#i wish their family turned out ok :(((( doomed by the narrative.....

[dalvs-wife]

that lady needs her morning tea!!

[imperiuswrecked]

To me, it doesn’t make sense to make Magneto the main villain because it has been done so much before and it would connect it so much to the Fox Films. Also I think there is a GREAT laziness in writing Magneto especially in films. He generally didn’t want to kill all humans, subjugate them yes because he doesn’t trust them. Which isn’t a ‘good guy’ move in itself and he slips in and out of.

He legit murdered genocide I think when he was going to kill all humans. Like no.

I also think that the average cinema goer likes Magneto too much… or maybe that is me. It would also require them to recast the most famous faces of the franchises?

Like is anyone going to care if they recast Jean, Scott, Iceman, Rogue, Kitty, Beast even Mystique but Magneto? I don’t know. I have long been a fan of an actual Jewish actor playing Magneto but following Ian McKellan would be difficult for the casual fans to accept. I don’t think Fassbender left such an amazing impression.

Even my most average MCU fans friends (and god they love the MCU 😤 but I see past it) still talk about how much they want to see a Magneto solo film.

To me I would put the focus on their reveal and sentinels. Then again I thought they’ll go through Krakoa stuff. Like it turns out the mutants have been living on this Island etc

With the ‘simpler times’ comment I have to for the sake of my sanity have to think that it was because Pietro knew where he was. Things were clear to him, as much as it hurt he had his sister. The following trauma had not occurred. Again I don’t think this is true but I am trying to reason bad writing. He didn’t doubt his morality but was indebted and controlled. Shitty actions were out of his control.

I don’t read Avengers so I didn’t know he was shelved for so long.

I think the Trial of Magneto is trying to ride on the coattails of Wandavision because even though she’s not a mutant a lot of the internet was wanting Magneto to show up. So what is the best way to get those fans who wanted to see that? Set up a family comic book where they establish the family again because I guess the MCU fans heard they’ve changed their background and themselves didn’t like it.

I see the Trial of Magneto as something poorly thought out as they saw what the audience was interested in. The timeline kind of clashes uncomfortably with Inferno. Which makes me think it was wedged in there to ride the Wandavision train and undo the retcon on the side of the main storyline.

Thank you for reading my essay/rant

Ok so I'm going to first say you have a lot of great thoughts and great on picking up the whole forced feeling. You are right, it does feel wedged in there and it does feel forced because that's exactly what Marvel did.

The Trial of Magneto was supposed to be an X-Factor plot, it was Leah Williams next arc, here's an article link talking about her podcast: link (yes I know it's bleeding cool but I don't have time to listen to the podcast)

Leah Williams tells us that X-Factor was canceled because Leah's pitch for the Magneto/Wanda story for X-Factor, now called Trial Of Magneto, became such a popular pitch at Marvel but they thought the reader numbers for X-Factor wasn't big enough for this story, so they wanted it as a separate comic. And canceled X-Factor #10 rather than seeing it run as originally planned, with the Trial beginning in X-Factor #15. Williams says she only learned about the cancellation of X-Factor when she was writing #9, so as she had to finish the series quickly, squeezing six issues worth of story into those last two issues, calling it "cramped and rushed".

So I'm not a fan of Leah but the way Marvel treats it's writers has always been terrible so this cancellation doesn't surprise me. Could this be about W*ndaVision? It's likely, but it's more likely this has to do with Hickman bowing out. It's no secret literally everyone hated the retcon and I always knew it would be undone but I didn't think it would take 6 years but here we are.

Hickman leaving is a bigger thing, he stated in an interview ( link ) that he had planned Krakoa and X-Men to be a 3 arc story, and he wasn't allowed to move onto the 2nd arc because the clowns at Marvel liked the idea of Krakoa too much and I'm so mad because that's exactly the kinda behavior that annoys me with the fans, them thinking Krakoa is just a fun playground for the mutants to mess around with.

