#even if she does have to act like a “double agent” initially

[kaleidoscope1967eyes]

reinventing mara jade as a rebellious, burned out gifted kid (circa the 60s and 70s)

[randomthefox]

People don't understand Rouge the bat, they treat her like she's a villain turned hero. When Rouge was never a villain, at any point, literally ever. Let's look at the story of Sonic Adventure 2 from Rouge's POV.

Rouge is a secret service agent working for the president who moonlights as a jewel thief (or perhaps it's the other way around lol). At some point before the game began she got a mission from the President, which probably went something like this: "hey Rouge, Eggman just fucking busted ass through GUN's top secret military base and stole something called 'Project Shadow' and nobody is telling me what the hell that even is. Go do some sleuthing and figure out what this project Shadow shit is and what Eggman's doing with it." She either got this mission assignment while stealing the Master Emerald from Angel Island, or shortly before deciding to go steal the Master Emerald as a day trip or something.

Either way, she's confronted by Knuckles over the Master Emerald and that is when she sees Eggman for the first time.

After snagging some pieces of the master emerald along the way, she follows Eggman back to his secret pyramid base. It is notable that GUN themselves are already aware of the general location of this base and are trying to raid it, but are unable to actually get inside. Rouge manages to successfully infiltrate it.

This is the first time the audience is clued into Rouge's true motivations. It is her mission to find out what Eggman is up to. Thus she takes the transporter to the ARK to get to the bottom of his schemes.

This is when she meets Eggman and Shadow and ingratiates herself in with them. At this point Team Dark is formed, but Rouge is operating as a double agent. Everything she does under Eggman's orders and interests is to get in his good graces so she can fulfill her true mission. She is NOT acting as a villain, she's being an undercover cop. After the demonstration with the Eclipse Canon blowing up the moon and Eggmans threats falling on deaf ears due to Sonic's interruption, Rouge gives Eggman the info about Tails having the final Chaos Emerald. Then she gives a status report to the President.

This is why I said Rouge's initial mission assignment was "find out what the fuck Project Shadow is, because apparently that's what Eggman yoinked from GUN's military island and nobody will tell me what it is."

Rouge's mission during this game is to find out what Project Shadow is, if Shadow the Hedgehog being the ultimate life form is related to whatever Project Shadow is, and what Eggman's intentions involving Project Shadow are. And if Shadow is a threat. The evolving situation and her expanded understanding of Shadow means she's playing speed chess with how she handles things, since she IS operating as a double agent following Eggman's orders. She also can't quite sus out what Shadow's deal is. He certainly CLAIMS to be the ultimate life form. Is that what Project Shadow is? Is HE project Shadow?

Her efforts of playing the part as Eggman's lackey pay off and he gives her the password to access the ARK's database and find the information she's been looking for.

And the information she finds it about the prototype, the research project that Gerald documented in the ARK, and not the true scope of his final results with Shadow the Hedgehog's creation which were relegated entirely to his secret personal diary.

Rouge is shooketh, and confronts Shadow with her findings. Shadow claims to the be ultimate life form. But she just found out about what Project Shadow "truly" is, the Biolizard. If Project Shadow was meant to create the ultimate life form, and Project Shadow was this Biolizard, then who or what is Shadow? After all it is her mission to get to the bottom of this project Shadow business. And she wants to find out the truth about the nature of Shadow's character as well, since he did save her life and all. So she knows there's more to him than meets the eye. Her mission and motivation is to uncover the truth.

But Shadow takes her questions as existential, and just reaffirms his sense of identity. Rouge is left with nothing but the documents about the Biolizard she got from the ARK computer, and cannot make a definitive declaration about what Shadow the Hedgehog has to do with the Ultimate Lifeform.

In the end, the Colony Drop program is initiated. And Rouge receives a call from the President which probably went something like "ROUGE HOLY FUCK THE ARK IS ON A COLLISION COURSE FOR EARTH AND WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON UP THERE!?!?!?!?!?"

Due to the situation being pretty FUBAR, Eggman shares Gerald's diary with Rouge and the others. Revealing the truth about Shadow the Hedgehog as the true Ultimate Lifeform, the result of Project Shadow, all along. And the instrument of Gerald's final revenge.

Rouge's mission is a success. She has finally learned why Eggman blew his way through GUN's base and sprung Project Shadow, and learned definitively what Project Shadow is. She knows the truth about what Project Shadow is, and who Shadow the Hedgehog the ultimate life form is. Once this whole ARK collision business is resolved, she can make a full report to the President.

Although. Personally. I think Rouge's final scene talking to Sonic about Shadow changed her priorities.

"Do you really think that the professor created him, Shadow, to carry out the revenge on all those who live here on earth?"

"He was what he was. A brave and heroic hedgehog. Who gave his life to save this planet. Shadow the Hedgehog."

".... I guess you're right."

That's Sonic's "what you see is what you get" view of the world. And I believe it rang true for Rouge. I believe Rouge was inspired by Sonic in this short interaction. I like to think, perhaps, that when Rouge gave her report to the President, that is what she said. "Shadow was a brave and heroic hedgehog who gave his life to save this planet." But that's just me. The President DOES seem to hold a pretty favorable opinion of Shadow though, despite never meeting him. So that's what I like to think.

Anyway Rouge was a good guy the whole time play the games they are very good.

[b1adie]

thought on firefly drip marketing???

okay i ended up just rambling about firefly in general so this got REALLY long. my bad

well its pretty i like the colors. but i must be honest i really really want her in her armor like at least half of the time. ideally technique skill and ult will have her with the armor on… i am a fan of the dual swords she’s holding in the bg. i kind of wish her pose was different? come on girl you are a badass stellaron hunter. strike a pose. have some swag.

also i had been kind of hoping sam was her real name and firefly was just an alias cuz the kit 🥬 since like a year before the game was even released always had the character named sam. but honestly i do like her picking the name firefly for herself because she is so transgender if you think about it. all the stellaron hunters refer to her only as sam and with he/him and a decent amt of stuff uses they/them too but in the dream world where people can take any form she chooses to be a girl named firefly? despite being created/born for the sole purpose of being sam?

which also makes me wonder like, do the stellaron hunters not know thats armor.. or not know whos actually in it… can she not leave the armor irl or does she choose to hide herself? are they deliberately misleading people by referring to sam as male to hide firefly’s identity so she can more easily like be a double agent if necessary?? she says shes in an icy medical cabin irl, does the armor have some kind of self piloting mode or does she just have to stay in there when shes outside of it…

also i hope she actually has more sam-like personality aspects. like i hope shes actually someone who says shit about setting the seas ablaze and telling kafka not to play with her food and isnt just acting like that to play a role. please be a little fucked up?? please???? i need her to be kind of fucked up i dont want waifu bait i want cool armor warrior ok sorry. like she can still be niceys ofc but i hope her combat voicelines at least are kind of insane LOL

i like the crazy robot that sam was initially assumed to be and i like firefly, so i hope the fact that they’re one and the same doesnt have to come at the cost of diluting either of their personalities/traits/behavior etc.

also wtf do the acronyms in the skills for the sam boss fight stand for. wtf is dgdghr or whatever. is she just growling

[cbsghostsmetasandtrevor]

Love that the shipping war got so intense it causes a rift between the basement ghosts lol

Half of them probably move into the shed, which doesn’t bother Nigel (who seemed chill with them) or surprisingly Baxter or Carol, but Jenkins, being Jenkins, is like “I want them OUT” and sides with Jam just to get rid of them.

Sas would likely side with Jam initially, but still act as a double agent to cause drama. At the same time tho, while he likes drama, Sas is also one of the ghosts with the better moral compass, and has been shown to not like it when things go too far and someone gets hurt, so I can see him finally sitting down with Jay in his dream and, not trying to influence or convince him, but as a friend try to talk things out with him about Bela and Trevor.

I could also see this arc be about grief, specifically with Jay grieving the loss of his sister (even if he knows she’s there as a ghost, she is still dead and stuck in purgatory). Maybe part of the reason why he tries to keep Bela and Trevor apart is partially because he feels like if he lets her go to make her own decisions, he’d be letting her go in general (ie, accepting that she’s gone).

Eventually it does end with Jay apologizing to Bela and reconciling with her, while acknowledging his feelings of grief (perhaps he starts beating himself up and wishing he was a better brother to her). Maybe after this, even though she can’t touch him, Bela tries to give Jay a hug and thanks him for everything. Then, she moves on. She apologizes to Trevor for leaving, but although upset tells her that he’s happy for her. They say their goodbyes, tells each other they’ll wait for them, and, just like that, Bela is gone.

And then after this emotional moment, where Jay, Trevor, Sam and everyone else who was close to Bela had to deal with her passing, in a comedic tone shift Jenkins is just like: “So they can all go back to the basement now, right?”

