down to a few basic traits that don’t change. Eda’s life is otherwise devoid of color and life--no neighborhood friends or acquaintances, no backstory for her childhood. She seems to spring into our story like a fairy fully formed, and there is no real effort made to develop her at all.

Contrast this to Serkan’s family, where we get to watch not only his parents, but also Engin and even Piril and Ferit, grow and change. We see Aydan go from a stubborn, nasty, judgmental woman to a woman who is kind, open, and supportive of her son and the woman she wants to be her daughter. We see his father is more than merely an absent dad, but a man who is so stuck in his ways he is unable to open up--until Eda. (That his story is ruined is neither here nor there). Engin goes from a goofy sidekick to a competent husband and. Even Piril learns to unclench, Ferit goes from a doofy, hanger on to one of Serkan’s greatest supports.

The point is, the story of SCK is the story of how Serkan Bolat learned to open himself up to love, family, and the possibility of a life beyond work. That Eda is an essential part of that story goes without saying, but it is, ultimately, his story. It’s funny, but I remember at the end of 28 saying that I missed Serkan Bolat. My friends laughed at me “he’ll be back next week” and while at the time I was being dramatic, I realized it’s true. Because Serkan Bolat’s story was done at the end of 28 episodes. When he made the decision to get married to the woman he loves, to prioritize her over everything, to become a husband and father, his story came to a beautiful and natural close. Their love story was really his story, the story of two people who came together and loved each other, and the ways in which that love allowed him to live a full life.

Any story that would come after centered on Serkan wouldn’t make sense. At best, we could have a few episodes of Serkan as a married man, but really, he doesn’t have much else to give us. So, if the story was going to continue, something had to change. And that means finding a new character’s story to tell. Eda, naturally, fits the bill. Since her story and growth has taken a back seat to Serkan, it makes sense to pivot and make her the main character. At the end of 28, one of her goals has been fulfilled--be with the man she loves. Therefore, naturally, the next part of the story, the story she will now be telling, will be the other half of that goal--graduate and become a successful architect.

As Eda steps into the lead role, we no longer have a need to focus on a story about two people falling in love and how that love grows and changes them. That story was Serkan’s story, and the new story we are telling has Serkan in the supporting role, while Eda learns to navigate the corporate world. Her story is that of a woman who must balance work and life, motherhood and the job, family and friends while also running a successful business. In this new story, we have a time jump (5 years, which is necessary both because with covid we can’t have babies on set and also because they have found the perfect actress to portray their daughter). Serkan is taking more of a backseat role, having already achieved so many of his professional goals, so while he still is a successful CEO, he also has time to take care of their child and run the minutia of day to day business life while Eda stretches her wings and becomes the business woman she has dreamed of being.

In the final episodes, we would watch as Eda goes from a headstrong, willful, stubborn, impulsive young woman, to a strong, smart, business savvy boss who continues to put her family--her husband, children, and friends--in the forefront of her life. Their love story is now merely a backseat to Eda’s growth and journey.

Except, that’s not what they did. They made Eda the main character but then tried to retell a love story that had already concluded. And to do that, they needed to reset. Everything. After all, how do you retell a love story that has already finished? How do you retell a love story that we’ve already seen playout? How do you tell a love story between two people that has had a beginning, a middle and an end? The answer, it seems, is to start over. Scrap all previous growth, character progress, and storytelling from the first arc with one of your characters, and set him right back at square 1. Or, as it appears, square -10. Take your new main character, and change her. Tweak her just enough to make her work for this new and improved story by removing enough of her core to fit in the plot. Then, move forward from there, and pray the audience doesn’t see what you’ve done until it’s far too late.

So there it is. The fundamental problem with SCK. It’s not about liking or hating it--people like what they like, and this isn’t a judgement on anyone who is fine with the new plot. I’m hardly an expert writer, and perhaps I’m overlooking some missing nuance. But I don’t think you can argue that this new direction is good. It may be enjoyable, which is always subjective, but it’s not good. I don’t think it’s the sort of thing people will look back on and say “Oh, what an excellent piece of writing and characterization!” Hardcore Ayse stans will, I think, they seem impervious to critique or critical thinking, but a read on the fandom at large seems to indicate that most people accept that the plot itself is nonsensical, but they are here for Hande and Kerem and a cute little actress and not much else. To them, having Hanker on screen for another 10 episodes is enough, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I just think that it could have been so much more, and that’s what makes this so strange. But I guess maybe that’s what happens when not even the writer realizes who her own main character truly is.

#sen çal kapımı #sen cal kapimi #sck #eda yıldız #serkan bolat #this isn't a complaint post i swear #it's about how the plot has been failing since the 30s and why #it's because serkan is no longer the main character #and he always was #but when they tried to make eda the main character in a love story that had already been told #it meant they had to reset everything and change characters to fit

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another-place-to-fall · 4 years ago

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Defending the women of LOST/Sexism in LOST

People say they don’t like Kate Austen because she’s “annoying” “can’t choose between Jack and Sawyer” “always wants to join every single mission”. Kate has way bigger things to worry about than sorting out her romantic feelings. Yes, she is developing feelings for both Jack and Sawyer, but she doesn’t have time to figure them out while trying to survive on the island. And the fact that people don’t like her because of the whole “I’m coming with you” thing is a little ridiculous, because they’re hating Kate for wanting to protect her friends and do whatever she can to help. You know who else does that? Jack. But plenty of people love him for those very same reasons. Yeah, a lot of Kate’s character was centered around the love triangle, but that isn’t the character’s fault, it the writers’s.

Then there’s Claire Littleton. People always complain about her “my baby!” thing, but... she only actually says that a few times, AND, if your child was taken from you or you thought your child was going to be hurt, wouldn't you be worried out of your mind? Wouldn’t you want to do anything to help them? People also criticize Claire for her entire Season 6 arc. She was alone, on the island, thinking everyone had abandoned her, with only the MIB for company. She was also tortured by the temple Others, who she thought had taken her child. Claire was a single mother who just wanted to keep her son safe, give her a break.

Sun-Hwa Kwon is a character who actually doesn’t receive that much hate, but there is still the fact that people don’t like her because she left Ji Yeon to go back to the island for Jin. Here’s the thing: Sun had no way of knowing what was would happen on the island. She had no way of knowing that Jin had time traveled to the past, and she had no way of knowing what would happen with the MIB/Locke. She thought that she would be able to go to the island, bring Jin and the others back, and the two of them would reunite with Ji Yeon. And then in the submarine incident, Sun didn't want Jin to stay. She wanted him to live and take care of Ji Yeon. It was Jin who made the decision to die with her, not Sun.

Shannon Rutherford is a very unlikable character. Even I don’t enjoy her character, or Boone, and that is a view shared by many other people in the fandom. Many people call her selfish, spoiled, and just plain rude. And she was all of those things, but that wasn’t her entire character. Remember, they had all just been through a plane crash, landed on an island with no chance of rescue. Also, friendly reminder that she was only 20 years old. She was scared, and her way of coping with that was to try to do something normal. Let’s not forget, in Pilot, Part 2, she volunteered to go on the mission to fix the transceiver. She was constantly feeling useless, and it didn’t help that other characters, especially Boone, were constantly putting her down and mocking her. When she started to see Walt, she genuinely made an attempt to help him, even though she wasn’t sure if he was even there. Her death was untimely, and I wished we had gotten to see her grow more as a person. Also, her death was used for shock value and to further Sayid’s character development.

