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sneakertin · 1 year ago

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if anyone is still interested in the bounty hunter tentoo au, here's my huge little ramble about it!! it's a bit wild. sorry not sorry.

also, there's some more details in this post, in case anyone missed it.

and here's a couple of sketches, of course^^

ok so. when tentoo finally finds thirteen and yaz it's almost like an episode-style kinda story with him as the villain of the week, simply because i think in this format. after he has his hysterical little explanation of everything that's happened the doctor is visibly traumatized and yaz is profoundly concerned. predictably, he tries to kill the doctor(but not yaz). they manage to get away, and now she has to tell yaz about who tentoo is. she basically sits her down like a grandpa and tells her the entire long ass story. reasonably, yaz has very conflicting emotions about him. yes, his story is heartbreaking and all, but he does want to murder the woman she loves?? anyway. tentoo soon finds them again. he's a very tough enemy, maybe one of the toughest the doctor has ever met. he spent years preparing for their confrontation, he has her memories and her mind, her thought process. not only that, he knows all her weak spots and all her insecurities(he's a bit like the master in that respect). at first it seems like he's always a step ahead of them, but that soon changes. after all, he is extremely mentally unstable. he has been running on spite for the last ~15 years, and the doctor is much older than when they last met. he may have her memories, but she had plenty of time to gain new ones, to become wiser. this goes on for a while, tom and jerry kinda shit, but tentoo looses in the end.

also, there's this little scene where he stumbles upon the tardis while chasing the doctor and yaz. he sees her, stops dead in his tracks. he hasn't even realised how much he missed her. he approaches slowly and feels a faint presence in his mind. his telepathy is very weak, his time sense practically gone. he leans his forehead against the door and tardis welcomes him. he almost cries. that's the first friendly telepathic contact he's had in years. he feels at peace as he reaches for the door handle and.. it doesn't open. he tries again. she doesn't want him there, he realises. anger rises in him. he kicks the door.

"Oh, I see how it is. You want to protect her. You know that I'm going to hurt the Doctor. I mean, of course you do. I don't know what I was expecting."

he gives her one final, longing look before leaving.

initially, he dies during their battle. killed by his own weapon or something like that. it's all very dramatic and tragic, he forgives the doctor right before dying and asks her to live the life he couldn't. she gives him a gallifreyan funeral. she and yaz hold hands as they watch his body burn. the doctor has a strong sense of deja vu.

BUT then i thought that i don't want this story to end so soon because i need something to think about during the day, and i'm not ready to let go of this au yet. so, i made tentoo travel with thirteen and yaz!! this doesn't make much sense but it's fun so i don't care. the doctor feels insane amounts of guilt over tentoo and she desperately wants to make it better(it's a rather selfish decision, very typical of the doctor). and tentoo probably just realises that the doctor is not nearly as evil as he thought all those years. meeting her in the flesh reminded him of when he was her, of the fact that he never did anything out of any malice and yet people still blamed him for the things that weren't his fault. he's completely burned out, all the fight leaves him. on a subconscious level he just wants some company, wants to travel properly again. and after all the shit he went through, the doctor is probably the only person who can understand him. so, to his own surprise, he agrees. yaz is not too excited about bringing a serial killer aboard, but she sees the potential in him.

their battle was messy. his spaceship is destroyed, and it feels like the end of an era. they walk back to the tardis in silence, there's rubble all around them.

he realises, as he stands in front of the blue box, that he's trading one stolen spaceship for another. that brings a laugh out if him and yaz gives him a weird look. by that point, the doctor is nearly vibranting with excitement.

"Ready to see what she looks like?"

right, the tardis must have redecorated. he nods. the door makes a familiar creak as he takes a step forward. his jaw drops.

"Oh, you gorgeous!!"

he rushes ahead and moves around the console, touching the corals and admiring their colours. yaz is a bit shocked at his surge of enthusiasm. he seems so... doctor-like, she thinks. yes, his smile is manic and his eyes are filled with pain. his face is marked with a scar and there's nothing but an empty space where his right hand used to be. but in that moment, he is human.

slowing down, he runs his fingers along some buttons with a solemn expression. he lifts his gaze up at the moving column.

"I'm sorry for kicking you. You were doing the right thing and I... I was just upset that you didn't let me in. You understand, don't you?"

the tardis makes a low, gentle noise. he smiles.

"I missed you too, old girl."

he startles a bit when the doctor approaches from behind.

"I take it you like her new look." she laughed, awkward. "Erm, listen, I wanted to ask... About your name. Or, the lack of one. We couldn't very well keep calling you the instantaneous two-way biological metacrisis, could we? Now that you're not trying to kill me anymore, you could be the Doctor ag-"

"No!" he blurted, suddenly. "I mean, I... I don't wanna be you. I'm not you." she stared at him, open mouthed. "I think I wanna be my own person now. Fresh start, you know? Not the Doctor, not the Verisian Slayer or whatever it was that they called me." he looked lost, scared by the thought of his own future, but determined.

"That's the spirit!" she grinned and slapped him on his back. he grimaced. "Sorry. Anyway, we still need to come up with a name for you! How about good old John Sm-"

"Absolutely not!"

"Alright. John Handy?"

"Be careful, I might change my mind about not trying to kill you. By the way, you owe me a new hand." he angrily flapped his empty sleeve at yaz. she raised her hands in defence, laughing. she felt a bit guilty now, for nicking and breaking it earlier that day. oh, what a mad day that was.

"I'll make you a one! Back on the topic, how about James? You know, like Jamie Mccrimmon."

his shoulders sagged and she saw his eyes fill with memories of an old friend.

"Yeah, I think I like that."

...

AHEM!! got a bit carried away there. this thing nearly turned into a fic, but i'm not a writer so it's probably very messy. i don't wanna pull the "english is my second language" card so i'll just apologise for the ungodly amount of grammatical nonsense. sorry.

ANYWAY, they start traveling together and it's literally the most dysfunctional friendship ever. you may be thinking: "how is this gonna work? are they just gonna forget about the fact that james spent the last ten years killing people left and right?" well, he can't be any worse than the master, right? but he is a very troubled character and he spends a lot of time trying to recover from everything that's happened. the doctor and yaz are there for him all the while.

as for their relationship... basically, the doctor is very protective of james. as i said earlier, she feels directly responsible for what happened, even tho he doesn't really blame her anymore.

also, damn. that name change is very sudden, isn't it? i still can't tell if it's cringe or not. but i don't want him to go back to being the doctor, so it's not like there's any other options. the way it works is that he doesn't actually reject his past. has the memories of being the doctor and even tho he didn't actually live through them, to him it feels like he did. he was the doctor up to a certain point and then he became an entirely new person, albeit with a mutual past with her. he finally embraces his humanity. during their travels he is surprised at how refreshing it is to be in the role of the companion, to not be the doctor anymore. he no longer feels the weight of all the responsibilities and expectations that come with that bearing that name. people no longer blame him for every little thing gone wrong, for the most part. he's relieved to feel that kind of freedom, but at the same time he feels sorry for the doctor who is still being treated like that, and probably always will be. tho he is faced with his own bad reputation occasionaly. someone recognised the doctor and james once and called them "the doctor and their personal assasin".

relationships, yes. james has no problems getting along with the doctor, for obvious reasons, but he and yaz take some time to get used to each other. in the end, they bond in a way that i can't really explain. he sees right through yaz, and it kinda freaks her out. he immediately recognises the exact kind of relationship she has with the doctor and oh boy, he turned himself into a fucking matchmaker. you'd think he'd be horrified at the prospect of the doctor falling in love with a human again, considering the massive trauma he has regarding this topic, but no. i guess that as a human he takes it much easier this time around. he is mortal, and so is yaz, and that kinda makes her seem less fragile to him.

