#i mean i saw the parallels between the families of course

[astrabear]

I have watched Trust I don't know how many times over the past three years and it only just now occurred to me to look at the dinner that Getty Sr has for Little Paul in the first episode alongside the confirmation celebration for Francesco later on. The parallels! The malignant old men naming their heirs, much to the distress of the heirs' fathers!

The Getty dinner is a cold affair populated by strangers, and the confirmation is a warm community gathering. Getty Sr says "to John Paul Getty the third" with gloating arrogance, and Leonardo says "a Francesco" choked up with pride. Paul 2 sabotages his son's position in the family business out of spite and envy, and Leonardo tries to get his son out of the family business out of love and concern. And they both fail. Both their sons stay trapped.

(By Primo. If it had just been Getty Sr and Salvatore, both boys might have been all right. Little Paul might not have overdosed if he hadn't had all that emotional and physical trauma. Francesco might have left the 'Ndrangheta, or at least not been actively involved in it, if it hadn't been for Primo's money and port. Francesco maims Paul to save Paul's life and in the process dooms himself. I love this fucking show.)

[heritageposts]

[...] More specifically, the cycle of violence in The Last of Us Part II appears to be largely modeled after the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I suspect that some players, if they consciously clock the parallels at all, will think The Last of Us Part II is taking a balanced and fair perspective on that conflict, humanizing and exposing flaws in both sides of its in-game analogues. But as someone who grew up in Israel, I recognized a familiar, firmly Israeli way of seeing and explaining the conflict which tries to appear evenhanded and even enlightened, but in practice marginalizes Palestinian experience in a manner that perpetuates a horrific status quo. The game's co-director and co-writer Neil Druckmann, an Israeli who was born and raised in the [occupied] West Bank before his family moved to the U.S., told the Washington Post that the game's themes of revenge can be traced back to the 2000 killing of two Israeli soldiers by a mob in Ramallah. Some of the gruesome details of the incident were captured on video, which Druckmann viewed. In his interview, he recounted the anger and desire for vengeance he felt when he saw the video—and how he later reconsidered and regretted those impulses, saying they made him feel “gross and guilty.” But it gave him the kernel of a story. “I landed on this emotional idea of, can we, over the course of the game, make you feel this intense hate that is universal in the same way that unconditional love is universal?” Druckmann told the Post. “This hate that people feel has the same kind of universality. You hate someone so much that you want them to suffer in the way they’ve made someone you love suffer.” Druckmann drew parallels between The Last of Us and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict again on the official The Last of Us podcast. When discussing the first time Joel kills another man to protect his daughter and the extraordinary measures people will take to protect the ones they love, Druckmann said he follows "a lot of Israeli politics," and compared the incident to Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinians prisoners in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011. He said that his father thought that the exchange was overall bad for Israel, but that his father would release every prisoner in every prison to free his own son. "That's what this story is about, do the ends justify the means, and it's so much about perspective. If it was to save a strange kid maybe Joel would have made a very different decision, but when it was his tribe, his daughter, there was no question about what he was going to do," Druckmann said.

And continuing, on the security structures featured in the The Last of Us Part II:

Besides the familiar zombie fiction aesthetics of an overgrown and decomposing metropolis, The Last of Us Part II's main setting of Seattle is visually and functionally defined by a series of checkpoints, security walls, and barriers. There are many ways to build and depict structures that separate and keep people out. Just Google "U.S.-Mexico border wall" to see the variety of structures on the southern border of the United States alone. The Last of Us Part II's Seattle doesn't look like any of these. Instead, it looks almost exactly like the tall, precast concrete barriers and watch towers Israel started building through the West Bank in 2000.

Illustrations, from the article:

The first barrier Ellie and Dina encounter when arriving in Seattle / West Bank barrier.

. . . article continues on Vice (July 15 2020)

Backup -> archive.today link /archive.org link

[akajustmerry]

"The cycle of violence in The Last of Us Part II appears to be largely modelled after the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I suspect that some players, if they consciously clock the parallels at all, will think The Last of Us Part II is taking a balanced and fair perspective on that conflict, humanizing and exposing flaws in both sides of its in-game analogues. But as someone who grew up in Israel, I recognized a familiar, firmly Israeli way of seeing and explaining the conflict which tries to appear evenhanded and even enlightened, but in practice marginalizes the Palestinian experience in a manner that perpetuates a horrific status quo.

The game's co-director and co-writer Neil Druckmann, an Israeli who was born and raised in the West Bank before his family moved to the U.S., told the Washington Post that the game's themes of revenge can be traced back to the 2000 killing of two Israeli soldiers by a mob in Ramallah. Some of the gruesome details of the incident were captured on video, which Druckmann viewed. In his interview, he recounted the anger and desire for vengeance he felt when he saw the video—and how he later reconsidered and regretted those impulses, saying they made him feel “gross and guilty.” But it gave him the kernel of a story.

“I landed on this emotional idea of, can we, over the course of the game, make you feel this intense hate that is universal in the same way that unconditional love is universal?” Druckmann told the Post. “This hate that people feel has the same kind of universality. You hate someone so much that you want them to suffer in the way they’ve made someone you love suffer.”

"That's what this story is about, do the ends justify the means, and it's so much about perspective. If it was to save a strange kid maybe Joel would have made a very different decision, but when it was his tribe, his daughter, there was no question about what he was going to do," Druckmann said.

In the game, most of the Wolves regime's restrictions are directed at a post-apocalyptic religious sect called the Seraphites (the Wolves call them "Scars" after the ritualistic scarring of their faces). These Scars vexed FEDRA as well when it was in control. The dynamic in the city when the game begins is one of conflict, escalation, and a broken truce. The Wolves, like FEDRA, leverage more resources and raw power, while the Scars rely on surprise strikes against Wolf patrols, and a zealous willingness to die for the cause.

To run through just a few key ways in which the Scars uncomfortably reflect some Israeli stereotypes about Palestinians: Later in the game, Ellie finds a location called "Martyr Gate," where the Scars' spiritual leader apparently died, indicating a religious significance of a specific and disputed location, and emphasizing the notion of martyrdom as central to their culture. The Scars are able to get around Wolf patrols and various barriers around the city via an elaborate, secret system of bridges between skyscrapers. These function as a kind of flipped version of the underground tunnels Palestinians use to bypass Israeli blockades and other means of limiting free movement in order to get supplies and carry out attacks on Israel.

In The Last of Us Part II's Seattle, Scars and Wolves hurt each other terribly, and the same can be said about Israel and Palestine. The difference is that when flashes of violence abate and the smoke clears, one side continues to live freely and prosper, while the other goes back to a life of occupation and humiliation. One side continues to expand while the other continues to lose the land it needs to live. Imagining this process as some kind of symmetric cycle benefits one side more than the other, and allows it to continue.

Ellie's journey of revenge seems especially cruel, even idiotic, because we are never given a good reason for why she keeps recommitting to it. Acts of cruelty along the way, like Ellie's torturing another character to get information, are presented as inevitable. This seems to be The Last of Us Part II's thesis: humans experience a kind of "intense hate that is universal," as Druckmann told The Post, which keep us trapped in these cycles. This is not a universal feeling as much as it's a learned way of seeing the world. 

The Last of Us Part II is an incredible journey that provides not only one of the most mesmerizing spectacles that we've seen from big budget video games, but one that manages to ask difficult questions along the way. It's clearly coming from an emotionally authentic and self-examining place. The trouble with it, and the reason that Ellie's journey ultimately feels nonsensical, is that it begins from a place that accepts "intense hate that is universal" as a fact of life, rather than examining where and why this behaviour is learned."

The Not So Hidden Israeli Politics of 'The Last of Us Part II' by Emanuel Maiberg

[raayllum]

Faith and Relationships in TDP

Relationships in TDP—familial, platonic, romantic, etc.—place a lot of emphasis on belief. Do you believe me? Do you believe in me? Is the way you see me the way I see myself, good or bad? This has always been an undertone of course, but some Rayla-Aaravos parallels and Viren with Kpp'Ar made it ping in my head, so I thought it was time to talk about.

Relationships that will be examined roughly in order:

Harrow + Sarai / Harrow + Viren

Viren and Kpp'Ar

Claudia and Soren

Terry and Claudia

Aaravos and Claudia

Rayla and Callum

Janai and Amaya

Ezran with his council and Zym

Janai and her people

I'm sure there'll be others (Ellis is going to make an appearance at one point, Runaan and Rayla, and possibly Karim / Miyana as a contrast) but this is what came to mind most notably. I'm also going to do my best to stay out of the weeds with TDP talking about how characters view things (or their perspectives of each other / actions magic etc.) as beliefs as otherwise we'd be here quite literally all day, but there will inevitably be some of that. But without further ado let's look into it:

Living Up to How People Think of You: Does Being Believed In Make You Better?

