#because a lot of the time they're not being redeemed they're reformed

[skekheck]

AOR really nicely balances writing the Skeksis sympathetically while never excusing their actions or have the sympathetic aspects cloud how awful they are.

The Skeksis aren't supposed to exist and canonically they are suffering as being a split half yet it doesn't take away all the horrible shit they have done. SkekTek is arguably the most sympathetically written Skeksis yet the show doesn't shy away from showing him at his worst. Even skekGra, the reformed Skeksis, doesn't undermine everything he did in his past and even punishes himself for it by tying his extra pair of arms back.

It's done excellently and it gives them more dimension than just evil-with-no-sympathetic-qualities-villains.

[whereserpentswalk]

There have been countless debates on if cloned soldiers count as human or not. Biologically they're completely human, occasionally they modify them to have red eyes, or sharp teeth, or other intimidating features, but they're still basically human. However, there's been almost no evidence that they can be rehabilitated to become anything other then living weapons.

It's kind of horrifying to countries that don't use cloned soldiers to see them. The idea that something human shaped could be basically a living weapon for its entire life. They had no families, no parents, they were never even children. Countries who had moral objections to cloned soldiers tried to rehabilitate captured ones, but it rarely worked well. Some were put in asylums, but no amount of medication or what basically amounted to human dog training made them think of themselves as humans and not weapons, even after the most intense schedules of social scientists experimenting on them. Others were put in prison, but it didn't reform them either, they just rioted, or escaped, or became high ranking members in prison gangs.

After all attempts at rehabilitation failed, almost every country that opposed making cloned soldiers, either kills them when captured, or forces them to join their army. Some would call it hypocritical to force closed soldiers to join you after denouncing them as a violation of human rights, but they sold it as making them repay their debt to society.

There is one case of cloned soldier being reformed though. One who had crash landed on a primitive planet, a human colony who had lost space travel due to an apocalyptic event centuries ago. The cloned soldier was surrounded by people who didn't know what she was. She ended up wandering into a large city, and being taken in by the temple of one of the local gods.

The high priest of the temple had never seen a cloned soldier before, so he didn't know to be afraid of her or to treat her poorly. He just thought she was a traveler who had fallen on hard times. So the temple took her in, and gave her things that she had never had before in her life, they gave her her own room with a comfortable bed, unlike the masses of bunk beds she would have slept in all her life. For the first time she tasted warm meals, with meat and cheese and milk and real coffee unlike the bland rations she would have had her whole life. And for the first time she was allowed privacy, allowed to dress and bathe on her own, and for the first time she was allowed to wear clothing she picked out. And for the first time nobody told her what to do, she was free to spend her days as she pleased. So many things she never experienced as a cloned soldier, and likewise things she never would have experienced in an asylum or a prison.

Nobody in the temple knew how terrifying cloned soldiers were, so they treated her differently then a more technologically advanced civilization would have. She wasn't a prisoner, there were no restrictions on her. Instead of telling her she was a monster and needed to be redeemed, they assumed her belief that she was a living weapon was from some sort of trauma so they treated it like a trauma, they told her that the gods made everyone to be free to enjoy the pleasures of the world, that nobody was created to be a tool for another human to use. And when she had violent urges they let her go out hunting, or fight people in an arena, it's not something a professional would let her do, but it helped calm her down.

They were concerned for her more then anything else. At first because of the freedom she was given she just lay down in her bed, and they were worried she would die. They sung her songs and read to her while she was like that. She seemed to just need a lot of rest after the life she had. Eventually she started interacting with people in the temple more, she took up drawing and gardening when given time. Not knowing how dangerous she was, they let her interact with the general population in the temple and the people in the surrounding city, with enough time she started making freinds. After five years on a primitive planet she was able to live on her own, working as a professional artist, eventually having married one of the temple priestesses.

Social scientists are still trying to understand why the cloned soldier taken in by the temple was able to be reformed when no other cloned soldiers have been. It's impossible for a prison or asylum to create conditions similar to that temple, so the case of the temple will forever be written off as an unexplainable fluke. Perhaps given enough time, they'll be able to deny it entirely.

[flightfoot]

Underrated Miraculous Fic writers

So I read a crapton of miraculous fanfics, and I often end up gravitating towards particular fic writers over and over. Most of the time a lot of other people have clearly noticed the same thing, as their stories tend to get tons of kudos - but not always. Some of the fic writers I read most reliably get very little attention, for one reason or another. Usually because they tend to write for a particular niche that I like but isn't overwhelmingly popular throughout the fandom, but other times I have no idea why their stories aren't more popular.

Anyway, I wanted to spotlight a few of those authors here!

---

Generalluxun (@generalluxun)

If you're a fan of fics that really explore Chloe's character, look into her mindset and try to redeem her without relying on shortcuts or making other characters look worse in comparison, then you've probably at least dabbled in his fics before. I'm especially partial to his newest fic "In Direct Opposition", as Alya's the main POV character and is looking to reform Chloe while navigating this whole akuma situation, and Control, a Senti!Chloe fic where Marinette accidentally stumbles across Chloe's Amok and has to decide what to do with it.

---

linerle (@liiinerle)

Linerle specializes in Marigami fics, with a more general bend towards queer romance. If you like those, then you're in for a real treat! Accidents Are Also Miracles is particularly noteworthy, as it's the single longest completed Marigami-centric fic in the fandom. It's a fantastic story that I highly recommend checking out!

---

BecomingButterflies (@bbutterflies)

They specialize in Adrino fics, so if you want to read some Adrino goodness, their author page is a great place to stop by! I've especially enjoyed "I'll give myself a name (something stupid and pretentious)", where Adrien leaves town after finding out Monarch was Gabriel, and only returns years later, to find that Nino has missed him quite a lot...

---

TrishaCollins (@consistent-chaos-corporation)

Trisha often writes Felix-focused fics, delving into his trauma with being raised by Colt, and him trying to be a better person. Not that it's just introspective pieces, a lot of their fics are pretty action-based with serious stakes and villains who are only too willing to hurt the heroes and innocent bystanders, and even kill them. I'm especially partial to their Madness series, which is a sprawling AU, touching on Felix's and Adrien's childhood, but soon fast-forwarding to the present-day, with Chat Noir and Ladybug confronting Felix about Monarch's Miraculous theft, and him seeing the errors of his ways and helping them. I particularly appreciate how viscerally Felix comes to understand how his actions hurt others, particularly the Kwamis, who he put in a similar position to what he himself had been in with Colt.

---

TheChatatonicOne (@rosie-b)

I love a lot of their fics dearly, they're well-written and scratch just the right itch! They mostly write Lovesquare fics, often with a more angsty bent.

I especially adore their enemies au fics:

Stealing Freedom, where Adrien's long been puppeted about using his ring by his father as Cat Walker, who, thankfully, Ladybug and Co. know is a Senti who has no choice in the matter - with Marinette then discovering that her fiance, Adrien, IS Cat Walker.

home is where the fight is, A short glimpse into a Ladrien enemies au, where Adrien's being controlled by his father into fighting her, but is dating Ladybug as a civilian - and Ladybug's secret identity has just been revealed to the world.

