#but really he just doesn't do well with authority and military life in general

[frutavel]

Night elves to test a new brush I got on CSP <3

Adagio, Andryza and Rex. They're siblings and they have a Complicated Relationship tm 💖

[fractalcloning]

As I scream into the void seeking a Narek RPer to play against, I have finally caved and must explain why I want this Romulan loungelizard to be more popular. (It won't happen, but I can dream.)

Reasons I like Narek as a character that nobody but me gives a shit about:

Let me preface this with a fact about me: I know Romulans.

I've RPed as Nero for almost two straight years in a large game. I've basically learned Rihannsu back to front for the endeavor. The person who played my Ayel and I both dumped countless hours into developing grammar and extrapolating cultural rules. We were dedicated to making them as believeable and accurate to canon as possible.

I have the whole timeline of the destruction of Hobus/Romulus down to memory. I know about all the neat little tidbits and trivia from comics and adjacent materials etc, etc.

This is to say: I have read and written quite a lot about Romulans in my time. I am very familiar with how they work and what data is available to draw from when writing them.

We do meet a few rank and file military Romulans from time to time, however. So we know how the general military operates in direct contrast to the Tal'Shiar. Caution and secrecy is sort of baked into their culture, which makes a lot of sense given that they're constantly at war with basically everyone, but they aren't (generally) unreasonable people.

In canon Trek, Romulans are often a little over the top with the sneaky-backstabbing-untrustworthy-nonsense. They're almost comical with how much scheming they do, but most of the Romulans we meet in canon are Tal'Shiar. The Tal'Shiar are known, pretty explicitly for the depth and breadth of their sneaky-backstabbing-untrustworthy-nonsense. It's kind of their whole deal, apart from mnhei'sahe (literally the ruling passion honor).

Narek, however, was a child when Hobus went supernova. He is from the very last generation that had any living memory of Romulus. (Elnor is also from this generation and they are great foils for each other, but that's another essay.) Narek is from a (presumably) respected family of--if not Tal'Shiar then Military--operatives. His aunt held high rank, his sister did as well, and both were inducted into the Zhat Vash, an organization that worked so quietly and efficiently that even the famously paranoid Tal'Shiar thought they were a myth. They orchestrated catastrophes and manipulated Galactic law to their ends, one of their members was the head of Starfleet Security and Narissa was on a personal basis with her.

Their underlying culture is present, but it isn't explored very deeply in any one canon source. Taken collectively, however, it is just as substantial as Klingon Battle-lust or Ferengi Capitalism.

Nero was a break from the norm, not because he was vengeful, but because he was the first non-military Romulan we'd ever really seen. His designs, the tattoos, the crew of his ship with their very un-Romulan loyalty, the way he talked and sought equivalent exchange of lives (mnhei'sahe), was a wealth of Romulan culture that we hadn't ever seen. He was a regular Joe, had a regular non-Military job, trusted and worked with aliens to try and save lives. His failure (not his fault) was something he absorbed and sought to rectify in the Romulan way.

Nero was super interesting both for how much detail he cast on Romulan culture, and in how he slotted into the Prime Timeline. Nero was a guy desperately clinging to hope, to the last vestiges of his civilian life, but he was cut free by the destruction of Romulus and set adrift. The only anchor he had in the AOS timeline was his honor and the driving need to balance the scales and restore it.

Narek, however privledge his family was, was a washout. He was a failure. We know he wasn't Zhat Vash, and whether he was even Tal'Shiar is up for some serious speculation. He doesn't act like military officers, and only seems to be play-acting as a Tal'Shiar, miming his sister when it suits him.

Narek may have had authority on the Artifact, but it was probably by dint of Oh granting it. We never get any clarification whatsoever about his rank or dayjob, just that he is fully devoted to helping the Zhat Vash. He is analytical, prepared, but he is not good at thinking on his feet and clearly does his planning off screen. He's meticulous but not especially skilled at hiding or regulating his emotional state. He is far less aggressive and stalwart than just about every other Romulan we've seen...except for Nero.

He was literally a placeholder sent to keep tabs on Soji. He didn't even arrive until Narissa had failed to capture Dahj. That Narek managed to get close to Soji, that he discovered her dreams and correctly surmised what they are, was more luck than skill. Before his assessments the Zhat Vash knew that Dahj (and Soji) could be activated out of their cover, but they assumed that they could capture them. They probably assumed they could torture the data out of them, if not dissect them and rip out a harddrive.

Narek found an easy way to get right to the information they needed. His attachment to Romulan culture is his puzzlebox--Before Nero we had never met a Romulan civilian and before Narek we have never met a cultural Romulan who plays with a toy, we had never seen a child's toy like that. Of course, the puzzlebox (Tan Zhekran) was a mechanism to illustrate his thought process, to make the differences between Narissa and him very apparent, but it was also something from his childhood (presumably). It's a weirdly personal affect for a Romulan and he fidgets with it almost constantly. It's a tell, something he shouldn't have, and it makes him accessible on an emotional level.

Narek is a civilian.

He's a civilian in a family of spies and operatives, raised alongside his sister on the same stories, with the same care. There's no way a Zhat Vash didn't have a family home on Romulus. While Elnor is a nice example of the new generation of Romulans, Narek is one of the last examples of what is used to mean to be a Romulan. He saw Romulus and escaped with all his surviving family when it as it was destroyed. Narek was raised on Romulan tradition (private names for family), Romulan stories about the end of the world, and he is haunted by them because he knows they're true, they're real. His sister and aunt have seen it, seen the message that drives people mad, about Ganmadan. His living relatives have dedicated their lives to preventing it and, even if he isn't actually Zhat Vash, he does the same.

Narek is a failure, by his culture's standards, by his family's standards, but he is also the only one of them who lives in the end.

He's a civilian who is trying, desperately, to avert another Romulan apocalypse. He has already lived through one and somehow this next one is even worse. Like Nero he sees the writing on the wall--but instead of doubling down on the traditional sneaky spy shit, he tries something new--unlike Nero, it works! He makes headway where nobody else could.

Unfortunately, it's kinda fucked up, but he then gives up everything in the pursuit of this goal. (Which to him, seems like a noble one.) Narek gives up who he is (by playing at being Tal Shiar), his safety (he has no idea what Soji is capable of or what might set her off, they only have records of Dahj killing a dozen agents before being blown up), and eventually resigns himself to killing the woman he's fallen in love with (the baseline requirement for giving out his real name). He does it all for the greater good, to save people and he doesn't seem to make much of a distinction between Romulan and other organic lives. He has his little plans, tracking La Sirena in a single cloaked ship, hiding his presence to tail them, firing on them despite being wholly outmatched, allying with Sutra however temporarily, trying to sway Soji again, turning to Rios, Raffi, and Elnor for help--he's willing to do anything because he's terrified that everything is about to end and it will be him who failed to prevent it.

The very last shot we see of him, after his plan to detonate the transmitter fails completely, is him on the ground being dragged away by the Coppelius androids. He doesn't posture or threaten, doesn't say ominous shit like the other Romulans we're used to--He begs. He claws at the ground, trying to stay, and he begs. He pleads with Soji, calls her his love, tries that last ditch hail mary because it's all he can do. He fails his task and she's the last person he can reach out to and, in the end, despite the very real threat to her life, Planet, and Picard, Soji smashes the transmitter. The apocalypse is averted.

Narek failed but he also succeeded. His aunt is dead, Oh has been outed as a traitor, and his sister is killed by Seven of Nine. In a cut scene, apparently, Narek was supposed to be arrested by Starfleet. So he's facing (at the very least) retribution from the androids and the ExBorg. Starfleet is very likely to arrest and interrogate him, if not imprison him indefinitely since he has ties to the Zhat Vash and, subsequently, will be on the hook to explain the Utopia Planetia disaster. Soji hates him, for good reason, and his homeworld is long gone. Narek has nothing...but the world was saved.

