#haven't been this taken by a new fictional universe in a while...

[kryptonbabe]

The Transformers | 1×15 - Fire on the Mountain

Another 1st season fever dream episode in the same veins of Roll for It – with a plot held together by tin foil and some cool light strings. It develops in unexpected ways, and while not always the most logical ones, this show keeps the action fun and the dialogues amusingly silly, making the whole experience worthwhile.

A down point, however, is the sadly anticlimactic comeback of Skyfire, he deserved better than an unexplained resurrection, we could have an emotional moment, an unstable Starscream both angry and relieved with his frienemy's return, chaos, cheering, toxic Megatron lines, robot drama, so much that could've been. But no, apparently Skyfire died and was just chilling in a block of ice waiting to be defrosted again, my boy trapped in cycles of ice ages. At the end though I'm glad he got back so we could have this:

Dead, alive, dead again, alive again, Skyfire remains silly [Chuckling].

We also got an almost treason arc involving Thundercracker and Starscream, which I also wish was more developed because one of my favorite things about the Decepticons is how evil they are with each other, how their organization is not kept by admiration for a leader or strong convictions, but by a thirst for power and mutual fear. The Thundercracker / Starscream conflict on this episode adds to the tension of the already fraught relationship of Megatron and Starscream. Thundercracker's shady intentions are introduced to the power play, adding to the constant scheming of the Decepticons.

"Byyyye!" Mockery & contempt among the Decepticons.

That creates an interesting dynamic between the groups, particularly because the Autobots work closely together and care for each other in ways that make their team work way more effective than that of their enemies.

The difference between Autobot and Decepticon group banter.

I'm not saying anything about the plot, and that's because I don't think it matters much here, there is a story, but only as motivation to keep the characters moving, the focus is mostly on the character interactions and the action scenes. We have great episodes in this 1st season that I truly believe could be adapted into higher budget animation films (or other projects) – like The Ultimate Doom or Countdown to Extinction – this is not one of these, but it's still highly entertaining, a messy and yet joyful experience, much like what I've come to expect from this show, at least at this 1st season.

[writingbyshiloh]

Cautious yet Optimistic and Graceful Part 2

Part 1 & Part 3

CW: Morally gray reader, F!Reader, John Wick-type universe (ie, killing, the reader thinks about past injuries from fights. training not descriptive). Not smut but suggestive thinking from both Vincent and the reader, mutual pinning, and worldbuilding but no description of the reader. Smoking, a nonsexual cigarette burn on the reader, brief drinking. MAYBE OCs (Fictional staff for the fictional hotel). NO BETA

Summary: The Marquis de Gramont still annoys you. But he needs help from you(r hotel). Like a good manager, you help. 

AN: PART 2 everyone!!! Thank u for the likes/comments/reblogs! This takes place a few months after part 1. IDEK if this is ooc the man had like 30 minutes of screen time overall and I’ve been writing this for a week. I read it a few times for spelling but something got messed up copy and pasting and a para or 2 got dropped. Part 3 will be out ???? soon(ish)

Something about today had his words bouncing around in your head. Out of all the ways to describe someone, he narrowed it down to three (well technically he used six). 

Cautious. Sure, you can see that. Out of a love of being alive, you tried not to take any unnecessary risks in your fighting days. You also tried to avoid having a marker whenever you could. There was one in existence with your blood on it. A favour for someone you thought was a friend. You held up your end, the bloody fingerprint stored in the New York Continental as proof. 

Optimistic. That also makes sense. You actually enjoy what you do, loving being part of the criminal underworld before and now. You haven't been the manager for too long but would already die for this hotel. 

The part that was throwing you was graceful. You didn't think you were that graceful physically. You have scars to prove that you've taken a hit, slash, or burn many times. Did he mean gracefully with people? Camille did so much for the hotel, you just deal with regular hotel things (like getting Monument Historique status for a collection of French weapons, take that, Vincent). The other part was implanting rules from the high table. Maybe just being graceful and polite when you were resisting the urge to claw your eyes out. 

It could also be flirting. You felt he wasn't the type to hit on someone out of the blue. Sure he was smart and confident, but it seemed like too big a risk for him to take. Unless he is just a playboy, which is something you find yourself tempted to google twice a day. 

You would rather die than admit it, but you almost like when he called you Mademoiselle. Almost. It was like a nickname, plus it brought out his accent more. When you found yourself enjoying.

To make things worse Camielle caught on to your crush immediately. While embarrassing, it did show how clever she was and you were glad she was the concierge. Her knowing also gave you an excuse to just tell Vincent your direct number, so Camille would stop reminding you how frequently he called.

You love the bar in the hotel. It is beautiful, decorated in an Art Nouveau style, with large windows allowing for the sun to filter in during the day. You were almost pleased that Vincent asked to meet you there, allowing you to subtly show off your business. 

Finding him at the bar wasn’t hard, no one else was wearing a dark green three-piece suit, complete with a complexly tied tie and their coat of arms pin. He looks good but tense, one long leg crossed over the other. Plus, you could see Chidi and another guard in their gray suits keeping an eye. You were thankful that you took extra time this morning on your outfit. 

You slid into the chair next to him, after shaking a few hands with other big names down in the bar for a late-night drink. 

“I hear you have a problem.” You say, while not knowing the full details, just that he wanted to meet you in the bar and something was wrong. It kicked your heartbeat up, even if you only told yourself it was the stress of him being here. 

“Correct.”. 

“I’m sure you know because of your love of rules, but I can only help those who are using the hotel services.” 

You didn't care that much, and would absolutely bend the rules to do him a favour, but couldn't resist a chance to get a dig in.

The Marquis pulls out two gold coins and slides them across to the bartender. He orders a top-shelf spirit before his eyes cut to you. Now he's buying you a drink in your own hotel. You would want him to buy you a drink in a different situation but at least he didn't order for you. That may cause you to actually kill him.  

Clearing your throat you order your usual, quietly thanking the bartender when the drink was placed in front of you. 

The bar wasn't loud, but he dropped his head towards you so you could hear him better and to give the conversation some privacy. 

“You have a cartographer here, no?”

You nodded. The cartographer is excellent. He had blueprints for buildings past and present, as well as the catacombs. He also had knowledge and keys to abandoned buildings if something had to be desponded and not be found. 

“How soon do you need him?” While one of the best, he was away for his daughter's wedding

“Tonight.” 

You took a small sip of your drink. You could probably get the information he was looking but you wouldn't be as efficient. 

“While we do have a cartographer, he's gone to a family event. If your plans are that urgent I can try my best to fill in.” 

Content with your answers, Vincent leaned back into his seat taking a swig of his drink. You took the finishing sip of yours before pushing out of your chair. 

“I have spare keys in my office. I’ll meet you back here in five.” 

For how commanding and prideful he is, you never expected him to need the services from your hotel.

The maps room was fairly boring. Three out of the four walls were filled with lockboxes to various maps. Blueprints, and documents for France and even some other countries nearby. 

“Are these your beloved catacombs?” The Marquis asks, studying the paper taped to the wall. You asked the map maker for more information and for ideas on what you could do with them. 

You hum in agreement, deep down thrilled that he remembered such a small part of your conversation ages ago. 

Your eyes jump over the numbered lock boxes in front of you, trying to find the one he needs. 

You half expected him to help you pull out maps and building plans, a blend of chivalry, showing off his height, and getting under your skin. He didn’t, letting you struggle with the lock instead. 

Vincent knew he should help you, but the way your back was arched as you tried to open one of the lockboxes out of the dozens was more interesting. His gaze moved over your legs, before looking at your ass in your skirt. 

Feeling the lock give a turn to the side, you peek inside the box to make sure the plans were there. Hand sliding in, you pulled the thin tube out, double-checking the label on the front to make sure it is the one you need. Leaving the box unlocked you turn to face Vincent, a triumphant grin on your face.

Maybe your grin and pride in getting the correct documents were a bit unprofessional but he didn't care. Not since the small room amplified the smell of your perfume and how the spent the better part of the last five minutes checking out your legs. 

Uncapping the tube, you pulled out the blueprints and spread them on the backlist glass table in front of you.

“Here are your prints,” you state awkwardly. You're not sure why he needs them, and why he personally came here. Chidi is keeping guard outside the map room, despite you repeating the hotel policy of no business. 

The Marquis nods in response already focusing on the table. You flatten a small map from the tube in case he needs context on the area. Not likely since he already knows what to look for, proven by his notebook and the constant sound of his pen against the paper taking notes. 

Watching him study the map may have been alright at first, but three hours later you are tired. There are only so many times you can look at his hair and wonder if he would get mad if you run your hands through, or gently tug it. Or what his hands would feel like, especially with his signet ring. 

The grandfather clock tells you that it's only 2:36 am but you feel like it's later. Even Vincent looks slightly less than perfect, hair falling out of place from where he had gelled it that morning.

He is a guest of your hotel so you're going to keep helping him no matter how long he stays. Just with a bit less optimism. 

“Mademoiselle?” Your eyes snap to his face at the sound of his voice, pulling you from your thoughts. 

“You look tired. You should go to bed,” he comments. 

Wow. Thanks, you think. 

“I’m okay. I’m happy to stay here as long as you need,” you say while hoping he leaves soon. “How are the plans going? The cartographer can help you with the finer details when he gets back.” 

“That is not necessary. I have all I need here.” He slowly stretches and starts to stand. You never considered it but being hunched over the table must have been hell on his back given his above-average height. Finally seeing your chance to go to bed, you quickly make it over to the door, opening it for him. 

“Merci, again.” He thanks you as if this is not your job. 

“Do you want me to walk you to the main door?” You have all your floor plans memorized. 

“We are fine.” He replies. 

He looks at you and you can't read his expression. He's less tense, obviously getting what he needed from the plans. 

“The high table did a good job making you the manager.” 

You feel pride swell in your chest, despite the exhaustion you feel behind your eyes. 

“Bonne nuit, Mademoiselle” 

“Bonne nuit. Bon matin.” You quietly wish him as he leaves, wasting no time putting the plans away and locking the map room door. 

You let out another exhaust of bitter smoke, watching it curl away on the cool night air. You didn't start smoking in Paris, but dropped and picked the habit a few times.

“Fumes-tu, Mademoiselle?” a voice behind you makes you flinch. You didn’t tell anyone that you have a secret smoking place, let alone that you went out to smoke. 

You spin around before relaxing at the sight of the Marquis, clad in a dark suit, his signature pin on the lapel reflecting the light. 

You nod, before realizing he probably can't see you well under the lights in the alcove. He is by your side quickly, long legs carrying him the short distance. 

You tip your head to the small table, where your rolling papers, tobacco and other smoking paraphernalia sit in a silent offer. Vincent looks at the table before facing you again. Guess he's too fancy to smoke you assume while taking a drag.

You turn your head to blow out more smoke, careful not to blow it in this direction, a hard feat considering he was extremely close to you. The smell of his cologne drifted under the smell of smoke. 

You move your cigarette down and out to the side, fully ready to see why the Marquis interrupted you. Watching his face, his eyes dipped down to your lips and then back to your eyes almost a silent asking. The smooth and sophisticated era was still there but there was uncertainty under it. 

You slowly leaned closer, not wanting to make the first move, but you want this to happen. He hand-cupped your face, the cool metal of the ring nice as he shifted closer, leaving a small gap for you to make the final push to kiss him. Just a few more inches and then -

Pain. A sharp burning pain on your pinky finger. 

You jerk back, trying to examine what happened. Your cigarette slipped while you were distracted and the glowing embers of the end dropped only to land on your pinky. 

“Shit. Sorry,” you apologize, letting out a nervous huff of a laugh while holding up your burn. The Marquis was unreadable, hand withdrawn. Does he think you rejected him? 

He reaches for your wrist and you let him take it. Slowly he brings your hand up to the outdoor lamp to inspect your burn. The stinging has subsided but you are sure the flesh is a bit swollen. 

With his free hand, he takes the offending cigarette and brings it to his lips. You can't help but stare, cigarette burns long forgotten as you watch him take a deep inhale, before exhaling over your head, so no smoke blows in your face. Part of you regret not making the final push to kiss him, while another hopes he takes another puff. 

