#i had so many episodes I wanted to cite but I didn't want this to be like a 10 page essay

[viveela]

When it comes to Stan and Kyle, realistically/in canon how do you think they’d actually confess to each other?

Hmm...the way SP handles and adds to its overarching canon makes it hard for me to imagine it. But, if I just viewed Stan and Kyle's characters right now and thought only about how it'd go if they liked each other... Well, their dynamic is complicated and distant. There's also a lot about them to consider.

Kyle's a romantic, but he's had so many failed relationships. He also hates being ostracized. Rejection would terrify him as the possible outcome of his bond with Stan ending and others finding out and gossiping a out it would be an absolute nightmare for him. Then there's Stan's who's more bitter and very depressed. I think a lot is from his home situation but also Cartman's wake up call (saying he never stands up to Kyle). However he still is possessive and jealous about his best friend status with Kyle despite everything. He also has a weird perception of relationships now for sure especially due to the on and off one he currently has.

So with all that in mind...here's my take:

The two have developed feelings and it changes their dynamic once again.

Stan upon realizing this felt exhausted. There's too much already going on in his life and this is just adds to it. Exhausted he decides to just push the problem away and shut it all out. This causes him to be more unresponsive around Kyle.

Meanwhile, Kyle upon realizing his feelings gets conflicted. His romantic history isn't the greatest and rejection is scary. He's not sure if Stan's even like that. Sure his dog was gay and he's supportive, but does that truly mean anything about what Stan is specifically? He decides it'd be best to never act on this. But also Kyle now craves Stan's attention more than ever. He leans into his wants by behaving more clingy towards Stan, maybe even trying to asking odd questions here and there to gauge if maybe he would have a chance.

This goes on for a while and at first Stan was just sort of watching it happen. Not receptive but also not reacting. Eventually he can't handle this shift in Kyle and he starts trying to avoid him out of confusion and frustration. He doesn't want to deal with any of this right now.

Kyle notices this and it just makes his feelings jumble up. He's hurt, this isn't how Stan used to be around him. Usually it didn't take much to get his friend to go along with things. How can he deal with his unreciprocated crush like this? He grows more desperate and tries much more forcefully to get Stan to spend time with him, practically begging for his attention at this point.

This doesn't go on for too long before Stan gets highly aggravated and riled up. He's trying so hard to ignore everything happening externally and internally and this is making it impossible. Not to mention this switch up in their friendship happened out of nowhere. Where did this even come from? This boils within Stan before he finally snaps at Kyle one day, stopping him in his tracks from continuing further.

Now on the defensive Kyle snaps back and they're now arguing. Their entire relationship as a whole is being brought up and thrown back and forth at each other; both frantically pointing fingers and pent up frustrations spilling out. It doesn't take long before Stan breaks and goes from yelling to crying. His true state comes to light and he finally expresses how their distance has affected him and that it's really been messing with his head —especially now with the newfound feelings he's been having lately. Kyle's silent for a moment taking this all in before bombarding Stan with apologies for everything, feeling stupid.

The implications from Stan's words earlier aren't lost on him though and once things calm down, he then takes the chance to confess his own feelings as well while also admiting he misses being close to each other. Now they're both feeling like idiots and reconcile, deciding to be more open with each other and figure out how to move their relationship further from here.

[gffa]

Disney, hire me as your Attachment Advisor, I will shove so many George Lucas quotes at your producers and writers, I will shove so many context-laden clips from the movies and TCW at your creatives, I will make powerpoint essays about how it's more Buddhist-aligned, not Attachment Theory-aligned, I will cite literally every time attachment has ever been discussed by Lucas AND in the show itself and show you that it's always aligned with fear, possessive feelings, and selfishness, I will do this work for you for free, I can even literally just point you to my Jedi Citations collection, DISNEY, HIRE ME AS YOUR ATTACHMENT ADVISOR, I CAN HELP YOU.

Everything I saw in the show aligned perfectly with my view of what the Jedi mean by attachment from the movies (especially with Episode II). You fail to understand that George Lucas words outside of the movies mean shit. You cane have the largest collection of words that has come out of Lucas's ass and it still does not change the movies. Look at the poster for AOTC. A Jedi shall not know love. Obi-Wan speaks beautifully about the undercurrent of remorse he feels for not being able to have an attachment with Satine because he lives by the Jedi Code which forbids it.

You people are so delusional.

Hi! You are so right bestie it has been way too long since I've talked about my love for Mace Windu! You are so right to have brought this up and I will meet your challenge! He is the Force's strongest soldier because the absolute nonsense he has to put up with every day, as someone who deals with the rest of the Council being hilarious assholes, who deals with Kenobi and Skywalker's nonsense, who has Yoda as a friend, and yet he seems to genuinely like all of these people?? Even when they're bonkers?? My man is stronger than I could ever be.

Not to mention, he goes on a whole ass mission with Jar-Jar, has to watch him make out with his girlfriend, the queen of the planet who told falsehoods about your family, and you have nothing but patience and kind words to say about them, and you only roll your eyes a little at Jar-Jar's antics, something even Padme does and she's worked with him even longer than you have, and by the end, you're friends with him, you like him and would probably hang out with him again if the chance arose???? Mace Windu is on ANOTHER LEVEL from what I would have done in his position!

And he's a former theater nerd! "The Council's gain was the theater's loss." Jocasta Nu says about how he didn't have time for it anymore after he got so busy with the Council, like can you IMAGINE Mace Windu doing plays? I want to know sooooooo bad how Jedi plays are different from non-Force-sensitive people's plays, I want to know what kind of cool effects they create with the Force, I want to know if they use their psychic empath abilities to literally connect with their audience! I want to know DOES MACE WINDU HELP THE YOUNGLINGS STAGE CUTE LITTLE PLAYS IN THE CRECHE? BECAUSE I BET HE DOES.

Because that man is so good with kids! Remember that Star Wars Adventures comic where he was so gentle and sweet with the little Twi'lek girl? Reaching down to help her up, smiling openly at her, walking with her back to her village to make sure she was safe, talking with her to make sure she understood how important and valuable she was in the galaxy? Because I'm still not over that!

His relationship with Anakin in canon is pretty great, too, like, yeah, Anakin should take a seat and stop borderline pitching a fit about getting a rank he didn't earn, and Mace still offered to believe him, despite that Anakin had accepted Palpatine's forcing the Council to put him on it. He still trusted Anakin to help him in that fight against Palpatine! Plus, oh, man, their banter on the Endurance when they're teaching the cadets? That was such good-natured teasing, that was exactly the kind of banter Anakin would have had with Obi-Wan, and by the end of that whole fiasco (do you ever think about when Anakin was in danger and Mace yelled, "Anakin!" and desperately yanked him to safety, because he was worried about him? because I think about that a lot), Mace complimented Artoo by saying he saw what Anakin saw in him, that he was complimenting Anakin at the same time? Or pretty much EVERY interaction between Mace and Yoda is absolute hilarity, the side-eye they give each other, the teasing Yoda does when Mace is on a mission with Jar-Jar, the way Mace holds his hand out in the comics for Yoda to springboard off of into the middle of a fight? ICONIC FRIENDSHIP, I WOULD TAKE A WHOLE NOVEL ABOUT IT, DISNEY.

Or that time even AT THE END OF THE CLONE WARS, like they are just a MONTH out from Revenge of the Sith, if that, and Mace is STILL trying to get the droids to stand down, that he's destroyed thousands of them, none of them have listened, but he's still trying, offering them a better life away from the war, a purpose again, even if he knows it probably won't work, that man still believed in compassion for anyone and everyone. Like, baby Boba Fett TRIED TO KILL HIM and Mace STILL argued for leniency and rehabilitation, rather than jail, because he saw a young child who was hurting and he wanted better for him. He was direct with Boba, he didn't try to befriend him, Boba would never have accepted that, but he told him, you're going to have to get over your hatred for me, he says this for Boba's sake, not his own, because he knows what poison the desire for revenge is, look at the path it's already leading Boba down.