"Oh, plans have changed entirely," Hickman says. "When I pitched the X-Men story I wanted to do, I pitched a very big, very broad, three-act, three-event narrative, the first of which was House of X. And while this loosely worked as a three-year plan, I told Marvel upfront that I honestly had no idea how long the first part would last because there were a lot of interesting ideas that I had seeded that other creators would want to play with, and so, we left this rather open-ended. I was also pretty clear with all the writers that came into the office what the initial, three-act plan was so no one would be surprised when it was time for the line to pivot." Hickman continues, "However, I also knew that I was cooking with dynamite, and it was very possible that what I had written in House of X, and the ideas contained within, was not actually the first act of a three-act story, but something that resonated more deeply and worked more like Giant-Size X-Men, where it would represent a paradigm shift in the entire X-Men line for a prolonged period of time. So, during the pandemic, when the time came for me to start pointing things toward writing the second-act event, I asked everyone if they were ready for me to do that, and to a man, everyone wanted to stay in the first act. It was really interesting, because I appreciated that House of X resonated with them to the extent that they didn't want it to end, but the reality was that I knew I would be leaving the line early."

I'm so MAD because the thing I was predicting, that Hickman would have it come crashing down and everything would be revealed to be terrible and Mutant Death Sex Cult Island wasn't a paradise is never going to happen because the fucking CLOWNS at Marvel don't want him to move past it. I may have my personal gripes about some of Hickman's writing but we can't deny the man wrote one of the best if only the best Marvel Event with Fantastic Four/Avengers/Secret War.

As for the simpler times comment, like I have my theories that I wrote out here, and that's what I think is most likely but I do think Pietro's life has never been easy or simple once his adoptive parents died. Pietro could be drinking to a time before the Brotherhood.

I would love for a Jewish actor to play Magneto and any other characters who are Jewish. I would love for a Jewish writer to be able to write them too. However Ian's performance literally set him in the minds of the people as Magneto, not even Fassbender's bleh one note Magneto could compare. Imo the only reason people liked the younger Magneto was because he was young, handsome (? ig idk i dont simp for him) and they could ship him with young professor X (cowards. where is the old man ship???) But I feel like a new actor could definitely fill the role if they are Jewish and the writing was good.

Magneto's writing in comics... well I just wish we could have a Jewish writer for him. There's some great stuff for him but I feel like characters like him and Doom could be written better by non white/american writers.

Although by today's standards the og X-Men trilogy doesn't hold up I will defend the first two movies with my life simply because after Blade these movies opened up the idea that a good serious, non campy version where characters called Magneto and Cyclops were taken seriously. X2 in my mind was the definitive X-Men movie. Was it totally comic accurate? No, but it doesn't do what the MCU does, it doesn't treat the watcher like they need to have their hand held through all the military propaganda and "hints to the comics". Also side note; the reason no one cared about any of the other X-Men being recast is because all through most of the X-Men movies the focal story point has been Professor X vs Magneto. If they really want people to care about those characters/actors then we would need stories that focused on them. Not like how Storm barely had any character growth or plot in the og X-Men and even young Ororo got mishandled by the script. This is why I feel we should have "origin movies" for the X-Men that don't do what Wolverine Origins did and try to make a whole new cast but instead should use the stories as they are. If it was Kurt's story then we would see him join the X-Men, and have the other actors revolve around that. Same with each of the others, the X-Men work best when they are working off each other and each given enough screen/page time to shine. Unfortunately we all have our favorites, even movies and writers, so those are who are going to be pushed for fans to love.

Thank you for your long rant and sorry for my own long rant/reply.

[joneswuzhere]

House of Usher (1960), Inferno (1980) and Rebecca (1940)

"the gothic horror story that is cheryl blossom’s life.”

happy halloween!! the time is right to collect these meaningful s1 cheryl moments together and talk about the themes of gothic horror in her narrative.

gothic horror is a huge genre that originates from a style of literature of the late 18th century and on. some examples of famous works are: the raven, frankenstein, dracula, turn of the screw, wuthering heights, and the picture of dorian gray. gothic horror stories usually involve in some way the overlap of death and love, and a mystery that creates suspense or dread while presenting questions about morality.  the narratives punish and reward people, especially women, for how sinful or virtuous they are. there may be supernatural or spiritual elements or it may be fully mundane, but it’s always creepy.