LOL I love the Basement Ghosts and Shed Ghosts getting into it, too.

I could see Sass torn between the two teams, not just for drama but because he genuinely likes Jay and Trevor. He helped Trevor get with Bela (even if it failed) and he gets how awkward it must be for Jay to know that's a thing. OTOH, he's been dead for 500 years and I could see him being like 'I should be loyal to my fellow ghost who I've been friends with for 20 years and who turns on the TV when Sam's busy'.

So maybe it's a little of both for Sass?

I also think that Jay accepting Trevor/Bela could be the reality sinking in that she DIED on the property and is stuck as a ghost. So he's NOT accepting that they could be together because it means that Bela isn't dead. Maybe sticking his nose in her lovelife is a way for avoiding his grief over actually losing her and having to talk to her through Sam and never seeing her again.

It would be very hard for both of them and maybe the ship war is them trying to AVOID acknowledging the ACTUAL death and not going back to it.

Awww a sad bittersweet ending <3

But it's good. I like it.

[panharmonium]

the thing about kakashi’s S10 experience is that every five minutes he’s presented with a new crisis to manage and each one somehow manages to top the previous one in urgency and complexity

they’re just coming off the total destruction of the village, where kakashi DIED

three seconds after that, he gets the news that danzo has been appointed (though not yet confirmed) as hokage

AND danzo has put out a kill order for sasuke

which makes naruto and sakura fly off the handle

which means kakashi has to rein them both in immediately because he knows danzo is looking for an excuse to lock naruto up

this whole thing puts kakashi in the position of running the show from an underground/covert position, undermining danzo’s authority in a last-ditch attempt to save sasuke

he’s already juggling a subordinate who’s working as a double agent and operating in a precarious and potentially dangerous situation (”it seems like danzo is starting to not trust sai”)

but he encourages sai to lie to danzo and then smuggles naruto out of the village and initiates a totally unsanctioned negotiation with a foreign head of state

five seconds after this, “madara uchiha” is breaking into the inn where kakashi & co. are staying and telling them that actually itachi uchiha didn’t betray the leaf; the government used him to slaughter his own clan and then covered it up for years

which kakashi can’t just take at face value because there’s literally NO proof of this and madara has every reason to want to destabilize the leaf, so they can’t do anything about it until they get the facts

but before he’s had time to process this development, sakura shows up with sai and kiba and lee and confesses that she’s in love with naruto, which kakashi instantly knows isn’t true, but he doesn’t know exactly what she’s up to

three seconds after she leaves, sai’s clone appears with more info and kakashi realizes that sakura has decided to take down sasuke herself (which is absolutely going to result in her getting killed) and she’s on her way to confront him right now

before they’re even done with this discussion, the kazekage and his attendants show up and drop the enormous bomb that danzo has a stolen, implanted sharingan hidden under his bandages and tried to manipulate the entire kage summit in his favor before fleeing

oh, and the reason he fled was because sasuke crashed the summit and tore the entire building down after killing a contingent of samurai and attacking every kage in attendance

after which madara uchiha appeared and declared the start of the fourth great ninja war

and since danzo ran away and isn’t considered to be trustworthy anymore, the other four nations decided that KAKASHI will act as the hokage instead

and before kakashi can process THAT, naruto keels over and passes out in the snow

and at his point it’s like - what the hell does he do?  where does he start?  the leaf village has been obliterated.  its people are sleeping on the ground.  the fourth great ninja war has just been declared.  an unprecedented alliance is forming between the five great nations and kakashi is suddenly supposed to be in charge of one of them, but one of his kids is unconscious, one of them is currently going on a murder spree, and the other one is at this very moment on her way to kill the murder-spree one, who is most definitely going to end up killing her instead.  oh and also they may have just stumbled upon a massive conspiracy wherein the leaf’s government sanctioned the massacre of its own people and lied about it for years, but kakashi can’t responsibly act on this information until he gets proof, because the person who told him about it is also the person who just declared war on them all and who therefore has every reason to lie, but when and how is kakashi supposed to obtain this proof when seven other immediate crises are blowing up at the same exact time?

he never has a second to breathe before something new and even more out-of-control happens.  and as much as i hate to see him overburdened, there is something so compelling about watching him lead, watching everyone turn to him for direction, watching him deliberately undermine a false hokage who doesn’t deserve to wear the hat, watching danzo’s own current and former subordinates align themselves with kakashi in defiance of the man who kept them both captive, watching kage from other nations choose kakashi unanimously and without hesitation, particularly when their selection of him is simultaneously a rejection of danzo, which is SO symbolically powerful for so many reasons.

it’s also equally compelling to me that kakashi, confronted with all these competing and urgent demands, ultimately chooses to try and save his kids first.  

i expect nothing less from him, but it’s still so gratifying to see.

[clnme]

Eden of the East (Episodes 1, 3-5)

Within ten seconds of opening up the first episode of Eden of the East, I was immediately hit with whiplash from Morimi's voice. Did you know that she voiced Yuzuki from A Place Further Than The Universe?

This anime is a little difficult to make sense of (and thus difficult to write about), but it's entirely intentional. Following a man who has erased his own memory, we initially understand nothing, but we follow Takizawa as he slowly learns about the situation he was placed in. The most fascinating aspect of this setup is that it allows for situations with double meanings, where the audience presumes an intuitive meaning initially. For example, the show draws attention to the phrase, "I pray you shall continue to be a savior" within the first few minutes of the first episode, and this important phrase is repeated on numerous other occasions. From my previous experience with secret agent/operative movies, I personally took the phrase to simply be something of a farewell that acknowledges that they are part of an organization with strong, heroic purpose.

Later, we learn that the twelve Seleção are all threatened with death as a punishment if they were to run out of money, reject the phone, or use the money primarily for personal gain. To make things worse, once a Seleção saves the country, the rest of them will immediately be killed. Given this new knowledge, the phrase begins to comes off as an ominous reminder of the fact that if the agent does not act according to the will of Mr. Outside or isn't lucky enough to become the savior, they will die. It becomes more of a "I hope you win the hunger games" kinda thing.

It's also worth mentioning that when Takizawa parts with the Seleção doctor, the doctor says to him, "I pray you shall be a savior." It is easy to miss, but the phrase he uses is actually different from the one analyzed above. The phrase that the doctor uses implies that they actually aren't saviors yet, and in the context of his imminent death, the phrase instead means "I hope you can manage to survive," which is sentimentally opposite to the original meaning.

Saki Morimi struggles with handling her friend, Osugi, who is determined to form a relationship with her. Though Morimi obviously does not like him back, she cannot bring herself to directly reject him. This proceeds to the extremes, as she not only hangs up on Osugi in the middle of conversation, but lies and states that she's staying the night with a mutual friend. This is understandable as it is difficult to hurt someone's feelings and potentially destabilize an entire friend group. However, given that she accepts his request to eat out together in episode 5, Morimi appears to potentially have the ulterior motive of keeping Osugi around as a backup, in case the relationship that she is primarily pursuing does not work out. Upon observation, the only situation in which Morimi accepts Osugi's advances coincides with the period during which she believes that Takizawa ditched and ignored her. Once Takizawa reconnects with Morimi, she does not show up at the restaurant with Osugi as she agreed to, and instead hangs out with Takizawa.

It kinda sucks, but what can you do? Not everyone can be the main character. Though I don't feel too bad for Osugi, as he seems to only truly care about himself. It's not too big of a theme as Morimi never personally took issue with it and Osugi's actions never resulted in anything significant, but as implied in the end of episode 5, Osugi was only there for Morimi so often since he expected that he would get into a relationship in return. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though, and it's common in the real world. It is natural to do nice things for someone you like (even if only for the sole sake of praise), and whether its good or bad likely depends on the true intent behind the action. All that aside, Osugi drew the attention of the lady with the blue hair at the very end. That man is cooked.

There are also obvious themes related to work culture throughout the episodes. In addition to the presence of NEETS (who were reintegrated into society with Takizawa's help), we follow Morimi as she continues to have trouble in finding a job. Though Morimi was accepted at a company she dreamed of working at, she declined the offer as she felt that the company only intended to use her. During Morimi's interview, we also get a glimpse into how employers view young people with displeasure and perceive them as lazy. This parallels a strong issue in recent society, which can be seen through the rise of the anti-work movement. In a world where you have to decide between feeling valued and getting the money necessary to survive, it can be difficult. In the context of the Seleção, we can also note that just having a desire to help people is not rewarded. Both the detective and the doctor, whose last words were both about how they really did try to help fix society, ended up dead.