Or EVERYTHING WITH THE ZILLO BEAST, he tried so hard to rescue that poor creature, he fought the Senate so hard, he was so gentle with the hand he carefully pressed to its face, even when the Zillo beast was dangerous, even when it had attacked them and could so easily kill more, he wanted leniency for it, he wanted to save it because he understood where it was coming from.

Or EVERYTHING WITH PROSSET DIBS, that guy tried to murder him, was ranting about how he would dance on their graves or whatever, and Mace looks at him and says, we need to help him, it's our duty to help him find the light again. And his big punishment is literally just library duty, because when Mace can decide the outcome, that guy always goes for helping people, always goes for the option that would bring them back to the light.

Even as a young Padawan, his greatest struggle was to temper his anger, which was sparked because PEOPLE WERE BEING HURT by the false prophet on Mathas, he was angry because he saw how many people were suffering and the people in charge just let it happen, his heart hangs heavy when he witnesses people in pain, because Mace Windu deeply, deeply cares about the people in the galaxy.

He cared about civilians, he cared about clones, he cared about his fellow Jedi, he didn't have to be bouncy or super smiley to show that, either. It was in every action he took. He cared so much.

And, okay, yeah, he was COOL AS HELL AND WOULD HAVE BEATEN PALPATINE'S WRINKLED ASS IN A FAIR FIGHT.

OR THAT TIME ON RYLOTH THAT WAS LITTERALLY THE COOLEST SCENE THEY EVER ANIMATED, THE SOUND DROP? THE ABSOLUTE BANGER PHYSICAL STUNTS MACE WAS CAPABLE OF? GODDAMN HE WAS SO GOOD.

AND LEST WE FORGET--CUTEST BB YOUNGLING EVER!!!!

[rowie264]

Why Timebomb shouldn't exist in s2 (part 3 - Relationship)

Part 1 - Ekko Part 2 - Jinx

Now let's look closer at relationship itself between Ekko and Jinx that was shown in the series.

To begin with, I will briefly define my position - I don't ship Ekko and Jinx. But! I can appreciate something, even if it doesn't match my preferences, as long as it's written well.

Timebomb wasn't written well, guys. The foundation - the characters themselves - has already crumbled, as I pointed out in previous posts, and everything else followed behind.

Ekko had a crush on Jinx as a child, yes. But Jinx was killing his friends. Jinx was following Silco's orders, and I'll remind you that Silco killed Benzo and it was because of Silco that zaunites got hooked on shimmer. Forgiving all her actions and understanding why Jinx willingly followed Silco would have taken Ekko muuuuuuuuch longer than it was shown in the series. To cite their childhood bond is to reduce the depth of their conflict and importance of firelights to Ekko.

It's even worse on Jinx's side. Throughout both seasons (except for act1 s1), she doesn't think and talk about Ekko. Zero thoughts about him, zero reflection, as if she didn't care about him at all. All I see in her is a feeling of nostalgia for old friendships in a moment of vulnerability. How am I supposed to believe in their connection if one of the characters doesn't have a single second thought about the other?

And finally, episode 7. Why does it exist (regarding Ekko arc and his realationship with Jinx)? Does it reveal the characters in any way? Well, everyone except Ekko and Heimer are completely fucking different people and have nothing to do with the original ones, so I don't give a damn about them at all. Perhaps Ekko reveals himself more as a character? Mm… And how? What's new we find out about him? That he could be Heimer's student? We already knew he was smart. That he could have dated Powder if things had turned out differently? Well, thanks for the information, but why do I need it? Wouldn't you rather to reveal relationship between Ekko and original Powder/Jinx instead of wasting time on "what if"? Did Ekko need to make a time machine in alternative timeline? No, he could do it in canon timeline just fine.

Also, this "what if" does not serve to reveal relationship between Ekko and Jinx in original timeline. Or did Ekko need to see Powder (like a good version of Jinx) to understand that Jinx is a grown-up Powder and that she is still inside Jinx, and not gone as he thought? Well, you know, I personally saw it already shown in s1 on the bridge (in much more emotional moment with original Powder/Jinx lol).

And what do we have as result:

Ekko is not fully revealed; Jinx has become an OOC; their connection is not shown either through reflection, through characters thoughts, or through any interactions/mentions with other characters; they have very little screen time together - Powder in alternative timeline doesn't count bc she is completely different person; they get along with a snap of fingers as if they hadn't been enemies for many years; Jinx murdering Ekko's friends have no influence at all; restoration of their friendship takes place in a very short unrealistic period of time and, moreover, off screen; the romantic line is sucked out of the finger only to please shippers and is very poorly written.

Timebomb is the ship that demands slow burn if you don't want to fuck up the characters. It demands to attend to their complicated story and broken relationship before going anywhere romantic.

But all of it was brushed aside and that's why i'm not happy about Timebomb existing. Because Jinx's and Ekko's personalities, their complex history and their potential was sacrificed for the sake of this ship.

[cinderella-ish]

Momiji Sohma and his beautiful, complex relationship to Kyo (part 1 of 5)

So, if Yuki is my favorite character of the main trio, Momiji would have to be my favorite of the large cast of secondary characters. He may even be my favorite character outright- a hard pick, as there are so many characters to love in Fruits Basket!

When it comes to Yuki and Kyo, their relationship to each other and Yuki's relationship to Haru (which is beautiful and now I want to do a post on them, too) are perhaps the two most obvious dynamics among these four boys. But I think Momiji and Kyo have their own important, deep relationship, with huge significance to the plot and to Kyo's arc in particular.

In many ways, Momiji and Kyo's stories are parallels.

They both lost their mothers at a young age. Kyo watched as his mother stepped in front of a train, and Momiji watched as his mother's memories of him were erased (though it's worth noting Momiji's mother was also suicidal). Both watched their mothers suffer for years because of the curse.

Both had a parent who viewed them as sub-human. Momiji's mother referred to him as a "creature," and Kyo's father called him a "monster."

Both also had fathers who put responsibility for their mothers' mental health issues on them and ultimately abandoned or neglected them. And both had loving surrogate father figures who took them in out of guilt, Kyo in Kazuma and Momiji to a lesser extent in Hatori (it does seem like Momiji's father was somewhat present in his life, though Hatori was much more present for him).

They also both had reputations as a bit of a wild child, Kyo because of his short temper and aggression (and stereotypes about the cat), and Momiji because of his id-driven hedonism and frequent lack of supervision. They're both impulsive to a fault, Momiji in pursuit of maximum fun, and Kyo out of extreme self-hatred and a desire to protect the people he cares about (mostly from himself). They each lean into people's misconceptions about them - Momiji encouraging people to underestimate him due to his small size because it allows him to get away with more, and Kyo willing to let people see him as a monster because he believes that's true (and therefore using physical intimidation as his main strategy for protecting people he cares about).

They're also both quite good at reading others - for Kyo, this is remarked upon several times in canon, and for Momiji, he's often cited by fans as possibly the most emotionally mature character in the series.

And they both are at their best when they act a bit more like each other, Kyo when he lightens up and lets himself have fun, and Momiji when he stands up for himself and the people he cares about.

I would even argue that Kyo is the main driver behind Momiji's character development, and that Momiji is the main catalyst for Kyo to understand and accept his feelings for Tohru.

So, with all that in mind, let's look at Momiji's first appearance with Kyo at the first culture festival.

(An aside: Hiroshi's reactions in this scene will never not be funny to me.)

So, the first time we see Kyo and Momiji together is at the first culture festival, when Momiji is officially introduced to Tohru and thus to the reader (after a brief appearance 1 chapter/3 episodes earlier, where we're not entirely sure who he is). In quick succession, Momiji proceeds to:

jump on Yuki's shoulders and tell him he looks like a girl

get scolded by Hatori for running off on his own

excitedly introduce himself and Hatori as relatives of Yuki and Kyo to the crowd of students, making sure to mention that he's half-German

climb on top of the rice stand, frightening everyone, eating a rice ball he probably didn't pay for

get dragged away by a grouchy Kyo, laughing all the way

It's quite a memorable entrance!