True Blue, Chatatonic's ongoing enemies au which I have recced numerous times, which takes the more unusual (and difficult) approach of having MARINETTE side with Gabriel instead of Adrien, and doing so while keeping her in-character by having Gabriel lean into his manipulation skills, telling her half-truths about how Adrien will be happier once his mother's back, and that ultimately the heroes are the ones being greedy and reticent in all this, and that the akumas all agree to help him, even if they don't remember afterwards. It's among the best Miraculous fics I've read this year so far!

Not that she only writes enemies au of course, she's written many other Lovesquare fics. I particularly enjoyed The Mer-Human Race, in which sailors and merfolk would have friendly competitions on who was faster in the water, with the winner being able to ask for some sort of prize. Marinette had been looking for a merman to race for awhile so that she could be granted a vessel of her own at a younger age than was normally permitted. Luckily, a Merman named Chat Noir showed up suddenly and offered to race her. Pity that her friend Adrien wasn't there to watch it...

[cosmics-beings]

So i re-evulated a lot of Megatron and Starscream thoughts I had regarding episode 21, especially regarding continuing and ending the cycle of abuse. So I wanted to share those!

So I had initially come into episode 21 of Earthspark thinking that Megatron's writing was rushed and inconsistent but after taking some time and re-evulating, not only do i think it made sense but I also think it showed actual change in his character while also respecting Starscreams' narrative and character as well (and agency).

earthspark megatron is ever changing, that is something that i realized. what i thought of as inconsistency is well, him changing and going through character growth, because we don't really know the character if that makes sense. earthspark gives us bits and pieces of him and it's hard to tie together. before this episode, we didn't fully know how megatron was during his past. there was that one snippet of bee asking him how he trained troops and megatron outwardly admitted to using violence. it is a complete contrast to the megatron that is over all shown to be peaceful and remorseful and that is what confused me to begin with. i didn't understand how a megatron that was presented ad redeemed and changed, could still be outwarldy violent and still have traits of abuse. but then it dawned on me that, this is all apart of his development. just because you're 'good' and accepted by others does not automatically mean you are no longer abusive, especially if you haven't done the work to change that - and more importantly if you haven't been called out on it.

megatron being redeemed/reformed isn't supposed to be a simple thing. IDW was like that as well. IDW megatron struggled with violence and trusting the lost light crew. While TF ES Megatron is already accepted in the Malto family and is seen as an autobot, that doesn't mean he doesn't struggle. That doesn't mean there aren't still toxic/abusive aspects of his past that might conflict with the Megatron that we see as peaceful and loving. Megatron being redeemed and kind around some people, does not mean that he is the same around everyone, especially in the case of Starscream, whom we know he abused. And that is something that is canon, something that despite so many contiuums making it a joke and shaming Starscream for it, is finally indisuptably canon in a way that respects Starscream's agency and trauma.

At the same time, how Megatron acted in the cave doesn't cancel out the fact that he is still redeemed, it actually shows the opposite, it shows that he is changing. I think my and other people's biggest fear is how Megatron slipped back into violence meant that he was irredeemable, but that's not the point (and not, it's not about us caring about his narrative more than starscream's. to me , it didn't make sense if they're setting him up to be a good guy, just from a writer's standpoint) . It shows that even if he's a 'good' guy, he still has a LOT to work on. The moment he saw Starscream he reacted with violence. He automatically assumed that he was a threat and that he was hurting Hashtag, he was unable to see him as anything but a dangerous criminal. He still hadn't seen nor understood that Starscream had changed because he litearlly didn't know him. More importantly, it showed that he hadn't moved from his past. Not his past with Decepticons, his past with Starscream.

However, the SECOND Hashtag stood in front of Starscream and defended him, Megatron changed. He lowered his weapon, and believed her. And at the end of it all, he let Starscream go free. He didn't think that he was a bad, dangerous person, he let him go free and actually understood and accepted that Starscream didn't feel safe around him. He didn't continue that pattern of abuse that he used to. That is character change and it shows growth. And even though i believed it to be inconsistent at first, I see how it made sense now. Now it's something Megatron can work on, now it's something he can change.

My only complaint is that I wish we got to have a conversation between them. I want them to talk, I want there to be some closure because they're both my faves. But I know that will come later on. There are tons of pointers showing that their paths are not nearly done being crossed, I mean at the end of the season we see the two together and I think that's intentional. And I think there is going to be more time to not just explore their relationship but also their dynamic. Both of them are victims of abuse, Starscream is a victim and so is Megatron.

Both Starscream and Megatron have gone through and perpetrated the cycle of abuse but in that moment, in that episode, the both ended it. And I think that's important. I think both of them being survivors of abusive relationship/dynamics but learning how to end the cycle right then in there is something that is going to be focused on.

And I think more importantly we're going to see both of them change. Starscream also has a lot of changing and making up to do to his trine mates, and also to the other decepticons. Starscream was a shity person, he literally physically kicked/hurt Skywarp and Nova - and we don't know how far the extent of that is. And Megatron, even if he is redeemed, has to show us that he realizes how he treated Starscream is wrong and that he's ready to change and I can't wait to see that. They are both healing because if Megatron gets to heal, so does Starscream. But they are both being held accountable.

That said, I don't think there's anything wrong with having different views or opinions on this, especially when it comes to the writing. Because the cybertronians are not the main characters of Earthspark, there is not as much focus on them as the terrans. So to many, because of the snippets and bits we get of Megatron's character, this could've been read as inconsistent. And for me, with such a heavy subject like abuse, i WOULD HAVE LOVED them to mention it before, I would have loved to have a warning regarding it. I think it would've made sense. But i understand that the writing direction is not supposed to be focused on these specific characters if they aren't connected to a terran.

but at the end of the day, i'm glad that starscream is given respect, but i also can't wait to see how their path crosses and how things grow. and as a victim of abuse myself, i do like the direction they're going with two other survivors of abuse and i hope things continue to go well.

[mdhwrites]

The Owl House had an issue with introducing characters that had minimal impact on the storyline. Boscha, Kikimora, Vee, Hunter, and The Collector could’ve all been removed from the story with little change, and their screen time could’ve been used toward other characters that needed it more than them.

So we talk a lot about story necessity I want to start this with the fact that filler and side characters often help add flavor to a story. It's something frankly I struggle with because my stories focus on progressing forward which helps me get a lot done with a small word count. Most of the characters listed here though... Actually are fine. At least until S3 for Boscha and Kikimora and that brings up the fact that different roles require less time to matter, though I want to mention that this addition of flavor and the like is exactly why no one will ever question why Viney was a part of the show. She's fun and she's the ONE time we get ANYONE actually struggling with the desire to be multi-covened but the system won't allow it, even if it's not done particularly well in that episode.

So, what are the roles of each character versus how much time do they have on screen? Well:

Boscha: Basic teenage antagonist for school things. Requires only as much time as is dedicated to teenage drama. Mostly disappears after S1 because of this except for two funny moments at her expense... Except in S3 when the show states she's actually more than what was portrayed before.

