#does it count as character death if they're both technically dead already?

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Bryke was in the Podcasts Braving Element book fire, and one the most interesting in that conversation was Bryke say Kataang relationship in Book fire was their favorite and Basco he is vibing for Maiko, but he say the headband episode is technically filler, it means is not canon that episode? What you think?

"Filler" was an anime term, about episodes that existed solely to give the manga they were adapting extra time to get more content for them to adapt. The filler episodes are canon (to the anime versions at least), but they don't move the plot forward, so if you skip them you don't miss anything important.

Eventually the term stopped being used solely for anime - and some idiots started using it to mean "bad episode", but the actual meaning is still the same: the episode can be skipped without the audience being confused. Only now these episodes exist not to catch up with a source material (in Avatar's case there wasn't one in the first place since it was an original series, not an adaptation) but rather as a "breather" episode, that can be more light-hearted, or character-driven instead of plot-driven.

To give an Avatar exemple: "Tales of Ba Sing Se" is filler, but it's still canon. It does not, in any way, further the Dai Li plot the previous episode had established - but we get focus on the characters, their personalities, dynamics, and THE tear-jerker that is Iroh singing to both honor his son and express his grief over his death. We already knew Lu Ten was dead and Iroh was grieving, but this episode gives it further depth.

Even if "The Headband" was filler, it'd still be canon - and so would be the dance with Katara clearly being into Aang.

And I personally do NOT consider "The Headband" filler. It furthers the whole theme of the season and the series ("How do you rebuild a world consumed by war? Through kindness"), we (and more importantly, the protagonist) get a deeper look into the indoctrination the people of the Fire Nation are subjected to, and more importantly, it is the episode in which we are introduced to Combustion man - ya know, the assassin that will try to kill the Gaang? The secondary villain of half the season? The one that is Zuko's attempt to resolve the problem of "The Avatar is supposed to be dead" that the previous episode introduced? Aka it is connected both to the aftermath of the Ba Sing Se plot and the "Zuko goes from villain to ally of the good guys" plot?

You CAN'T skip this episode without being confused as to who the fuck is that guy chasing the Gaang and who sent him after them. You'd have to wait until his last appearance, in which Zuko confronts him, for you to realize what the villain's deal was, meaning that PLOT would only become coherent after it was basically resolved.

It furthers the plot, therefore it isn't filler. It's just not ALL about the plot. By that logic, nearly every episode of season one is filler. The Beach is filler. Well over half the fucking show is filler if we're only counting episodes that have BIG, plot-twisting events as "important" episodes. Bryke need to stop parroting fandom nonsense to gain points.

As for Dante Basco being all excited about Maiko despite being a big zutara fan, that does not surprise me. He has ALWAYS said he liked their romance, and that Mai is the kind of girl he'd try getting with in real life.

Once again, the epic "power struggle" between Zutara fans and the evil dark lords Bryan and Mike is only in the fandom's weird minds. They weren't always kind to shippers, but the simple fact that they're so chill with Dante, and lots of other people, including writersn who went on his podcast and said everything from "I don't really care for Zutara, but I think could have worked" to "It's one of my OTPs" shows that this "Bryke VS Zutara" war is VERY one-sided and exists solely because people can't accept that, no, the writers are not throwing away their entire plan just to please you.

[besanii]

"i’ve   been   searching   for   you   in   everyone" + wangxian for the angst prompts, please!

There’s a man who comes to the shop at the same time every day, orders the same drink (pu-er with chrysanthemum) and sits at the same table in the corner beneath the staircase. Sometimes he’ll be reading a book, a battered old thing that must be centuries old from its worn pages and its worn butterfly binding. Sometimes he would unwrap the guqin he carries on his back and lays it out on the table, idle fingers plucking a half-forgotten melody. Other times he’d just sit there quietly, lost in thought, for hours and hours while the world moves around him.

He’s seen people like him before. He’s watched them all: lost souls still tethered to the world, searching for something that had been denied them in life and they now seek in death. They wander the earth day after day, year after year, century upon century, until they can no longer remember the reason they linger. And then they come here, to this little shop of his stuck between life and death, and he ushers them back into the cycle of reincarnation.

Some of them hang around for a while before they leave, holding onto that tiny flicker of hope that they might suddenly remember what they’ve been searching for so that they can move on in peace. Sometimes they do; he watches the joy blossom across their faces as they take the broth he offers them, and they pass on with a contented sigh. Others are not so lucky; he watches the light fade from their eyes, and they drown the void inside them with the contents of his offered bowl.

It’s not his job to question. He doesn’t get involved. He greets them with a smile, hands them their drink, and sees them through the door.

But there is something about this man that feels…familiar. The sight of him tugs at the recesses of his mind, a niggling little thing that feels like a memory but evades him like a shadow, always just out of reach. Something about him makes his heart clench painfully in a way he has not felt for centuries, screaming WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG, over and over again, until he turns away from those piercing amber eyes.