But a closer look at this scene suggests that Momiji was causing a stir for Yuki's sake as much as for his own desire to have fun.

he jumps on Yuki right when Yuki's feeling extremely self-conscious about all the attention he's receiving, immediately after both Tohru and Kyo have made comments about his appearance

he climbs atop the riceball stand right when Yuki looks ready to murder Hatori

One could argue that this is just Momiji being his typical wild-child self, especially since he tells Yuki he looks like a girl right when Yuki's at his most self-conscious about his feminine appearance, but it fits with a pattern we see repeated throughout the series: Momiji is willing to make a spectacle of himself if it helps him achieve his goals, whether they are to have more fun or to protect someone he cares about (all the better if it's both!).

I do wonder about that comment - Fruits Basket can be very subtle, so I think there are multiple ways of interpreting Momiji's comment to Yuki. It's possible he made that comment because he didn't know what Yuki was so upset about, or to remind Yuki that of course people are going to talk about what he's wearing when its unusual for him, or maybe for another reason altogether. But what I think is most telling is that he says it without any judgment - it's simply an observation of fact. That, in and of itself, might be enough to help Yuki feel less self-conscious about the whole thing, whether Momiji intended that or not.

As Momiji is dragged off, Hatori reveals to Yuki that they're here because Momiji brought home the flier Tohru dropped when they met 3 episodes/1 chapter earlier. He also reveals that Akito wanted to come, to Yuki's terror, but was too ill, so Hatori is here in her place.

After Kyo drags Momiji away, we see the first iteration of their play big-brother/little-brother dynamic. Kyo's been trying to scold him this whole time, and Momiji fake cries that Kyo "hit" him, but he immediately beams when he realizes Tohru is right behind them.

Kyo probably gave Momiji a light rap on the head or something while scolding him (we know Kyo's a skilled martial artist who knows better than to fight people without training), and Momiji overreacted because teasing Kyo is fun and that's their "thing." But what's super interesting to me is that the only other person Kyo has scolded up until now or given a knock on the head is the only person we know he cares about and wants to protect: Tohru. So, even though outwardly, Kyo seems angry and annoyed at Momiji, he's treating him the way he treats people he cares about and wants to protect.

Momiji then goes over to Tohru, where he:

tells her he came specifically to see her

FLIRTS WITH HER IN FRONT OF KYO ("Ja! Fate brought us together that day, huh?")

tells her his papa owns the building where she works and he likes to hang out there

and confirms she knows the Zodiac secret before announcing his plans to hug her

Kyo physically prevents Momiji from hugging her and they have this INCREDIBLE exchange.

Kyo: "Hold it, Romeo. Remember where you are." Momiji: "Keeping Tohru all to yourself just because you like her? I bet you hug her every day!" Kyo: *blushes* "As if I'd do that!" *drops Momiji* Momiji: *jumps into Tohru's arms* "Gotcha!"

At this point in the story, I doubt that either Kyo or Momiji feel the deep, romantic love they both feel for Tohru by the end of the series. But if we accept that they both have at least a crush on her by now, they're going about it in completely opposite ways. Momiji openly wants to hug Tohru as often as possible and spend as much time with her as he can, whereas Kyo wants to avoid making Tohru uncomfortable and avoid any semblance of impropriety that could reflect poorly on her.

So, Momiji hugs Tohru and transforms, and Tohru's classmates pull back the curtain and start asking questions about what happened. How do they get out of this situation?

Well, Yuki takes a lesson from Momiji's earlier actions, making a spectacle of himself to protect the family secret (and therefore Tohru).

So, in summary, in Momiji's first appearance:

he shows Yuki it's okay to play up the aspects of yourself that make you different in pursuit of a goal

we clearly see that his crying at Kyo's scolding is an act

he immediately notices and calls out Kyo's feelings for Tohru to trick Kyo into letting him go

he generally just does whatever he wants, including hugging Tohru, in stark contrast to Kyo, whose approach to life seems to be all about denying himself what he wants because he doesn't believe himself worthy (which is the exact opposite of the advice he gives Tohru, that it's okay to be selfish sometimes)

We see that Momiji is much smarter than he lets on, but also that he has a lot of growing to do, and that he and Kyo are opposites in many ways.

I'll leave you with these cute shots from S2 (because they didn't fit with any of the other posts), where we see their big brother/little brother dynamic was already in place in elementary school. (Also, poor Yuki!)

Momiji and Kyo: Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

[neuroticbookworm]

Parenting in Step by Step, a defense

I saw a bunch of posts about how Pat is immature and has poor communication skills, and citing his parents' divorce as one of the potential reasons.

*baffled* W H A T.

I don't have the time or energy to rant about the "poor communication skills" read, so all I'm gonna say is that Pat was busy holding his mushed up braincells together for the majority of this episode and direct your attention to @shortpplfedup's crisp and hilarious Ten Movements that perfectly summed up Pat's emotional journey. Cut him some slack, for fuck's sake.

Now, onto Pat's parents and their relationship with him and each other. I want to highlight the writing and dialogue in their scenes, because it hurts my heart to see not a lot of people talking about them.

When we first meet them, both Pat's Mom and Dad express concern about his eating habits, but the parent-child dynamics in these conversations were very different. Pat's mom says it's not good for him to eat ramen for breakfast, but she quickly accepts Pat's excuse and goes back to doting on him. When she brings up Jeng, and Pat complains that she is nagging and changes the subject, she lets him.

When Dad comes into town a few *undisclosed unit of time* later, he basically asks the same question as Mom, but this time, Pat is a little elaborate with his excuse explanation.

But Dad doesn't let him get away with his bullshit. He offers up a few solutions and wants to work on them with Pat.

After he's sure that Pat knows the need to change his food habits, he then adds levity to the conversation, and goofs around with his son. (I will forever adore the Asian Gordon Ramsey moment, more father-son wholesomeness in Asian media, please and thank you)

(did y'all notice how both Pat's Mom and Dad call him adorable with very different energies? did ya? okay, good)

Now, when the time came for Pat to let go of all his frustrations and break down in front of his parents, I was worried that the show would lean a bit too hard on the parental roles, the good cop/bad cop gambit. But no, it surprised me. It sure started out that way, with Pat offering up an empty excuse to Mom's question.

Which is immediately followed by this look:

(more on this later, I have SO MANY THOUGHTS about this)

When Dad follows up with this statement, Pat's defenses begin to crumble.

He opens up about how he feels overwhelmed and disconnected with himself, and Dad responds with this:

He brings the realities of adulthood to the forefront, reassuring him that he has also been there before and that Pat will learn to manage it. Still in line with the roles the show had previously drawn up for them. When Pat continues, Mom moves to Pat's side as soon as they realise that Pat's problems include heartbreak ("Everywhere I go, it's filled with memories") and she hits him with this:

Oooooof. That's a hell of a line. Accurate? yes. Comforting? Fuck no.

That's when Dad moves to Pat's side, and tries to soothe him. The roles are flipped.

Pat then says that maybe it would've been better, if they had stayed with him all the time. Now, this can mean two different things: I wish I didn't grow up so I could've stayed with you and life would've been so much simpler; I wish you guys did not get divorced and we could've all stayed together. Mom chooses to address the first part. She says that even if they stayed together, no one could stay with him all the time.

Dad, then acknowledges the separation and they tell him, TOGETHER, that they will always be his parents, and they never stopped loving him. And that they don't hate each other.

The TEAMWORK here, between Pat's mom and dad is executed SO WELL. They love their son, and want to comfort and reassure him, and they do it together. They don't do the "one of us do the talking and the other one hmms in the background" bullshit. They both understand his pain and give him their individual and collective opinions. They are in sync with each other's thoughts, and it shows. Remember the look between them at the beginning of this scene?

