#except they don't get a reconciliation plot point :(

[sneepity-snoop-snorpity-sneep]

honestly, I’m not sure he *was* supposed to be a bad character. like he’s definitely an antagonist after a certain point in the movie, but beating him is never how the Maisie and Jacob win - cuz he’s not the problem.

He’s a really interesting take on a captain-ahab-type-of-character, consumed by hatred for one specific sea creature due to how many lives have been lost fighting it, and that he himself lost an eye in one of those fights. but the worldbuilding of The Sea Beast gives some more dimensionality to him, enough that i think the revenge-against-the-Red-Bluster part of the character is actually not at all the most important part - just the part of Captain Crow that pits the protagonists against him

its emphasized a few times just how long this whole con-people-into-hunting-sea-beasts scheme has been going - so long that people can’t even remember any other account of how the age of hunters started besides the made-up one! On the palace floor, and on the crew’s maps, there’s art of the Red Bluster - you get the impression that Red has been around for a long time - and this especially is important to Captain Crow

He’s not just a highly competent Hunter who became the captain of the most lauded hunter’s ship at the time - this has been the job of his family for at least two generations, probably more. In the scene where he’s talking with Jacob and pulls out the Inevitable’s old log, wondering what will become of the Inevitable, its pretty clear how personal hunting itself is to him, not just getting that one beast (although he is obsessed with it). His entire identity revolves around standing in opposition to what he believes are these evil monsters, and that was probably true even before he had a personal bone to pick with the Red Bluster. And the story points out pretty clearly that none of this is any hunter’s fault - the monarchy has been lying their royal asses off for years and years.

He’s definitely a very flawed man - Jacob and his crew are apprehensive to approach him after he’s disappointed that they couldn’t pursue the Bluster at the start of the movie, he’s obsessive and he really does have a nasty temper - first refusing to cut the lines on the Bluster even when its clear that would lead to the ship going down with all hands aboard, and then screaming at Maisie, pointing a gun at Jacob when he tries to talk him down from taking it out on her after she cut the lines. Also knocking Jacob around when Jacob actually confronts him with this new perspective on the sea beasts and tries to make him stop - and he cares for Jacob!

like he calls him his son, and I don’t think he was just saying it because Jacob was loyal to him at the time, he really looks at this guy and goes “this is my kid, and I’m gonna do what my dad did for me - teach him to be a hunter and pass on the legacy.” The conversations he has with Jacob, where he talks about the legacy of the Inevitable and offers it to Jacob, and later, when he offers Jacob advice when he’s frustrated by Maisie being a really exuberant kid he wasn’t prepared for - the line about “the code connects us to all who came before, and all who come after” - he might be looking at human’s relations with sea creatures as completely black-and-white (and also how other people’s actions regarding that), but he also highly values the connections that narrative has built for the hunters, and where he and his crew fit into that tradition

In the palace scene, when the Admiral-whose-name-I-don’t-recall is being a snooty prick and shows off this new warship that’s supposed to punt all current hunters out of their jobs, using this (really pretty telling) line of “its the most heavily armed ship ever to set sail”, Captain Crow immediately sizes it up and is like “Nah, this thing wasn’t built to kill monsters, it’ll kill it’s crew first,” and gruffly appeals to the Admiral and the royals not to send men out on it because it’ll get them killed - even assuming it had a competent captain in hunting

I really liked how they introduced the two conflicting parts of this guy’s character at the start; he initially orders his crew not to help the other captain - seemingly both because he really really REALLY wants to get the Bluster, and it’s right there, and because the other guy, from remarks made by him and Sarah, isn’t much of captain, or at least he’s not seen as very capable by the crew of the Inevitable. Captain Crow initially seems to see this as a justifiable excuse to leave him to the Brickleback so he can finally confront the Red Bluster, but when reminded of the Code that’s so important to him and his fore-bearers, quickly switches gears even as he’s vocally angry about it

It’s so well-shown how this guy’s core traits, what you immediately know is gonna make him an antagonistic force, is that he’s this guy whose sense of responsibility, legacy, and connections with those he respects and cares about is set to collide with his need to kill this one specific sea beast

And when he thinks he sees Jacob, who’s been with him since Jacob was a boy and who he sees as a son, get eaten alive in front of him, that need and obsession that was already lowkey out of control, goes fully out of control - cuz a: that was his kid!!! and b: Jacob was supposed to be the guy carrying the legacy of the Inevitable after Crow stepped down or died. He just loses the plot completely

But it’s really interesting how this wasn’t a fatal flaw; like I fully expected him to go down swinging from this refusal to change his POV, but nope! He lives to see the end of the movie, and also the presumed end of the tradition of the Hunters...and of Jacob’s close relationship with him...and possibly the trust of his crew....and get the lies which led to this life he values so much get shoved in his face

 which honestly is a much more heartbreaking “it’ll cost you everything” kind of deal than just dying a pointless death from stubbornness- like damn, he’s pushed away his adopted kid, dented his crew’s trust in him, compromised the code, and now he has to live with that plus the new knowledge that his reasons for all that can’t be justified anymore - it makes me both upset and relieved that we didn’t see how he ended up at the end of the story, cuz ain’t no way it wasn’t rock bottom and then some

I get that Captain Crow was supposed to be a bad character, but can you blame him? He grew up, lived his whole life, did everything in the belief that what he did was saving humanity.

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

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1. Hello, I need help finding a story. I think it's not on AO3 but on Tumblr. 

In the story, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are engaged since childhood, but LWJ is not thrilled with the idea to the point that he goes to war to escape the wedding. However, WWX goes with him to protect him. In the end, in an attempt to kill Wen Ruohan, LWJ makes a strike that would kill both Wen Ruohan and himself, but WWX jumps in front of the sword and gets seriously injured. I don't remember anything else, except that the last words WWX says are that he wants LWJ to marry for love, to which LWJ replies, "Then you must live." 

Please help me find it. Thank you so much.

FOUND? rebuttable presumption masterpost by sarah-yyy

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2. Hello! I’m looking for a fic that was on ao3 where WWX and LWJ were both wolf shifters. I think there was a mating run in the beginning and LWJ ended up rejecting WWX and he fell very ill as a result. They eventually moved past it but they didn’t get together until one day JGS I think it was drugged WWX and he was sent into heat. LWJ ended up protecting him and guarding his door throughout his heat. They did end up together in the end. @bigmeatycl0ws

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3. Hey! Can you help me find this fic?

A Canon divergence where wei ying had a son with lan zhan ( that he didn't know about) and a yuan ,where they grew up with a  commoner away from the cultivation world after wwx death? ( they were friends with jin ling tho)

Lan wangji didn't know they survived?

I remember they helped the juniors escape the burial mounds after they were kidnapped. @karinasnowwwx

FOUND? Lost children by EonaSPN (T, 42k, WangXian, Canonical Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, Time Skips, Post Mpreg, Wangxian child, LWJ doesn't find A-Yuan, Canon Divergence, POV Alternating, Secret Child, A/B/O Dynamics)

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4. hi hi hehe hope you're doing well 🫶i am looking for this fic which is set in space i think and the plot was wwx ship got lost (?) and then when they found it the people(wwx was with the wens) were in a healing pod but one of the pods was empty ... it had a-yuan who is wangxian's biological son and there was a shadow i think that follows ayuanthank you very muc!!!!

FOUND? Per aspera ad astra by Sanguis (E, 17k, wangxian, fantasy au, Implied Mpreg, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Space Opera, Secret Marriage, Kidnapping, Explicit Sex, Sexual Frustration, Dubious Anatomy, Male Lactation)

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5. Btw there's a fic that I forgot the title of. Basically Wei parents survived from the night hunt and seek Lotus Pier for help. They raised Wei baby there and I think Madame Jin, Madame Yu, and Wei mama did sisterhood vows? Wei dad found his siblings one being Sisi and the other being a Nie wife. Yao's mom was rescued from the brothel too and there's a whole chapter about it. I don't remember much but I remember it being so long and oooh Baby Wangji and Wei baby meeting as kids! Thank you!

FOUND? Building a home by R95irth (T, 586k, CSSR/WCZ, JFM/YZY, WangXian, ChengQing, XuanLi, 3zun, BSSR/LY, MS/SS, Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst with a Happy Ending, Horror, Nightmares, Family Fluff, Found Family)

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6. Hi there! I hope you're doing well! I have a fic I'm looking for and it's driving me a bit crazy. Wangxian is the main pairing but what I remember about it the most is that Nie Mingjue basically adopted him? He did live with the Jiangs for a bit I think but there was a big falling out so he was kicked out and since he and Huaisang are friends, NMJ took him in and was very protective of him. I believe the fic was in modern au. I'm sorry I can't provide more info and I hope you can help, thank you!

FOUND? Come Around and Stay by trippednfell (M, 160k, wangxian, modern, slow burn, kid fic, found family, it gets worse before it gets better, PTSD, blood and injury, dissociation, trauma, angst w happy ending, musicals, alternating pov, JC & WWX reconciliation, hurt/comfort, panic attacks) If OP is looking for a fic where WWX was a IT genius and collaborated wit Nie gege's security company then this is the fic :)) / Lwj is a trauma surgeon and wwx is an IT genius who moonlights as a music teacher.

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7. i’m looking for a fic where wei ying hasn’t seen lan zhan in YEARS and lan zhan and his brother are some kind of celebrity (they’re on smth like the great british bake off) and lz gets into an accident which reunites them, and around the end wwx finds out that lsz is a-yuan. i think wwx was a doctor before the separation but i can’t be sure, it was modern au. thank you !!! @willesnelson​

FOUND? Lifelong Confidant by saved (E, 42k, WangXian, Modern AU, Fluff and Angst, Past Character Death, Families of Choice, Explicit Sexual Content, Idiots in Love, Misunderstandings, Oblivious WWX, references to past alcoholism/substance abuse, Alcohol) I feel confident it's this one

but this one has some similar vibes: SIMILAR! plant a little happiness (let the roots run deep) by fleurdeliser (E, 47k, WangXian, Modern AU, Car Accidents, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Non-Explicit References to Injuries and Death, References to Addiction, Doctors & Physicians, Falling In Love, soft romance, background 3zun)

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8. Heya! So, I’m trying to find this fic that I forgot to save the link to, but all can clearly I remember is WWX needing to wear a silver mask due to some prophecy or curse and having an arranged marriage with LWJ. WQ might’ve become a concubine at some point and I think that development lead to WWX moving from Gusu to Yiling and the Lans were very much not happy about it. 

I’ve looked high and low for it and I’m really worried it got deleted. (if it was, do you know anybody with a copy? Because if I’ve lost another fic to the void I’m gonna cry)

FOUND? imstillthinkingaboutithmm: #8 is a price to pay by wangxianist, its deletez from ao3. I have a copy and if you want it feel free to dm me.

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9. Hi!!! I am looking for a fic I found recently. In it, ayuan is a a child of single parent wei wuxian and damages the car of lan wangji accidently, and so wei wuxain have to pay for the damage. lan wangji says the cost will be in 5 figures and offeres to give wei wuxian a job. so wei wuxian is paid for being a sub to lan wangji. there's a line in the fic which is said by lann wangji that he has a high sex drive. Also, this is a wip fic. Sound familiar to anyone??

FOUND? The Damage You Do by stiricide (E, 94k, wangxian, modern, mob au, Dom/sub, Dark LWJ, Possessive LWJ, Compulsory Heterosexuality, Sex Worker WWX, Sugar Baby WWX, WWX Adopts LSZ, dub con, due to wwx feelings forced into being a sex worker by circumastances, Mobster LWJ, Sounding, Fisting, Object Insertion, Objectification, Sex Toys, Deep Anal Play, Enemas, Praise Kink, degradation kink, Size Kink, Bondage, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Semi-Public Sex, Office Sex, Sensory Deprivation, Consensual Non-Consent, Panic Attacks, Angst with a Happy Ending, warnings/notes on each chapter, bad bdsm etiquette that eventually becomes good etiquette, BDSM,  Rough Sex, WWX Has ADHD, Cock Warming, Small Penis, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Face-Fucking, Blindfolds, Phone Sex, Rimming, Exhibitionism, Rape Fantasy)

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10. Hi! :D

I’m looking for a fic in which wwx thought lwj was in love with one of his siblings, I can’t remember if it was jyl or jc sorry. I can’t remember either of it was modern or canon era but it wasn’t too far from canon (like it wasn’t ABO or Royalty or Fantasy or some other kind of super alternative universe. If it was an AU it might’ve been a college or high school one but I doubt it since I usually don’t read too many AUs) My best bet is it was in the cloud recesses study arc but then again, I read it a long time ago and can’t remember much.

Sorry if it’s too vague, and thank you!

FOUND? Orchids in Lotus Pier by Vamillepudding (G, 21k, wangxian, canon divergence, romantic comedy, pining, protective JC, friends to lovers, misunderstandings)

FOUND? ❤️ For Both Of Us (And Time Is But A Paper Moon) by sami (E, 65k, WangXian, Time Travel, Some People Live/Not Everyone Dies, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, Healing, Yunmeng Shuangjie, Canon Divergence, Asexual JC, First Time, Getting Together, BAMF JC, BAMF LWJ)

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11. Hello!! I'm looking for an abo fic where o!wwx is married to a!lwj, but it was madam yu trying to get rid of wwx, they didn't have feelings for each other yet. lwj is a bit of a dick to wwx along with the rest of the lan sect (except lxc), wwx is trying to make things work, but later he gives up on having a decent marriage, but then lwj realizes that he's actually amazing and really wants to be his husband please.