Time and time again we see TDP frame faith (and trust though that could be a separate meta on its own, but we'll touch on it a bit here), specifically someone having faith in you, as something that can make you better. If you have faith in someone, you trust and believe in them to behave a certain way—in ways that likely align with why you love them or believe in them—and so long as those patterns are maintained, the love and faith and trust remains. The belief holds and continues to be a steady foundation.

This is something I noticed being particularly prevalent in S1, specifically between how Viren talks about his dynamic with Harrow, and how it mirrors how Viren talks about Harrow's relationship with Sarai.

Now this comparison is actually one of the reasons Viren/Harrow always felt a bit fruity to me ever since S1 aired, since as Viren explains:

He asked me to stand next to him for the portrait because he knew I would stand by him through anything. I have to stand by him through this too. [...] It means there's one more thing I can do to convince him. (1x02)

Your sister made him better. Harrow told me he was never as strong or brave

but he tried every day to be stronger and braver so he could live up to what she saw in him. (1x05)

For Viren and for Harrow, this "I want to live up to how you see me" was ultimately a good thing. In Harrow's relationship, he did his best to live up to how Sarai saw him, and that meant being a loving compassionate father, and trying to be a champion of "strength and justice". She reminded him of his best principles and understood them, and it's clear that her words got through to him in his final days with his rejection of dark magic and urging their sons to break the cycle. For Viren, Harrow's words likewise got through to him, with Viren becoming a better father for the first time since Soren and Claudia's early childhood and in what he sacrificed to save Katolis: his own refusal of dark magic, and acknowledging that like Harrow, he should've been a not just a king, but "a servant".

But in classic TDP fashion, someone believing that you can be better, or believing that someone makes you better, is not always a good thing:

Aaravos believed in humans when all the other elves and dragons thought we were worthless, stupid, dirty animals.

So he gave us magic.

Aaravos' 'belief' in humanity, and in Claudia by extension ("But no matter: your daughter is far more powerful"), is the foundation of her loyalty to him. Claudia is extremely receptive to how other people view her, which is why she's coarse about judgement and tries to maintain a positive internalized viewpoint ("But I'm not evil. It's me. You know me") of her own self and actions, even while routinely acknowledging that she's doing increasingly "vile, dangerous" things. Likewise, her belief in Aaravos begins with faith that he can save her father, evolves into gratitude for what he's given humanity (because until S6, dark magic is always routinely a positive net force to her), and is bolstered by her own feedback loop with a Viren who's trying his best. His assertion that "you do anything for your child never the other way around" while trying to spare her helps her justify Aaravos' actions, since he's acting on behalf of Leola, and therefore whatever he does is "necessary. Like my dad."

Conversely for elf-human relations, we have Callum and Rayla. Callum is also a burgeoning mage, and Rayla is also important to his magical journey, providing a listening ear and occasionally some sound advice. The S2 novelization goes so far as to say that Rayla is the first person to tell Callum

 “I believe in you.” Callum blushed. No one had ever said those words to him before, or at least not that he remembered.

And we see her routinely express faith in her friends, particularly Callum and Ezran, even when the odds are stacked against them, other people disagree (Runaan, Lujanne, Sol Regem), or they don't have faith in themselves:

She has faith that Katolis and her boys won't be like the Silvergrove when she returns (and they aren't). She does her best to believe in Ezran in 1x09, or at least not be a jerk even if she can't totally take him at his word due to her own skepticism. She's another elf who also believes that humans are capable and strong, and sometimes even more so than elves:

The human kicked dirt at her, and Rayla scraped at her eyes, angry—infuriated, even. Humans were frustrating. Humans were clever. Humans could do anything, they could be anything, they could take their own fates and change them—

Which is, of course, the opposite thread of belief that Aaravos actually holds, which is that his pawns will always make his parts and that Callum playing into his hands and being nothing more than a pawn is inevitable. Callum also returns this in 5x01, citing "If she didn't tell me, she had a good reason," and that knowledge/belief is all that needs to not only set Rayla free, but reassert that she doesn't owe him an explanation until she wants to give one free of obligation and guilt — as she eventually does, changing her fate bit by bit at a time.

So does being believed in make you better? Overall TDP says that it can if you let it and work consistently towards it, but it does depend on what the belief is. We'll also loop back around this idea when we talk more about TDP's thread of having faith another section from now, but moving forwards to:

Belief as a Continuing Thread

The distinction between "this person believing in me" as an act of betterment versus "belief as a continuing thread," is, in my head, a difference of actively working towards living up to person's belief in you versus that belief forming a continual relationship foundation of stability and stagnation rather than change. In other words, belief as a continuing thread probably bleeds in the most into worldviews—I am a good person because I do Y, I stand by your side because of X, and as long as those beliefs built on actions aren't disrupted, they are maintained.

We see this perhaps encapsulated most in Terry and Claudia's relationship. Terry's belief in Claudia isn't about any sense of making her better ("Look at her sleeping, she's just perfect"—4x04) or guiding her down a specific path ("I can't [tell you what to do]"—6x04). He's not trying to change her, but instead, it's the foundation of his support for her. His belief in Claudia is built into their dynamic and why he is so loyal to her, as he explains in 4x09:

I've seen you do a lot of awful things, dark magic things. But I always believed in you because you had a reason.

As touched on here in a meta more about Terry overall, this is also why he doesn't like Aaravos in S6, because Aaravos' reasoning isn't love but revenge, and that's Terry's internal tipping point, even if Claudia can't recognize the distinction yet.

Of course, we can also see these continuing bonds of belief be severed. Unlike how Viren was trying to live up to what Harrow thought of him, or Harrow with Sarai, Viren and Kpp'Ar's relationship was a much more outright, direct mentor-mentee dynamic, Viren even following in Kpp'Ar's footsteps to become high mage:

I turned on him. My mentor, my... my teacher. A man who believed in me when... when I was nothing, and spent years of his life invested years of his life helping me become... what I became.

It's worth noting, I think, therefore, that while Viren does have clear regret over coining Kpp'Ar, he does still describe the act as necessary to Lissa in the past and in recounting the event in the letter. It is only after he takes Lissa's tears by force that we see him directly agree with her assessment of him being a monster. We also see Viren's continuing search for importance ("When I was nothing" / "I thought you were going to be something special, something important!" / "You're a nobody" to Kpp'Ar) parallel Claudia's views on dark magic as well ("We weren't born with magic, we were born with nothing" / "Humans had nothing").

This continuing thread of belief is also what allows Rayla to bring people back from being 'monsters' in a way with Esmeray and Runaan later on in the season through her faith that she can get through to them and help them, and that they're capable of receiving help.

In a similar vein of disillusionment of Viren and Kpp'Ar, though, we also see Soren come to this realization (and then back again, in some ways, in S6) with Viren:

I've known Viren longer than anyone here. I mean, because he's my dad, but it took me a long time to understand who my dad really is. And it was hard to see, because I really... I really looked up to him. He's smart, and the way he talks, you really believe that he's a good person, that everything he does is to protect his family, his home, or all of humanity. He makes you think that as long as you do what he says, you must be doing the right thing. Even when he asks you to do something bad. Something evil. So the truth is, someone who wants you to do horrible things and convinces you that they're good, that's a villain. My dad is a villain. And he's only gonna get more powerful, and the more powerful he gets, the more people will listen to him, and believe him, and follow him.

We see the continuing thread of Soren not trying to change Viren or Viren trying to change for him (in arc 1), but of Soren understandably believing in his father and Viren's judgement precisely because of things Soren perceives as lacking in himself ("I know I'm not the smartest / Dad is so smart, so I figured there must be a good reason") and because as a child / young adult, you're inclined to believe whatever your parent tells you at more or less face value. That said, Soren does talk specifically about how belief in others can intersect with belief in leadership, which is interesting in its own way. So let's move onto:

Belief as Faith / Having Faith In Our Leaders

Having faith in our leaders is something we've touched on already, albeit indirectly. Sarai believed in Harrow to be "a champion of love and justice"; Soren and Claudia believed at different intervals that their father would be a good leader. We see this reflected in Janai and Amaya's relationship predominantly in season 6:

Do you think I can lead my people after everything that's happened, all the mistakes I've made?

We see this similar theme in how Opeli and Corvus interact with Ezran in S3, where they support him as a monarch, specifically, as well as a person:

Ezran and Janai are also characters who tend to have a lot of faith in others, as well, which is part of their leadership. Janai has "patience and faith" that they can rebuild, that the architect can make her amends, etc. Ezran routinely has steadfast faith in his loved ones and their ability likewise to be better (not executing Viren, setting Soren and Claudia free, "She'll know what to do" / "she's alive, and wherever she is, she loves you too" about Rayla, "I think he would want you to, if you wanted to" about Callum and Harrow, etc). Even with Zym in season two:

But we'll get it, no matter how impossible it seems. We believe in ourselves, and we're not giving up, are we?

which is also a sentiment Janai extends to her people:

So we can have faith in others, in ourselves ("I will learn magic. It's who I am"), in our leaders, some prejudiced worldviews ("No, humans are liars" / "Are they really your friends, or are they just taking advantage of you?") and have all those things intermingle. We've talked briefly about disillusionment in threads of continued belief, and failing to live up to the beliefs / views of how others see us, or when belief breaks. I want to close this out by talking about Runaan and Rayla, briefly, namely:

This fits in this section (in my head) precisely because Runaan is Rayla's leader as well as her father, which is a unique dynamic that only Viren-Soren&Claudia get close to replicating, of being believed in by someone who also very explicitly tells you what to do (hi Claudia with Aaravos). Runaan lived in one reality (Rayla can be an assassin) and then immediately went to the other (she never will be) with no in between.