He’s not sure what finally tips him over the edge.

The next time the man comes into his shop and walks up to the counter, he’s waiting for him with a bowl already on the counter and a smile plastered on his face. The man frowns.

“I did not order this,” he says.

“Rules of the house,” he lies. “You’ve been here for centuries. It’s time.”

The man shakes his head.

“No, I am still looking for someone.” The determination in his voice stirs something akin to admiration—or perhaps pity—in his chest. “I know they will come, sooner or later. I will wait.”

“What if they’ve already gone ahead without you?” he asks. “Then the last few centuries would have been for nothing.”

Doubt creeps into that perfectly sculpted face and he feels a sharp pain in his own heart at the sight.

“Then I will wait here until his next life is over,” he says. “However long it takes. I will wait.”

“They won’t remember you,” he warns him. “They never do.”

“I will remember them,” he replies, as if it is so simple. “That is enough.”

He’s seen more than enough people like him over the centuries to know better.

“But you don’t,” he tells him quietly. “You don’t remember them. Not completely. Not enough to recognise them.”

The man looks stricken, his already pale face turns ashen, his lips pressed together in a thin, trembling line as he stares at him across the counter, horror dawning in those amber eyes.

“No,” he says harshly, slamming one shaking fist on the counter. “That’s not true. I remember. I remember his laugh—the red ribbon in his hair—the colour of his eyes. The night we first met, he sat on the roof with two jugs of wine—I confronted him about it, and he said—he said—”

“'Emperor’s Smile,'” he continues for him in a whisper, the words drawing themselves out from the hazy depths of his past. The man’s head shoots up to look at him, eyes wide. "’If I give you one, can you pretend—’”

“'—you didn’t see me?'” they finish together. He draws in a shuddering breath. “Wei Ying.”

He closes his eyes as Lan Wangji’s fingers graze over his cheeks and trace the line of his jaw—just a whisper of a touch, but it ignites little fires under his skin. His heart starts to beat just that little bit faster, the ground beneath him a little less solid as the memories come rushing back all at once. It’s him. It’s him. It’s him.

How had he forgotten?

“Lan Zhan.” The fingers press more firmly against his skin until he opens his eyes. “Lan Zhan.”

Lan Wangji is crying. 

“Wei Ying,” he rasps. “It’s you.”

“It’s me,” he agrees. He’s not entirely sure he believes it. “I’m here.”

“All these years…” Lan Wangji’s eyes roam his face, drinking in the sight of him hungrily, as if committing him to memory. “I looked for you everyone. I’ve been searching for you, in everyone I meet, every face I see. I followed every trace of you I could find. And this whole time—this whole time, you’ve been—”

“Here,” Wei Wuxian finishes with a sad smile. “I’ve been here the whole time. Watching.”

Lan Wangji exhales slowly. “You forgot.”

“…I did.” A twinge of guilt. “I’m sorry.”

“No, not it’s not your fault,” Lan Wangji says, shaking his head. “I’m sorry I took so long.”

Wei Wuxian laughs wetly and reaches up to cover the hand resting on his cheek with his own.

“I knew you’d find me eventually,” he tells him. “Now we can both leave.”

They look down at the bowl on the counter. Lan Wangji frowns.

“It’s too soon,” he says, almost protesting. “I only just found you again.”

“Don’t be silly, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian chides. He turns to press a kiss to his palm. “I’m coming with you.”

Lan Wangji’s breath hitches, his eyes hopeful. “Coming with me?”

Wei Wuxian nods. “We’ll go together. Everything will be fine.”

“Together,” Lan Wangji breathes. “As long as it’s with Wei Ying, everything will be fine.”

He takes the bowl from Wei Wuxian’s hand when he offers it to him again, and brings it to his lips. Wei Wuxian smiles at him encouragingly as he drinks the broth in two large swallows. His eyes never once leave his.

“Everything will be fine,” Wei Wuxian whispers as Lan Wangji sets the bowl on the table. He forces himself to smile. “Are you ready?”

Lan Wangji nods. The void has returned, all traces of recognition gone from his eyes, leaving him blank and expressionless once more. Wei Wuxian gestures to the door on his right, where a bridge materialises from the shadows.

“This way please,” he says.

He watches Lan Wangji turn to the bridge, his steps never once faltering as he walks towards it. He watches as he pauses for a brief moment at the head of the bridge, and his breath catches in his throat��but Lan Wangji keeps on walking, over the bridge, and out of sight.

He looks down at the empty bowl on the counter.

It’s not his job to question. He doesn’t get involved. He greets them with a smile, hands them their drink, and sees them through the door.

He doesn’t get to choose.

He doesn’t get to leave.

He wipes away the tears with the back of his hand, and clears the bowl from the counter.