Narek is singular because he's all about needing and interacting with other people, he has no real authority, nobody he commands. He's a civilian (insofar as any Romulan can be) and is a soft, emotional boy who hangs on to his childhood toys. He's driven in equal parts by fear and a deep sense of failure, like everyone else in the show, and he takes the steps that seem right and necessary to him (also like everyone else on the show).

Narek was a great contrast against Elnor in every possible way--from his evasiveness to his fear of death--and he was a great foil for Soji. On Coppelius, Soji's terror clouds her judgment and she very nearly does terrible things to protect herself. Her actions, her opinions, her hesitation were all driven by fear. The ends seemed to justify the means. She reflects Narek's state for the whole show. Season 1 is about finding safety and meaning.

Narek is afraid for the whole duration of the show and his choices all reflect that same desperate need to find permanent safety, to live. Soji exists on the peripheral of that with the Ex-Borg, and as a synthetic, and then she falls headlong into it after his betrayal. Narek regrets trying to kill her and the symbolism of his losing that box, of him trying to kill her in a room that is so very culturally Romulan, right after telling her his name, makes it very clear that killing her is killing some piece of himself. But the ends justify the means. He can and will give up everything to save the world.

And his last line in the show is desperately pleading with the woman he loves as he's dragged away.

Then we never see him again or get anything resembling closure for Soji or Narek.

Which I will be big mad about forever, because they didn't even get the bare minimum acknowledgement and closure of "moving on and living life is paramount because it is finite and beautiful ". Nope. Nothing. I'm furious forever.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. I hope if Star Trek Legacy happens we get Narek as a sort of...side character creeper informant ala Garak. I also hope we get Soji on Seven's Enterprise because I love her.

[wxnheart]

Hello hope you're doing well.. uhmm can you write yandere and normal version Roach x female reader headcanons? Please? Have a nice day :)

𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐲 "𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡" 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐅!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏)

Roach's unassuming nature is actually his greatest strength. He's like a box of chocolates. You actually never know what you're gonna get with him. It's really like discovering something new just about every day.

Is actually much more facially expressive than he is verbal. You absolutely have to rely on his facial expressions to gauge the veracity of his words.

Has a pretty noticeable scar on the side of his mouth. As a result, Roach's smile is more of a lopsided grin that makes him look uniquely boyish. He was self-conscious about it until you told him that his smile was cute and fit him.

On the flip side, Roach can also be Christopher Walken-esque in his mannerisms at times which makes him unintentionally funny. He doesn't exactly get why you're laughing but... okay. He doesn't think he's an incredibly funny guy in general but whatever floats your boat he supposes. 🙃

His love language is a mixture of physical touch and quality time. It seems few and far in-between that he gets the opportunity to see you. He makes it a point to cherish those moments because he never knows if it'll be his last.

His hugs are always tight, especially before he leaves you to go on an assignment. Loves to kiss your forehead, too, before departing.

Also has no problem alternating between being the big and little spoon. Roach's only condition is that he sleeps on the side of the bed nearest the door because if something were to happen, at least he'll be there to protect you and give you a fighting chance to escape.

Will text you like he journals. Roach is actually a pretty good writer; if he wasn't in the military, you could see him being an author or something else with the literary arts in another life.

Is a homebody at heart; he's seen the world twice over it seems but it's nothing compared to the comfort of the four walls of your home.

Thanks to you, Roach is much more comfortable with being still. Used to get antsy until you helped him through it. It took some time but he absolutely appreciates the moments when he can be still and in the present.

[senka-mesecine]

What platoon characters do you think would enjoy being a parent the most? I think Barnes might enjoy the control aspect, while Wolfe would probably enjoy the praise and bonding

-

― I mean, listen, Chris' probably expected to have some children. Wasn't that what he ran away from in the first place? Being conventional? Normal and ordinary? Just like his mother and father? Settling down? Adhering to tradition? Inheriting his status and doing nothing of note that's truly his own? Living a life where the path has be well trodden for him by those who came before? Depending how wealthy we tend to read Taylor as, heirs are undoubtedly something that was either wanted out of him before the war, during, after or generally all throughout his life one way or another, and while I don't think he minds kids as a concept (heck, he might even like them) I think he loathes the overall notion of being boxed in and having them because it's one of the to-do landmarks he's supposed to achieve for its own sake. Kids are fine. Just not under the circumstances his family and the environment he himself was born into expects him to have them which means I almost see Taylor having a long, rebellious and enduring phase where he doesn't have children on purpose precisely to combat this whole idea. Whether that makes him happy or not in the long run is a wholly different conversation, but point is he will make a difference and he will be himself no matter what.

― Which is the case for Wolfe too because I actually visualize him coming from a (military) family similar to Taylor's, in status, money and position but him actually walking the walk and having kids by choice and being...pretty good at it. Fairly well adjusted post war and what he lacked as Lieutenant in authority, skillset and success he might actually make up quite well as a dad, meaning...he'd be good at it. Meaning he enjoys it too, yes, you guessed it. What I'm trying to say is that while some people might be pretty bad at one lifestyle (this being the army and maintaining the upper hand of authority and respect) they could actually excel at an entirely different one (this being fatherhood) and Wolfe strikes me as the type. Strikes me as the type to be liked by his children too as opposed to his platoon who just...didn't really. Not tremendously, anyway. He wasn't cut for one time and place and he turns out be just perfectly well suited for the other and that's...not at all a bad conclusion to have. Quite the contrary. Might suffer from some stolen valor syndrome, admittedly, especially in front of his children who, judging off of daddy's stories, might think he was slightly cooler in the war than he really was, which I think would be the case for, say, O'Neill too. That man would paint such tall tales for his children they'd think he's won the war personally and singlehandedly.

― Kill me, but I almost see Barnes as a father of daughters. Multiple of them. Maybe even several. On purpose. That's what he wants and what he expresses to want. Sick of boys. Sons get brought up as a concept and he waves his hand dismissively with a disinterested, gruff 'Eh.' and doesn't go further on with any clarifications. Had a whole platoon of boys and by extension, countless surrogate sons and lets say by some happenstance he survives the war and returns home, he's had a whole platoon of boys and god knows how many of them he's lost, how many got shot, blown to pieces, smithereens --- so having biological sons of his own? Hell knows he'd only be recreating a dynamic he's left behind in the war and I think he's aware of that. Introspective enough to know the basic reality of things. He'd be the Sergeant all over again and the sons would be the grunts, but if they're all girls, that ain't as likely to be happening, is it? He can actually be Barnes instead of someone's superior. But then again, maybe that's exactly what he'd want in the most meta of senses. He's a lifer, after all. The war never ends. Just takes on different shapes in different places with different people. He becomes a father of sons and it's like he's sired another Taylor, another Rhah, another Junior, another Gardner, another Elias all over again.

― Envisioning Elias (or / and Rhah) as a cool uncle, frankly. Not to say he wouldn't have children of his own under any circumstance, but he almost strikes me as that sagely, non-judgmental, laid back family member or relative one could tell things they couldn't tell their own immediate parents. The family member offering poignant advice, counsel, help, support and almost selflessly serving as a third space away from one's own family. And yes, this is a role he'd very much relish. A role he'd be immensely good at too, indirectly being a better father figure than the actual biological father to these figurative kids or kid. Humble and excessively down to earth about it too. Isn't here to steal anyone's spotlight or eclipse anyone he's just...you know...kindly here when needed. A buffer zone of sorts. Think that would suit Elias perfectly fine because he'd retain the mystique (and freedom) of being a wise, empathic mentor all while not being a non-stop, possibly oppressive presence to where he'd lose his gravitas in the process bogged down in daily minutiae. He's not seen that often but when he is those are usually some of the most formative and lifechanging moments of that kid's life. What he teaches, as say, an uncle is possibly better remembered and more profound for that child than what the actual parents thought them.

[dehautdesert]

If there's something I absolutely adore it's when a long-ass book or book series does its work with the worldbuilding and messages so well that by the halfway mark the author doesn't need to add any, like, interpretation or commentary to their scenes, just present them as they are, and you get the metacontext anyway and feel exactly what the author wants you to.