items 1 & 2: house of usher is adapted from edgar allan poe’s 1839 short story with a few details changed to give it a romantic plot. in the film, philip, madeline usher’s betrothed, visits her in the decrepit isolated usher family home to bring her away for marriage. but madeline’s brother, roderick, forbids her to leave or to have kids and continue the usher line. the siblings (twins in poe’s original) suffer from a fatal illness that rod claims is passed down per the evil family curse. he wants the curse, which causes inevitable madness, to end with the two of them, the last of their family.

madeline abruptly succumbs and is entombed in the crypt. phil desperately fights against the crumbling house and her strange and controlling brother, looking for a way to understand the curse and her inexplicable illness and sudden death. he finds no explanation except that her death appears to have really been a cataleptic state from which she rises with superhuman strength, busts out of her tomb and goes berserk. she uses the last of her life to strangle her brother as revenge for knowingly burying her alive.

roderick’s guilt for the part he plays in his sister’s fate and the terror that he feels while waiting for her inevitable revenge can be compared to cheryl. her nightmare of jason clawing out of his casket to strangle her is a product of the feeling she later explains at his memorial - guilt and sorrow that she and her family failed to protect jason.

there’s more parallels: the familiar family dress code, and the landscape at large - in the film, the land around the house of usher has been literally poisoned by the family’s curse, generations of evil seeping into the ground itself. in riverdale, the investigation of jason’s murder lifts the veil on the darkness in the town and reveals the part the blossom family has played in the decay.

also at the end a storm or possibly supernatural forces burn the house down.

item 3: lol a very happy halloween to you specifically from that guy. i’m not 100% confident this scene is a reference bc nothing else about this film, inferno, lines up with cheryl or rd s1 (a bullet dodged tbh) BUT it is gothic horror and there’s enough here for me to gif and compare so,

‘girl wearing white has an underwater corpse scare while the audience shouts, what are you doing, don’t do that’ is pretty much the whole parallel. rose, the woman in the film, is not attempting suicide in an icy river and that’s not her brother. she’s. well, she’s looking for her keys that she dropped in a hole in the basement of her building that leads to a room filled with fancy furniture and water. i have no idea whose body that is. it’s just like that sometimes i guess.

this film is like if wes anderson had a gel-lit fever dream of a possessed apartment building populated with b actors, no plot, and a lot of cats that probably wished the american humane association was in europe.

also.... at the end an accident burns the apartment building down.

items 4 & 5: the film rebecca follows an unnamed heroine’s romantic remembrances of a time of uncertainty in her life. she moved into the manor manderlay as the second wife of maxim de winter following the death of his first wife, rebecca. the heroine struggles to make her new marriage work in a house full of the past.

rebecca’s personal maid and confidante, the creepy and manipulative mrs. danvers, has been retained as the head house keeper at manderlay. she obsessively preserves rebecca’s presence in the house and resents the heroine for replacing her.

at the end of the film, after a murder has been solved and all the uncertainties have been cleared, a revelation shows to danvers that her devotion to rebecca was not mutual.

so she decides to burn the house down.

listen, not all gothic horror stories end in a house burning down. just the ones cited in cheryl’s scenes.

it’s difficult to see in that gif - mrs. danvers carries a candle and approaches the second mrs. de winter asleep in front of a lit fireplace, then turns as she thinks about doing some arson. she would “rather destroy manderlay than see [the newlywed couple] happy there.” post-arson, she revels in the flames with fascination. the reference to mrs. danvers in cheryl’s actions is clear.

there’s also, at the point of the s1 finale, a big similarity between rebecca and the deceased clifford blossom: their mysterious deaths, the exoneration of a man through the revelation of their lies, and their influence on others from beyond the grave that is ultimately wiped out with fire.

another thing is, cheryl burns down thornhill “to start over” but also to punish her mother.

a prominent motif in the film is lesbian desire. this isn’t that unusual in the gothic genre which deals a lot with exploring and/or suppressing female sexuality. mrs. danvers’ obsession with rebecca’s attractive qualities is super suggestive. even the heroine’s envy of rebecca is suggestive of desire.

cheryl has been abused by penelope in many ways including, we later find out, being denied the wlw part of her identity. destroying the house where this abuse has taken place, the house which is an asset of wealth for her abuser, is a way for her to escape, get revenge, and begin to take back control of her identity.