OH!! i forgot to mention the little running gag i came up with. so, every now and again james gets his prosthetic broken, or stolen, or eaten or absolutely obliterated in the most unpredictable comedic way possible and he gets soooo mad every time. at one point they meet the pting again... you can guess what happens.

oh, i was also thinking about bringing jack into this whole mess because i'm obsessed with tenjack, but i'm still not sure about that. i was just wondering how different their relationship would be if the doctor was human. we already know that jack loves the doctor and will probably never stop. but james doesn't have much of his time lord senses left now and therefore he wouldn't be able to feel jack's "wrongness". moreover, he spent years with barely any human connection and now he's desperate for it. most importantly, the majority of the doctor's relationship hang ups are based on their immortality, and guess what!! james doesn't have that anymore. he's not the doctor, he's changed, but he still has the memories. jack is still his friend. with nothing holding james back, i truly think he would be able to return jack's feelings. or maybe I'm thinking to much about it. maybe i just everyone to be gay, who knows?? i honestly don't know just how weird it would be if they were together but, my god, i just want them both to have some comfort, something that goes farther than friendship.

anyway, jack joins the dysfunctional trio post revolution of the daleks(for him) so he already knows thirteen and yaz. you can imagine his shock when he sees james. james is no less surprised. a wave of insecurity hits him and he immediately tries to explain to jack that he's not who he thinks he is. that's he's not really the doctor, that's he's that weird little guy who grew out of The Hand. jack hears his words, but goes for a hug anyway. james sighs in relief. at least he doesn't have to deal with rejection again. he's also startled to realise that jack doesn't feel wrong anymore. it's supposed to be a bad thing: his mind can no longer sense the timelines. but instead of panicking about it, he just chooses to relax in his friend's embrace. the doctor looks at them, and smiles.

...

aaaand that's all i have for now!! when i tell you i nearly died trying to convert all my loose thoughts into a semi-comprehensible text. you a real soldier if u read all that. hope you enjoyed<3

#aughuahh #sorry this took so long #the last few weeks were really busy #anyway this one's for you #bounty hunter tentoo au #doctor who #tentoo #tenjack #dw #dw fanart #tenth doctor

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aurea-corde · 7 months ago

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I've never seen a single episode of anything related to watcher but I am eating up all this drama. Also sorry to y'all going through this

i appreciate that anon 😭 i've seen several good nuanced takes on the situation thankfully. the company definitely did mess up how it introduced the streaming service to people: they said in the video they were going to paywall all existing and new content and then in the comments and in the variety article pretended like that was never their intent. the variety article reveals that they were in fact initially told watcher was going to delete all existing content. the CEO in particular but in general all the founders said that the amount they are charging is affordable - specifically that anyone could afford it - which no they can't obviously. As they are now finding out the hard way. The CEO Steven also made an instagram post insinuating people who wouldn't subscribe just no longer want to watch them, rather than the reality which is that a massive majority of the audience can't afford to. Because he is the CEO, people are blaming the entire thing on him, but it's also important to remember there are actually three founder-owners with decision-making abilities in the company. Shane and Ryan are adults, and the way people are acting like Steven is some kind of dictator, Ryan just went along with it but Shane is the people's anticapitalist hero who was simply outvoted is not a great look. Especially the posts that refuse to acknowledge even the possibility of racial biases here. Mistakes were made, poc are not immune to criticism, but let's consider why so many feel like Shane was forced into this by the evil Steven (and people in the comments have literally called him evil for this) and either lump Ryan in with him or give Ryan no agency in the situation whatsoever. Steven is the most likely to have made the proposal as the closest thing Watcher has to a business-minded founder, but the other two clearly agreed with him. They could have just decided not to be in the video. I also don't see a world where they contractually obligated themselves to every whim of Steven's like some people are suggesting.

Do I think they're a bit sheltered in their LA life? Yeah, probably. I'm pretty sheltered myself - I live a comfortable middle class life in Australia, have a good job and am studying law. I could definitely afford the subscription. But I don't want to atm, or at least until they respond to the situation. Are they the worst most evil capitalists because they want to charge money for the content they create? No, not inherently. People supported them on Patreon because of course creatives should be paid for their labour, and ideally paid well enough to live comfortably. But the combo of bad business decisions (e.g. hiring too many staff too quickly while also wanting to pay them above a living wage, not advertising the patreon, not utilising revenue streams that aren't a streaming service like youtube memberships, spending what Ryan has said is hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single season of a series they have called Ghost Files) and the fact the CEO is pretty open about his comfortable lifestyle (drives a tesla which btw folks isn't a luxury car it's just a more expensive one, has a $300 matcha machine, has a series based on fine dining vs more affordable restaurants), means people are understandably mad because they are struggling financially and the founders (from what we know) are not - but they're trying to tell people that 6 USD is affordable for everyone.

It's a lot less to do with the fact of them charging for content as much as the way they went about it and in particular how it's been phrased to people has come across really insensitive. There's other logistics with the streaming service itself that were not thought out at all for international viewers, but I won't get into that here. And the pretending they were always going to leave their content up and telling viewers not to spread misinformation is scummy to me - at least acknowledge that was a mistake you made and backtracked on. It's just a mess but I really loved their videos and hope they make Youtube's Greatest Apology Video Ever (unironically) and try to undo some of the damage.

edit: someone in the replies made a great point that teslas could actually be considered a luxury car in some countries outside of the US, and I fully agree that 6 USD is 1) too much for what they offer, esp in this economic climate and 2) wayyyyy too much when converted to other currencies. I've seen other Australians say the conversion is too much for them but I know viewers in other countries say it comes out to literally thousands for them - if they can even access the site at all from their country.

#watcher #answered #steven lim #shane madej #ryan bergara

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lemotmo · 5 months ago

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I agree with what you said to that other anon about KR being back.

My question is though, season 7 was she listed as co show runner or just as a writer? I thought Tim was the only listed show runner last season so if she’s been bumped up to join him in it again then…that does not bode well.

Since last time that happened was when he ended up leaving OG for LS and as we know now it was due to the network stepping in and stopping Bi Buck and buddie 😭

Hi nonnies! So, I got two asks about Kristen Reidel being listed as showrunner next to Tim. I wanted to answer these together.

First of all, just to get the confusion out of the way, she was listed as showrunner as well last year. Here's the proof:

season 7

Season 8

Okay, I have to admit that I don't understand why everyone is so up in arms about Kristen still being listed as showrunner. When Tim left a few seasons ago, she had the difficult task of 'avoiding' Buddie because the network (FOX) said so. She did what she was asked to do by the people who employ her. We don't know for certain if it is what she really wanted to do. But she had to, because it was her job. I have been there in my job. I have had to make some decisions or follow intructions that I didn't fully agree with. But ultimately, I'm not in charge. Just like she wasn't in charge back then.

But now the show is on a more open minded network: ABC. Tim is back and he is the first and most important showrunner. He has said time and time again that he tries to incorporate Buddie in every single episode. He knows how popular Buck and Eddie are.

Ask yourself this? Did we get Buddie in season 7? YES! So much Buddie in so many episodes. It's insane just how much we got of them together on screen. Kristen was still listed as showrunner in season 7, but we still got Buddie. So why do you think that her being a showrunner again for season 8 will stop Buddie from possible happening? She hasn't stopped it in season 7, so why would she stop it in season 8. She doesn't have that kind of power.

As the stage is set right now? I'm of the opinion that Tim has decided that Buddie will happen somewhere down the line. The plan is set in motion for real this time. Kristen doesn't have the authority to just swoop in and undo everything.

So ultimately, Kristen as a showrunner is okay.

Now, Kristen as a writer however? That is another thing altogether. She has proven on many occasions, but none of those as blatant as that terrible season 7 finale, that she is not that good of a writer for 911. I'm sure she has written for other shows and I'm sure she has great qualities and for anyone to make it at that level in the television industry? I'm absolutely certain that this woman is good at what she does. She just isn't good for 911. She keeps mischaracterising a lot of the characters we love. She doesn't seem to fully get them or their motivations to do something. So in that sense it is frustrating to watch the episodes she writes.

As for Tim approving that finale? Listen, he is the guy that came up with that awful Vertigo arc for Eddie in the first place. So, don't give him too much credit here. He may have great ideas and visions for 911 sometimes. But he does miss the ball quite often when it comes to this show. He set up that Vertigo arc and Kristen had to write an ending to that, probably with a lot of his input. So I do think they are both to blame for that lackluster season 7 finale episode.

TLDR, in conclusion, I really don't think anyone should panic over this. I'm fully convinced that ABC gave the green light for Buddie. No one is going to stop it at this level. Certainly not Kristen.

#buddie #911 abc #kristen reidel #tim minear #nonnies galore

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cleabellanov · 1 year ago

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Two weeks after season 2, but I'm still there. Here are some chaotic thoughts I felt like sharing 🌞

Part 1 :)) Contains spoilers for season 2

Free will / Responsability

I was just thinking how, before everything changed in seasons 1 and 2 of Loki, the events on the Sacred Timeline were, so to say, scripted. In He Who Remain's words (though i have to admit it feels weird mentioning him, the man is so LITTLE compared to our Loki); the road was paved.