There's a scene where lxc helps wwx get an audience with the lan clan elders to defeat the waterborne abyss with his luring talisman, which is where lwj falls hard. I also remember wwx being forbidden from interacting with the younger disciples, and wangxian getting into a big fight over having kids.

I would really appreciate if you could find it, thanks so much for your hard work <3 @vellialavellious

FOUND? Concord by Deastar (T, 41k, WangXian, Arranged Marriage, Gūsū Lán Sect Rules,   Depression, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending) Lwj and wwx have an arranged marriage where wwx slowly slips further and further into depression as the lans won't let him do anything or associate with anyone. Angst happy ending though!

FOUND? To Bring You Back Within My Reach by ablaiseofglory (M, 20k, wangxian, WIP, Arranged Marriage, Angst with a Happy Ending, No dubious consent, Adopted Children, Kid Fic, A/B/O Dynamics, omega wwx, Alpha LWJ, Misunderstandings)

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12. looking for a fic that has this scene: lwj drives wwx home with his car. both of them are in... a fraught dynamic? i dont remember the context, but i do remember them not being in the best of relationship (as in, theyre not... getting along well? i dont think they were in a romantic relationship at that time). when the car arrives at wwx's home (i remember the car being parked at a... field (?) so maybe it was an apartment of some sorts?), wwx left the car in anger or disappointment or similarly negative mood, with lwj pretending he doesnt care. after wwx left, lwj cries hard, the hardest he ever cried in his life. then wwx came back to the car because he left his phone, and saw lwj crying, and realized that lwj was only pretending to be okay. iirc their relationship improves after this, but i dont remember if i remember correctly

FOUND! The Flowers Of Autumn by notinamillionyears (E, 65k, WangXian, Loss of Parent(s), Trauma, Modern AU, Mutual Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, CEO, Art, Museums, Misunderstandings, Past Relationship(s), Explicit Sexual Content, Masturbation, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Hand Jobs, Self-Worth Issues, Oral Sex, Moscow, Loneliness, Anxiety, Poetry, Insomnia, Dom/sub Undertones, Power Dynamics, Light BDSM, discussion of consent, Delusions, Mental Health Issues, Character Study)

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13. hii!!! for fic finders, i’m looking for a short fic that was basically jyl looking at wwx and lwj getting married and her basically becoming jealous that he got the life she wanted. that’s all I remember of it, ty if you can find it!! :D

hii!! i’m the asker from the recent fic finder, #13, and i don’t think that was the fic i was looking for unfortunately!! it was not in a series, really short one-shot- like around 700 words- and it was just jyl thoughts. thanks in advanced!! :)

Not FOUND After the conference by Ilona22 (E, 2k, wangxian, ABO, not JC friendly, intersex omegas, PWP sort of)

FOUND? Jealousy by Marinelifeclub (G, 816, WangXian, No Golden Core Transfer, Dark Jiang Siblings)

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14. Hello can you help me find a fic where Wei ying and lan wangji plays an online game . I don't really remember the name but lan wangji goes by hanguangjun in the game and they are actually in the same college or something like that and lan wangji knows that they play online game together but wei ying don't and yes Lan wangji worked at library and wei ying frequented the library. Thank you @sineofu​

FOUND? Duo With You by Nyatci (T, 24k, wangxian, modern, college/university au, Gamers, Casual Gaming, enemies to lovers, Secret Identity, league of legends, Crack but treated very seriously, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Comedy, Angst w happy ending, Hurt/Comfort, Abusive Jiāng Family, WIP)

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15. hi. i'm not sure if this the right way to ask. pardon me if i do. i'm searching for a fic where lan zhan is a mob boss and wei ying is his bf. they are childhood friend but wy left when they argued and lz asked wy to go as he wants to protect him. but he went off radar and lz went crazy. they met in a gala that huisang? organize and lz asked wy to come back to him. the last chapter i think wy install a chip in himself so it's easier for lz to find him. it's a gift for lz birthday. thanks!! :) @aishiteru-amie

FOUND? So Full Of Love (Wouldn't Know Where to Start) by witchupbitch (M, 59k, WIP, WangXian, Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Possessive LWJ, Protective LWJ, Blood and Violence, Idiots in Love, Humor, Mafia AU, Modern AU, Flirting, shameless WWX, Confident WWX, Explicit Language, Mutual Sexual Tension, dark LWJ, Dark WWX, Exhibitionism Sex, Possessive Behavior, Unhealthy Relationships, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings)

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16. I'm looking for a fic I read a while ago that involved WWX somehow getting erased from existence in exchange for a better world with everyone he cares about alive or something similar. What I know is that he meets LWJ again and LWJ falls in love with him and WWX parents are alive and eventually figure out who he is. There's a scene in Cloud Recesses at dinner where Wei Changze asks if LWJ will marry WWX and he says no (probably because of his parents awful marriage) and WWX is heartbroken.

FOUND! This is Elisa's thread fic. Super popular Shrek Au. Hehe

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17. Hi! I'm trying to find a fic in which Lwj dies during his punishment. The discipline handling the whip is thrown out of the sect for having killed Hgj. The disciple feels so guilty for killing Lwj that 13 years later, he uses the body sacrifice array to bring Lwj back. Wwx is alive on this one, and if I remember it right, he created the YillingWei sect. Wwx absolutely hates the Lan sect for killing Lwj.

FOUND? Restart from the End by EmBlu (IcyDeath) (G, 72k, wangxian, major character death, resurrection, role reversal, canon divergence, yiling wei sect au, angst, hurt/comfort,  hurt LWJ, angry WWX, WIP)

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18. Hello! I am looking for a fic where Wei Wuxian becomes a god after his death. He is given a heavenly abode that he can shape as he pleases, and he shapes it like the docks at Lotus Pier. Wen Qing’s spirit becomes his secretary, and Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan’s spirits are his advisors. At the end there is a scene where the remaining human cultivators storm into his abode across a long bridge. I think eventually Lan Wangji ascends and they become a matched set of deities. Thank you!

FOUND? Of Destruction and Rebirth by demoniqt (M, 88k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, major character death, rape/non-con, underage, graphic depictions of violence, canon divergence,Slow Burn, Canonical Character Death, GodWWX, God & Goddesses au, BAMF WWX, Grieving LWJ, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, JC & WWX Reconciliation, Rabbits, Fix-It, Attempted Sexual Assault, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Blood and Gore, Castration, Lots of it, repeatedly, Punishment, Hell)

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19. I’m looking for a fic, modern AU, where WWX is a Hannah Montana style idol. Only he was at the audition because JYL was supposed to be there but she got sick so he panicked and took her place. So he’s a female idol, & LWJ is starting to feel like WWX has gotten bored of him at school &lowkey panicking. HeTakesSolaceInHisNewFavorite idol (WWX)&dreamsOfGiving‘her’FootRubs He gets to meet ‘her’ only while he does WWX’s skirt gets flipped. WWX uses his real voice to whisper Lan Zhan in his ear. @any-mouse

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20. It's MDZS/The Untamed. It's alternate universe. During the part of Canon where jiang Cheng strangles Wei Wuxian he's found by someone else. It's the one where he ends up with the Wen and they decide to leave the war. They find an abandoned village and take Wei Wuxian with them. I believe he loses his memory of the event and it has some permanent or semi-permanent side-effects to his health? 

One of the Wen elders pretends to be a lost Wei relative when they take him back to the Nie compound with A-Yuan due to concerns about the weather/winter and whether they can survive it in their small village? They also deliver a letter or explain what happened to cause his state and that he doesn't remember?

I've found these ones and it's not the one where he ends up at the riverside village or with the Lan early or with the Wen and then declared a traitor by Jiang Cheng.  He does end up with the Wen in this one, but no one learns that they’re the Dafan Wen if I remember correctly and he's not declared a traitor. Any help would be appreciated. @saharrashadow​

FOUND? Go Hiking With a Blindfold On by Hauntcats (Not rated, 12k, wangxian, JC & WWX, WQ & WWX, time travel fix-it, not JC friendly, no golden core transfer) Apart from happening just prior to the core surgery rather than Lotus Pier's fall, everything else seems present.

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[joons]

barbie is a fun, clever, visual feast with some lovely moments that i am happy to see resonate with people. the movie is definitely worth seeing. but i would only give the film a 3.5/5.

i am now going to talk at length about my thoughts on the film, most of which will be an attempt to understand what is being said here.

i think barbie's acceptance of the gender wars as inevitable and perpetual ends up being more regressive than a lot of what it's trying to critique. it mostly ends in a healthier place, but along the way, it has little ability to make meaning outside of that frame. i loved the interactions barbie had with older women, particularly ruth, and i think there's a wonderful message there about girls needing both aspirational role models and grounded older mentors who can help them manage any obstacles they find. what a wonderful theme, and one that is given subtle, genuine weight, which i prefer over the more overt, "telling" moments the film does throughout. but a lot of the story gets sidetracked in assuming women's role is tricking men (a role foisted on them as a reaction to the patriarchy, so don't blame them) and that any true reconciliation or mutual support between men and women is only based on pity. i think the film could have landed better as a reflection on womanhood if it actually dared to be about ... women. if it could imagine women as more. if it truly tried to show the complex roller-coaster of emotions instead of staying stuck in one gear.

i have seen people say how ironic it is that ken is the best part of a barbie film, but it's true, on even deeper levels than people realize. why is ken the only one with true agency, whose feelings are true to himself and not a reflection of someone playing with him? where is the boy playing with his sister's dolls and desperately trying to understand why he feels so inadequate? why are those questions never asked in a film that generates endless questions and observations about human frailty? none of the barbies are capable of doing anything for themselves; they are easily brainwashed by the kens, and all it takes to shake them out of it is a speech about how "complex" women are. kens just have to accept themselves as they are to be happy; barbies have to believe they are doing something productive and worthwhile. except main barbie, who feels like she can't do anything meaningful, because this movie thinks the different barbies are genuinely incapable of doing something if they don't have an outfit to go with it. if the point is that she feels less than because she has seen the real world and feels unprepared for it, well, none of the other barbies would have fared better. astronaut barbie couldn't get a job at nasa, just like beach ken can't get a job at beach. the one time we see barbie make a choice for herself, unprompted by others, unburdened from her anxieties, is to ... go to the gynecologist. um. empowering. i guess.

(i think the ken/barbie plot would have worked better if they were "packaged" together. there's no real reason this ken has the crisis, why barbie feels any special responsibility for him.)

the fact that barbie begins to feel angst and anxiety as a result of real women's insecurities is fascinating; in being the avatar of girls' hopes, she also becomes their "competition," a symbol of all their grief and all their inadequacies. maybe you can see how kens get off easy here; they are not evolved enough; they will never be chosen by the gods as friends or idols or objects of hatred. that could have been explored more, especially through the mother-daughter relationship. why do teenagers begin pulling away from their mothers? perhaps for the same reason they grow out of barbie, because they want to be something beyond the touchstones of femininity they have. they want to be their own person and have to separate themselves, but the girls their age are obsessed with tearing each other down and taking their insecurities out on each other because they feel broken. barbie was experiencing that rejection for the first time. the film could have had something to say about how women can be cruel to one another as they struggle to find their own paths, but it's understandable and part of learning to identify what feels real and true to you. but none of the human characters have enough screentime to address any of this.

i liked the point that women dolls are saddled with the same impossible standards that many women feel. they're blamed in society for women's insecurities and also become totemic, like, "we gave you barbie, what more do you want?" i get that, i get the frustration that animates some of the plot, but i couldn't relate to it all that much. but it does ring true for me that b a r b i e as a concept, a company, a doll, is not the problem or the solution. she's just cool.