I'm currently on the third book of the Inda tetralogy, which is a series whose protagonists come from a pretty gung-ho, militaristic, honor-based culture, and the series explores how this type of culture kinda hobbles their society through following a group of military academy buddies from childhood until they all take up important positions in their society (and the main protagonist is a strategic genius with a natural flair for leadership who leaves his backwards backwater country at a young age and spends large swaths of time running a pirate fleet that robs other pirates Robin Hood-style, if I may try to get some of my Vorkosigan-loving mutuals to consider reading this).

So, anyway, I'm at the point where they're all in their early to mid twenties and they're going off to war against a far superior invading force. And because their culture glorifies war and military accomplishment so much, and because the king and all his generals are childhood best buds who haven't actually gotten to spend time all together in a while, they basically make the march a sort of a frat boy party, but in a cute way.

They're so happy and enthusiastic to see each other, they're literally like puppies, hugging each other and jumping at each other and talking and laughing over each other and begging their fathers to let them ride ahead to meet the army so they can all ride together to the castle. And they do the most ridiculous playful shit, they march into towns at a gallop with banners and trumpets and shit and throw feasts and competitions and sing songs and do cool war dances and are all charming and hot as they retell their dumb schoolboy stories and the locals are all FUCK YEAH THESE GUYS ARE SO COOL I NEED LANDRED TO DICK ME DOWN TONIGHT and literally every one of the POV characters is so filled with enthusiasm and exuberance and zest for life and childish, giddy happiness at the prospect of finally getting to spend so much time with the people he loves (and their love for each other really permeates every interaction they have), and reading all this... kinda makes you wanna cry.

Because they're riding off to war and the series has been so poignant so far about the follies of war that at this point it doesn't have to move a finger to imply how harrowing it all is, nor does it need to portray the dissonance between what they're walking into and their fundamentally good-natured, loving, youthful enthusiasm for each other, beyond just showing it to you.

It's one of the warmest and funniest and happiest parts of the series so far, and it's also a big payoff because they spent the last 1000 pages apart and they have excellent character dynamics, but it also makes you want to cry the entire way through it as you're reading it because the implications of the larger world around them loom so large, and I think that's a brilliant accomplishment as far as writing goes.

[yuri-ray]

No-Spoilers Review #1: Otherside Picnic (Urasekai Picnic)

Content Warnings: guns, general horror genre themes and visuals

Starting with a series I own in print, it's Otherside Picnic by Iori Miyazawa, a novel series with manga and anime adaptations. This series is half horror and half yuri romance, about two university students exploring and being harrowed by a world full of urban legend horrors.

Is it good? Yes! I recommend it very highly to anybody who can take a little horror.

After all... as the author said himself... "This too is yuri."

Before I start, yes, it's THAT Iori Miyazawa who popularized the concept of "yuri of absence" in a batshit crazy pair of interviews. I think a lot of people would read that and assume that his actual work, Otherside Picnic, is full of bait and subtext. It's not. It's a slow-burn, sure, but it's legitimately canon and it's really good, OK? This guy knows what he's doing.

Anyway...

Our two leads are two university students, Sorawo Kamikoshi (the brown-haired girl in the art) and Toriko Nishina (the blonde girl). All of Otherside Picnic is told from Sorawo's perspective. While urban exploring, Sorawo stumbles upon a portal to the Otherside, a dangerous realm of urban legends and internet horrors (imagine famous Japanese creepypastas). She meets Toriko and they explore the Otherside and how its horrors leak into the real world and their perceptions, pulling them in and becoming more dangerous over time.

What I love most about Otherside Picnic is how complicated Sorawo and Toriko are as people. Sorawo is both extremely relatable at times and also extremely unrelatable at others. She is not a self-insert protagonist in the slightest, and she's not even a good person. She doesn't care about others very much. Meanwhile, Toriko has some difficulties with social situations and is overall a pretty normal (in comparison) likeable person with realistic worries. The two of them become closer organically and, yes, they do kiss eventually. No one is an idiot and all of their conflicts make sense.

The horror is also good and well-executed. It's decently scary and the world of the Otherside is intriguing and unpredictable, but not in any bullshit way. The horror drives the plot just as much as the romance does, and the manga does an amazing job bringing the novel's descriptions to life with creative paneling and art.

A supporting character, Kozakura, is that classic maligned trope of an adult that looks very young because she's short. However, Kozakura genuinely acts like a normal independent adult, and is a very likeable character who is the voice of reason.

As a side note, Iori Miyazawa also happens to like guns. The leads carry them as defense against malicious Otherside entities and there's a scene where Sorawo expresses pretty abject disgust at a tank designed to kill civilians, so it's not pro-military or whatever. It doesn't go in-depth because neither Sorawo nor Toriko care for them.

Final thoughts:

THE ANIME IS REALLY BAD. It totally misses the point and all of the things that really makes this series stand out--the episodes got shuffled for no reason which caused plotholes and character progression issues galore, and it cuts out all of the scenes where Sorawo and Toriko actually talk properly to each other. Plus the budget is like, one corn chip.

THE MANGA IS REALLY GOOD. It takes a lot of care to really adapt everything from the novel, which means that although updates are slow, you get to see everything Sorawo feels and thinks.

This series is one of my top favorite yuris, which I recommend to basically anyone who likes romance and doesn't mind some spooky visuals (or anyone who likes horror and doesn't mind some girls navigating complex feelings). It has close to no explicit gore. I'm currently up to date on everything... I can write a lot more on this, but these are my spoiler-free thoughts. The title references Roadside Picnic (the inspiration for the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) which is an inspiration for the series, but as I've never read it, I can't say more than that.

[firecoloredwater]

Fic authors self rec!

Oh boy I've been tagged twice now, by @planeoftheeclectic and @denialcity. Thank you both!

(And uh, since I somehow didn't actually get notifications for either of those and just noticed while scrolling, if anyone else has tagged me in... anything, really, and I didn't respond, sorry about that! Tumblr is being tumblr apparently.)

Rules: Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass this onto other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

Going to tag uhhhh @domoz @asukaskerian and uhhh what's a people I've never met a people in my life. what's a tag. I'll go shake discord a bit and come back with more tags in a reblog probably.

Fics!

These are... not in any particular order of preference, I will just make question marks for a year if I try to sort them that way, so this is just the order I grabbed the links in. Which means newest to oldest.

1: Roots Grow Up - Naruto (Founders)

I still don't like the title, but I like basically everything else in this fic (including one detail I've decided on but not posted yet so... can't say). I am planning to add more, but the first chapter (which is all that's posted now) stands alone pretty well, since I wasn't sure whether I'd continue it at all when I first posted it.

The premise is that Kawarama didn't die, but instead lost his memory and has been living as a civilian farmer when Hashirama and Tobirama find him, a few years after founding Konoha. 0 people were prepared for this discovery.

Summary:

It's been fifteen years since Isamu was found, badly injured and unconscious in the forest. He woke up with amnesia, but his origin was pretty obvious, so he doesn't even miss the memories. It's been fifteen years. He's grown up, earned a place in the town that took him in, and even gotten married. His not-so-mysterious past doesn't matter. Not until shinobi wander into town, anyway.

2: Blessed Sacrifice AU - Naruto (Founders)

Cowritten with @codedredalert aka @denialcity, on hiatus while we both deal with Life, but there's a large and excellent chunk up already and so many cool things planned. So many!!!

Also, turns out I REALLY LIKE cowriting. Which is kind of old news because I've been doing forum RP for a decade+, but I wasn't sure if that would translate to fic. Turns out the answer is definitely yes.

BSAU is basically taking the "red eyes blessed" trope and digging into the like... worldbuilding repercussions of that, as shown through Izuna. And also crows.

Also comes with LOTS of fantastic art from Red!

Summary:

Mythology-religion freeform AU where Tobirama is considered blessed by the gods by the Uchiha, but they still need to deal with him as an enemy, so Izuna is ritually disowned from the Uchiha and given a special role responsible for protecting/fighting him.