Vincent brings your cigarette down to examine it in better lighting before placing it back in your hand, still firmly in his grasp. 

“It is not a well-rolled cigarette. It is too tight.”

There it is you think. The classic Vincent snark. But you secretly hope he rolls one so you can watch his hands and watch him smoke it. 

“You don’t have to smoke it.” 

“I just wanted to give you this.” He reaches into his suitcoat pocket, retrieving a white envelope. His hands brush yours while you grab it. 

You know his handwriting from the time with him in the map room, and you could easily tell he wrote your name on the front. 

“Thank you?” you weren't sure what was inside but you were being all the things he described you as. 

“I will go, and let you read it.” 

You watch him leave, thoughts racing too fast to try and save the situation.

Do you call out after him? Does he think you rejected him? Maybe not because he still gave you the envelope. 

You ash your cigarette before collecting your things and going back to your office. Maybe things would make more sense there.

Taglist: @heartrot666

[bronzemettle]

With regards to the mandated reskins of characters in the Injustice franchise, how does fandom treat those reskins? Are they just ignored as thinly veiled substitutes for real heroes and villains? Did some of the new designs surge in popularity?

For a brief recap, in the BronzeRealms continuity, Injustice exists as an in-universe fictional video game series that got NetherRealm Games sued by the Justice League, forcing them to release a major update reskinning and renaming every single character shortly after Injustice 2.

For more details, see the other post here.

To answer the question, the player base has been generally dismissive of anyone trying to use the new names who isn't directly beholden to NetherRealm and their lawyers. Everyone knows who the characters are supposed to be. Characters are regularly referred to by fans, pro players, forum posts, streamers, YouTubers, etc. by the original pre-lawsuit names. Some players might even get mocked if they primarily use the new names, taken as a sign by others that they haven't been playing very long.

One exception, though. When they renamed Harley Quinn, they picked the name Punchline. When one Joker-main player, Alexis Kaye, decided to become Joker's new girlfriend, "the new Harley Quinn", she reflected this by plagiarizing the Punchline moniker and costume from NetherRealm.

NetherRealm did not re-reskin Punchline into some third new character. They owned the copyright for the at-the-time fictional character Punchline before Alexis started poisoning people in The Joker's name. If anyone sues anyone over that name, it would be NetherRealm suing her.

This has offered the in-game character Punchline a degree of legitimacy as the only one of the "new" post-update versions of the characters to still have a real-world hero or villain using that same name and costume, and since Alexis was a serious ranked player before becoming Punchline, it's almost flipped the script, and become extremely divisive to where people calling the character "Harley" might be seen as disrespectful to the community's own home-grown supervillain who brought the game to life in a way, while people calling the character "Punchline" might still be accused of being noobs who don't know the character's history just like the rest of the characters in the game. Some forums have banned Punchline fan-art for fear of being seen as supervillain apologists, but a mod that reskinned the character back to being Harley was taken down by NetherRealm. It's really a lose-lose situation but everyone who seriously plays the game is expected to have strong feelings about it.

[colescorner]

Reading Wrap Up: September 2024

The summer months came and went by quick and I ended up "technically" finishing 3 books, but I already told you about my thoughts about The Song of Achilles in my last reading wrap up. If you'd like to read my thoughts then click here. For the rest of the September I read and finished two books that I really enjoyed!

Source: Goodreads

Title: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods Author: Rick Riordan Publisher: Disney Hyperion Genre(s): Middle Grade, Fantasy, Fiction

It's been 14 years since Percy's final adventure in The Last Olympian, and in this continuation Percy is a senior in high school. He missed his entire junior year due to losing his memory, now he has to make up additional credits so that he can graduate on time so that he can attend New Rome University with his girlfriend and fellow demigod Annabeth Chase. Percy's plans come to a screeching halt when his dad, God of the Sea Poseidon, tells him that if he wants to go to New Rome University that he need to get 3 letters of recommendation from the Gods.

It was easy to slip back into this world of modern Greek Mythology that Rick Riordan has crafted. Percy and the gang are older and relatable to the readers who grew up reading their earlier adventures. The humor I enjoyed in Riordan's other books shine through in this new adventure. Riordan has continued to have a good pace, the story is consistently moving forward and it doesn't lag or feel like there is too much exposition. It is easy to sink into your favorite comfy chair your favorite snack and drink and get lost in the story Riordan weaves.

The only critique I have is that the story doesn't seem to have the high stakes like the previous books did. From what I can tell, this is the first book in a trilogy so there are two other books that will feature the other two quests and maybe we'll get a gradual build to make the story more high stakes towards the end. Even though there may not be the same sense of urgency, if you've read Riordan's earlier books featuring Percy, this return is still enjoyable and satisfying because its like we're catching up with a friend we haven't seen in awhile.

Source: Goodreads

Title: That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America Author: Amanda Jones Publisher: Bloomsbury Genre(s): Nonfiction, Memoir, Politics, Books About Books

In my quest to read more nonfiction books, I found this one at my favorite local bookstore and just HAD to pick it up! Amanda Jones is a school librarian in rural Louisiana who became the target an alt right group from her area after she spoke out about proposed censorship at her local public library. Jones takes readers on her journey and recounts her harrowing experience in great detail so readers understand the amount of hate she received by just simply attending a public library board meeting and was one of twenty who spoke at this meeting.

While Jones recounts the truly terrible experience she went through, she also makes sure to let her readers know that this is not an isolated incident, this is happening all across America as librarians and even educators are being vilified by these alt-right groups and extremists being called "groomers" and how they are teaching children about sex. Jones makes the point that these groups are doing this so they can get control of what books the general public has access to as long as it aligns with their beliefs.

Jones decides that she is not going to sit by just let this happen to her, she take legal action against two of her biggest "haters." Jones also tells us how we can take action in our own communities against censorship so that our right to intellectual freedom is not taken away from us.

If you like books about anti-censorship, social justice, or someone rising to the occasion when they are tested then do yourself a favor and pick this up!

If you'd like your own copy of the books mentioned, I have them linked below!

Percy Jackson: The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan

That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America by Amanda Jones

[anneapocalypse]

I like your post about gray morality in video games! On the other hand I wanted to add that the gray decision-making you're talking about can have its own pitfalls (distinct from the pitfalls of centrist/apolitical "both sides are bad" apathy). I'm thinking of gritty action heroes who are presented as morally gray because they're pragmatic enough to torture and kill in the name of Truth, Justice, and the 'Murican Way, or just in the name of a macho revenge fantasy. To be clear, this isn't an indictment of gray morality, which I love when done well. Hell, the stories I'm complaining about tend not to be THAT gray in practice, as the bad guys are often SO exaggeratedly bad that there's not a real question of whether the hero is willing to Do What It Takes in the end. My point is more just that that's what people often mean when they condemn "gray morality."

Hi! Sorry this has been sitting my ask box for a while, I got busy and didn't want to just dash off a response.

(We're talking about this post, for those who haven't seen it. RIP my notifications.)

Anyway I'll just say here for the record that yeah, gray morality in fiction can be done poorly! While the line for "done poorly" is going to be different for everyone, I can certainly think of examples I've disliked.

(This got long, sorry in advance. 😩 Also, spoilers for Fallout 3 and all the Dragon Age games, if anyone cares!)

My go-to example of one I think is a real stinker is the Fallout 3 DLC "The Pitt" where the critical decision is... whether to free a bunch of people from being enslaved in horrible conditions! But! in order to free them, you have to kidnap a baby from... the enslaver. Because something something the baby's genetics are the key to curing the illness that afflict the slaves from their horrible working conditions... you don't actually have to hurt the baby, though, she'll be fine. She'll just be taken away from her parents. Who are, again, slavers. I promise I'm not making it sound any stupider than it sounds in the game itself. :P Like the whole concept of putting an infant in your video game inventory and making a break for it is just a little too wacky for me to take seriously, but it feels like you're meant to take it seriously, and apart from trying to inject some ambiguity into the decision, I'm not sure why the whole baby plot would even be there. Honestly, Fallout 3 isn't a game about moral ambiguity. (I think both New Vegas and even Fallout 4 do that kind of thing better.) Most of its major decisions boil down to "Do you want to do the Good Person Thing or the Evil Bastard thing?" That's the game. No one is trying to inject moral ambiguity into blowing up Megaton. It's just a thing you can do if you want to roleplay an Evil Character. I love Fallout 3, I'm just saying, that's what it is. And I think "The Pitt" would have been both more thematically appropriate and less stupid if it had just skipped the whole baby plot and been like "Hey! Do you want to be the Good Person who frees the slaves, or the Evil Bastard who allies with the slaver?" It's morally simple, but the thing is the baby didn't actually make that story or the decision any more interesting to me, so it might as well not have been there at all.

But Fallout 3 isn't the kind of thing I was thinking of when I made that post. I was thinking a lot more about things like the decisions in the Dragon Age games, which don't usually fall neatly into The Good Option and The Evil Option, and are more likely to ask the player to make their own judgments. And a common criticism I see of those games is that they're "centrist" and try to "both sides" in-universe issues because the game doesn't explicitly tell you which choice is The Good One, or it doesn't explicitly reward one choice and punish the other, and that's... not really an interpretation that I generally agree with? But that's a much more involved discussion, honestly. At some point, I'd like to write a post about how I feel Inquisition presents the mage rebellion, because it's such a big topic and big game (and by "I'd like to" I mean... I already have a draft started, whoops). That's just more than I have time to get into today!

But I will say this: I find the plot decisions where you're given an obvious "best option" to be the least interesting choices in the Dragon Age games. The Redcliffe decision in Origins is the most obvious one to me, where I think the option to save Connor from possession should at least have been much harder to find, because in the lore, the fact that mages even can be saved from possession and not just killed is widely unknown because it goes against the templar party line, and the fact that Ferelden's First Enchanter is just like, "Oh yeah, sure, we can totally do that, pack up the lyrium boys" just doesn't really mesh with everything else we're told about the Circles and conventional wisdom on magic. Plus, the fact that there's no consequences for leaving Redcliffe for days with Connor possessed just... makes the decision too easy, for me, because in-universe it feels like it shouldn't be that easy. There's also the werewolf decision, wherein the Lady of the Forest just tells you straight out that Zathrian can break the curse with his own death, presenting you with a "best option" that it feels both stupid and sort of comically evil to disregard (like, from a purely pragmatic standpoint why would you fight the entire pack of werewolves or an entire clan of elves when you can just make Zathrian solve the problem here and now).

The ending decision of DA2 is an example that I feel has a really stark moral contrast to it (which I've discussed before), and one that I think does place certain constraints on role-playing, but in that case I think it's appropriate to the themes of the game, so I don't mind it.

But my favorite plot decisions in Dragon Age are things like the Landsmeet, the Winter Palace, and even the Orzammar quest line. Not just because I love fantasy politics, but because you have to work with what you're given in a way that feels realistic to the setting and the story. No matter how much of a hero you are, you can't waltz into Orzammar or Denerim or Halamshiral and brute-force a perfect solution. Unless you're a dwarf yourself, you're an outsider who doesn't know anything about dwarven politics and no one is particularly forthcoming about the situation because everyone has an agenda! and yet you have to solve this conflict in order to get aid against the Blight. You have to make a decision based on very little information and almost none of it concrete. At the Landsmeet, you may want justice, but it's your word against Loghain's with no proof of what really happened at Ostagar, and if you want to win you need provable charges, you need to show the nobles that you support their interests and not just your own, and no matter which butt you put on the throne, you're faced with the very real possibility of another succession crisis a few decades on so congratulations, you've just kicked the can down the road.

And oh, the Winter Palace, my beloved. You cannot make Briala the Empress, no matter how much you might want to! You cannot abolish the monarchy. You cannot force Orlais to relinquish the Dales and re-establish the Elven state. Your options are: keep the empress whose reign overall has been sympathetic to elves and commoners and relatively diplomatic toward her neighbors, but who also may have just done a good old fashioned massacre to crush a rebellion and maintain her power; let her be killed and put the militant expansionist on the throne; get Briala and Celene back together (maybe with the hope that Briala will continue to influence her); help Briala do a blackmail which surely will work out totally fine and not backfire in anyway; or force them all to shut up and play ball for now, basically just kicking the can down the road. None of these options are perfect by any means! There are interesting and believable in-character reasons you might choose to role-play any of them. And every one has the possibility of unforeseen consequences later on, positive or negative.