And now, one of the most hated characters of LOST, Ana Lucia Cortez. Now, while the characters I mentioned above were shit on and criticized, Ana Lucia was absolutely hated by the fandom. People hated her attitude, her toughness, her dislike of most of the people around her, and the fact that she killed Shannon (who, by the way, was just as disliked by many Ana Lucia haters). You know who else has a similar attitude? Who has that same toughness and dislike of people? Who else killed someone? That would be Sawyer, a fan-favorite, white male character who is beloved by the fandom. Now, for the last point, what I am comparing here is Ana Lucia killing Shannon to Sawyer killing the man he thought was Frank Sawyer in Australia, right before flight 815. Ana Lucia killed Shannon because she was trying to protect the people she was leading (including Sawyer!) from who she thought was the Others, and killing Shannon was an accident. Sawyer killed the man completely on purpose and out of revenge. Oh, and it wasn’t even the right person. Yes, I am aware of the man Ana killed long before flight 815 out of revenge, but if we can take her very small amount of character development, in which she refused to kill Henry Gale, a known Other at that point. Whereas Sawyer was still willing to kill a bunch of people in Season 6, the end of his character arc. And yet, Sawyer is still in most people’s top five characters lists (just to be clear, I do not hate Sawyer at all, and this is not anti Sawyer but pro Ana Lucia). You may argue that people love Sawyer because of his character development, which I do agree with. However, Ana Lucia was never given the chance to have Sawyer-like character development because she was killed off in the same season that she was introduced in. She wasn’t even allowed to be in the church in the flash-sideways, and she didn’t get to “move on.” Ana Lucia deserved way better than the death for shock value that she got.

Next up on the list is Juliet Burke. She, like Sun, also isn’t the target of a lot of hate, but there are still things that need defending. The first thing is, of course, her sudden change of mind when it came to detonating the hydrogen bomb in Season 5. Yes, it was selfish of her to endanger everyone on the island just because of the way Sawyer looked at Kate. But if the plan did actually work, which she thought it would, that meant she would lose everything she had gained over the past few years, including Sawyer. Juliet is incredibly kind and feminine while also being badass at the same time, which is amazing because you don’t usually see those two traits coinciding (usually a badass character isn’t very feminine and a “traditionally feminine” character isn’t a good fighter). As for all of her motives in Season 3, Juliet was trapped on the island for three years. All she wanted to do was leave and go home to her sister. Yes, she manipulated Sun, but right after that, she made things right by helping Jack make a plan to stop the Others. Her death was heroic, and I’m glad she was finally able to be happy in the flash-sideways. (I am declining to mention her whole relationship with Goodwin and all the drama with Ben, although I might dive into that in another post).

Now, the character Rose Nadler has almost nothing that needs to be defended. She is a constant wise voice of reason who isn’t concerned with the drama of the rest of the survivors. Her relationship with her husband Bernard is very sweet, but she doesn’t let that stop her from doing the smart thing (like stopping his SOS sign idea). Not only that, but Rose has one of the best (and most meta) lines on the show: “If you say live together, die alone to me, Jack, I’m going to punch you in the face.”

Another character who doesn't need much defending is Charlotte Lewis, but not for the same reason as Rose. Charlotte was done dirty by the writers. Of the science team, she is the least fleshed out and explored. She had a single flashback and a little bit of exposition information from Ben, but that’s pretty much it. Every significant thing she did was for the sake of other characters. She had a fake-out death so Ben would reveal that he had a spy on the boat. She was taken to the Barracks so that members of Jack’s group would have a reason to go there. Her going to the Barracks was also an excuse to get Miles and Kate there. And she only died/was dying for shock value, to up the stakes of the time flashes, to provide more questions to the characters and the audience, and to further Daniel’s character development. In the flash-sideways, all she did was go on a date with Sawyer and further his character development. She didn't get to go to the church and move on. Daniel and Miles, the other members of her team, on the other hands were given compelling backstories and centric episodes.

Penelope Widmore is similar to Charlotte in that there isn’t much to defend because she doesn’t do much that affects the plot. Nearly everything she does is about Desmond, and the writers barely even gave her a personality. I’m sure Penny was an actually interesting person, if they had bothered her to give her any storyline that didn't involve her love interest.

Danielle Rousseau is a character that kind of slides in and out of the story as needed. Now, Danielle isn’t the subject of a lot of criticism just because she isn’t very focused on, but from what I have seen, here’s what I have to say: Danielle was alone on the island for sixteen years. And for sixteen years, she had to live with the knowledge that she was forced to kill the man she loved and her team. Not to mention the fact that her daughter, Alex, was taken away from her when she was just a week old. Can you blame Danielle for being paranoid? Her death was not a fair end to the character, and it was only used to kill off Danielle quickly and provide shock value.

Her daughter, Alex Rousseau, is similar to Charlotte and Penny in that she doesn’t need to be defended because everything she does is to affect other characters. In this case, those characters are Ben and Danielle (especially Ben in the later seasons). Danielle’s entire character is centered around the fact that she lost Alex and has been searching for her, and Ben’s motivations after Season 4 are largely motivated by Alex’s death. She herself doesn’t have much of a character arc, and her death was only to provide shock value and further Ben’s character development.

Another character that falls into the category of not having much to defend because every action is for someone else is Libby Smith. Once the tailies and the main survivors joined together, she was almost immediately shoved in a relationship with Hurley. The only things we knew about her backstory were that her husband died, she was a clinical psychologist, she was in the same mental hospital as Hurley, and she gave Desmond a boat. That’s it. She didn’t have a centric episode, and she only appeared in other people’s flashbacks. Her death was only to provide shock value and further Hurley’s character development, as well to show that Michael betrayed the survivors.

Notice how many of these women died for shock value and/or to further a man’s character development? Notice how many of these women are disliked for traits that other characters are loved for? Notice how many of them barely exist as their own character without a man? I love LOST, I really do, but their treatment of female characters needed a lot of improvement.

#lost #lost tv show #abc lost #lost tv series #fandom sexism #sexism in fandom #kate austen #claire littleton #sun-hwa kwon #shannon rutherford #ana lucia cortez #juliet burke #rose nadler #charlotte lewis #penelope widmore #penny widmore #danielle rousseau #alex rousseau #libby smith

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kaeldra · 4 years ago

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六 (Six)

Summary: The Wizard is skilled in many fields, but the domain of growing and raising things almost solely belongs to Hikari. Even so, he gives it a shot for her sake and the results are... not quite what he had hoped. She loves him anyway.

Another entry in the Hikari and the Wizard: A Hundred Words series! Once again it is very very late, but what can you do. Also once again it is very very out of order, but I do not care. Enjoy!

This fic can also be read on Ao3!

As wide as the scope of the Wizard’s skills is, he is not particularly adept at growing things.

It’s a bit ironic, considering he’s married to a farmer. He understands the principles, of course, and gets to see Hikari’s methods first-hand. She has such success with her various crops, and so he takes diligent notes. He pays close attention to the temperature of the soil when she plants the seeds, how much water she gives each seedling, and the exact shade of the fruits when she deems them ready for harvest. It’s a bit frustrating when he asks her how she knows all of these things and all she can do is shrug, telling him it “just feels right” with an apologetic smile. He supposes that this is Hikari’s own type of magic, one that he may never understand.

That doesn’t stop him from trying, though.

She pours her soul into her farm, and while he does his best to assist her by collecting eggs or pulling stray weeds he finds in the plots, his efforts pale in comparison to hers. Of course he knows that he will never be able to match her in farming ability, but he wants to make a gesture for her in her own language, so to speak. And so he hatches a plan to secretly grow an assorted bouquet of her favourite flowers and give them to her as a gift.

The Wizard realizes he’s lucky that he occasionally goes down to Marimba Farm to buy Hikari’s seeds as he’s walking there one sunny afternoon. No one blinks an eye as he makes his way across the river and into the shop, exchanging a few simple pleasantries with Ruth before stepping back out and realizing that he doesn’t know where he’s going to plant them. Certainly nowhere around their home -- Hikari knows every inch of her farm by heart, and she’ll immediately notice the turned earth where he’s planted them, let alone when they start growing.

Perhaps he can go back inside and ask Ruth if he can rent a small plot of their land to grow them on? He quickly dismisses the idea, knowing that if he does he risks someone seeing him tending to the flowers and telling Hikari before he’s had a chance to give them to her. He’s not sure if he could be charming enough to convince the sharp-tongued farmer anyway; she’s kind enough to him when he comes by on errands for his wife but it’s clear that she would prefer Hikari’s company any day.