3: Somebody Else's Dream - Girl Genius

Written as a gift for khilari! I can't remember what the exact prompt was, but I ended up writing an elaboration on the canon detail that Mechanicsburg was founded when a Heterodyne decided he wanted a town, so he just had his people build one.

The main character is an OC who was kidnapped to become a non-military member of the town, and the story is about how he ends up settling in. It's a very weird balance of a "finding your place in the world" story and "this is still kidnapping actually," and I don't think it would work in most fandoms, but since Girl Genius canon is a perpetual balance of heartwarming and "wow that is somehow worse than a war crime" already, I think it worked out really well, and I'm still very proud of it.

Also I suffered over the accents in this. But it worked!

Summary:

Faustus Heterodyne wants civilians for his newly built town. What the civilians want is generally different.

4: Jager Search - Girl Genius

Also written as a gift, this time for sparkagatha. It's the future, *vague handwave* everything is resolved, the OT3 are together and Klaus has accepted that he can leave Agatha alone and the revenants are being cured, happily ever after.

...except that some of the "wild" jagers are still missing. So Agatha sets out to find them.

Not much to say really; I can see spots where I'd write it differently if I wrote it now, but that's mostly things like "would have slightly changed the characterization," not big issues, and overall it still holds up very well for being... close to eight years old.

Summary:

Most of the detached jägers heard of the Heterodyne's return and came home, but a few are still missing. Agatha learns this, and decides to fix it.

5: Didn't Dream This - Death Note

Oh if I wrote this now tumblr would annihilate me. ~Problematic~ yay!

I'm not sure I'd say this is a good fic--if I was writing it now I'd write it so differently that it just would be a different fic--but I was clearly working out something about sexuality and relationships and the stuff (not) in my head that I've ended up labeling "being aro."

Basically: Mello and Matt are straight, and they decide to be together anyway. I'm glad I wrote it, partly because I know I wouldn't think or dare to write it now.

Summary:

Mello doesn't want to die alone. Solutions can exist without working out the way anyone wants. (Psychologically intimate interaction is really a better description than romance.)

[asphyxiatedredherring]

This is my gift for @fourdollarwords in the Leverage Gift Exchange! ( @leveragegiftexchange )

I decided to make a playlist of songs I felt fit the show in general, the thiefsome, and as well as each character!

It is quite a weird mix of music

I tried to keep it short, and some characters were easier to come up with more songs than others, but everyone got at least one.

Under the cut, I'll list each song and why I chose it. (It's sorted in categories as well as the order they appear on the spotify playlist, which I recommend listening to it in).

I hope you like it!

Nate:

Another Shot of Whiskey by The Gits - it's about drowning your problems in alcohol, I think we can all see the connection.

Behind Blue Eyes by The Who - the villain theme for the rock opera that never happened. The villain doesn't want to be the villain though, he was forced into that role and no one can see the grief that caused. It really lines up with Nate's story line.

Renegade by Styx - This is a song about a criminal who has been caught and is about to be executed. This song makes me think of The Maltese Falcon Job.

Well Respected Man by The Kinks - I think this represents the life Nate wanted for himself, Maggie, and their son where they are all happy and healthy but in reality Nate knows this is not how his life went and he is not this well respected man.

Breaking the Law by Judas Priest - the song seems to be about a man who was fired from his job so he started breaking the law. I'll let you draw those connections.

Alcohol by The Dropkick Murphys- he's an alcoholic from Boston what more can I say?

Sophie:

Who Do You Want to Be? by Oingo Boingo - its the art of the grift. Sophie makes herself into different people, deciding who she wants to be each day, everything is an act, a character maybe even losing herself along the way

What's Behind the Mask by The Cramps - as a grifter Sophie is always wearing a mask, Sophie isn't even her name. Her family wants to know what's behind her mask, let her know that she is safe to be herself.

Hardison:

Maneater by Hall & Oats - we know Hardison loves Hall & Oats. Best if listened to while Parker autism bites him.

Shout by Tears for Fears - I headcanon that Hardison loves synthpop and this song is a perfect example of that

Rebels With a Cause by The Dropkick Murphys - This song reminds me of the line where Nate calls Hardison "a 24 year old genius with a smartphone and problem with authority." He may have been ignored as a kid, but he's making a difference now. "Don't be angry with the kids Be angry with the greed."

Parker:

Runaway Train by Soul Asylum - I feel like this song really represents Parker's childhood

Never Go Hungry by Hole - I think Parker would have started with stealing food and this is like her internal monolog rationalizing it because stealing became a key part of her personality

Been Caught Stealing by Jane's Addition - Stealing, simple as that. She's a thief. If she wants something she simply takes it. I think it's just a fun catchy song she'd like.

Eliot:

The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel - Despite their wishes, Eliot left his family and became a fighter just like the protagonist of the song. No matter how hard he tries to escape, the fighter remains. I could write an entire essay about how the story of this song and Eliot's story line up.

Guilt Within Your Head by The Gits - Eliot has so much guilt built up in his head over his past, being unable to forgive himself he created his own hell but he can escape it through forgiveness and redemption.

Bullet With Butterfly Wings by Smashing Pumpkins - I feel like this song fits Eliot because like the song says Eliot still feels like he can not be saved and is trapped in a cage, despite how angry he is.

Rooster by Alice in Chains - Even though it's a song about the Vietnam War I feel like it can still represent Eliot's life, joining the military and his career as a hitter in which people are constantly coming to kill him, yet he won't die.

Harry:

Ironic by Alanis Morissette - I think Harry would love Alanis Morissette. Hands down. No further notes.

Breanna:

Just a Girl by No Doubt - People frequently underestimate Breanna and I think this feminist anthem conveys her anger with that.

Seasore by The Regrettes - "You're talkin to me like a child Hey I've got news, I'm not a little girl" So much of Breanna's character is wanting to prove herself, that she is capable and not just someone's kid sister and I think this song conveys the anger that comes with being underestimated and judged for your age or gender.

Youth Gone Wild by Skid Row - Breanna isn't interested in conforming to society's idea of what she should be. She has been called a problem child, but she doesn't care because she will stand tall and be herself.

The Thiefsome:

Love in an Elevator by Aerosmith - Hardison would think it's funny but Parker would latch on to it. I'll be citing the first episode for this one.

What I Like About You by The Romantics - I may be stretching this one but the parts of this song can be applied to aspects of the ot3 and them expressing their love for eachother. "Keep on whispering in my ear" fits Hardison talking to Eliot and Parker through the coms, "you really know how to dance" represents Parker's acrobatics and thief skills, and "you keep me warm at night" Eliot is a grounding presence for them at night and they love eachother.

Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls - they are all broken in their own way and it doesn't matter what the world thinks, just that they have eachother.

The Crew in General:

Head Like a Hole by Nine Inch Nails - the people with power have the money and they aren't using it properly. But Leverage won't bow down despite what the mark wants. I just think this song encapsulates the anger they have with each mark and their desire to give the mark what they deserve.

And Justice for All by Metallica - I debated putting this song under Hardison but I think it could fit the whole crew. It's about how money has corrupted the justice system. The truth is gone but the crew is working to bring it to light and reinstall justice (in their own way).

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked by Cage the Elephant - there is no rest for the wicked and no shortness of evil in the world which makes Leverage necessary. "The rich and powerful take what we want. We steal it back for you."

We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister - I think this song does well to represent how Leverage is fighting the system and the people that abuse it.

Take Back The Power by The Interrupters - I could also write an essay about this song and its correlation with Leverage but to boil it down, Leverage is working to fight the corruption of the world and fix what they can. They are taking back the power.

Hunger Strike by Temple of the Dog - this is practically the Leverage theme song. "I don't mind stealin bread from the mouths of decadence But I can't feel on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled" It's a song about stealing from the rich, class divides, and how the rich get richer but the narrator refused to join them and would rather starve than be like the rich and feed on the poor.

The Men Who Rule The World by Garbage - a song about corruption, money, and violators, the very thing Leverage aims to destroy.