That's the thing about branches, about the infinity of the vast multiverse. The path isn't paved anymore, no more yellow brick road, every decisions sets you on a new one. Anything can happen. So, if anything can happen, nothing matters? No. If anything can happen, the choices that are made, the paths that are taken, have their own entity. Everyone has a story that they can make different every day. That's what Loki is there for. Rewriting the story. The hard thing to do, the thing that had to be done. And I find that really interesting. If you only believe in Destiny's hand, what are yours there for? Gods don't give humans destiny, because it would be just too easy. Too easy to blame it on fate, rather than take responsability for your actions. And the other way around too, if it all falls on your shoulders, isn't it too much to bear?

That links to burden, the burden of responsability. All "variants" will have the free will, while the God of Stories bears it. for a while. I mean, he won't be there for forever, alone, right? Come on now.

Bittersweet, exceptionally good, but definitely heartbreaking

Yes, I still sob sometimes because a once analyst or jet ski seller from Ohio can't move on from losing / being separated from his favorite person. And that favorite person hearing him from a very long distance.

Thank you, my friend / Thank you, Mobius.

I genuienly think Loki learned a lot about himself and the essence of life so different from what he knew because of his time at the TVA, not only because of Mobius. As Tom said in an interview ( for SagAftra Foundation) he found himself in this kafkaesque organization, where people, now variants, are just numbers and a verdict: guitly. That gradually changes, but as we see Loki evolve, it's Mobius who stays by his side. They meet at the TVA, and influence each other for the better while changing the institution as well!! "Thanks for the spark"

It's Mobius who looks at Loki without judgement. With a little bit of admiration, even.

It's Mobius who tells Loki he doesn't have to be alone. And that he can be someone good.

He offers this outcast, a "mischevious liar", a hand, both literally and figuratively.

And this is returned, because now Loki is trusting Mobius, something we barely see the God of Mischief do before, right? (examples: Mobius is the one Loki turns to in episode 1, they very much work together in episode 2 when finding Brad and getting that information out of him, and at the end of the ep Loki stayed. The hug, our only on screen *actual* hug between these two, at the end of season 1. It's great).

It's Mobius who Loki turns to, at the roots of this relationship, when not knowing what to do anymore, or needing that last piece of the puzzle, or number of the equation (and knowing the person that will give it). That "thank you, Mobius" as Loki shakes his hand is like a reflection to all this time spent together, not only that moment in time. It's a thank you of ages, of learning how to love and BE loved; learning, across this path, that every life and every branch is worth of love, ultimately turning Loki's understanding and caring of this in the biggest motivation.

And the thing is it doesn't even have to be romantic!! (I mean it kind of is to us fans, but not everyone sees it that way*ahem*D!sney). But even platonically, this is still a very strong connection, undeniable so. Everyone agrees: Kevin Wright "He cares about Mobius, more than he ever cared about anyone else", Eric Martin : "They have great chemestry", Tom: "They're *passionately* disagreeing" or any time he talks about these 2.

Secondly after Loki's fulfilling journey and more than poetic end, these 2 are certainly the best we got this season.

Thanks for reading <3

#Rattling nonsense from sleepless midnights #lokius #tom hiddleston #Owen Wilson #Where is Owen are they keeping my man in a basement because he would say too much about lokius #Marvel #Marvel cinematic universe #lgbtq #wow #free will #responsability

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torchwood-99 · 1 year ago

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Adrift Musings

Of course, the message for this episode has been coloured by too many shitty Gwen bash takes, but I'm still puzzled over what (or if) the writers were trying to say about Gwen in this episode.

Gwen bashers loved this ep because Gwen got so much shit thrown at her from different people.

They love that each person is complaining at for her conflicting stuff and she's in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation doesn't really matter. That she's got Andy telling her she's being too cold and Jack hinting that she's too emotional to deal with Stockholm (according to fandom interpretation) and Rhys saying he hates her because he thinks she's forgetting what matters like family but when she tries to respect a victim's family member's wishes by giving the family member what she asked for she turned around and changed her mind and treated this as Gwen's fault for some reason.

Ok that reason is grief and anger and the desire for someone to blame and while that's human and instantly forgivable, it's not just. In fact, if anything, it's terribly unjust. Out of everyone involved, Gwen was the person putting Nikki and Jonah's wishes first.

The message I really got from Adrift was that there are some problems that cannot be fixed, some situations which has no solution. But there's still this attitude that Gwen is somehow to blame for what's happened, although that may be the Gwen bashing view seeping in.

Of course, Gwen bashers will say Gwen should have learned to follow orders (while also not letting Andy down/forgetting the importance of normal people/not being "too good" to help out with Andy's case). I can't agree with this. Jack's orders went against every sound moral judgement. To blindly follow orders is rarely a lesson you want to encourage in anyone.

Because take away the sci-fi stuff, what you get is a missing son with a degenerative disease. And that's awful, for him, for his mother. But it's basic decency to tell a person that their loved one (who has been asking for them) is unwell and needs their support.

Except Gwen didn't know about Jonah's screams. She knew he had been aged and traumatised and he wanted his mum and his mum wanted him, and using that information, she made the best possible decision. A decision she made with her boss's go ahead.

You know who did fuck up? Who did have an obvious decision to make and somehow ended up not making it? Jack. Even if you agree or understand with his earlier decision to keep the patients secret, once he knew that the mother of a patient was about to be informed, he obviously should have given Gwen a full briefing, so that Nikki could be forewarned. There's literally no good reason for him to not to come forward with that.

The only possible explanation (that doesn't make Jack look like a dick) is that he thought Gwen knew. And even there, as Gwen's superior, anyone who works with vulnerable people knows that it's basic safeguarding to make sure that everyone's on the same page and all the necessary facts have been gone over to avoid situations such as these. Although here we're getting to a point of competency and that's fine, everyone on the show has an oopsie now and then, Gwen included. But in Adrift, the oopsie wasn't Gwen's. It was Jack's.

TLDR: Gwen was in a no win situation in Adrift, everyone was kind of mean to her, she was trying her best with what she knew, Jack should have told her about the screaming.

#Torchwood #Gwen Cooper #meta #Adrift

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selfproclaimedunicorn · 1 month ago

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Which roycegaryen next gen kids' dragon and their names 🙏😭?

*let's be real, Ella is stealing that future baby war machine eggo from silverwing/vermithor for griffith and her future kids justly (me and yorick will never blame my girl for any crimes. Viserys can cry abt it)*

I know Rhea is called Kathalak, but I'm curious about what the others are called. I just feel Aemon would give his kids dragon eggs too — I mean, he has Silverwing, who aside from Dreamfyre and Syrax is a master egg accumulator. Plus, who's gonna stop him, Vizzy T from the grave?

I love Roycegaryen-Targtower relationships 😭💓 curing unresolved trauma and a free healing journey for all — would it cause codependency issues for all those involved? Who said that 🙈🙉?

HBO robbed us of all the scenes of Dreamfyre and Sunfyre and just left us on the last second with Tessarion. I mean, I get it, but still 😭 I hope the roycegaryens help or watch the aftermath of the targtower claiming their dragons.

We were definitely robbed of Dreamfyre (in general) & more Sunfyre. And I get it, budget constraints & episode cuts, but, like, I'm still allowed to be bitter. I'm bitter about a lot, honestly.

And, okay, I don't want to spoil a lot, because the chapter I'm working on (& currently a good chunk through the initial drafting of) focuses on Ella & the Silverwing eggs I very heavily imply she's about to steal in the closing bits of chapter 21. However, I don't want to leave you without any kind of answer, so I'm gonna do my best & am not gonna get too specific about anything.

Talking about some future things for my fic below the cut so that anyone reading this who wants to fly completely blind it can avoid even some general/vague spoilers 👍🏻

So, it's just the 3 oldest of the gen 2 kids (Ella, Yorick, & Aemon's kids) that have dragons. Ella stealing eggs (technically for a second time) gets a tighter grip put on that...or, well maybe not tighter so much as "Viserys gets more vigilant." Aemon's oldest kid is born while Vizzy is still alive, & everyone kind of generally agrees with the decision that not everyone needs a dragon even after he's gone.