This speaks VOLUMES. They know something is weighing on him and they can't let him excuse his way out of this conversation. They look at each other, a non-verbal "let's do this", and start talking to Pat.

Being in love with each other and being good parents are not strictly inclusive. The show did not leave this unsaid, either. They show us, how two people can move on and still remain in each others' lives as someone to lean on. Someone who will always know you better than most people in this world.

How some people saw this amazing back-and-forth and thought "yeah, they're incompatible, and they traumatized their son, and he now has communication issues", I'll never understand.

TL;DR:

Stop demonizing divorce and calling it the root of all childhood trauma

SBS writers are doing some things EXCEPTIONALLY WELL, and they deserve credit for it

[rwbyrg]

RWBY Ship Parallels #1: Fear & Bravery

There are too many ship parallels to put them all in one meta, so I'll make individual posts as I remember them. The first one I want to tackle is how all the canon or hinted-at-being-canon ships all have pivotal moments where the themes of being afraid and/or having courage come up.

Some elaborations under the cut!

For starters, just for context to refer back to throughout the post, the definition of courage/bravery is as follows:

noun 1. the ability to do something that frightens one. 2. strength in the face of pain or grief.

I was initially going to list these chronologically, but we're going to do it on a ship by ship basis instead. First up:

Renora

The first incident for them happens all the way back in V4 during their backstory flashback. Ren underwent a small arc learning from his father that sometimes the worst action to take is not taking any action at all, even if it's scary. He then tries to support Nora by teaching her this same lesson: that they both need to be brave. She expresses vulnerability about how scared she is, Ren confesses to feeling the same, and together they decide to look after each other from that point on. Which makes everything just a bit less frightening.

We also revisit these same themes in their V8 confession. First we see Nora criticizing Ren for running away just because things got difficult:

And after Ren owns up to this cowardice, the things he did out of fear of failure, the conversation shifts. Nora admonishes herself, and Ren lists things off about her that he admires, the last of which - while not using the word itself - calls to how brave of a person she is and cites it as one of the main reasons why he loves her. Because as the definition above states, being strong and helping people without worrying about how much it might hurt you in turn is what it means to have courage.

WhiteKnight

Their heart-to-heart in V9E9 says it all. Weiss has been carrying the weight of failing to save Atlas since it fell, and after Ruby's actions in the episodes prior, she became aware (a bit too late) of how those same failures were weighing on their leader. So when Jaune acknowledges the harm he caused from trying so desperately not to repeat their past mistakes, Weiss is the perfect person to step up for reassurance.

She knows that their failures do not equate to their worth or all the good they're capable of doing. And reminding Jaune of this, calling him a brave and good person in spite of his failures, is what he needed to hear to be able to reach an acceptance he hadn't been able to achieve in all those years trapped alone in the Ever After.

(Also the framing parallel of BB and WK both holding each other is a very nice touch.)

Bumbleby

With BB it's not just one or two moments. Blake and Yang's characters both centre around the themes of cowardice and bravery since their beginnings and we see it come up throughout the show a lot. Back in V2, Yang sees the bravery in Blake when she herself can only focus on the opposite:

Blake: When you figured out I was a faunus I didn't know what to do, so I ran. when I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran! Even my semblance... I was born with ability to leave behind a shadow of myself. An empty copy that takes the hit while I run away.

In V4 and 5 we see Yang struggling to get back on her feet after losing her arm and the trauma she endured at Beacon. Blake tells Sun that she sees Yang as the "embodiment of strength" and we, the audience, get to see the proof of this every time she keeps fighting despite shaking, and especially when she faces off with Raven in the finale.

These parallel arcs culminate with both of them facing off against Adam together, but most especially gets called back to in their mutual confession scene in V9:

Yang acknowledges what she saw in Blake all those years ago, that she doesn't give up on what matters to her, even when people hurt her, she still fights for what's important. While Blake acknowledges Yang's reliability, her strength, and her courage. And both of them, like Renora, cite these reasons as things they admire, and reasons why they love each other.

Now last, but certainly not least:

Rosegarden

One of the very first things Oscar says to Ozpin when he leaves the farm is that he's scared. This comes back time and time again, especially in the Atlas arc where Oscar spends so much of his time counselling Ironwood against letting his fear control him (a conflict Ruby is also a part of). Our little prince even has a theme song titled Fear to really drive it home.

Whereas Ruby has always been the poster child of "keep moving forward", no matter how much the trauma, stress, pressure, and grief weighs you down. You just have to be strong and keep pressing on, fighting the monster that took her mother away. No matter what.

So, much like BB, there are themes around bravery, fear, and perseverance that apply to both Ruby and Oscar's personal arcs. Both of them especially have focus on being brave despite fears of loss. With Oscar, it is fear of losing himself to the merge; whereas Ruby has a fear of losing those she loves.

All the way back in the infamous Dojo Scene is where we first see these themes addressed in their dynamic. It starts with Oscar expressing vulnerability to Ruby about how afraid he really is.

Ruby initially tries her usual strategy; surface level reassurances about just pushing through it... but it doesn't work on him. So after some upset from Oscar, she ends up being vulnerable with him too. Something she hadn't done with anyone else in show by that point.

Ruby admits that she's afraid too, not just for herself, but for the threat Salem poses to the world as they know it and the people within it. Ruby tells him about those she's lost and says that if it had been her instead, those friends would have kept fighting too. That vulnerability, which requires courage in and of itself, is what motivates and inspires Oscar to keep moving forward where Ruby's earlier attempt could not. The scene closes off with one more nod to these themes where Ruby pauses at the door and turns back with one final thought:

In both the above scene and the V4 finale, Ruby cites "fighting for those they've lost and those they haven't lost yet" as her main motive to keep fighting. Up until V8/9 she used this as her greatest source of strength, but that strength is a double edged sword which eventually became her greatest weakness when Neo used it against her. First trapping her in a room with all the people she "failed":

And then landing a finishing blow with making her kill lose one of the people she loves most: Oscar.

Ruby can be brave if it means she can protect the people she loves. But just as Penny's death dealt a very big hit to Ruby's hope, what little she had left was crushed at the thought of losing Oscar (and Little) too.

Aside from that, there has also always been an underlying mystery around what having silver eyes means for Ruby. In V4, she is hunted by Tyrian and in V8 she finds out what her fate would have been had he succeeded. A fate which very justifiably terrifies her and seems to be a theme that will carry on into the Vacuo arc. It is also something that was brought up in the second RWBY x JL movie, I talked about this a little bit in this meta, but I'll share it here as well. In the movie, Ruby opens up a bit about this fear saying the following:

“Did you know I lost my mom when I was a kid? I don’t know exactly what happened to her, I don’t really remember her, I just have stories. And I keep trying to live up to those stories, but… I realize they don’t matter anymore. Heroes fall. And I just want to get as much done as I possibly can before I do.”

This scene directly parallels one of Oscar's back in V6:

“I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be… me. But I did some thinking, and I do know that I want to do everything I can to help with whatever time I have left.”

Both of these scenes show their respective courage around fears related to their issues with identity. Oscar saying he will do whatever he can before he loses himself, and Ruby doing whatever she can before she loses her life as all heroes eventually will.

So to summarize: Renora, Whiteknight, Bumbleby, and Rosegarden all have a scene where one or both partners cite the other's bravery as something they admire or love about the other person. All of these ships also include at least one scene - but often more that just weren't listed here - where they open up and are vulnerable with each other about their fears and motivations. And lastly, with BB and RG especially, bravery and fear are central themes to both their relationship dynamics as well as their individual character arcs within those pairings, all of which narratively parallel each other extensively.

CRWBY is very consistent with how it writes its ships and this is only the tip of the iceberg of all the parallels we've seen between these partners so far. But that's all for now; thanks for reading!

[elias-rights]

What’s toxic about JonMartin in canon?

It's a really interesting question to get into because there are many factors at play. Under a cut for length.