Meanwhile, we have characters like Ellis and Callum, who are able to acknowledge other people's realities even if they can't (for a variety of reasons) fully commit to them and sit somewhere more in the middle, which I think is interesting, particularly when it likewise comes to changing plans or acknowledging other realms/perspectives of reality.

And if I go any further into those weeds I'll start talking about TDP's whole emphasis on trust that is twice as long as this meta already is, I'm sure, so with that I'll wrap things up (sort of).

Conclusion, Kind Of

This doesn't have a real conclusion because this is so sprawling with like, a hopefully but not necessarily coherent common thread, but basically:

When you act in alignment with how others see you, this can help you live up to your 'full potential' — good or bad. And if it's bad, that might be a time to break their continued thread of faith in you, or you towards them, in order to be something truly better and new. All relationships, positive or negative, depend on faith/belief because they depend on reliability and expectation, and when those things are broken, this can either transform a relationship for the better or demolish it completely.

Are you having fun? Was this fun?

Anyway can't wait for S7 to ruin my life with Terry-Claudia, Callum-Ezran, and Callum-Rayla's threads of belief in particular.

—Dragons out

[leletha-jann]

Went outside to pull velcro plant out of the yard, which let me tell you does not take brain cells, so also spent the time thinking about the "WTF, Bill Heterodyne, why trust Lucrezia and not the Jägermonsters" dilemma.

And what I settled on was the concept of - indeed, the allure of - redemption.

Long post under the cut...

Bill Heterodyne, after all, could have inherently been a Thing of Evil (as he saw it; I'll put the more pulp black-and-white concepts in capitals), but instead was Redeemed by the Love of his mother Theodora, who stood between her children and their objectively monstrous father. Bill's entire life story, which he would have profoundly internalized, is that he would have been something else, something dangerous, if he and the people around him hadn't worked - constantly! - to make him a Force for Good instead.

And indeed, he and Barry went out and performed this redemption narrative in their role as the Heterodyne Boys. They were famously active, visible, persistent Heroes, trying to rewrite the story the rest of the world (after a thousand years of "Heterodyne" meaning something quite different) wanted to put them into. And it worked!

In that light, we have two separate case studies:

Lucrezia's story, at this point, parallels Bill's in ways that he would have been drawn to. (We are, of course, not looking at everything that's happened to Lucrezia since then. We're in pre-canon Lucrezia territory.) Young Lucrezia Mongfish comes from a similar background - a powerful Spark from a family of Deep Evil. But in flashback, we see her choosing - performatively or not, however sincerely or not - a different path by choosing to become one of the Good Guys and marry Bill. (These things seem to have gone together, which is a whole different story.) This is an active choice. This, I argue, is what Bill was attracted to: the idea that you, no matter who you are, can choose your nature and your fate. You can become Good - but it is a choice.

That was, after all, the story Bill was telling himself. Lucrezia's choice validated his - and his mother's choices too. The choices Theodora had died for. The Path of Righteousness could be chosen - indeed, had to be. And it's that element of choice that makes the difference here.

It's a very tempting narrative, for someone raised to despise and fear the more infamous side of his family - and indeed himself.

The Jägermonsters, on the other hand, take orders from the Heterodynes, and always have. Are famous for it, actually. Bill could have told them to be Good Guys now, and they would have listened! Dimo tells Agatha that it sounded like fun, and they wanted to try! If Bill had only enlisted them in this fine new game. But it would have had to come as an order from the Heterodyne. It wasn't their idea, and they wouldn't have done it on their own. Do you see the Horde sitting down and considering their ways and having a mass - or even individual - change of heart? No, me neither, and neither did Bill. Receiving and obeying an order to "be good guys now", to Bill, wouldn't count. Not with centuries of destruction apiece behind them. That wouldn't be a true change of heart, it would just be another order.

If just one or two Jägers had gone to Bill, individually, and said, (in the appropriate accent) "Master, we understand, we want to Be Good and do better, can you show us how?", would Bill have believed them? Welcomed them as converts? Could things have been different? I don't know, but I think yes.

Redemption is active. Redemption is a thing you do. It's a thing you work at. That's what Bill was drawn to. Not Evil itself, but the refutation of it.

Forgiveness, by comparison, is passive. Forgiveness is a thing you receive, sometimes whether you work for it or not.

(We're also into pretty solid Catholic guilt territory here, by the way, rarely to be overlooked with creators with Italian surnames. I could cite Bible verses if I really wanted to take the time, but I DO NOT.)

...I don't know if this is coherent, or new, or relevant, but those weeds were really boring, so this is what you get when I have to do yardwork.

[lilyginnyblackv2]

“Two Heterosexual Men”- Buddy Daddies - Episode 8 - SPOILERS!

Saw someone on r/anime describe Kazuki and Rei like this in the comments on a post. Like, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt that they made that comment before Episode 8 dropped. But, if they didn’t, I’m seriously just sitting her thinking how? The subtext this episode was astronomical:

First we have the parallel of Yuzuko (who is slightly older) finding Kazuki (who is slightly younger) at his lowest point and Kazuki (who is slightly older) finding Rei (who is slightly younger) at his lowest point:

Both of these meetings took place around “flowers” that have ties to romantic love. Hydrangeas mean “true geniune love” and Mistletoe (the name of Kyu’s cafe) is associated with kissing under.

Then we have the fact that Rei states he found something to protect, mirroring the man that was essentially his teacher, whose person he wanted to protect was a woman that was heavily assumed to be his wife:

Yes, of course, Miri is present there too. And Miri is a factor (she is part of his family), but the parallels being drawn here are to the significant other.

Just like how we were meant to also make a connection to Satoru losing his significant other to a hit like Kazuki did (even if Yuzuko’s death was an unintended result, it doesn’t change the fact that it happened).

That’s why we are meant to feel so scared for Kazuki, because he is being paralleled to all of these other significant others who were killed due to their connections to a hitman for a spouse/partner.

Add in Rei’s fierce desire to keep Kazuki out of his father’s and the organization’s business, along with Rei stating that Kazuki didn’t mean much to him at first, but then Kazuki basically wormed his way into Rei’s heart because of how he cared for him. And, of course, there is plenty on Kazuki’s side towards Rei too, like Episode 7 where he makes the deliberate choice to move forward with his new family and to continue to stay with not only Miri, but Rei too. Rei is just as important to him. 

Both Kazuki and Rei fear that the other has abandoned them and they don’t like it.

And, like, I’m not saying people have to view their relationship romantically, I still view it as queerplatonic and likely always will, but when people are like “They are just two HERTEROSEXUAL men” it is them trying to throw out and deny any queer reading of the relationship dynamic between Kazuki and Rei.

Even though all of the parallels and subtext (that is practically text at this point) is literally right there.

Like, the series can hardly be any clearer about this at this point.

[wanderingwomanwondering]

615 & 805 Cemetery Scenes

Fandom has already pointed out the fact that the scenes are parallel but I wanted to share my thoughts on exactly what that looked like and what it could mean moving forward.

In 615 Eddie mentioned Marie's line "We're all gonna die alone" from earlier in the ep. Buck then offered Eddie a little perspective and comfort saying that Marie was surrounded by friends and family. They got really real after Buck confessed that he feels different after the lightning strike. Eddie empathized and acknowledged that it made total sense that Buck felt different. He told Buck that he doesn't have to be any particular thing for anyone else and that "we're all different from one minute to the next". At the end of their talk, Buck pointedly noted that everyday since the lightning strike is "a gift".

The core themes were alienation and loneliness, and the healing power of connection and being seen by loved ones.

In 805, at the same cemetery but with Tommy this time, Buck talked to Billy Boils about the curse he put on him. He mentioned his arm injury and of course the boils. Buck made special mention of Tommy not wanting to kiss him. Tommy denied this but it seems safe to assume that Buck wouldn't have said it if Tommy had touched him at all up to that point. Anyway, the meat of Buck's eulogy for Billy was recognizing the "curse" as actually being "a cry for help". He realized that Billy was lonely because he was abandoned by his posse. Buck waxed on about how "our people" make for a life worth living - full of memories, help when we fall down, keeping us on the right path, and generally just being there. This scene's crescendo was when Buck said plainly "I can't imagine anything more painful than going through life alone". He then told Billy "I'm your posse now". Buck felt that by joining him, Billy could rest and that he'd lift the curse. On their way out of the cemetery, Tommy quietly echoed Buck's request that Billy lift the curse.