Kikimora: Basic, irredeemable, comedy villain general to allow fighting Belos without fighting Belos. Requires only as much time as is required to confront Belos AND OTHER, BETTER GENERALS AREN'T AROUND. Then in S3 is there as a standalone, one off antagonist despite her BOSS having been defeated and her not being anything new.

Vee: One off foil to Luz for character conflict for an episode. Takes up one episode and that's... it. She's fine.

Hunter: Complex, Redeemed Villain General. Requires as much time as is required for a satisfying redemption. Is actually cut short because he is not actually a villain for any time, cutting his point at the knees. Also connects to Belos but *looks at Lilith and Kikimora, both from season 1* that's redundant. Kikimora LITERALLY goes through the same fucking shit as Hunter and only once Belos has left her for dead/tried to kill her, much like Hunter, she forsakes him. She just becomes a bad guy instead of a good guy but even the breakdowns Hunter has or the depression about losing their purpose are both shared. They're almost the same character and nothing is done with that foiling frankly.

Collector: Complex, Redeemed Final Villain. Requires the time for his machinations and desires to be unraveled and challenged in a way that is thematically coherent because if you're going to redeem your big bad, it becomes about a battle of ideologies. Instead, we get one conversation with him before him being released and like... Two afterwards. That isn't enough time for him to have a machination or big bad moments. That's barely enough time for a one off villain.

That's the bigger issue with TOH. It has no idea what its priorities are... Nor does it feel like it cares. Like Kikimora is Belos' main general, effectively his biggest expression onto the show before S3... And she sucks. Meanwhile, his coven heads go unused and underutilized, staying as one off villains instead. Then their more complex characters and concepts aren't actually given the time needed because that would mean not getting the payoff of redemption or reformation of these characters. It is also just lacking ideas so it doesn't know what to do with any of these characters the longer it goes on and so keeps scraping the bottom of a well. Hence why Kikimora and Boscha return in S3 despite one effectively not being in S2 (if Boscha was important, she'd have at least cameod in Labyrinth Runners) and the other being a complete joke by the end who's boss was reduced to a puddle once already.

And that's frankly the bigger issue. These characters feel redundant and like they don't even add flavor because... They are and they don't. The show has VERY few concepts in general besides social statements. That's why most of their villains or dilemmas are them miming at a social issue and why it had to carve up more and more angst as it ran out of ideas it could just copy from the modern world. Or reused ideas even in the same season just with other basic fantasy things.

And more complex ideas REQUIRE creativity and skill. They require the elements that seem to be most lacking in the show. That's why the fandom can create a billion ideas because they're unrestrained and actually see the potential in these concepts while the show runners feel blind to the gold they are writing themselves. Again: You could have spent an entire SEASON dealing with just all of Amity's baggage towards redemption and reformation, twenty episodes, and probably still had material on the table and instead, it frankly boils down to at best a handful of episodes, at most two, before she is fully redeemed and telling her potential to go fuck off because she has the job of a bland love interest to do.

As it is now? The show is lucky that it didn't have time to make literally everything redundant, no matter how hard it tried to anyways.

==========

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[takerfoxx]

The Owl House, Season 3, Episode 3, "Watching and Dreaming," SERIES FINALE!

Well folks, the much-anticipated finale to The Owl House has finally dropped. Quite a bit...prematurely, true, but at the very least they had time to wrap things up with some measure of foresight.

So, how was it?

...you even need to ask?

Yeah, I loved it. No, it didn't really break away a whole lot from established norms for these finales. The bad guy gets an eleventh hour powerup and turns into a Kaiju, the misunderstood trickster antagonist is made to see the error of their ways and has a redemption arc, the hero has their big heroic sacrifice only to be resurrected with a Super Saiyan powerup, and we have a big fight. The bad guy is finally defeated, everyone is reunited, people get to work rebuilding, and we have the future epilogue touching base with everyone's happy ending. Nothin' we ain't seen before.

But it was still glorious.

Obviously, a lot of moving parts, so here's some personal highlights.

First, only my usual followers will get this, but I got a huge kick about how things started with basically the Restless arc from RD. I mean, the main characters being confronted with their deepest fears through personal nightmares? Sign me the fuck up! And lol, Luz was willing to accept that everyone hates her, but Amity misquoting their geeky hyper-fixation? Never!

I also like how it was the actual characters instead of dream copies, only controlled by the Collector. That was neat.

Part of me was bummed by how little Camilla and the Hexside gang had to do. Basically, keep everyone in the Archives safe until the reformed Collector came in with the save. I get it, it's the finale, but I really wanted to see Camilla go after Belos with la chancala. But then, things did start with Luz, Eda, and King, so it's fitting that they ended with that trio as well.

Okay, look. I'm a jaded, cynical guy. I've seen it all, and I know my tropes. So I knew there was no way in hell that Luz was actually dead. Still, when they've made me care that much about a character and pull things off that well...I was a little concerned. As if in, I kept telling myself that she wasn't dead, that she would be resurrected in minutes, it's a kid's show, yadda yadda yadda. Still. It did affect me. Well done.

Oh, the Titan! You know, I had forgotten the hints about them being caught in the in-between world, but we finally get to meet King's...dad? Mom? Parent? It wasn't super clear. I'm guessing gender-neutral being who appears rocking the Dad-bod because that's what Luz expected. Voice by Arin Hanson, no less! That was a pleasant surprise.

Also, does this confirm that Hooty is basically the Titan's grave worm? Wow.

ANYWAY, it was nice to finally meet the big guy. And it was cute how they were there watching the Owl House along with us, and Luz ended up being their blorbo. I mean, if your dying act was to reach into your favorite show and empower your favorite character to finally earn a happy ending, wouldn't you take it?

And okay, look. I know this is kind of hypocritical coming from me, given that Hordak is one of my favorite She-Ra characters, but I'm so glad that this show took such a definitive stand against not only redeeming Belos, but also shutting down the idea that just because the hero has done superficially similar things to the villain, it means that they're somehow the same. I always hated that trope.

I also love how it made it clear how some antagonists can be redeemed and others can't. For all the harm that the Collector did, they're still a little kid with no real concept of mortality. It doesn't make what they did okay, but it did give them a path to do better. And I loved how they immediately tried to redeem Belos with the power of friendship, only for the show to be like, "Yeah, that don't work with some people."

And in the end, the hero didn't bother justifying herself to Belos. She just stepped back and let the people that he hurt literally curbstomp him to death. And it was beautiful.

Now, again, much like the Human World montage in Thanks to Them, I would have loved for certain things to have room to breathe, like Camilla meeting Eda, all the reunions, finding out what happened to Odalia, repairing the Boiling Isles, etc. But with what they had to work with, seeing the healing happening, seeing the sort of people everyone would become (of course Eda would go with a giant hook), really felt right. It was a well-earned happy ending.

You know, it's funny. When this show first started, I often complained about how its episodic nature made it difficult to really get invested, and I still stand by that. But man, once the fetters came off, things really kicked into high gear and this show became magical! Yes, it was prematurely ended, and I would have loved for season 3 to have as much space to be as awesome as season 2. But what they gave us was still incredible.