First of all is the simple fact that they don't know each other. From MAG 159:

PETER

It’s odd, really. You each think you’re so focused on the other, but how much do you really know each other? How much time have you spent together when not working, or bickering, or fleeing from that latest thing that wants to kill you? So. What are you seeking? The image you’ve each created of the other? The people you think you love don’t exist. Not really. And that’s a very lonely place to be.

ARCHIVIST

(cutting off Peter’s echo) Shut up!

Yes, it's a manipulation attempt, but Jon notably doesn't offer a counterargument to his reasoning. Furthermore, it's true: they haven't had the opportunity to get to know each other, at least that we've heard. Not even Jonmartin enthusiasts seem to agree on the question of when exactly Jon started reciprocating Martin's feelings; most of my mutuals share my experience of being completely blindsided by MAG 159/160 and the confirmation of their feelings.

"I need him to be okay" is often cited as proof of Jon caring personally about Martin, but I always viewed it as him clinging to the concept of Martin as his last surviving original assistant; he obviously feels responsible for him and also views him as a symbol of simpler times.

Then there's the fact that they're incompatible. To put a simple example, they don't even get each other's jokes. A brief selection of instances where this happens:

They have the highest ratio of missed jokes I remember seeing between characters in this podcast. This sharply contrasts with, for instance, Gerry, who instantly clicks with Jon's style of communication.

Okay, but this is all about why they're incompatible, which doesn't necessarily imply toxicity. That factor comes in because, throughout season five, Martin is (to put it bluntly) an absolute dick to Jon.

In MAG 181, for example, he joins in on laughing at Jon with Salesa for being powerless, when Salesa at that point was an unknown variable that could've easily been an enemy:

ARCHIVIST

[Compellingly] Tell me what happened.

SALESA

No.

ARCHIVIST

I – uh… W-What?

[DEEP CHUCKLES FROM SALESA]

SALESA

The look on your face! Look, he’s so confused!

[MARTIN LAUGHS A BIT TOO]

ARCHIVIST

Martin!

MARTIN

Sorry. Sorry. Y-You did look kind of funny. It was l-l-l-like you were flunking an exam or something.

Notably, this is after they cross an unknown threshold into the place where an agent of the Web is living, which puts Jon (again, powerless for the first time in a while) in a position where he's at the mercy of the fear that destroyed his childhood. Either Martin is being very insensitive or Jon didn't tell him about Mr Spider, which wouldn't mean anything good re: how well they know and trust each other.

From the same episode:

SALESA

And you?

[SOUND OF A DISGRUNTLED ARCHIVIST]

MARTIN

He’ll behave.

You can make an argument that I'm reaching with everything else in this post, but "he'll behave" is an inarguably disgusting thing to say about your partner, especially when he's in such a vulnerable position.

And then, of course, is the matter of the killing spree.

It starts because Jon impulsively avenges his friend, which he wasn't going to do until the Not-Them basically baited him. (Of course he then felt more secure in his power and part of him enjoyed it. He's in this situation because he was systematically traumatised on purpose by Jonah and forced to read his statement.)

And then, when Jon admits to being ashamed of himself for having these powers, for enjoying them, Martin just bluntly tells him that they should "get their murder on" because "these things" (avatars, of which Jon! Is! One! Nice job implicitly dehumanising him!) are "just evil" (never mind that some of them might have circumstances similar to Jon's). (Also, never mind that revenge fixes nothing, but that's neither here nor there.)

The most egregious example is with Oliver Banks. I know "I'm not going to kill a man just because you're jealous" became a meme line, but it's really not the sign of a healthy relationship.

MARTIN

…Cool, so what’s the problem, then? Take another monster off the hit list; job done.

ARCHIVIST

…It’s not. That simple?

MARTIN

Well, what does that mean. (slight pause, insistent) What does that mean, John? What, what happened to Kill Bill? (barest of pauses) John? John, you said –

ARCHIVIST

I know what I said, and I don’t – (sigh) I don’t know, Martin. I just – I don’t think he’s – (sigh) I don’t know; I don’t think he’s evil.

[Something creaks.]

MARTIN

(really?) Oh, yeah, sure; he’s probably a really kind, benevolent ruler of a hellish fear prison.

I get that Martin is trying to project evil onto every avatar in order to distance himself from them because he's coping badly with having a domain of his own, but maybe don't do that in front of your boyfriend who's struggling with his own avatarhood and whether that makes him a monster. Martin's phrasing even parallels Jon's "all you lose is another monster" line from S4. Tying Jon's worth to some arbitrary definition of humanity that he giveth and taketh away on a whim.

Also, Jon is very notably a person who likes to think things through before expressing them. If Martin can't even be patient while he tries to explain something complex, they're clearly not compatible.

This is from before they kill Jude Perry:

MARTIN

…No. No, I’m not going to choose; I don’t, I don’t think that’s a fair decision to put on me. It’s your revenge; your choice, not mine.

This strikes me as hypocritical. Martin can push Jon to kill the avatars he doesn't like even when Jon clearly isn't comfortable with it, but then places the weight of the whole thing on Jon, as if the killing spree had been his idea. Why isn't it a "fair decision to put on him" when Martin has tried to choose every time until now?

And, I mean, Martin apologises for the pressure, for what it's worth. Except no, the topic comes back, and not in a good way.

ARCHIVIST

What happened to “Kill Bill”?

MARTIN

You weren’t meant to enjoy it this much!

This is about Jon suggesting using his power in a way that would actually make a bit of a difference. Of course it's a fallible suggestion, but Martin's response is just ridiculous. Martin clearly enjoyed the killing spree until it was Jon who put an end to it.

Martin casually dehumanises, dismisses, and belittles Jon on many occasions: treating those Jon's obviously projecting onto like monsters, being whiny and impatient about the statements he needs to survive, or interrupting his train of thought.

Finally (for this post--there were many scenes that I skipped), there's the matter of how the entire crew, Martin included, systematically dismisses Jon's input in the last few episodes. It's like his opinion doesn't even matter, when he's the one arguably best equipped to understand what's happening.

It's genuinely painful to listen to.

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 16, MAG 16 Arachnophobia

Oh mirror characters, we're really in it now.

MAG 16 analysis, spoilers ahead!

Facts: Statement of Carlos Vittery regarding the manifestations of his arachnophobia. Statement given May 1, 2016.

Statement Notes: oh no.

Okay, starting gently. I was particularly intrigued by Vittery's methods of denial and level of cognitive dissonance. He always knew there were spiders in his garden, but didn't feel the need to move until he actually saw them. He knows Major Tom probably isn't killing every spider, but he's okay pretending to believe it. He lives in a state of willful ignorance because what else could he do? With such a crippling phobia, how else could he be expected to live if not in denial?

I also noted Carlos' increasing bravery, as well as his increasing willingness to commit acts of violence. Bravery may actually be a strong word, as he is simply more willing to kill spiders to eliminate his fear. This is a strategy the Web utilizes often to push people into becoming, if not avatars, harmful to others. Can someone be called brave solely because they enact violence on that which they fear? Did Vittery become stronger or weaker? Did he become more courageous or more of a coward?

Carlos also becomes increasingly isolated as the episode progresses, largely due to his fear of spiders outside his flat and the way the spider may take over when he leaves. He also doesn't seem to have any close friends or family to intervene or help him as his phobia worsens. This is notable because, with no one to rationalize what is happening to him, Carlos descends further into fear.

Vittery also strangely emphasizes the "stylized blue owl" on his mug. Does this come up again? It seems like a logo, but for what?

"Completely encased in webs." Not a few. Not covered in spiders. But completely encased in webs.

Entity Alignment: If Hill House can't be called the beginning of The Web's ritual and Annabelle Cane's plot, this episode can be:

Vittery didn't move into the new flat until he saw the spiders in his old one. He lived there for years and sat in that garden many times without seeing any spiders, when suddenly dozens descended on him. The Web forced Vittery to move so that he would become Prentiss' victim. His new flat holds the silver worms that infect him. This is where Martin is attacked. This kicks off the season 1 conflict. This begins the end. This gives the Spider everything she wants.