("why not make barbies that are relatable and normal?" the movie suggests. oh my god....... 💀 💀 💀 what year is this?)

i think allan (almost inadvertently, or at least subtly) makes the movie's best point: the lack of expectations can be an incredible gift. without them, you are free to become your own person on your own time instead of feeling less than because you're comparing yourself to others. we must all be allan. allan is our friend.

there are honestly so many smart concepts and sly commentary here that feel buried in Telling Not Showing; like the ken war was SO funny, and it would have hit hard if we saw the barbies struggling to find a way to understand and interact with the kens ... and they decide to play nice before realizing jealousy and competition seem to motivate the kens ... and then the kens do the most ken thing and do a normandy reenactment to gain women's attention. that's so archetypal, such a funny nod to the cyclical weirdness of human history, to the idea that women (and men) work within the system that is created for or against them, using the tools they have, living up to the gender roles/models they've been taught! but because the characters are like "i know what we will do. we will manipulate them and then they will go to war because they are men!" it's like ... ugh. it messes up the pacing of that whole sequence. it kills the surprise and delight of watching it unfold, so all we can react to are the sight gags (giving mouth to mouth to the horse lmaoooo) and the juxtoposition of war film and gene kelly musical. but the actual gender role commentary is stated so explicitly, afraid to question itself, afraid to say anything surprising or insightful, that it amounts to putting everyone right back in their box. the film tries to balance this at the end, pitying patriarchy as a cope against death, trying to empower the kens to be themselves, but it refuses to imagine any true healing or change, anything beyond "well, kids need to imagine barbieland as a matriarchal utopia, even though we have established that doing so leaves them unprepared for a world of unfair standards they can't control." all women can expect to do is fight for a land of dreams, but always know that the most that land can achieve is creating an image that will be sold back to them as empowerment. genuinely, what the FUCK is the point of this film. oh, it's too hard to say that imagination is what makes us human and that ultimately means more than the object. again, the film will outright state some version of this idea ("I want to do the imagining, I don't want to be the idea"), but every other part of the plot undercuts it with its own failure to imagine women as more than reactive.

and it had the chance to let women be real characters! (hell, does this movie even remember that barbie has Lore, a Family, a Last Name, that she hasn't been "just a doll" in a long, long time?) but the film seems to set up plots that would have given us organic interactions and fully realized characters. i got so excited when america's character, gloria, showed up, because okay, we're going to be able to explore womanhood through the eyes of a real person, we're going to see the push and pull between idealized utopias and dreams and real-world survival and hope and despair by learning more about her. but no. gloria is there to give a speech that doesn't sum up her life and her passions but all women in very generic terms. it's not experiential, it's definitional (and it's a definition built on what a woman is not -- not this, not this, can't be that). it is relying on the audience to point and say, "i recognize that," instead of building gloria as a person we love and know and laugh and cry with. you are building a wall between the story and your audience; if they never had "complicated feelings" about barbie, if they aren't sure why gloria cares so much about the doll while her daughter has such a negative reaction, then it is not going to let them in and explain that. it is going to say, "if you don't get it, you are brainwashed, probably, or a man, and you don't want to see it, and i am not going to open it up to you because it is an exclusive club, intentionally, because it is the only club we have, and i am not going to open it up to further ridicule or commentary, even though that is what this entire movie is doing." gah! tell a story! tell a STORY! surprise me! why are we just pointing at things?

i'm telling you, when barbie sits on that bench and has an interaction with an older lady, who is totally at ease in her own skin, who is un-selfconscious and not angry and peaceful, it brought immediate tears to my eyes. it was such a breath of fresh air. a real person, reacting in a way that surprises and moves you. what was her story. who is she. what is her secret to confidence and balance, and how can women share that with one another. no no no, go go go, take on capitalism and patriarchy until you're too tired to remember how to laugh, this is healthy and good. @~@

ultimately i am talking about the themes i wish were there or wish were more emphasized because the messages that are there feel contradictory. for instance, the kens' patriarchy is shallow and cartoonish, both in barbieland and the real world (that mattel executives were just as stupid and pointless as TOY PEOPLE was so INTERESTING to me; like what does it mean that men can still "play," and get paid enormously for it? but it's kind of just "isn't this dumb"), and the barbies are more than happy to manipulate their kens' emotions to get what they want. america ferrera tells barbie she is justified to feel mad at ken for what he did to her and her friends. but in the next scene, barbie comforts ken and connects to his feelings of vulnerability. it feels like the movie is rolling its eyes through the scene, when it could have been a really beautiful, sweet moment where humanity is recognized as universal, a true "man was not meant to be alone" moment of meaning, turned inside out and shaken and reconfigured as complementary and supportive, where barbie and ken realize community is crucial to weathering their own insecurities and flawed emotional responses, and maybe you can need someone without making it your whole personality. maybe the fear of connection is something all girls start to struggle with as they become teenagers, and they need that world where men don't want anything from them, and they want to cling to it a little longer than necessary. but because it's been bookended with "of course he's going to cry about it, don't give in, it's not your job to support him," the emotional core of the scene is undercut by shallower stuff. the scene genuinely reads like "placating men is important and you should do it," which is INSANE to me, but that's what is coming across with the wild whiplash between rage and sweetness, denying kens any humanity the whole film and trying to patch it up right at the end. barbie's ennui stems from the fact that a weary mother is playing with her, but the rest of the barbies - and the film as a whole - feel puppeted by the surly teenager who has not moved beyond rage-filled one-liners. i don't like that this is the case because those moments of human connection (barbie with the older woman on the bench, the mother-daughter relationship, even ken trying to understand why he cares so much what other people think of him) are so great. we're just supposed to ... not apply compassion to characters the film doesn't like. and we are supposed to like the characters we do like not because we are experiencing their lives with them but because they are saying The Right Things Loudly.

(and don't you love how the film even has a prepackaged response to being criticized? wanting men to be real people is brainwashed behavior. wanting women to have thoughts that go beyond regurgitated feminism 101 catchphrases is asking too much of a plastic toy. it's just a reflection or reality, see, but it's also exaggerated satire. i think the glib tone just crept into everything and made for some wild subtext that i don't even think the film recognizes.)

greta gerwig is more successful at dealing with the tension between made "things" and real life in little women. jo, as a stand-in for louisa may alcott, is resistant to getting jo "married off" and only caves in to get the book published. but the life and joy still sing in the scene where she reunites with bhaer, even when the audience is already primed to see it as artificial and cynical. the play between what jo says she wants and what jo indulges in is obvious; we can find joy and light even in the things that feel like a compromise of our principles. sometimes they are better than life, better than what we could imagine, they take on lives of their own, they become little women who exist off the page and no longer have to carry the burden of being "The One Narrative For Women" because they spark thousands of other stories and hopes and longings that the author doesn't have to be responsible for. as much as i waffle on whether i like the ending of gerwig's little women, it's clear that part of greta is throwing up her hands, in a "but what do i know?" gesture ... indulgent romance might just be the little antidote we need to stave off the lonely feelings we get sometimes. it's not weak, it's not a compromise, it's just cool.

for whatever reason, she doesn't bring that same verve or ambiguity to this film; she can't infuse barbie with meaning beyond what her critics say about her. barbies, like women, have to be perfect, but they can't be. they can't be totems, but they are. we must get away from them, but we can't. they are creations of men, but women can't think their way out of the box. barbie is an immortal ideal, but none of what she symbolizes has any impact.

"that's the point. it's complicated," greta says to me. "my job here is done."

"but declaring things complicated is not a point of view!" i yell back. "you didn't do anything!"

maybe i am too invested in barbie to even recognize that people have such negative feelings about her. maybe i have seen this premise done better in the lego movie, teen beach movie, barbie: life in the dreamhouse! (all of which genuinely love toys and kids/teen media and are not using them to sort out their own disgruntled feelings — and have a genuine belief that even flawed media bankrolled into existence can be real art, something gerwig seems so skeptical about that she lets her ambivalence about taking on this particular directorial gig become the driving tension in the story. how ... relatable?) maybe i have unresolved issues with greta's themes from little women and am now realizing how little she seems to get the things that matter to me, and we just need to part ways.

as anthony lane writes in the new yorker, "maybe the movie is for greta gerwig. and, by extension, for anyone as super-smart as her—former barbiephiles, preferably, who have wised up and put away childish things."

to that, i'd put a quote from c.s. lewis, whose work greta will soon try to get her hands around: "when i became a man i put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." the soul shudders at a narnia, a barbieland, a march family home, that are only notable for how "complicated" our feelings about them are supposed to be, and i think that puts my thoughts on greta's work into words.

now ... proust barbie, i would buy.

[chocmuffinsscones]

BKDK endgame theory

Another highly self-indulgent theory on how bkdk's gonna be endgame canonically

Disclaimer: Since I don't wanna jinx it or feel embarrassed for being so brazen about this mere silly thought of mine, I'll just keep this private until if things similar to what I've predicted became true. Otherwise, this will only be for my eyes alone. - edited 6 Nov 2023

Fuck all of that guess I'm just gonna put it out there and let y'all have fun as I embarrass myself. Just think it's all for lolz if none of these happen, at least I have fun writing to indulge my fantasy - edited 8 Nov 2023

So, what I think is that since hori's gonna keep giving us surprises and +u up his own game, my guess is that to clearly and subtly lock the pair without making it feel forced is to make bkdk make a promise to each other that hinted a lifelong warrant. Refer this to what toga said in her arc

It's not exactly a love confession, but what'll you feel if someone promise to dedicate their whole life in making you feel happiness, loved? I think that's love disguise in a glass case

So, how's this gonna parallel to our favourite dorks who're both so emotionally constipated and verbally poor at confessing?

Me thinks that, apparently when the boys were pushed to the extremes -- to the moment when there's literally no time affordable to think of anything else besides the most important thing they hold in their life, that the moment their body has to move on their own by instincts -- we'll finally get to see, bright as day, where their true feelings lay.

As far as we've seen, it has been clearly revealed (except for those who're illiterate or in a dilemma of spiralling denial) that on katsuki's side, Izuku's the one constantly haunting his head for the rest of his 10+ years. He'd jump into battle with him, rush in front of him to avert the blow, fight in pain to stay relevant in izuku's battle -- to the point of fighting to his death to protect his seniors and to yet remain as izuku's image of victory... all these, to atone his mistakes in mistreating Izuku.

Throughout his character growth, Katsuki had been to the extremes. What are the most extreme situations if not death itself?

After that, however, we see katsuki came back with his heart fully open (pun definitely not intended!), feelings more outwardly shown, saying thanks sincerely without hiding behind his explosive demeanor, smiling straightforwardly at his favourite idol AM 🥺

Katsuki had met his breaking point, met death itself, and came back a new man. A man who wanted to change before everything was too late. As soon as he woke up, he didn't waste time hesitating to allow further regrets, showing gratitude and humility whole-heartedly in any instant he should've done like any decent human being would.

Except, there's still one thing he hadn't yet achieve to reach a complete circle for his narrative.

Pre-war, Katsuki's biggest dread, the constant looming threat choking around his neck, was being unable to be honest and sincere to Izuku.

"But wait! He'd already stated his apology, he has no regrets left!"

Well, if you have that complain, you're not understanding katsuki well enough. Katsuki is a man of action more than his words. It's quite a common habit for Asians too to put more thoughts into action rather than just spewing beautiful words. And Katsuki, through and through, was an all-in-or-nothing kind of guy. He would never stop at just apologising. If his prior intention for reconciliation was to make himself feel better, then the integrity behind his actions and words was nullified, since that would undoubtedly negate the whole building up of his character's motivation. Moreover, it would become a huge flaw in horikoshi's writing as that would depict him in a "fake hero" spotlight as well as contradict the character's self incentive to be the bestest hero there is. I wouldn't bet hori would decide to ruin his writing like this. In fact, this is such a huge plot point for katsuki's character development that such a small blunder at this point would greatly affect the whole endgame story dynamic to his readers. Not that he'd care if he really did chose that path... I mean 🤷🏻‍♀️😬

Anyway, personality-wise, I'd say Katsuki would be the first person to hate that particular kind of people if he sees one. He'd definitely be disgusted of himself if he were one. That's why I wouldn't bet hori will make that blunder, because hori had been writing him as an incessantly growing character, relentlessly pushing his limits to be the best and always showed his results through visible actions.

So then, back to the point, what were left to do if he had already apologised? What more does he need to do then to further compensate?

:) As I've mentioned earlier, nothing beats the offer of a lifelong compensation, of devoting one's own time and energy willingly to the other as long as they need, or provide care and attention whenever they deserve.

"Wait. What does that even sound like tho? Doesn't that seem like a huge burden to bear??"

For Katsuki however, it's as per usual: all in or nothing!

A promise that hinted lifelong devotion though... That truly sounds like a heavy dedication to carry for the rest of one's life. Doesn't that kind of vow ring any bells? That's the only conclusion I could come to unfortunately. Because Katsuki is a perfectionist, he'll never aim at only atoning his mistakes for a "measly" 10-20 years.

But then, at what kind of situation he would promise a life-binding oath like that out of the ordinary?? Knowing our boys, there's no way they would open their ironclad mouths to say something as romantic as that out of the blue, right??

So here comes my prediction❗❗

📢 warning: take everything below with a grain of salt because at this point it's just me wildin' haha

Evidently, it's been awhile we're constantly warned about Izuku's lack-of-oxygen crisis. He was still fighting sAFO alone while Katsuki came back to focus on AFO himself.

There's a few ways things could go south from there. Afo could very well be dealt by Katsuki now with extra buffs(his new cluster moves), but Izuku was still in an unknown critical state. So while Katsuki busied himself distracting afo, Izuku could somehow got sucked into sAFO's vestige space in a moment's hesitation (or something happened that sucked him into vestige space). We might finally get our vestige space fight between Izuku and tenko & OFA vs AFO, or we could get a heartwarming talk no jutsu (as well as some sprinkle of action fights) between Izuku and Tenko. And all of these played out without the involvement of Katsuki -- as he's stuck in the physical world and is still dealing a rampaging afo. The dudebros would be happy about this. Finally they had a chance to laugh at us at being clowns for wanting katsuki's involvement in the vestige fight. But remember, hori is a troll through and through. He could troll us, he could troll the dudebros too. It's our temporary loss for not getting Katsuki fight beside izuku in afo vestige space, but we'll have something better later!

Because while all of those happen in the vestige space, apparently Tomura and Izuku's body will be out of it, falling to the ground and seemingly lifeless, out of consciousness to the eye of the people in the physical world.