Goodbye, Boiling Isles. I loved the time I spent with you. Here's to the brighter future you helped build.

...you have no idea how hard it was to find this screenshot.

[riddle-me-ri]

k hear me out we NEED the directors cut for taking care of Jervis through his depression

It has already been a huuuge experiment with his character but maybe theres still smth left to say u know👀👉🏻👈🏻

HNNGGG *vibrating with elated joy* IM SO GLAD YOU ASKED ANON when I saw this ask game I was HOPING someone would ask about Love and Suds! Because I HAVE A LOT TO DISCUSS HNNGGG

Because of that there's a read more tab lmao

I'm so sorry I know its a lot but just please bear with me because I HAVE THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS I need to express lol.

So Jervis is incredibly interesting to me lmao.

I've been in and out of the Batman/Rogue fandom going on about six years. I've always wanted to like Jervis (I loved Alice in Wonderland as a child shush I still do plus mind control?? Hell yeah) but given his controversy and everyone just sweeping him under the rug, aside from BTAS and Arkhamverse, I felt like I was slowly getting a grasp on him but never quite got there.

Now fast forward after a year and a half out of the fandom and thwarting myself back in I am here and I've met a couple genuine Jervis fans for like years, fans, shout out to @march-harrigan and @jervis-tetch-my-beloved and when I read their work and thoughts I was like...Okay so it's not just me that thinks this...it was very affirming to see others got the same read on him.

Because I say this with 0 hesitation, Jervis can be a tricky mad lad to write for. I mean extremely (Jon moreso for me lately, stoicism isn't my strong suit but I'm working on it) difficult.

A lot of people have a bad habit of infantilizing him or making him out to be weaker than he is. Yes he's a wee mad lad with a penchant for rhymes, hats, and tea.

But he's also a murderer, kidnapper, manipulator, and a neuroscientist...he's one of the smartest bastards in the room but because he acts playful, and whimsical people misjudge and underestimate him

Also, Jervis has shown the capability of remorse (again varying iterations but he does seem the usual suspect to feel any sort of guilt whenever he's finally lucid) because of that, I felt a compulsion to do something DC writers are fucking terrified to do....actually give a rogue hope. They tried to reform Eddie but that didn't last (mostly cause of his own compulsions that were never properly addressed...poor baby..)

Now I know for many, a lot of these characters are BEYOND redeemable, Jervis included (y'know kidnapping, murder, mind control...yeah) and they're not inherently good people, but some rogues were once before...

And I truly do think if Jervis had a positive consistent in his life that was able to make reality a Wonderland, he wouldn't need the fantasy, he wouldn't need the delusion.

That's where the idea for Love and Suds came from.

I've written for Jervis a couple times before Love and Suds and when I tell you I had to stop myself from literally doing a character deep dive for a smut prompted request...I had to reel back A BUNCH. I would be almost 1k words in and remember oohhh they're supposed to be fucking goddamnit and have to edit the shit out of it.

So I knew I had to do something just to prevent it from happening again. Slowly but surely the plot came to me, but I was hesitant. Again, I didn't want to infantilize him, but I did want the reader to take care of him. Hence why a lot of the time in the story Jervis is scoffing at himself because he's in reality and he's ultra aware of what's going on but like he's also selfish and isn't going to pass up a chance to finally be clean.

Which is something else I hope I made clear was that Jervis was very much in reality during the entirety of the story whilst in his depression...hence why he wasn't rhyming, he wasn't absolutely appalled by the state of his home (scattered saucers, dirty tea cups everyone some broken after being thrown at the wall, hats with broken seams and holes in them, things I didn't really get a chance to describe). I'm sure you've figured that out but just wanted to confirm it.

It's one of those fics I hold near and dear to my heart.

Because one it was one of those fics I had going around in my head that I finally put onto paper and it was exactly how I envisioned it (its only happened with two other stories)

And two... I didn't realize how much it was wanted/needed? I knew since it wasn't a request from anyone it wasn't going to be everyone's fancy...but like the amount of feedback I got exclaiming that this is exactly what they want to see for Jervis? This is how they see him? Like I didn't realize that was something that people were looking for!

As far as if there's anything more to the story...when I tell you I have thought of sequel ideas for Love and Suds I have thought about it immensely...

I have a couple scenarios were Jervis returns the favor to Reader, one where Jervis comes to properly court the reader but overhears a heated argument with Reader defending Jervis to Batman, like the possibilities are ENDLESS but I also don't want to like...ruin it either you know? Too many may spoil it or make it bad?

But yeah...so sorry this is so long lmao if you guys do want more content regarding the set up of Love and Suds let me know! I may still write a couple connected drabbles here and there for a comfort project for myself but it's also good to know if you guys would be into it too! If tumblr could let us all have polls I'd put it in a poll but nooooo

Thanks for reading all of this lmao and thank you for asking anon I am so glad to get this all off my chest lmao

[sideblog-usernametaken]

This is also kind of tangential, but I feel like the Stampede version of events actually weakens a lot of both Knives and Vash's ideologies from a narrative standpoint. Like, the point of the manga is not to necessarily agree with either of them, and Stampede feels like it's trying to frame it so A) Vash is fully in the right all the time and B) Knives is obsessed with his brother and plants to an irrational and self destructive degree.

Bold claims to make, I know, but let me elaborate.

(Also this includes spoilers for the manga, the original anime adaptation, and Stampede so those who didn't realize that from OP's post you have now been warned)

Edit: I'm on mobile and it doesn't look like the "readmore" function is working on my end. Sorry to anyone trying to scroll past this and I'm leaving it in in case it does work on other screens.

:readmore:

On several occasions in both the manga and the original anime Vash is confronted by people that no one would blame him for killing, and he spares them anyway. You could argue the same is true for Stampede, but that's only on a surface level. For instance, look at the difference between Rollo in the original versions and in Stampede.

In the originals, his sole purpose in the story is to kill people, destrot stuff, and attack Vash. The closest thing we get to a tragic backstory is that he was locked up for a really long time, because he killed people and destroyed stuff. And we see that he likes doing it too. This is the first (And maybe only? I need to rewatch and reread) time in the series we really see Vash have to stop himself from killing someone in a blind rage. That moment cements that he truly believes that everyone is included in his no kill rule, no matter who they are or what they've done. It also shows us that following this rule isn't always easy for him and he does doubt himself every once in a while. After all, the main point that keeps getting thrown back in his face is "What happens if someone you spare goes on to do more damage?"

Meanwhile, Stampede takes a different approach. Now Rollo is a kid who was raised by a cult and got experimented on in a lab to turn him into what he is today. Oh, and Vash knew him before all that and failed to help him out. In doing this they make Rollo a sympathetic and tragic character, implying the destruction he caused wasn't really his fault. Plus, right before Wolfwood kills him Vash had almost successfully talked him down. Granted, this moment was probably meant to replace a similar moment with Zazzie in the original anime, but that scene was more about Wolfwood and Millie than it was Vash. However, changing Rollo's purpose to "Kid that Wolfwood killed but he kinda had a reason for it" makes it so he can't serve the "everyone means everyone" role that provided a lot of character development for Vash in the original. And they don't really replace him with anyone else.