This theory is furthered by the fact that the spider haunting him prevents Carlos from leaving his flat and encourages him to give up Major Tom, removing his ability to escape or kill the worms.

The Web is known to play the long game, so it's entirely possible that it has been arranging this since 1991 by sending the spider to scare young Carlos. However, I also like the idea that the Web had several options it could send to the Boothby Road Flat, but specifically chose Vittery due to the intensity of his fear.

Character Notes: This has been said before, but it is so eerie how similar Vittery is to Jon. They both live in willing denial of their fears. They both act irrationally in the face of common problems. They both respond to their feelings in extremes or not at all. They both are proven right. They are both haunted by the ghost of the spider that ruined their childhood.

I have a...concern about the implications of my earlier web theory. Many fans cite MAG 22, in which Martin describes his escape from Prentiss after investigating Vittery's apartment, as the moment when Martin and Jon's relationship softens. I personally believe this is when Martin's feelings for Jon began to form, and Jon began considering his feelings for Martin before fully experiencing them in the season finale.

But if this episode is prompted by the Web and Martin's investigating part of Annabelle Cane's manipulation, then is Jon and Martin's relationship also a part of their plan? Cane clearly needs Jon to open the other universe. She really only seems to use Martin as a lure for Jon before the series finale, kidnapping Martin to tempt Jon to Hilltop Road. Is that the whole point of Jon and Martin being together? Would they ever have found each other if Cane didn't need to prepare her bait five years in advance?

[dr-trafalgar-law]

Trafalgar Law X CisFem Reader

3

"These aren't half bad for a pastry chef." Law smirked picking up another rice ball from the night before.

You didn't respond, gnawing on your lower lip distractedly.

'I need to see you.'

What does that mean? Did something happen? Had you been caught?

"F/N." your fiancé called startling you from your thoughts.

"Hm?"

"Would you like to go back to bed?" he offered assuming your distant demeanor was a side effect of last night's events.

"What? No, I'm fine." you raised your gaze to meet his.

He looked more curious than concerned, "Care to tell me why you're about to chew your own lip off?"

You halted your nervous habit once attention was drawn to it.

"Just still a bit off from yesterday I guess." you lied.

He didn't believe you but accepted your answer for now taking a seat at the table with you.

"Was there anything you wanted to do today?" he felt weird asking.

The two of you never participated in joint activities and he had no clue what you enjoyed doing when you weren't working.

"I'm so used to being up to my eyeballs in work. Just sitting around sounds kinda good." you shrugged.

"Then sitting around it is." he declared.

You glanced at him sideways. Was he planning to spend the day with you? When you suggested sitting around you assumed he would leave you alone, it didn't really seem to be his style to lay about and watch TV.

An hour later you'd constructed a nest of blankets and pillows on the sofa with Netflix cued up. Law strolled in placing his laptop, a medical journal and a comp book on the coffee table before taking a seat on the floor.

"Comfortable?" he watched you settle and turned back to the TV picking up the remote.

You hummed as he pressed play and went about his research.

It seemed he'd had no interest in watching your shows with you, but still felt the need to keep you company. You glanced between the television and your fiancé frequently. He studied diligently, citing medical articles and highlighting passages in the journal. Eventually, he stopped to take a break joining you on the couch. Rather than watch the baking show you were now six episodes into he leaned back and closed his burning eyes. It was quiet but comfortable unlike the night before. At some point, you both fell asleep.

                                                                                                    ___________

Buzzing on your nightstand jolted you from slumber. The room was still dark as you felt around for the device, squinting when you unlocked the screen nearly blinding yourself.

2:56 AM

"Fuck." you whispered settling back and opening your texts.

Law: I won't be home tonight. The on-call is overwhelmed and we're short on nurses.

It had been ten days since your episode. Before that Law probably wouldn't have bothered to tell you he wasn't coming home, you didn't share a room, it didn't matter to you. But you both agreed to communicate more even if you weren't quite ready.

Me: Your food is in the fridge.

Law smirked and pocketed his phone lying back on the cot in the on-call room. The staff insisted that he sleep for at least an hour, so he caved just taking the time to not be standing and interacting with people. He enjoyed that you were cooking dinner when you had time and that you even bothered to save him some. Cooking seemed to soothe you and he was reaping the benefits.

Your phone buzzed again earning a groan from you. What else could Law have to say?

206.555.4524: please.

The last message had gone unanswered, you even deleted it. Now you sat up wide awake slapping your phone across your thigh.

206.555.4524: I'm there. I'll wait.

You cut the engine after parking behind the house to be a little more inconspicuous.

"There" as it was referred to, was the Newgate lake house. You'd spent many summers there with the family and snuck away to have many nights alone with Marco. His truck was hidden around back next to yours, just like old times. You couldn't help the paranoid thought of it being a trap, but Marco would never do that to you.

Gulping down a few unsteady breaths you exited your car and walked up to the back door. Before you could knock the door opened and you were yanked inside colliding with a familiar torso. The light scent of burnt mesquite and chamomile wafted across your face instantly bringing a sense of ease over you. He held you for ages burying his nose in your scalp before you realized you weren't returning the affection. Your arms hung at your sides, you hadn't made a single move to bury yourself further into the blonde. The moment was so surreal and unexpected that you didn't hear him softly calling you.

His left hand moved to tip your chin up and meet his gaze, a heavy blush staining your cheeks. How could someone look so intense and nonchalant at the same time? His sapphires smoldered soaking up your flustered expression. It was exactly the reaction he wanted even if you didn't hug him back. The look on your face always gave you away.

"I shouldn't have come here." you stepped away.

Marco frowned, "But you did come, yoi."

"It was a mistake. You're married and I'm matched. People can't see us together even if it doesn't mean anything."

That hurt.

"Don't make it sound like we were nothing." his glare pierced your very core.

"That wasn't my intention. I'm sorry," you sighed pinching the bridge of your nose, "why did you call me out here? I thought something happened."

His shoulders dropped as he let out an exasperated sigh, "She's pregnant."

Your churning stomach worked quick sending stinging bile up your throat. You ran to the kitchen and spat into the sink. Marco followed offering a comforting pat between your shoulder blades.

"I'm ok." you muttered catching your breath, "Congrats is what I should have said."

Why did you come here?

"Yeah, I guess." he rubbed his neck.

"Why call me out in the middle of the night to tell me this?" you turned leaning against the marble countertop.

"I don't think it's mine, yoi."

The front door that led directly into the kitchen swung open startling both of you.

"Trust me no one ever comes out here babe." Ace stumbled in guiding a curvy brunette.

"Shit."

[pen-and-umbra]

are you familiar with MaximilianDude from YT? anw he posted a reaction video for first soldier chapters 7&8 and he basically says that sephiroth from edge of creation kinda wants to save everyone.but it's gonna be in some bad way, like lots of death and cloud& party gonna be like dude, NOPE. Max theorizes that edge of creation sephiroth wants to sacrifice some, like he did with rosen to save glenn, matt and lucia, to “save planet”, so basically kill few to save everyone

Ye, I think I know the vid you are referring to. I’m a fan of Max’s theories in general, but this time I think he fell short on reading comprehension.

I mean, it's obvious that Sephiroth is hardly proud about the whole situation. He didn't even wish to go through it. He did what he believed was best to save people he could save, but it backfired. Maybe he misguidedly believed that he had to make the tough call—remember, he cited the training programme about the need to steel one’s heart in order to be a good SOLDIER. Maybe, being a kid with next to no socialization and not a wealth of life experience, he took Rosen's death wish at face value. In any case, he was visibly disturbed by the aftermath and was dejected by Glenn's reaction.

Rosen’s case left a mark. Sephiroth remembers it vividly even 10 years later as he repeatedly insists on „saving everyone this time” and living up to his hero title.

And that's the whole point. He DOESN'T want it to repeat. He KNOWS his decision (sacrifice one to save many) was a poor choice.