I can imagine Katsuki having no time to spare while dealing with Afo as this happen. He's got to finish AFO first to get back to Izuku. And I promise you it'll not take too long for him to do that, 'cause it'll be a combo attack from IN and OUT as Izuku counter both Afo and tenko in the vestige space -- but it'll feel a bit longer in Izuku's pov as timeflow seems to be slightly different in there.

Anyhow, as Katsuki was done with afo, what do you think he'll react then when he reached a passed out Izuku? When he arrived to the scene of Izuku and Tenko on the ground, Izuku probably temporarily *not breathing* and motionless. *not breathing due to the setback of gearshift

Katsuki will be shocked and traumatized. After spilling his heart out to win AFO with/for izuku, how could he stand to win the battle if Izuku wasn't there to claim victory alongside him? He would hold Izuku's hand and kept calling out to him (maybe angrily or threatening but the words are sweet and all of it are very contrasting?👀), calling for his soul to come back. Surely he would start crying and confess all his regrets even more too. *reminder: these are only possible because all his walls were finally broken down after his revival, he's a changed man in and out.*

Then, even better! When the medic units and probably some other heroes arrived to the scene, Katsuki suddenly realised he could give Izuku cpr! He'll do it himself and think it'll work since he learnt it from emergency treating lessons, and he didn't want Izuku to leave his side but also didn't want to do nothing to help Izuku recover.

See? Plus Ultra. Katsuki giving Izuku cpr y'all. Bkdk won. All these too in front of some witnesses and recording cameras. :)

And, yeah, cuz hori is a troll, katsuki's kiss of life actually wasn't the *sole* reason Izuku came to (all for the ambiguity too, ya know ;) and besides, hori likes trolling Katsuki too, not allowing him to get what he wants)-- it was all Izuku's well-deserved victory on defeating afo and saving tenko from the vestige space that allowed him to return to his own body after the vestige world close up. In fact, Izuku didn't actually need it, he was merely away from his body to fight in the vestige space for a bit; if he won, he would eventually come back and wake up by himself, the problem of hypoxia naturally dissolved along with it.

In another words, the "kiss" was just a bonus. It's a heartfelt gift from hori-sensei to his bkdk/grateful manga readers. Because in the end of the day, it's the promise between Izuku and Katsuki that wrapped the deal of bkdk being endgame canonically. For Hori, it's a win-win situation; he could have fun building suspense over his readers, as well as finally letting his favourite boys earn their long overdue peace to be together. Also, completing both protagonist and deuteragonist narrative foil as save to win, win to save. AND not making the whole scene romantically charged, as the reason behind their actions aren't out of sexual desire nor sexual attraction, since tHis Is sTilL JusT a shOuNen mAnGa afterall. Just "bros" devoting their life to each other and occasionally hold hands to get comfortable of each other's touch because they're practicing their next combo move. 😀

[darklinaforever]

DAEMON TARGARYEN, ABLE TO LOVE HIS CHILDREN ?

"I think Daemon loves his children to a certain extent but just not as some other parents might, I mean he literally tells Mysaria he's glad that she can't get pregnant and in the books he doesn't really show any grief when she miscarried , though thst can be argued bc he did get a hardness when it came to Viserys after that "

Good. To start, let's talk about this moment in the series. Daemon at this time is not a father. He does not know fatherhood, and he is still young. For information, many people do not want children at some point in their life, that does not mean that they will love their children less than those who have always wanted them, once they have them. This perspective is ridiculous, and based on literally sure nothing. (Hello Rhaenyra?) Also, it's forgotten that Daemon was actually considering having children with Mysaria before she revealed to him that it was impossible, and also that in episode 4, when Rhaenyra told him that Rhea Royce was lucky, as he didn't impregnate him, Daemon simply retorts that it would be impossible to raise children/develop them properly in such a hostile environment. These elements therefore indicate that in reality Daemon is not at all against the very idea of having children. And if Daemon was definitely against this idea, I doubt he would have had 4 under his belt, and almost 6 in fact, if you count the lost babies of Laena and Rhaenyra.

Seriously, assuming you can't love your kids right because you didn't want them before is so stupid... There are tons of parents who wanted kids who ultimately don't love their kids right, or even not at all for some. And conversely there are tons of parents loving their children when before they didn't want them. Where does this bullshit argument come from?!

When Mysaria has a miscarriage in the book, it is said that (from my French version that I translate) "When the news reached Prince Daemon, he did not utter a single syllable of sorrow, but his heart was hardened against the king his brother. From then on, he no longer spoke of King Viserys except with disdain". So, I don't know what more you need to understand that yes, Daemon was definitely impacted by the death of his child and resented Viserys for this loss. To think that he didn't experience grief because he didn't express it conventionally / or it wasn't described as such, (especially in a book told as a biased historical narrative and not a normal novel) is nonsense.

Then, when Daemon had his daughters, his first instinct was to extend his hand of reconciliation to Viserys to meet them and bless them so that Daemon could properly introduce them to the court. He also always defended his stepsons against accusations of bastardy. He plotted Blood and Cheese to avenge Luke's death, "son for son." ", and killed Aemond by literally planting Dark Sister in his eye "An eye for an eye". Beyond that, Daemon was always by Rhaenyra's side during the births of his children with her. Because yes, if he did it for baby Visenya, there's no reason to think he didn't do it for the others. When the war broke out, Daemon also sent Rhaena to the Vale, a place he deeply hates, indicating that he is swallowing his pride in order to keep his daughter safe. Without talking about the fact that he did not punish Baela for having sex outside marriage, staggering for the time. So, frankly, to say that he loves his children, but not in the way other parents would, is of course not based. Or worse, that he wouldn't like them at all (as some go so far as to say sometimes). Daemon loves his children, even those who are not biologically his own. It's that simple, and I don't understand why so many people try to downplay this clearly evident aspect of the book.

[blorbologist]

💀📖 (book can be an episode or arc if you wanna do CR!)

💀: If you had to choose one major character to die, who would you choose?

Out of all of VM, Vax was the lynchpin of the party and really the perfect one to die IMO. I will stand on the hill that VM would have half the weight it does if Vax hadn't had to leave with the Raven Queen at the end.

But maybe that's hindsight talking - if we're talking non-canon permadeath, I think an AU where Scanlan stayed dead (refusing revival, instead of blowing up after the fact) could have been a fascinating turning point for VM! You get the 'oh shit this is no longer a joke' that Bard's Lament offered, but... tbh I don't feel like that episode is the big change to VM some people consider it to be? Like yes, Tary shows up, and the party starts checking in on everyone a smidge more and there is some angsting (mostly on Percy and Pike's end iirc)... but it's nowhere near the trajectory change that Molly's death had on the M9. Scanlan being gone-gone, and there being no chance of reconciliation, would absolutely rock a VM who so far have been able to save everyone that mattered to them far sooner and with far more finality. I could see the year break being less a thing of 'hey we're done our to-do list and can chill now' and more 'hey do we even fucking want to do this anymore? when our friend died in a puddle of piss?' Kill their Molly, except with more bad blood.

📖: If you had to remove one book arc from the series, which would you choose?

... okay this IS the unpopular opinion game. Preface: I can't really discern any clear arcs in C3 like I can in C1 or C2. This is mostly because they have huge overarching goals ('Treshi plot', 'Preparing for moon' and 'Da Moon' is how it feels to me) which the characters really... don't make much clear progress towards during most of those long arcs? (Vs, say, the Vecna arc, where you have the initial discovery, then that bad fight, collecting trammels, etc.). Not to say that the other campaigns didn't have their own meandering arcs - Tary arc comes to mind - but it's... really hard to figure out what I'd cut out when my instinctive answer is 'so fucking much, IDK what anything is contributing to any goals/wholes anymore'.

BUT the curing Keyleth mini-arc irritated the hell out of me for little discernable reason and I'd like it Gone Please.

Ask me about my unpopular opinions!

[ae-azile]

I really appreciate the voting pools you are doing for every upcoming chapter:D. It gives me a taste of what I can look forward to the next chapter of Progression. I love this story so much. I fear that Korn will make some real trouble now. And hopefully he won't get between KhunArm too much. Because yes, Porsche won't have this ship ruined for him:DD. Also I think that Korn won't like developing VegasKinn ship either (i.e. power cousin combo). If that's something he will try to break (again), Chay won't have it. It's his OTP now and Korn won't ruin it. Your writing is amazing and I can't wait for more.

I'm glad you enjoy the voting polls! Meant to make this last one have a week limit but forgot to change it. But they are fun to compile and sometimes hold me to keeping certain plot points that I might delay otherwise.

Korn is...ugh. I will say that he loves his sons in his own way, but he values his own perception and control too highly to truly listen to them and adjust his own views and behavior. In this universe, I have Tankhun getting kidnapped at 17 years old. He was highly valued and Korn's pride and joy up until that point, and then was completely traumatized by everything that happened to him during his kidnapping. I think Korn's mixture of guilt and disappointment that he never bounced back from it made it so he distanced himself from his oldest and went lax on the level of support he needed back then. Khun changed so much from the experience, and I think that was not expected. But it also made Korn more controlling and protective of Tankhun in his own way. He has not viewed Tankhun as capable in a long time, and this extends to normal life milestones that Tankhun was robbed of. He has been so brave and productive these last few years, both secretively and not so secretively, and it has gone mostly unnoticed by close to everyone (except for Arm, and maybe Pol). It probably saddens him greatly, but he knows it has been for the best because the good developments might be halted by his father, should he find out. This upcoming chapter, he may be proven right. It's integral that he has everyone else in his corner at this point. His next steps need to be a strange mixture of bold, deliberate, but also very planned.

I mean, after all, he can't let Porsche down. ArmKhun is his OTP! I think if drama occurs with Korn, he is going to be a mixture of pissed off, supportive of his ship, and extremely involved. He wants them to stay together, and being an active player in making sure that happens will be interesting for him lol. As for Chay, I know he doesn't want the relationship between the cousins to be affected by Korn or his decision to step out of retirement.

The reconciliation with the cousins will probably be kept quiet for now, but I don't see Korn liking it much either, not unless he can keep an active eye on Vegas, Macau, Pete, and Fern. He has been comforted by the knowledge that they are busy with new ventures that don't really affect the major family's, and the fact that Vegas and Pete are busy with fatherhood might be a positive in his eyes. They won't risk the baby's welfare by stepping out of line, and the baby can be used as potential leverage if they do. I don't think it will come to that, but I think Vegas has no desire to get involved with Korn again for this reason, as well as the fact that he views Korn as the root of several different traumas.

I do hope to explore some of this in the new chapter! I am behind schedule right now due to two deadlines at work, but I am currently writing an emotionally charged conversation between Kinn and Khun now. It is way overdue and some resentments are coming out, but it will hopefully be good for them and their bond in the scheme of things! Thank you for the ask!

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

I love Janine this episode xD

"They knew I was lying" SLFHFJSKD xDD

I love her lol

"That's concerning" xDD

I mean they could be schools too though lol, tbh I believe them xD

Ahhh I thought it was the mx for a second like wrong first name but it's the spelling xD

JANINE LOL

Honey xD

MELISSA GOING TO GO STAND WITH HER SKFHDJS

Melissa xD

Their face 💀

"Ja" SLFJFHSK JANINE XDD

Jacob I swear if you do it over text or call- sir get it together 😭 xD

SPCJSUANWPAUUUOH NO I'M NOT PREPARED FOR THAT

Imagine if he proposed or something-

Lol sorry xD ik it wouldn't be I just mean like something the opposite xD

Gregory does not want to be here for this xD

OPE NO CHOICE NOW

He didn't say that I just know he won't want to

SLFKGHDKS JACOB STARTING TALKING AROUND GREGORY XDD

Oh poor Gregory I'm so sorry lol

I know it would pain me too lol xD

Also it would be wild if Zach really does go like "I realized how much I love you :))" or like "are you doing okay?" xD

Yk maybe if they break up now we can fix it later in the episode :'))

Maybe :'))

Hear me out xD

Because this moved along a lot quicker than I thought it would from being 7 minutes in lol I thought there would only be time to breakup xD

Though there is still Barbara's whole plot

Also they deserve better than a middle for he episode breakup You Know What if that happens 😤 xD

"I've been rather frustrated" sorry Zach I can't take you seriously- /lh xD

I think honestly any wording in a blunt way just makes it more awkward for Gregory and that may be a reason for it lol xD not that they can't be blunt but yk

Aww and confused 😭😭 stop he sounded so sad :'((

Turns out Zach doesn't think they're having problems :'))

Maybe if they break up Jacob will realize how much he still loves him and wants to be with him :'D or both of them :'D help please :D

Poor Gregory xD sir at this point just leave lol

I would not be able to handle being there for that xD not bc I love them but bc it would be awkward lol

SLFHFSK yeah you have been xD

See this is why you guys never break up because you're too honest and accepting of your faults and sweet xD except clearly not honest enough lol

I swear though if this is all some elaborate ruse

I don't think it is but like xD

"My brother if I could just-" Bro is trying his BEST SLFHSJLDS 💀💀 XDDD

He does not wanna be here for this and I wouldn't either

PLEEEASE don't do this to me I feel like they will and then Gregory's gonna be left standing there awkwardly as the end of the scene 😭

But hey maybe that leaves time for reconciliation :D

Probably not but I can cope :')

It would be funny if Zach asks if it's from quitting vaping lol like the behavior

And nice callback/consistency :)) or if that actually is the reason xD but yk the 7 months thing so who knows

I thought Jacob said he'd been being frustrating and confusing but I went back (just to go back not for that) and he did not so slightly less immediately broke down and was honest there lol

Wait nah he's not gonna-

YEAH COUPLE'S THERAPY LOL

Jacob xD you idiot

Unfortunately this means they will probably break up at the end of the episode :') or before the end anyway

Since it's not now xd

Help I'm hurting

Let's just hope they actually do and it works xD :')

AUGH JACOB

aoguh

oaughHaug my CAPS COME BACK HERE I NEED YOU

AOGUHAUAIOGH

JACOB STOP

JACOB WHY

WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

The way he said it 😭😭 xD sad and funny

Also!hey :')))) at least this means they could get back together by later :'))

Or he'll back down now lol

But I think we might end the scene and come back to it later? Hopefully not lol

Gregory awkwardly standing there like xD

Let me see his face I need to see it lol

It's my only solace here xd 😭

SKFJHDKS Zach's face xD but also 😭😭😭💔💔 my honey DD':

My honeys honestly 😭😭😭😭 D':

Yep Gregory's awkward xD feeling it I mean

LOL yes run XD

SLFJGHDKS MR. JOHNSON STANDING THERE WITH A TRASH CAN LOL

He just wants to be in on it lol xD

It would be wild if he set all this up-

Sorry I'm fine and rational I promise xD

SLDKFHDKS MR. JOHNSON

A H NO THEY'RE BACK CRAP

But I mean at least I get to see it 😭😭😭 they deserve that much tbh xd

Or maybe they'll talk it out :')? Or be almost at that point and then later we found out they did? Whatever works? Please :')?