I might add more or edit it to flow smoother later, as I really had to rush this one. I'll end this with some of my personal thoughts. I thought that Morimi's flip phone was pretty cool. The top part can rotate to landscape mode! Why DID that man in episode 1 give Takizawa his pants? I still don't know. Also, that guy Takizawa really needs to be more careful. I can't believe he let his phone get stolen so easily, among many other instances of recklessness. He's lucky that the phone needed fingerprint recognition. The detective's ID in exchange for his eight billion yen is NOT a good trade. Finally, it was so, so funny that it only cost 60 yen to get the prime minister to say 'uncle'. For a short while, I was worried that Takizawa had inadvertently spent four billion yen or something.

[oldandcrusty]

It was red lyrium all along!

I'm doing a series of posts on institutional change in each Dragon Age game. My one on Origins only got 3 notes but I'm doing this for my own sanity TBH. Feel free to read the Origins post for more context on why I'm doing this and what frameworks I'm using.

Anyway. Let's make like Hawke and nosedive into a class war.

Hawke is privileged

While Hawke arrives in Kirkwall as a refugee, and possibly an apostate, Hawke has a great deal of privileges which enable them to backflip their way to nobility.

Hawke is a human with exceptional physical skills. They gain a positive reputation for being good at their criminal job, leading to opportunities presented by Varric and others in Kirkwall. By the start of Act 2, Hawke is so rich that they have risen back into nobility. And, by the end of the same Act, they are so adored by Kirkwall that even Meredith cannot lock them away if they are a mage.

Hawke is also immune to being held accountable for any illegal activities. Hawke gets away with all manner of activities, including vigilantism. They can even sell Fenris back to Danarius without consequence (seriously, what the fuck, BioWare). Meanwhile, Hawke's cop friend Aveline is set on arresting the elves who hid among the Qunari, even when they did initially try to go through the legal route.

This is not to dismiss the challenges and fears which Hawke faces, nor the work Hawke puts in. But their work gets rewarded and their crimes get ignored because of these privileges.

The privileged change agent

Hawke flourishes in the institutions of Kirkwall. However, not all of Hawke's companions do the same. Anders, Fenris, and Merrill are particularly marginalised.

Anders is hiding in the sewers, hunted by Templars and fighting what feels like a losing battle for mage rights. Fenris is trying to fully free himself of the man who enslaved, tortured, and sexually abused him. Merrill is an apostate Dalish blood mage living in an alienage. She is a pariah to all the societies she encounters, despite her kind and curious disposition.

Hawke has an opportunity to help their companions. There is growing literature which seeks to understand by privileged people sometimes become agents of change for causes which they would not directly benefit from. (If you're curious about this, two cool studies - Ruebottom & Auster, 2017; Feront, Bertels & Hamman, 2024).

This allyship - true allyship, not just the performative type - often means the change agent will bear the consequences of standing with them. Indeed, if Hawke sides with the Templars, they are rewarded with becoming the new viscount. Meanwhile, they must flee the city if they stand with the mages.

Thus, Dragon Age 2 has a really good set up to explore what a privileged person may do for the unprivileged in the face of institutional evils. However, I think the game falls short in exploring this in a few areas.

For example, the game does not adequately address Aveline's blatant corruption, racism and double standards. In Act 3, she reveals that she employed one elven woman to the guard, and the game treats this as enough to absolve her of her past actions. If justice mattered at all in Kirkwall, she would have been at the very least kicked out of the guard.

But there is one, big, red problem which I think sorely derails Dragon Age 2's attempt at exploring institutional evil.

Red fucking lyrium

The main plot culminates with the revelation that Meredith has been driven mad by red lyrium. Red lyrium is a type of Big Bad, similar to the Blight (it is blighted lyrium, after all). It is a force outside of institutional evils which causes harm to people. A real world equivalent would be a disease or natural disaster.

However, red lyrium does not do this in Dragon Age 2. Instead, it diminishes the accountability Meredith and (in particular) the other Templars. In fact, the Templars fight her not because they care about mage rights, but because she's written off as crazy due to the red lyrium. This turns the Templars into heroes. Meanwhile, all the mages in the Circle are dead - aside from Bethany, if she was there.

In Origins, the Blight exposes the flaws and evils in the institutions of Ferelden. This is just like how natural disasters and diseases disproportionately affect people who have less privilege in their institutions. So, having a Big Bad in a story does not necessarily weaken explorations of institutions. It can actually be an effective way to spotlight the existing inequities.

One can argue that the red lyrium highlights Meredith's hunger for power and hatred for mages. I personally do not find that compelling; we know that Meredith has these traits, and the Kirkwall Circle is already considered the most oppressive of the Circles at the very start of the game.

Essentially, red lyrium eclipses institutional evils rather than highlighting them.

[pink-strawberry-kissess]

I saw your post and on the topic of Capcom retconning, I remember reading somewhere of them saying the remakes exist own timeline like an alternate universe sort of so everything that happened in the OG is canon still.

RE as always been stories of “what ifs” even in the OG, the routes like Jill/Chris in RE1 and Claire A/Leon B have no perfect flow, and Capcom would say technically the combination of all the routes are canon.

Remake Leon wasn’t late to work, but OG Leon was definitely still was via getting drunk over his breakup. I did initially think that retconning was what Capcom was trying to do but then Infinite Darkness came out and that Leon mentioned that he was late to work. Now I really do view them as totally separate versions/entities. So whatever Capcom does end up doing/changing in the remakes, everything that happens in OG timeline absolutely still exists.

I know some may feel the opposite, but I’ve accepted that Capcom actually could decide in their new remake timeline that something like Damnation never happened 😭 even if it would hurt my Aeon shipper heart, not saying that they would, but I’ve prepared for the worst since they gave Ada saving Leon from Krauser to Luis.

I just hope Capcom knows what they are doing and have a clear outlook for their characters this time

&I saw you mentioned how they shot RE2make and scrapped everything to reshoot again. I’ve always imagined that maybe they did try attempting the Leon B ending. I know before the Remake came out that that was the ending a lot we’re expecting to see since it was canon, which is why I think you see some that resentment or straight up hate from some fans on RE2R Ada now in conversations still. Those people that wanted to see the version of her that saved him almost at the cost of her life even when she had no idea he found out that she was lying & actually a spy (I wish people could just accept both versions of her, Remake Ada isn’t pretending to be a civilian looking for her boyfriend, she’s now an “FBI agent” that ranks higher than Leon a as cop, she wouldn’t act the same as the OG) Of course, id still love to see how Capcom would’ve reimagined the B scene but I think logically there was no way they could do it convincingly, especially with this Remake version of Leon. We saw no matter how hard Ada insisted he escape he never left, I think Remake Leon definitely wouldn’t have just left her body there especially if he wasn’t absolutely certain she was dead, so maybe they felt it was just better for them to have her fall thousands of feet and survive that way lol

yes i've seen this too. especially with two different canon endings in the same games. they're both supposed to be canon which is odd and sometimes conflicts with each other. yeah remake leon wasn't late to work, but infinite darkness leon was late to work. it does seem like everything is kinda still canon as none of them have been confirmed to be a main timeline or anything.

the only thing is that the films will not be remade. the films have and always been canon. and im still mad that they didn't make the efforts to have damnation be an aeon centric film like they initially were going to.

yeah i think the changes were good to luis but they were absolutely at the expense of ada. and that makes me kinda dislike him, but especially the people who have double standards and forgave luis when he arguably did so much worse things than ada did. i agree, even with re4r leon leaving luis' body was a bit strange but understandable i guess? but leon leaving ada in re2 made less sense.

[self-ships-ahoy]

🌟 i wanna know what ur ovw s/is would think of my boys, hanzo, lucio, n cass respectively :>

Send a 🌟 + name and I’ll talk about my self insert’s bond to that character!

Oh absolutely!! We always gotta do each others' f/os for these things.

As for my 2nd s/i, I'm just using Kayla as a placeholder name till I can settle on something else. Cuz I gotta get this meme completed.

Synthia:

For simplicity's sake, I'm skipping to the end of her story where she gets her memories back and assumes she rejoins O.verwatch.

I don't think she ever met Hanzo, but she has heard of him from Genji during her initial affiliation with O.verwatch. She would feel sympathy to know his story; it's a real testament to humans being able to choose goodness. Him being put in that whole situation to begin with would also sit with her present-day, since she still has memories of human mistreatment after she was left alone - she still supports humanity but her impression of them has fallen. As far as Hanzo is concerned, she would still try to act warm and welcoming, at one point offering him a cup of tea. English tea, sorry Hanzo. 😔

Lucio would probably be instant friendship. He cares about everyone and makes really cool music to boot. He corrects injustices and fights for the innocent. At one point I think she'd ask him about fighting for omnics as well, and maybe have a discussion about that cuz yeah of course he is and O.verwatch is trying to do that. Of course, she'll be very happy that he and her other friend Estelle are together!