The closest we narratively get to a Rollo stand in us the Nebraska Family. They attempt to steal a Plant which would doom an entire town if they succeeded, which is arguably much much worse than the original Rollo. The difference? The entire time they're acting like cartoon villians, and when Vash actively goes to save Yosef it is after he brought the Plant out of harms way and proved he was "redeemable". Literally by the end of the episode they are all drinking together in a bar, they basically speedrun the "Goofy season one villian who stops being a threat and isn't really reformed but is kinda part of the group now" trope in an episode. This makes people in universe question Vash, but not the audience, which is the whole point of "Vash spares/saves an antagonist" scenes.

You could argue that E.G. Mine an episode later fills the spot Rollo left, but he's not given the same focus that Rollo or the Nebraska Family gets. Knives shows up, rips a bunch people's arms off, then destroys the town. The episode's impact on the audience is "Oh that's what he's up against" not "Oh Vash character development."

Now on to Knives. We don't really get too much of him in the original anime because he didn't show up much in the chapters they adapted before they split from the manga, and after the split they focused more on Vash and the main cast. However, it's still made clear that the reason Knives is constantly attacking Vash is an attempt to get back at him for a perceived betrayal. Does he want Vash back? Yes. Will he take him back until he kills someone? No. They show through some flashbacks that Vash and Knives travelled together after the crash that Knives caused. From what we get to see of it, Knives fully trusts Vash (Completely comfortable sleeping around him) and treats him like a naive little brother. We even seen him refrain from killing off a settlement of humans because Vash stops him. He knows Vash doesn't like murder so he'll hold off on doing more until he knows he can finish what he started. The sense of betrayal comes from when Vash shoots him after revealing he still wants to wipe humanity off the planet. His thoughts go from "Vash cares about me to the extent I care about him" to "Vash values humans more than he values being my brother" and that his when his behavior towards Vash shifts. The events at July were to get back at him, and after Vash shoots him again, everything that follows is a combination of trying to get back at him for it and trying to break his spirit so he doesn't do it again.

As for the manga version, it's almost the same deal, except Knives is willing to shove his feelings to the side when he finds out that he and Vash are dying (And everything about baby Knives, but that was already covered by OP so I won't get into it here). This is around the same point he starts showing that he regrets causing the crash (Because of how many Plants died during and after) and causes the Plant revolution. He does try to have Vash merge too, but he also resorts to having Legato keep him immobile to keep him from using up more energy and dying. It's obvious he does still hold resentment though, and we see that all the way up until the final fight where he does change.

Stampede, once again, kind of removes and adds complexity. Instead of Tessla making him think "Oh no we can't get along with humans" apparently his thought process is "Oh no I need to protect Vash because he's weak". When taking this perspective, it makes no sense why he doesn't chase down Vash when he runs after the crash. Then when they meet later as teenagers, Knives thinks of the humans as stealing Vash from him instead of Vash really making an active choice. On top of this Vash's arm gets cut off to save him, and he only points a gun at Knives instead of actually shooting him. He hinges his whole Independent plan on brainwashing Vash too, but when Vash breaks free and the power is obviously unstable, Knives keeps going for it even as it's literally shredding him. What does this do? It removes intelligence from his character. The smart thing to do would've been to let Vash fire the cannon, scoop him up while he's weakened, then go try again. It's something the original Knives probably would've done too. We also see that Plants don't have free will or souls, and his plan also involves impregnating the Plants even though they can't give consent as he wants to shift focus to creating more Independents.

I'm going to be honest, in Stampede Knives is always made out to be fully ethically wrong and unhinged while Vash is always made out to be ethically correct. It honestly just removes complexity from both characters paints it as a "good vs evil" kind of thing even though the originals made the line blurrier. Don't get me wrong, Stampede says the main argument between Vash and Knives is complex, but saying it and incorporating it narratively are two different things. I mean, if Plants have no free will and no souls then discussion about the ethically of using Plants shifts from "Should we use them?" to "How do we do it humanely?" because they obviously can still feel pain. In the Manga we get to see that Plants do have their own thoughts, hence why they don't want to power up weapons aimed at their own kind and they give up on their attacks when they can communicate about their feelings, thoughts, and memories with humans.

I don't know, my analysis on Knives feels a bit shakey, but overall I don't think Stampede does a good job of trying to create a conflict that genuinely makes you consider both sides.

Ok I know these are my own tags but there's so many Stampede-takes about Vash just wanting to be loved and honestly I get why they made the changes they did but shit... I think there's something so crushing about thinking how the person Vash becomes isn't his natural state, it's him following the memory he has of Knives

Look at the difference in their expressions and reaction when it comes to humans accepting them. Being loved was not Vash's wish, it was Knives'.

[lightbringer-ultimate]

Shad Plays Future Redeemed: 📻

Warning a big chunk of this has me theory crafting.

OKAY

What

WHY

How

UM

Radio with Vector branding? Same Vector that made KOS-MOS in Xenosaga?

The radio mentions Project Exodus and mentions an Arc Ship called Icarus, which fits the naming convention of Xenoblade X.

But also name drops DIMITRI? XENOSAGA AGAIN?

Look Na'el and Matthew's Heart to Heart is probably really wholesome and sweet but YEAH NO I WAS LOOKING AT THE SUBTITLES ABOVE.

Some people in the Xenoblade netspace claim that the Xenoblade X nods here are like...just nods and aren't really confirming anything while the Saga stuff should be important.

Look. That's a bias, plus I really think something more deep is going on here. Something that's kinda big? Takahashi is definitely cooking a buffet for us.

What I mean here is, okay okay hear me out. Monolith might be getting the Xenosaga IP back? Namco hardly does anything special with it other than have Tales characters wear the corpse that the games have become.

The last major appearance any Xenosaga character has had was in Xenoblade 2. And then we get this.

We have lore from artbooks that already confirmed the possibility that Vector exists in Xenoblade given they're still responsible for KOS-MOS (And Tel-os too) and with it being in Alpha's memory space it retroactively explains things just like a lot of things.

I don't want to turn this gameplay summary into just a huge theory board but it's like...I GOTTA take a whack at this.

Yes X has aliens and Saga doesn't , big woop. Xenoblade already established alternative dimensions and the possible way to interact with them via things like the Conduit.

What if a Vector exists in a world where there IS sentience beyond Earth? It's possible! Keep in mind that KOS-MOS is canonical to Xenoblade 2, as she's in base game.

Future Redeemed established that all quests you do are canonical as is fighting every Unique Monster.

So Rex at some point woke KOS-MOS.

Its mentioned in the artbook that both battle androids were on the World Tree and fell to the clouds if my memory is correct.

The idea of core crystal technology wasn't nearly at the point it becomes once 2 starts, but given Vector exists...this version of of the company probably used core crystal tech in their designs. Not sure if Klaus believed in open source but like...KOS-MOS definitely knows what the World Tree really is.

Okay yeah I'm scraping just the surface of Xenosaga stuff but like, I feel under qualified to talk about it. Leave that to the diehards.