So I just don't see how Max could infer that EoC!Sephiroth considers repeating that feat. If anything, the episode suggests otherwise.

[piro-piroooooo]

okay so, I first watched Sailor Moon at like 13 or 14, in YouTube. I was already a teenager, I didn't really understand the impact this franchise had on popular culture. Because of this I feel my experience with Sailor Moon lacks the element of nostalgia it has for so many other people who watched the series on TV in the 90s or early 2000s.

Lots of people who exist in the world know that Sailor Moon exists just because it is so ridiculously popular. And there's this, like, image of what Sailor Moon is as a pop culture element. She is a character and an image that is often used as a symbol of "girl power" and many cite this as the way they realized as children they could be powerful and strong AND be girly and cute and sparkly.

This is good, it's fine. It's great.

But also it somewhat different from the experience of actually being INTO Sailor Moon and knowing the lore and having watched more than a few assorted episodes of the first 90s series. And I'm kinda scared of saying this because I REALLY don't want to sound like a snob.

A few years ago I got a madoka fan into Cardcaptor Sakura. He really enjoyed it. He was the kinda person who liked Madoka because 'it made magical girls dark' but hadn't really ever watched magical girls before. He said to me that after watching Sakura he appreciated Madoka even more because he now knew what it was building upon.

The thing is, magical girls were always kinda dark. Sailor Moon solidified the fighter magical girl, and it was already dark. It never needed deconstruction or whatever Madoka was trying to do. But people perceive works like Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura and others as just girl power sparkly shows because they have been turned into pop culture elements for ads and merch using the nostalgia people have for them.

And again, that's not a bad thing on itself, I'm not gonna force anyone who has a Sailor Moon sticker on their laptop to watch all series and read the manga and watch the live action show.

I just wish that more people knew these series are so much more. Sailor Moon tackles so many interesting themes, just from the top of my head: girlhood as an irrevocable enormous responsibility one cannot escape, subversion of dynamics on romantic relationships, girls being forced to grow up and take on responsibilities so much bigger than them, growing up in the shadow of your parents, the conflict between feelings and duty, HOW TO MAKE PEACE WITH THE CYCLICAL NATURE OF EXISTENCE AND THE INESCAPABLE SUFFERING OF LIVING.

Well I don't really know how to end this post. Thanks for reading haha.

[horizon-verizon]

if ryan really gives me the gift of giving maelor's death to jaehaera, or maybe advancing her death so that helaena at least has an acceptable reason to die, how do you think he will explain this?

Or do you think he won't explain anything about why if this change happens? because until today I haven't seen an explanation from him as to why Maelor doesn't exist

I think it depends on whether he'd try to speak to both show-only & book-first audiences or just one over the other. To exclusively book first-people, he'd probably imply they were being unfair to him & repeating that GRRM is an exec or was involved, or eh won't mention GRRM at all. To exclusively show-onlys, def production stuff, the writer's strikes forcing him to compress and cut out "ideas" he had about this season, inclu Maelor. To both, a little of each AND not wanting to hire "extra" children...even thought he technically didn't need to have toddler Aegon III and Viserys II & should have either did them with "mentions" or use them in the final farewell in I think episode 7 and that's it, so he could make much more room for a toddler actor for B&C.

AND, he'd cite, again, how he didn't want to make Jaehaerys's death (as Maelor's presence there was critical) had to be "toned" down was still good and "gory enough", esp writing GRRM's noted about how Phia's performances of grief were stellar...without mentioning how GRRM also said the B&C thing was not as strong as his own. Basically, he'll cherry pick to shield himself.

It's possible that Jaehaera's death will be all the more worse than Maelor's canon to "make up" for his absence.

OR, if Condal chooses to depict Jaehera's death Maelor's way as it was in the book with just suggestive visuals and/or suggestive sounds, some of the audience who don't know what happens to Jaehaera will hate the writers for preserving Jaehaerys from a terrible, too-gory scene while Jaehaerys' was "comparatively" less gory. If/when he says this has always been the death for Maelor in canon and he's just switching it for Jaehaera, then it could go south for GRRM for "creating horrible deaths for poor children". Some sort of revenge for Condal for that post GRRM wrote.

He could also, maybe simultaneously maybe not, argue that it emboldened Aegon/Alicent to fight more against Rhaenyra--whether Aegon is shown to have genuinely feel the same "level" of grief he felt for his Jaehaerys or not--and be "one of the many unforgiveable things that suck the entire family more and more into vengeful slurry so there's possible way of reconciliation" or "another death against the blacks"...which could mean that he won't make Daeron willfully sack Bitterbridge...He'd also probably use it to further make more Alicent-self-pity points and or make her regret allowing Rhaenyra take over KL, therefore suffer for his ridiculous rewrite of her.

Perhaps somewhere down the line the guy will finally just stick to the ole "We have told people from the beginning that this is an adaptation of an unreliable series" and imply but never explicitly say that he's making his own thing...or making things up as he goes along.

[kitts-mechanix]

"G1 Transformers Is Just Another Typical 80s Cartoon"....

As a G1 TF fan it bums me out that there's people in the TF fandom who are so quick to pass up the series because of "that error-ridden 80s animation" or "ewwww eighties cartoons were horrible and just made to sell toys".

It's true a lot of 80s cartoons were cheaply made and essentially 22 minute long toy commercials but G1 Transformers wasn't that. Yes, there's animation mistakes and continuity errors (and plenty of characters and corresponding merch) but you have to understand that the animators and people who worked on the series were faced with ridiculous deadlines that should have been impossible, and yet they got the episodes out anyway--and they've held up quite well if I do say so myself!

A lot of 80s cartoons definitely had that cheap and "ugly" art style but G1 Transformers, though simple in its design, actually had some really lovely shots and an overall really nice art style:

Of course you also have your really goofy shots (such as two Starscreams or Megatron missing his eyebrows) but guys, learn to laugh 😂

The writing is also solid and the characters are loveable and I would say there's some decent character development too. For context, I'm a (nearly) 25 year old woman and I was actually impressed at how great the stories were and I definitely think the people who made this cartoon treated their young audience seriously and didn't talk down to them. (Believe me, I've seen some stuff that does....and this ain't it).

I also will add that I did not go into this series to be educated, learn life lessons or go from being high as a kite on happiness to having my feelings ripped in two....but that's what I ended up getting out of it anyway 😹(No seriously, there is a great moment from one episode where Optimus Prime owns up to a mistake he made in his judgement, citing that even the wisest people can be in error, and there's another where he warns one of the bots not to make unfounded allegations against another. I know, I know, that sounds basic, but I know a LOT of grown adults in this world who need that lesson).

I think it's highly unfair for this series to get crammed into "ewww 80s cartoons" because in my opinion, G1 TF really set the bar high for cartoons of its era. I have no doubt Hasbro wanted to milk in its success and sell a bunch of merch, but I can tell the people who worked on this cartoon really cared and they managed to produce a fun and amazing series even though they were faced with so many unrealistic demands, deadlines, last-minute changes, etc.

So guys, please give G1 a chance. Honestly it was a really great cartoon for its time and it still holds up really well.

[bonefall]

what's up with spiderleg in your au (that is if he hasn't been axed)

OH HEY good thing you mentioned this!! I'm considering a little change based around Lionblaze being gay. I promise this context will make sense.

ON THE LAST EPISODE OF BETTER BONES...

Spiderleg had a fling with Daisy and regrets it. He haphazardly tries to make it an honor siring, but that is NOT what it was

Daisy didn't even know what an honor siring was.

No one can really do anything about it, though, besides think that Spiderleg was kind of an asshole.

He trains in the Dark Forest, fuelled by resentment of this situation.

He realized he was in over his head, but... he couldn't bring himself to leave, either

Especially not with Thornclaw, his mentor, being one of the Dark Forest's most loyal.