For all his faults, King Jaehaerys did make a good judgement call with not all his kids having cradle eggs. At a certain point, you have too many dragons. Like, what are you gonna do when there's more dragons than riders? At what point do you think "the resource has been spread too thin & maybe we can't justify this?" Also, I don't want to burn through all my dragon ideas in one go. I have a whole other HOTD fic I want to work on after this, after all! So, alas, Aemon's kids are dragonless. They don't go totally without cool stuff though, & I'm gonna try to touch on as much as I can in the epilogue of my fic (y'know, when I eventually get there).

So, the three original dragons to Sins of The Father are as follows:

Kathalak: a white & pale blue she-dragon ridden by Rhea Royce, daughter of Yorick

Starfyre: a blue & yellow dragon ridden by Stannis Royce

Greenhand: a green, silver, & bronze dragon ridden by Griffith Tyrell

There's kind of sort of a 4th dragon in the mix, but that's for Aegon's kid & it's doing fuck all in the story because it's a literal baby. It's canonically a Dreamfyre/Starfyre baby, though!

ALSO, we have our first taste of Roycegaryen/Targtower bonding in chapter 22, because we get to see 7-going-on-8-year-old Aegon. His & Ella's relationship isn't as special as his & Yorick's, but it's still a good one imo & it does a disservice to only focus on the "this is my favorite cousin" relationships because they all have relationships with each other. That's sort of how family works, y'know?

#asks #fic: sins of the father

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utilitycaster · 1 year ago

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I wasn't trying to be accusatory toward the cast, like trying to imply that they didn't respect Taliesin's decision or anything like that. I was just positing that, based purely on vibes, while Kingsley is treated by the characters in the narrative as his own person the cast, including Taliesin, seem to view him as an extension of Molly and don't ever really consider them distinctly different characters. Again, it's all vibes, based on how Kingsley was discussed in the 4SD and how Molly in general has been discussed since Campaign 2 ended and since Reunited aired. Kingsley isn't really discussed much in general, but from my perspective when he is it's comparable to Vax and the Champion of Ravens. A familiar but very different person in the narrative, but the cast make no effort to treat him as a separate character.

Ok so just to set an expectation I have a personal policy of no more than 2 back and forths for anon asks because otherwise we're having some kind of chess by mail argument that's super irritating to anyone on this blog, so if you want to continue this you're going to have to get off anon (and onto a non-throwaway blog; those get blocked) and you're going to get private answers. Anyway, I don't blame you if you don't wish to do this, but just letting you know that further anons on this subject will not be responded to.

I'm not getting those same vibes. I don't know what the fuck vibes you're picking up on. Kingsley (and Molly for that matter) have not actually been touched on that much in 4SD, understandably, since the focus has primarily been what's been airing recently and not Campaign 2. In the post-two-shot 4SD on which Taliesin was there, there weren't a ton of Kingsley questions but it was because the focus was much more heavily on Ashton, not because anyone assumed he was Molly. When the cast brings up Molly, it is pretty unambiguously in the past tense, as a character who is dead. I also truly don't get your point in the first place, to be honest, like, we agree that narratively, Kingsley is a separate character than Molly. There really isn't a way to interpret this as anything but accusatory towards the rest of the cast, frankly, even if you mean that they're doing it unconsciously, and I don't find that I've had the same experience re your comparisons to Liam's characters in any way. I don't have a sense of how the cast would more clearly state that Kingsley is separate beyond like, how they've played things in the two-shot and what few conversations there have been but it sounds like you're expecting a level of discussion about a character who was in three episodes out of 143 that simply isn't likely to occur.

#answered #Anonymous #cr tag

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tuiyla · 2 years ago

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so I was never really on the leighton/tatum train (they were cute and had great chemistry but I always liked the idea of leighton’s endgame love interest being someone who didn’t really come from her world, I guess, whether that’s alicia or a new girl — and I did have a soft spot for leighlicia’s banter) but I also have a lot of issues with how tatum’s character was written off and the pacing. you also brought up such a good point that it makes no sense how the “new” leighton wasn’t a little more empathetic and didn’t try to explain to tatum what she loved about the women’s center - the fact that she discarded her so quickly, paired with the fact that she didn’t return to or even think of her women’s center friends at all until ep9, did make it look like she just suddenly wanted alicia back after that text, which is not what I think the writers were going for lol. I do wonder if you think the 25 min, 10 episode season format is partially to blame, along with the decision to rush through the rest of freshman year? I feel like all the arcs this season, for the other girls too, had the potential to be good, but they were pretty much all rushed - I think the only storyline that really worked for me and felt satisfying/earned was whitney finding her major. I don’t know, I’m sorry to rant, but I’ve found your takes interesting & wanted to say that even as a leighlicia fan who kinda got what she want, I didn’t feel satisfied and tatum’s character did deserve better :(

I really appreciate you Anon because you get what I'm saying. I try to be clear that I don't care all that deeply about who it is Leighton is with and ultimately I just want her to be happy and have a good story behind that. So all my criticisms aren't because I'm a bitter Tatum stan, I just think this wasn't done well.

I wish there was an episode before ep 9 where Leighton mentioned the women's center or it came up in some context where Leighton acted more woke than anyone expected her to and she realized how much she learned from them and that she did miss them. Didn't even have to be an actual episode's storyline maybe just one scene. That would already have made it make more sense, but then on top of that have Tatum dismiss that and make Leighton uncomfortable with how much she's like s1 Leighton. But no, all we had was zero mentions of the women's center and Tatum being nothing but a good supportive understanding reassuring gf. Wtf how am I supposed to be fine with Leighton blowing up at her for one mistake after that? And really my main problem is that this way it seems like Leighton's just talking out of her ass and her development doesn't nearly have adequate weight behind it, therefore feeling empty. I wouldn't have even cared about throwing Tatum under the bus but do it properly.

I think the format is to blame, partially. I've heard it said before and I agree that Sex Lives is a show that would benefit from the more traditional 20-22 episode season structure, or at least 45 minute-hour long episodes. I get it, those minutes are mostly for dramas but there's only so much balancing the show can do between four leads and their pocket universe storylines. Maybe even just 16 episodes of the same length. But also the main issue is that they decided to rush freshman year, and more specifically with Leighton that for some reason they wanted to speedrun what could have been half a season's worth of development in a few scenes. I don't get it, because the other girls were all left on varying degrees of cliffhangers. Maybe at the end of this season we could have had Leighton return to the women's center but have that be an actual milestone instead of a throwaway decision as a result of wanting to see Alicia. Imo it could have had a much bigger impact and then the landing is automatically better. Really just many ways to improve the messy way in which they handled Leighton.

I think Kimberly's was a bit rushed but overall still better paced, and I'd straight up say Bela's arc was just good and well-timed. Which proves to me that they can do it, just maybe not four at the same time idk. Also just from a selfish point of view I'd kill to have longer seasons because I need more day in the life from these girls and I so wish this was a network comedy with a bunch of comfort episodes to just play on a loop.

Anyway, thanks for this Anon, thanks for reading my ramblings and thanks for stopping by. I love it when people actually hear what I'm saying haha. So by all means rant to me any time! TSLOCG is the most passionate I've been about a new show in a while and the more people reach out the less I have to will myself to go in the tags and subsequently block a bunch of people. And yeah I'm happy for your ship and I'm happy for Leighton's happiness but this is what I mean, bad writing makes even one's own ship taste bittersweet. I hope they don't just start season 3 by writing Alicia out immediately but we'll actually see a new dynamic.

#anon #thanks this was nice to read #tslocg asks #tslocg #leighton murray

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strawberrylollipop26-blog-blog · 1 year ago

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I recently saw the Barbie movie and I don't know what to say. Honestly, I never planned to see this movie. Despite the massive promotion, it was clear that I wouldn't enjoy it. Then I started hearing online about people watching the movie and it causing them to feel things so I decided to give it a shot (side note: husband was a major factor in decision making. He rated the movie a 1/5 and said he would've walked out if it was just him). I don't blame him. I truly do not understand the appeal of this movie. To each their own and if you enjoyed it, good for you.

I also saw Oppenheimer, that was interesting. I especially liked the ending part. We never know we're destroying ourselves until we actually do it. Too caught up in the 'can I' instead of asking 'should I', but I suppose war times are different.