I made the original post, in part, in response to condemnations of the kind of decisions I enjoy in these games. And at the end of the day, it's okay not to like those decisions, to prefer more unambiguous choices or more room to indulge in the fantasy of fixing everything. But that's not always the kind of story a game is trying to tell, and I think that's fine, and personally I enjoy the complicated decisions more. And I feel like sometimes those complicated or ambiguous choices are read as if they're either presenting all options as morally equivalent when they're not, or that they're "punishing" the player for a choice if it has any kind of negative outcome, and I don't think that's the case! I think it's fine and good in fiction to explore the ways in which trying to change things for the better can be difficult and how a choice with some negative consequences may still be the best one available, and so on and so forth.

Anyway, I hope I didn't get too far afield here, and thanks if you read this far!

[talesfrommedinastation]

Sinead O'Connor and Clones

In case you haven't heard, Sinead O'Connor passed away yesterday, at the age of 56. I literally stopped my car when I heard the news. I have loved O'Connor's music for many years, and have been heartbroken to hear about her battles with mental illness and other tragedies that have filled her life. May she rest in peace.

There's plenty of punk singing, pop music from her, but where she truly shone was traditional Irish singing, especially sean-nos, where her voice is both ethereal and full of unyielding pain.

Where do clones from Star Wars fit in here, you ask?

When O'Connor delved into sean-nos, it was not romantic Rather, it followed the pain of many who left or were taken form their homes to serve in war, and have tried to find their ways home or remember what they could beforehand.

While writing about the clones (and the Belters) in Far Past the Ring, I listen to that album a lot.

This is one of my favorites, The Moorlough Shore, and the lyrics remind me so much of many of the clones in Star Wars. One could argue that it seems like it was written by someone who loved a member of the GAR, who left or died in battle:

"And he was my only joy And ever since I saw his face I have loved that soldier boy"

The whole album is full of whispers and cries, with many of them having ties to the history of soldiers, colonialism, and missing loved ones. O'Connor was a fierce critic of authority, and for her fans, we loved that Celtic Valkyrie for that.

I do not know if O'Connor ever watched TCW or TBB, but I would have loved to hear her opinion on the shows. Of orphaned men of color who were aged too early, thrown into battle, their rights taken away, and their memories and lives forgotten by the universe that they served.

So many have opined about the last scene of TCW, and about Vader/Ashoka, but to me, the heart of the show is this helmet, and this shot. The clones were humans that were stripped down into tools and subsequently treated the same way.

And as I listen to O'Connor's music in her memory, I wish she would have made a sean-nos song about this scene, about these fictional people, these soldiers who were not meant to be human, but who lived, loved, and died for others.

RIP, Sinead. Your voice continues.

[imagitory]

You're a Percy Jackson fan? What you did think of this new show that just debuted? Or, if you haven't watched it yet, what do you expect from it?

I must be honest, I actually have never read the Percy Jackson books, though I have friends who are familiar with it and I've heard lots of positive stuff about it. (I've also listened to some of the musical soundtrack and I liked what I heard!)

I sadly was introduced to Percy Jackson by the awful film adaptation of it from 2010, and at the time, I misguidedly assumed that the Lightning Thief film was a relatively decent adaptation, since Chris Columbus (who had worked on the first two Harry Potter films, which are rather faithful to their respective books) had directed it. I was therefore a little underwhelmed by the story line, but had assumed that the things that made my Greek mythology nerd self irritated (like the film's interpretation of Hades and Persephone and Grover having to "earn his horns" a la Clarence in It's a Wonderful Life) were simply liberties the author had taken while adapting some ideas from ancient Greek myths for his fictional universe -- you know, like how Disney decided to make Hades a sassy, used-car-salesman-esque bad guy and Zeus and Hera Hercules's loving parents in their movie. And well, even if I didn't personally like those liberties taken, they are what they are, right? The author must've just used the Greek myths as a jump-off point to tell their own story, right? *snorts*

Yeah, no, as it turned out, those things I didn't care for weren't liberties the original author took, while telling his story -- instead they were changes the filmmakers made to the author's story that actually flew in the face of what the author intended. As I soon found out online from Percy Jackson fans, for some bizarre reason, Chris Columbus did NOT decide to respect Rick Riordan's vision in the same way he did Jo Rowling's, and Riordan in fact was actually incredibly clever in adapting the ancient Greeks' myths for the modern era. And yeah, that really sucks! I mean, from what I gather, the original Lightning Thief book is something of an homage to Homer's Odyssey, which is actually one of my favorite books of all time! That's friggin' awesome!

Now that Percy Jackson has come to Disney+ and its fanbase overall seems to be much more approving of what's been released so far, I'm really looking forward to watching it, so I can get a better look at what so many people have such fondness for. And if I have time, maybe I'll finally knuckle down and read the books too! If nothing else, I've heard lots of very nice things about Rick Riordan and the personal feelings that went into the world and cast of characters he created, and I'm glad he's been given more say in how they're now being adapted for a new generation. 💛

[wolfreader]

september 2024 wrap-up - young adult fiction

this month i read five (5) young adult novels.

we are okay by nina lacour 📖 🌟🌟🌟🌟

this is actually a reread - i read this for the first time when it intially came out in 2017, when i was in middle school, and i definitely enjoyed it a whole lot more as an adult. we are okay takes place at a university, and there's discussion about the isolation and loneliness you can find yourself in during your first year at college; that's something i can related to far more now that i've gone through my own first year at college where i struggled (and still am struggling) to make new friends and connections versus when i was in my final year of middle school, without a care in the world and surrounded by close friends.

watch over me by nina lacour 📖 🌟🌟

in contrast watch over me, by the same author as we are okay, sucked ass. it's incredibly tedious in a way that i don't think was intentional, at least not to the level i felt it and it had very sloppily implemented magical realism elements. and the entire novel i was just off-put and frustrated by the fact that neither the characters nor the narrative itself ever acknowledged that the group home the main character ends up in was essentially the exact same as the abusive home she was in before with her mother's cult-leader-esque boyfriend, except somehow even more culty.

cursed by marissa meyer 📚 🌟🌟🌟

i bought the first book in this duology for myself, but while i wanted to see what happened next i wasn't quite invested enough to buy the second book, so i picked it up a the library. and i'm glad i did, because while i still enjoyed it, i don't think it's as good as the first book.

it suffered from too many twists, in my opinion. if just a couple of the smaller twists or one of the big ones was taken out, this would have been a much more enjoyable reading experience.

the crimson fortress by akshaya raman 📚 🌟🌟🌟

another young adult duology that i finished, and similar to the gilded / cursed contrast i think the crimson fortress is a downgrade from the ivory key, which is suprising because normally its the other way around with debut novels. the sibling dynamics, which i found so appealing in the ivory key, were less present in this second book and without the other characters to bounce of off there were one or two point of view characters that i found really grating.

however, i really liked the ending. without major spoilers, one of the four main characters ends up leaving the country for an indeterminate amount of time after telling his sister (another main character, the ruler of their country, and on some level complicit in some bad stuff that happened to her brother) that while he loves her, he can't forgive her right then and doesn't know if he'll ever be able to. and i really liked that message!

a curse for true love by stephanie garber 📖 🌟🌟

my disappointment is immeasureable and my day is ruined.

once upon a broken heart is very popular on booktok, and young adult fantasy romance that gets really popular on booktok tends to not be very good, but i actually liked this one well enough! definitely overhyped, but has enough to like about it. then, however, the ballad of never after was enjoyable up until quite literally the last chapter when it pulled one of my least favorite twists: revealing that one leg of a love triangle was evil all along (despite his previous actions saying otherwise) as a way to push the main character toward the other love interest without her actually having to make a choice.

and now this final installment is just dogshit. for starters, i was hoping the entire time i was reading that the twist from the end of the second book would untwist, but it never did. it just got worse. but even beyond that it was just so. weird? multiple major side characters who featured in both the first and second books are just completely absent from this one. there are suddenly multiple perspectives when there haven't been at all before in the series. and i cannot stress enough that the two main characters have absolutely nothing to do with the defeat of the main antagonist. they don't do anything to thwart him, he just dies. he just dies in front of them as a result of something he did which he had been planning to do since the middle of the book, completely divorced from the actions of the main characters.

when i finished this book i was genuinely in shock for a couple of minutes that it ended that badly.

[edwinspaynes]

Also Happy thanksgiving my american friend! :D

Final ask/therapy session-

Am i alone in how much anxiety i have, when CC/people say "The Wicked Powers" will be the end of the Shadowhunter chronicles?

While I haven't been as active in the community online since this month, the Shadowhunter releases and CC's buzzing and the art being generated etc. has always been a part of my life. A highlight to look forward to in my year. The Shadowhunter books were my version of Harry potter book releases. I have taken work days off on the releases of novels, pretend to be sick when i was in highschool just to read TMI novels as they released, and now, constantly read new shadowhunter fictions.

I really REALLY don't know how to reconcile. I can imagine that maybe an author wants to get over and not be soley defined by 1 universe they create and write new things, but her work (and Brandon Sanderson's with the Cosmere, thankfully he said he will be working on the Cosmere universe until he's at least 86 and he's now in his 40s).

IDK it feels like a breakup. Any advice? do you share sympathies?

Many thanks and hope you have a lovely turkey day! ^ . ^

I definitely don't think you're alone in that. A lot of people share your opinion! I'm not one of them - I was a fan of Supernatural back in the day, and it's absolutely phenomenal until it drags on too long and goes sour. I really don't want that to happen to TSC, and TWP seems like a good ending point because it's the pre-planned ending. I don't want her to keep putting out more and more content forever when her heart's not in it, and I think that the size of this universe and potential for stories means that it has the possibility of burning out as Supernatural did.

That being said, I also completely understand your feelings. I've been following this series for a decade, most of it in anticipation of The Last Hours (it was my favourite series long before it existed - I've been partial to it since 2015, when Nothing But Shadows came out.) I'm kind of experiencing the End of TSC Anxiety now because I'm honestly just a very casual fan of the modern side of things, and that's what remains after the Kickstarter. So, like, I empathize with your feelings, but I don't really feel them regarding TWP.

I think it'll be cool for Cassie to expand to other projects, too. Sword Catcher was really well-written, and I'm excited to see how the novellas that are original short stories go, too.

I do also think it's probable that she'll dump a short story on us periodically even after TSC ends. Like, you know, Cassie deciding she wants to write a Malec eshort for fun and putting it into the world. This'll be nice.

I think the thing that has comforted me the most is that TSC will always be with me - when things get rough, I have like a dozen copies of TLH and TID that I can reread. And NBS, and CLS, and the probable Matthew bindup and Thomastair and Wessa and Jordelia BiB short stories. I'll always be able to return to the world by rereading, reanalizing, writing fic. When I'm lonely I'll always have Will's words on my left shoulder and an homage to Matthew on my right wrist (stay tuned, I'm hoping to find a watercolor specialist by the new year). It'll be okay, and it'll be okay, and it'll be okay.

[mythicalartisttm]

Have you played botw2? If so, what do you think of it so far?

I've been watching playthroughs! I can't afford the game rn, but I hope to get it myself eventually! In part for the experience, in part bc the ppl I'm watching play are hardly looking in the direction I want to. A game with so many options means that no one will play the same way, so that means if I want the best TotK experience, I'll have to make it for myself.

That said, the game thus far is driving me nuts (/pos and derogatory).

First and foremost, the game is trying to sell the fact that Hyrule and it's founders only came into play just before the Imprisoning War??? Baby, I understand that Hyrule could have been refounded after Ganondorf came in guns blazing after having just squashed the Hero and Princess of Time, and so Sonia and Rauru would be rebuilding Hyrule and re-establishing the monarchy. That makes sense. But that's just straight up not the case! I could go over all the timeline inaccuracies right here but my brain hurts trying to put it into words. The LoZ timeline has been a mess for over 20 years but this is the first time it's contradicted itself without a fix from what I've seen.