As convoluted as the Billy Boils metaphor was, the 805 cemetery scene with Buck and Tommy still had similar core themes to the 615 cemetery scene with Buck and Eddie. Loneliness, and the healing that comes with connection and being seen by others. Buck saw Billy in the end and that was what he felt could and would lift the curse.

Between the two scenes I'm especially fixated on a few key details:

Buck (805) and Eddie (615) were and still are wrestling with loneliness.

Buck was in a questionable relationship in 615 with Natalia and he's in one in 805 with Tommy.

Buck being distant from who he used to be in 615, distant from Tommy in 805, and Eddie looking isolated in the 805 montage

The loneliness common denominator in both scenes is actually Eddie. In 615 he's actually the one who brings up loneliness and in 805 his absence is actually louder than Tommy's mere distance.

The twist in the 805 Billy Boils subplot was the fact that Billy was actively **betrayed** by his posse. That element wasn't technically present in the 615 scene but I would argue that **betrayal** was implied because if Eddie's facial expressions were meant to be any indication in that episode, he felt some type of way about Buck feeling seen by Natalia when Eddie himself had been by Buck's side the whole time.

We saw Eddie taking the same trusted bestie role in 805 by going to the hospital with Buck and actively translating for him with Tommy when he came to visit. I think Eddie feels some type of way about Tommy too but he's Buck's bestie first and foremost so he just watches them when they aren't looking and interjects when necessary because he knows that Buck wants his relationship with Tommy to work. Yet, Eddie is mourning the fact that Chris is still gone and very upset with him pretty much all by himself since the start of season 8. Buck is with Eddie in spirit because how could he not be, still they haven't actually had any screen time where they've discussed it.

I'm hoping the anticipated 806 scene between them addresses Eddie's loneliness in the context of that grief and that Buck actively joins him. The other aspect of it that seems relevant is that Buck is actually pretty distant from Tommy. Pretty much all of Buck's bids for connection with Tommy get brushed off. If Buck does have a scene where he connects with Eddie over their shared Chris grief and Tommy knows about it, it could reveal the wedge between Buck and Tommy. They've already laid the groundwork for Tommy as an outsider/visitor looking in on the 118. A deep moment with Eddie and Buck that isn't played for jokes could force a BuckTommy conversation about the divide between them. Bonus points if all the crap from Tommy's past is also in the mix.

I've been having a hard time enjoying this season but this episode actually did deliver at least a few morsels to savor so I'm grateful for that.

[dreamwreaver]

I don't really have many friends to talk about this theory with, so I'm just typing to get this out of my head !!

I've seen a post bring up a point of how the HH team is pushing Alastor is an asexual and on the spectrum a lot, and there's a theory that, that may hint to something romantic happening in the show? I've seen others be like Lilith, Luci, or Rosie, but tbh idk think it's either of those three. Rosie seems more platonic, I think it's cute but I doubt it romantic, the other two according to Vivzie are in love.

For Vox, I feel like something romantic happened in the past which means = complicated, maybe one sided?

If it's actually something they're doing, it's probably Charlie. Maybe like a love triangle thingy?

Also If Alastor helped Vox in the past, maybe there's parallels between Vox and Charlie? 🤔

Back on the relationship bit, I've seen theories, hints and the things Viv personally put out that sort of hint to Charlastor or maybe I'm delusional.

Alastor seems to have a thing for blondes from Zoophobia, if Viv is keeping some of his lore. But that's sort of broad.

Charlie likes someone dark and mysterious, he does basically anything for her without needing to and don't really mind if she touches him, hold his microphone, and he pretty much climbs over her like a tree, Charlie defends him from her own family, friends, girlfriend, etc and they both share the same sense of humor. I think the real telling will be if Seviathan ever gets introduced. maybe.

The voice actors/team I noticed are.... very quiet about Charlastor, aside from showing prints. But sometimes open about RadioApple, Huskerdust, etc and apparently I saw a post that allegedly Charlie's voice actor ships Charlastor too, according to a fan. 🤔 Of course the whole 'tension bit' too

Idk I feel like, if it's something that's going to happen maybe they don't want it getting out or spoiling a season or episode. Idr think Charlastor fans drawing art on Viv's birthday, etc would stop that. But I am scared of the reaction of it was something planned

I just know though if Charlie was a guy, the ship wouldn't get much backlash/hate and be recognized as Al has a crush and toxic yaoi. Idk The way how Alastor acts towards Charlie is how villains act when they have a crush/"interested"/etc, they are very touchy/feely

Okay those was my thoughts, I had to get out !!

Firstly my sweet nonny consider this my official invitation to join me and other feral shippers in my charlastor discord. We'd love to have someone else to theorize with.

Second you've hit every nail on the head. We definitely know Vox and Alastor have a history of vague information but definite vibes. Look, there's no straight explanation for the amount of hatred Vox harbors towards Alastor. This has jilted suitor all over it. As for Alastor's feelings on the subject, well that's more complicated now isn't it? The few things we do know concerning Alastor's interpersonal stuff is that he hates 1. Men 2. Being touched without his explicit consent, and possibly 3. Being captured on film or video. In the dartboard we do see Alastor in a more relaxed posture as he stands next to whom we can only assume is Vox. Now, Alastor demonstrating that level of comfort speaks to how much trust he has in the person he's standing next to. And if Vox caught feelings and was rejected everything we know about his character seems to indicate he went full "Well who would want you anyways?" And when Alastor continued to go on within his afterlife completely unbothered it only irritated Vox even more.

Charlie would be the only glaring weak point Alastor has. While he may remain unaffected on the outside the fact that he's choosing to help out with the hotel at all is bad, as is the fact that it's run by the devil's little princess. And as a fellow overlord Vox knows the sheer amount of power and prestige Alastor could gain by making some sort of a deal with Charlie. The goal is also his weakness is the logic there. It's only natural Vox would try to get in between Alastor and Charlie as a way to tick off Alastor. In canon I'm not entirely sure how vaggie would react, since even if Charlie did ditch al for vox it would be trading one unscrupulous overlord for the other. (Ask me about vaggie sometime I can promise you I have a LOT of thoughts on how dirty she was done). In a weird way I ship radiobelle static? Perhaps more like radiobelle silence; where vox tried to woo Charlie just as a means of beating Alastor only to oops catch feelings just like the radio demon did. Charlie and al in that scenario also become a couple while vox becomes the third wheeliest third wheel to ever ignore the mood in the room.

As for the in canon dynamic, they're not setting up nothing. Alastor literally makes deer mating noises around her, those soft little squeaky toy noises? Yeah, that's deer mating sounds. Shes his exception, even if it never becomes canon in a romantic sense Charlie is going to become his most important person. Alastor liking blondes did carry over, I refuse to believe Rosie isn't an icy blonde, she's a blonde, so is Mimzy, and now Charlie. Maybe it's an asthetic thing, then again I believe the 20s focused a lot on blondes as glamorous and beautiful so that might have something to do with it. Anyways, Charlie's ideal man was once that sound bite from a sitcom where she describes the phantom of the opera, Viv has stated that Charlie and alastor's shared sense of humor is lonely island's Mona Lisa song. There is so much between the two of them that just makes sense. And it's not like Viv hasn't showed us she has a thing for royal and lower class. Stolitz is endgame canon and Charlie and alastor's ranks are literally mirrored. I'm sorry but even as a fallen Angel Vaggie would rank higher than the average sinner in terms of hierarchy.

My tinfoil hat theory is that it wasn't people who actually liked charlastor who harassed Viv to make it canon. It was antis, of course that would assume they're smart enough to employ this level of thinking. But, most normal fans (you know what I mean) wouldn't harass a creator because we know basic fandom ettiquite. Now what group of fans do we know has no problem harassing fans, actors, and literal showrunners to get their way? Again, this is me conspiracy boarding don't take it seriously.

I think the actors are just that; actors. Is it nice to know they share our ship? Sure, but it's not going to make me stop shipping it if they say it makes them uncomfortable. Art from artist and all that. We know Amir ships Charchar, which I now take to be pilot Charlie/show Charlie because it's funny. I know Erika once allegedly said something about royal Apple not knowing it was charcifer but that's it as far as her ships go. But I mean... come on, look at the promotional art of these two, they just fit. Charlastor was supposed to be an element of the story because Viv wanted to explore Charlie's bisexuality on screen by having her have crushes on men and women, including Alastor, but ultimately end up with a girl. But can you imagine the tension of Charlie trying to be professional if that had been the case? Delicious.

Also, let's be real, we do know how popular charlastor would be if it was gay because it's already the most vocally popular non canon ship. Radioapple is just gay charlastor and no I will not be taking any arguments about it. Charlie and Lucifer look the same, have the same awkward tendencies, the same sort of power appeal for someone like Alastor, etc. Charlie is very much her father's daughter. You can't even have an announcement about Chaggie merch without them whining in the comments about when they'll get their merch, the radioapple title got removed from the streamily print and they acted like they were the most abused and targeted part of the fandom when in reality they're the most toxic and vindictive.