The sub stuff is already mostly figured out so we've got plenty of time for this and the other one 😭 unfortunately and fortunately xD

Jacob don't turn it back on him lol

Just stop repeating him man 😭

OKAY Zach said "Jacob. You s" before I paused and the genuine emotion like without comedy there was too much for me I ant handle this 😭😭😭😭😭💔💔

Guys help help guys save me

This is one of the few times I think you'll find me genuinely having a breakdown on my blog show wise lol. Like sadness wise, especially liveblog wise lol

So hey at least there's that xd I am not always happy (with the decisions lol)

Pleeeeas don't do this to me

I should stop the post but I think I wanna keep it going xd all in one post and what not

They deserve that 😭

Ik I'm talking like they're already dead but please guys don't break up xdd

I mean be happy but I want you to be happy together xdd

Okay there was some comedy there vibe wise as I figured out still that hurt 😭

Jacobbbb stop trying to pin the blame on him 😭 ik you hate this but you did it

Honestly despite my screaming howling pain and misery if they really do I will be proud of Jacob for actually doing it lol

And I'm afraid that's what's supposed to happen xd 😭

HE DID NOT

Jacob stop gaslighting him 😭 I love you but sir xd

AWW APIGUOSHUHHH- I can't the that time oh my gosh

He's about to do it

Or actually force Jacob to be honest

Or break my heart (though both of those would) but yk in a separate way like about he was gonna propose at some point or how much he loves him or something

That would just about kill me and I would die right here 😌

OKAY NOPE IT WAS A "WHAT'S GOING ON" OPTION TWO GUYS HONESTLY THE BEST OUT OF ALL BUT NOW I HAVE TO CONFRONT IT 😭😭😭💔

And so do they 😭😭😭💔 :'((

JACOBBBB NOOOO

But also don't deny it I mean xd

Tbh I just don't deserve this

One second let me just-

AAAAAAAAAUOOUUUGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-

I'm fine :')

Yk what no no I'm not 😭😭😭😭 :'((

Screaming sobbing throwing up how could you do this to me

No Jacob don't deny it sir I swear-

JUST BE FREAKING HONEST

OKAY AIGOGDUUAGAUUHHHOGIHHGGGGH but at least the did :') 😭😭😭😭😭💔

Jacob. That hurt me. How could you ever do this to me

Zach's gonna agree or something and that lessens the chances of fixing it but also that makes it slightly easier sooo idk xd

Okay at least we're being genuine now 😭😭😭💔 :'((

Honeyyyys 😭😭😭💔 I mean yeah that tracks but xd the afraid to rip of the band-aid bit, as the reason I mean lol

Okay bandage my bad I paused lol

OH MY GOSH HE'S ABOUT TO SAY SOMETHING WHILE SOUNDING LIKE HE'S CRYING LIKE THAT HE LOVES HIM I'M NOT OKAY-

Y'all this is too emotional for them to get back together they're really doing this to me 😭 I haven't accepted it till now and probably won't for the next 26 years but yk x'd

AOUGHHHHHAHHHHH "THIS SUCKS" YES IT DOES SUCK 😭😭😭💔💔💔

Not as bad as it could've been though, what he said wise :')

Yeah 😭😭😭😭💔

. . . do I deserve a kiss for all my efforts/pain though (the answer is yes but will I get one xdd a goodbye kiss for them I mean lol)

Should you be doing this in the middle of the school day by the way guys x'D sorry unrelated lol

Not really but yk xd

I better get a hug though not just a dejected stand

AOUGH NOPE THEY'RE GONNA CONTINUE TALKING OUCH

AUGHO why'd you have to say thank you I deserved an I love you there

We can worry about Jacob's growth later let me be sad and emotional and in the moment 😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔❤️

SLFKFHSK JACOB

SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID THAT xd

I swear if the only reason Zach wanted to actually break up was because of the stuff you've been doing Jacob-

IF YOU'VE KILLED THIS FOR ME xd-

It is not a funny story Jacob bc ik that's what you're gonna say after really when I unpause this lol xd

Yep xD

And I think Zach agrees lol

Yk this was almost amicable xd

JACOB

How many times did that happen xD

I appreciate the jokes to lighten the mood but guys xdd

Also honestly just let me be sad lol I need it xd

NOT THE FULL NAME

Sir this was so close to being amicable 😭😭

I mean I don't want the secret but like xD

APCIENAO IS HE GONNA CALL HIM A SOB

Probably not but xD

Glad we're also acknowledging Jacob's non-growth lol

AOCURUANODAUHOL NOPE JUST THE B :O

SLFKGJDKHS LOWKEY ICONIC THOUGH ON ZACH'S PART AND ON JACOB FOR BEING CALLED THAT XD

Hold up now xd-

The what 😭

Guys I am not emotionally okay xdd

I'm shaking as I try to breathe lol

And I cannot take seriously what Zach is doing right now 😭😭 xD

Desperately hoping I get more in my feels so I can avoid this /hj-

WHY IS THE KRAKEN FLAPPING. ZACH.

YES understandable Zach xD but the yes was also for Jacob bc it needed to be said

Sweet prince??? Slfjghsks??? What do y'all have going here I swear xDD

Honestly fair though Zach don't have to care xd

But also. Did you have to try and break my heart in every possible guys xd

Zach this is about to be uncalled for- :OO >:OO THEY WERE NEVER FUN

Yk idk if I could get over this if they did ret back together ngl xdd

My babeys don't deserve this 😭😭😭😤💔

Fair and real though for Zach to go off mans was just broken up with

Also I cannot help but figure Mr. Johnson and Gregory are listening at the door 💀

:OOO AT TRIVIA NIGHT!!

Okay now Jacob looks angry too and fair enough xdd

Also not the callback to the first time we saw Zach, and I don't deserve this :))) 😭. The and isn't needed there but idk I wanted it

SLFJFHSKDS NOT THE SINGING XD

Fair and real Zach but also

Zach leads the choir song-

Awww honeyyy 😭😭😭😭💔💔

Now give me the sadness back xdd

Yk the anger makes it easier but also I still don't deserve this xd

Also as I've been wondering, where is Janine in all this 😭 your bestie needs you D':<

Yep Gregory's is stills standing there xD

Yep you should've xdd

SHLFHSKDS GREGORY

Nahh for him too

Awww yeah :')) 😭😭😭😭❤️💔

Awww :'))) (the "I do have other pens")

Okay! So! I did not deserve this!

[theowritesfiction]

‘Sozin’s Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang’

Damn, I had forgotten how awesome the airship battle actually is because the Agni Kai and Aang vs. Ozai usually overshadow it, but it doesn't deserve to be overshadowed. I had forgotten how close Sokka and Toph came to dying. And Sokka sacrificing his precious space sword to save Toph's life <3 God bless these kids.

As much as I enjoyed parts of Aang vs. Ozai, I was never a fan of the rock of destiny unlocking Aang's final chakra and unleashing his full Avatar powers. I just find that and the whole concept of energy bending as too contrived, sorry, another hot take, I know. As fun as it is to watch Ozai getting absolutely massacred by the Avatar, if Ozai is directing lightning at me, and I know how to re-direct it... well, there's nothing left of Ozai to bury except for his teeth.

Also, as I'm watching Aang in the Avatar State, I'm also thinking... well, they can never introduce anything in this universe and have it be a challenge for THAT. Too much of a power up.

Ozai does deserve some extra Jerk Points for attacking Aang after he has turned his back on Ozai. That's 100 Jerk Points.

I really enjoyed the Azula and Katara fight in the Crystal Catacombs, but the circumstances are too tragic for me to enjoy it here. :(

Also, this is the look of someone who's going to make sure that Azula isn't just imprisoned somewhere after the war and forgotten, this is the face of someone who will make sure that Azula has what she needs in order to heal. If you disagree with that, stop following this blog right now and block yourself, I don't want you here.

Also fuck whoever decided that this was the last we have to see of Azula in Book 3. Just a very sincere and heartfelt fuck you. <3

Anyway, there was a reason why I didn't want to watch these final episodes, and not just because I knew they would depress me. Before re-watching, I thought of these final episodes as something that wrapped up the show in an overall satisfying way, and even if I didn't like some of the decisions I was happy with the way it ended. Well... I'm not going to even bother hiding my salt, I'll just come out and say that I actually kind of hate this ending now and mostly because this is where they left Azula. I shouldn't have watched it because now I'm angry, and the show just feels either unsatisfying or incomplete.

Here's what I would change:

Mai is magically teleported back to the capital to make up with Zuko. I love the scene itself, but I think it just comes out of nowhere and they're suddenly good again all too quickly. Mai just spent time in the worst Fire Nation prison, I think it would make sense for her to be at least a little conflicted. Just develop Maiko in Book 4, either friendship or romance track.

The Kyoshi Warrior Ty Lee made no sense. I can understand her bonding with the other girls in the prison, sure. But she didn't bond with Suki, and Suki hates her! Suki hasn't spent ANY time with Ty Lee at all, so she's suddenly... okay with this? Ugh, no, make Ty Lee becoming a Kyoshi Warrior a side plot in Book 4 please.

I want to give a big middle finger to the final scene with Zuko and Ozai. Scrap that. Give us a scene of Zuko visiting Azula instead. Perhaps together with Katara. Azula would be restrained and shouting all kinds of abuse and insults at them, and Zuko would look confused and uncertain about what he should do with her, but fortunately he has Katara with her, and even if Katara has her own issues with Azula, family is everything to Katara and she tells him to never stop trying to find a way of reconciliation. And perhaps she even offers her help.

That's thousand times better than giving this deflated bag of dicks named Ozai another moment on screen.

Anyway, the show ends with Zuko asking Ozai for information on his mother, clearly setting up Book 4.

But wait, you may ask, wasn't there another scene in Ba Sing Se after that? No. No, there wasn't. That scene is stupid, makes no sense and doesn't exist. Just a hastily cobbled together trash after they decided that Book 4 wasn't happening after all. Ignore it.

Book 3 Jerk Point Final Standings:

Ozai - 980 Zuko - 940 Aang - 690 Yon Rha - 400 Iroh - 150  Sokka - 110 Roku - 100 Hide - 80 King Kuei - 60 Toph, Pakku - 50 Haru - 30

And Ozai takes it, limping across the finish line with his bending removed. The crowd goes wild!

Anyway, I'm sorry about this review of the final episode being so negative, it's nowhere near as bad as I probably made it sound, but please understand that I'm extremely salty and upset right now, and of course it shows.

I'll do some more housekeeping tomorrow, like count the overall winner of Jerk Points contest, and also do the Book 3 episode tier list. :)

[circlemidnight]

Wait, how many writers are on Riverdale that have different ideas? I think that's why this show was always so messy. One writer likes film noirs, the other likes criminal detective shows, this one likes romance, that one likes abstract, that one - horror, and so on. So, every episode feels like different fanfictions by different authors put together for the same content. I mean, Riverdale is kinda already a canonical fanfiction of Archie Comics, right?

But the point is, that's why the characters are off most of the time; and storylines are inconsistent. The writers don't know how to work together and pay attention to each other's writing and previous storylines. I mean, I get it, maybe you don't like Jeronica, but that one writer already wrote them that specific way in 7x04, so, at least give them a proper reconciliation or something so everything that happened between them makes sense. And you mentioned that Jughead was off, and someone else said that Veronica was, too, so I'm not crazy, right? There is clear inconsistency in stories, and also clear inability to work together in the writers' room.