ok this is so long. last point. these film references align s1 cheryl with antagonistic and/or doomed characters, not the heroes or survivors. but i think, after her ups and (very concerning) downs in s2, there’s been a shift in her character marked at the beginning of s3. the film rebecca begins with the heroine looking upon the burnt remains of manderlay in a dream and reflecting on the “strange days of [her] life” spent there.

at the thornhill pool party in 3.01 the camera pans from the burnt shell of the house down to cheryl who is also thinking about her past. she is again in parallel to the film but this time to the compassionate heroine. i wonder - will this be the direction of her development this season?

bonus: another rd character with significant gothic horror themes

[thelifetimechannel]

ROSE: And it's been hanging over our heads the whole time. JAKE: Hold on a tick! JAKE: I may be a newcomer to all this cosmic mythology but i recall being informed that skaia was one of the good guys. ROSE: Informed by who? JAKE: Well... by our sprites and some of the carvings in the ruins and things like that. HALSPRITE: Everyone knows we game guides are completely trustworthy. DIRK: Wait, are you working for an even bigger bad? HALSPRITE: No. But there are certain things I can't say, or have to be party to. HALSPRITE: We've been over this, remember? HALSPRITE: My ectoplasm is still sore from your Emperor Palpatine tantrum. KANAYA: Skaia Controls The Narrative We Are Privy To KANAYA: Especially For Prospit Heroes Who Gain Glimpses In The Clouds During The Eclipse KANAYA: I Thought Those Images Were Random KANAYA: But JADE: but its pretty suspicious that it kept so much of the bad stuff from me! JADE: i might not have been so eager to play otherwise JADE: even if its not like we ever had a choice :/ JADE: and the other calliope said she had a hand in choosing those images soooo DAVE: i thought skaia "sees and knows" and couldnt do jack shit DAVE: howd we get from there to here JADE: we didnt know until today that skaia had a "cherub behind the curtain" :o CALLIOPE: after her speech i'm not sUre whether skaia reflects her will entirely or is only inspired by it. CALLIOPE: bUt it is not a neUtral actor. CALLIOPE: and she admitted to having a hand in the rUles of the game that broUght Us here. ROSE: Feferi mentioned the gods might have had something to do with it as well. ROSE: Aradia, do you know anything about that? ARADIA: i suspected something like it ARADIA: it made sense, considering derse dreamers role as emissaries to the noble circle and each incipispheres presence nestled within the furthest ring ARADIA: how they struck that deal or what it involved i dont know though DIRK: The point is, this game didn't come out of nowhere. DIRK: Someone had to make it. KANAYA: So To Clarify KANAYA: If The Other Cherub Is Skaia You Wish To Depose Her KANAYA: But If She Is The Consciousness Guiding Skaia You Would Replace Her Instead CALLIOPE: hold on. CALLIOPE: i don't trUst myself with that kind of responsibility. JANE: I'm not sure anyone should be! JAKE: Yes its like galadriel getting the ring! JOHN: if you don't make yourself the person in charge, but skaia has like... what did you call it? JOHN: a consciousness? JOHN: could you give it a conscience? KARKAT: HOLD UP. KARKAT: I KNOW ROSE ALREADY CAME TO ME PEDDLING THIS LATEST HERESY BUT I THINK IT OUGHT TO AT LEAST COME TO A VOTE. KARKAT: THIS COULD HAVE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES, AND THE DOOR IS RIGHT THERE. KARKAT: IF ANYONE DOESN'T WANT TO RISK THEIR LIVES FOR THIS, SPEAK NOW. JANE: Could we get a description of what this plan actually /is/? ROSE: We'll need to work the details out. KARKAT: SHE WANTS TO MEDDLE WITH THE GENESIS FROG'S DNA. KARKAT: LIKE THAT WENT SO WELL LAST TIME. DAVE: the tadpoles already flown the coop on that one DAVE: unless you want to send john all the way back to our breeding session JOHN: oh come on, i can't be the solution to EVERYONE'S problems. ROSE: I wasn't going to suggest that. ROSE: Once we have a better grasp of what we want to change, we have someone with an even better skillset for reshaping reality to our liking. CALLIOPE: my other self got Us into this mess. CALLIOPE: i don't know how exactly bUt it's only fitting i get Us oUt of it. ROXY: soooo ROXY: we need 2 come up w/ a world we like ARADIA: without breaking too much ARADIA: this system works for what its designed to do ARADIA: you cant abolish it entirely without some kind of replacement SOLLUX: she's saying maybe d0n't torch the place with0ut at least reading the manual. ROXY: so we gotta reverse engineer it ROXY: sounds like a plan 2 me JAKE: I could take another look at those carvings... JANE: /clears throat/ JANE: I think Karkat is right, we should have a show of hands. JANE: Everyone in favor of pursuing this? ROXY: this game sux ass ROXY: if i can stop more doomed ppl gettin axed just bc they were in the wrong place then im gonna do it ROXY: count me in DAVE: wait i thought english was the guy behind most of our doomed timelines DAVE: with his alpha timeline forcing everyone to make one set of decisions DAVE: didnt we beat him and get rid of that JAKE: I think its fair to say calliope did! CALLIOPE: ^U^ ARADIA: its true that his influence generated far more fruitless offshots than would exist otherwise ARADIA: and constricted our paths to prioritize a single narrative ARADIA: but timeline dooming is always a mechanism available to players ARADIA: and the game sets up certain loops on its own ROSE: Lord English isn't the one who sent meteors to destroy our planet. JOHN: no he isn't. JOHN: and that's not fair, that is not what any of us signed up for. JOHN: i've been rewriting rules all day, and this sounds like a great one to get rid of. JOHN: i'll help you guys out. DAVE: well then DAVE: might as well go two for two TEREZI: SK414S T4ST3S 4R3 DR4CON14N 3V3N FOR M3 TEREZI: WH4T K1ND OF JUST1C3 SO W4NTONLY T4RG3TS 1NNOC3NTS TEREZI: 1 WOULDNT M1ND T4K1NG 1T DOWN 4 P3G JADE: i dont know how long ill have my first guardian powers back, but im willing to use them JADE: no one should be treated like pawns no matter what your justification is ROSE: My anti-authoritarian streak is already common knowledge. ROSE: I guess they were right warning you away from dreamers from the wrong side of the tracks. ROSE: Derse is a hotbed for radicalism. DIRK: It must run in the family. DIRK: Why do away with a good tradition? HALSPRITE: There's no way I'd turn down an opportunity to fuck with a fundamental component of the universe. KANAYA: Creation Is Under My Jurisdiction KANAYA: But Creation Pursued At Any Cost Can Be Just As Destructive As Intentional Violence KANAYA: Maybe I Can Put My Inclinations To Pacify Dangerous Forces To Good Use JAKE: Im through with being shoved around! JAKE: If this will help some other people out there in the multiverse who might get saddled with all this games expectations then i think its our duty to try. JANE: What kind of Empress would I be if I didn't try to secure the best possible future for whoever comes after us? JANE: Besides, I've sat back in the face of tyranny long enough. NANNASPRITE: I have too. DAVESPRITE: my programming wont allow me to participate in this DAVESPRITE: nah im just fucking with you lets kill the suffering orb ARADIA: ive spent a long time doing things because they had to be done ARADIA: to fulfill some time loop or the will of the game ARADIA: it would be nice to make a momentous decision on my own for once CALLIOPE: my other self said i woUld never be a proper mUse, bUt i take issUe with her methods. CALLIOPE: i think it's proper to set them right. SOLLUX: i feel like i'm c0ming into this discussi0n missing a lot of c0ntext but if it means we'll get a move 0n, sure. SOLLUX: sgrub 0r skaia or whatever cosmic f0rce we're ganging up on can suck my bulge. TEREZI: COM3 ON K4RK4T YOU KNOW YOU W4NT TO KARKAT: I GUESS MY REVOLUTIONARY ANCESTOR WOULD BE ASHAMED OF ME OTHERWISE. KARKAT: EVEN IF HE WAS KIND OF A JACKASS. KARKAT: AND THIS GAME HAS BEEN PRETTY TERRIBLE. KARKAT: LET'S JUST TRY NOT TO GET ANYONE KILLED THIS TIME. KARKAT: OK, WE'VE ALL GOT OUR HANDS UP NOW. KARKAT: THIS STIRRING SHOW OF CAMARADERIE WILL MOVE THE HEAVENS. KARKAT: "LOOK, THEY HAVE THEIR HANDS RAISED! WE WERE WRONG. GIVE THEM WHATEVER THEY ASK FOR, AND PASS ME THE TISSUES." KARKAT: GOOD JOB TEAM. I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY WITH YOURSELVES.