[isabellehemlock]

🔥 ask game: 4, 8, 16

Hi Sindi! Thanks for sending me an ask 😎

Since you're all things TOG I hope it's alright to assume these questions for that fandom, so that's through the lens I'll be answering with 🤗

4. What was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

I have "I block liberally" in my bio for a reason lol.

I mean, I strive not to label anyone by adjectives as if that's all they are - and lol, plenty of people find me annoying, too! - but looking at my blocked list, the majority overall theme (keeping in mind there's individual circumstances too, so not a general commentary on every single person blocked) but yeah, the majority? People who stalk and harass people across platforms - over nothing more than what they ship, kinks, etc.

Like I'm not talking about someone who sends their friend a post and wants to discuss to process or something - but like coordinated campaigns, spite events, efforts of several people across platforms, not only against one person but anyone associates with them, and/or telling people what public spaces they're allowed to be in, what ship positions they should or should not write, events they engage in, who to talk to, etc etc.

It's one thing to write on your own personal blog what you're into, and would love to see more of (I do that, too!) - but once it slides into one on one hounding, name calling, harassment, yeah, bye.

8. Common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

Okrrr I'm hesitant to call it "wrong" because well, in life there's always exceptions, so maybe uh, let's reframe as ill-informed? And really, this isn't fandom's fault when the one effin piece of marketing Netflix did was string together a few random bullet points of "facts" for our Immortal Family and then a chunk of people have been dissecting the conflicting comic, movie, and now blink-and-you'll-miss-it marketing of said movie ever since (including, but certainly not limited to: where is Joe from, and why was he in Jerusalem?)

But as someone who's background and studies involve Church history, I'll admit I've been a bit 🫠 at some of the things stated as "facts" in regard to Nicky’s background. I'm not suggesting that someone should have to study up on any given subject in order to write fic (like, it's free fic, not a thesis), but I'm surprised how prevalent it is?

Just this narrative that Nicky *had* to be of noble birth, *and* automatically be more learned than Joe, *and* was a virgin *and* essentially wore his cassock right under the armor onto the battlefield (I'm having a little fun with that last one to lighten the mood lol).

Since I know I like to be informed when someone presents historical facts - I'll link a few articles and links below:

@qqueenofhades wrote an excellent post about the why a priest would not be wielding a weapon - and here's a book about how the Church forbade it, though (ironically, out of the Crusades) thoughts shifted about the Church being actively involved in the sense of authorizing and even directing military campaigns - but again, the average priest maybe had a weapon in the 1200s, and solely for the sake of self protection while traveling. But no, your average parish priest wasn't swinging a long sword onto the battlefield in his cassock.

Here's some information about how non nobles could become priests, or heck, even illegitimate children of priests could become priests.

And yes, 100% there was a social hierarchy within the Church and often to climb it you were likely educated and noble etc etc etc - and yet our Church history does include having illiterate popes, too (and really, just because someone is illiterate doesn't mean they are unlearned or stupid or incapable of learning it at any time. It doesn't have to be an either/or).

And though of course celibacy was encouraged from the beginning, the Church did not make an official decree about it until the 1100s. Priests had families and children - though not often - and yes, there were definitely clergy and religious who were not interested in making, much less, upholding vows of chastity around Nicky’s mortal timeline.

All that to say, that though it's not impossible that a random priest (perhaps a military chaplain ministering to soldiers?) found himself needing to grab a sword on the battlefield in the chaos around him (because perhaps he had a few years of training with a sword as a kid before being sent to a monastary?) - I don't think it was the given I've seen some people declare it as?

But here's the sad truth: Nicky is just a fictional character with conflicting canon sources. So, there will always be discourse. Sigh.

However, for anyone reading along and looking for more resources for their Crusades fic, I've written one up here, and linked not only other sources, but from @actualmermaid resource post as well as the old guard hub resource doc.

16. You can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Hmmmm I'm not sure if I'm like deeply offended by any particular tropes/canon as much as I filter out certain tags due to personal reasons, etc - I mean even the whole Nicky priest discourse is (for some) potentially rooted in priest kink love lol, so I mean, to each his own?

I definitely filter out the noncon that has happened between Joe and Nicky, but again, that has more to do with personal reasons vs say, a judgment on content (though please pleaseeeee tag it properly).

If you've made it down to here, bless ~ I know this was potentially a heavier reply than what the game was looking for 👀

[pegasusknightsonly]

this is spinning off a post i reblogged to my main but i want to talk about fire emblem so im jumping in here fully aware that it will be somewhat incoherent and lacking context: what is the purpose of categorisation is not gleefully arbitrary distinctions. ok.

one thing that i have not seen mentioned in the criticisms of engage I've found (which doesn't negate their criticism in any way, i just want to tack this on) is any kind of closer reading or analysis of how engage creates and presents authority: who has it, why they have it, why they get to keep it, etc. which feels strange to me because the vast majority of the engage cast are either monarchs-in-waiting or their personal guards. the closest things engage has to representation of the common people are Jean (bourgeois doctor's son in training to be a doctor), yunaka and Anna i GUESS but i think engage Anna is one of the least coherent entries into the anna canon (annon)

everyone else is either a monarch (alear, alfred, céline, alcryst, diamant, ivy, hortensia, timerra, fogado, arguably veyle) [side note: it is so hard to remember these names off the dome but I'm doing it!] or directly employed by the monarchy (all the retainers obviously [including mauvier, if he calls her "Lady Veyle" there's a power differential] and also Saphir is a royal knight, Lindon was a royal priest, if there is anyone not covered by these categories they're either DLC or i forgot they existed) so you may think engage takes the general stance of "your boss has authority over you as part of your contract of employment", etc. well .

what engage actually says, over and over and over again, is that you're either born into authority or you're not. and that's it. alear is allowed to make life and death decisions for every single person they meet on the basis of their authority as Lumera's child despite being asleep for like a thousand years and knowing absolutely nothing about the world. alear's social power is granted on the basis of them being born into the correct family to wield it and the later revelations about the circumstances of alear's birth don't change that (mostly, i think, because engage had completely given up on the idea of characters knowing or not knowing information actually meaning anything for the story) so being APPARENTLY the right kind of birth is sufficient for your claims to authority to go unchallenged

"but tama," you might say, "alear is challenged all the time". yes! whenever alear expresses an opinion on their own emotional state, they are challenged on it. if alear says they feel scared and don't want to proceed with the suggested course of action, their advisors will immediately tell them their feelings do not matter and every single time alear says "oh ok" and does it because if they were allowed to say "no i really don't want to to fight these guys" then engage would have to provide a narrative that does not merely exist to propell the player between maps

alear is imbued with authority because they embody the authority of the state; they are not allowed any authority over their own physical and mental state. alear's body is not their own, it is the body of the Divine Dragon, an object of literal worship and it is not allowed in the text and the paratext of the game to be divorced from the functions of religion and state

states appear in engage ONLY through the persons of their royal families and it is made clear that the monarch has absolute authority over every aspect of their state. an attack on queen éve threatens all of firene. this is also demonstrated with the Queen of solm; military encroachments from elusia (personified in hortensia, who leads them) only matter to the story when the queen of solm is potentially threatened. we see nothing of the battles before hortensia reaches the inner castle, because as far as engage is concerned, they don't exist. the people of solm are not real people in any meaningful way for the story. the only threat that matters to the state is the threat to the monarch

and isn't that .... you know, isn't all that "the health of the leader is the health of the state" nonsense fashy as all hell???? especially when there is no authority beyond the authority of the state as embodied in its leader: there are no opposition political parties, there are no grass roots political movements, there are no possibly avenues of challenge! you are born into power and thus justified to use it however you see fit or you don't ever matter at all!!!

it's bleak

[morlock-holmes]

I saw James Cameron's Avatar The Last Airbender: The Shape of Water.

It's… Fine, I'd say. I can't tell if it's actually better than the original or if it just seems that way because action spectacle movies these days have gotten so much worse.