But X I feel perfectly qualified in.

We see a reformed world in the post credits scene with SOMETHING careening down to it. Saga fans will claim we're looking at somewhere important from their game, but X fans will say its Mira. Meaning what we see falling is either the White Whale...or a Saga Spoiler.

Keep in mind this is a Xenoblade game.

It's probably Mira and the White Whale. Which yes, would be conflicting since "WELL THEN WHY HAVE THE VECTOR STUFF AND MENTION DIMITRI AND ALL THAT?! THERE'S SPACE COLONIZATION. "

X had a lot of Saga blood for sure, but this seems to pretty much hint that something wacky is happening in greater Xenoblade lore.

Earth went BOOM in X, but Klaus destroyed it/split it in the trilogy. So that's the argument people make. How can the reformed world be Mira if earth died a different way in X?

I...I really don't have an answer other than it's possible that Mira has some strange way of pulling other universes peoples in to preserve life because it's core is Origin or something?

Look I'm stretching here I'll admit. But I'm just wondering if time and space warping caused something?

This DLC broke me, Matthew says his full name at the end confirming that the house titles are indeed Last Names and as far as I care, Ortiz is Shulk's and Rodes is Rex's since that's the last names their kids chose to use at least.

They fused into a huge mech. Alpha's second phase belongs in Bayonetta, N actually has pretty damn good writing with depths I didn't expect.

But I'm still not gonna calm down about that DAMN RADIO!

Edit: Okay so after giving more thought, I can see the Xenosaga connections more clearly, and yeah they're important. Namco did snag the copyright to Xenosaga a while back (the Fandom went nuts). And while I don't think the future connections will be as glaringly obvious as some might hope, I do see Namco popping in to allow references moving forward. I expect them to use X substitutes when needed if they can't agree to do __

X definitely is its own separate universe within the multiverse, but I would at least say that hypothetically some characters from X would exist in a Trilogy universe, just not in the same exact roles due to timeline wackiness. (No Elma though, she would break the No Xenoforms rule).

[haleigh-sloth]

I won't deny that I was on this bandwagon back in like....2020, early 2021---but I think a big misconception about the League is that they're revolutionaries trying to fight a system and change it.

But.....they're not.

And like....when I let go of that Hot Take, I started enjoying the story so much more. I wasn't bitter as fuck every time a new chapter dropped that was validating the hero POV over and over again.

I was just lost in what I realize now is simply the wrong genre, wrong type of story. It's a super hero story and the super heroes are gonna be victorious in the end.

Because yes, the manga validates the LOV's pain, and paints them as protagonists of the "other side" of things, but it doesn't paint them as protagonists of like...all villains and all oppressed people in the story. It doesn't. They're shown to be fighting for themselves, because they HAVE reasons to be fighting back. That's where the "protagonist of their own arc" idea comes into play. They have valid pain and they're fighting for it to be addressed, and it will be. But, as a whole, as the entire other HALF of the story, they are not going to be considered "correct" in how they're doing things. I mean....we're in the last arc and that is still the case. It's not about to change when the ending of the story is right around the corner.

The story is going to validate their pain, but it isn't going to validate their actions.

And I honestly don't buy that the story is TRYING to make them revolutionaries because....show me where??? The story doesn't put the results of their actions on a pedestal. In fact, it literally condemns the destruction and mayhem they cause, over and over again.

This has nothing to do with them being saved and redeemed, they will be. That's a separate issue that pertains to their individual characters. This is about whether or not what they're doing is for a greater cause or if it's just a reaction to their own individual pain. And I personally just don't see anything in the story that shows that they are seeking reform. They themselves have said it plenty of times. They're seeking destruction. Plain and simple.

COULD it have gone the revolutionary route? Oh yes, absolutely. But, this is the wrong genre and story for that. Things would have had to take a different turn like.....several several arcs ago. The entire tone of the story would have had to shift a long time ago. And Shigaraki and company would have had to be shown to grow up and mature a LOT more and a LOT faster than they actually have in canon. And this direction would require the hero protags to basically switch over to the antagonist side of things, and that was never going to happen here.

So I mean, the idea is great! Fighting for systemic injustice, yeah, it's great, just, wrong series. And tbh it's pretty fair to call the manga copaganda, I get it, really. The LOV will probably be upheld as heroes in their own right, but still fighting for the hero side, the side they previously opposed. That can be frustrating, especially if the story doesn't hint at systemic changes (we'll see what happens on that front). But--letting go of the notion that the LOV's actions should be praised in the story so that you're not upset later when....their actions are not praised in the story, makes for a better reading experience imo.

[veliseraptor]

I wish you would write a fic where, somehow, it's Song Lan who gets wound up in Xue Yang's whole deal first, and has to convince an unimpressed Xiao Xingchen that he may have... some redeeming qualities. Potential for better. The capacity to refrain from murder.

oh mannn this would be a fun one, though also...kind of a challenge, at least from my perspective. which is not to say I couldn't figure out a way to do it, just that it would be hard! because I feel like the time when Xiao Xingchen is at his most...for lack of a better word, morally rigid (because he's most certain of himself and what he knows about the world and how it works) coincides with a period of time where I don't know that Song Lan would look at Xue Yang as he is then and feel like he'd want to take on that project; and if we push earlier (to, say, when Xue Yang is still pretty young, maybe yet in his teenage delinquent years but prior to when they cross paths in novel timeline) then there's less reason for Xiao Xingchen to be uninterested/uninvested...

basically it's the difficulty between Song Lan who I think is generally not going to look at a problem human (i.e. one who isn't directly in peril but is rather a problem themself) and think about reforming him (more likely to just want to go 'yeah not taking that on' and find someone else to help with his time), and Xiao Xingchen, who is more inclined in that direction generally speaking, having a more black-and-white perspective prior to his and Song Lan's very bad breakup.

so basically: if Xue Yang has done something that renders him morally suspect, then either Xiao Xingchen is going to be inclined to be sympathetic while Song Lan is less likely to be invested in doing that work (if the situation is such that the morally suspect is relatively mild), and if nothing has gone catastrophically wrong personally but Xue Yang has done something more seriously morally suspect then Xiao Xingchen is more likely to flip over to "Justice Must Be Done" and I don't know that Song Lan is likely to argue with him about it.

though I guess I can see a situation, maybe, where Xiao Xingchen flips over that line and Song Lan - who I think is generally speaking a little more moderate than Xiao Xingchen, at least prior to their very bad breakup - being more willing to look at mitigating circumstances? but I don't know. I feel like anything that would break Xiao Xingchen's hard line would also cross Song Lan's. they're vibing pretty well in moral terms, up until that big breakup.

(afterward, Xiao Xingchen's moral convictions are, I think, pretty badly shaken - his conviction in general is, such that he no longer trusts himself, has less faith in the world's system of justice, and has decided that his interfering in matters of justice only leads to horrible things - which informs a lot about how he approaches moral situations/dilemmas after that turning point.)