Oh yeah you are not crazy! There has always been a lack of quality and consistency within the writing over the years. Things like forgotten continuity, building up drama and then skipping the fallout, and then of course different writers like different characters more so they give them the quippy dialogue, the best moments, the most screentime per episode etc. Add in actor demands and you basically get a too many cooks situation that is poorly managed and no one really working as a team. It's part of a larger problem for sure, like if you are shuffling through writers every season, each writer has only one or two episodes, and new writers might not even have watched the whole show beforehand, so what's their investment? It's why people find it more rewarding to read fanfic, or they try and scope out which writers seem to be the most pliable and suggestive. Like we want to trust the authors, we want them to be reliable, and instead it's a roll of a dice whether the characters will get the good plot or the satisfying conclusion or even a single breadcrumb. And that's just not how storytelling should be? I don't think it's a secret that the seasons are poorly planned out either, Ras has admitted as much, I mean even this season is the last season they will ever write and it's all been filler. Where's the plot? And there's just other icky things going on. Not handling the serious topics of the era with the right gravitas, sidelining those characters who would have the most important story to tell. Weird things like Jughead saying that they are themselves in their adult bodies but think they are teens, except they are hooking up with what I assume are real teens from 50s Riverdale. But yeah for a season that is back to basics about high school drama, there is no follow through, like Jughead and Ethel were friends, but he doesn't try to visit her anymore, and isn't he supposed to be friends with Archie too? And yet he's more distraught over offending his hero and tries to make it up to him instead of retaining his other relationships. You would think Veronica's words would keep him up at night, but instead he gets to go about his life as an oblivious misogynistic writer I guess?? No resolution??? And credit to Cami because she's working over time to express all the unsaid things her character is feeling that the writers probably forgot about.

The show hides behind memes about how bad or goofy it is, instead of addressing any of the serious problems it has. And I think it's gonna age really badly because of it.

[asoiafzambi]

"Spoilers" Spoilers! Spoilers?

Like always, this could all be totally fake yadda-yadda ... and if the leakers make this all up, they should definitely go into fanfiction writing, because some of that shit is hilarious.

I just like to elaborate on my thoughts about it, fake or not.

Daemyra at odds:

I don't like it. What can we daemyra stans say except we don't like it (that early in the timeline)? But the showmakers seem to be dead set on it. Not sure if there will/can be a short reconciliation at some point (maybe when they take King's Landing together?) but I wont hold my breath.

Daemon at Harrenhal:

If you wanted to make the already insanely split online fandom rip each others throats out and set everything and themselves on fire, having Daemon get roofie-raped by Alys Rivers is definitely a way to go about it, and I will be there like:

I'm not squeamish about SA in media/fiction. In GOT the Sansa stuff was just absolutely nonsensical, because she is not Jeyne Poole and what the fuck is Littlefinger doing? If they really needed Sansa raped (que?), then do something with Harry the Heir, you lazy fucks. Dany/Drogo and Jaime/Cersei at the Sept is definitely very iffy in the books too.

Back to HOTD, I will be rather disappointed though, if Daemon doesn't get what happens and thinks it was just a dream, because I really want to see his reaction to getting raped by a 150 year old red-zombie-witch.

Making Alys a 150 year old red-zombie-witch is a bit fanservicy already, together with the desperate tie-in to Aegon's I conquest (got a new show to sell, I guess).

Jace/Sara vs. Jace/Cregan:

Here I will make myself very popular by saying I actually greatly prefer Jace/Sara over Jace/Cregan.

I don't mind Jace being gay/bi, but I just think it makes absolutely no sense for Cregan. It's probably because I'm an ole Stark 'hater'. Since fandom is dead set on the bromance, they might do it, and I will roll my eyes a bit and just write Sara/Jace/Cregan thruple fic to piss everybody off.

I would much rather have a steamy Daemon/Laenor or Daemon/Hugh (if he is Viserys' son omg*) scene, but with that I'm probably just showing my age.

But nevermind with whom Jace fucks around up north, for the love of gods don't let Baela be crushed or whiny about Jace' betrayal. She should spit/laugh in his face tbh. Screw the angry black woman cliche, she has every right to be angry with prince dumbass. Immediately moving on with Alyn is obligatory anyways.

* I mean, visiting him in his smithy and complimenting his hammer ... seriously?

Blood and Cheese:

They seem to have backpedalled on the 'accident' ideas a bit (because nobody likes it that much), but I think it will still be a misunderstanding.

If Daemon instructs Blood (and Cheese) to beat the crap out of Helaena until she says a name, what he means is until she names one of her brothers for the one on one revenge. But poor Hel will have no idea what's going on with these thugs jumping her and in the end just say the name of one of her kids to make them stop.

Blood: Instructions unclear, cut the head off of a pre-schooler.

Cue everybodies shocked face vs. Daemon's stupid face: Wait? Helaena has kids? I kinda forgot (could be pretty meta).

There is also a leak version now where Daemon has absolutely nothing to do with B&C and it's all Rhaenyra's idea, which also would probably make fandom explode and seems a bit far fetched.

Corlys and Rhaenys and Marilda and her bastard boys:

I really hope the cheating plot wont be that prominent. I'm not a fan of the modern-romance spin on 'medival' marriage. This might be my personal damage though, because my narcisstic demi-romantic, poly ass will never be able to warp her mind around the concept of monogamy. I will just find it weird that Rhaenys would actually believe Corlys kept it in his pants during his years-long adventures and be baffled that he didn't.

I would also like it, if Rhaenys wasn't just mad on her own behalf, but maybe also a bit on Marilda's behalf. Like: Dude, you get this side-chick for your voyages/campains, impregnate her twice, and then what ... show up every five years with a package of milk? Talk about being a nasty deadbeat bitch, my man.

Rook's Rest:

I actually really liked how one of the leaks described Rhaenys' death, with her ashes falling from the sky after being grilled by Vhagar and onto Corlys and Aegon on the ground. What a wonderful nasty picture. I'm also fine with Aegon finding this hilarious and getting the show'sTM facebeating from Corlys for it.

I think that's all. Now I have to actually go back to writing my brazillion AU WIPs ... damn writers block.

[thebookbin]

Ravensong

TJ Klune

Publisher: Tor (Macmillan) Genre: fantasy, romance Year: 2018

Because Wolfsong got me out of a reading slump, I figured hey--why not? Let's jump right in to Ravensong. I am conflicted. I have feelings. This one definitely wasn't as good. Although, as a sidenote, it's really cool to view a writer at different points in their career and seen how they've grown. This is definitely one of Klune's earlier works. Where Wolfsong feels like a young gay teen's response to Twilight, Ravensong loses some of the nostalgic charm that I felt when reading Wolfsong.

The first problem with this book is it's scope. It covers a lot of Gordo's childhood, which is very interesting except for when it mirrors Ox's childhood from the first book and it makes Thomas' motivations look insane. Then, we basically get to reread book 1 from a different perspective, which would have been cool, except it left out the bits I am most interested in: namely the aftermath of the first book and Gordo and Ox's reconciliation. I had to slog through all the boring details but then it somehow blasted through that important part again. Once can be written off as you needed to make cuts for word count (although I would have argued different sections deserved to get cut) but twice is just a sin.

The reason this book feels like it was written by someone in high school is that it always chooses the option with the Most Possible Drama (except for when it doesn't--more on this later) but then when it tries to explain why this particular path was chosen there is no rational explanation so the rationale just falls off a cliff. Thomas goes from the gentle all-knowing patriarch to an unhinged egomaniac. In the first book, Ox gets left behind by the both the Bennetts and Gordo. When we go back in time to Gordo's childhood, we find out that Gordo was tattooed as a child by his father and Thomas' father (and nobody ad a problem with this) but they also left Gordo behind as a child and the intense psychological harm that did him. Which makes absolutely no sense as to why Gordo would turn around and do that same thing to the kid who he grew up with.

The explanations for all of this behavior were so paltry. They left Gordo behind because humans had attacked wolves and Gordo was a human, albeit a witch. Why did that mean they had to cut all contact? Thomas' explanation: it was "easier." I'm sorry, that's just psychopathic and turns Thomas into a villain. Gordo was like 12 and his mother was just murdered and his father imprisoned. He had no one except these people and they left abruptly and cut all contact. It's unhinged.

The other thing that made me knock off a star is Gordo losing his hand. Losing a hand adding an amputation and disability isn't the problem, in fact I think it could add a lot of interesting conflict to the story. My problem is Gordo's hand gets cut off and not only is it magically healed but 2 pages later, people are making jokes about it. Asking if he'll "need a hand" at the garage. He just had a major life-altering disability, and it wasn't given the gravitas it deserved. I wanted to witness Gordo's feelings, as someone whose career as a mechanic depends on his hands. I wanted to watch him adjust to life using his non-dominant hand. He lost the hand in the most dramatic fashion, but Klune didn't deal with any of the aftermath, and instead wrote it off.

With the lack of depth in the story, and the weird scope of the book, retelling the entire events of the first book, and the nonsensical motivations of the characters, I don't believe I will be able to continue the series. While I enjoyed the first book and it helped get me out of my slump, I feel that both the writing style and the plot are just too juvenile for me at this time.

storygraph | bookshop.org | local houston

★★½ WHAT IS WITH THE NONCONSENSUAL TATTOOING?! STARS

[ram-de]

[read] ravensong thoughts vomit (pt. 3)

the post is too long so i made another

FIRST OF ALL. WHY. WHY WHY IS THE BOOK TRYING SO HARD TO MAKE ME FEEL SORRY FOR THOMAS?? Mr klune can you stop mentioning how oh Thomas did it for good or Thomas regretted it or Thomas really wanted to do right. I'm so sick of it. Because he's doing it for good reason (it's not) then suddenly he's absolved of all the wrong, the hurt, the pain he caused to Gordo? Get the hell out. I hate it here.

Ermmmmm this feel like a copout... I'll stop being a downer and just read

I think the book is very long

I'm losing the enthusiasm I'm sorry I took a break hsgshsjsh

Fucking Thomas again. I'm. 😮‍💨 Can't he just be put in like limbos for alpha until he repent. HOW COME HES LIKE IN WOLF HAVEN STOP IT

Fucking Elizabeth. Is this really the time to do a gotcha moment. I'm. 😮‍💨 OK SHE'S HIS WIFE. alright. Whatever. Biased. OK. I'LL STOP. BEING BITTER. YEAY! Closure acquired!

Is it me or Alpha Bennett (THE GOOD ONE AND BY THAT I MEAN JOE NOT THE PRICKASS THOMAS) is getting sidelined. What I said about ox shgsjsjs he's truly the protagonist of the story. The chosen one. Human Alpha, Alpha of the Omegas, what other power-up will he gets in the next book

WHY AM I COMPLAINING the story tension is on all time high and I'm not really invested in the... Fuck ass Thomas plot so other things was buried under... I'm sorry my son (one-handed) gordo...

AUSGHJ I NEED MEREDITH TO dye her hair green so we all can feel relief

Until this point I still can't feel the... What's the term... The... AHHH I'M FORGETTING WORDS.... Like. The actual stake here. Never mind. I'll try it again later.

The book is very long

Meredith chuuni's monologue is very long

FUCK ME MORE MEREDITH MONOLOGUE

I swear I can read... I just need... Line break... 😭😭😭

Elijah didn’t recoil. If anything, that made her angry. “But we couldn’t take them all. I watched as my family fell around me. I saw their skin tear. I heard their screams. I was a child, but I saw it all from the trees.” A tear fell from her eye and onto the knotted tissue of the scar on her face. “My family. Aunts and uncles. Cousins. People who believed such as I did. The wolves didn’t know I was there. The blood was too thick in the air for them to notice me. My father, he…lost his way, after that. He didn’t understand why God had forsaken him. Why he had abandoned us when we needed him most. Fucking words on pages in like three pages ranting about fuckshit referencing Bibles and Meredith King being all righteous and stuff while she never pause LIKE I FUCKING GET IT!! YOU'RE A FREAK!! SHOUTING MORALS WHILE KILLING INNOCENTS ALRIGHT!! I GET IT. STOP!!"

THIS GOES ON FOR THREE. FUCKING. PAGES. NO LINE BREAKS. MY EYE HURTS.

ELIJAH TALKING HER ASS OF BEING A REASON THE PEOPLES ARE SAFE IM. Ok that makes it a little bit better. Fuck u Elijah for talking.

Strangely I don't mind if ox talks long ass paragraph. I love him he's my son. he used to be so quiet and now look at him speaking for two pages long :') my son

I will suppress my resentment to how happy go lucky easy the problem just because it's over. IT'S SO DRAGGED.... FOR HUNDRED OF PAGES...

TJ KLUNE YOU CANT END THE STORY WITHOUT MAKING GORDO RELIVING HIS PAIN HUH. AGAIN? THIS IS TOO MUCH???

...by the time I read the epilogue I'm just...

:-( I know I complained a lot but the ending... It's not really fulfilling. It's more to a prelude to the third book and I know, I know, this is an interconnected series. I just wish I, what? Got to see more of Gordo and Mark post-reconciliation. Last third of the book spent Mark being an omega. He barely talks except gordogordogordo MatePackLove... Felt like the second half is dragged. Too many subplots (which? Not a lot solved?), and the one that they decided to focus, the Elijah plot, I ended up snoozing. I love love love Gordo though I think this might be a torture book with how long he's portrayed to be hurting and broken. I love love love Mark of his devotion and honesty. Individually I love them both but paired up I wish they had more time to reconcile. For Mark to properly apologizes and pamper Gordo with more love to make time.