Charlastor; we were talking about charlastor. Truth be told nonny I know a thing or two about narrative construction. Charlie and Alastor are the main characters, they're the most important narratively out of the core six. Their diametrically opposed views on redemption are a driving through line. Alastor now having to admit that it is possible to redeem a demon even though we have no concrete evidence of what Pentious did so that Charlie can replicate the success is an interesting concept to open season 2 with at the very least.

[mostlylurkinbarelypostin]

Hopper Threatening Mike

Something that I think about all the time is what the heck Hopper threatened Mike with in the first episode of season 3.

Hopper tells Joyce he had to “improvise a little bit” when he tells her about the heart-to-heart. Well you know where else we see the word improvise pop up? When he mows down 4 Russians in the last episode. He literally kills 4 people, says “I’m improvising”, and then puts on a Russian uniform. Murray tries to handle the situation calmly at first but that lasts like 5 seconds, which is about how long it took Hopper to lose his patience with Mike while attempting the heart-to-heart.

According to Mike, Hopper didn’t threaten him with death so what else could be so bad? I don’t know but I think it has to do with Will. When Mike says the words “he threatened me,” the shot we see is of Will setting up the DnD board. This might not mean much on its own but then we have the Karen/Billy and Mike/El parallel.

The Pool Storage Parallel:

We get two scenes that happen in the pool storage room. The first one is Karen explaining to Billy why she didn’t meet him at the Motel pool. She tells him that she has a family and can’t do anything that would hurt them. What made her change her mind and not cheat? Seeing Ted sleeping on the couch with Holly. And what’s Ted wearing? A shirt that is stupidly similar to the one Will is wearing during his and Mike’s movie date.

The scene of Karen and Billy also comes directly after the scene in which Max tells El to dump Mike if he doesn’t explain himself. In the immediate next scene, we have Karen saying “I want to explain…” to Billy.

So explanations happen in the pool storage room. Just like his mom, Mike goes into the storage room to explain why he didn’t show up as planned. He tells El that Hopper made him lie, however he doesn’t say much more, just that he said they’re spending too much time together. This is a pretty garbage explanation though and we still don’t know exactly why Mike lied. Even Lucas questions why Mike did it.

If these parallels means what I think they do, Will is the “family” that Mike doesn’t want to hurt, and is the reason he had to lie. So what was the threat? I highly doubt it’s something as simple as Hopper threatening Mike with not letting him see El anymore if he doesn’t back off a bit cause 1. that wouldn’t work considering El has legit superpowers 2. that’s too basic of an explanation to warrant keeping the details of Mike and Hopper’s conversation a secret (they even remind you that we don’t know all the details when Hopper makes plans to tell Joyce about it at Enzo’s, which of course doesn’t end up happening) 3. they put way too much effort into the parallels for there not to be more there.

I don’t know exactly what I’m trying to imply. Maybe Hopper has witnessed the way Mike splits his time between El and Will and sees right through him. I mean he did witness the shed monologue and saw how disinterested Mike was in kissing El in season 2. Does he think Mike is using El?? I don’t know. I know Hop is just like Mike and wants El to himself but there’s just gotta be more here.

Would love to hear your thoughts! 😛

[transmutationisms]

I couldn't stop thinking about you pointing out the theme of eugenics in this season finale. Finding out Kendall might be sterile was the icing on the cake. And Tom, who doesn't sleep and can withstand physical pain ends up at the top... he's got a dick like a red sequoia and he fucks like a bullet train.

this is a really interesting line of inquiry imo, because you're right that the rhetorical appeal tom makes to matsson very noticeably uses the language of physical strength and bodily fitness. at the same time, we know this to be kind of a lie: tom's been suffering for lack of sleep, he dipped early from the funeral reception last episode, and he spent most of season 3 terrified of the potential violence he could face in prison. i don't say this to pass some kind of judgment on tom, but to point out what i think is a parallel to logan, who also relied on the language of strength, masculinity, and domination, yet was introduced to us as sick and was in varying conditions of sickness / disability throughout the course of the show. both these characters are living in human bodies that are susceptible to various forms of pain and physical limitation, yet their rhetoric and the fascistic demands of corporate masculinity mean they can only survive and succeed by denying these things about their bodies for as long as possible.

the connection here to fertility, impotence, and sexual performance is fairly clear. fucking and impregnating someone is a way to demonstrate not just your power / ownership of that specific person, but also your general bodily fitness and place at the top of the corporate and gender hierarchy. there's some degree of ambiguity about tom's actual sexual performance, but certainly he uses the claim that he has a big dick and fucks well as a demonstration to greg not just of how he 'got' shiv, but also to justify his general position at the company. also, although shiv's motives for voting against kendall are complicated, it is true that she ultimately had to choose between her brother and her husband, who is also the father of her child—so, in some sense, tom's ability to ejaculate and impregnate someone does eventually win him the company. as for kendall, his literal infertility is really the bodily symbol of his metaphorical impotence in logan's eyes. logan sees him as weak for being emotional, as morally lax for using drugs, as pathetic for stuttering, and so forth. logan doesn't talk about his infertility (in the show), but the way he frequently uses feminising language toward kendall, and accuses him of homosexuality, also shows how kendall's infertility is perceived as a failure of his masculinity.

for logan and thus also the rest of the roys, what this ultimately comes down to is a specifically hereditarian idea of bodily fitness, wherein parentage and bloodlines matter as much as environmental circumstances (all of these factors matter in eugenic discourses). logan has defined himself as worthy and physically fit, so his legacy has to be carried on by offspring who inherit these things from him. in this way logan subconsciously hopes to prove his own strength and ability even beyond his death, as the survival of the empire and the bloodline will continue to signal his personal bodily capacity. of course this also betrays a deep sense of anxiety in logan, who fears that if his children are 'weak' or 'unfit' in some way, it also implies something is wrong with his own body and reflects poorly on him. this is partly what drives his clear embarrassment of his children, like in 'tern haven' when confronted with a rival family dynasty that speaks the language of high culture more successfully than the roys. it's also implied that this is part of what made logan view connor as a failure so early in his life: having his mother institutionalised suggests that logan saw in her a mental weakness or defect that would potentially be inherited by connor. parentage can biologically secure the child's position, but can also threaten it; and the child's fitness or lack thereof also reflects back on the parent. this sort of biological anxiety is both a discourse of fixity and one in which loss of status is always a possibility, eg in the ever-present fear of disability.

also, the causality in the show runs in multiple directions: sometimes a power dynamic shifts and is then inscribed on the body (shiv tripping in 'honeymoon states'), other times the bodily event is itself a cause of a power shift (logan yerfing in 'argestes'). then there are threads like matsson being physically so much larger than roman and kendall, in conjunction with his team being specifically young people who are athletically fit and academically credentialed, and matsson flashing his abs to make a business deal. and of course, matsson telling tom he might fuck his wife, and tom basically just nodding along—which tells us a lot about the power dynamic matsson foresees between himself and tom. bodies on this show are explicitly part of the political and rhetorical field of action, and the characters' ideas about bodily fitness are supposed to cue us to these larger discourses about which bodies are 'correct' and 'deserving' of power.

[iamhereonlytobeanunstableshipper]

(First of all, English is not my first language so sorry if there are some mistakes long essays are hard to write djhdsfs)

HELLO GOOD MORNING CHERIK FANDOM SO the other day I made this post about a very hurtful and surprisingly overlooked parallel: Cherik not being able to shoot each other. Aaaand that second scene from DOFP where Erik is unable to shoot Charles has been keeping me awake at night for AGES and I really feel like we don't talk enough about it. So, here I am. Still being pissed off because of some fictional characters not kissing in some movies made years ago lol

So, here's an extended extract from that scene:

So. Erik's plan here is to kill Raven, bc you can't use Raven to create evil war machines if there's no Raven am I right lol. Charles, before Erik can shoot his sister, puts himself in between the gun and her (btw shoutout to Charles for being brave enough to put himself in front of a gun again after what happened in Cuba and the ptsd he 100% has bc of it I love you muac).

Let's make things clear here: There was nothing stopping Erik from killing Charles in this scene. He could've done it. Erik's mission at that very moment was to kill Raven, and Charles was getting between his mission and him. And we all know how things end when something gets in Erik's way when he's completing his mission. Erik does not care about collateral damage. For fucks sake, in this very same scene, he was willing to kill Raven off just bc it was easier and faster. He doesn't give a fuck about who has to die in favor of the greater good.

And I mean, technically, Erik should be more willing to kill Charles than Raven. Raven was his right hand for a while before he went to prison and she was his canonical lover. Charles, at this point in time, was his enemy. Both of them are very powerful mutants, with the difference that Raven is usually by Erik's side, and Charles is one of the only people in the world able to stop Erik thanks to his mutation. If Erik was willing to kill Raven, he should be willing to kill Charles too, if not as much, then more.