Ohh Cassidy's is a real bittersweet one, cuz they were friends back in the day. Back in the post-crisis days of ovw, she and Cass spent a lot of time with each other and Dr. Liao, and later including Synthia's "sister", Echo. I could see him trying to bring some of those memories back when she couldn't remember, and when she finally does and reunites with the team, he's really happy to see her back and then picks up their friendship like nothing happened.

Kayla:

Also has not met Hanzo.......probably not any of the Shimada family tbh. (At least Synthia had the advantage of knowing Genji.) I'm not too sure what their bond would be like, if they ever met, but I think she would compliment his bow! You don't see a lot of traditional weaponry nowadays, and in a world so easily hackable, archery is a useful skill to have. She may also inquire about the light "dragons", since the canonly aren't magic and therefore something she could study. 👀

She probably listens to Lucio's music, so that's something! It'd be really cool if they met somewhere along the way, maybe he knows about her being a double agent and helping her out? It would definitely be fun to see one of her favorite music artists turn out to be an agent of O.verwatch! And.. it'd be nice to have another ally too.

I think if anyone, she may have interacted with Cassidy before. Both of them sniffing around for clues on their own, other stuff that's spoilers for my lore, but I think it'd be cool if they had worked together before the whole double-agent thing started - maybe they even still work together now, who knows! Idk I'm still working things out but I just want her to have some canon connection.

[derww]

i’ve returned to watching lifesteal at the end of january, and the abyss arc easily became one of my favorites. the way everyone on the team was devoted not only to the idea but also to each other charmed me, and i really loved it as a demonstration that you can team up with your enemy and it would work, that people don’t have to stick to one team for the whole season, that lifesteal is ready for change. three oldies and two newbies—they had awesome synergy, and jumper was irreplaceable there in many ways. she balanced them, brought in new and vibrant things, and, very importantly for the context, was literally the only player suitable for them in terms of activity and skills without a team. of course, they understood all the risks, but they chose to trust her from the very beginning because they wanted her on the team, not only from a rational standpoint but as a person as well.

and i really liked jumper. a cool pink badass girl! with my favs! kills people and is devoted to a cause! everything i ever wanted. yeah, her initiation was weird, but she fixed her mistakes by trapping 4c. but then she decided to test minute to learn if he values their relationship. then she died really strangely. then she talked with minute for 30 minutes and oopps, she can’t show this footage, she doesn’t have it!

like. are we serious. it’s even too obvious. even believing her words that all she wanted is to try to keep a friendship with minute, no matter how strange it may look, many things still just don’t fit together. she’s desperately trying to justify it all, changing one lie for another, but in the end it just comes down to the fact that they only have a choice to either believe her words or not. no proof, no nothing—just her words. and they go with it.

and, hey, jumper does some useful things for the team! her design for the hole looks awesome (using non-violent ways to show her loyalty, hey)! she fights for them. then mapicc and vi orchestrate a fight in the abyss base and jumper… is lost in the caves.

wdym lost in the caves. just dig down. i beg. what the fuck. absolutely no reasonable excuses at this part. mapicc wanted to make it look like jumper is a traitor, and in the end she behaved like a traitor herself. at that point, i was completely sure she’s in contact with at least minute and couldn’t be trusted. and abyss was sus too, but when she killed vi for them, it suddenly fixed everything. i thought to myself: why? am i missing something? yes, it was a hard act for her character, but it proved nothibg. but hey, it was about vi—she had to ban him, he left the server, she cried, and it was very important and touching and could create its own bias. they saw everything suspicious but wanted her on the team and chose to trust her.

it’s not like i ever forgot about all the times she was suspicious and never proved anything, but abyss trusted her, and i really wanted to trust her too. because, again, i really liked jumper, even before her joining lifesteal. it was a very surreal but important feeling of vulnerability, the desire to believe her no matter what—not even because i was ready to make this choice, but because i really wanted it to be true. for me, the important message of abyss is complete only if there are no traitors among them, if they’ve truly become a real team. in the end, after many hours of streams, i succumbed. i never stopped suspecting her for things she did, but i chose to trust her because it was very very important to me.

as we all know, she was, in fact, a double agent. and i think all of this is why i still can’t really forgive her for it. of course, it’s always hard when your favorite team gets betrayed from the inside, but abyss was special for me—abyss chose to trust jumper despite everything, not because they never suspected her, not because they had no experience in such cases, but because they really, really wanted it to work.

so, i chose the first option in the poll, but it’s not quite true. while i suspected her heavily, in the end i decided not to, and it was a mistake. i just hope that one day shed be able to reflect on this.

[offbranddrpepsi]

Hi!! I hope your doing well :)

This is a weird request but what if the reader (an agent) died in battle earlier, and then their s/o sees their mirror self from mirror earth?

Maybe yoru, sova, and jett? But anybody u want is fine with me !

Prepare for a whole lot of fucking Angst my fine folk

Yoru would react horribly. For a while he would seem entirely fine, mourning behind closed doors, but that would dramatically change upon him seeing your mirror. The rift walker would be filled with rage at the unfairness that they may live while you cannot. It would all be made worse if his mirror was with yours happily. He would act without thinking and would use the next chance he got to kill your double. It doesn't fix the wrongs but he feels justified knowing someone is suffering as much as he is.

Sova handles grief probably the best out of all the agents. He knows these things may happen, its the very risk you all signed up to take. It still stings when he sees your mirror, but it does much more than just that. The wave of grief, nostalgia, and want hits him hard enough that he hesitates to take a shot on them. No one notices but him, and he says nothing to the other agents. Sova starts avoiding going on missions where your skills would have been required to avoid ever having to hesitate again.

Jett never really lets go of her grief so her reaction is unsurprising. The others would say she was holding up well despite he clinging to any trace of you she had. Wearing your old shirts, carrying your guns with her, and even sleeping in your bed. When she sees your mirror on the battlefield she can't bring herself to shoot them. What she does instead would get her scolded harshly by Viper; she tells them to run. Your mirror was initially confused but would take the chance to leave, avoiding death like you had failed to. Jett would hang onto any non-violent interaction with your mirror as some sort of hope that maybe one day the earths wouldn't be a warzone and would perhaps be a place she could meet you again.

[docgold13]

365 DC Comics Paper Cut-Out SuperHeroes - One Hero, Every Day, All Year…

Suplemental - Villains Who Are Sometimes Heroes  

Often times, the best villains are those who do not necessarily seem themselves as such.  They are the heroes of their own stories and believe their villainous actions are in the service of some form of a greater good.  As such, there are numerous instances in which a villain will come to act in the role of hero or antihero, where the bad guy is actually the good guy, or a former nemesis becomes a sudden ally.  Following the jump are some of my favorite villains who frequently end up playing a heroic role…

There can be no doubt that both Deathstroke and Bane are bad to the bone. Yet each have acting in the role of antihero more times than can easily counted. 

Poison Ivy is less villainess than ecological warrior.  Her actions may be evil in the minds of many, but for her she is merely defending the wellbeing of plant life and attempting to stave off mankind’s thoughtless efforts to make the planet inhospitable to both flora and fauna alike.

The Flash’s Rogues, especially Captain Cold, HeatWave, The Pied Piper and The Trickster are most certainly cads… yet they all abide by their own particular code of honor and conduct.  As such, they have been many a time where these rogues have fought along side heroes as opposed to against them.

The Shade has been one of the Justice Society’s most formidable of adversaries.  And yet it was later revealed that he isn’t that bad a guy and it was the malignant possession of the devious Culp who was responsible for most of his villainous deeds.  

Both The Star Sapphire and Goldface each began as villains but ended up heroes.  

Knockout and Scandal are wonderful and I’ll hear no bad words about them.  

Brainwave Junior‘s turn as a villain was initially attributed to his difficulties with mental illness, but it was later revealed to be the machinations of the evil Mr. Mind.  Once the little creep was expelled, Brainwave Jr. became good again. whew!

The second Tattooed Man started off a villain but later became a hero, only to be killed in Heroes in Crisis (hopefully he’ll get better like most of the victims of Sanctuary).  As for Harlequin, she only acted as a villain to get the attention of her crush, Green Lantern (Alan Scott)… boy was she barking up the wrong tree.

Bizarro is not necessarily bad, rather he’s naive and easily manipulated and the majority of his evil acts have been the result of coercion by way of more purely evil villains.  And under the right direction, Bizarro can very much be a force for good, such as the time he served as a hero among The Red Hood’s band of Outlaws.  

Anarky is a political extremist and Thorne suffers from some sort of psychological malady.  Sometimes their on the right side of a conflict, sometimes on the wrong.  Are they bad guys… whose to say?