I know I always will side with Gordo, because he is so raw as a character. His pain, his hurting, it's just so emotional to me. The first half? Of the book is what I loved the most. The tidbits of Gordo's memories, switching up to Gordo bonding with Joe, Carter and Kelly. Other character, man, the Team Humans really shine. The bar scene still cracks me up when I think about it. What else. Ahh...

I'll rant about other things instead. I'm a bit baffled that when Mark and Carter were infected, the whole pack, heavily on Gordo promised to find a way for that problem. Issue is, I don't really think they delve a lot into what they're doing? The research? The progress? Because there's also the problem of Elijah, ok. But suddenly, Gordo, thought the way was to... Mate? And I was, ok. Sure. What about Carter? He can't be mating to his tether. It's like... Have you really done anything, Gordo...?

Its my opinion but it's not really, satisfying? In Wolfsong, even though I still think the ending part needs to be longer, it pushes me to "I want to read more!" hence, I'm here. But for Ravensong, it's a bit... There's too much going on. World building, and all. I don't like how proper apologies are barely presence, from Thomas and Mark, and to an extent Elizabeth too. This bothers me a lot. But I ranted too much about it already. I'll stop.

Actually I won't stop. I hate hate hate that they're pushing Gordo, the one that they left to eventually patch things up. Where's. The. Proper. Apologies. Now that I think about it if I'm looking at this book as a typical second-chance stories I usually read, I will say that the groveling isn't done well. Fuck Thomas Bennett. And they still. Tried to portray him in a good light even after death? I fucking hate anything Thomas related.

I'm super, super excited for Kelly and Robbie's book. But I don't know? Finishing Ravensong is a bit of a letdown... Maybe because I expected more like like that of Wolfsong?

Why does this turned into a rant post idk but. Yeah, I don't really enjoy is as much as Wolfsong. I still love the characters (except Thomas), I just... Aaah guess I'll read Book 3 later. When I'm over this, unsatisfactory post-reading experience.

[writing-in-mermish]

Austenland Fan-fiction concept

I recently read Shannon Hale's Austenland, which is very very similar to the movie (props for the accurate adaptation) except for one plot point in the beginning. Instead of her choosing to spend her own money to go to Austenland, her great aunt calls out her obsession and leaves her the trip in her will as a last hurrah or something.

This has it's own implications for her character and could be dissected how being given this experience vs seeking it out changes her character, but that's not what I'm here for. In between reading (and during, lets be honest) I started constructing a fan-fiction based off the book's inciting incident.

In possible subsequent years, and/or at a different estate (as the existence of other estates is established) a new outsider is gifted this vacation. An Ace girl working at a retirement home/community. Some of the ladies there have a Jane Austen fan/book club and she's introduces some modern adaptations and starts running a regency TTRPG for them.

They love romance and the regency era and love to share their past flings and romances and setting people up. They've tried to get our to share about her love life, but they're unsurprisingly disappointed with her lack of stories. They've tried to set her up with their grand kids/nieces/nephews but it always end s up in them just being friends (or her setting them up with her other people including each other).

She doesn't really protests because she knows that part of their motivation is just for more story fodder for her games. Plus, she's made a lot of cool friends this way. One of the ladies is particularly invested and has often been the person to sponsor the club and their games. After she passes away, our girl learns that she left her a trip to Austenland in her will, with a lovely note thanking her for being new life into their club and encouraging her to find her own story and bring it back to the club.

All of the ladies also encourage her to go, so she sets off. She's been to many renfairs, Society for Creative Anachronisms/other cosplay events and has done some historical costuming and role playing in the past so she's partially excited to see how this hard this place goes. She also is focusing on getting the inspiration to bring back, so she's brought a journal and pencil (that will fit the aesthetic of course).

While she's there she often finds herself snickering at the script or improve being done, and will "show up" the performers in flirting with them or the other guests. This behavior, paired with the note taking and question asking has led them to believe she's a reporter/journalist/reviewer and they need to up their game. They don't want another Jane incident on their hands.

Meanwhile, she's also struggling with mourning her friend and questioning whether it was a good idea to come or not. probably dissecting some sort of issue with not being able to deal with tough subjects in her own life but loving to play at them through fiction and games. (Giving a real Emma vibe to this story to parallel the books Pride & Prejudice thing, except sans romance).

She also becomes friends with another guest who is gay and was sent here by her rich parents as the weirdest version of conversion camp (like, your just not into the men you've met, but if you experience "the pinnacle of romance" through this you'll get over being gay). Obviously they hit it off in the friendship department and our girl is going to help her reach out to her girlfriend.

She concocts a scheme to invite her to the big ball so they can have their romantic moment (and possibly reconciliation due to "breaking up" before she got sent away).

I'm not sure what the big conclusion for her character arc is. Maybe, they figure out she's not a reviewer and offer her a job based off her skills, but she turns it down because she realizes that she already has somewhere she belongs? Maybe she does some big final tribute to her friend? Maybe she does have some romance with her "Mr. Knightly" character (though I'm less interested in this option)? Maybe she goes back and shares her experience with the ladies or at her friends grave and promises to remember their stories and cherish them just as they did Austen's work, even if they aren't as widely known or loved? Maybe some combination there of.

I don't know that I'll ever actually write this down in a more narrative fashion, but I thought I'd share it here anyhow.

[faceofpoe]

This is a fabulous write-up of what we were given and is where a lot of my discontent with the full s3 picture comes from.

(and fuels my growing conviction that s3 was not meant to be a final season tbh and we were left with the cobbled together scraps to jam something like a real resolution in place starting with ep 10, but that's neither here nor there)

From the Crosshair side, the obvious (to me) development was him coming around eventually on Omega's "we need the coordinates" vs "we're not going back" to actually like... want to save the rest of the clones. The fact that the final act setup was reduced to "what if season 2 finale, but this time Crosshair's here with his Imperial know-how!" was, ah. Well. Some kind of story choice.

Yeah, he was never motivated by anything besides his family, never really got the sense that his experience with Mayday shifted his superiority complex with the "Regs," and I still don't understand wtf was the point of the "right... brother?" taunt from CX-1 if either a) he wasn't going to demonstrate the same sense (or some sense) of brotherhood with the rest of the clones that Echo feels or b) CX-2 wasn't... well... Tech.

(why CX-2 (as a specific CX character and not just vaguely the concept of the CXs) does not work for me as a foil is also a different convo but)

The end of ep 7 felt meaningful after the convo with Howzer and then Howzer saving him, and went... nowhere.

(the way I thought after 7 that the Echo & Rex side of the plot was going to merge with the Hunter et al side of the plot lolohno RIP my story dreams getting slowly dashed week-by-week after that)

(And tbh the lack of development for any of them on motivation to do right by the prisoners until after Omega's again in peril is just... they're so static. the season ends up just feeling repetitive. Echo's story within the show feels like it built to nothing except making sure he's conveniently placed a couple times to know things or get things, Hunter never comes around on the assorted tense moments about doing more, it's just.)

idk it's... empty. Crosshair's got all the guilt, I belong in here, it's what I deserve, which could suggest that he fully acknowledges the things he did under the Empire were wrong and not just that he regrets what it's cost him or what he did specifically against his squad but it's all reduced to "I've made mistakes" and no further discussion and the lack of any elaboration on that convo from either him or Hunter and his "regrets" honestly really makes everything about season 1 and its stalemate resolution fall fucking flat to me.

All of that bitching (sorry) to say - yeah maybe Crosshair's arc is believable and narrower in redemption/reconciliation scope than we might have anticipated.

...but I remain skeptical it was all we were meant to get.

All I'll say about Emerie is I can't believe that all the emphasis on there being no escape/safer in here/etc didn't lead to some demonstration that Crosshair and Omega successfully escaping started cracking apart her whole perception of her circumstances/whatever reality she's been fed.

Because if I say more it'll turn into a really obnoxious rant lol.

Hot take:

Crosshair does not have the Imperial disillusionment and redemption arc of The Bad Batch

Emerie does.

Crosshair has an arc for sure yes but it's not that.

I was thinking about this scene:

and how it got right what this scene kinda didn't:

(It was so close but then bad writing decided to undercut the moment with a joke rip)

And I think it's really interesting that these characters who were more or less raised into the Empire/First Order and chose to leave it are all directly asked why.

But take a look at Crosshair's answers in comparison:

Different context for the asking, yes, but still, compare that to clones like Howzer, Cody, Slip and Cade who left or turned against the Empire because they knew what the Empire is doing is wrong and they weren't just going to blindly follow orders:

Crosshair - Loyalty, Purpose, and Survival

Crosshair didn't choose to join the Empire (though the show isn't very clear or consistent about how much control the inhibitor chips have) but he did, for whatever reason, choose to stay. By the end of S1 we know his chip has been removed and as he definitively says "This is who I am." There were likely still other influences on his decision, but listen to how he talks about the Empire in the S1 finale:

Hunter: Crosshair, I've seen what the Empire is doing. Occupying planets and silencing anyone who stands against them. You know it's not right. Crosshair: You still don’t see the bigger picture, but you will. Hunter: Can't you see they're using you?

Crosshair: We’re not like the regs, we never have been. We’re superior. The Empire can’t protect the galaxy without strength, this is what we were made for. Think of all we could do, together!

Crosshair: You all are meant for more than drifting through the galaxy. It’s time to stop running. Join the Empire, and you will have purpose again.

Hunter: They destroyed an entire city! Crosshair: They did what needed to be done. Kamino, regs, the Republic, that time is over. The Empire will control the entire galaxy, and I am going to be a part of it. Hunter: Don't fool yourself. All you'll ever be to them is a number.

He undeniably knows what the Empire is doing, but he does not care. In fact it sure sounds like he actually supports it and finds self-meaning in it. Hunter spends those episodes trying to convince him it's wrong, he doesn't change his mind. In the end they offer him an out and he doesn't take it.

Wrecker: You coming with us? Crosshair: None of this changes anything. Hunter: You offered us a chance, Crosshair. This is yours. Crosshair: I made my decision.

The next we see Crosshair in "The Solitary Clone" (S2:E3) he follows orders and shoots the Desix governor, right after Cody heartbreakingly tries to do what's right and find a peaceful solution.

Cody: Tell me something, Crosshair. This new Empire, are we making the galaxy better? Crosshair: We’re soldiers, we do what needs to be done. Cody: You know what makes us different from battle droids? We make our own decisions, our own choices. And we have to live with them too.

After this (glorious!) conversation, Crosshair stays. Maybe this began to seed some doubts, but he actually smiles a few scenes later when Rampart assigns him another mission. It seems like for him it truly is as he said in S1:E1 (chip not enhanced yet but still influencing him enough for his brothers to notice he's acting strange):

Crosshair: Republic, Empire... what's the difference.

Crosshair: Orders are orders.

This unethical mission that finally pushed Cody over the edge does not change Crosshair's mind about the Empire, at least not enough for him to take action.

But what does?

Mayday: And here we are, the survivors. Combat troopers stuck babysitting cargo shipments. Crosshair: Mission’s a mission. Mayday: Yeah, I used to say the same thing.

Mayday: After all the clones have done, all we’ve sacrificed. We’re good soldiers, we followed orders. And for what?

This mission has nothing to do with how the fascist Empire treats the galaxy, it's about how they treat their soldiers. It's about how Mayday loyally fought and served his whole life and Lieutenant Nolan let him die

Lt Nolan: He served his purpose as a soldier of the Empire. Crosshair: You could have saved him! Lt Nolan: Perhaps you didn’t hear me, he is expendable, as are you.

Crosshair thought he could find purpose within the Empire, and Nolan shows him exactly what that will be.

His turning point is accompanied with this powerful visual of the ice vulture, a symbol (and threat) of death, and also set up within the episode a symbol of survival:

Mayday: Vicious creatures, but you have to admire ‘em. They find a way to survive.

This critical moment (that gives me chills, oof this episode is a masterpiece!) comes right after Nolan calls him expendable and directly threatens him:

Lt Nolan: And if you speak to me again with such disrespect I'll see to it you meet a similar fate, clone.

then Crosshair sees the vulture's shadow and turns to Mayday's dead body (ahh visual storytelling my beloved) then makes his decision:

Crosshair turns against the Empire not because he believes Hunter was right about this:

Hunter: I've seen what the Empire is doing ... You know it's not right.

but because he was right about this:

Hunter: All you'll ever be to them is a number.

Redemption (both in fiction and irl in my humble opinion) comes with making amends and reparations (which is why death 'redemptions' bother me so much but that's a rant for another time). Unlike Emerie, Crosshair never explicitly denounces the Empire or his own actions within it. He never says anything to specifically show if and how his views have changed from what he said on Kamino. He makes amends with his family (sending the warning message, helping Omega escape, making up with Hunter) but that's about it. The most we get in terms of acknowledgement is this:

Crosshair: I thought I knew what I was getting into with the Empire. I thought I was being a good soldier. Hunter: Nobody really understood what was happening back then. Crosshair: I’ve... done things. I’ve made mistakes. Hunter: I have regrets too, Crosshair. All we can do is keep trying to be better, and who knows there just might be hope for us yet.