So... Why not? Why not shoot him, and once Charles was down, kill Raven too? Why is he able to attempt to kill Raven (his former ally and EX LOVER) and not Charles?

🤨 🏳️‍🌈 ❓ 

ALSO, now that we're here: Let's talk a bit about Dark Phoenix, too.

So, let's face it, DP is a bad movie. Overall, it's boring and that's pretty sad counting the masterpieces FC and DOFP are. But, hey, I can live with a boring movie. It's fine. What I CANNOT live with are things that are out of character. Especially when my fave characters are out of character. Ok maybe I'm being a bit too over dramatic here but I'M NOT

So: Let's talk about how Erik wants to rip the world apart over Raven's death in Dark Phoenix bc he's just so destroyed bc the love of his life died or whatever. Dude. I'm sorry but I don't buy it.

Correct me if I'm wrong here bc there's been a while since I don't rewatch Apocalypse or Dark Phoenix (again, meh movies), but from what I understand Erik didn't spend more time with Raven, apart from that bit in Apocalypse? Because after DOFP, Erik distanced himself from anything related to mutant wars to create a family, and then after Apocalypse Erik created Genosha and Raven stayed at the mansion, isn't it?

Assuming that this is correct, they're trying to tell me that between the scene where Erik was willing to kill Raven over the greater good in DOFP and the scene where he was willing to rip the world apart bc of her dying in DP, Raven and Erik only saw each other once. Riiiiight.

And, look. I'm not saying that Erik wouldn't feel sad about Raven dying. Of course he would. He's not made of steel (bc most steel is not magnetic. Get it? Magnetism, Erik... Imma shut up lol). Obviously he would feel bad. And I'm not saying that love can't last that long if they haven't seen each other in a long time, bc c'mon. I'm a cherik shipper. Of course I believe it can.

What I'm saying is that I can't believe that Erik is so devastated that gets blinded enough by his broken heart to hunt down a teenager that's being haunted by something she can't control. I can't believe it bc 20 years ago, it was him who was trying to kill Raven (and almost succeeding), a time that was way closer to their partnership and relationship than when DP takes place. If anything, he should be more affected in DOFP. Instead, he goes from almost killing her himself to wanting to rip everything apart bc of her death.

It. Doesn't. Make. Sense. So, Dark Phoenix's Raven x Erik plotline can suck my dick lol. If it doesn't make sense with the character's previous actions, it's not canon. That's how this works lol I don't make the rules

Summing up: Erik willing to kill Raven but not being able to shoot Charles in DOFP is EXTREMELY fruity and romantic, and Dark Phoenix's romantic plot between Raven and Erik makes 0 sense and is forced as shit

End of rant, thanks for hearing my ramblings on these gay old men and I hope y'all enjoyed it!!

(Also, of course, happy new year!!!)

[frosensteel]

Y'know, somehow I never put together before now that all three of the Frosen Steel girls have an arc about struggling with a role/responsibility given to them by their family, and then realizing that it's holding them back from being themselves, and rising above it.

Your Frostbyte post made me think about that parallels between Weiss and Penny, with the obligations of the Schnee family name/legacy and being created combat-ready and assigned to be the Protector of Mantle, respectively.

But then I realized that Ruby faced something very similar with the expectation that she'd live up to Summer's legacy.

Oh my god anon you're so right. A few years I did made a post about the parallels between Penny and Weiss (and I have been meaning to add more to it...), but I also never thought about Ruby also has parallels with them!

All three of them had roles and mantles thrust upon them (albeit in Ruby case she wasn't aware at the start) and it all comes back to their families. Weiss was always defined by her family's name and legacy, Penny was created to save the word by her family* and Ruby is a silver-eyed warrior because of her mother...

*I can't remember how much the show touches on this, but I believe that Pietro genuinely wanted to give Penny a chance to live, but since he was being funded by Ironwood, he had no choice but to let his daughter also be a weapon. Meanwhile, Summer sacrificed herself so Ruby didn't have to become another silver-eyed like her - and in the end failed ("I forced a bigger sacrifice on you") - and Jacques only saw Weiss as a tool. Of course, these situations aren't all that comparable, but just like you said, it is still very interesting to see how all three of them had to learn how be themselves in a way, with Ruby being the most recent when she chose herself.

[marley-manson]

If you're still doing the character ask game - Ray Vecchio, 1, 8, 12, and 22 <3

Yessss I am always here to talk about Ray, thank you!

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

Idek man, I imprinted like a duckling or something. I love everything about him. Love his loud mouth, his loud clothes, the armani, the shift between the two fashions, the big nose and green eyes, love his dickishness and complaining, love his selflessness and steadfastness and how they go hand in hand with the complaining, love his family and his shitty dad backstory and his zuko backstory and his childishness with Frannie and his catholicism, love that he will always put his loved ones before anything else he cares about and Fraser gets the highest priority position, love how the show constantly seamlessly shifts from two dimensional cartoon to deep and thoughtful characterization with him as well as Fraser.

I love how he's skeptical but intrigued by Fraser anyway and always ends up convinced by him, love how he was burnt out at first but gets promoted in season 2, love how he vanishes from Fraser's life for the sake of duty, essentially, in what could be read as an ironic consequence for Fraser, love that he'll do absolutely anything for Fraser and feels unappreciated for it because Fraser doesn't prioritize him, love that they get closer and closer to resolving this issue but Ray leaves before it can fully happen.

Character of all time for me.

8. What’s something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Ohhhhh boy. I mean I can't stand people characterizing him as Fraser's mean ex of course, but it's pretty rare that I ever saw that because I couldn't get into the season 3/4 side of fandom. Anything that characterizes him as physically abusive in general, which ime pretty squarely rests on italian stereotypes (not cop statistics when every character is a cop) since iirc he never uses violence impulsively in the show - it's always a deliberate choice he makes in the line of duty as part of the cop show format - and the show specifically contrasts him with his abusive father that way. (Though I may make an exception for very thoughtful post Vegas characterization that takes his actual depiction on the show into account.)

Even just like, eg this one Ray/Ray fic I once read where they got into a mutual physical fight kind of bugged me lol because I legit don't think Ray V would.

Among F/V shippers, I really loathe the headcanon that Ray shot Fraser on purpose either consciously or subconsciously. I can respect the attempt for more conflict and angst in theory, but I will die on the Ray V defense hill lol, and he would never. He was clearly aiming for Victoria, we saw that from his point of view in the scene itself, and Fraser deliberately took the bullet to shield Victoria. He sees where Ray's aiming, he runs faster to reach her in time, and Letting Go parallels it with Ray V taking a bullet for Fraser. He also casually protests that it was an accident when they're both over the drama in the tag, which would never happen if that wasn't the case.

12. What’s a headcanon you have for this character?

He wouldn't exactly describe himself as bisexual, but Fraser isn't the first guy he's been with. He had a thing with a bff in high school or college, and because his priority system goes: loved ones > abstract ideals, he doesn't feel guilty about it. Bff is gay, bff isn't bad or disgusting or whatever else, therefore gay sex is fine, at least with him. If asked he might still say it's a sin in general, but Ray absolutely has loopholes for people he cares about.

And if Fraser is his first then again, Fraser takes priority and Ray doesn't even have a sexuality crisis. Oh, Fraser is into men? Totally fine, it's Fraser, and he's never refused Fraser anything before so why should he start now? Especially when he looks so good in the brown uniform.

Relatedly I also envision a backstory scene where he once drove Frannie to an abortion clinic, casually bitched about it on the way accidentally triggering Frannie's guilt and making her cry, then instantly switched to pro-choice talking points that he'd always dismissed before to reassure her.

22. If you’re a fic reader, what’s something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don’t like?

I love that it's not an uncommon characterization choice to have Ray just bypass internalized homophobia because Fraser takes precedence over all that. Love fic where Ray is attracted to Fraser and knows it, however he deals with it. I love post-canon F/V fic a LOT. Give them their happy reunion and happily ever after!!!

Honestly I'm surprisingly easy for Ray V fic in general, it's pretty rare to find characterization that annoys me. Even if I disagree, I'll usually still buy in for the duration. I love fic where Ray V is there <3 Like, I'll read het fic for him. I read basically every Ray V/Stella fic out there ffs, just for Ray. That should tell you something lmao.

Something I don't like - well there's everything I complained about for question 8 lol. I don't like when fic writers buy into the bitching and moaning and miss the selfless devotion, but that's pretty rare in Ray-centric fic, it's more when he's a side character or just part of Fraser's backstory.

More commonly, I don't like when Fraser wants to get together and Ray pushes him away at first because of internalized homophobia. I'll still read it, but like, I'll be shaking my head the whole time lol.