Naming the king Rauru was a fun little detail though, I like that 🙂

Speaking of Rauru, I have only seen as much of him as the Great Sky Island and one (1) tear, but he's going into the Fictional Dads of All Time folder. Both a goat and a G.O.A.T. I do not know much about Sonia yet but I like her. Both the king and queen really scored on marriage partners imo.

Tulin, my son. I have not played the game but the AI is so darn good it's job and he's saved the guy I've been watching so many times. I do kinda wish we could've fought alongside Teba but dang, Tulin is not just good, he's a really fun character in his own right and I'm glad he's here.

I haven't as strong feelings about Yunobo but he is a delight to be around. Rolling him around and smashing stuff is quite fun as well.

Bonus that I've taken to naming the sage mimics. So far we have Terin and Shobae. I've already decided to name the next (last?) two Raja (pronounced "rah-hah") and maybe Po (Po and Sidon).

Mostly unrelated, but Tulin's champion ability reminds my of the LU Champion AU craze from a a while back! That was the first thing I thought of when I saw Tulin use his power for the first time and it made me chuckle.

It still doesn't feel real to have the name of Zonai popping up in so many places in-game. Like, wow. Ok. I guess this is happening. This has still not sunk in.

Speaking of which, did you know that the Zonai tech was originally Sheikah tech in development? I'm actually really glad that it got changed because using a different kind of tech with it's own distinct color/aesthetic not only separates TotK from BotW, but it also prevents the Sheikah tech from getting stale. I wish we could maybe see some more Sheikah tech aside from the towers and the Purah Pad though, just to make it feel like it hasn't totally up and left. I did see a comment on yt say that the ppl of Hyrule probably dismantled the divine beasts and other weapons so they never have to worry about the tech turning on them again. I think that's a good way of looking at it, although the removal of the towers felt highly unnecessary from an in-universe perspective imo if they're just gonna build new towers.

Side note that when that one character (I can't remember if it was Purah or Josha) called them Skyview Towers my SS brain went 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

There's for sure more I have to say but this is all I can call upon atm! Thank you for asking <3

[lyrebright]

Hi!! Read your recent fic, it’s so good! But about the AN, may I ask why you didn’t like the ending of the game, if it’s not too much?

Hi! I'm glad you liked my fic. And sure, I can give you an answer--I'll do my best to not just start ranting angrily because honestly thinking about it makes me want to start crying again.

I'll post it under a cut because Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is still so new--if you haven't beaten the game, don't click on it, because here there be spoilers.

So the thing is. Xenoblade 3?

This is basically how I felt about the game. The setting, the style, the cast...it all felt like it was made for me. It was, genuinely, a perfect 100 for me until the last five minutes.

Let me try to be concise as I explain this.

The main issues I take with the ending can basically be summed up as:

It comes out of nowhere.

It betrays the themes of the game.

As the intended finale of the Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy it falls immensely short because of a mix of all these other points.

Considering the endings the XBC1 and XBC2 casts got, this one really feels like a slap in the face.

It, and I cannot express this enough, makes everything you do pointless. None of it mattered, it was all for nothing.

Now, let me explain these points in more depth:

It comes out of nowhere.

Maybe some gigachads with universe brains could sense where this was headed, but I could not. I think this was part of the issue, honestly--it felt to me sort of as if they wanted it to be a twist emotional gutpunch, and thus never telegraphed it to the player, leading to the player being caught off guard entirely.

What I thought would happen is that we would simply reclaim Origin and continue on in Aionios, rebuilding and experiencing life not on a timer. It seemed to me that the issue was that Z had taken control of Origin and frozen Aionios in stasis, not that the worlds needed to split again. It honestly came out of left field and took me out of what should have been an emotional moment, a triumphant moment, as I scrambled to understand what the hell was going on.

It betrays the themes of the game.

This is one of the big ones for me. XBC3 claims itself to be a game about life, and yes, it is--but it's about grief and moving on, it's about the past and letting it go, it's about facing the future you chose and fighting for the freedom to choose in the first place.

And yet, in the end, there is no choice. Against their will, the people of Aionios are split apart, after finally uniting. And yet, in the end, it's not the future that is chosen, because everything resets back to fucking zero. But I'll get more into that in another point.

As the intended finale of the Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy it falls immensely short because of a mix of all these other points.

I can tell you that when I finish a game, I want to leave it satisfied, if not happy. And when I finish a series, I want to leave it the same way.

At the ending of Xenoblade 3, I was in disbelief and shock. I was sending messages to my friends on discord in complete rage. I was sobbing in my bed at midnight and crying myself to sleep not because of the cathartic release of emotion I like to experience from fiction, but because I felt like the game had just stabbed me in the back. There was no closure, and there was definitely no happiness. I was excited, to go into the "postgame" and pick up Nia and Melia, to finish my sidequests and hero ascensions. To fill out the rest of my maps and fight the remaining unique monsters. To try my hand at the superbosses.

I was excited for these things, prior to beating the final boss and seeing the final cutscene. After that, I just felt hollow. I haven't picked up the game since and I know I won't for a while because I'll get angry and upset again, because What's The Point, Really? I'll elaborate on this more in my last point. But basically, for a minute there, when I beat the game, I wished I could rewind time and never finish it. I wished I could wipe my memory of the ending and stay in side content limbo forever. No ending that makes me feel like that is a good one.

Considering the endings the XBC1 and XBC2 casts got, this one really feels like a slap in the face.

Shulk and his friends get to live amongst a new, unified world and work together towards the future. It ends open ended, but happily.

Rex and his friends get to live amongst a new, unified world and work together towards the future. It ends open ended, but happily.

Noah, Mio, Eunie, Taion, Lanz, and Sena do not get a happy ending. The people of Aionios do not get a happy ending. They are no longer frozen in a cycle, but they are torn apart, reset to zero, and don't even get to keep their memories. You can say it ended open ended if you want, but I can't see anything about this that is happy for them.

It, and I cannot express this enough, makes everything you do pointless. None of it mattered, it was all for nothing.

This is the big one. The one that really, above all else, makes me so upset.

The sidequests of rebuilding colonies, of learning to farm. Of liberating these colonies and getting the people of Agnus and Keves to work together and be friends. None of it matters, because none of it stays. What's the point in going back and finishing these sidequests and having the characters interact with each other when I know there's no point, because it's all going to get erased?

This is what I mean, about it betraying its own themes. This was it. Aionios was the world where life could have walked together hand in hand, as soon as they took that life back from Moebius. Aionios was real and lived in and loved and they made you love it too, only to take it all away and wind everything back to the start.

For a game about walking into the future, it sure couldn't let go of the past.

So that's it, basically. That's why I hate the ending. It's why XBC3 is, a little, ruined for me. I still love the cast and world and everything about the plot before that final reveal of the ending. But I can't help but feel bitter about it now. And it might take me a while to ever want to play it again.

If you or anyone else liked the ending, that's fine. But I can't. Not ever.

Thanks for the ask♡

[sonicboomseason3]

Hi, I can relate. Just feeling down atm ): Many, many problems going on. I haven't send an ask to anyone in agessss. Hmm. I guess my question would be - what are your thoughts on the new Sonic Prime trailer? I've been a fan of Boom since it was first announced but I will always love Boom. A guy can balance multiple (yet similar) favourite shows! :)

hi, thanks for writing in!! ......why did i type that i sound like a podcaster doing a q&a session

anyway i was pretty excited to just have something after months of not getting anything, so even if it was short and still a teaser rather than an actual trailer, i really liked it!! the visuals, animation, and fight choreography are sick and i already ADORE deven mack as sonic <3 ive also always been a sucker for stories about multiple universes so im just really looking forward to prime in general

though im going to go off on a bit of a tangent here so dont read if you dont want to hear this: ive been growing weary of shadow discourse for a while but this teaser was really the catalyst to me realizing just how much i fucking hate all the arguments that surround his character! id be lying if i said that certain peoples reactions werent a major factor contributing to the already shitty week i was having. inb4 im not trying to disrespect anyone or their opinions whatever they may be so please dont take this as a personal attack but i truly despise how sonic and shadow cant fight for 5 seconds on screen (with no context!) without this widespread panic that hes just going to be a pointless rival. you know, even though he and sonic have always fought? because their personalities clash? because they have different methods of handling problems that arise? theyve BEEN fighting aklsdjflas the only time shadow fought sonic just to spite him was in boom and boom!shadow does not count. say what you want about boom!shadow but he does. not. count. other medias like sonic x and idw all had them fight with actual stakes involved which is perfectly fine and normal and how conflict usually works

at this point i just want sega to come out and explain their entire agenda with shadow post-06 is (as well as how they see him in comparison to everything before that) like i know thats not gonna happen and obviously it wont stop people from disagreeing with the direction theyve taken him in (and again its fine if they do), but at least everyone could finally be on the same page. because with the way things currently are, theres no way someone can give their opinion on how they perceive shadows character (no matter what it is or how much evidence they have to back it up) without being called media illiterate by people who have just as easily disputable interpretations. i personally would love to talk extensively about how i see him and explain why that is the case but i wont because i dont want annoying people setting off my anxiety by accusing me of not understanding the fictional hedgehog <333

(yes i know this applies to pretty much all of the sonic characters at this point but shadows the big one and also relevant dont @ me)

[justice4sasuke]

Is it just me or is Gaara badly written? He's not the worst, but at the end of the day I can count with the fingers of one hands who are the only decently written characters in Naruto, and only one of them (Sasuke) is a main character. He's fine in the first part and in some of Shippuden, but then the Kage arc and the 4th ninja war arc act like he's a pure boy uwu that anyone would follow. Like... hello? Dude was a serial killer when he still had milk teeth. Suna has exceptional therapy then.

Anon you don't realize the gift you've given me. I've seen a lot of people running this blog that hate Gaara and I don't hate Gaara, but haven't had a reason to explain myself. I was literally just going to throw him into my final write-ups at the end just for the excuse to talk about him. But since you mentioned it...let's talk about Gaara.

I'm going to admit up-top a lot of this is more emotion based than logical. Which I think is fine. Sometimes you just have feelings about things and feelings are nice. While I'm sure as I go on I'll explain more about what I mean, for now I'll just say as the story is it doesn't logically make sense but I see the through line it would have taken if the story was better written. The issue is that we are more told things and expected to believe things rather than actually being shown them. In accepting these things without much thought I became more emotionally touched by Gaara as a character than I probably would have otherwise and I fully acknowledge that.

What's interesting to me about Gaara first of all is something I'm not sure Kishimoto realized he did (shocker), but all the people Gaara kills or tries to kill are people he perceives to have threatened him. Now go back and consider Rasa had been sending assassins to kill Gaara since he was small and yeah you can see how any slight, no matter how small or how real it might be would lead to him killing that person. Also remember this is a fictional universe where people be killing a lot. Naruto not killing anyone is an outlier. Chouji killed a guy. The morality of this universe isn't one-to-one with our own. As you can see I'm already looking more kindly on Gaara as he is at the start.

Now, as always, do I find Naruto convincing and believe whatever the fuck he does would change Gaara? Not really. But also Gaara seems like the kind of child where he just needed some validation or someone to relate to if I'm honest so whatever. I've said it before, Sasuke Retrieval Arc is Best Arc and I think the part where the Gaara and his siblings show up is very well done. I am hyped for it every time. I love Gaara being kind of awkward and making a lot of social faux paus when talking to Lee ("you were faster last time we met" YEAH GAARA AND THERE'S A REASON HE'S NOT AS FAST AS HE WAS THEN MAYBE YOU REMEMBER IT) and seeing him talk through his new understanding of relationships. Would it have been more effective if we actually SAW Gaara learning about relationships and trying to be better? Yeah. But the narrative couldn't afford that time I guess and Kishimoto wouldn't know character establishment that wasn't directly tied to the plot if it bit him on the ass. Still, I got the idea so I saw the thing, I liked the thing.

Okay, Shippuden Gaara is kazekage. Dumb and also more proof this kage thing is some nepotism shit. But once again I can appreciate the idea that Gaara has now had an epiphany that he has found what he wants to protect and be his special thing and that is his village. I like the sentiment. Funnily this whole arc hinges on Gaara and I don't feel he does much of anything so that's that on that.