During the Great Battle, Spiderleg ended up killing his son Toadstep

He turned on the Dark Forest after this, bloodsoaked and realizing what he'd done

Functionally, Spiderleg FULLY replaces Canon Thornclaw from this point on. Every argument or situation Thornclaw has is Spiderleg instead.

He didn't face punishment for what he'd done, though he was not forgiven, causing him to want justice for closure.

He became an early supporter of the Impostor, even citing himself as an example of a cat who needs punishment.

AND NOW I'M CONSIDERING...

Toadstep doesn't die. He was just hurt, badly.

I really like ToadLion, and we're in serious need of some uncomplicated MLM couples

I'm diverging from canon now, so, is Toadstep someone I should save?

I want to prevent TC from getting too bloated again, though... if I say "oh just one more" then what's stopping me from saving too many

This could make for a cleaner moment that Spider defects, though, with Toadstep's neck in his jaws, realizing he's about to snap it like prey

...maybe I will return to canon, having Rosepetal die in TBC? Ugh but I like Rose a lot

I already saved Hazeltail too... Thank god I have Mouse going to RiverClan.

So. TL;DR Toadstep is on the un-chopping block. But I'm still just considering it.

Anyway Spiderleg takes the place of Thornclaw, who was a major player in the Dark Forest plots, helped to kill Firestar, and died in the Great Battle. He is a demon working with Ashfur in TBC.

[dykedragonrider]

Finished the OG Gundam and I'm just stream of consciousnessing this one because I feel like I'm gonna burst lmao. It's so rich with meaning, I want to cite so many beautiful moments but listing those off feels like it'd be a fool's endeavor. It's incredibly moving, it's human, it's earnest, it's timeless, it's so many things and I wish I had the words to communicate it better. Amuro's development as a protagonist is nuts like. Those last few episodes and their focus on the meaning of Newtypes and his ethos for them do a lot for him, but even over time he's learning his place in a world that he can't quite fit into because well, he's still growing and changing. But it's that flexibility, his earnestness, and his heart that make all that he does so impactful. You feel his dynamism and passion, his hopes for the world and those around him so strongly when he figures out where he needs to be. But it's not just a coming of age for Amuro. It's also interrogating the nature of humanity, the way we connect, sever them, hurt those around us, and are changed by those we connect with. To deny that is to deny the beauty of your humanity, as it's how we can, despite all odds, reach out to and connect with each other. Even with the destruction of the White Base, he still has a home and people to come back to. It gives so much meaning to what we do as humans, and Lalah feeling lost about that when she speaks to Amuro through what bond Newtypes have, because she can't *find* that in him, it's just. That entire episode between the two, Amuro realizing the horror of what he's done after killing the first person he was able to connect with on the level that Newtypes do, after learning so much from her in that short moment, and the way that even after she's gone, he figures that out, she helps him in one way or another to save his home. Even after he did something he can't take back, that didn't undo the impact she had on him. What is being a child but having your mistakes forgiven. And speaking of the kids, I feel like Katz, Letz, and Kikka are so central to what makes the show good? They're often used for comedy but I think that's part of the core fact that makes them such wonderful parts in the narrative; that even among the horror of war, we have to take care of everyone that will come after us, and maintain our ability to feel that joy and hope and optimism for the future, to try as hard as we can within our means to do *something*. Them bringing Amuro back then acts as a symbol of how important it is to maintain that hope, especially after Amuro has just battled Char and his cynical realism. Them being newtypes also works because well, again, they're the future. Newtypes are such a cool thing both in the frame of "scifi thing cool" and also just as a purely symbolic thing. To be a Newtype is to be able to connect to others and try to understand them, to listen to the intent, emotion, and will of others, in some ways. We see Bright, who is decidedly Not portrayed as a Newtype reflect this philosophy, in the ways he can feel some parts of it with Lalah, because he's open to the future, but he's not open minded enough like Sayla, Mirai, Amuro, and Char, to interact with that future. Katz, Letz, and Kikka once again as Newtype children also demonstrate that future. It can be taken as "newtypes are superior for reasons demonstrated in the work" which is objectively true but I think it misses the forest for the trees, in that the reason that Newtypes are the future is their ability to connect to other people, and their connections are depicted as *beautiful* things. I feel like as I sit on it more and ruminate I'll have more to say, but as it stands I just. I get why Gundam fans are so excited when people get into it, because it's a work so rich with meaning.

[lemonhemlock]

Ok so I went through your Helaemond tag a little bit and had complete whiplash because do not cite the deep magic to me etc., I was shipping it when it was me and iskarieot writing unhinged posts about BTS scenes for the Helaemond adult actors before the episode with them even aired. I dipped around the finale or maybe a little before (I have zero recollection) and had NO idea of the fandom furore lmao. I wrote one of the first Helaemond fics in the AO3 tag (💅) and was literally just mainlining the spice melange ok. I was seeing things my terrible purpose

I cannot believe it got this out of control???? All the moralising??? Nobody (all 5 of us) gave a fuck about team Black/team Green and it wasn't intended to discredit either side at all, although I did love the idea of Alicent's children doing the same shit as Rhaenyra - that was more because I love death misery and despair and Alicent/Rhaenyra parental role-model family tumbleweed free-for-all. You made our children like this!!! lesbian parthenogenesis so true so true

Anyway I really enjoyed the dark courtly romance of it all, one of the things which specifically interested me is that Aegonfail sloppy wet wish-I'd-been-born-a-girl-to-marry-Rhaenyra's-kids-aka-my-cousins-nephews is bad at practising Targcest since he's not interested in Helaena in the one scene that started it all, which is like, a Good Thing Perhaps, but Helaemond is also a little bit True Love, and so everything is lovely and fucked up. It made all the characters much more interesting because you get complexity added to three, even four characters in one fell swoop, illegitimate children or nay. Power is a shadow on the wall etc. I didn't actually like, have a dog in this illegal child fighting ring; I am interested in the way these characters interact with, resist, covet the feudal system/positions therein, the way men and women alike negotiate what power is afforded based on sex and arbitrary inheritance, and being in love with the wrong brother who has the Audacity to not want to Practise Incest, and so on and so forth. (This is my extrapolation anyway. I think it's interesting that dragonboy cannot dragonboy but also has the most beautiful dragon ever and is going to be the king styled after the vewy fiwst Aegon. At least one Targ has gotta have a bit of an ick with this whole business and Mummy's Number One Boy who's passed out drunk and doesn't even wunna rule has to be it for me).

I want to end this ask with an apology because I feel partially culpable, for some reason. I'm literally just a tumblrina nobody but at the very least I can say at ground zero (I didn't see your posts back then but also if you were There, you were There as well ofc - I'm sorry I didn't go back that far through your tag or see you mention when you started shipping it, and also Everybody Matters in fandom no matter when you join, and I want us all to hold hands, and I hate when we fight cries) it was never ill-intentioned. We were just crazy

My goodness, what an interesting piece of lore. 😅 You certainly pointed out a few of the themes that make helaemond appealing from a shipping point of view. The fact that you started to ship it just based on the actors' BTS just goes to show how perceiving a random interaction can open up new perspectives.

I personally started posting a few weeks after the season finale, but, like many people, my helaemond eyes opened just watching the dinner table scene (in conjunction with the Driftmark conversation between aegond regarding Helaena it was just a compounded thing).

And, of course, like you said it was never really meant to be anything other than a fun ship to play around with! I had very little clue about the endless moralising that was about to follow - November 2022 me would tell you it's goofy af to be so stuck up about another incest ship in THEE incest show and, honestly, she'd be right.

So, there's absolutely no need to apologise, we were all just trying to vibe within the freak slice of fandom. I don't think anyone started ~peddling this ship as an inside job against team green or to discredit Alicent or whatever the hell other chronically-online interpretation I've heard. :))

Personally, I know I've used this as a pretext to procrastinate from my actual responsibilities and it was definitely.....interesting.....to witness all the varied reactions, some more unhinged than others, but, at this point, all of us need to step back a little and chill, because there's nothing really to debate anymore. It's the time for fan artists and fic writers to shine.