And lastly, I don't have impassible top/bottom preferences for F/V, but I can't read anything kinky where Ray doms lol, pure personal bias there.

ask meme

[nyarumitsu]

i love how the more the story in aa progresses the more mia/phoenix parallels show up... even after pwaa, phoenix still carries mia's legacy with him in his own ways.

it starts off with how phoenix has the same mannerisms and behavior in court as newbie mia did and it's really cute watching them grasp at straws to pull a turnabout and succeeding! then we get into the good stuff of them starting their own law firms, right after very difficult moments in their lives.

mia almost loses diego, then starts fey & co. law offices. phoenix loses mia, then starts wright & co. law offices. those losses would have emotionally destroyed them if they didn't have some sort of support during those times. and mia's support was phoenix, and phoenix's support was maya.

it's so amazing how strong the both of them are, just taking case after case relentlessly putting their lives on the line for their jobs and greater goals. it's just that phoenix got a little more lucky and got tons and tons of help from mia past the grave which is honestly so badass of her.

in a way, i sincerely do believe that they saw each other as family. i mean, mia literally saved phoenix's life and probably didn't hesitate to apply to her law firm once he passed the board exam. again, i am filling up gaps here with my own interpretations up in here. i really did wish we could've gotten more interaction between them pre-mia death. maybe mia saw phoenix as this weird little brother she's never gotten, and maybe phoenix, for once in his life, was happy to finally find someone to rely on.

another thing i'd love to touch on is how ... incredibly devoted the two of them are. they love with their whole hearts and are dedicated to doing everything they can for their goals. bringing me onto the : dahlia and kristoph topic. these are two people who have greatly ruined their lives and how do they decide to bring justice to them... in the most badass ways possible.

mia literally got her revenge WHILE BEING DECEASED. finding out that dahlia was her cousin didn't even make her hesitate or anything, she just wants her gone for everything she's did. hurting all these innocent people, and diego, and phoenix. she was apart of such a big convoluted plan that she helped plan from the very beginning to be steps ahead of dahlia, morgan, and iris.

but of course, it all has its consequences. her mother had to join her to the other side, and diego just had to get himself guilty for murder. the plan worked, but so much had to be sacrificed. and, it was phoenix himself, with everyone's help who brought dahlia to justice.

then there's the seven year gap, phoenix's disbarrment, and everything kristoph-related. there he was, bringing back a whole new legal system just to finally bring kristoph to justice. somewhat, with the help of apollo. so much had to be sacrificed too just to reach that point, and it's even a miracle he was able to get control over the whole test trial.

he was forced to forge evidence. he gave said forged evidence to a newbie attorney, risking his career. vera's father had to die, vera herself had to be poisoned, trucy's FATHER had to die, and klavier had to lose his only family left. it's so incredibly crazy.

mia and phoenix absolutely turned the tables on them both time and time again, and still persevered even with all the sacrifices that were made. then basically phoenix got his badge back and now he's a boss too. just like how mia was to him and UGHHH. can you tell i love them so much? they're literally the crux of the whole game series they're my everything. love them. i love how their parallels were proven by godot himself during t&t where they both stood on trial together. godot, one of the people who knew mia the most, saw her spirit within phoenix too. and that made him incredibly happy... AAAHHH!!!

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Say your response about snape reacting to hinny, honestly it IS one of my guilty pleasures in fics. I hate when people say that jily and hinny are similar therefore harry has an oedipus complex, he is NOT. He cant have it bc he wasnt raised by his parents so he couldnt have it. I like the pararell simply bc it fixes the "what could have been", idk i think its a bittersweet sentiment. And like ginny is similar to lily NOT in appearances. They dont look alike, the most is just an anecdote for 'Potters and redheads' but I do like how theyre girls' girls you know? Despite being athletic ginny is girly and so was lily, they are fierce and protective of their friends, they are smart but not bookish smart and know it all like hermione, theyre popular not only bc theyre pretty but bc theyre so nice and friendly. I think its sweet that these are the good qualities Potter boys seem to have fallen in love with. Its a cute history pararell that is not at all creepy and people trying to use it to invalidate hinny are just dumb (im looking at you harmony shippers)

As I said in that post, I do think that Snape certainly saw parallels between James and Lily and Harry and Ginny: Harry's suspicion that Snape keeps him more in detention to keep him away from Ginny is never narratively disproven. And while that could only be due to Snape's intense dislike for Harry, what he find out in DH (including Snape's obsession with the past) points in the direction of him seeing James and Lily in Harry and Ginny, even simply because Harry looks like James and Ginny is a redhead.

Though, as you said, Ginny and Lily look nothing alike and if people knew how the oedipus complex works, they would know that if Harry had one, he would fall for someone similar to Petunia.

Now, let's look at Ginny and Lily's differences in appearance.

Ginny is short, Lily should be of average height. 

Ginny is athletic, Lily is not. 

Ginny has freckles (even if not many, at least on her face), Lily doesn't. 

Ginny has flaming red hair, Lily has dark red hair. 

Ginny has bright brown eyes, Lily has green eyes. 

Also, from these traits, we can deduce Ginny has a warm undertone, while Lily has a cold one.

Of course, if jily fan artists stopped drawing Ginny with green contacts where Lily should be, it would help reminding people they are not long lost twins.

That said, there are some personality similarities between Ginny and Lily (and I also think the concept of Potter men falling for redheads is lovely). 

We found out Lily was popular with the boys through an interview in which Rowling, to explain that particular point, directly used Ginny as reference.

They are also both great with a wand 

They are both cheeky with professors, and for sure the fact that Slughorn likes both very much is telling. 

They are both smart. 

They both have a strong sense of justice. 

They are both brave. 

They both know what it means to lose a very close friend.

In general some similarities between the two are sort of inevitable considering that Lily is Harry's mother and Harry and Ginny are quite similar.

But there are also a lot of differences between them.

Ginny grew up poor, and while Lily didn't grow up rich, she was not Weasley type of poor. 

Ginny grew up in the countryside in the open air, Lily grew up in the suburbs (I apologize to all the Brits if this is not the correct term). 

Ginny is the younger of seven siblings and the only girl, Lily is the younger of two sisters. 

Ginny is part of a close-knit family, Lily isn't. 

Ginny is a pureblood, Lily is a muggleborn. 

Ginny is an athlete, Lily isn't. 

Ginny is popular with boys like Lily, but Ginny is also in general a very charismatic person who can keep the attention of a room, there's no proof of Lily being popular in that sense. 

Ginny has a thing for taking emarginate/fragile people under her wing, we don't know if that's the case with Lily, the only person we see her defend is her best friend (also, we can be sure Ginny would have been considerably more angry about the Mary MacDonald episode). 

Ginny has a stand-up comedian sense of humor, and while Lily seems to have a sense of humor it's not really on that level. 

Ginny can be quite feminine, we really don't know if that's the case for Lily, though I would suspect a teenage girl in a boarding school in the 70s who grew up in a female-dominated house would be. 

Lily's dominant trait seems to be kindness, and while I do consider Ginny generally kind, it definitely is not her dominant trait.

And of course they grew up in very different political circumstances, Lily had an overall normal teenagehood, Ginny was touched by darkness extremely young.

And I really could go on for hours in explaining why they are different, but it really wouldn't be fair. Ginny is a three dimensional character with light and dark sides, various interests, and fully developed narrative arcs that go on for seven books, while Lily simply covers the role of the angel woman and is therefore quite aetherial as a figure.

Regardless of this, as you pointed out, there's an element when it comes to jily and hinny of "fixing history", it's something Rowling has quite an obsession for throughout the seven books, the idea of the next generation doing better than the previous one. It is the reason why, for example, we see Draco in the epilogue, to show that Harry learned from the people before him to not hold hatred for years.

Harry and Ginny's story kind of reproduces James and Lily's one in a way. With one partner that falls first, and years of misinterpretation and refusal to admit attraction from the other. But this brings me to my next point, which is that if anything Ginny is James not Lily in terms of personality and the role she covers in her romantic endgame relationship, and it makes sense considering Harry is more like Lily: if the combination of James and Lily's personalities works, and Harry is more like Lily, it is only reasonable to assume Ginny will be somewhat similar to James. There's a foundation of truth in the idea that people usually end up marrying someone similar to one of their parents, and it's not the oedipus complex.

James and Ginny both have a tendency to surround themselves with "fragile" people. 

They are both excellent Quidditch players, they both are chasers with a talent for snitches. 

They are both bold and a bit arrogant. 

Even if for different reasons, they both grew up a bit isolated. 

They both do not have much of a problem with hexing someone they consider an idiot. 

They are both really funny. 

They are both smart and great with a wand. 

They are both charismatic.

They are both dorks at their core. 

They are both purebloods. 

They both have a fascination for stories and heroes and in general have a romantic streak. 

They both had to go through a journey of maturation to show their true selves to the object of their affection.

In general, I have to say that while there are parallels between the characters of the two different generations, I find it very limiting to connect a character to only another of the other group.