Yesterday, I saw the Blue Beetle. It was interesting to say the least. The family was a bit much for me (I'm an introvert. They were loud and chaotic at times). It was a bit too stereotypical for me. I mean, can we have a hero like Iron Man once again? I get that their young and I suppose an appeal is their kindness, but I want a hero who isn't afraid to fight back and deal that deadly blow. As soon as I hear someone say I don't want to kill, I just know I'm going to be bored. In the end, the action was okay, but I didn't really feel the hero become 'a hero'.

Other Notable Mentions

The Last Voyage of the Demeter: My partner and I spoke about this one. It's classified as horror. However, as someone who hides behind their hands during scary movies, I watched this whole thing eyes open. We agreed it's more of a suspense thriller. He also claimed it was too dark. I think it helps with the effect a bit. A dark movie makes it hard to see and easy to lose interest during scenes.

Mission Impossible: I love action movies so no complaints. I did find the topic interesting though because it's one that's been used so many times. I'll be there soon as part two premieres.

Meg 2: A lot more action scenes this time around as well as more humor.

Talk to Me: A surprise for me thinking it was one thing, but it's actually another. I covered my eyes a few times. Husband was a fan. I was a little disappointed.

Anyway, these are just my opinions, not meant to sway anyone either way. If you're curious, see for yourself.

Edited this post to add this:

I started watching Blood of Youth and I'm obsessed. Currently on episode 24 and I'm already itching to start back at one. The action is so good, CGI is pretty good too (though this isn't a deciding factor for me), the way they make you wonder about all the characters is crazy. Normally, I end up watching for one or two people, but this one I want everyone's story.

#movies #cinema #talk to me #meg 2: the trench #mission impossible #the last voyage of the demeter #blue beetle #oppenheimer #the barbie movie #Blood of youth

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ntshastark · 1 year ago

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MAWS liveblog: part 2 (1x03-1x04)

Episode 3

i love him so much it's unhealthy

OH THERE'S AN OPENING SEQUENCE NOW

tiddies

whipped

the humour in this episode is just Not Working for me, idk

why is lois mimicking cat's personality when the warden is much more likely to realise they're not the same person via, y'know, the photo on her badge??

now that was a quintessential clois moment

this poor man

clark's voice as superman is way too similar to his regular voice tbh, his tone when he was pretending to be interviewed by lois is way closer to what i'd expect

[paris hilton voice] that's hot

[agrees to give an interview]

[can't answer a single question]

[flies away]

nailed it

i love him

i mean, you're not wrong

Episode 4

that's my future pulitizer prize winner! 😭

OH HELL YEAH CLARK IS A CRYPTID!!!!!!

bums me out that i can't get into this series' version of clois, but they're just so mushy (and, don't get me wrong, i love mushy established clois, but they've just met!! lois should be a mean hbic and clark should be- well, he should be a whipped blushing mess, which is exactly what he is here. guess the problem is just lois :/ i could blame it on the decision to make them both interns, but smallville!lois is a teenager and still manages to be perfect)

and the thing is!! the rest of her characterisation is so good!! she's a career-driven law-breaking menace and i love her!!! literally the only thing that bothers me is how they've made her immediately into clark - which i guess makes sense, if she mostly ignored him then the entire premise of the cartoon doesn't really work*, but it still leaves me with a version of early!clois stripped from basically everything that makes their dynamic interesting (To Me)

*= there's plenty of ways to make them work together while having lois' feelings towards clark be equal part disinterest and fuming one-sided beef (i'd know! i've read the fics!), but i guess it wouldn't fit the quirky fun protagonist trio this series is aiming for, which is ok! it's a cartoon for kids! i'm the weird one here!

man i miss the world cup

oh my god he's so precious

.............................that's a voltron character

why does this dr ivo guy feel like a mcu!tony stark parody (disclaimer: i don't think i've heard of him before and i don't wanna google if he's a comics character to avoid possible spoilers)

OH MY GOD HIS NAME IS EVEN ANTHONY

[paris hilton voice] that's hot

dont know why the screen suddenly looks like i need to clean my glasses but [insert 'í love arm' tweet]

WHY IS THE SCREEN SO BLURRY (is this bc i'm pirating??)

oh my god

ok, if he's not a comic character then he was definitely based on tony (stark, i mean. as this guy is also named tony.)

ok, did anyone involved in this series also work on voltron, serious question

i'm in love with her

1. i think i'm gonna enjoy them a lot more once they're actually dating bc this was very domestic!clois and, to quote clark, :3

2. holy fuck his head is so much larger than hers

he's so lucky no one follows him on that thing bc he's literally uploading footage he was paid to take by someone else, once perry finds out he's toast

???? he was playing cupid two episodes ago

OH SHIT I ABSOLUTELY DID NOT SEE THAT COMING 10/10 PLOT TWIST

i usually enjoy the identity porn going on for way longer, but i wasn't happy with how they were handling it, so maybe this will shake up things into something that i like more 👀

#if i ignore work due to it being Too Hot To Function i can maybe watch two of these today 👀#edit (next day): i didn't but i'm putting them in the same post anyway lol #f: dc #g: dc animations #s: maws #mari liveblogs

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tangents-within-tangents · 3 months ago

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Respectfully, I think you're being too apologetic. And I don't think it's necessary.

Yes Crosshair was a soldier, but so were all the other clones who we saw question and turn against the Empire. In fact it's established that Crosshair and his squad were more accustomed to questioning and disobeying orders throughout the war. Remember, Cody and Crosshair witness the same exact things in "The Solitary Clone". And Crosshair's chip had been removed, Cody's had not, he doesn't even know about them. The whole point of "blind allegiance makes you a pawn" and "we make our own decisions" is that you can't justify your actions under being a soldier.

The point I was trying to make is that Crosshair isn't blindly following orders. He's knowingly and willingly following orders. And the Empire's orders aren't just 'kill or be killed' like during the war, they are unethical and manipulative (like killing civilians, and framing the Syndulla's) and for the Empire's gain (occupying and subjugating planets). The other clones saw that difference and that's why they left. Crosshair canonically does not care about that difference and chose to stay anyway.

That's what I mean by accountability: he is in control of his choices and he is responsible for them. I feel like you are kinda justifying his actions here and that takes away from his agency. But we don't need to do that. It's okay that he was wrong and made mistakes. I guess I didn't emphasize that enough but you are right, he did change. He did make the right choice in the end and leave the Empire. I didn't mean to discount that, I'm just saying that he did it for different reasons (and "what the Empire is doing is wrong" isn't one of them).

We can understand him, yes, but we don't need to shift the blame and lessen the impact of his choices. Because if we take away from his choice to stay doesn't that also take away from his choice to leave? That's why the writers decided to remove his chip (because if he had been controlled the whole time he wouldn't need to be redeemed).

Like I said, he does have an arc. He does change, and it's very compelling. I just wish the show had explored the implications/consequences of that change. Because just because he's changed doesn't mean he didn't do those things.

And I have to push back a bit here because I do not think punishment is the same thing as amends.

For one thing, Crosshair wasn't being punished for his mistakes, he was imprisoned because he shot Nolan, which was the right choice. He can't really be punished by the Empire for the things he did for the Empire. And like I said, self-destructive guilt doesn't help anyone. It's actually counter-productive (what if he had stayed in Tantiss to punish himself? If he wasn't able to resist the conditioning he would have ended up right where he started, as a weapon for the Empire, hurting people again).

Punishment and guilt don't fix anything. It doesn't do anything to help the real people who were impacted by his choices (and still are impacted in the case of Ryloth and Desix).

I agree he probably did feel regret. I just think that would be more impactful (and better written) if it actually led to some action. He doesn't need to fix or undo everything, realistically he can't, but Howzer's men died as a direct result of Crosshair's actions in the Empire, the LEAST he can do is apologize and let Howzer know that he has regrets. (Think I'll post a full analysis/rant of that episode soon bc it bothers me a lot). Also S1 Crosshair openly agreed with the fascism and I think it's important for the show to address that with some kind of follow up. I said it in my tags, we don't judge characters based on the beginning of their arc, they have to start somewhere, but we do need to see the change to compare it to.

(Anyway thanks for sharing your thoughts though! Fr no hate, we can have different interpretations, thanks for adding to the discussion)

Hot take:

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

Emerie does.

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

I was thinking about this scene:

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

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

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

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

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

Crosshair - Loyalty, Purpose, and Survival

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Crosshair: Orders are orders.

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

But what does?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

but because he was right about this:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Which brings us back to...