Kage Summit time. I got to give it up for Gaara laying the rest of the kage's out. I love a good read and that was a Read ("ask us anything you want." "when did you all forsake yourselves?" you better work you fucking bitch) and I appreciate that Gaara is able to extend his sympathies to Sasuke. He doesn't know anything he just knows Sasuke showed up to attack one of them and now they got to fight, but he can still feel sad about it. Gaara telling Naruto he should put Sasuke down like an old dog is not cool though, even if he doesn't know what happened.

Leading the war. Would be more impactful and probably would have meant more to readers if we actually SAW Gaara, but like most characters he is sidelined for Naruto's bullshit and Sasuke. I understand why it doesn't move people, but I can picture in my head how we got here and it does move me that this scared, angry kid can now rally thousands of people and speak sincerely and emotionally.

Now where I start having problems that have nothing to do with Gaara as a character really. I hate Kishimoto's tendency to "fix" things by just giving the character what they want/need. He does this mostly with Naruto as I said (control the Fox powers, parents, teachers, validation), but for some reason he decides to do it with Gaara. Rasa comes back to life just to tell Gaara his mother and uncle always loved him and blah blah. I don't have a problem with his mom and uncle always caring about him. I think that makes sense. The problem is that Gaara (ostensibly since Kishimoto likes to tell and not show) went through all of this to get to the point where he is now, rallying an army and being emotionally vulnerable, and having it turn out he was loved all long kind of defeats the purpose. The point is that was handed a raw deal, he didn't know what love was, he didn't understand it, but he was able to learn how to love anyway. You can make love where there was none before. You can overcome your parent's shittiness and be a better person and make a better world. Gaara did not need to know that his mother and uncle loved him for that to matter. But it gets handed to him anyway, like a reward for being good enough, when I truly believe it should not matter and takes the power out of Gaara being the person he turned out to be.

Anyway, that's my Gaara screed I guess. I like him. Completely understand if others don't, but I mean give it some thought at least. Feel free to share your thoughts as long as we are all respecting each others emotional truths.

[jastertown]

2021 fic review

(Tagged by @its-captain-sir >:) )

total number of completed works: uhhh i have No idea? 3?? my docs are a bit. unorganized.

Total word count: somewhere in the ballpark of 30,000, I think!

Fandoms I've written in: star wars, fire emblem, legends of zelda! Hollow Knight and Sky sorta, but nothing major.

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this yes, less, or about what you'd expected?: about what I expected, I suppose! I was planning to keep chipping at a longfic, but recently I've taken a hiatus/break on Writing. Never fear, I'll be Back eventually >:)

What's your own favorite story of the year?: hard to say! I feel like it's not very fair to say things I've not posted, even moreso things I haven't finished.... but I did in fact enjoy working on the Concept of some delta squad stuff. Love them.

Did you take any writing risks this year?: Not By Birth, as a canon-divergent starwar fic it's new territory! i've had fun tho.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals this year?: I'd actually like to crack into some original fiction at some point, though the story concepts are incredibly bare-bones right now. I also want to work more on NBB, and perhaps put some new Fire Emblem work out, alongside Zelda and Hollow Knight.

Most popular story of the year?: also. not by birth. by elimination because I don't think I've posted anything else online al;ksjf

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: not written in 2021 but I'm very proud of my FE fics 'While They Sleep' (x) and 'Conduit!' (x) If you like Archanea fire emblem go read them <3

Most fun story to write: hmmm I've got a very absurd ship fic that is Incredibly fun to work on. old men in love who bond over their adopted children! (also a Zelda story that I share with my friend @/yureimori, we've been working together on it for quite some time now)

Most unintentionally telling story: I feel like I don't Post a lot of the stuff that's really telling, tbh! Certainly nothing from this year because that was all just Not By Birth. Perhaps other people could point it out, but I have no idea </3

Biggest disappointment: uh all the semi-abandoned wips (pensive emoji)

Biggest surprise: old man ship fic. I,,, did not expect to get sucked back into what started as a joke. I'll inflict it upon you all someday.

Favorite part of fandom this year: sharing ideas and concepts with friends! Love interacting with people and giving + getting feedback on creative ideas.

Tagging (no pressure): uhh @ragecndybars >:) not sure who else I know wrote a lot this year, so if you wanna do this consider this a tag from me!

[into-crazy]

Hi everyone!! I hope that you're all doing okay and keeping safe😌💜 I know I have been absent recently, it's been really busy for me. I've also realized that I haven't posted any writing or fics in months, so I'd like to apologize for that. Part of the reason being that I haven't had much motivation to continue writing anything lately. Hopefully it comes back to me soon, because I have so much that I want to share with you!! Once things calm down for me, I might be able to get back into the writing groove. I appreciate your patience, I'll come back soon!!💖💖

More under the cut due to length, personal stuff & mention/gushing of another new f/o🤭💞

In the meantime I've been enjoying my little break from tumblr. It's a nice breather. Still, I can't wait to come back and catch up on what I'd missed!!

Besides that however, I've kind of fallen back into a bad state, mentally. I'm not going to get into any further details because I don't want to bum any of you out with my personal issues/problems. Also, mainly because it's rather uncomfortable for me to talk about. But there's no reason to worry for me. I'm working on it.

With that being said, I'd recently found a form of comfort without even looking for it. It just.. came to me. Which, I found this consolation in another character. A character in which I am way beyond past happy to have been brought back to. I might make a post just for him🥺 Not sure about it yet. I only want to express my love and appreciation for him💞💞 Because this character brings me a great deal of comfort. Gradually, is he making me feel better, slowly bringing me back to myself. Oh yeah, and you bet he's a new f/o of mine🤭🥰 (I have too many f/os already, I need to STOP😭😅)

Anyways, this character is a wonderful German gentleman from the movie Django Unchained named Dr. King Schultz❤

Be still my heart🥴🥰🥰❤❤ (these screencaps were taken by me btw)

As I stated before, during the time of my absence, I re-watched the movie. I've seen this film a few times over the years, and he's been a favorite character of mine. He's just so.. warm, gentlemanly, funny, witty and sarcastic.. ugh I could go on and on with him😭 It wasn't until recently which I had viewed the movie again that I realized I have a deeper love for him, rather than him being just another favorite character. I love him as a significant(fictional.. sadly) other❤❤

So this was how it went.. I was watching the movie with my sister at the time. While watching, I paid closer attention to Dr. Schultz- watching his movements, hearing him talk, his smile.. Then it hit me like a damn train, and I started laughing. I remember the EXACT part, and it was still pretty early in the film😅 My sister noticed and asked me what I was laughing about. I kept giggling and running my hand over my forehead, still in shock at the realization of how in love with him I am. My sister asked again, said she wanted to know what was so funny. I continued laughing and saying, "no no.. oh my god.." on repeat. That was basically my way of voicing 'shit, here I go again😭'

She then impatiently said, "what?" And I replied, "I can't tell you because you're gonna hate me." Which of course, I was joking, it's how we joke around. But she kept pushing because she actually wanted to know. So I gave in and told her there was a character in the movie I found attractive. She was surprised and went, "what? Who?" There were only two men on the screen at the time being- Django Freeman and Dr. Schultz. She pointed at Django first, "him?"

I stifled my laughter, not wanting to admit who to her yet. Because, well for one being that Schultz is by far the highest in age of the characters I have fancied(definitely twice my age, maybe pushing closer to three times😳🥴) My sister pressed again, still thinking it was Django, "is it him?" I looked at her, smiled, and shook my head no. She gasped so dang dramatically and pointed to King, "wait- him??" I nodded proudly then proceeded to laugh at her visibly shocked state. It was the best thing ever😂🤣

He's the one that has been occupying my mind recently, and that's been very soothing for me. Physically, I am here in our world. But mentally and emotionally, I am in another universe with him. A whole other dimension and timeline where we are together. Me and my bounty hunter. Me and my gunslinger. Me and my love. Me and my King❤ He makes me feel safe and loved. He makes me feel like I can do it. There are.. so many wonderful things I feel with King. He owns a very special place in my heart🤞🏼❤

[themostrandomfandom]

Hi! I found your blog the TKTD, and that fic and your theories have highkey gotten me back into glee :D your content is so interesting, thank you so much! I haven't read all of your analyses yet, so I may have missed something, but I'm still wondering a couple things 1. why did Brittany fail senior year? You've written a lot about her not being dumb (despite her intelligence being non-normative), and we know she's able to do at least very advanced math. It seems like her primary goal would be...

To move to the next stage of life with Santana, so why wasn’t avoiding failing out a bigger priority for her? Furthermore, as someone who was so involved with extracurriculars (Cheerios, glee), she must’ve needed to maintain reasonable grades to avoid academic suspension. So avoiding failing seems like something that would be on her radar? and 2. do you think brittany dropped the ‘if sex were dating santana and i would be dating’ line on purpose?

Hey, @savealtonrichards​​!

Sorry it’staken me so long to answer you! I don’t have much internet access these days.:p

If you’re infor a good ramble, it’s under the cut.

(WARNING:Here be griping about Glee writing—as one does.)

___

First thingsfirst:

Theout-of-universe stuff.

Glee is a show that’s difficult to categorize because while it ostensibly takes place withina realistic fictional universe (as opposed to say a fantasy or science fictionone), there are times when it noticeably deviates from reality.

Though thecharacters seemingly live in suburban Ohio in the early 2010s and areregular human beings living “regular lives,” there are certain aspects of theirexistences that absolutely strain credulity (even when one actively tries tosuspend disbelief).

Some ofthese breaches are obvious, like when Lord Tubbington is shown as being capableof using a computer. However, others manifest more as gaps in logic—the typesof minor “glitches” in believability that cause the viewing audience to go,“Wait a minute. That’s not how that plot development would play out in reallife.”

One exampleof this second type of breach is how between S4 and S6, the young charactersliving in New York, most of whom are supposedly tight on money, arenevertheless able to jet set back and forth to Lima seemingly every otherweekend, as if plane and train tickets are free and travel takes no time orenergy at all. Another is that Sue Sylvester could do all of the illegal,immoral, and just flat-out batshit insane things she does without ever being firedor prosecuted. Still another is that nineteen and twenty year-old kids likeBlaine, Finn, and Sam could be hired to coaching positions at their respectivehigh school alma maters, even though none of them holds a college degree orteaching certificate.

The breachin realism that is pertinent to our discussion has to do with Brittany’sacademic history—which as depicted in show canon is replete with gaps and holesand just doesn’t make much sense.

In episode1x07, we are told that for years Sue has been doctoring the grades of herCheerios, including perhaps Brittany’s. However, even after Will puts his footdown and flunks many of their teammates, the Unholy Trinity, including Brittany,continues to attend Cheerios practice. They are the only Cheerios who do.

How theyalone of the whole squad retain their academic eligibility is not clear.Santana may not be taking Spanish, as she’s not shown in the class. However,Quinn and Brittany most definitely are, so either they must be passing (whiletheir teammates are not) or else Will must have decided against giving them thefailing grades they would otherwise deserve, perhaps because he doesn’t want torender them ineligible for glee club.

WillSchuester is nothing if not a hypocrite, so honestly I wouldn’t put it past himto walk that particular low road.

In any case,the show never really clarifies to what extent Brittany may rely on Sue tomaintain a passing GPA.

ThroughoutS1, Brittany is reported to cheat off of Becky’s schoolwork in math class (seeepisode 1x09) and is shown attempting to cheat off of Quinn’s tests in Spanishclass (see episode 1x07), incidents which suggest that she does at timesstruggle with academic performance during her sophomore year. 

However, herstruggles are not explored in depth, and her continued eligibility for theCheerios would indicate that either she somehow manages to make passing grades,struggles notwithstanding, or else that interference from Sue renders herstruggles moot.  

Kurt alsoreports that Finn sometimes cheats off of Brittany’s math assignments (seeepisode 1x10). We don’t know if this cheating represents an isolatedincident or a pattern of behavior. However, if it’s the second option, then given that Finn maintains his academiceligibility for football even after having cheated off Brittany’s work, andconsidering that, unlike with Brittany, Sue is unlikely to have doctored Finn’sgrades, we can perhaps surmise that Brittany at least occasionally managesto earn passing grades on her own.