This guy… where do I even start?  Lex Luther certainly does not see himself as a villain; he’s out to save the world.  And there have been many a time where he has achieved exactly that.  He could have been hero on par with the greatest in the DC Universe… if only he hadn’t stolen all of those pies!

Plastique began as a terrorist and villain yet spent a brief time as a hero, a result of her romance with Captain Atom.  Alas the affair between the two proved to be short live, and so time did Plastique’s time as a hero.  As he Deadshot, he’s a stone-cold killer, yet his time with The Suicide Squad and Secret Six has hoisted him into the role of antihero… a role that proved a surprisingly good fit for the deadly marksman.

Cheshire is a deadly assassin who has proven formidable nemesis of The Teen Titans.  When he daughter’s wellbeing is on the line, however, the killer is quick to aide her one time rivals.  

Painkiller started off as a villain yet has recently turned to the role of antihero; mostly a result of the character’s involvement in the Black Lightning television series.  As for Manchester Black, I’m never going to be convince to trust this creepy peet… yet Superman has decided to do just that, recruiting the cad into his new team The Elite.

Both Fataly and Bleez have very good reasons to be as angry and vengeful as they are.  And though both have battled the Green Lanterns on multiple occasions, they have also assisted the corps in joining forces against common enemies.  

Thomas Blake made for a rather lousy super villain during his early years as Catman.  After a much-needed Gail Simone make-over, however, he became a truly terrific antihero.  Plus, anyone who likes cats as much as he does can’t be all that bad, right?

Although technically villains, I wouldn’t classify Jenette nor Black Alice as necessarily bad…  They both just have a different way of looking at the matter of morality.

Don’t mess with Lady Shiva… let’s just leave it at that.

Polymath’s tenure as a villain was merely a result of her desperation to save her father.  Once the Wonder Twins helped her do just that, she resigned from her villainous ways.  Shado‘s deal is a bit more complicated.  The devious archer has proven a formidable adversary to Green Arrow, but there has also been many a time where the two have fought side by side.  

So Dex-Starr is a rage-filled murder machine possessing awesome power.  Yet that is pretty much the case for all house cats, so I don’t see what the big deal is…

Both Killer Frost and Magenta fell into the antiquated trope of powerful women becoming evil due to some sort of hysteria.  Sure they’ve been bad guys plenty of times, but they have each also acted as heroes as well.  

Just like his father, Icicle Junior has taken the road of villainy, becoming a member of The injustice Society of America.  When The ultra Humanite took over the world, however, Icicle joined forces with The Justice Society and played a pivotal role in saving the day.  As for Junior’s baby-mama, Tigress, she remains a villainess… in the DC Animated Universe of Young Justice, however, Artemis is very much a hero.  Feels like only a matter of time before the comic book universe follows suit, turing The tigress from villain to hero.  

Both Clayface and Man-Bat are less villains than they are victims of circumstance.  And while each have battled Batman more times than can be counted, there has also been times where the pair have aided The Dark Knight. 

Once heralded as the greatest of The Green Lanterns, Sinestro’s path to villainy came as a facet of his quest to bring order to the galaxy.  His tyrannical notions aside, there has still been plenty a time where he has once more joined forces with his former allies among the corps.  

Both The Rubber Band Man and Major Disaster began as villains, but switched over to being heroes.  Major Disaster even served for a brief while as a member of The Justice League International.  

Lobo is a genocidal trashbox who has most likely had inappropriate relations with space dolphins.  Yet people seem to like reading about this jerk which has foisted him into the role of antihero.  I still think he’s garbage, but will admit that his daughter is super cool.  

These three don’t even require particular mention.  Catwoman, Black Adam and Harley Quinn’s roles as hero/antihero have been enough that they receive placement on both the 365 Villains list as well a the 365 Heroes list.  Quite the accomplishment! 

A rarity on this list… Terra started out a hero but it was later revealed that she was a double agent, a villain sent by Deathstroke to infiltrate and betray the Teen Titans.  She perished but later returned again, either cloned or resurrected or something like that.  In any case, she’s a hero again so yay…

So there you have it, a collection of scum and villainy who have, on occasion, acted in the role of hero.  Have I missed anyone important?  Let me know.    

[thanksjro]

More Than Meets the Eye #33: In Which I Write the Word ‘Quantum‘ 19 Times

Dang, I forgot what happened at the end of the last issue. It was pretty important, too, but I don’t have time to reread. Maybe the establishing shot can help me out?

Oh, that’s right, Rewind happened!

Everyone’s pretty jazzed that Rewind is here, non-exploded, and supposedly alive. Megatron carries this ridiculously small man over to a table, while Skids is busy admonishing Nightbeat for trying to put the pieces of this mystery together.

That’s one of the two first canonically, openly gay Transformers, Megatron. You bet your ass he’s important.

Nightbeat’s dragged Nautica over to look at that poster for Crosscut’s play they saw last issue. Together, they discover something interesting, and it’s not that Nightbeat’s chin has elongated to the point of absurdity. On this future ship, the play was completed and produced a mere few weeks after the initial launch of the Lost Light.

While this is going on, Rewind wakes up and asks Skids what the hell is going on. Skids, likely not wanting to poke at farm-fresh trauma, glosses over the fact that everyone on this ship was violently murdered, and that they found Rewind blacked out inside the hollowed torso of his brother-in-law.

…This is a dark story line.

You see, the joke here is that “Dark Cybertron” sucked major chrome.

Megatron reminds everyone that they’re still in grave danger every moment they stay aboard this ship, but Skids is more concerned with Rewind’s mental health. Which is sweet, but maybe not the thing to prioritize in such a precarious situation.

Rewind takes the fact that Megatron is an Autobot now pretty friggin’ well, as well as the introduction of gender into his species. That is, until Nightbeat, the king of social graces, saunters up to the scene to ask Rewind what the hell happened to the ship. He does get his answers, despite Rewind being horrified to the point of speechlessness.

Over at the hole in the wall, Nautica and Riptide are taking a gander at the quantum drums, which house the quantum foam for the quantum engines so quantum jumps can happen.

As Nautica explains the process by which quantum travel works, she realizes that the answer to what happened to everyone who disappeared was right in front of them this whole time.

Quantum, quantum, quantum- doesn’t even sound like a word anymore, does it?

The data slug Rewind made corroborates this theory, showing a series of events that definitely didn’t happen to the Lost Light we’ve been following throughout this story so far. The data slug contains this Rewind’s version of dead Rewind’s “Little Victories”, the travelogue that was never completed, where the question “are you happy?” revealed just how emotionally unhealthy most of the crew is. I’d like to imagine this Rewind’s film is called “Small Achievements”, or perhaps “Dear Fucking Lord, We’ve Been on this Trip for Three Hours and the Captain Has Been Killed by a Goddamned Soul-Vampire”, or maybe even “Where the FUCK is Our Therapist”.

The DJD came into the equation by way of someone having led them to the Lost Light. We get a flashback panel of the gorefest, in which Tarn appears to have learned how to fly, given the angle he’s coming from.

Because Rewind’s big thing in this series is being the guy who records stuff, the DJD take the opportunity to make some movies of their visit to the space yacht.

James, why do you keep getting Rewind involved with snuff films? I’m starting to get concerned.

Now, the thing about Rewind is that he’s almost always accompanied by his other half. Where is Chromedome, anyway?

He’s dead, that’s where.

Turns out, when you tell the DJD that you won’t do the thing they want you to do, they have a habit of doing nasty things in retaliation. Chromedome got stabbed in the friggin’ visor with his own finger needles, because Vos enjoys ironic deaths, I suppose. There’s some other stuff that’s implied to have happened, but we’ll get to that once we learn a little more about the DJD themselves.

While Rewind recounts the grisly tale of his husband’s demise, Riptide notes that the quantum foam has begun to spread at a remarkable rate. This is a bad thing, because that shit can and will explode, given half the chance, and this wreck is floating right above a potentially-inhabited planet.

Though I could have sworn we established that this planet was a Smartplanet, and therefore very much populated by students and staff. I don’t know. Maybe we conveniently forgot that, so we could make this a learning moment for Megatron.

Jiminy Christmas, Megs, do you even listen to yourself?

Skids, who has had a very long day of finding corpses and learning about quantum theory, snaps at Megatron, telling him that in order to actually be an Autobot, you have to have a little frickin’ compassion for those outside of your peer group.

Which is sort of contradictory to the Aequitas trials, the Killswitch debacle, the POW situation back on Cybertron, and whatever the fuck Prowl’s whole deal is, but maybe Skids is speaking about his own, personal relationship with being an Autobot. Hopefully so, otherwise he needs a class on critical thinking, STAT.

Never mind all of that though, because the problem just got a lot worse- the quantum foam has expanded to a point where any holes in the stuff are too small for the Rod Pod to get through. We’re going to have to get creative if we want to save the day.