[SEND ME AN ASK ABOUT WHAT YOU WISH I WOULD WRITE]

[hamsahands]

Prison Abolition 101

The iconic activist Angela Davis tells us that prison reforms will always fall short because the prison itself is a reform, a reform from the heavy reliance on bodily and capital punishments. The history of prisons is prison reform. What if I told you that the prison system is not broken, but works exactly as it was intended to.

There is a quasi religious belief that we need prisons. We seem to forget the autonomous Black towns that would have thrived during Reconstruction had it not been for deeply ingrained white supremacy (see Black codes). We think prisons are integral to the structure of our society when they don't have to be, which is when we arrive at prison abolition.

While prison abolition seeks to end mass criminalization, incarceration, and policing in all of its forms, it's also unlearning the mentalities of fear, racism, and punishment that gave rise to the construction of prisons in the first place.

To live in the United States is to live in a state of perpetual, collective fear. Social media and news outlets pumping paranoia into our consciousness in 24 hour news cycles. We live in a united state of anxiety. Fear feeds into implicit bias, which inherently impairs policing, leading to criminalization, deportation, and mass incarceration.

We are afraid we're not safe, and we should contend with the notion of safety. Does our safety rely on the presence of police and prisons, or can our communities cultivate that safety on their own, if socioeconomic needs are addressed.

Prison abolition is a collective imagining of a world in which all of our physical (health), mental, social and economic needs are met. Famed abolitionist Ruth Wilson Gilmore describes this as a world where interpersonal harm, economic need, and social and health vulnerability are things of the past.

Prison abolition is understanding the symbiotic relationship between institutional violence, state violence, and intimate violence, as well as recognizing the tensions that allow them to fester. It's being mindful of racism, sexism, and toxic masculinity when raising our kids. Political theorist Cedric Robinson tells us that experience is important, but consciousness is what matters. Prison abolition is not just a new socioeconomic order, but a consistent, ubiquitous practice of mindfulness.

Abolition means not using prisons to solve social issues. It means dismantling white supremacy on an institutional, political, economic and social level. It means not criminalizing queerness and targeting trans and gendernonconforming persons. While also addressing job discrimination, transphobia, and toxic masculinity which exacerbate the rates of incarceration, suicide, and murder of trans people.

It means not criminalizing drug addiction, homelessness and immigration. Immigrants and migrants generate huge profits for privatized detention centers, which are often unsanitary, overpacked, and rife with abuse. It's not using prisons to address poverty in what sociologist Loïc Wacquant calls the carceral management of the poor.

It means addressing violence with restorative justice practices, and understanding that violence harms both the perpetrator and the victim. It's thinking of 'crime' differently, for instance, vagrancy as a symptom of economic inequality instead of criminality. Prisons simply isolate the symptoms of social ailments, but abolition aims to cure the ailment itself.

While abolition inherently involves compassion, there are people with violent intentions who try (and succeed) to inflict irreparable harm, and they're not going away any time soon. However, prison abolition is not an immediate solution, but a gradually practiced methodology. It is not simply a new solution, but a new order to how we organize and maintain our relationships, communities, and societies.

'But what about murderers and rapists?' As if politicians, police, priests, and presidents have never fit into that demographic yet never see the inside of a cell. The carceral system cannot be redeemed because its main source of profit is disproportionately black and brown, while eating the poor of all colors and ethnicities for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Abolition is the solution because the criminal law system can be bought. It let's men with $500 million fortunes like Jeffrey Epstein serve 13 months work release for soliciting a 17 year old girl for prostitution, only 3 years after a parent of a 14 year old girl complained to the police that Epstein molested her child. But poor black men like Eric Garner take their last unassisted breaths on the pavement with a cop's arm around their neck for selling cigarettes. The disparity is disgusting, and it is intrinsic to an inherently racist prison industrial complex.

Abolition also means imagining what kind of an economy we should have as the richest country in the history of the world. Abolition undoubtedly means destroying the plutocratic capitalist class that owns 95% of this country's wealth, and redistributing that wealth amongst the people.

Abolition is a lot to process for people who have never imagined a world without prisons and police, and by no means do I think any of this will happen overnight or even in my lifetime (I'm 25). I also realize that most of this is broad, but abolitionists have developed specific tactics to address immediate needs that work toward education, divestment, decarceration, and harm reduction. While I will celebrate (most) prison reforms in the meantime, for me and other likeminded individuals, abolition will always remain the goal.

https://www.blackandpink.org/

[partystoragechest]

Yeah, we Christians are the source of this punishment = redemption is the only way idea and I won't deny it. But also from my work with youth group: "suffering 24/7 is the only way to redeem yourself" is basically dead in most modern Christian churches and is discouraged and it's super irritating because it just can't go away and sticks there at the same time. And isn't Cullen in game basically overworking himself to help reform his religion and fix past mistakes? Its far more productive path

Oh hey hey! Firstly, good for you. Being able to admit flaws in your own group is not easy, but it's the only way to progress, so nice one.

But don't worry, I absolutely agree that most Christian churches have left behind the idea that suffering = redemption. Doing good and right by others, sticking to that golden rule, that's more like it now.

The problem is that a lot of modern Western society itself was founded on those good old Classic 'Christian' Ideals and therefore they're still pervasive no matter how much anyone--religious or not--tries to be rid of them. Sorry if it sounded like I was coming at Christians; it was more directed at the origins of the belief. I think a LOT of people (maybe most), who have been raised in Western society, even if they aren't Christian, will have some deeply-ingrained moral biases that could probably be traced back to the King James Bible and how it was taught. And you're right, it just isn't going away. The best people can do for now is examine and question their moral thinking on an individual basis.

Also yes yes yes, canon is quite explicit about how hard Cullen is working for the Inquisition. Perseverance is literally the result of him working too hard ("I should not have pushed myself so far that day.") I think people can absolutely disagree with how he's choosing to atone, whether they think working for the Inquisition and starting the rehab is enough, but I don't think the way to win more redemption points is to make him go through more pain. It's the same reason I don't think letting Blackwall be executed is the right choice: you can get him out without bloodshed, and put him on the path to do good--and he can do more of that alive than he can dead.

[kirachama]

Since you have play both Mystic Messenger and Collar x Malice, I want to know what you think about Rika and Saeki. What are the differences between them? Should they have their own routes? I'm sorry for asking questions like these but I'm curious. From what I've seen so far people seem to like Saeki while many hate Rika even if they're both cult leaders with twisted ideas about society and manipulate others to reach their goals. Sorry for the long ask!

Personally, I’m, for the most part, indifferent toward both Rika and Saeki. Like I don’t hate them, but I’m also not going to be the first to sing their praises, because let’s be real, despite their intentions, neither of them are really good people. But that being said, I do think that they’re both good, interesting villains.

I think that a major difference between them lies in their organizations. Mint Eye is through and through a cult, and while it is modeled after a cult, Adonis is a terrorist organization. At the core, both groups want to provide a ‘safe place’ where the occupants are safe from pain and suffering inflicted by others. Rika’s desire is to save them by taking them into Mint Eye, which is isolated from the rest of the world, whereas Saeki’s intent is to reform society into a world without malice via fear.