So he goes to the only other place he can think of: the depths of Fugue Forest. While he still doesn’t exactly enjoy the Witch’s company, he can admit that they have come to a sort of understanding in which they tolerate each other’s presence for Hikari’s sake. Ever since she had rescued her from her unfortunate amphibian state and subsequently brought her assorted blackberry sweets, the Witch has developed a bit of a soft spot for the young farmer. She just happens to think she has poor taste in men.

When the Wizard finally shows up on the Witch’s doorstep (having collected a Fugue mushroom on his way to give her, just for good measure) and explains his situation, the hag has the audacity to start laughing. Absolutely cackling. He stares at her with an unimpressed glower, and she finally replies as she gets her breath back in gasps.

“You? Grow flowers? In my garden, of all places? I mean, I know you’re still all googly-eyed over her, but this is just too good,” she lets out another giggle, wiping a stray tear from her eye. “I never thought I’d see the day you’d willingly get dirt all over yourself, and for a girl no less.”

The Wizard sighs, supposing she’s a tiny bit right. If someone had told him a few years ago that this is what he would be doing today, he would have suspected a head injury. Even so, he can’t let her have the satisfaction. He simply levels a steely gaze at her.

“You didn’t... answer my question. Can I use your garden... or not?”

The Witch shrieks another laugh as if he’s said the funniest thing she can imagine, and the Wizard winces at the volume.

“You’re serious! You’re actually serious!” She slaps her leg in amusement. “Sure, fill your boots! It’s not like I use it much, and it’ll be hilarious watching you get yourself all muddy trying to care for the things. As long as you don’t expect me to do anything,” she adds with another snicker.

And so the Wizard begins making daily trips through the forest to the Witch’s house. Again, he thanks the Goddess for his good luck that the forest is not an unusual place for him to be and it doesn’t cause any suspicion on Hikari’s part. He does wish he didn’t have to deal with the Witch herself -- whenever he visits to care for the little seedlings, he can feel her amused gaze on him from her kitchen window, and occasionally she’ll even lean out and heckle him before going back to whatever it is she does all day -- but all things considered, it’s not so bad.

That is, until he notices the seedlings are starting to die off.He had originally purchased a rather large amount of seeds, causing the witch to cackle at him again when she saw just how carried away he had gotten.

“You’ll have more than a bouquet with that many seeds! You can start your own flower shop instead of telling fortunes!” She had squealed before devolving into another fit of giggles.

But now he’s starting to worry if he’ll be able to pull together enough blossoms to give Hikari at all. It seems every day there are fewer and fewer plants left, and he feels a pang of dismay every time he has to pull up a withered set of leaves.

After weeks of careful tending, he’s left with just a handful of sad-looking flowers. He counts them as he plucks them gingerly from their stems, doing his best not to damage them. Six. He managed to grow six flowers out of the dozens of seeds he bought. It’s definitely not what he had hoped for, but he still wants to give her something and he figures it’s too late in the season to start more seeds now.

He carries the little bundle home, half wondering if he should just give up entirely and find a different sort of gift. Standing outside their front door, he runs through a list of possibilities. He could cook her a nice dinner. He thinks he remembers her mentioning some new calves she saw at Horn Ranch the other day, and considers asking Cain if he’d be willing to sell one. But before he can settle on an alternative, the door opens and warm light spills out into the evening air.

“There you are! I was getting worried when you hadn’t come home,” Hikari says, relief evident in her tone. Her eyes drop to his attempted bouquet, then bounce back up to meet his own startled gaze, full of questions. “What’s this?”

The Wizard rubs a hand on the back of his neck, suddenly bashful. He feels like a child presenting his mother with a piece of macaroni artwork.

“These are... for you. I tried to grow them myself, but they aren’t... as beautiful as I hoped. I hope you like them... anyway.”

Hikari’s face breaks into a blazing smile, and she reaches forward to take the offered flowers. Before he can so much as blink she’s scrambling around in the cupboards for an appropriate vase.

“You grew these on your own? They’re plenty beautiful, I love them. Thank you,” she kisses him softly before turning back to her task of arranging them.

Somehow, her deft hands manage to make the six little blooms look purposefully minimalistic in their vase. They sit proudly on the kitchen table, and Hikari admires them with glowing eyes.

“I never knew you had such a green thumb,” she says later, tucked into his side on the couch. “Maybe I should get you to help me with growing my flowers next season.”

He knows she’s joking, that she doesn’t expect him to actually take her up on it. But he finds himself attracted to the idea. Caring for the little plants was relaxing, in its own way, and of course he’ll use any excuse he can to spend time with her. Even having been married for a few seasons now, that impulse hasn’t gone anywhere.

He squeezes her close, feeling content despite his fumbled attempt at a gift.

“That... sounds lovely.”

#Harvest Moon #Animal Parade #Harvest Moon Wizard #Wizard #fanfic #Harvest Moon fanfic #once again full of CHEESE #I hope u like it #kael writes #Hikari and the Wizard: A Hundred Words

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kitkatopinions · 4 years ago

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The baby boy himself, Whitley!

(for the ask meme)

Whitley is so my baby, I love my child so much. I’m realizing I say ‘I’m really excited for this one’ for like every character I get for this ask game, but it’s because I’m having so much fun! These take a bit to write, but they are honestly so interesting to me, so as an fyi, if anyone does have any character they want to ask my about, but thinks they might be too late, or I might be uninterested, I’m still totally interested! It just might take me a bit to answer. :)

My top three ships for the character

Whitley/Oscar is my top ship for this in canon currently. It works best if Ozpin could somehow be separated from Oscar (which is theoretically possible I guess,) but yeah. Farm boy vs rich boy, they look cute together, their personalities could vibe, and they’re both snarky, but at heart caring and compassionate. Whitley/Mercury. I mentioned this in my Mercury ask, but I was writing a fic with @why-i-hate-rwby-now where Whitley and Mercury were thrown together and had to work together to escape their abusers, and I just kind of started shipping them while writing it. O.O Also Whitley/Penny is cute as heck and I could totally see her grounding him and also making him loosen up, while Penny thinks he’s funny and interesting.

My three least favorite ships for the character

Whitley/Blake. I don’t understand this ship, Blake just feels like more of an adult atm compared to Whitley - a literal child. (Yes, I realize I ship Whit with Merc, but A. I thought Merc was sixteen while I was writing that fanfiction and he acts kind of on the young side, while Blake has been acting ‘as an adult’ and being treated ‘as an adult’ for two seasons at least while directly talking to Whitley, and has always been more of a mature character for her age anyway.) But on top of that, Blake seems to treat Whitley like an in the way child and is kinda judgey to him, while Whitley barely seems to notice her. Whitley/Henry Marigold just feels bad. And Whitley/Yang. Again, Yang has been written as a nineteen year old demanding to be treated as an adult (though I wanna say she’s less mature than Blake) but also Yang is a hotheaded character and has been acting pushy lately, and that’s fine as a character flaw, but I feel like it just puts me off her for Whitley especially.

My biggest criticism for the character

He’s treated like he’s not a victim??? Like, his abuse and neglect and even his struggles are just... Not really gone into or acknowledged very much, Weiss acts like he has to prove himself before she can show him the slightest bit of sympathy or affection when she’s his big sister, his relationship with Jacques is glossed over and he isn’t given closure there, Willow’s neglect isn’t really acknowledged seriously, Winter seeming totally disinterested in him doesn’t feel like it even matters, Weiss is treated as blameless in her and Whitley’s problems. And the writing kind of frames Whitley as having gotten a redemption, when the worst things he did was be a bit of an asshole while in an abusive situation as like a fourteen-fifteen year old with no aura or glyphs or fighting ability. Emerald and Whitley’s volume 8 arcs should not be comparable! Emerald is a full on murderer and was still willingly working with Cinder to attack people as a nineteen year old woman, and yet she and Whitley are treated very similarly by the narrative (helping one person and then that ‘making up for’ their ‘past mistakes’ and then them just being on the good side and carrying the team’s actions until the pathways arrive and they both go to Vacuo. To be clear, I think this framing was too much for Whitley since he never even needed a redemption at all imo, and not enough for Emerald, the literal murderer of Penny who was just recently willingly helping Cinder try and murder Penny once again.) Whitley should’ve been treated as the child he is, he should’ve been treated as the victim he is.