Emerie - Cooperation, Compassion, and Choice

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Remain calm. Cooperate and you might survive."

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

"All of us serve a purpose here."

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

"It's best not to ask questions."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

Notes:

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

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

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

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

Anyway, thanks for coming to my tedtalk

#they had all of s3 to explore the consequences and aftermath of crosshair's change #they went a different route with the trauma stuff i guess #but they had a perfect opportunity with howzer and they made howzer the bad guy instead??#i guess things depend on your definition of redemption #but like i said the amends part is very crucial to me

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chatonne-rousse · 3 years ago

Text

Outsider

Adrien just wants to be included. Having friends is such a dream! Even if his father keeps him busy and he can't often join them for the fun activities they invite him to, it's so nice to know he would be welcomed if he could get away.

Or at least, that's what he thought. Perhaps he was wrong? What if those terrible fears of abandonment and exclusion are closer to the truth?

He can't still be an outsider after all this time...right?

****

(Reminder: A story can show that the choices humans make can be hurtful to others without being a salt fic.)

Read it on Ao3 here.

It feels good to be back in class again on Monday morning. After such a lonely weekend, Adrien's heart finds contentment in this familiar routine, exchanging friendly smiles and waves with his classmates, taking his seat and being surrounded by the quiet chatter of his friends.

He settles in and takes out his tablet, smiling a tiny smile at the sight of Plagg asleep in a gym sock nest at the bottom of his bag.

A few minutes later, Nino ambles in with Alya, letting go of her hand so she can head to her seat and giving Adrien a jaunty salute as he slides in the bench beside him.

"Hey, bro! Long time, no see!" Nino offers his fist for their customary fist bump, and Adrien happily obliges. "How was your photoshoot?"

He shrugs one shoulder. "Long, boring, and interrupted by an akuma. Nothing new."

Nino snorts a laugh. "Good times," he deadpans. He takes off his headphones and bends to tuck them into his backpack, straightening with a hopeful smile. "Well, maybe we can hang out next weekend?"

"Yeah. That'd be great." The words come easily, but the echo rattles in his brain. They won't hang out next weekend, either. Adrien knows it, but Nino still carries a hint of optimism, even after all this time and all these broken commitments. His smile never slips, but Adrien's chest squeezes painfully.

Rose and Juleka walk through the door next, Rose's hand in the crook of Juleka's elbow.

"Happy belated birthday, Juleka," Adrien says quietly as she starts up the stairs, his smile soft and sincere.

"Oh...um..." She looks down at the floor. "Thanks, Adrien."

"You're welcome. I hope you had fun at the movie. I'm sorry I couldn't make it, but thank you for inviting me."

Juleka blanches, and Adrien watches with increasing bewilderment as her eyes widen and she seems to have trouble breathing.

"That's sooo sweet of you, Adrien!" Rose coos. "You're always so nice."

That's the moment Kim breezes through the door arguing loudly with Alix, though his attention is diverted as soon as he sees Juleka frozen on the stairs.

"Hey, Jules! Sorry I couldn't come to your boat party thing. Ondine had a swim meet and she wanted me to come. Gotta support my lady, you know?"

Several things register at once.

First, Kim's use of "my lady" grates more than Adrien would like to admit. Chat Noir doesn't have sole rights to those two words, but that nickname is near-sacrosanct to him, reserved for one girl only. If the truth is that right now, that whole...situation is confusing and painful, well, he's sure they can work things out. Somehow. He hasn't figured that out yet, but he will. No matter what, "my lady" is his partner, his lady. Even if she isn't. Yet.

But that isn't what makes his stomach swoop and his pulse pound in his ears when his mind replays the words.

Did Kim say...party?

Adrien blinks once, twice, again.

By the time he turns to Nino, the girls have scampered up to their seats and Kim has run up the outside steps two at a time, hurdled over an indignant Max, and promptly resumed his argument with Alix.

"Juleka had a party? I thought you went to the movies?" he asks. Even to his own ears, his voice sounds hollow. He doesn't miss Nino glancing sidelong up at Alya before meeting his eyes again.

Nino wheezes out an awkward laugh. "Well, that was the plan, but..." he trails off, rubbing the back of his neck. "There was this thing with Luka and...I mean, it just...it was a location change, bro. That's all." He shrugs, the wild nervousness in his eyes at odds with the gesture.

Adrien knows that Nino has many redeeming qualities, but his best friend will never win an award for feigned nonchalance under pressure. Ever. Which is why Adrien pushes down the swell of emotion rising in his chest, disappointment and anger and the deep, aching loneliness that seems to be his constant companion.

He schools his expression into one he hopes portrays understanding and acceptance, and nods at Nino. His smile feels tight, but this is the best he can do when his veins are filled with ice, even as he tries to shove those feelings down down down, where they can't hurt him and no one will know.

"It's okay," he says evenly. "I understand."

He'd meant to put Nino at ease, but he can't tell if it worked. Nino's brows furrow further, and he shrugs again. "You just...you had your photoshoot anyway, you know?"

Ah. There it is.

Adrien's heart drops like a stone to the bottom of his stomach. Hot tears prick the back of his eyes and he takes the timely arrival of Ms. Bustier as a chance to look away and blink them back.

The voice in the back of his mind that never hesitates to speak the feelings he tries to hide whispers his fears to him, loud and clear.

He tries to ignore it, tries so hard, but...what if that voice is right after all?

Maybe he'll never fit in. Maybe he'll always be that weird rich kid with the weird life and the strict father, always on the outside looking in. Or rather, on the inside looking out. Why tell him if plans change when he won't be able to come anyway? Why invite him at all?

Maybe he's annoying. Obnoxious. Way too emotional, just like his father says.

Maybe he isn't even wanted in the first place.

"You could've told me," he whispers. He didn't mean to say it out loud, but suddenly, he doesn't care.

Nino's hand is on his shoulder in an instant.

"Hey, Adrien, I'm sorry. I totally should've. That's on me, mec."

He turns to find Nino's brown eyes earnest and sincere, and this time when Adrien nods at him, he doesn't have to fake the little smile that turns up the corners of his mouth. He raises his fist and Nino's face brightens as his own fist connects. The darkness recedes a fraction, as if repelled by the light of Nino's smile.

"Your pops sucks, though, dude. You know that, right?"

Adrien snorts a surprised laugh as he unlocks his tablet to get ready for class.

Nino pats his shoulder once more. "Next time, okay? We'll get you out of that place next time if we have to sneak you out."

The school bell punctuates Nino's sentence and Marinette stumbles through the door just as it stops ringing. Ms. Bustier simply smiles and shakes her head.

Marinette tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and hitches her backpack higher on her shoulder. As she walks toward the stairs, her eyes meet his. He hears her sharp inhale and watches the familiar blush rise to her cheeks.

But then, for one single moment suspended in time, it feels as though her big blue eyes see beyond his friendly smile and straight into the mess of his heart, to all the residual anger and disappointment and self-loathing that had flared inside him mere moments ago. A strange spike of terror at being known jolts his spine.

He watches, rapt, as her shoulders straighten and she fixes him with a dazzling smile that seems to make her eyes shine even brighter.

"Good morning, Adrien," she says, a world of warmth in the way she speaks his name.

It sweeps through his heart like a summer breeze, blowing the negative emotions to the corners where they drift into little piles, forgotten for the moment. Forgotten, not gone, just like the desperate loneliness that follows him like a shadow. But even a shadow has no recourse when the sun shines directly overhead.

He grins back at her, full of happiness and light that wasn't there a minute ago. "Good morning, Marinette."

She bites her lip, hunches her shoulders, and scurries past him with a...was that a squeak? Like a mouse?

Adrien can hear Alya and Marinette begin to whisper behind him, and it isn't until Nino nudges him with his elbow that he realizes he hasn't stopped smiling. His cheeks heat, and he's glad when Ms. Bustier starts the lesson.

He thinks over Nino's words. The next time there's a "next time" he'll likely be booked solid or denied permission and made to stay home. Sadness already walks half a step behind, always ready to catch up and overtake him; thinking about the many things he's missed and continues to miss doesn't help.

But right here in this moment, he sits in a little pocket of warm sunshine, surrounded by friends, and that's just enough to keep him going. The rest, he hopes, will sort itself out later.