Even if Sueis pulling strings to keep Brittany on the field, come S2, the situationchanges, as in episode 2x11 Brittany quits Cheerios, at which point whatever“help” Sue had been giving her is almost certainly rescinded.

Shortlythereafter, in episode 2x13, Brittany remarks that hergrades are bad (“Totally. Most teachers think that by cutting class, I mightimprove my grades”), perhaps suggesting a drop-off due to a cessation in Sue’shelp. 

Even so, it would still seem that Brittany isn’t altogether failing, asshe apparently passes the eleventh grade and commences thetwelfth grade with the rest of her class.

The shownever specifies to what extent Brittany and the other glee kids must maintaintheir grades in order to stay in show choir. On the one hand, glee club is notan athletic program, so the rules for eligibility may be different than withcheerleading or football. On the other hand, glee club is seemingly anextracurricular activity in which students may “letter,” and it does have itsown governing board and competition requirements, so perhaps its eligibilityrequirements are similar or even identical to those for prep sports. To whatextent there may be “house rules” specific to WMHS as opposed to district orstatewide rules for all competitive show choirs remains unclear.

My guess isthat there’s got to be some kind of statewide threshold for eligibility,particularly as we’re told, per Jesse St. James, that the Carmel High kids in VocalAdrenaline cheat and doctor their grades in order to maximize their practicetime and minimize their schoolwork.

Whatever thespecific requirements may be, the fact that Brittany remains eligible toparticipate in glee club throughout her junior year is another point that maysuggest that even without Sue’s interference Brittany maintains a passing GPA. ThatBrittany is eligible to rejoin the Cheerios come her senior year also suggeststhat her eligibility remains intact as she finishes out the eleventh grade.

However,things seem to take a sudden downshift from there, both in terms of Brittany’sprospects and in terms of narrative sense-making.  

Come S3, we arefinally told that Brittany has a 0.0 GPA, though it’s never specified if that’sher semester, yearlong, or cumulative GPA. My guess is that it’s the secondoption, given that Brittany is told she must repeat the twelfth grade (asopposed to just making up a few credits during summer school or repeating multiplegrades).

That said,the situation surrounding her failure remains murky.

Prior to S3,Brittany has seemingly maintained a passing GPA, as is evidenced by heraforementioned progress through her freshman, sophomore, and junior years ofhigh school and her continued academic eligibility to participate in Cheeriosand glee club.

However, theshow never reveals how she has come by this passing GPA.

Our threemain options for explaining this phenomenon seem to be:

We can infer that Sue hasmanipulated Brittany’s grades in order to keep her academically eligible forvarsity sports.

We can infer that Brittanyhas achieved passing grades through her own efforts.

We can infer that perhaps somecombination of the above two options has taken place (i.e., that Sue hasmanipulated some of her grades, while others she earned through her ownefforts).

On the onehand, the show heavily implies that Brittany is a very poor student who wouldprobably be incapable of passing her classes if not for Sue manipulating thesystem on her behalf. On the other hand, given that Brittany maintains academiceligibility for Cheerios even when Will flunks many of her teammates in hersophomore year AND that she spends a significant portion of her junior year offthe Cheerios and still manages to pass, it would seem that Brittany is able tomake grades even during the times when Sue isn’t propping her up.

The questionsthen become: If Brittany can pass the eleventh grade “on her own,” then whydoes she fail the twelfth grade? Furthermore, how come Brittany is allowed toremain on the Cheerios and in glee club even once her grades start slipping?Why does her failure only come to light after it is essentially too late forher (or anyone else) to do anything about the problem? How come Sue, who hasnever had any qualms about manipulating her cheerleaders’ grades in the past,seemingly “allows” Brittany to fail her senior year? How come not a singleteacher or counselor at WMHS makes any efforts to help Brittany, even thoughshe is obviously struggling?

After all, Brittany’s 0.0 GPA seems to be a reflection of a chronic problem.

The firsttime we hear about said failing GPA is in episode 3x19, which is the sameepisode that features the WMHS senior prom.

For mostAmerican public high schools, prom takes place anywhere between March and June,which means that somehow Brittany is allowed to fail for at least one or two fullsemesters (or, more likely, given that many Midwestern American public schoolstend to run on the quarter system, two or even three full quarters) before Figgins tells her what’s up.

The school thenseemingly takes no action—at least as we see play out on screen—to helpBrittany course-correct for the final semester or two quarters of her senioryear.

She’s notput on academic monitoring or probation. She’s not assigned a tutor. MissPillsbury doesn’t set up any meetings with her to discuss her options or determineher future. No one writes her an IEP. She just crashes and burns until the endof the year, at which point she fails to graduate.

It strainscredulity that in today’s day and age Brittany could flunk out as “quietly” asshe did, without anyone—including her parents, coaches, guidance counselor,and/or girlfriend—realizing she was in trouble at any point along the way.

Where werethe midterm progress reports? The report cards? The summonses to MissPillsbury’s office? The failed tests that required the signature of her parent orguardian? Santana glimpsing an F on her Spanish essay and ripping Mr. Schue agoddamn new one because who is he to tell Brittany she isn’t conjugating verbsright when he can’t tell his own ass from an ñ?

Shouldn’tsomeone somewhere along the way have noticed something was wrong while therewas still time enough left to do something about it—and particularlyconsidering that Brittany is not only a student but a student athlete?

Per the OhioHigh School Athletic Association, a student must earn “passing grades in aminimum of five one-credit courses, or the equivalent, in the immediatelypreceding grading period” of athletic competition in order to be eligible toparticipate in a varsity sport, so in theory, after she fails that first term,Brittany shouldn’t be able to compete as part of the Cheerios squad at all, letalone be one of the senior leaders.

For therecord, the real life school districts in Lima, OH require a minimum GPAbetween 2.5 and 3.0 for student athletes.

One has towonder: Where is Sue in all this? How come she doesn’t intervene once she seesthat first bad report card?

After all,Sue has no qualms concerning academic dishonesty. By her own admission, she’s meddledwith her cheerleaders’ grades for years. Why shouldn’t she simply meddle in this case, too? Wouldn’tit be in her best interest to keep Brittany eligible to compete?

Come S4, Sueherself blames a “haze of pregnancy hormones” for preventing her from noticingBrittany’s S3 academic nosedive (see episode 4x02). Another contributory factor to her negligence may be her vicious congressionalcampaign against Reggie Salazar and Burt Hummel.

However,that Sue would allow Brittany to fail still presents a narrative problem, nomatter what her excuses for doing so may be, because the fact remains that academiceligibility is an issue that extends beyond her sole purview.

OnceBrittany fails the first academic quarter of the 2011-2012 schoolyear, shebecomes ineligible to compete in interscholastic competitions. The issue is outof Sue’s hands and into those of the Ohio High School Athletic Association.Some state official somewhere has the responsibility to mark her fileand bar her from any further participation in state cheer events.

—and yetthat never happens.

Somehow,Brittany remains a cheerleader (and member of the glee club) for the duration of the schoolyear, despite not passing a single class.

It’s one ofthose lapses in believability—those “Wait a minute. That’s not how thatdevelopment would happen in real life” instances—that takes Glee out of the realmof passingly realistic fiction and into the realm of exaggeration and camp.

There’s noway that Brittany could fail an entire year of school without facing anyacademic consequences—that’s just not the way that the American school systemworks, particularly when it comes to athletic eligibility.

How comeFiggins only notes Brittany’s failures in springtime? What is going on during the fall and winter?

For the record, episode 3x19 originally aired on May 8th, 2012. Within the universe of the show, the action of the episode may take place on the same date or at least a proximal one.

By allaccounts, someone somewhere along the way should notice what’s going on—if nota faculty member at Brittany’s own school, then some official on an athleticeligibility committee, or a college cheerleading coach scouting Brittany for anNCAA scholarship, or an auditor working for the superintendent, or a rivalcheerleading coach digging for dirt on Sue Sylvester’s stars.

Someone!

But no onedoes.

I mean,that’s what the show purports. 

Figgins knows enough to inform Brittany thatshe’s failing, but he doesn’t do anything to help the situation except to lectureher for neglecting her duties as the senior class president and badger her intoplanning the prom. 

Will and Emma, too focused on rescuing Puck from a similarfate, seemingly remain either oblivious to or unconcerned about Brittany’sacademic woes until she’s on the verge of failing her SECOND consecutive senioryear in S4. 

And Santana? She’s blindsided. Somehow, even though she andBrittany take classes together and meet up during every passing block and spendall of their spare time in each other’s company outside of school, she has noidea that Brittany is in academic jeopardy—not until Brittany springs the newson her at BreadStix just before what should be their joint graduation.

Not untilit’s too late.

That’s canonas TPTB at Glee wrote it.

It makes nogoddamn sense, but it’s what we’re stuck with.

So.

Onto thesecond order of business, then:

Thein-universe stuff.

Returning toyour original questions: Why does Brittany fail her senior year—from asituational and character perspective? How come she doesn’t work harder not tofail?

Though earlyon, Glee at times tried to play Brittany off as an accidental or even dubiousgenius—such as in the scene in episode 4x22 where she’s first shown solvingcomplex equations for the researchers at MIT—they later fully committed to herprodigy, acknowledging it as the real deal.

By episode5x12, Baby Girl is shown as being capable of tackling the Riemann Hypothesis.Her work at MIT is serious. By S6, she’s doing complex math for fun, albeitwith kitty doodles drawn in the margins. The Brittany of episodes 6x03, 6x06,and 6x08 is able to slip in facts and impressive logical arguments alongsideher usual Brittanyisms and one-liners. Her intelligence is no longer subject todebate.

So what’sthe deal with her flunking out of high school? How can someone capable ofprocessing the most complicated calculus there is fail at high school algebra?

Here’s thething: While Brittany is indeed a certified math genius, there’s not always aneat one-to-one correlation between “raw intelligence” and “academicsuccess.”

Lots offolks who are plenty bright—including many who have impressive naturalaptitudes in certain areas—fail in traditional classroom settings, even inclasses that by all accounts they “should be good at.”

Some havebehavioral tendencies that are incompatible with the classroom culture. Others findthe course materials boring, either because they already know the materialbeing taught or else because the material is being taught in a way that isn’tconducive to their learning style. Still others learn at a different pace thanwhat the curriculum may allow for, working either faster or slower. Many simplytest poorly or have trouble focusing. Organizational issues, language barriers,home circumstances (which may interfere with one’s ability to complete homeworkor come to class rested and ready to learn), individual teacher-studentdynamics, problems with bullying at school, health or disability factors, etc.,etc. may also affect one’s ability to “make grades.”

Many of thesmartest people there are have failed in formalized academic settings. Conversely,many people of average or even below average aptitudes have found ways tosucceed in the classroom. Other factors such as one’s work ethic, connection toteachers and mentors, support networks, accommodations, etc. can also impacteducational success.

In Brittany’scase, there are myriad reasons why, despite her certified genius, she fails herclasses.

For onething, WMHS is a substandard learning environment, just to start out with.

Theatmosphere there is toxic. Bullying runs rampant, with the staff either whollyapathetic toward, powerless to intervene in, or even sometimes party to theperpetuation thereof. 

The administration routinely mismanages its resources,spending an inordinate amount of money to support the cheerleading and footballprograms, though lacking certain other necessities—such as a functional specialeducation department, adequate handicap accommodations, and up-to-datetextbooks.

They also hire teachers who are both underqualified (such as Will,who teaches Spanish for years despite not actually speaking the language) andfrequently abusive (such as Sue, who should literally be serving jail time forthe way she treats the student body). 

Multiple times, it’s stated that theirstudents test at below average reading levels. 

While only a small percentage ofwhat Sue says should ever be believed, her claims that she doctors the gradesof her Cheerios to maintain their academic eligibility to participate in avarsity sport are seemingly accurate, as Will and Principal Figgins aver that such is this case. 

Not a single permanentteacher, principal, or guidance counselor at the school, with perhaps theexception of Coach Beiste, appears competent to do their job.

The hijinks ofvarious staff members and students regularly interfere with the learning day.

Rememberthat old post about JennaB. Lacey, the Hogwarts student who just wants to get a proper education but isconstantly prevented from doing so because she has the misfortune of being inthe same year as one Harry Potter, whose adventures and misadventures areconstantly interrupting her lessons and preempting her exams? Just replace “Harry Potter” with “Rachel Berry” or “SueSylvester,” and you’re basically describing the life of your average WMHSstudent.