My favorite thing about the character

His potential dynamics, but specifically with Weiss. He and Weiss both had almost the exact same upbringing, only Weiss actually had more support, but guys... The way the two of them coped had similarities, but were also very different. Weiss hid behind anger and sternness, Whitley hid behind peppiness and smiles. Weiss copied Winter, Whitley copied Jacques. Weiss was always afraid of people putting on acts around her, Whitley was constantly putting on acts as a means of survival. Each of them are plagued by jealousy, pettiness, judgmental behavior, and they both have good qualities that are similar, but they both are too prejudice against each other to see those good qualities and need to learn to understand where the other is coming from. Weiss is a fighter, but a follower, while Whitley seems to have a bit of a ‘fawn’ tendency, but plans and enacts schemes under the table (even if it doesn’t have to be, like with Nora! Whitley’s instincts were to just figure out how to help Nora and then go off and do it alone without telling any of the obviously antsy people with guns what he was doing - after he was spying on them lol.) I just love the possibilities that exist with two characters that are so similar, but so fundamentally different. Also I’d love to see him resentful of Winter and snarky and passive aggressive with her, and Winter not really getting the problem, and Weiss having to mediate between them. Idk, there are so many possibilities of amazing interactions and connections Whitley could have with the others, and he could be a really new, good viewpoint if he was allowed to flourish. And maybe became kind of a ‘guy in the chair’ more permanent part of the team. Like, I know we don’t need more character bloat, but let me dream!

A headcanon I have about them

Before Weiss lost her inheritance, Whitley was sort of tasked with learning everything but being head of the company, like he was learning the financial side of things, the technological side of things, ordering, inventory, scheduling, all about Dust and mine operations... And Whitley’s naturally academic and a fast learner, so he absorbed a lot of it. But yeah, I think Jacques was trying to train Whitley up to be a sort of always available PA of Weiss’s that could handle anything she didn’t want to do / was too busy to do, and that was something Whitley really resented too. His skillset was essentially being crafted around helping Weiss, but never learning how to actually manage the company itself and severely lacking in the social side of things, like he’d never be able to make a proper speech. Also, like pretty much everyone I think he plays piano and writes his own music compositions (which in my headcanons he subconsciously writes to include vocals only for him to then get bothered that even his music seems influenced by Weiss. XD) Also I know this is three headcanons, but if he had been trained to fight, he would’ve used duel pistols and would’ve eventually developed a ‘born out of trauma’ semblance.

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

I’d just allow his status as a victim to be recognized and for him to have the sympathy I feel his character deserves. I’d have him and Weiss both framed as having contributed to their bad relationship, but Weiss - as the sister four to five years older than him - would be the one who makes the first moves towards repairing it, proving she has changed enough to put aside her pettiness and be there for the brother she does truly love. I’d also get Willow away from him, or at least let Whitley be angry and distant and not have their relationship fixed over the course of an in-universe day. This is why I say there should’ve been another Atlas season, which I think is what I’d do when it boils down to it. With every plot point coming fast and then being pushed on the back burner for the next plot point, there’s no time to focus on any of it or to give the character’s sufficient growth from it. So then things like Willow having her hand glued to Whitley’s shoulder feels very ingenuine, because their ‘growth’ was so rushed. So yeah, I’d really just add an extra season and let Weiss recognize that Whitley is also an abuse victim, make her be the one to start making steps to be there for him, and let things like his relationship with his mother come slower and not be an easy fix. Also I’d have Winter acknowledge that she has a brother more regularly and have her actually care about him, even if she hasn’t shown it well at all.

What I I think of their character allusion and what (if anything) I would change about it

Whitley has no assigned character allusion and his name doesn’t offer very many hints, since it literally just means white meadow/field snow, but it’s easy enough to assume that like Weiss and Jacques - Snow White and Jack Frost - Whitley’s character allusion has something to do with the cold. I agree with the general opinion that he’s connected to ‘the Snow Queen,’ and is likely meant to be Kai, a once kind hearted boy who gets a piece of a magic mirror in his eye that only lets him see the bad in people and gets kidnapped by the snow queen. His best friend Gerda goes on a quest to save him - encountering a land of eternal summer and a talking crow amongst other things - and temporarily forgets him due to an enchantment, but then finds him almost frozen over and saves him by crying on him and through the power of her love that literally makes people and nature bend to her will, Gerda rescues Kai and dislodges the mirror piece from his eye so that he can be cheerful again. Pretty in tune with how the writers wrote things. I don’t mind this, but if Whitley is meant to be Kai and Weiss is meant to be his Gerda, there were two missed opportunities here that could’ve been great. One, Gerda is reminded of her love for Kai whenever she sees red roses, and Ruby and Whitley have a few similar mannerisms and kind of similar coping through their ‘cheery exterior’s’ even f Ruby’s lost all her sass and Whitley’s never had her spazzy, dorky, rough around the edges traits. I think it would’ve been cute and make for a more interesting dynamic if Weiss had mentioned to Ruby in volumes 1-3 that Ruby reminds her of her brother, and if it had made Weiss both harder on Ruby (since she and Whitley are estranged and he does drive her crazy a lot lol) but it also made Ruby all the more endearing to her and is one of the reasons they could be friends fairly fast despite Weiss’s early animosity (since she loves her brother and the traits he shares with Ruby compliment hers.) The next missed opportunity I can think of is that everyone thinks Kai is dead in the Snow Queen for a bit, but Gerda doesn’t believe it and goes looking for him instead. You could easily fit this into a narrative where everyone else has given up Whitley as a lost cause, but Weiss won’t believe that and is determined to help and to get close to Whitley again, which is what I think I’d want to go with. But also, a Whitley death fake out? That could be very good and very emotional. And it’d be easy omg. Weiss could think the Hound has killed him sometime during the fight (even if just for a moment,) but also if Whitley had been the first one to fall in the void instead of going through to Vacuo O.O

Idk if we’ll ever get his character allusion confirmed, but if it isn’t someone from the Snow Queen, I feel like the whole fandom will say “What?!” at the exact same time. XD

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arctimon · 4 years ago

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So I did watch the last two episodes, “The MiSFIT” and “Return to Sycorax”. Figured that I had to if I wanted to get my story done. Also to figure out what the heck everyone was talking about.

And I am...conflicted about them.

Let’s start with “The MiSFIT”.

I don’t like Rishi. At all.

I understand the parallel they were trying to go with here, with Hiro trying to fulfill the mentor role to try to get this kid genius to attend SFIT. But to me, it doesn’t work.

Rishi is eleven. Hiro is fourteen (probably 15 at this point). While Hiro has shown some level of immaturity in his past, we’ve seen his grow out of it (for the most part), in no thanks due to his friends and school. There’s immaturity, and then there’s just being a jerk for being a jerk’s sake.

And that’s how I see Rishi.

Fourteen is at least high school age. You’ve grown a considerable amount at that point. Eleven...that’s middle school. Kids have no idea how they want to be when they’re at that age. And that may be ironic coming from Old Man Arct here, but I didn’t see Rishi as someone who needed to be mentored. I saw him as someone who needed to be kicked off of his scooter/Segway thing.

Balance board? What is it called?

Anyway.

Hiro tried his best, and so did I as a viewer. But Rishi didn’t do it for me. And it doubly hurts because I know for a fact that we’re not going to see him again.

Speaking of that...”Return to Sycorax”.

I actually really liked the first...ten minutes of the episode. Fred, Hiro, Baymax and Wasabi have to go rescue Krei from the old Sycorax building. It had Krei. It had Judy (whom I adore). It had action. It had...weird food monsters.

It was a hoot.

And then Fred woke up.

I don’t really know why I continue to do this to myself. We’re now only a few days away from the series finale, and I’m still searching for some sort of semblance of plot when I know that there’s not going to be any.

We are probably never going to know fully what happened to Sycorax. The only thing that we may know, based off of the episode, is that the old building near campus is abandoned. Was it shut down? Was it cleared out? Is the company still up? Where is Liv? Where is Di? Where is Karmi?