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hekateinhell · 2 years ago

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Lestat next episode “she’s poisoning you against me”…..He beat Louis nearly to death and dropped him from the gotdamn sky, he poisoned himself. Nice to know though that Lestat considers it to be the equivalent of throwing a dish and doesn’t see what the big deal is. Lestat’s dumb but not this stupid. Not sure what the writers are trying to do here because even after seeing Louis’ broken and mangled body he doesn’t even blink and the preview makes it sound as though he doesn’t even feel real remorse. Lestat’s a vicious little gremlin but you get the sense he truly loves Louis and Claudia and would never actually truly harm them, he wants them to stay so badly and I think even he would know that something like this is a point of no return. This Lestat has no love for Claudia and is just obsessed with Louis in the worst way possible. I’m sad cause I love the characters, I love the actors and this all just felt so OOC. Also, people saying Lestat’s actions are just as bad as when Claudia tries to kill Lestat 🥲

Sorry I know you don’t watch the show but I had to vent lol

Actually I do, because I'm a fucking masochist. I AM done after today though.

I wanted to like it! Genuinely, I wanted to be proven wrong and I wanted to be having a good time along with three-fourths of fandom! Every week I would watch with my friends and wonder what's wrong with me, what am I not getting? I WANTED TO HAVE FUN TOO GODDAMN IT.

Didn't help that you got outright bullied for expressing the slightest bit of criticism around here lmao maybe that's what gave the impression that I don't watch it, since I did not have anything nice to say at all. I tried making my own tag so people could just block THAT and I wouldn't be raining on anyone's parade, but it doesn't stop those who are committed to creeping on your page (hi babes) so ANYWAY

I mean... I AGREE. And I never saw Lestat in Samstat, and given how he swung in like Homelander in Episode 1, I just felt... but then also like... I DIDN'T WANT THIS!!! I still haven't regained full coherency as you can see, I'm gonna need 3-5 business days at least.

Because Lestat did never and Lestat would never. I've said it many times with great affection: Lestat's an idiot but he ain't stupid.

This quote has been going around today, and I've been carrying it too to comfort my Loustat friends because the girlies are hurting in a bad, bad way (and tbh so am I):

Yet I couldn't hurt him. I couldn't even conceive of carrying out such awful, cowardly threats. I could never have brought harm to Claudia. Ah, to make something out of nothing, yes. To throw up the pieces to see how they will fall, yes. But vengeance. Ah, arid awful distasteful vengeance. What is it to me? ~ Lestat, TotBT

I can't envision AMC Hannibal/Homelander-Lestat as either IWTV-Lestat or TVL-onward Lestat. Plain and simple--it is an OC. They all are.

Even if AMC retcons it by the next episode, I just don't see any editorial justification for that to have happened on-screen without content warnings (yeah, I'm not going to let this one go).

We talk about exposition and the art of a narrative a lot and not to sound ignorant but... RJ, BRUH. I don't blame the actors! Actors don't make the decisions on set and Sam, Jacob, and Bailey killed it with what they were given. And I have given them their props since day one.

IDK I'm sorry for anyone who got hurt today, honestly! The Doctor prescribes reading your favourite hurt/comfort fics and scrolling through your emotional support fan artists. ♥️

#you ask and hekate answers #it'll be okay #maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow #but it'll be okay ;-;#amc iwtv

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ironwoodprotectionsquad · 3 years ago

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Penny being trans + autistic coded made me resonate with her as I am nonbinary and autistic myself. Her being a robot felt like me when I have to hide my neurodivergent traits. Her getting confirmation that she wasn't just a robot/machine but a real girl felt so validating. I don't have to look like everyone else to still be considered "real".

Ironwood's semblance being literal hyperfixiation, something I've dealt with since I have ADHD + autism would have made me feel better about myself. This is a man who, despite everything: his PTSD, being an amputee, still was a kind-hearted man. This is something rarely seen in media. I was happy.

Then they fucked up both Penny and Ironwood in ways that struck me. Penny is hacked into and forced to comply with basically forced suicide- she was to open the vault, then self-destruct.

Ironwood, oh dear god. They couldn't wait to fuck him over. He was so HAPPY to see team RWBYJNROQ. He told them everything about his plan, trusting them with literal GOVERNMENT secrets, giving them a place to stay, FREE weapon upgrades (Atlas is known for its advanced technology), hell even gave them their HUNTRESS LICENSES THREE-ISH YEARS EARLY (which Ruby later uses as a credibility source in her broadcast, which was eerily similar to Cinder's in Volume 3, when she says IRONWOOD CANNOT BE TRUSTED.)

Not to mention that she conveniently forgot she was calling for help from OTHER KINGDOMS. OF COURSE they wouldn't arrive soon enough. And no one had reason to trust her. She's a nobody. She was at the Vytal Festival and her team made it all the way to the singles? Cool. Ruby wasn't the final fighter, hell after the 4 vs 4 match she didn't compete further.

Blake would have obviously been a bad choice: she's a faunus and if anyone knows about the White Fang, they might recognize her.

Yang is more known than Ruby, but the world saw her kick an unarmed teen in the finals round. She doesn't have too good a reputation.

Weiss? She's well known as the Heiress, but also her singing. Having her give the speech is a mixed bag: on one hand, she's a recognizable face. On the other, that's a problem. Her father, the CEO of the SDC, is known for his cruelty. Blake said it herself way back in Volume 1: questionable business practices and partners.

So... How about no broadcast at all? What did her broadcast accomplish?

Nothing. Help didn't arrive and likely caused more panic. Plus, people still had a negative view of Atlas, as the last thing the world saw was Atlesian soldiers turning against civilians.

The last broadcast was before Beacon fell. So likely another hacker giving a message would be met with fear.

And what attracts Grimm? Negativity.

Ruby's broadcast could have been a DEATH SENTENCE to so many. But no, this is treated as the... Right course of action?

Ruby and co. hates Ironwood's plan, yet it's clear they don't have one. RWB spends a lot of time moping around the manor drinking tea. Team YOJR (Yang, Oscar, Jaune and Ren) actually DO SOMETHING. Oscar gets kidnapped and they chase after him. Ren rightfully points out that NONE OF THEM SHOULD BE DOING THIS. But that goes against the Hivemind™, so he must apologize and agree to whatever the fuck Ruby decides to do.

Which is NOTHING! RWBY didn't even take down the hound: WILLOW and WHITLEY did. A drunk woman and an unarmed teen defeated it.

Oscar is the one who blows up the whale (with his time bomb? huh??)

Ruby whines that it's all too much, cries on a staircase while her sister (remember that Ruby and Yang are related????) comforts her. The scene has no emotional depth because the two barely interact anymore.

OH GOD AND WHEN YANG TAKES A HIT FROM NEO THAT WAS MEANT FOR RUBY IT TAKES HER OUT COMPLETELY. AURA? GONE. HELL, SHE'S EVEN UNCONSCIOUS. I swear it's like the animation budget could only afford to have ONE character react, and it's Blake "sad kitty face" Belladonna. Not Ruby, who is her sister. WHO HAS A SPEED SEMBLANCE. But no, they just watch her fall, not knowing if she's alive.

Ruby has more of a reaction to CRESCENT ROSE, HER FUCKING WEAPON falling.

Which is retconned so hard in the Vol 9 trailer, where she tells Neo "I hope it was worth it" before falling into the void. Huh??

Anyways I'm rambling again but I am so angry!

-🎼

Never, ever, EVER apologize for rambling. I LOVE hearing peoples thoughts and sometimes it's a really nice feeling to let out your frustrations and anger towards something that has caused you harm and it really REALLY sounds like this caused you a lot of harm and so I do not blame you one bit for being hurt and angry. I should apologize for this taking so long. This was a lot and I needed to sort my thoughts and even so I probably missed some points so I also apologize for that.

Penny and Ironwoods biggest mistake was trusting and being kind to RWBY. They lied and betrayed James and treated him like garbage even though he showed them nothing but kindness and did whatever he could to help them and listened to them. Penny was told what to do and think far more so then James ever supposedly did. Ruby decided to give her a new body, decided she didn't like how James was treating her and that she thought James was a bad person, and decided that Penny was better off with them. Penny stopped being able to make her own decisions once she started hanging out with RWBY and co.

Really though what did they all think was going to happen when they sent out a message that matched beat to bear a lot of what Cinder said before Atlas fell? Did she think about the panic that would cause? Did she forget she was worried about Ironwood telling everyone back in Volume 7 because of the panic it would cause everyone??? Did that just conveniently slip her mind?