Which is nice and all but it's more about them making up as brothers so it's way too excusing tbh ("no one knew what was happening back then" ummm? "The Empire will control the entire galaxy, and I am going to be a part of it" remember? And even if at first Crosshair was being controlled by the chip, the fact that he chose to stay after it was removed* means he condones and is therefore still accountable for those actions).

There's also a bit of self-destructive guilt:

Crosshair: Omega, don't risk anything for me. I belong in here.

Crosshair: Omega needs you both. So I’m doing this alone, it’s what I deserve. Hunter: Don’t even think about plan 99, Crosshair. Omega needs all of us.

(which thank you Hunter for pushing back on the death redemption bs and oh look is that a wrap up for the purpose thing?)

But there's no action taken on his part to make up for what he's done or to stand against the Empire (aside from the bare minimum of help with Tantiss, only after it became personally relevant, which like yeah he had trauma to deal with but still).

While I do think the implications/follow-up of Crosshair's turn should have been handled better in S3 (like rip Howzer! he deserved an apology, but that's a rant for another time), I don't necessarily** think this arc is a bad writing choice. It's just saying different things than we expect:

Maybe Crosshair's story is not about standing up against an unjust system, like we see with many other characters (who deserved more screen time but that's a rant for another timeeee). Maybe his story is about how even those who are loyal to the Empire, who actually believe in it, still suffer under and within it's rule. Not to garner sympathy, but to show that there is no winning.

Crosshair has another 'so what changed' convo in S3:E14 with Rampart, in which they draw parallels to each other:

Rampart: You used to believe good soldiers followed orders. Crosshair: Depends on who's giving them. The Empire betrayed us both. Rampart: And you think you can fight them? That's not you. You're like me, loyal to no one but yourself. Crosshair: I've changed.

(note how he says who's giving the orders, not what the orders are)

"Loyal to no one but yourself" describes Rampart much more than Crosshair, since we often saw Crosshair pride himself as a loyal soldier of the Empire whereas we saw Rampart abuse power to be self-serving within the Empire (like when he killed Wilco to save face). But they were both betrayed either way. Vice Admiral Rampart, snively Imperial opportunist through-and-through, shouts "I was following orders!" as he is arrested for the Empire's purposes.

Even Hemlock, the final boss immoral Imperial scientist, who has to be benefiting the most from this system, echoes the expendability idea:

Hemlock: What I am working on is beyond your understanding. Something so vital to the Empire it makes me indispensable.

Then there's CX-2, also set up as a parallel/foil to Crosshair (fight me), who in the end is discarded as no more than a weapon, a tool that served it's purpose, showing us what would have become of Crosshair if he had stayed.

There is no winning in the Empire. Loyalty is not rewarded, it "doesn't go both ways." Everyone has to fight for their value. Even high ranking individuals** who for a time benefit from the injustice, in the end are just pawns to be used up and cast aside at a whim for the Emperor's gain. Even people who are motivated by self-interest alone cannot survive within this system, the only viable option in this galaxy is to fight the Empire and dismantle that system. (unless you conveniently find a magically safe island to hide away on but that's a rAnT fOr AnOtHeR tImE)

Which brings us back to...

Emerie - Cooperation, Compassion, and Choice

(Okay this post has already gotten away from me but I still want to talk about her to show the contrasts.)

Emerie may not have been given a lot of screen time to really flesh out her development, but there is a lot that is pretty clearly implied with her:

Crosshair: They’ll never turn her [Omega] over. Hemlock: They don’t have a choice. She is a clone, and therefore Imperial property. *Camera cuts to an angle more centered on Emerie’s face*

Crosshair: Give me your access card! Emerie: It won’t get you outside!

Emerie: I tried to warn him what would happen if he did not cooperate with the Doctor.

Emerie: Prisoner? Omega, you are no such thing. It will take time to adjust, but you will acclimate. It is far safer in here than out there.

Emerie: You should go back to your room. Crosshair: You mean her cell?

Emerie: Why children? Hemlock: Children are easier to attain and more agreeable to the subjugations. They are unaware of why they are here and what they possess.

Emerie: They're children. Like I was... Was your plan to discard them too? Nala Se: The Empire will keep them in order to control them.

We don't know a lot about Emerie's background, but it's clear that she had a lot less choice than Crosshair and less opportunity or ability to leave. Unlike Crosshair, we never directly hear Emerie's views of the Empire (and she was most likely 'taken under Hemlock's wing' before the Empire even came to power), but lets look at how she talks about the Tantiss:

"Remain calm. Cooperate and you might survive."

"Don't make this worse, Crosshair! There is no escape!"

"All of us serve a purpose here."

"The Doctor will inform me, if it's necessary."

"It's best not to ask questions."

"Escape is not possible, Omega. This is for your own good."

She honestly does the best she can within the system she is also trapped in. She tries to help Crosshair, Omega, and the vault kids in the only way she knows how (warns Crosshair about the hounds and security, tries to protect Omega from Hemlock, tells Scorch his "actions were extreme" with Jax, insists on overseeing Bayrn's retrieval, double checks his m-count (to give him an out), and tries to find out where he came from). When she gives Omega, and later Eva, the doll, I think it shows just how little she really is able to do here (and it's kinda heartbreaking imo).

The framing of this shot especially (after Jax's escape attempt) visually shows how Emerie herself is trapped/imprisoned:

Despite the fact that very little of this is Emerie's fault, she has very little power and she is doing all she can, the narrative does not excuse her role in the Empire:

Nala Se: What will you do, Emerie? Emerie: There is nothing I can do. I don't have that kind of power. Nala Se: Don't you?

Emerie: I- I was doing my job. Echo: Yeah, I’ve heard that before. You’re a clone. How can you be part of this?

These fighting-the-Bystander-Effect conversations parallel these exchanges:

Hunter: We made a choice, and so did you. Crosshair: Soldiers follow orders. Hunter: Blind allegiance makes you a pawn.

Crosshair: We’re soldiers, we do what needs to be done. Cody: You know what makes us different from battle droids? We make our own decisions, our own choices. And we have to live with them too.

which did not change Crosshair's mind. And honestly, all respect to Echo's disappointed mom glare™ but I think it's clear Emerie had already made her decision, she just needed help to actually be able to do anything about it. When she stopped Echo, with her voice wavering on the verge of tears (ahhh v good voice acting), she clearly had no intention of turning him in. She's on her own in the Empire's most secure facility with very little resources, if she had tried anything on her own she most likely would have failed and been killed

Omega: Emerie, you don't have to do this. Emerie: (sigh) I’m sorry, but I do.

but as soon as she is enabled by an ally, she immediately turns around to help: giving information and getting Echo through security, helping the kids escape, and giving Omega the tablet that allows them to free the other clone prisoners.

Where Crosshair's turn is accompanied by the symbolic imagery of the ice vulture, Emerie's is the removal of her (literally rose-tinted!) glasses:

Symbolizing how she has shed her previous views/indoctrination that altered her perception of the Empire and blinded her to it's wrongs. It's disillusionment.

Emerie's story shows us that even those who are raised and indoctrinated into this system can, should, and will escape (with needed help). Even those who did not choose to be apart of the Empire and are not making the decisions still have the responsibility and ability to act on what they know is right.

Emerie, whose name means 'Home strength' 'Brave' and 'Powerful', and "reflects the importance of leadership and authority in the workplace".***

While Emerie is only in one more scene after her turn, so the wrap up is a bit rushed, she still very simply does what Crosshair does not:

Emerie: Because I was wrong about this place. And I'm trying to do the right thing.

Echo: I’m sure Senator Chuchi would find what you have to say very helpful for our cause. Emerie: I have a lot to make up for. I’d like to help out however I can.

She admits wrong, takes accountability, commits to making amends, and leaves with Echo to go take on the Empire (which hopefully we will get to actually see more of some day).

So, in short, she's showing us how redemption is done right!

---

Notes:

*Whether this writing choice was good/logical/in-character or not is another discussion entirely, but I'm going off of what we were given, what the show is presenting in the canon text and (reasonably inferred/intentional) subtext. Crosshair is pretty multifaceted and I could only touch on so much here. There's a lot of ways to interpret his character/choices, but I tried to avoid the realm of speculation or fanon explanations (even if they sometimes make more sense lol).

**History and political theory are not my area of expertise at all, so I have NO idea how well this aligns with real-world fascism stuff and therefore what implications this storytelling choice could have. I think the message of like 'if you think you could survive or gain power by doing what the Empire/fascist system wants you are wrong' could be good (like how everyone is actually harmed by the patriarchy type of a thing), but I hesitate bc maybe there are those who would benefit, since it's a hierarchal system, right? If anyone more knowledgeable than me has incite to share, by all means

Either way, I do think it works in-story and in-universe though. It's just in the execution. The main problem (even from a strictly theme/character arc stand point) is the lacking follow-up/consequences for Crosshair in S3. Like you gave your character accountability by removing the chip and I think that's great setup for an arc but you gotta follow through with that and actually hold him accountable!

***I'm always curious when clones have 'normal' names, like why did they chose the name Emerie of all things? So I looked it up. Idk how reliable sources are for name meanings so take it with a grain of salt but it's still fun. Fits pretty well, and clones names have definitely had significant meanings in the past (like how Rex and Jesse both mean 'king') so I'm pretty sure it was intentional.

Anyway, thanks for coming to my tedtalk

[thyandrawrites]

Seeing the panel where the todoroki family is gathered in the hospital and seeing everyone except Natsuo with Enji because it seems like Rei, Fuyumi and Shoto is ready to forgive but there's a panel where Natsuo was far away from them and standing alone because he would never forgive Enji...I just want to say how I admired Natsuo for staying firm and not letting his hatred to let down. That kind of behavior I want but people always tell to forgive the abusers because they are your "parent"blabla

Were you referencing this scene?

I'm not the best at commenting on panel composition, but the choice to draw Natsuo far enough away from the group that his expression is cut off is deliberate enough to be striking. Then there's an entire panel just focused on him, and his gaze is downcast, his expression contrite and conflicted, and there's all that white space around him. He's not looking at his father, and the next panel shows why: he's thinking of his big brother, the one who should be there, and yet is still missing.

I really like that Natsuo's allowed to be angry, to be distrustful, and to be unwilling to forgive. That speaks to me, and I bet it does to so many people. Sometimes, reconciliation isn't the best option, not even when it comes to family. Sometimes especially when it comes to family. And that's okay.

I like that Natsuo's character challenges the idea that lack of forgiveness equals unkindness, because despite his anger, despite his hurt and his grief, he's not unkind. He doesn't want reconciliation for himself, but he recognizes that Fuyumi needs it for herself and makes an effort to support her regardless of his personal feelings. And that makes him so, so kind.

Yet, at the same time I don't really read the scene above as Natsuo being different from the rest of his family, the odd one out that is drawn far away because he just can't let things go. That would frame him as the same scapegoat that Touya used to be, and I don't think the Todofam plot needs to end on a repetition of that cycle, necessarily.

Yes, I hope Natsuo will get to stay angry and not forgive his dad even when Touya comes back eventually, but that blank space right there, next to him...

Honestly that always looked to me like the space naturally filled by one more person. The one notably missing. It makes for neat visual storytelling imho. It's not that Natsuo's the most impacted by that loss, but Natsuo was the closest to Touya, used to room with him, was his confidante when Touya had no one else to turn to, and spoke on Touya's behalf after his disapperance, playing the role—in Touya's absence—of the one continuously reminding Enji that there's more to atonement than playing the hero. That cleaning up your act for your pride isn't the same as doing it to make up for your actions to your victims.

So yeah, I think Natsuo's purposefully drawn slightly off to the side because of this: more than anyone else in the fam, Natsuo still makes space for Touya's memory. He still makes it a point at every turn to honor it by doing right by him, standing up to the things Touya would've stood up for himself if he were there.

"I'm bringing him up because Touya would want us to talk about it. About what it means for us that the world sees his facade of heroism and glorifies him, while we are here, with mom, to see the damage he's done to us to achieve that fame."

Or again,

"Touya would see right through how performative your determination to atone really is. You never really gave a crap about his pain, either. Neglecting us and calling that worry over Touya's health."

Times and times again, Natsuo reminds everyone that Touya might be gone, but his presence isn't. His influence on them wasn't, shouldn't be, as worthless as Touya seemed to believe it was in life, and they ought to respect who he was. And that means not betraying what he would've wanted.

Touya wanted accountability. Natsuo wants it too, for his brother.

I think that's why, when Enji starts ugly crying and the others feel bad for him to varying degrees, he's the only one unaffected by his father's tears. I also reckon that's why he's the one reminding Enji that this truce doesn't mean forgiveness. It's not mean spirited. If anything, I think it shows in full Natsuo's kindness.

Tl:dr; I like to think that Hori drew Natsuo slightly far away not to underline that Natsuo is hellbent on not forgiving, but rather because Natsuo's just... The one consistently acting like Touya is still part of the family unit, still present, still alive, if in memory or in spirit. And he's the one constistenly making room for him, physically and metaphorically, because to him his brother was never truly gone. Let alone now