That was part of the reason why I wrote what I did for Continuity (which you should totally go read, BTW). I prefer having the arcs and the overarching plots to the show, not the one-off comedy-driven ones that we’re currently having.

Not to say that I don’t like the season. I do. And maybe the weird feeling that I have after watching these last two is talking more than it normally would, but the decision to reformat the show is still confusing to me. I hope that the next few episodes can turn that around for me. I don’t want to be the guy who whines about getting new episodes. Because we could have not had a Season 3 at all.

Maybe I’m just old. That could also be it.

#big hero 6 #big hero 6 the series #hiro hamada #karmi #liv amara #di amara #sycorax #return to sycorax #the misfit #rishi patel #maybe i'm just old #big hero 6 season 3 #fredzilla #wasabi no ginger #baymax #krei

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness Ending Explained

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This Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness article contains spoilers.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness explores a time of change for its main characters. Years removed from the Raccoon City disaster that first brought them together, Leon S. Kennedy (Nick Apostolides) and Claire Redfield (Stephanie Panisello) are still leading the fight against bio-organic weapons but from different angles. Set after Resident Evil 4 but before the Kijuju incident in Resident Evil 5, Leon has embraced his role as President Graham’s top security man after saving his daughter from Los Iluminados. Meanwhile, Claire is overseas, working for an NGO in the war-torn country of Penamstan, where a bloody civil war has left the nation in crisis.

But these heroes don’t stay apart for long. By the end of the first episode, they’re on a new mission that’ll take Leon to Chinese soil and Claire to the very depths of a conspiracy involving someone high up in the American government. And when zombies attack the White House, it’s clear that nobody is safe.

So, how did this all play out and what does the ending mean for these characters? Here’s what you need to know:

Why did Wilson want to go to war with China?

I’ve already shared my thoughts about the overall quality of the series, so I’ll try not to harp on it here, but Infinite Darkness‘ plot is incredibly convoluted, to say the least. The events of the series all come down to one government official’s greed and his plan to extort the planet.

Since the very beginning, Defense Secretary Wilson (Brad Venable) has blamed the Chinese for a hacking incident and then a zombie outbreak inside the White House. In the final episode, we learn why. Wilson wants to a spark a war between the U.S. and China in order to unleash a new version of the Progenitor virus on the battlefield (we see him experiment with this during the crisis in Penamstan in flashbacks). The official American stance would make China the scapegoat, keeping the heat off Wilson and his big pharma cronies, while the chaos of war between two of the most powerful nations in the world, plus the unchecked spread of a virus that turns people into flesh-eating monsters, would leave the planet scrambling for a cure.

That’s where a secret inhibitor Wilson has financially invested in would come in. The infected would have no other choice but to buy the inhibitor from Tricell, the pharmaceutical corporation that Wilson is in cahoots with, which would mean plenty of money going into the Secretary of Defense’s pockets. Yeah, he’s one of the biggest scumbags ever introduced to the Resident Evil universe, but karma sure does catch up with him when he’s infected with the very virus he helped create.

How’s that medicine taste? Your own flavor?

What was Jason’s plan?

One of the earliest victims of Wilson’s machinations are Jason (Ray Chase) and his squad of soldiers, who drop into a warzone in Penamstan to rescue fallen helicopter pilot. Yes, it’s very Black Hawk Down but with a zombie outbreak.

Jason and his men soon find out that they’ve all been infected with Wilson’s virus so that they can spread it to the people of Penamstan, which just so happens to border China. (Wilson was Jason’s commander at the time, which means he’s been working on this scheme for a very long time.) Although they’re able to escape the battlefield with their lives, they have no choice to continue doing Wilson’s bidding since he’s the only person who can provide them with the inhibitor that staves off the virus from turning them into monsters. Unable to live with this hanging over their heads, all of Jason’s comrades have killed themselves by the start of the show. But Jason has other plans.

Although it looks like he and Shen Mei (Jona Xiao) are trying to get to the bottom of a Chinese bio research company’s supposed involvement in the zombie outbreak inside the White House (this is what Wilson claims), they’re really on their way to recover proof that Wilson is behind the whole thing. They sink the submarine sent to infiltrate Chinese waters to make it look like they’re dead and to kill off Leon, which Wilson uses to his advantage to further instigate a war with China.

But after they recover the chip with evidence of Wilson’s plan, Jason reveals his TRUE plan. He wants to transform into the grotesque bioweapon he’s been infected with and expose this horror to the world so that they can see what the U.S. government and big pharmaceutical companies are capable of once and for all. After all, the true nature of the Raccoon City incident was covered up, which means the general. public still isn’t aware of the viruses turning people into monsters. Jason’s revelation would finally change all that.

Shen Mei is killed while trying to stop Jason from unleashing his final plan, but Leon and Claire are finally able to put a stop to this entire nightmare deep within the lab where Wilson has been fabricating the virus.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

What is Tricell?

After all is said and done, and the plan to ignite biological warfare between the U.S. and China is thwarted by the heroes, Infinite Darkness drops one major clue that Wilson isn’t the one truly pulling the strings. It’s actually a pharmaceutical corporation called Tricell.

If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Tricell is one of the evil corporations that continued to experiment with Bio Organic Weapons, creating new versions of the Progenitor virus, after the fall of Umbrella. In fact, Excella Gionne, the leader of Tricell, is one of the main villains of Resident Evil 5, teaming up with Albert Wesker to unleash the Uroboros virus in Kijuju.

It seems that the incident in Penamstan in Infinite Darkness was an early attempt by Tricell to experiment with the citizens of a troubled nation before unleashing its more ambitious plans for world domination in the later Chris Redfield adventure. Could a second season dive further into Tricell’s machinations before the events of Resident Evil 5?

Infinite Darkness primarily takes place in 2006, three years before the events of Resident Evil 5, which means that there’s a big enough time gap that more stories involving Tricell could be explored, whether its Leon and Claire’s further investigations into the organization or it’s Chris and Jill Valentine’s turn to star. Or maybe it’s just meant to be a fun easter egg that nods to what happens next in the video games.

Why do Leon and Claire part ways?

But there’s one thing left to do before the credits roll. Leon is still in possession of the chip with all the evidence on it. Should they finally expose the bio-organic weapons threatening the world and how some of the planet’s most powerful people are behind it all? Or should they continue to shield the general public from the truth?

In the end, Claire is surprised by Leon’s loyalty to President Graham and the White House. Claire wants to use the chip to expose the truth, but Leon won’t give it to her. Knowing that proof that the Secretary of Defense was trying to unleash a deadly virus would seriously harm Graham’s administration and the credibility of the U.S. government, Leon decides to keep Wilson’s plot a secret.

Unhappy with Leon’s decision, Claire decides to part ways with her former partner in zombie killing. While not implicitly stated, this key moment in their relationship might explain why they’ve never headlined another video game besides Resident Evil 2, choosing to go on their own, separate adventures instead. For now, their split seems permanent.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is streaming now on Netflix.

The post Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness Ending Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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littlemisssquiggles · 5 years ago

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Ruby could get kidnapped in V8 but with everything going on V9 will need to be something less stressful. Still I would be down for Oscar and Ruby reuniting and THEN talking about the trauma together. V8 though I do want self-reflection since Oscar is basically back in V4 status(all alone with Ozpin). Along with Ruby wondering what more she has to sacrifice whether it be Oscar or her life like her mom.

On the contrary Ghost; with the way things are going now with the events of the Atlas Trilogy, I feel like the showrunners are just going to keep upping the stakes. So perhaps Ruby being kidnapped for the next volume wouldn't be too bad of an occurrence.

I mean I've been an advocate for Ruby becoming a prisoner of Salem along with Oscar since V5. Salem has been interested in capturing Ruby since V4 and it wouldn't surprise me if she'll have her eyes set on capturing Oscar too; especially since she knows that Oz has been reincarnated.