Despite being a "big" movie, both in terms of length and scale of spectacle, it distinguishes itself from most other such movies by the fact that I didn't feel like I had been beaten up by the movie after I left the theater.

I think my verdict would be that it's an okay movie with ideas that could have been part of a really good movie.

Also I legit wonder if James Cameron saw that post about how there's no Avatar fan fiction because there's a lot more hooks to hang fanfic on in this one. Spoilers and discussion beneath the cut.

On the other hand, even though I didn't feel beat up by the movie, it's a very macho world these people live in. The human world is run by a bunch of macho marine types, who "Don't die, [they] just regroup in hell" and our main character, uh… what's his name, raises his kids the way he was clearly raised and inducted into the Marines; at one point his wife tells him, "Those aren't your squad, they're your children."

But Na'avi culture is also characterized by a gender-neutral machismo, there's a lot of teeth baring and metaphorical chest bumping, an emphasis on proving your adult-hood through fighting and feats of bravery, of defying authoritarian fathers through macho displays of courage.

Interestingly, there is a whole society of characters who are completely pacifistic, to the point where they exile a member for attempting to lead a war party against the humans. The humans defeat him, kill most of the people he brought along, which, to his pacifistic kin, makes him as responsible for their deaths as the humans.

They're kind of pushed to the side and the moral implications aren't dwelt on.

As someone who is not really very macho himself I found this to be a bit exhausting. Scientists and pacifists exist in this world, but, they, like the young protagonists, find themselves caught in a world where authority figures don't really value those tendencies, and their peers pick up on this and police them to make sure that they're as macho as they should be.

In general the movie kind of reminds me of Star Wars; The Last Jedi in that there's a lot of interesting ideas that kind of can't be paid off quite as well as they ought to be because of the Hollywood spectacle that they're forced into.

There's a character named Spider, a human who is the son of the bad guy from the first movie. Said bad guy had his memories cloned and uploaded to an Avatar body, and is now being used as part of the human assault on Pandora. Apparently Earth is a huge crap hole now so the humans are planning to just colonize Pandora.

Anyway, this clone of Spider's dad captures him and holds him hostage for most of the movie, leading to some bonding between them. At one point, the clone is going to tranquilize a bird to see if he can link up and control it; Spider laughs at him and says that kids younger than him do it with their bare hands. So of course clone dad has to prove that he can do it that way too; the machismo of the human military is broadly compatible with the machismo of the Na'avi.

At the very end of the movie, clone dad has one of the main character's kids hostage and is threatening to kill them. So the main Na'avi woman, who has been Spider's surrogate mother figure, grabs spider and says, "You kill my son and I'll kill yours."

Which does work, although the movie's in such a hurry to end by this point that it kind of glosses over the psychological impact that this would probably have on the poor kid. At the end of the day it doesn't matter that he's grown up with the Na'avi his whole life, he's still an outsider.

Also neither I nor my two companions have any idea which brother died at the end which I feel is a failure on the part of the character design team.

[greypetrel]

For the NPC ask: Aisling and Trifles Minutiae and Raina and the Arishok

AND what would Raina and Aisling think of Arianwen?

Ooooh that was interesting! Thank you for asking, Mo! :D

It's quite long, so it goes under the cut.

(NPC ask game -if you see this and want to send me something yes please do!)

Aisling and Trifles Minutiae: She's very anxious about him, she doesn't like people showing up and making her question, what if she get something wrong? It will look like Josephine didn't train her well and that's not something she's risking, by all means. She'll ask for more history books to Josie, beg Radha to explain to her what she read (Radha was always more keen on history than her, she's definitely for STEM or anything practical, and finds it difficult to remember genealogies), pester Cullen on whatever trivia he could remember on king Calenhad (and he could remember quite a lot, they'll spend a nice evening with him rambling over this and that and how cool the Rebel Queen was and her taking notes)(I picture Cullen as secretly a history nerd. More for military history, but a nerd nevertheless.). She in the end got all questions right, but still with THE PRESSURE and looking constantly left and right in rooms to look for him and run the opposite direction. x°D

Raina and the Arishok: Utter respect. She struggles with authority but she can see where his authority comes from and respect it. A lot of things he says make sense to her and she agreed with. Invading the city and hurting civilians was not something she condoned, of course, but he made some points that to her made MUCH MORE sense than whatever the Viscount or Elthina ever said. By the end of Act 2 she was not in a good place of mind (she felt the invasion as a personal failure, all her effort served to nothing. Add the fact that her love life was a shit, she fucked up with Merrill, the thing with Isabela should have been casual but for her really wasn't, Anders confessed and she had to turn him down. Bethany never wrote back from the Circle, her relationship with mother was strained, Garrett was still digesting Fenris dumping her and was colder in general)… If Isabela wouldn't have come back and wouldn't have been threatened, she would have just let the Arishok do his thing and conquer the city, he had strong points, for her, about corruption and how nobles couldn't do a decent job. She didn't care anymore in that moment, she just saw her and her friends horribly outnumbered and… Well. Isabela returned.

And!! About Arianwen...

Aisling and Wen do have some things in common. Aisling would be DELIGHTED to meet and greet all her animals, will coo at each and every one of them (Princess will require some effort, but she'll make it) and for sure will introduce her to Little Brother, Ugo the bog unicorn she helped Dorian resurrect, and all the horses in the stables. And as much as she can get quite chatty when prodded, Aisling has no problems in just vibing with a person and being silent, each doing their own things in close proximity. I don't know how Wen will take Aisling trying to mother her, tho. She'll check if Arianwen eats enough. Will bring her food if she doesn't. She also may try out of curiosity to prod her to talk about feelings with very pin-pointed questions and assumptions. "I saw you with Zevran and with your animal friends, you're very sweet, you know it? Are the knives your defense mechanism because you're afraid to be let down? That's ok, I'm scared of being left alone too, you can tell me." I have the slight feeling it could be too much for Wen and too soon, she'd need more time. She'll understand a knife to the throat and won't repeat the experiment, won't bother her until Wen will signal that she can approach again.

Raina will be much smoother, at least at first. I agree that beside the fact that the world isn't really ready for them to team up, it'd be a love or hate situation, with no middle ground. As for Raina, she's very chill with people until she gets crossed. She'll respect her being silent and won't prod at her too much, she can do the talking for both. She'll let her pet her dog (Beowoof "As the epic hero, do you know the story?") and come to play and pet him whenever she wants, the door's always open. She'll admire her professionality and ability with the blade, will praise her for it and maybe ask her to teach her to throw knives. If Wen has no problems with blood magic or with Merrill, she'll be very chill about her until provoked.

[gardensystemtv]

More Starwars shenanigans after waiting ages? You can find the previous here Today we are looking at the Ryloth arc (season 1 episodes 19-21) (skipping a lot of season 1, I know but... it's a lot)

Premise is set, the Seperatists have invaded and occupied Ryloth, and the republic is trying to take it back, makes sense. Ahsoka leading a squadron of fighters by herself? Is this a good position for a padawan? Are the jedi really trained well enough to lead such operations? (Contribution from JV) The droid fighters being able to wait on the hull of the ships is so interesting though? they can launch without needing to worry about a hangar.

I am still confused by the logistics of Hyperspace, how can they join the blockade, seemingly coming form the direction of the planet and not crash into it? shouldn't the gravity well of the planet at least be an issue? Wait, did they send all their own fighters on the offensive, and not leave any near the back to defend? Jedi really should not be leading their military, even I would know that's bad strategy. Anakin does seem to somewhat know what he is doing, at least based on how he's talking to Rex. He seems to have a good sense of the logistics involved.

So they are turning the Defender (the flagship) into a battering ram/fireship? that actually kinda makes sense, but I'm unsure about making sure it actually succeeds without being blown up before getting that far.

I get that Ahsoka technically outranks Rex, but would it not make more sense for Rex to be in command here? It is a lot of pressure to put on her, a teenager, in the war.