I think another difference is their belief in what they’re doing. I’m fairly sure that Rika believes she’s doing a good thing- saving and providing sanctuary to lost souls, stripping them of autonomy via magic juice so they can’t go out and make choices that will hurt them. Obviously, that kind of coercion is a very bad thing, but to her, she’s doing what she can to keep them safe and so that’s good in her eyes. Saeki on the other hand, is fully aware that what he is doing is technically not a good thing- he knows that what he is doing breeds the very malice that he wants to rid the world of, and, by his very own logic he, too, should be executed. 

I think part of the reason why people like Saeki and dislike Rika is based on interactions with the characters. Although it is entirely a facade, when the player is first introduced to Saeki it’s as Ichika’s friend/coworker. They went to the police academy together. They go drinking together. Ichika even has to tend to a drunk Saeki in the common route. And then even when it’s revealed that he’s also Zero, the leader of Adonis he never really treats Ichika cruelly. Furthermore, it doesn’t really feel like he spends a lot of onscreen time being… well, bad, at least not in comparison to the time he spends being friendly, so I think there’s a bit of a disconnect there. Rika on the other hand, while she doesn’t interact with MC until the Secret Ends, lacks any kind of friendliness and is pretty damn cruel.

…to be honest, the reason why I took so long with answering this question was because of the whole ‘why do people not like Rika’ bit. I feel the answer is very simple but also very complicated at the same time. I think most of the fandom will agree that she is not a good person, but few seem to think of her as a good villain. And villains are not meant to be good people, even if their intentions are meant to be good (I think a good saying for both Saeki and Rika is ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions). Anyway, I think a big consensus going around is that people do not like Rika because she is an abuser. I saw a few posts (one here and one on Twitter) saying that the OP did not like Rika because she reminded them their own abuser.

Do I think either of them should have a route? Well, if they had routes, the desired outcome would be either redeem or save them. But can they be saved or redeemed? At the point in which MC/Ichika is introduced to the story both Saeki and Rika have already begun their dastardly deeds- Saeki already has blood on his hands for orchestrating multiple murders and Rika has already kidnapped and drugged multiple people. I feel like if routes were to happen for each, the only proper way for it to end is for both Saeki and Rika to answer for their crimes. Saeki gets arrested in Yanagi’s route so I feel like adding another route for Saeki in which this happens is pointless. Of course there’s a possibility for an end is to support Saeki’s world view, but I believe doing so would compromise Ichika’s character (and similar ends in some of the routes (namely the Saeki end and Shiraishi’s Tragic Love End are pretty much labeled as bad). Rika, on the other hand, in every instance escapes judgement (another reason why people may not like her), so… ehehe. It would be nice to see her answer for what she’s done. 

Another thing a route would do is allow us to learn about the characters. But we already get a fair bit about Saeki in the Criminal chapter of Collar x Malice so, once again, pointless. For Rika, we get a lot about her via V’s route but it’s a bit… debatable if that’s enough to be satisfying. That would vary from person to person, I suppose. 

So in short, I don’t think there’s a necessity for a Saeki route. For Rika, I’m on the fence. Because I, like many others, don’t really want a route for her, but I also feel like there are things about her charcter that could be clarified with a route. And despite what people are saying I really don’t think we’ll actually get it (that’s a different topic though and this post is already far too long). 

[hellsbellschime]

The funny thing about the whole redemption angle a lot of people seem to want for these characters is that they're the villains fighting worse villains. And oddly enough, CM said that very thing a few days back on twitter. These aren't "good" characters simply because they're the protagonists. Like, they're still thousand year old ruthless killers, the show's simply told from their perspective. Getting a spin off didn't/doesn't equal OG's being redeemed or reformed, it's just a show ABOUT them.

Ehhh, but Carina’s being disingenuous there, because they 100% do not present the characters as morally gray, and Hawpley being Klaus’ redemption and the literal hope of the Mikaelson family has been repeated in the dialog more times than I can count.

[mercuryj15]

@dappercat123 So I think there's a difference in how we view Weiss' story as a whole. Which is okay! But I don't see the act of getting rid of Jaques suggested as the hardest part. It was a goal, but not the hardest one to achieve. To me, the hardest thing was finding herself and getting out from under his control (and on a grander scale, total family healing, which doesn't happen just because Jaques is maybe largely gone). I agree Watts was convenient (which doesn't bother me), but if Willow is to be believed, he's got a harddrive of illegal activities to go along with it. Now it's a matter of healing the family. Willow, who is a defeated drunk, is the actual head of the family and the owner of the SDC. Whitley is only 14 or 15. He's lost and angry and a little shit who hates everyone in his family because he feels abandoned and jealous. Redeemed or not, he won't be the one running the company when all of this is over, and his father's arrest didn't solve his problems. Willow will need to step up as mom and actually mother her damaged son while taking over her father's company while also dealing with addiction. Then there's Winter, who doesn't have near the control over her life that she thinks she does. She has no relationship with her brother and the one with her mother is strained on a good day. They aren't really close to being a family yet, and Willow seems possibly suicidal. We're a long way from a reformed Whitley "just" doing anything. And someone please go find Klein!

Besides, as you said, reworking the company and changing its worldwide image will take a lot of time. It's not going to be completely resolved in this arc, much like Ghira talking about rebooting the White Fang didn't totally tie things up, but was a step. And changing a few company policies isn't going to fix 99% of the humans vs faunus issues or resolve the overall faunus subplot. Those "no faunus" signs all over Remnant or the legal right to discriminate aren't going away if the mines are made safer or the SDC stops discriminatory hiring practices. Hell, stopping those practices may even cause more problems as most working class humans won't want to give up what they feel is a right to better (not equal) housing and jobs. They're all so used to being manipulated by the wealthy into fighting for resources, they aren't going to want to share if more is provided. The overall issue is so huge, it can't be easily wrapped up and likely won't be by the end of the series. There will only be steps to try and get there.

I should also say I don't really expect most of this to be explored with any real depth. There just isn't time within the confines of the runtime and the main plot taking precedence. I'd rather it all be left unresolved and acknowledged as a complex issue they're taking steps to fix rather than for them to slam dunk it and act like all humans and faunus suddenly have respect for each other.

I see a lot of,people saying “Weiss defeated Jacques when she left in volume4” and I completely disagree, “saw someone else’s post you republished but they blocked me and I need to get this off my chest” because Jacques’ crimes don’t end with controlling Weiss, he still had a hold on the rest of the family and more Faunus would die/be branded in his mines regardless of if weiss was there, if anything leaving made it harder to stop him. and he needed to be stopped even before he helped watts

Yes and no. I would say Weiss defeated her personal demons when she left in volume 4. She fully gained her autonomy, something even Winter hasn't actually done yet. She did need to wrap things up with Jaques, though, because a big part of her story is reclaiming her family from this interloper. It was inevitable she would eventually come back. So from a certain perspective, she defeated him in volume 4 on a personal level, but the greater war wasn't over. It still isn't, even with his arrest, as the family is in chaos.

I do disagree leaving made it harder to stop him. Just from my POV, she had to get away from that environment to fully get her footing and find her allies. Under his roof, he had too much control and she was isolated. She needed her own space to work in, so to speak.