As I was telling @crystalandbrass, what if…in V8, as a reverse parallel to V4, Tyrian Callows is once again sent to retrieve Ruby. In my interpretation of this hunch, I imagined Tyrian leading his own faction of Winged Beringels to ambush and overpower an unsuspecting Ruby who just happened to be out alone in Mantle with only Qrow as her company.

In the Wizard of Oz story, it was said that the Scarecrow was almost destroyed by the flying monkeys when they came to capture Dorothy Gale. So what if…we got a RWBY equivalent to that moment in which Qrow is overpowered by Winged Beringels and forced to look on helplessly as Tyrian relinquishes an unconscious Ruby Rose over to a Winged Beringel which takes her away to Salem.

Meanwhile, Tyrian stays behind to finish off Qrow only for the Branwen man to be saved in the nick of time by Jaune, Nora and Ren arriving to aid him; much like how he had come to their aid back in Anima in V4.

I quite like the concept of Ruby becoming Salem’s prisoner by the conclusion of V8. Perhaps this could lead into what some of Rosegardening Pineheads and Rosegardeners have been itching to see---a scene in which Oscar comes to Ruby’s rescue to parallel all the times she has protected and looked out for him over the past few seasons. I think it could be a neat moment for Oscar if he ended up challenging Salem to save Ruby.

Perhaps…we could even see my ole Oscar the Golden Cap Pinehead headcanon coming to fruition too with Oscar becoming so great and powerful in his magical abilities that he’s able to use his power to take control of Salem’s Winged Beringels (see my Oscar’s Luxx Pinehead headcanon right here)

In the Wizard of Oz story, the Wicked Witch was only able to control the flying monkeys through the power of the Golden Cap---a cursed magical artifact that allowed its wielder to control the flying monkeys at least three times.

Although Salem is the creator of the Winged Beringels on the RWBY universe, she did so via the power of the Grimm Pools and her own magic.

Therefore, this squiggle meister thinks it would be a really neatorrific magic trick to see Oscar use the power he inherited from Ozma that he has come to make his own during his time with Ozpin to take control of the Winged Beringels; making him the RWBY version of the Golden Cap.

Gold is in his name after all and much like the Golden Cap from Oz, Oscar is a vessel of magic. Just saying.

I mean, I doubt we’d actually see anything like that for V8 but it would’ve been something cool. As a Rosegardening Pinehead, I really love the thought of Oscar immediately daring to challenge Salem on his own upon learning that she has Ruby.

I can definitely see this being a possibility, particularly in the event that part of Oscar’s story and development for V8 would be the young huntsman coming to terms with the importance of Ruby to him; mimicking how his fairy tale counterpart---the little prince---came to revere his beloved true rose.

Perhaps it’s even a case where Salem uses Ruby to lure out Oscar. Imagine if… Salem ends up capturing Oscar by forcing him to surrender himself over to her as a means of protecting Ruby.

Or…as an alternative to that, imagine if…Oscar sacrifices himself for Ruby’s sake. Like it’s a case in which Oscar gives Salem an ultimatum in which he trades his life and freedom to become Salem’s willing prisoner in exchange for Ruby’s salvation. Basically picture a moment in which Oscar boldly proposes for Salem to imprison him and do whatever she desires to him--- torture him for the rest of his days, even kill him---in that moment, the little prince was willing to lay his life at the mercy of the wicked witch so long as no harm came to his rose as part of their deal or exchange.

Equivalent exchange, am I right?

Kind of like how Azlan surrendered himself to be “killed” by the Ice Queen in place of Edmund Pevensie in the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,

Bruh, imagine if…we got a scenario where Ruby is left unconscious for most of the finale after being poisoned by Tyrian and by the time the Silver Eyed Rose regains consciousness, she awakens to her allies begrudgingly informing her of Oscar’s sacrifice for her. Imagine a scenario in which for the majority of V8, Ruby and Oscar never truly reunite. Even though we spent more of the story with Oscar fighting to get back to his friends and Ruby; in the end it’s a case where they still don’t get to see each other or rather; Ruby never gets to see Oscar again since he gave himself to Salem for her sake. Thus, Ruby has to live with Oscar making that sacrifice for her and her mistakes this time.

Y’know what I realized---much like Ozpin (and by extension Ozma and all the Wizards in his cycle), Oscar has become the proverbial martyr to constantly pay the price for others actions even when he attempts to rectify them.

Between V5-V7, Oscar was mainly chastised because of Ozpin’s actions and past mistakes. He became an immediate foe to Hazel Rainart who he was forced to combat due to his beef with Ozpin concerning his sister. He was punched by Qrow (technically while Oz was in control but Oscar still felt the aftermath of that) out of the bird man’s anger and frustration towards Oz for the lies he told him and others. And just last season, Oscar literally got shot and sent to his presumed death by Ironwood for trying to correct mistakes made by both his predecessor and his allies.

And what’s worse about that is that Oscar had no say in any of that. He more or less just has to accept punishment for the actions of others whether he liked it or not.

So imagine if…for another time---presumably the last time--- Oscar makes himself a martyr; paying the price for Ruby---only this time, it’s his choice to give himself up for the girl he loves.

Doesn’t that sound like an interesting plot point to see? Perhaps this could be another way for Ruby to see the weight of her own actions and mistakes in a way.

In the Lost Princess of Oz story, I recall Princess Ozma being captured with her best friend (and closest confidant) Dorothy Gale being the one to lead a rescue party to save her. This is why I’ve been more inclined towards Oscar becoming Salem’s prisoner with Ruby the one to ultimately save him as his closest companion and potential love interest. I still like this possibility very much.

Then again, this could also easily go the the opposite direction in which both Ruby and Oscar become unwilling prisoners of Salem. While in captivity, Salem makes sure to keep both smaller, more honest souls apart in order to play off of their bond and devotion to one another and sort of maliciously manipulate and torment them into submitting to her will. That’s another possibility that I like.

The way how I see it, V9 could potentially be a standalone Dark Domain season where either Oscar is captured by Salem after sacrificing himself for Ruby leading to her leading their allies into the Land of Darkness in order to rescue the imprisoned little prince or….it could be about Ruby and Oscar dealing with being prisoners of Salem.

For me, my money will always more be on Oscar becoming Salem’s prisoner especially if he does it in Ruby’s place because I still love my headcanon of Oscar becoming the Boy in the Lonely Tower with Salem imprisoning him in a castle of solitude like how she was first locked away before Ozma found her. I still love that theory.

But who knows. Neither of this ideas could become a thing, as far as I know. Even if the CRWBY Writers mentioned something along the lines of reading fan’s comments for certain things to happen for certain characters, I highly doubt any of em would lend to any of this squiggly Pinehead’s million and one headcanons. As always, these are only my theories, thoughts and ideas for things for RWBY.

Either way, I will say that I do think that something big could potentially go down for both Ruby and Oscar respectively next volume.

I do think we could get that self-reflection on Oscar’s part like you want Ghost---I’m just unsure how it will work given the whole 1-2 days’ timeline. Given the fact that Oz has been gone for probably a month or some weeks since the heroes got to Atlas, it would’ve been better to see more time pass in the story in order to make Oscar and Oz’s bond growing within that time more believable, y’know what I mean? At least for me. This is just my opinion here.

I mean I guess I can look at it from the perspective for their bond being forced to grow faster due to the emergency of Salem’s arrival OR….perhaps V8 could only be the start of Oscar and Oz finally learning to coexist with one another and in the event that Oscar does indeed become Salem’s prisoner---if he’s captured, that will prove the PLOT more time to have Oscar bond with Oz since for a second time, the young boy will be all alone with only Oz as his companion. That could be something.

But who knows, y;know? I guess we’ll only know once more news of the next season drops, I suppose. In the meantime, I hope I was able to answer you, Ghost. Let me know if I did, please.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)

#squiggles answers: rwby #oscar pine #ruby rose #oscar and ruby #rwby rosegarden #rwby theories #rwby volume 8 theories #ghostpegasus #squiggles answers

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foolsiwillshowthemall · 5 years ago

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Rayla doesn’t do slow burn.

Random thoughts on Rayllum, heavy with TDP Season 3 spoilers, following.