As written above, Harry and Ginny –in spirit if you will– are respectively Lily and James and inevitably therefore they assume those roles in their romantic stories. But there are points of view in which Harry is James and Ginny is Lily.

Harry, like James, is sort of the leader of his friend group, and Ginny as Lily is more or less the external element that eventually enters the group. In this idea Ron would be Sirius, the best mate of the leader. Though of course, the connection between Ginny and Ron is much stronger than the one between Lily and Sirius. And always in this perspective, Hermione is Remus, and not only in the role of the other friend. Hermione's loyalty to Harry seems often unjustified, sometimes it seems she would have been friends with Harry and Ron regardless of who they were simply because they accepted her as a friend and she didn't have any. This is a behavior that is reminiscent of Remus' inability to truly critique James and Sirius' questionable behaviors because they accepted him despite his werewolf condition. But then who is Peter? I've seen people say it would be Neville because they are both the losers, and always following the concept of the next generation being better, Neville does better then Peter because he doesn't let his fears turn him into a bad person. It's not even wrong as a concept but Neville is way closer to Ginny than he is to Harry. And then there's Luna. I've seen the people supporting this perspective of the generational parallels claim she would be Snape. Because they are both marginalized weirdos, and Luna does better than Snape because she does not turn into a death eater because of her isolation. Frankly, I'm not particularly convinced by the idea of defining Snape as an emarginate weirdo.

So as you can see, while some parallels can make sense, they always have their limits.

Another relatively popular idea is Ron and Hermione being like James and Lily. I've always found it very weak despite having some valid points. Yes, they are a pureblood and a muggleborn, Ron and Hermione are both prefects like James and Lily are both headstudents, and romione tends to cover quite often the role of surrogate parents for Harry. There's also an element of contrast between the partners. But fundamentally the dynamics are very different. Ron and Hermione have been best friends since age 11, that's definitely not the case for James and Lily. Then of course when you look at the relationship between Harry and the Weasleys, Harry is Sirius and Ron is James.

And to circle back to hinny: while I do not want to encourage the prongsfoot shippers, if you look at Harry and Ginny in terms of chemistry and attitude towards each other, they are James and Sirius, from the non-verbal communication to the banter. If you have ever read the short story Rowling wrote about James and Sirius, you can attest to the fact that those two could have easily been Harry and Ginny.

I think I might have gone quite out of the borders of your ask, but what I wanted to explain is that there are a lot of parallels that could be made between a lot of different characters, and they could be interesting to discuss without turning them into weird bashing theories.

I find that it is also important to distinguish between actual parallels the story makes, and dynamics that are similar simply because they are all written by the same author who, as authors do, has her themes and fixations.

The parallels between hinny and jily certainly exist, some are on purpose, and some are the consequence of how similar Harry and Ginny are. But one thing is for sure, if Harry married one of his parents, he married his father (lol).

[maybe-boys-do-love]

The Trainee Episode 8, Tensions

I had a premonition from this week's episode about what online reactions to the conclusion of The Trainee will be, and I want to take this chance to preface the discourse. Episode 8 lays out all the tensions The Trainee utilizes to drive its plot and character development. Because of the specific topics it explores and their relevance to both our lives and our tv viewership, I expect no matter how the show ends, people are gonna have oPiNioNs. To me, that relevance is a sign of a show's success, whether I would make the same decisions or not, especially when the show addresses it with as much thoroughness as The Trainee does and braids them all so well together into every element of the show. Spoilers ahead.

Personal vs. Work-life

These values hold the biggest tension in the series, as we saw how unhealthy balance between the two caused so much conflict last week. This episode gave us more balance. After the last couple episodes, I had started wondering if we had forgotten about Ryan's homelife (I miss Ink :'(). How refreshing to get so much time outside of work in this episode, then!

Of course, we now know two characters live at the same location as their family's businesses. We get Ryan doing his printer duties at home again--interestingly dressed in blue after GMMTV this week officially released his "green guy" color scheme in the series (check out @respectthepetty 's rundown of character color schemes and their meanings for the show). This color change suggests Ryan's confidence and security with his home business duties. We also got to see that Ba Mhee's grown up in a home business environment in the form of her family's restaurant. This gives us an unexpected parallel between them. It personally had me considering their relationship to workplaces compared to the other characters.

Despite their different attitudes towards it, both Ryan and Ba Mhee seem to represent the potential for growth in a workplace environment instead of depending on pure passion and confidence in a field. They grew up in workplace environments that they didn't get to choose and where they were likely expected to do basic jobs to support without needing to be dedicated in a way that they caused them to feel married to the occupation and kept them from living their own personal lives. They don't necessarily think of a workplace as an environment where they need a professional version of their self to be "turned on." It's quite the opposite from their mentors and romantic counterparts Jane, Judy, and Tae.

Ryan's personal life, in the form of his best friend, waltzed into his work environment, which caused Jane's personal feelings--those things he tries so hard to bury deep down and keep out of sight of his coworkers--to emerge outside of his full awareness as he shouted orders directly to Ryan to the point that the clients noticed.

Whereas Ryan and Jane had thoughts of their professional life enter into their personal life, Ba Mhee had her professional world phsyically crash in on her personal life, as Judy met her unannounced at her family's restaurant. While I naively expected Judy to have breached that line to apologize to Ba Mhee for taking advantage of her mentor position, the show had different plans. I'm so intrigued to see how this dynamic plays out, and this moment in the episode was what led me to believe the show CANNOT resolve this tension adequately for all of its audiences because of the other two tensions the show is exploring, which have dramatic impacts on how we interpret an appropriate resolution of this first tension.

Maturity vs. Immaturity

I'm chose the language of 'maturity' specifically to point to the multiple questions the shows asked about these romances so far. We've gotten references to age between the two (Ba Mhee notes the significance of the age gap between her and Judy, Jane has not answered Ryan's question about his age). We see the differences in status and direct supervision roles at the office, which also comes with differences in knowledge about the field.

However, we also get to see the levels of maturity with which these characters deal with their problems and mistakes. Two trajectories have occurred in the show so far within this category. Ryan and Ba Mhee have grown in their abilities to take on responsibility, and I expect we will see how some of the aspects with which they entered into the office, while seemingly 'immature' are actually more mature and necessary to create a healthy and functional office environment. On the other hand, we have the peak ideal of professionalism Jane and Judy demonstrated at the beginning of the series. We can all admit that it was hot af to see people just getting the job done. The last two episodes are deconstructing the myth of these figures to give us more human characters with their own flaws and blind-spots. @dropthedemiurge has a great mini write-up about the contrast between the mature way the interns deal with their problems in this episode compared to the immature responses of the mentors.

I love that episode 8 is called "New Shoes" because we finally got to shift to Jane's perspective (and Tae viewed things from Ba Mhee's perspective). Everyone is becoming more understandable to one another in an equalizing fashion. Where does that equalization land us in the romance questions, though? How you feel about appropriate age gaps and office romance is, to some extent, going to be quite cultural. (Looking up Thai laws, it looks like a few things we've seen in the series, specifically with Judy if considered unwanted by Ba Mhee, would have crossed the line into sexual harassment).

Whatever your perspective, The Trainee has infused the series with the serious issues of sexual behavior in the workplace, from Ba Mhee and Pie's sexual harassment by a crew member, to Jane's less obvious sexual harassment by the company's client, Joy, to the client choosing to work with the company because of Judy and Ba Mhee's looks. To address and satisfactorily resolve these trends of sexual harassment fully would take quite a feat, and even then, in the way it will inevitably run up against the two romances at the heart of the show, its conclusion will have to wrestle with the final tension, which is...

Fantasy vs. Reality

The film industry is a dream factory, and this show absolutely ADORES contrasting dreams and reality. Look at Ryan and then Jane's confused daydreaming of each other throughout the morning. Look at how Ryan and Jane must stand-in for lovers for a lighting check. Look at how the stage lighting runs through the vents as they have their conversation about the shoes. We are constantly reminded throughout the show that the show itself is being constructed for our entertainment within a film industry itself. We love a meta romance!

Romance in life and in film lives in an in-between space between fantasy and reality. You have to give yourself over to romantic moments and believe in love and connection and magic, but you also have to work at relationships and compassion and paying the bills, etc. Actors and creators in romance have to make the audience believe in the reality of the love and affection on screen, and there's plenty of documentation of more than a few pairings occurring through the creation of romance works, with just as many people hating the people they're creating the appearance of romance with. The BL/QL world goes double for this confusion of fantasy and reality with the fan service of lead branded pairings and such.

Most important to The Trainee, though, is the history of the Boss-Employee trope in BLs. Its got its critics and its lovers, with great reasons on both sides if you ask me, and that's the biggest reason I can't imagine The Trainee pleasing everyone. It loves the tension between reality and fantasy, maturity and immaturity, and the personal and the workplace too much! It can't fully land on one side, and that's going to upset people on both sides. But I personally will relish it, however they choose to conclude, because few shows are taking on these kind of tensions with such dexterity and attention to detail.