Luckily, we’ve got a quantum duplicate of just about the tiniest little dude in the franchise here to do the job. Now we just need another, equally tiny little man, so the quantum drums can be shut off at the same time. Nautica commits more microaggressions, and this gives Getaway inspiration for a witty quip, which in turn gives Skids a brilliant idea.

The gang heads down to Brainstorm’s lab, to look for the mass displacement gun that was used for treating Ultra Magnus’s nanocon infestation back in the 2012 Annual. While they search, Nautica explains just why the hell the Lost Light disappeared in the first place. You see, quantum duplication acts on the Cain Instinct— it’s fine, as long as the duplicates don’t perceive each other. However, the moment contact is made, it says “oh man, guess I’m gonna have to end you” to one of the duplicates. The contact in this case happened when the Coffin Rodimus was brought aboard the ship.

Anything that wasn’t aboard the Lost Light at the point of the takeoff/explosion was never duplicated, and thus wasn’t erased from reality once shit started going to hell. This is why the Rod Pod is still around, and why the remaining cast are— well, the remaining cast.

While this conversation is going on, Nautica and Nightbeat uncover yet another dead body; it’s Brainstorm, and he’s a little underdressed.

…Someone run a paternity test, I think Cyclonus might be the father.

Also, Brainstorm’s a double agent.

Fucked up.

Getaway is furious that a Decepticon has been living on the same ship as him for the last six months, right under his proverbial nose. Even Megatron’s surprised, stating that Brainstorm isn’t usually who the recruiters aim for.

So, no mass displacement gun, and now they’re aware of the fact that there’s a traitor on the ship who’s had access to a LOT of weapon tech. It’s at this point that Megatron decides to stop lying by omission and tells everyone that he can mass-displace, since he used to turn into a handgun.

Smashcut to Megatron and Rewind floating out in space, the former now not much taller than the latter, as they traverse the web of quantum foam to get to the drums. Nautica instructs them from the Rod Pod. If this works, anything produced or connected to the quantum engine will be neutralized, and maybe we’ll even get the other Lost Light back! YAAAAAY!!!

Y’all really let this man go out there to fuckin’ kill himself for the greater good, didn’t you?

Rewind is honestly pretty chill with ceasing to be, seeing as he watched 200/+ people die today, including his long-time spouse.

Jesus. I’d say get him a therapist, but in order to do that, we’re going to have to wipe him off the map anyway.

Rewind asks Megatron if the Chromedome that isn’t his and his duplicate are still together. And I mean…

Luckily, Megatron has the good sense to lie.

With that, they flip the switches, and deactivate the drums.

And that’s a series wrap on Rewind! Congrats to Mr. James Roberts for the esteemed honor of burying the same gay twice!

Later on, everyone is back inside the Rod Pod, as their disappeared shipmates return from being nonexistent. Chromedome pops back in, and Skids is on him like a shark, telling him to go on the roof. Skids doesn’t even try to explain why. Which, fair. How the hell do you explain to someone that their dead husband’s quantum duplicate survived both a terrorist splinter cell attack, and the laws of quantum sci-fi bullshit crashing down on his tiny, tiny body, and that he’s right there on the roof waiting for them?

Welp, there goes the Chromedome/Dominus endgame. Shame, that.

Looks like Chromedome finally hit the threshold for having earned Roberts’ pity, and won’t be directly targeted by the plot for a little while. This isn’t something you see very often, so let’s really soak this in.

…Someone had to have told Rewind what happened to the other Rewind, right? I wonder what that conversation was like.

Back inside the ship, Blaster gets word that the Lost Light has reappeared. As they navigate towards it, Megatron requests that an encrypted call be made to Rodimus, to discuss the Brainstorm problem.

In the interim, Ravage is offered the opportunity to be a part of the crew, so he doesn’t have to keep skulking around in the shadows. We don’t get an answer from him, as our focus shifts over to Nightbeat and Nautica.

Nightbeaaaaaaaaaat, stop stating the themes of the comic verbatim! People are going to start thinking you’re a shonen anime protagonist!

Nightbeat’s somehow managed to keep ahold of the briefcase that they found on the other Lost Light. Unless Brainstorm’s boyfriend is in there, I don’t think this one was the work of Huey Lewis and the News’ hit single from the Back to the Future soundtrack.

Over on the Lost Light, specifically in Swerve’s, Brainstorm’s making his way through the crowd, briefcase held gentle like hamburger as he goes. He makes it to the bar, where Atomizer tells him he can’t have his briefcase in here. Brainstorm has what most would accept to be a healthy response to being told “no.”

It’s what I would do.

[kolapon-art]

I agree with most of the points here but not really the one about Darius. Good all along doesnt mean "wont let his own bad traits affect him at one point and cause him to make bad judgements".

Even if he suspected foul play around his mentor, we also have to consider that he has been under tremenoudous stress to be a double agent and the only one suspecting Belos of murdering his own GG (or at least supecting sth was terribly wrong there). Thoughts he cannot voice or share, having his perception of the goverment crumble around him and then actively deciding to stay in this awful environmnet and work against Belos.

So just because he has a noble goal, that doesnt make him automatically a person who will make all the right decisions. After all, all this does not foster a healthy mindset and bitterness is sth very much present, espically when we consider his rebel mentor next to the very loyal Hunter. And especially when one slip up and Hunter could tattle to Belos, jeopardizing Darius' position which he worked to maintain. Makes sense why he only responded positively after Hunter showed him he wont go spill all this to Belos and end up killing them both. 

Was his behavior bad in Any Sport? Absolutely, but we are seeing the result of years of working in the worst possible environment, being the sole keeper of a nasty secret about his mentors death and having Belos relish in his suffering, as the man specifically put a portrait in his fake, purposefully created mindscape where Darius is saddened at Hunters initiation (showing Belos is very well aware of how this whole situation has been affecting Darius).

Plus Darius is not even the only one whose less than stellar life has caused him to make bad calls. Lilith is another glaring example, where years of cultic influences almost destroyed her relationship with Eda and had her commit pretty despicable acts in s1.

Also Eda herself, who after being cursed, succumbed to loneliness and depression, causing her to spiral and reject people in her life, and made her unable to communicate properly. Say what you will but calling your 8 year old child your roommate, is not normal by any means and then said child had to be the one to offer to be adopted, after years of being with Eda. Her crippling insecurities prevented her from acting as she should have acted with King, even though she managed to raise him properly.

So the point is, characters like Darius, Lilith and Eda while being good people in general or working to be ones, have had things in their life happen that have affected them in all sorts of ways. And this often manifested in bad behaviors, wrong calls and misjudgmenets of situations. It's all very realistic I think, given that those adults grew up in dictatorial cult, which affected them greatly, esp the ones who had to work in the belly of the beast aka the government. 

And what is important, is that all of them are working on said behaviors with Lilith totally revamping her life, Eda embracing her curse as well as opening up emotionally, and Darius making efforts to help Hunter and distance him away from Belos, once the boy ran away after HM. 

I’ve seen people state that Dana Terrace has a tendency to emasculate the characters she doesn’t like, especially villains . Like often making them be defeated incredibly easily or making them do things that go against their established characters. From what you’ve seen do you think this is true?

Honestly, I think you can make the case that she does this to characters she DOES like as well; not the emasculation part, but the out-of-character moments. The most recent offender is The Collector who was previously established as enjoying watching Belos abuse and murder grimwalkers and is looking forward to the Day of Unity, but in For the Future, none of these malicious traits are present, and he seemingly does a 180 in his characterization. They're just a Lonely Kid with superpowers instead of the chaotic god child who apparently delights in misery.

It's one thing to present a character one way and gradually reveal the layers underneath but such a drastic change with seemingly no explanation is not character development, it's a retcon.

The show also has a problem with setting up how some characters change: Darius was initially presented as being contemptuous of Hunter but warms up to him once he stands up to him. Considering his history with the previous Golden Guard, shouldn't Darius know what Hunter goes through instead of assuming Hunter is spoiled? Darius' rebellion against Belos is also muddled; he becomes a fully-fledged CATs member because he cares about people and is suspicious of the Day of Unity. Except, I don't believe we're ever shown why this is the case. Darius is a Coven Head and it's his job to get more recruits and was trained by the previous Golden Guard. Logically, he should be a firm believer, but instead he uses his status to climb the ranks to act as a mole. This is a great starting point but we're missing what triggered this in the first place. The only hint is that the death of his mentor is what started his rebellion against Belos. But this isn't really expanded upon and it raises more questions. How did he find out that it was Belos who killed his mentor? How much did the Golden Guard tell him? If the death of the previous GG is what made him turn on Belos, then why does he treat Hunter poorly? If you're going to have a character act as a mole, then at least explain what their motives are and how they were developed.