Rayllum has been the most likely endgame ship among the main characters for a while, which is ironic considering that it wasn’t even planned from the start of the series. The writers just realized midway through Season 2 that the chemistry between the two of them worked out really well. For me, it clicked when Callum was reading the letter from his father, who advised Callum to seek a narrative of love instead of power. It’s not clear if this line was written before or after the writers decided that Rayllum would be a thing, but it does fit perfectly with the love of a human prince and an elven assassin/Dragonguard helping bring peace to the two sides.

However, while I was expecting them to get together, I was expecting it to happen a lot more slowly than it did. Usually in these kinds of shows, they’ll string along the will-they-or-won’t-they dance for as long as possible to build tension, and only resolve it in a season or series finale. We were all expecting a slow burn situation. But in a brilliant bit of character-driven storytelling, just as the existence of the relationship was driven by the chemistry between them, the pace of the relationship was also decided by the characters.

Because Rayla is just not a slow-burn kind of person.

Callum could do a slow burn, easily. At the start of the show, it’s implied that he’s been pining over Claudia for some time. Years, maybe. He just doesn’t have the confidence or any idea on how to progress that relationship. In an alternate universe where the Moonshadow elves never attack, he and Claudia could spend years dancing around each other before finally ending up together. He’d probably also end up apprenticing to Viren to become a dark mage in that alternate universe, so it’s just as well that didn’t happen.

But Rayla isn’t the kind of person to do a slow burn relationship. Rayla makes sudden, life-changing, emotionally driven decisions. Deciding to not kill Marcus after he discovered the assassin team, or deciding to take the Egg to Xadia along with the human princes, or to go and save the downed red dragon from Soren and Claudia. And when she makes these decisions, she acts on them, immediately and decisively. So once she realized that she’s in love with Callum, she’s not going to sit around pining for him or wondering if he feels the same. She’s going to immediately start courting him, Moonshadow elf style.

Admittedly, we have no idea what Moonshadow elf courtship looks like. But we do know that they keep their feelings secret, they’re not supposed to admit to fear or apparently anything else openly. So Rayla’s not going to be ready to openly declare her love just yet. But a lot of her behavior in the first few episodes of Season 3 makes more sense when interpreted as attempted courtship.

Episode 1: Sol Regem. When all else fails, Rayla makes a heartfelt speech praising Callum’s virtues to try and convince Sol Regem to let hum accompany her and Zym into Xadia. It’s totally wasted on Sol Regem, but really we know this speech was meant for Callum. It’s Rayla’s way of letting Callum know how much she likes him, without actually admitting anything.

I suspect that praising someone you like to a third party, where they can overhear, is a common courtship method among Moonshadow elves, as it lets them know you like them without you having to admit any feelings of your own. “I don’t admit to personally having feelings for them, I’m just stating how amazing they are as a fact” is a distinctly Moonshadow-ish behavior, and something that both Rayla and Callum have done for each other.

Also, she keeps his scarf, although unfortunately not past the end of the episode. This comes after they’ve established how strongly it smells of him, because apparently Rayla likes the way he smells.

Episode 2: The Crown. Moonshadow elves are all about concealment and secrecy, so showing somebody a secret place where you played alone as a child is an incredibly intimate and personal step. Rayla might as well have stripped naked in front of him for all that she’s laying her life bare. Fortunately, Callum has responded positively to her courtship so far, although at this point he doesn’t realize that this is what she’s doing. As incredibly empathic and perceptive as Callum is, he’s fairly clueless at figuring out matters of romance, and has no idea that Rayla likes him that way yet.

Episode 3: Ghost. Courtship is going well, so Rayla takes the next step of introducing Callum to her one remaining parental figure and showing him where she grew up. Unfortunately, things don’t go well, as she’s been magically banished and is reminded of how she’s disappointed everyone and was more or less responsible for all of the other members of the team being killed or sealed in coins. Callum tries to comfort her, and we might even have proceeded to the scene we do eventually get in the next episode, but Ethari interrupts them and gives them the means to start seriously traveling onwards again.

Episode 4: The Midnight Desert. Enter Nyx. Nyx is a conman (Con-woman? Con-elf?) who is skilled at reading people. She figures out pretty quickly what’s going on with these two, which is why she makes that teasing comment about whether they need one blanked or two. She’s also smart enough to realize that Callum and Rayla will, given the chance, provide enough distraction to each other for her to slip away with Zym.

It’s in this episode that we get the continuation of the emotional moment interrupted by Ethari. Rayla is wallowing in self-loathing, but Callum comes along and starts praising her virtues. At last, Rayla thinks, the big dumb human has caught on and is reciprocating my courtship. So she kisses him.

Unfortunately, Callum wasn’t actually trying to court her, at least not consciously, so things get all awkward and stuff. Poor Rayla is very confused, as what seemed to be fairly clear signals weren’t what she thought they were. It turns out that Callum does actually like her like that, he just didn’t even realize that it was an option so far, and they probably would have resolved things with a little more talking, but Zym’s been abducted and they have to put the courtship on hold to deal with that.

Ironically, if Callum hadn’t backed down and had been kissing her back right away, Nyx would probably have gotten away freely. Emotional awkwardness saves the day.

Episode 5: Heroes and Masterminds. Zym has been rescued, Nyx has been defeated and then also rescued, and Callum get the opportunity to praise Rayla to someone else in front of here. You can see the surprise and hope on her face as she’s trying to figure out the meaning of this gesture, not wanting to mis-interpret his intentions again. You can also see that Nyx figures out pretty quickly that this speech isn’t for her benefit, as she turns and walks away halfway through it. Rayla still isn’t sure what Callum’s intentions are, but he makes them more clear when he kisses her.

He then gets flustered and tries to back down again, but Rayla knows what the deal is. If she wants the relationship to proceed, she has to take the initiative. Fortunately, she’s more than capable of doing so, and Callum is willing to let her.

So where do things go now? At the moment, we don’t know if there even will be a Season 4. Netflix likes to cancel shows after 2 or 3 seasons, and the internal drama among the creative team at Wonderstorm still might tear the company apart. Personally, I’d be satisfied with the story as it is if it ended here, since the third season wrapped up the initial plot very nicely, but I’ll also happily watch season 4 and any more that they make.

It’s rumored that there will be a timeskip before the next season, and if so then presumably the relationship between Rayla and Callum will only develop further during that time. Although she won’t be able to actually show him around the Silvergrove until the banishment is lifted, and it will probably be a while before they can free her parents from the coins they’re probably trapped within. I think that I speak for many in the fandom in hoping that the writers don’t split Callum and Rayla up for cheap drama, since they’ve been pretty good about not doing that kind of thing so far, and since Rayllum wasn’t even planned for part of the story initially it’s probably not going to be a major driver of the plot. Which is actually kind of a relief, if they can just be a stable couple together while the rest of the plot is going on around them. There’s enough drama happening in the world of TDP as a whole, they can just be the rock that keep each other stable and safe.

It’s also been really amusing seeing the fanfiction sites react to season 3. So many slow burn stories that are now just completely AU compared to how quickly things went in the canon story.

#the dragon prince #tdp #rayllum #tdp season 3 spoilers #rayllum meta #rayla #callum #slow burn #fanfiction

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scribbles97 · 5 years ago

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Left Behind - Chapter 18

In which Lucy gets ribbed by her family and Martin Janus makes an appearance

PART 1 / Chapter 14 / Chapter 15 / Chapter 16 / Chapter 17 / Chapter 18 / Chapter 19 / Chapter 20 / Chapter 21

Read on Ao3

Val glanced to Lucy as she sunk down in the co-pilot seat of Thunderbird Two, leaving the pilots position for Virgil when he eventually arrived. All of them were exhausted, but from experience that was what typhoon season did to them. The hours were long, the work hard, the results devastating.

At least Two had the facilities for them to get washed and dried. God she hated the days where they had flown home with cold in their bones. A dry suit and clean skin worked wonders, even if it was simply for the flight home.

“You good?” She asked as Lucy brought up flight paths and weather charts in front of her, “You seemed distracted out there today.”