Though wedon’t spend a lot of time following the New Directions kids through theirregular classes, the few glimpses that we do get suggest that much of thecurriculum they are subjected to is either outdated or else straight upobjectively incorrect.

While theepisode plays the situation for laughs, Holly Holliday’s points about the sexeducation at WMHS being painfully inadequate aren’t at all off the mark. Mrs.Hagberg seems to experience episodes of dementia while teaching (and is aself-admitted painkiller addict). She frequently forgets her spatiotemporallocation and has on occasion been known to teach that the Nazis won WWII. Will speaksSpanglish and buys into racist stereotypes about Latinos. Sue promulgatesconspiracy theories and unsubstantiated revisionist history, purposefullyspreading misinformation as if she were the White House Press Secretary.

Later on, inS6, it’s shown that a complete overhaul is necessary to update the school’stechnology and curriculum in order for the students to start performing up tostandards on their state tests.

—and there’sBrittany, who learns differently than most people do, stuck in the middle ofall of this chaos.

Honestly,it’s a wonder that any of the kids at WMHS achieve any kind of mainstreamacademic success. That Quinn gets into Yale and Tina into Brown is kind of ascholastic miracle, all things considered.

So she’s upagainst a lot of impediments as barriers to her learning just as a baseline.

Then add inher individual difficulties on top of the other stuff.

Brittany’sis a unique mind. It is unclear to what extent book-learning and traditionaleducation work for her. She has a tendency to metaphorize concepts, suggestingthat she is an abstract thinker. Her flair for malapropisms also intimates thather mind is organized in “webs,” with various like-words grouped together byloose strings of associations. Though she is mathematically intelligent, she isalso emotionally intelligent and physically intelligent, as well.

Early on,her genius seems highly intuitive, as she is able to pull numbers out of theair, though she is not always equally able to explain how or by what means she hasdone so. In time, her methods seem to become more examined and deliberate, withtheory underlining what was once a more reflexive capability.

She isperhaps something of an autodidact, able, for instance, to teach herselfSpanish, though she apparently doesn’t fare well in the class in high school.

Though fewpeople on the show, save Santana, realize as much, she frequently runs abouttwo or three steps ahead of everyone else in terms of her conversations andsocial maneuvers. Her zany quips and seemingly innocent demeanor throw peopleoff, to the point where they don’t pick up on just how wily and keen she canbe.

On the onehand, this phenomenon affords her some social leeway—because, after all, she’sjust “Brittany being Brittany.” On the other hand, it sometimes results inthose who fail to understand her talking down to her, infantilizing her, andblowing her off. 

Frequently, both Brittany and the people who engage with herwalk away from their interactions frustrated, Brittany because she’s beencondescended to, her conversation partners because they find herincomprehensible and off-putting. 

So. 

Considerthat many of her teachers—including Will—seem to be confused by the way shetalks and find her irksome to deal with and so tend to be dismissive of herduring classroom discussions.

Because herintelligence is non-normative, a teacher talking about A subject can get her thinkingoff on a tangent about B subject, C subject, and D subject, and pretty soonshe’ll be blurting out a question or comment about Z subject, which from herteacher’s perspective does not relate to the discussion topic at hand and mayeven derail the lesson, distracting the other students. The teacher then eitherreacts to Brittany’s question or comment with annoyance, shutting her down(such as Ms. Hagberg does in episode 3x02); or reacts with bafflement, ignoring her andglossing over what she’s said (such as Will does in episode 1x10). Either way, Brittanydoesn’t get her questions answered or her comments responded to in aconstructive manner, which means that, invariably, she doesn’t get what sheneeds to out of class.

By the timewe first meet her as a sophomore, Brittany’s reputation as a nuisance and“numbskull” precedes her.

Her teachersmake no effort to hide their low opinions of her intelligence.

In episode2x04, everyone ribs Puck for crashing his mom’s car into an ATM and gettingarrested. Brittany joins in the fun, remarking, “He may be the dumbest personon this planet—and that’s coming from me.” Though the moment is generallyjocular, the fact that Brittany’s teacher Will says nothing to defend her toherself speaks volumes. The incident is also not an isolated one, as later inthe season, in episode 2x17, Will directly questions Brittany’s intelligence toher face (“I get the three of you being on [the Brainiacs], but Brittany?”).

Tack on allthe instances when he responds to Brittany’s comments during rehearsals (andeven her later “cries for help” during S4) with bafflement at best and disdainat worst, plus the way he clearly talks down to her as if she were a youngchild rather than a teenager, and there’s no question that he thinks she’s adolt.

And he’s notthe only member of the WMHS faculty who feels that way, either.

SueSylvester is likewise a serial offender when it comes to calling Brittany dumband infantilizing her. Ditto for Hagberg and Figgins. Though we don’t get tosee Brittany interacting with many other members of the staff aside fromSheldon Beiste, Holly Holliday, and Shelby Corcoran—the last two of whom areonly at the school briefly—it stands to reason that there are other teacherswho share the same negative attitude toward her that the featured teachers do.  

At onepoint, Brittany even says that her teachers have told her that her grades mightactually improve if she were to slough her classes.

Brittany’s“stupidity” is widely viewed as a given.

Time andtime again, the show depicts people taking her intelligence for granted andassuming the worst of her capabilities. Such attitudes undoubtedly influencethe way that her teachers approach educating her. If a smart kid like Quinn orArtie isn’t grasping a concept, then teachers will try changing their pedagogyup, teaching the lesson in a different, more effective way. The same is trueeven for an average student like Mercedes. If she’s struggling, a teacher’simpulse will be to show her patience because there’s a good chance thateventually (with some hard work and extra credit) she’ll get it. But not so with Brittany, whom most teachers seem to viewas an idiot. Why slow down a class for her? Why assign different readings? Whytutor her after school? Their assumption is that she is a lost cause.

Sue potentiallydoctoring her grades—and those of the other Cheerios—also exacerbates theproblem.

Thoseteachers who are aware of Sue’s meddling, and especially the ones who have beenbullied by her into being complicit, may feel a lessened sense of obligation toreally teach Brittany or attempt to accurately evaluate her learning because,after all, no matter how Brittany performs, she’s going to be handed a passinggrade in their classes anyway.

Conversely,those teachers who remain unaware of Sue’s meddling may believe that givingBrittany a failing grade will result in meaningful academic consequences forher, which will then lead to her getting the help and attention she needsvis-à-vis the systems that are in place to prevent kids from “falling throughthe cracks.”

Of course,because Sue changes Brittany’s grades after the fact, Brittany never receivesany such help.

The systemsdon’t attend to her. Nothing in her file gets flagged. No one pulls her aside.She just gets passed along from year to year and class to class without anyoneever really taking an interest in her learning.

Either way,she’s left ill-equipped to succeed in high school.

On top ofeverything else, Brittany may also have an undiagnosed learning disability,such as ADHD or ASD. Though of course the show never states that she does havea disability (undiagnosed or not), some neurodivergent fans see in Brittany a kindred spirit whose experiences inthe public school system resemble their own.

It’sdefinitely possible that she could benefit from some accommodations.

But as faras we know, they’re never offered to her—not only because, as we learn from Sueregarding Becky Jackson, WMHS doesn’t offer special education classes, but alsobecause everyone thinks that she’s just “Brittany being Brittany,” and she’s a hopelesscase from the get-go.

So howeversmart Brittany may naturally be, she’s got alot stacked against her at WMHS, including antagonistic teachers, theabysmally low expectations people set for her, Sue’s interference with hergrades (and then the sudden cessation of that interference), her non-normativelearning strategies, and other possible factors.

Add in thatduring her senior year, she’s also dealing with some extra pressures outside ofthe classroom, and what we have is a recipe for a disaster.

Note: Ofcourse, the show deprives us of hearing Brittany talk about the aftermath ofSantana’s outing, suspension, and disowning in her own words, but HeatherMorris’s nonverbal cues show that Brittany’s upset during this period is hardfelt. It’s a stressful time in Brittany’s life, and even after the initialwounds have healed somewhat, Brittany still devotes much of mental andemotional energy to trying to ameliorate the situation, to keep Santana in agood place, to help her smile, and carry on. That’s not to say that Brittana’srelationship or Brittany’s efforts to make Santana happy cause Brittany to failher classes. It’s just to say that Brittany’s senior year is one in which shehas a lot on her mind beyond the regular cares of just being a teenager.

Thesituation as it is, it’s perhaps unsurprising that she should struggle.

However, thequestion still remains: Why doesn’t she ask for help?

No one, includingher parents, teachers, or girlfriend, seems to notice she’s academicallydrowning until it’s too late. But just because they don’t notice on their owndoesn’t mean that Brittany can’t alert them to the situation, right? So whydoesn’t she turn to Mr. Schue and say, “I need some extra help on my historyhomework,” or confide in her parents that she’s just bombed another Englishexam, or ask Santana if they can perhaps study for chemistry class together?Wouldn’t it be in her best interest to do so? Shouldn’t she want to graduate sothat she can get on with her life (and follow Santana)? Why not just reach outto someone?

Easier saidthan done.

Brittany hasspent her whole life being disparaged for “not being smart enough.” Is shereally going to admit she’s struggling to many of the same people who are activelycontributing to her struggles?

Sure,ostensibly, Mr. Schue is her teacher, and he’s supposedly an advocate for her.But can she really turn to someone who has routinely made her feel like anidiot and confess to him that she’s not understanding her classes—andespecially when she’s fully aware that, even if she were to ask him for help,he is probably not the best person to offer it, considering that he’s not actuallya qualified teacher?

The samegoes for Sue, who habitually preys upon Brittany’s vulnerabilities and has beenknown to blackmail students whenever she has any sort of leverage over them.Brittany would have to be an even bigger fool than the one people take her forin order to ask a favor of a megalomaniac of Sue’s caliber.

If Brittanywere to turn to her, the best case scenario would be that she would once againresort to doctoring Brittany’s report card—which is not necessarily an outcomethat Brittany wants. The worst case scenario would be that she would find someway to make Brittany’s life hell for having even approached her.

Brittany has to wonder: Is there any good that could come of prompting Sue totake action if she hasn’t already done so (unprompted) yet?

Not evenEmma is a safe bet, considering that she seems completely oblivious toBrittany’s plight, even though it is literally her job to be on top of it.

She doesn’t pushWill to include Brittany in his Saturday Night Fever competition alongsideFinn, Mercedes, and Santana (see episode 3x16). She isn’t present to participatein the “come to Jesus” meeting Figgins calls Brittany in for before the prom (seeepisode 3x19). Nowhere along the line does she show any concern for Brittany’sGPA, even though she has access to Brittany’s records and presumably has aprofessional imperative to counsel with her concerning her future.

If she can’tbe assed to take an interest in Brittany’s academic struggles even though she’sbeing paid to do so, then Brittany’s not going to beg her to get involved.

Her inactionhas already sent the message loud and clear: Brittany is on her own.

As for whyBrittany doesn’t turn to her parents or Santana for help, things arecomplicated on that side, too.

Since wedon’t know much about Brittany’s relationship with her parents aside from thelittle we see of it in S6, it’s difficult to say why she doesn’t approach themfor help. Maybe she fears disappointing them. Maybe she feels that they won’tunderstand why she’s failing. (They might assume she’s being lazy or goofingoff rather than facing legitimate roadblocks to her learning.) Possibly,they’re dealing with some kind of crisis of their own at the same time thatBrittany realizes that she’s failing, so she doesn’t want to “bother them” withwhat she’s going through. Perhaps she does approach them but they either can’t or won’t helpher.

There’s alsothe possibility that Brittany is reluctant to involve her parents in her issuesbecause she fears the consequences if they find out that Sue has been doctoringher grades for years. How can she explain to them why she’s gone from having apassing (and perhaps even impressive) GPA in years past to having a failing(and even abominable) GPA this year? She’d have to admit that Sue’s been fudgingher report cards to preserve her academic eligibility—and doing so might resultin her parents asking her questions that she doesn’t want to answer.