"I wish general skywalker had discussed this plan with us." YES putting aside with the fact I don't agree with putting Ahsoka in charge, the rest of the fleet's leadership should have been informed on the plan in time, so they could prepare accordingly.

While I get the plan of Anakin using his surrender (and the pride of the seperatist commander) to create an opening... isn't a false surrender a war crime? And aside from the geneva conventions not existing here. a major risk, because it will make the enemy less likely to accept future surrenders even when they are genuine causing a more disastrous loss of life?

I do largely appreciate that Ahsoka is thinking in three-dimensional space here by angling the Resolute. But why is this not done more often? Not a critique of her of course, Just wish this was done more often.

also, Admiral Yularen coming in to support and back Ahsoka's authority is appreciated. and it makes sense he didn't take command since he was unconcsious, and is not properly informed of the plan to be able to take over yet.

The seperatist leader retreating without alerting the rest of the army of that just... does not make sense. even if he doesn't value the droids lives, sounding a retreat could still salvage valuable equipment and manpower.

Seeing Ahsoka's plan work out so well is very cool storytelling, and it is nice to give her this growth. But she is still a teenage soldier!

"that reminds me, pick up master skywalker." imagine if he was actually forgotten about and left behind after the battle

Episode 20: Innocents of Ryloth (I also have a pizza baquette for a snack now)

so the opening narration is just a recap of last episode. And now Mace Windu and Obi-Wan are preparing to invade so they can liberate the planet.

And the seperatists are already using Twi-lek shields to deter the enemy forces. more warcrimes YAY (though this time it's the villains doing it, so I don't complain about it)

Obi-wan stressing how they are there to liberate, and not destroy the planet is a good touch (making sure they dont damage homes and cultural sites and such. but isn't that ALWAYS the plan? Do they sometimes bomb some homes?

Isn't it nice and convenient that the seperatists never destroy any of the big ships that have the Jedi on board?

One of the troopers is called "Wooley" and I think that's a cute name tbh.

Proud of the girl for biting that trooper's finger tbh.

The young girl being so worried honestly makes me a bit emotional. I do really hope all the civilians get out safe.

Oh and now as they are trying to go back, the carnivorous creatures are released, I get it.

Awww they left the toy behind.

Is obi-wan mindtricking the animals? does that... work?

It is also a nice touch that Obi-Wan knows the Twi-lek language and is able to direct them to safety.

and the distraction so they can get the civilians out safely before returning fire, actually good tactics!

Okay, I actually really liked that episode! had some good emotional moments, the tactics made sense to me, could track the action well! good stuff!

Episode 21 Liberty on Ryloth

I'm guessing based on the name, they liberate Ryloth in this one

So now that the republic ships could land, with the village Kenobi liberated, Mace Windu is going for the Capital, to take out their leaders and force the seperatists off the planet.

Shoutout near a canyon, some nice action to start the episode.

Okay, so they are going to recruit local resistance fighters for reinforcements. And try to capture Tambor. Makes sense. I do question if having a single bridge to go into a capital city is... a smart position. Unless there used to be more and the seperatists destroyed them.

So Dooku wishes to destroy the city, to send a message, but wouldn't this cause issues? ruin domestic support for the war? The seperatists are a independence faction against the republic, surely the politicians and people in seperatist worlds would not support such a move? Wouldn't it cause a lot of unrest that would be detrimental when trying to maintain such a large war.

We are meeting with the Rebel Leader now! And it is nice to see some more of what the Twi-lek life is like!

I'm glad the rebels are working together, But I really wish that the twi-lek people can be free after this, and don't get occupied by the republic forces.

They're all working together and getting along! how nice! I just hope the republic carries out their promise, I don't exactly trust them to leave Ryloth alone after this.

Wat Tambor staying behind because of his greed is so telling of the seperatist army, but he fully deserves it to be taken down because of his own hubris.

Okay, the muffled audio with Mace jumping over the droid flying-thingies was really cool!

The clones and resistance fighters are in the city! whoo!

And they are destroying the city anyway, RIP tambor I guess.

Nevermind, Skyguy to the rescue I guess

Interesting end to it. Honestly, but I think I liked episode 20 the most, 21 felt a bit like the story was rushing in the end. Next on the watch order list is S2 episodes 1-2-3, but that's for another day!

[arkadiaasks]

There keep being duels where a woman has an important realization about herself only for Manabu to shit on her for no reason. Also you’re acting like being a cop and a misogynist are mutually exclusive when if anything it’s a common overlap

I think this fails to grapple with Manabu as a whole?

He might do things that are misogynistic, but he also does things that are racist (more arguably species-ist), I feel like this misinterprets his character as uniquely hostile to women.

Manabu's hostile to everyone because he's an overcompensating twit with a complex about his own personal value as a runaway from his family, and lords his authority derived from being a police officer, because he's impotent otherwise.

And he shits on everyone in every Duel he's in, that's kind of his recurring problem and character flaw. It's not unique to the girls in the cast. And I don't think it's precisely for 'no reason'.

Like I'll go down the list

Yudias

Yudias is basically an illegal immigrant and Manabu is essentially ICE. He's more or less flaunting his authority, which is to introduce he's basically Gakuto's traits of traditionalism, authority, and voice of reason.

Bochi, Ranran and Nyandestar

This is like. More. He gets positioned against them and is nominally aligned 'threats' of each arc, and is mostly being played more to the Japanese cop stereotype of the police being well intentioned if kind of incompetent due to the peculiarities of Japanese law.

Rovian

This is him acting on logic to find the Earthdamar and acting on Rovian's behavior being seemingly out of character. And showing while good intentioned (capture the Earthdamar), his detective skills are. Not great.

Yuna

The bosses are in, Manabu isn't willing to abandon the police. This is probably one of his worst moments, but if I recall, he keeps trying to get Yuna to back off, as he doesn't want to see a friend and ally get run over, but he's unwilling to drop the police, the one source of dignity in his life, even if he's not entirely comfortable with the new orders coming down from management.

Zuwijo

This is essentially a nervous breakdown. Manabu's unwillingness to turn earlier has led him to losing all trust with his friends, and sees grabbing Zuwijo as the one way he might get in good graces with his boss, and this is just the inherent contradictions of him wanting to be an ally to Yudias and co. but unwilling to throw away the police leads to a collapse.

Maguto

This is Manabu at his lowest, having lost basically everything, and uh. Nothing more to say. This is him at his most desperate, emotionally damaged, and ultimately broken?

Yuamu

He's shitting on Yuamu because he thinks she's crazy, because he literally can't see reality as it really is.

Yuna

I'mma be real, this is one of the few cases Manabu is arguably in the right. He has orders from Phaser and Asaka essentially to capture a person of interest (Yuga) who is critical to a very important situation regarding the continued existence of the Velgears.

Yuna might be having epiphanies and asking to see her crush, but Yuga's been incredibly fickle and difficult to talk to this entire arc, that uh.

Risking him staying in one spot so she can talk to Yuga is kinda clownshoes.

Epoch

Until Epoch gets her proverbial shit together, he's technically right that he and Nyandestar are probably the most worthwhile people to run the expedition, because while Yudias may be a good military commander and generally great guy, he's not exactly a good authority figure.

Manabu despite his general fumbling, is a cop, disciplined, having gone up through the ranks twice, and is arguably the most emotionally cool headed character in the cast up to this point.

Epoch, while you may be seeing shit upon, has up to this point, been a bratty hikikomori, with a bad personality, notorious for cheating in her Duels. His skepticism and criticism of her is not unfounded here.

---

Like.

Yes, he's a dick and arguably a bit of a bigot, but the last like 2-3 Duels with him are more complex than he's a misogynist. One is he can't see reality and has no reason to believe Yuamu isn't on the crazy juice. Another is keeping a person of interest secured. The third is literally justified criticism of a girl who up until this point, has not has a great track record of being a good person, nor has any reason to have him trust she'll be remotely competent as serving as the captain of the expedition.

Like I will agree he's a more toxic take on Gakuto, a mirror darkly of his future descendant, but I think misogynist is seeing trees and missing the forest which is he's not so strictly a misogynist so much a bumbling self-assured authoritarian who keeps forgetting authority works best with a gentle glove on one fist.