I honestly think Weiss would have been the best choice to give the broadcast of them all but I don't think they should have sent out the broadcast in the first place. It should realistically only cause panic and death but the narrative is gonna yadda yadda right past all of that.

Oh god yea RWBY and co complain and whine and scream that Ironwoods plan is bad whilst offering up no alternatives then just taking his plan and acting like it was theirs the whole time. They even did this in Volume 7 when in episode 2 they where worried about James telling Atlas about Salem and then turning around and acting all happy and shocked when James told everyone near the end of the season as if they wanted him to the whole time and not the other way around.

Man RWBY really did jack shit all volume huh? As you said all the major things side characters did: Fight James TWICE: Winter, Emerald, and JNRO.

Try and rescue Oscar: JRY

Blow up the Whale: Oscar

"Redeem" Hazel and Emerald: Again Oscar

Defeat the hound: Whitley and Willow

Launch the tower: Penny

Help defend Mantel against the swarm of Grimm: FNKI and the soldiers that all died trying to buy Ruby time while she cries in a mansion.

Like what does this girl do to help any of the people SHE trapped???

Oh god Ren, poor Ren, he's finally seeing the light but he can't stray from the Hivemind so he needs to get back in, we can't question the pure and perfect Ruby her plans are always right even if it causes Salem to get two relics and destroys the only kingdom with an army or the technology to restore global communications in the process.

Yea you're right like CRWBY can make excuses all day for why Ruby didn't react to Yang falling and MAYBE I can buy her not using her Semblance because she's in shock but not crying or reacting at ALL to her supposed death?? Why does her weapon get a more emotional response then her SISTER? Why is only BLAKE allowed to be sad about Yang supposedly dying? Why does fucking WINTER have more of a reaction to her sister dying?

Why are all the people we are supposed to be rooting for so fucking unlikeable???

#RWDE #Pro Ironwood #James Ironwood #RWBY Bashing #Pro James Ironwood #ironwood Protection Squad #penny polendina #Sorry for MY rambling #and more rambling to come most likely

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nyanbinaryrose · 9 days ago

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Hello! Resident Siegfried Apologist here with my manifesto! I'm actually not going to touch on his backstory too much, @kaibacorpintern did an excellent job illustrating the tragedy of Siegfried failing to escape the expectations put on him by his family better and more succinctly than I ever could.

Instead, I want to talk about a few choices the show made that undercut the emotional heft of Siegfried's backstory:

1. Putting this arc before Millennium World was such a mistake. By the time you get to KC Grand Prix, you've already watched 175+ episodes, many of which are filler, and just got off the tale end of the Doma Arc- which no matter your opinions on that arc, we can all agree, it's a chonker. You enter the KC Grand Prix fucking exhausted, and then are told you have a whole ass tournament arc before you even BEGIN to find out the secret of the Pharaoh's memories, aka the whole damn point of the show. Furthermore, we go from a villain who basically made himself into a dark god and then summoned a monster with INFINITY attack points, and then pivot to admittedly, just a guy. Siegfried doesn't even know the Pharaoh exists, and he never learns! This arc is setup for failure just from it's placement in the show. The fact is, duel-wise, it's a good tournament arc. Nothing special, but it's fun. If this arc were placed say, after Duelist Kingdom, with the Rebecca and Duke Devlin arcs, I don't think Siegfried or the Grand Prix would get half as much hate. It's the fact it's literally keeping you from the finale when you can almost touch it, that immediately puts viewers in a position to take the arc's more emotional moments in bad faith. 2. The dub, specifically, does not help this with the creative choices they made. No hate to anyone involved, it was a different time, but it's a fuckin CHOICE to make a character flamboyant and sassy just because he has pink hair. For reference, in the original Japanese:

Siegfried uses 'watashi' which contrary to popular belief, is not exclusively used by women or feminine characters, it's just an extremely formal personal pronoun/form of "I". For context, Raphael from the Doma Arc also uses watashi. You know, gun show mcgee with the sideburns? Yeah, he uses watashi too. It's just ultra formal.

Siegfried has a deep voice. I mean DEEP. It never falls into the realm of feminine, or even gender neutral. It's the the kind of voice given to a devious but refined villian archetype in many other animes. It's never camp, and he's actually quite serious and calculating, telling Jounouchi that he has a less than 1% chance of winning.

Siegfried never mentions hair care, skin care, fashion, or lavender jets. That's not to say he doesn't have beautiful hair, nice skin, bespoke suits, or purple possessions, it's just he never talks about them. In the dub, he's called a "trendsetter". In the sub of the same line, however, it only calls him a "nobleman".

Fight about whether Malik is gay or not because of a crop top, the dub team literally looked at a man with pink hair in a show where every hair color is represented natural or not, and said "haha, let's make him gay".

Again, not playing the blame game. And obviously, he's not canonically gay in the dub, they just make a lot of decisions that point to the "gay or European" humor of early internet comedy in that era.

But there's consequences to that. To queer viewers and allies, he's a parody, at a time when flamboyant villains where starting to get criticized as bad representation in media, especially children's shows. To everyone else, he's an obnoxious gay.

These choices only serve to undercut the tragedy of his story: There's an alternate timeline where Siegfried and Leon are close brothers, and where Siegfried focuses on the success of Schroeder Corp without an unhealthy obsession towards Kaiba, and without ever manipulating Leon. But he never gets that. Which leads me to...

3. Something cut from the dub, which I think could be written off as just throwaway flavor, but actually serves a purpose: Siegfried frequently refers to himself as lucky, and claims the goddess of fate favors him. I have no idea why this is cut from the dub, because it indicates a level of delusion that's important to his character.

The truth is, he is extremely unlucky. His parents force a future on him against his will. He is a tool to his family and Schroeder Corp, born and bred to destroy enemy companies and CEOs. Yes, his focus was Kaiba and Kaiba Corp, but let's say Siegfried succeeded at that: would it have ended there? Of course not. He would have been set on another company, another rival, and the cycle would continue.

He's not favored by the goddess of fate. He's favored by the god of war. He's a weapon, wielded by his family to serve corporate interests. He never really escaped the legacy of weapons manufacturing, he just became the weapon- as ruthless as any general, willing to sacrifice his own brother for the prosperity of his family's name.

And it's exactly how Kaiba could have ended up if Gozuboro had his way.

Siegfried's greatest tragedy is that he did try to escape his fate, as OP pointed out. And thankfully, by the arc's end, it's implied he begins to realize that maybe all the sacrifice isn't worth it, that he should forge his own path for what Schroeder Corp's success looks like. But unfortunately, there's choices around his arc that make it near impossible for viewers to feel the weight of his story, even a little.

... and also the arc is poorly paced and unable to communicate this as well as it could if had more additional episodes to flesh out its villain. Just putting that out there. I'm a Siegfried Apologist, not a Yugioh Writer Apologist.

BONUS: Just want to address something that comes up sometimes... both of Siegfried's parents are very much alive. They are referred to as alive several times by both Siegfried and Leon, in the dub and the sub. A lot of fanfic writers, myself included, write their father as dead, often by horrific circumstances. Frankly, I really respect this fandom for us all agreeing that Yugioh characters aren't allowed to have good and/or alive dads.

Hot take but Siegfried von Schroeder is interesting guy. Functionally the president of SchroederCorp because his father Pink Gozaburo couldn't do it anymore. He assumed responsibility not because his father is dead (like Kaiba), but because he HAD to step up early.

Switched to gaming because, rather than continue a futile rivalry, he decided he DIDN'T want to throw elbows on the military industrial dance floor. could be cowardice (scared of losing), but could also be maturity (this is stupid and I don't want to be part of your obsession of beating the Kaibas and it hurts only ourselves). and yet when Kaiba enters his new chosen field and succeeds extravagantly, Siegfried is catapulted back into the childhood he tried to leave behind. Sorry dude it's not your fault. In trying to escape his own cycle, Kaiba doomed you to return to yours

#Siegfried Apologetics 101 #I've watched the entire series subbed and dubbed!#I referenced them both to write this but i still may have missed something #my word is not law #this is just my manifesto :)#also let me be clear #Siegfried IS gay #but not because he has pink hair #or wears fancy suits #he’s gay because of his obsession with Seto Kaiba #siegfried von schroeder #zigfried von schroeder #rose speaks

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