Either shewould have to say that she had gone along with Sue’s meddling (even though sheknew what Sue was doing was wrong) OR she would have to admit that Sue hasbasically been abusing and blackmailing her and the other Cheerios, making herscared to come forward about the academic dishonesty. The first option oversimplifiesthe situation. The second option is the truth but one that’s probably difficultfor her to cop to.

In any case,for whatever reason, Brittany either doesn’t bring her problems to her parents’attention or she does but they can’t (or won’t) help her.

WithSantana, things are different.

Brittanyknows that if she approaches Santana with her problem, Santana will not onlycare but also understand all of the extenuating circumstances. Santana knowsabout the Sue stuff. She also sees how teachers and other staff members tend toreact to Brittany. She’s fully aware of the injustice. She’s also fully awarethat Brittany’s genius is misunderstood—that Brittany is smart, though her smarts don’t necessarily translate to hertopping the Honor Roll every semester. Santana has the full view of thesituation, and there’s no question that she’d be sympathetic to Brittany’sissues and do everything in her power to get Brittany help, if Brittany justsaid the word.

The troubleis that Brittany doesn’t want to say the word—not when Santana has been dealingwith her own troubles, which, on the whole, from Brittany’s perspective, seem so much bigger and moreagonizing than Brittany’s own.

Brittanycan’t bring herself to interject, “Um, excuse me, Santana, but can we take a break fromdealing with you being outed the entire state of Ohio, suspended from school,disowned by your grandmother, and homophobically bullied so that we can talkabout my algebra test?;” not when she knows that if she points out that she isfailing, Santana will pump the brakes on her own plans and ambitions in orderto stand by her side.

She doesn’twant to hold Santana back when Santana is on her way out of their stifling, gay-bashingtown, onto bigger and better things. She doesn’t want to drag Santana herpersonal turmoil, not when Santana is just finally getting clear from theturmoil in her own.

—andespecially not when Brittany views her own failure as inevitable.

Yeah, shecould tell Santana, and, yeah, Santana would try to move heaven and earth tohelp her. But in the end, there’d be nothing Santana could do. Brittany wouldstill fail, not due to any lagging efforts on Santana’s part, but becauseBrittany has never been able to succeed in school no matter how hard she tried,because the whole system is rigged against her and always has been. No matterhow much effort Brittany expends to show people she’s got a fine brain in herhead—by winning a quiz bowl championship, writing for the school newspaper,becoming class president, dishing out wise advice, etc.—no one except for Santanahas ever been willing to give her a chance. They always see her as an imbecileor a child. Even Santana can’t change the status quo. So why drag her into it?

InBrittany’s view, it’s better for her to help Santana pursue her dreams outsideof Lima than to do anything that might cause her to turn back or slow down.

ThoughBrittany often projects confidence, the truth is that just like the other twomembers of the Unholy Trinity, she has some serious and deep-seated self-esteemissues. After so many years of people calling her an idiot and treating herlike a child, part of her wonders if they aren’t perhaps right (see her speech in episode 4x22). 

While shedoesn’t want to believe what the haters are saying, she also can’t help butfeel that maybe she is destined for Lima Loserdom. If so, then the last thingshe wants to do is drag Santana down with her—hence why she doesn’t mention herfailure to graduate until she’s sure that Santana leaving town and going toLouisville is already a done deal.

Is refusingto seek help from anyone a wise choice on Brittany’s part? No.

But havingdifficulty asking for help is a character flaw she comes by naturally. That agirl who’s been told “no” her whole life would be scared to ask anyone to takea chance on her and say “yes” makes sense. The behavior pattern is a consistentone that she displays throughout the show, such as, for example, in S4, whenshe stages not one but two separate public meltdowns in situations where sheneeds help but doesn’t know how to ask for it (see episodes 4x02 and 4x22).

Note: Thefact that Brittany actually brings herself to ask Santana if they can seekadult help regarding their relationship troubles in episode 2x15 shows just howmuch the issue means to her. Normally, Brittany would never suggest seekingoutside counsel, but in that case she wants so badly to set things to rightsbetween her and Santana that she petitions Santana to approach Holly Holliday.Her love for Santana outweighs her fear of making herself vulnerable.

Brittanydoes want to graduate high school. She does want to be with Santana andcontinue their relationship. She wants to escape Lima. She wants to prove thenaysayers wrong. She wants to start a new life somewhere where she’s notnegatively stereotyped and looked down on by everyone. She wants to livehappily ever after with the woman she loves. She wants all of these thingsdesperately, more than anyone really knows.

But she alsodoesn’t know how to get what she wants.

She feelsboxed in and like her situation is hopeless.

So she justtailspins until she crashes.

—and thetruly tragic thing is that nobody notices what’s happening with her until it’stoo late, either because they remain oblivious (like Santana) or because theyare apathetic (like Brittany’s teachers, coaches, and guidance counselors).

Per usual,Glee tried to play the situation for laughs, but there’s really nothing allthat funny about Brittany’s academic failures at all.

Like manystudent athletes, Brittany is a kid whose physical abilities have been valuedover her learning. As long as she’s helping the Cheerios to winchampionships—and make no mistake, like Quinn and Santana, Brittany is one ofSue’s superstars, whose dance and choreography talents are one of the main advantagesthat make the squad elite—then nobody cares if she struggles in her classes.It’s all about what she can do for the school and not what the school can dofor her.

Of course,in Brittany’s case, there’s even an added element of administrative apathy atplay beyond the usual “Just pass the girl so she’s competition eligible” bit.

Because ofthe way she thinks and acts, her teachers assume that she incapable of and/ordisinterested in learning. They allow their annoyance and exasperation with herto supersede whatever obligation they might feel to provide her with a realeducation.

The sad reality is that no one’s going to go out of theirway to teach a girl that they consider a) a nuisance to have in class; b)incapable of learning; and c) someone for whom grades don’t really matteranyhow, given that she’s one of the moving parts in Sue Sylvester’schampionship cheerleading machine.

So that’show Brittany makes it through grades nine, ten, and eleven: By being passedfrom hand to hand, with the faculty and administration turning a blind eye towhat’s happening because, ultimately, no one really cares about her educationanyway.

But thenBrittany enters grade twelve, and for whatever reason this system suddenlyfalls apart. Though she has previously made passing grades—some of themostensibly without Sue’s “help”—the coursework in her senior year gets thebetter of her.

Maybe thetwelfth grade material proves substantially more difficult than the eleventhgrade material. Maybe years of inadequate learning finally catch up to her. (Ifone never masters the basics of a given subject, then one can’t very wellnavigate more advanced material, after all.) Maybe the stress in her family andsocial life so distracts her from her schoolwork that she is no longer able to juggle it all, and she ends up dropping the academic ball. Maybe herteachers finally have enough of her antics and decide to grade her punitively. Maybea confluence of issues affects her.

Whatever thecase, she fails.

That no onein the WMHS administration takes an interest in her case is a tragedy. Thatshe doesn’t feel safe enough to ask any of her teachers or coaches for help isutterly heartbreaking. Particularly when we compare her story to Puck’s, thenumerous ways in which the system has failed her become painfully apparent.

No childshould flunk out of school because her teachers find her annoying.

—andespecially not when she is willing to learn, if only given the chance.

Throughouther time at WMHS, we frequently see Brittany taking notes in her classes andvolunteering answers during lectures, incorrect though some of those answerscertainly are. She isn’t a girl who sleeps through her schooldays or cutsclasses or goofs off. She’s trying her best. And as the way she really comesinto her own after she leaves WMHS proves, she isvery much capable of learning, albeit at her own pace and in her own way.

Imagine howvery different Brittany’s story could have been if even one teacher had realizedher potential—or had even just given her a chance of any kind. 

Not onlywould it perhaps have been possible for her to graduate with the rest of herclass, but her genius could have been recognized sooner. The entire course of her life could have been changed for the better.

As thingsare, Brittany eventually succeeds inspite of her experiences in the education system, not because of them.

Hers remainsa sobering story.

Anyway.

Then, toanswer your second question:

No, I don’tthink Brittany drops the “—if it were, Santana and I would be dating” line onpurpose. I honestly think it’s a slip on her part.

Here’s thething:

ThoughBrittana don’t get a lot of foreground development during S1, they do have asubtle subtextual, “in the background” storyline that centers on the tension between howSantana thinks they need to be versus how they really are.

Whilethey’re both truly happiest when they’re monogamous with each other, Santanacontinually insists that they maintain publicly visible sexual relationshipswith popular boys at the same time that they’re sleeping with each other—youknow, to project at least the illusion of “straightness.”

However,despite her interest in appearing “heterosexual,” Santana is never able to keepup her sexual relationships with boys for long. Puck inevitably cheats on her.Finn inevitably turns back to Rachel. She invariably ends up back in amonogamous sexual relationship with Brittany, who is more than happy with thearrangement, given that she and Santana are actually in love. The cycle repeatsitself ad nauseum, until eventually, between episodes 1x10 and 1x13, Santanaand Brittany fall into a prolonged period of exclusivity with eachother.

During thistime, they’re sleeping together, plus doing all of their regular “best friend”things—you know, like sharing meals and going out to movies and sittingtogether in the back of the class and writing each other cute notes andcuddling and linking pinkies and generally being, you know, GIRLFRIENDS—whichis why Brittany feels confused about the status of their relationship.

Santana hastold over and over again that just because you’re having sex with someonedoesn’t mean you’re also dating them.

But she andSantana aren’t just having sex. They’re also doing all sorts of relationship-ystuff. Plus, you know, they’re in love with each other.

So doesn’tthat mean that they’re dating?

That’s thequestion that’s in Brittany’s mind going into the infamous party line scene inepisode 1x13.

To quoteextensively from thispost:

During S1,Santana feels secure in her arrangements with Brittany as long as she maintainsa sexual relationship with Puck and he brags about it around school. As long aseveryone knows that Santana has sex with a hot boy and “likes it,” then Santanafeels safe to also have sex with Brittany, per her own druthers. Even afterSantana and Puck officially break up circa episode 1x03, things are cool becausethey still keep having sex and Puck keeps broadcasting the fact that they do totheir peers.

But then circa episode 1x10, somethingshifts.

Though Puck and Santana continue to haveintermittent sex, Puck ceases to boast of their encounters starting around episode1x10, when he begins to woo Quinn in earnest, trying to prove his worthiness asa father and partner to her.

When Puck ceases to brag, Santana getsnervous and feels as if he has rejected her. Is she doing something wrong?Doesn’t he like it anymore? Does he know her secret?

In episode 1x11, Santana sexts Puck in adesperate attempt to rekindle his interest in her, but her efforts don’t panout. Pucktana likely stop sleeping together between episodes 1x11 and 1x13,and, when they do, it likely causes Santana to fear immensely for herreputation.

Ironically, though the thing Santana mostfears in losing Puck as her beard is that people will find out the truth abouther relationship with Brittany, Santana can’t help but run to Brittany when shefeels Puck’s attentions waning. She panics her way right into Brittany’s bed,seeking the approval, affection, acceptance, and validation there that shedoesn’t get from Puck. In so doing, she probably reveals some emotionalvulnerability or even neediness to Brittany.

Considering that Brittany is in love withher, it’s hard for Brittany not to read significance into her actions and thinkthat they signal something big.

Hint: They do.

Brittany starts thinking more and moreabout what’s going on between her and Santana. Since Santana isn’t dating Puckanymore, maybe Santana could date Brittany instead.

It’s because Brittany has the idea ofdating Santana in her mind—and heart—that she blurts it out to the group in1x13.

“Sex isn’t dating.”

“—if it were, Santana and I would bedating.”

It’s Brittany voicing what’s in her heartbefore she can really stop herself.

That she has no premeditated intention ofouting herself and Santana is clear from the look on her face the second thewords leave her mouth and she realizes what she’s just said. She spoke what wasmeant to be a private thought aloud, and she’s scared to death about what theconsequences might be now that she has. She immediately glances to Santana,gauging her reaction, wondering how badly she’s just fucked up theirrelationship. Though the conversation quickly moves on from that point, herheartbeat most likely doesn’t resume a normal pace for minutes afterward.

Anyway, I’ve jabbered for a good, ol’long while now.

Thanks for the questions!