This shows how fundamentally flawed the world-building in The Owl House is; characters only follow Belos when it's convenient to the plot. So in the end, you have characters who oppose Belos because they're on Team Good Guy (Darius, Raine, Eberwolf), the ones who support him because they've always been Evil (Kiki and Terra) and the rest of the isles who either celebrate him at a parade or denounce Eda's potential execution because two teenagers said so.

Anyway, onto the villains...

Odalia is essentially a war profiteer who doesn't care that her entire species is about to be wiped out by the DOU, even though logically she should. She cares about her company and a company can't profit if the majority of your customers are dead. She is tyrannical, cruel, and greedy and it's fun to watch her be reduced to a mere servant. I don't mind this development for Odalia, however, it does point to the trend of taking powerful enemies and reducing them to a shadow of themselves for comedic purposes.

Kikimora was presented as a terrifying enforcer of the Emperor's laws but she got progressively more pathetic to the point where she had to impersonate a teenager and serve as the right hand to Boscha, a character we haven't seen properly since Season 1. She is presented as power-hungry, pathologically ambitious, and has an intense desire to earn Belos' favor, but when he turns against her, she helps King find the Collector, effectively helping defeat Belos. But recently, she is back to her Season 2 shenanigans by taking over Hexside and the question is why exactly? We saw her world crumble before her and she reverts back to her previous traits instead of actual characterization. A common interpretation is that she is just THAT obsessed with power that nothing can break it, which isn't...realistic. FtF doesn't show why Kiki does this, she just does. Perhaps because of the psychological damage of Belos betraying her she decides to continue with what she's always done, except that this isn't telegraphed clearly. Instead, she just comes off as a mini-boss before the final showdown.

That leaves Belos as the only real credible threat and while he is terrifying on a personal level, we never see him at his full power; for apparently being the most powerful "witch" in the isles, his magic doesn't really stand out from what was seen before. And in King's Tide, he was just playing with Luz. He is ultimately brought down by his own hubris and misplaced trust, and an over-powered god child. Belos' defeat is thematically appropriate so it's not as egregious as Kiki's but it does fall into the category of "Easily Defeated." Obviously, we'll have to wait for the finale to see if that trend continues.

Belos' defeat by the Collector seemed to set them up as the new threat in town, that Belos, for all of his power, was ultimately nothing and the mysterious Collector is a force to contend with. But no, the Collector is largely kept in check by King. So Belos' defeat doesn't do anything for either character; we don't get any reaction from Belos about his centuries-long plan blowing up in his face and the Collector isn't even bad, just misguided. As for the misunderstanding between King and the Collector and their "new game"? I don't think the Collector will actually do anything that will have lasting damage, not while Belos still breathes.

And that's a common problem the villains in this show have, any attempt at interiority or psychological depth is explicitly rejected by the show (remember Kiki and her family, how she was worried about being disowned? Psyche! She'll drop everything for even a smidge of more power!) and the lesson seems to be "these characters have always been Evil and nothing will change that."

It can be fun watching villains go from intimidating to pathetic, but if that's all you do with them then it becomes boring fast, at least for me. Ultimately, I think the biggest problem with the villains is that you're supposed to take them at face value: Belos, Kiki, Odalia, are Evil for petty reasons and will do anything for power. Not all villains need to be nuanced with complex characterization but if all of your villains are just Evil all the time and the text explicitly does not want you sympathizing with them or even showing a different side to them, then that's just a wasted opportunity to flesh out your world with interesting characters.

[marigoldbaker]

jenny and giles are genuinely SLEPT ON. there is so much insanely cool stuff going on wrt the way they mirror each other. the whole flexible identity thing is literally Right There; it’s what causes the initial rift between them -- but it’s also really interesting that jenny’s situation with her family is the inverse of giles’s deal with eyghon.

for giles, eyghon is a part of his past that he keeps secret because it represents his attempt to ESCAPE his responsibilities. he actively tried to remove himself from the destiny he was forced into, acting out and making incredibly self destructive choices, and this path led directly to the death of one of his friends. eyghon is kept under wraps in giles’s life because he doesn’t want anybody to know that he isn’t as dedicated to the job as people seem to think. he wants people to think that he is steadfast.

meanwhile, jenny is upset about the situation with her family because she CAN’T escape her responsibility to them; she keeps this a secret because it undercuts the free and easy image she presents to the rest of the world. she is tethered incredibly firmly to her destiny and has found a way to quietly and carefully integrate it into the life that she wants to lead, but this isn’t what she wants. she wants to be free.

so giles is a rebel trying his best to pretend that his destiny holds him prisoner, and jenny actually IS caught in a web of familial obligations that she refuses to acknowledge -- because she wants to pretend she’s a rebel. they see each other and there is this immediate recognition that they can’t own up to, especially since who they Really Are is supposed to be super secret: giles sees somebody who is unbothered by the way the world is Supposed To Be and determined to upend it (which is exactly the same as the guy he’s trying to hide) and jenny sees somebody who is tied down by a duty that is slowly destroying him (which is exactly her situation). they fall ridiculously hard for this person who they see as completely capable of understanding them, as they are, while also simultaneously having no intention of ever revealing themselves. it is so fucked up.

and then there’s the kind of people that they are, just in general! jenny uses her gritty too cool for school exterior to hide the fact that she is an idealist and a scholar: she believes wholeheartedly in a kinder world. in the potential of angel to be someone good. raised and steeped in blood and hatred, she is looking at the world and saying, “fuck you. no. buffy is going to get her boyfriend back.” she KNOWS it is impossible. she TRIES ANYWAY. she spends a MONTH researching and coding and working and learning until she finds a way to achieve the improbable. she is described within canon as a dedicated teacher, a thorough teacher, someone who leaves lesson plans hefty enough that a high school junior can teach her class without stressing. (yes that is a weird god damn plot point but so is everything relating to jenny. moving on.)

meanwhile, giles PLAYS at being a librarian, but like i always say: man chose that job so that he wouldn’t have to talk to people. jenny’s got drive; she loves her cover story and she throws herself into teaching her classes. she adores what she does. giles abhors the reality of library sciences and regularly closes the library so that he can pursue the weird demonic shit. where jenny’s i-don’t-care veneer hides a warm and passionate heart, giles’s warm-and-stuffy-librarian thing hides this exhaustedly cynical and often very unpleasant dude. he’s of course soft with the kids because he does love them, but there’s twenty years of resentment and repression going on there. he is not happy to be where he’s at. though he’s enchanted by jenny’s determined optimism, he doesn’t harbor it quite as passionately as she does.

so literally giles is what jenny pretends to be (and also kind of is), and jenny is what giles pretends to be (and also kind of is). because of course on so many levels jenny is fiercely rebellious: she breaks free of her destiny when it really counts. she’s strong enough to commit to that. and then giles really is trapped by his role as a watcher, no longer pretending: he is forced to choose between jenny and buffy, and chooses buffy without hesitation. they are what they say they are, and they’re also lying all the fucking time. it’s insane.

and more insane than that is the fact that the people they actually fall in love with are the people underneath all of that. jenny isn’t in love with a bumbling librarian or a sexy dangerous badass, she’s in love with this really sweet guy who works too hard and hates himself too much and is kind of a dick sometimes, but in a hot way. giles isn’t in love with the hot computer science teacher or the quietly dutiful but somewhat clumsy double agent (if she can even be called that) -- he is in love with this weird mean nerd who doesn’t totally know how to whisper sweet nothings and tries to communicate how much she loves him by endlessly making fun of him. they are drawn to each other and they see right fucking through each other to the point where everything else is genuinely just semantics. nothing matters but the fact that rupert and jenny are in love.

of course, they are both pedantic nerds who spend WAY too much time on semantics and not NEARLY as much time on their own feelings. they are also guarded as fuck. so it takes them an impossibly long time to figure shit out, and they really only get a half-second of knowing before it is cut brutally short.

like. they are That Couple. they are so devastatingly romantic and so genuinely messy and fucked up and this is packed into this weird less-than-a-season-long arc that’s really only intended to add some flavor to a story that isn’t theirs. nothing is gonna hit for me as hard as giles and jenny, who found space to fall desperately in soulmate-level love in the margins.

[wesimpforxiao]

Say My Name and I’ll Be There:  6.2

Il Dottore entered your cell early the next morning and was followed by Childe.  "Rise!  It is the beginning of your contribution to Snezhnayan society!"  His entire demeanor reeked with a vivid excitement despite the bland atmosphere that sat within the cell.

But you, on the other hand, just looked blankly at him.  After all the crying you did yesterday, your determination and perseverance had renewed somewhat.  The bags under your eyes were still puffy and blotched with red.  Your skin felt dry and chapped long after the tears dried.