Lucy glanced back to her from the seat, shaking her head with a forced smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Tired is all.” She assured, “Aren’t you?”

Val wasn’t convinced, yes there was exhaustion, but there had been something else going on behind those tired eyes.

“Yeah,” She agreed softly, letting the seat cradle her as she relaxed back, “that’s just part of the rescue though, right?”

“Never gets easier,” Lucy nodded with a heavy sigh, “no easier at all.”

Frowning at her, Val tilted her head, “Are you sure there’s nothing else?”

Lucy shook her head, “I’m fine Val.”

She didn’t push it. Lucy would tell her if there was something going on, she always did eventually. Either that or Val found out in her own way. Which was normally the case when there had been something going on with Hugh.

Sitting straight again she gasped slightly, “Is it Hugh?”

Lucy turned back to her in her seat, frowning at her, “Is what Hugh?”

“I don’t know?” She shrugged, “But there’s something more than just tiredness on your mind, and when you won’t tell me it’s normally because it involves Hugh.”

The more she thought about it the more it made sense, over the last few weeks it had seemed that Lucy had been spending more and more time on the phone to the London agent. There had been smiling too, so much more smiling at private messages and giggling over the phone.

“Val, don’t be ridiculous.” Lucy tutted, “There’s nothing going on between me and Hugh.”

“What about you and Lord Creighton-Ward?” Gordon asked as he joined them in the cockpit, “Is he coming to visit?”

Lucy shook her head, eyes hardening in Val’s direction before she looked back to Gordon, “No. I don’t believe he is any time soon. Though we perhaps might have to go on some business together in a few weeks time.”

Business. Val scoffed in her head, Sure thing, Luce.

“Business, huh?” Gordon smikred, apparently immediately on the same wavelength as her.

“Yes, Gordon. Business.”

“So the amount you’ve been talking to him has nothing to do with this meeting then?” Gordon prompted, “Because, y’know Mom, you’ve kinda been a bit different these last few weeks whilst you’ve been talking to him.”

The roll of Lucy’s eyes was dramatic and could have probably been seen from space, “What is everyone's obsession with Hugh all of a sudden?”

Gordon shook his head, “Nuh uh, it’s an interest in your interest with him.”

“What?” Virgil murmured as he joined them, “Are those two finally dating?”

“Nobody is dating anybody!” Lucy snapped, “Can we please drop this conversation? I am tired and I want to go home.”

“Alright,” Virgil held his hands up in defence, “I’m not saying anything! Have we an approved flight path?”

Lucy nodded, turning to face forward with a sigh, “I’ve already set it, Scott put one in for us at the same time as he left with One.”

“He’d better have food on for us when we get home,” Gordon uttered, “I’m sick of those ration bars.”

“Agreed.” They all murmured softly, too tired to really say more.

Looking to her comm, Val frowned, “Does this mean we’re off rotation now? We’ve done near enough sixty hours in the last three days.”

“Yeah,” Lucy yawned, leaning back in her seat to relax as they felt the jolt of VTOL lifting them into the air, “The East Europe team have agreed to cover our area for the next few days so we can take some down time, they owed it us after we helped at christmas.”

She nodded in quiet agreement, remembering just how exhausting the avalanches had been in a way that was similar but oh so different to that of the typhoons.

“Will Lee be back from that space cargo freighter yet?” Gordon asked.

“Should be,” Val murmured, closing her eyes as she leant her head back, smiling slightly at the G force pushing her back into her seat as horizontal flight took over from vertical.

“It wasn’t that deep into space, should have--”

“Thunderbird Two and Tracy Island from Thunderbird One.” Scott cut in appearing across the comm, “I have two fighter jets on my tail, they’ve identified themselves as GDF and report they have orders to escort me home.”

Val knew she wasn’t the only one sitting straighter in her seat, frowning at the message.

“GDF know they’re not allowed to follow us to the Island.” Gordon stated, leaning as far forward as he could over Lucy’s shoulder, “All our bases are private and secret for a reason!”

Lucy nodded, “Thunderbird One you do not have permission to land on the Island whilst these jets are accompanying you.”

“This is Tracy Island,” Sally appeared next to Scott on the hologram, “Kayo is on her way to your position, I’m currently plotting you a new flight path to Roca the GDF are already aware of the farm, we’ll give nothing away if we land there.”

“Virgil change flight path, head for Roca too.” Lucy murmured, reaching for her comm, “I’m going to speak to Janus.”

“F.A.B.” Both pilots of the ships responded.

Gordon’s face twisted in distaste and Val knew the feeling. Martin Janus was a creep, an eel and a busybody, up in everyones business and never for anyone's benefit but his own. All under the guise of being a GDF Colonel. As if that gave him rights to the world.

She had to scoff, if she were GDF Colonel, there would be more than a few differences.

“Put me through to Janus.” Lucy demanded before the woman at the other end of the line could even greet her.

Virgil cleared his throat and threw a hologram up to the large display, “It looks like we’ve got company too.”

Twisting to her control panel, Val shook her head in anger, “I’ll deal with them, you focus on getting us to Roca, Virgil.”

“Lucille,” Janus answered only a moment later, “I take it my escorts have arrived at your position.”

Val didn’t have to look around to know that Lucy would be vibrating in her seat, anger consuming her every fiber and all directed at the Colonel across the comm.

“What are you doing, Martin?” She growled, “The GDF knows not to interfere in IR matters and that you do not have powers to follow us to our bases.”

“Lucy, darling,” Janus sighed, “I did not do this as a display of power over your organisation.”

“Then what?” She snapped, making Val wince.

“Did you not get my message?”

Val had to turn and scoff at the comment, “We’ve been in Thailand for the last three days, pretty much cut off. Take a wild stab at it Janus.”

The way that the man’s brown eyes widened had Val tensing in her seat.

“Lucille, we have intelligence that there is an immediate threat to your home and your family. My teams are working to figure out the exact details but as yet we don’t know who or why.”

Lucy shook her head, “How do you know this?”

He tilted his head, “Darling, I couldn’t possibly say.”

“Janus.” Lucy growled, “Tell me.”

“And compromise GDF intelligence? You know I couldn’t Lucy.”

She sighed, turning to glance back to Val.

The message was received loud and clear, what did they do?

For all that she didn’t like Janus, and for the very little that she actually trusted him, she knew that he needed a good tie to International Rescue. Without them the GDF would be overrun and way out of their depth, in terms of both training and equipment. The man was an oil slick but he wasn’t stupid.

She threw a set of coordinates across to Lucy, nodding slightly as she did.

Checking what she had received, Lucy smiled slightly, “I’m sending you coordinates Martin, the fighter jets leave us when they reach that position. Immediately. Do you understand? From there our own security team will take over and bring us home.”

“Understood Lucy,” Janus nodded, “And what about in future? Until this issue is resolved?”

Val could feel Lucy’s icy glare from her seat, and from the way Gordon pursed his lips, she guessed he could too.

“Once I am happy that my ships and my family are secure, then I shall contact you to discuss further arrangements.”

“Of course, I shall await your call.”

The comm cut out and Lucy let out a long sigh before looking across to Virgil and the two remaining holograms above the dash,

“Did everyone get that?”

A series of confirmations assured her that everyone understood the plan.

“Get home, get food, get some sleep. We’ll discuss this as a family tomorrow.” Lucy told them, running a hand through her hair.

As Scott and Sally’s avatars disappeared, a new call appeared on the comm.

Val had to bite her lip to stop the grin as she noted the caller ID.

“Looks like it's your boyfriend,” She murmured softly, only half wanting to be heard.

Groaning, Lucy shook her head, and dismissed the call, “I’ll talk to him later too.”

Virgil was the first to crack, chuckling at the comment as he shook his head. Gordon was quick to follow with a small giggle. Soon the four of them were all smirking and laughing, the two escort jets outside the ship quickly forgotten.

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds 2015 #Lucy AU #scribbles writes #Left Behind Part 1 #Left Behind Part 2 #Lucille Tracy #Scott Tracy #Val Casey #Gordon Tracy #Virgil Tracy #Martin Janus

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