Basically he's a parody of the general bumbling worst behaviors of the Japanese police, which includes ignoring the average person out of hand.

But you'll probably ignore my point.

[korrasera]

So, the problem with this kind of callout is that it completely misrepresents both what Hasan said as well as the history of the situation.

And if all you do is react to words like colonising and primitive, anyone will be able to convince you to hate anyone for pretty much any reason.

So! Let's talk about what Hasan actually said and why he's saying it.

Hasan is specifically saying that China intervening in Tibet to end slavery was a good thing. That's it. That's the controversial take. But you don't get that if you just listen to the people who cosplay as leftists.

You can still criticize this take! He's praising China for overthrowing another nation state and supplanting their government. That's not great, but it's also not defending colonization and here's why.

China didn't do it to civilize Tibet, they did it to strengthen their border against the west during the Cold War and end Tibet's feudal rule. So, that's a nation seeking power, while also claiming to have an ideological motive to free people. Nations don't really have ideological motives, but in this case it doesn't matter because replacing Lamaists rule with Communist rule was absolutely a better thing for Tibet.

What actually happened is that political pressure (which included military posturing) from China along with a popular uprising of Tibetans led to a dramatic shift in Tibetan culture in which the Dalai Lama (of the time) was pressured signed an agreement to let China annex Tibet into the PRC. This came on the heels of the Tibetan government refusing to move away from their caste-based feudal system, something that created a lot of tension in the country following WWII.

That's the hinge here. The culture that was wiped out wasn't a culture, it was a government and a caste system that was used to oppress Tibet's culture. The Lamaists had authority over all other casts and the lowest casts were slaves that weren't even considered fully human. The comparison to US slavery in the South is an apt one.

Like, I'm sure the Dalai Lama is a great guy who cares a lot about peace, but he's the inheritor of a completely inhumane system of authoritarian government that made life hell for countless generations of Tibetan people.

You should listen to what Hasan actually said and then listen to what it was like for people who lived in slavery in Tibet if you want to understand this issue.

My suggestion is to not simp for people who would have been at home running a slave plantation in the US circa 1800.

[annefic]

What do you think Anne and Tim's political views are?

Am I even legally allowed to speculate about that?

With the background that:

1. I'm pretty sure Anne is not allowed to vote at all, and Tim's ballot should he cast one is his own private business like anyone else in a free country with fair elections

2. I am American and there is a lot about UK politics that strikes me as asinine posturing for clout or pure dee archaic nonsense (not that the US doesn't have these factors but our problems seem to stem less from them and more from the willingness of our politicians to sway their opinion based on whichever corporate CEO sucked their dick the hardest this cycle)

3. I am American and there is a lot about UK politics that I deliberately exercise my right to not have an opinion about because it doesn't affect me and it's not really any of my goddamn business. This includes republicanism, the Scottish and Northern Irish questions, colonial reparations and the Commonwealth's existence as anything deeper than a particularly bizarre sports league, etc.

4. Nothing in here is to be taken as reflective of my or anyone else's actual personal views. I am basically speculating about issues that largely fly over my head day to day and I may not have any of the context necessary to truly understand it. So if it sounds like I'm talking out of both sides of my ass it's probably because I am.

There are a lot of factors at play here.

The royal family, as many people have made a personality of pointing out over the past month, is basically the concept of The Establishment personified, and relies on a certain level of status quo being maintained in order to stay relevant or even keep existing at all. However, watching Anne one gets the feeling that she would be just as competent and probably more content as a relative nobody private citizen farmer. Which is to say - like others in the family before her - maybe she would be more neutral on republicanism than you'd expect, though I certainly wouldn't expect them to be proper Marxists or anarchists. Tim I'm not as sure about - on one hand choosing the military in general and the Navy in particular as a career, and possibly pursuing a route through it that put him close to the seat of power (I don't know if his posts on Britannia and as equerry were something he had to apply for or a voluntold situation) would seem to indicate he doesn't at all question the authority or purpose of the monarchy - but he has also been perhaps the best positioned of anyone to see the effect that the position has had on his wife and her family, so perhaps if he doesn't question its legitimacy he does at least question the wisdom of placing that responsibility on someone who never asked for it.

One of the few things we can say with certainty about Anne politically is that she does not take kindly to corruption and kickbacks (see: her history with the IOC) and I think this could have an influence on how she would vote were that an option for her, potentially leading her to choose someone with views she may not agree with just to get a corrupt official from the party she does support out of office.

Through her charity work, particularly the very "scrubbed in" approach Anne personally has taken, she and Tim have had the opportunity to gain a lot more perspective of what life looks like for the other half than most people with their level of wealth and privilege. Many people said of the late Queen that she was privately a lot less Tory and a lot more sympathetic to her Labour prime ministers than one would expect, and this may also ring true of Anne. Again, I don't expect them to be hard leftists, but it wouldn't surprise me if they are critical of the hardline Tory and UKIP (when that was a factor) policies as well. I think the fact that Anne tends to choose charities which are less paternalistic in their action and more about asking the folks on the ground what would materially improve their situation and then working on the practicalities to provide that is also an indicator of how she thinks about these issues.

We know Anne sings Flower of Scotland at rugby matches, but I have no idea how much of the baggage attached to that action she's even aware of, much less subscribing to. She and Tim clearly love the country, but whether that is in a sense of wanting it to self determine regardless of what that means in the end, or wanting to keep it around and accessible to them at any cost, is in no way clear.

As country landowners and "horsey set" members there are some peculiarly British social issues you would expect them to likely have a certain opinion on - foxhunting, badger control, land use and development, animal welfare, trade protection for domestic agriculture, etc. The question is how this set of issues would influence their overall voting patterns. There are a lot of places in the US where it has been common for a good 40 years to vote one way in the local elections and another way entirely in the national ones; I also know a lot of people whose generally more moderate views tend to get overrun by one single issue or by social pressure to vote the "right" way for their lifestyle and social class (or the one they're aspiring to) when they actually get to the ballot box. If their views on these particular issues didn't align with the rest of their politics, either of those routes could wind up being their path.

Anne's quote on AIDS being "an own goal scored by the human race against itself" is often ripped kicking and screaming from its context to paint her as a hard-hearted homophobe in contrast to Diana's babykissing (fuck the Crown, fuck it so so hard for pulling this crap back into the international limelight and if this is actually a scene in the next season I am [STRONGLY IMPLORING PETER MORGAN TO HAVE A NICE DAY]) but the reality of that speech is that, IIRC, she was referring to how the choices of leaders like Thatcher and Reagan to deliberately ignore the urgent need for action because of the stigma around the disease led to it becoming even worse of a problem. i.e. exactly what the queer people and close allies who lived through the AIDS crisis have been saying for years. What other views she and Tim have on queer rights and how they've evolved over the years, I don't know; what I do know is that there is no statistical way all of Liz's descendants and their spouses are proper 0-on-the-Kinsey-scale straight and Anne tends to be a top pick when people start speculating on who's hanging out in the closet. (Ma'am, if you're reading this and want to test the waters... call me.)

Both of them have had leadership roles in charities which undertook rather progressive changes while they were in office. I think Tim's time at English Heritage is a good example of this, with the move to focus the blue plaque scheme more on figures from traditionally marginalized groups in society. It's unclear how much of that can be owed to a deliberate commitment on the part of the leadership versus what is just the savviest move to keep pace with the way society is changing, though.

I think she probably found BoJo a right tosser, but frankly, I'm pretty sure that's true of everyone in Britain at this point. She's known for not suffering fools gladly but I don't know if she'd vote for one if it was the more politically agreeable option.

Overall they both come across as being very committed to staying well-informed, so I certainly think they would be the type who research the issues they care about and know how they are going to vote in every race on the ballot, rather than just voting straight ticket or picking whichever box looks good in the minor races.

Thanks for the ask, that was an interesting question that really got me thinking.