Your lack of enthusiasm seemed to upset the man, and he frowned.  He pulled an abnormally large syringe out of his coat pocket.  "I had a feeling you'll resist, so we'll make do with mild paralysis, yes?"  Your gaze slid to the tool that had to be as long as his own forearm.

Childe reacted when you shifted your attention to him.  "I believe this is the last we'll see each other, ojou-chan," he spoke as Dottore approached you.  "It's a shame we'll have to part ways like this, but have comfort in knowing our banters and battles were entertaining while they lasted."

"Stop."  You flinched as Dotorre grabbed your chained arm.  "I-I won't resist." That needle was large. Did it have to be that big?  Was it really necessary?  And the amount of liquid inside it--simply terrifying to look at.  "I won't resist."  You even made a point to hold still, but to no avail.  He wasn't going to stop.

"Remember what I said, ojou-chan.  I gave you a way out of this rough treatment."  The needle jabbed into your forearm, making you wince in pain as your eyes pleaded for Childe's help.  

Panic had begun to set in.  "Get off of me!"  You pushed at Il Dottore.  The force in your hands did nothing, and you quickly realized in complete horror that you were already losing feeling in your limbs.  What quick reflexes you had were now achingly slow and uncoordinated.  The harbinger stood and proceeded to carelessly toss the empty syringe onto the other end of the cell.

"Go ahead and escort her," Dottore called out for two Fatui agents in the hall.  They lifted your heavy body and began to drag you out of the cell.

"Wait!  You can't do this!  Tartaglia, please!"  Your screams echoed once you were pulled into the hallway.  The useless kicks of protest were weak against gravity.  "Stop this!"

"This is goodbye, ojou-chan."  Something humane and hesitant flickered in his eyes, but he saw you off with an ominous grin.

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

Despite Diluc's apparent dislike towards Kaeya, Aether invited him on their mission anyway.  Things got heated pretty quickly, but Paimon managed to cool them down by insulting both of them whenever they got too heated.

It was day two of their caravan journey disguised as simple merchants.  Diluc manned the wagon while Kaeya walked along its left side, Xiao on the right, and Aether in the back.  Zhongli was scouting ahead, but stated he would not intervene once the group reached Snezhnaya.  They had barely managed to cross Fontaine's border without being detected by border patrol.  The weather here was more humid than that of Liyue or Mondstat.

"To think I would get such a humble request from the Hero of Mondstat,"  Kaeya spoke loud enough to get on Diluc's nerves.  "I never would have thought such a strong individual would need a Knight of Favonius.  Must be desperate times."  Diluc grumbled something under his breath, but kept his focus on the dirt path.  His hands were holding onto the reins a little too tight.

"We thought you'd be able to help us with diplomatic stuff since you're a Knight," Paimon admitted.  "You might be able to get us into the palace, right?"

"It's possible, but I wouldn't count on it," the knight shrugged carelessly.  

"We wouldn't dream of it," Diluc scoffed.

"Oh?  And is that because I'm associated with the Knights, or," Kaeya tested, "because you feel threatened by my presence?"

"You're as unreliable as them," Diluc retorted with a frown, finally facing his adopted brother.  "You fit right in with that group of--"

"NGH!"  Xiao doubled over from an unforeseen searing pain that tore through his chest.  He knelt to the ground and clutched at his sternum.  

"Xiao!"  Paimon and Aether ran toward him.  Zhongli, who was returning from his position to report back to the team, heard the shouts and came running.  Diluc stopped the caravan, and he and Kaeya joined the duo next to the yaksha.

"Haah...hah..."  Xiao heaved, sweat beading at the top of his forehead. "Tch."  The pain had just begun to subside when another one replaced it, this time in his shoulders.  Then his legs.  Then his back.  He was practically seeing spots by the time Zhongli reached him.  "Don't touch me!"  He swatted the air around him similar to that of a wounded animal.  "Urk..."

"What's hurting you?"  Zhongli observed the yaksha's behavior carefully.  He suffers from chronic pains, but I have yet to see him react so harshly.  "Do I need to get your medication?"

"I-I'm fine," he assured even though it was obvious the opposite was true.  His labored breathing brought concerned looks to everyone.

"You should rest in the wagon," Diluc spoke.  Then he turned to Aether.  "Is he well enough to accompany us?"

"Your eyes," Zhongli knelt before Xiao, "are glowing."  Like hers.

"So?"  I don't need useless observations of my pain. Ugh...  It doesn't compare to my past injuries, but it's enough to upset my stomach.  What is this?  His eyes frantically flit around the group's surroundings only to find nothing out of the ordinary.  Was I poisoned somewhere along the way?  I did not consume human food.  There was that merchant awhile back--

"Xiao," Zhongli snapped him out of his thoughts.  Once he regained the yaksha's attention, he repeated his words.  "When was the last time you took your pain killers?"

"This morning," he groaned.  "This doesn't happen."  The sun's cool rays suddenly acted like they were burning him alive.

"Have you heard anything from her?"

"Not in the past two days."  The pain is subsiding.  Xiao's shoulders slowly began to relax as he continued to try and steady his breathing.

"Do you hear anything now?  Perhaps recall random memories, or visions?"  This is the second newest side effect in the past three days...what could they possibly be doing to trigger this reaction in the two of them?  First, an emotional mirroring, and now with pain?  What are they tormenting her with?

"No.  It's just pain."

"I see."

"It's gone now,"  Xiao stood abruptly, ignoring the swaying earth beneath his feet.  Kaeya was about to grab his shoulder to steady him when Xiao's vision was obscured by red and yellow splotches.  His legs gave way from under him.

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

"A nerve agent seems to react well with your eyes," Dottore chuckled, and he set the remaining syringe on the top of a stand to his left.

You couldn't really talk anymore, but your illuminated irises and the tears that streamed down your cheeks said plenty about the situation.  Your arms and legs were tied down with leather restraints, and your convulsing body lay atop a metal operating bench.  From what you could make out, this place was some type of arena, but Dottore didn't make you fight monsters of the abyss like you initially thought he would.

You would've preferred it if that were the case.

"Now I'll ask again," Dottore grinned manically and moved his face close to yours.  "How much do you know about your condition?"  His hair swayed as if to portray his sick enthusiasm.

"Nothing," you sobbed quietly.  Finally, the immense pain jolting through your bones was subsiding.  Relief washed over your twitching limbs similar to that of the tide.

"Childe told me you knew about our plans.  What did you think those were?"

When he began to reach for another syringe, you stopped him.  "Just that you want whatever's in my blood."

"Do you know the powers you possess?"  You shook your head.  "Haah..." Dottore sighed.  "Another lie."  He picked a new syringe up and tapped the excess liquid that spewed out of it.  "We are not fully aware of each aspect to your predicament; if we had the two of you here, we wouldn't need to pull the information out of you.  This would be much easier if you told me the truth of what you know.  That way, we wouldn't have a reason to test every substance on you, yes?"

"I don't know anything."

"Round three it is, then."

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

"ALATUSSS!"  You screamed, now delirious from the never-ending onslaught of pain that you've been through for the past several hours.  Il Dottore paused his sadistic torture as if a light bulb had gone off in his head.

"Now that is a name you haven't yelled before," a slow smile crept upon his face as he watched your chest heave from exhaustion.  "Who is this 'Alatus?'"

"P-please," you whimpered.  You were drenched in sweat and tears now.

"How does round ten sound to you?"

"No," you whimpered helplessly, what's left of your fighting spirit finally shattering to pieces.

"Now now, Dottore," a woman's voice rang through the arena.  "We don't want her dying on us.  She's our only shot at this."  Signora came into view, and she eyed you like a piece of meat.  "Oh dear, you look tired."  Another tear dripped in response to her mocking tone.  Tension rose in your body yet again when she came to your side and examined you with cold eyes.  

"She's not under your jurisdiction, Signora," Dottore shrugged.  "If she had just given me the answers I was looking for, we would skip this step entirely.  But if she insists, I have no problem with torture."

"Oh?"  Signora narrowed her eyes at you.  "So then, who is Alatus, little one?  All this suffering would be over if you answer our questions."  She gently swiped the hair out of your face, a gesture that heavily contradicted the predatory expression on her face.

More tears rolled down the sides of your face as you stared back at her.  It hurts...everything hurts so bad, Xiao.  I can't fight... You choked down a sob and looked away from the harbingers.  I'm so tired...

"Resume your interrogation tomorrow.  She's drained."

Dottore grumbled something under his breath as he set aside his next syringe.  "Guards! Hurry up and untie her already!"  His subordinates immediately did as they were told, fearful of not moving fast enough to the harbinger's liking.  They dragged your limp body back to your cell.  

You were too exhausted to resist.

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

Coming Up Next: An unexpected reunion.