[Read on AO3]

// buy me a ko-fi //

[thegreaterlink]

Reviewing Star Trek TNG - S3E24 "Transfigurations"

THE PREMISE

The Enterprise beams up the badly injured occupant of a crashed ship in an unknown star system. When the survivor (Mark LaMura) awakens a few days later, he has no memory of who he is or how he got there, so they decide to name him "John Doe." Over time he recuperates and he begins to emit strange energy bursts with the ability to heal injuries.

MY REVIEW

This is my least favourite kind of episode to review. It's like eating a slice of dry toast - there's nothing inherently wrong with it, but the experience is so overwhelmingly blah that you're not really enjoying yourself either. Even with a bad episode I can have fun shitting on it.

Let’s just get this one out of the way so I can talk about “The Best of Both Worlds,” okay?

The mystery surrounding the nature of John Doe (I'll call him JD for short) is decently set up early on when Dr Crusher establishes a neural link between him and Geordi to stabilise his nervous system. Suddenly Geordi is more relaxed and charismatic, even managing to go out with Christy Henshaw, the girl he was chasing after shortly before he resorted to making out with a hologram.

As for JD, he makes miraculous progress, regenerating all of his organs within 36 hours of his arrival. The romance continues when Dr Crusher claims to have some kind of spiritual connection to him, though it doesn't go any further than that. It's unexpected to say the least, but at least it's not the strangest romance she'll ever have.

One might say it doesn't even hold a candle to it...

You all know it's coming. It's only a matter of time.

Meanwhile, JD gets tidbits of character development, such as remembering that he was fleeing from his home planet with others of his species. He asks Picard not to take him back there, at least not yet.

He also gives some vague exposition about how he's on some kind of journey which is somehow connected to the mutation in his body. Cool.

Sometime later, after spending nearly two months on board (this episode takes place over a strangely long time period) JD's strange energy emissions (remember those?) increase to the point where he's worried that they could hurt those around him - which would make more sense if we'd seen him bonding with anyone other than Dr Crusher - and he tries to flee the ship, accidentally injuring Worf in the process.

These yellow shirts are really getting the short end of the stick when it comes to deaths, aren't they?

No, of course Worf isn't dead. Well, he is for a few seconds, but JD brings him back. So it technically still counts.

Picard naturally wants an explanation, but JD (and probably the writers) just repeats what we already know. Thrilling.

Now, for the past few hours, the Enterprise has been followed by another ship which now hails them. They're of the same species as JD - called the Zalkonians, which sounds like it's from a bad episode of Doctor Who - and inform Picard that JD is actually a dangerous criminal who needs to be turned over immediately, but refuse to elaborate further... for some reason.

When Picard tries to negotiate, the Zalkonian captain concludes that JD has corrupted the crew, and somehow creates a field that drains the oxygen from the Enterprise in a matter of seconds, an incredibly deadly weapon which I'm willing to bet we'll never see again.

Hold on, let me check something.

Well, that's longer than I expected. We learned something today.

JD is of course unaffected, and by touching a panel he somehow spreads his power across the ship and restores the oxygen supply. Now, I've put up with a lot of treknobabble bullshit over the past three seasons, but there's bullshit and then there's horseshit. It's a very important difference.

Dr Crusher and JD head to the bridge, transporting the Zalkonian captain over to the Enterprise so they don't have to build another set. Although the captain (whose name is apparently Sunad, played by Charles Dennis) continues to insist that JD is a danger to society, JD finally explains the truth, because he's conveniently regained his memory now:

Basically the Zalkonians are about to undergo a massive evolutionary change, but the government was afraid of something they couldn't understand or control, they called the changes "evil" and had anyone showing such changes executed.

It's obvious that Star Trek has always been political, but after watching an episode like this, I can safely say that it's never been subtle with its commentary either. Fortunately it's not exactly targeted towards anything specific, so it gets a pass.

Plus my favourite episode of the last season and its debate about human rights can be applied to all kinds of issues, so it's not like I have any right to complain.

Anyhoo, JD fled with three of his friends to let the changes run their course, but he was the only survivor when the Enterprise crew found him. What an interesting reveal that the writers definitely had in mind when they started writing the script.

Suddenly the metamorphosis enters its final stage, and JD evolves into a morph suit with a glowing filter over it. Or maybe he's about to defuse. Who knows?

JD sounds (and before they ran out of money, was probably supposed to look) like a biblically-accurate angel as he tells Sunad not to be afraid, and that there's nothing stopping him from telling the other Zalkonians the truth about what's happening to them. Picard expresses his gratitude to JD (who is never given a proper name, so I can keep calling him that) for letting him witness the birth of a new species, JD bids goodbye to Dr Crusher and flies off into space. He must go now, for his planet needs him.

So the guy dressed all in white is persecuted for his beliefs, is thought to be dead but actually undergoes a change into a higher life form which ends with him ascending upwards to spread the good word?

Well, I've got egg on my face.

Overall, it's a nice little story with a likable guest star, but it isn't really anything to write home about. Though I admit it isn't quite as forgettable as I implied at the beginning.

6/10 - It's okay.