====>

[thelawyerthatwaspromised]

The Story of Jon Snow as Told In One of Culture’s Most Popular Tales

As I think about the narrative arc of Jon Snow, one thing became clear: I’ve seen this before! Jon Snow’s literary reflection might be America’s most popular tale. What his arc says about the main themes of Game of Thrones tells me a few things:

1.) The Hero will be faced with a choice between Home and Heritage

2.) The Hero will be confronted face to face with the Ghosts of the Old World

3.) The Hero will not turn their back on Home

4.) The Antagonist to the Hero could very easily be seen as having noble intentions

To really illustrate this, I used non-specific terms to describe both story arcs. The first is filled in with images from Game of Thrones for the reader to easily identify how the story thread is present in Jon Snow. I then used the same exact language but images from this second story to show these parallel journeys.

ORIGINS OF THE HERO

A boy (”Hero”), born from an ancient line from a man believed to be the best hope before his life was ultimately cut shorter than expected (“Father”)

The boy kept in hiding

Raised by a good man (“Dad”)

Dad was a man of values and gentleness

“New Home” is a place viewed as much simpler than “Old World”

New Home is where Hero grew up

Old World was once a great place of power and wonder

Old World doomed itself

FAMILY OF THE HERO

Hero is raised by Dad and his family

Dad never forgets where Hero truly came from but tries to shield Hero

Hero feels out of place

Hero never truly fits in because, at his core, he IS different

Hero is kept hidden with a new identity

Dad dies with secret in order to protect Hero

Dad lied to the world and the lie was believed because Dad to the world Dad could not be a liar

Dad believed world may never be ready to know the secret

The person Hero loves is from New Home (“New Love”)

ELEMENT OF CHOICE

Hero suffers tragedy

Hero’s true identity is revealed

Hero suffers identity crisis

Hero meets members of Old World (“Long Lost”)

Long Lost was exiled when the Old World was collapsing

Long Lost yearns for a return to former greatness

Long Lost sees Hero as last thread connecting Long Lost to Old World

Long Lost tries to convince Hero that their world is better than New Home

Long Lost tries to pit Hero against New Home

Long Lost reveals that they must either force New Home to submit to Old World or New World must be extinguished

Long Lost tends to be uncompromising in their pursuit

Hero tries to encourage cooperation between New Home and Old World

Lost Lost forces Hero into a position of making the “Decision”

Hero must decide what to cling to

WHAT THE HERO REPRESENTS

Hero is shown during identity crisis to be a blend of New Home and Old World

Hero is meant to bring out the best in both

Hero comes from Mighty Old World but raised with the gentleness of the New Home

Hero viewed as weaker by Long Lost due to gentleness

Hero’s perceived weaknesses are actually strengths

Hero draws strength from New Love

Long Lost underestimates strength of the Hero

Hero grows beyond what Long Lost is capable of because of qualities of New Home

Hero’s strength is the true legacy of Dad

FATE OF THE HERO

Hero makes Decision

Hero chooses New Home over Old World

Hero chooses the people the Hero loves

Long Lost grows to hate Hero

Long Lost thinks they must kill Hero to re-build Old World

Hero wants to avoid conflict with Long Lost

Long Lost forces Hero into conflict by threatening New Home and New Love(s)

Hero must destroy Long Lost (“The Conflict”)

The Conflict itself is tragic as Hero wished to avoid it altogether

Hero embodies the Reluctant Hero

Hero wins and preserves New Home

Hero never fully shuns Old World identity but blends it with his New Home

The New Home is simply “Home”

The Old World is simply “A memory”

So you might say: “Well ok, but Daenerys isn’t a villain. He loves her. She just wants to...”

And that’s where you’re losing the argument. Because intentions do not make the character; actions and results do. The “means” by which our Hero pursues the goal is as important to us as the goal itself. So, let me flip the script here. I can draw an exact parallel to the journey above where the Antagonist does not have purely evil intentions, but has been seduced by evil methods. The audience in the next example knows EXACTLY who the hero is and who the “villain” is, even if the “villain” isn’t traditionally evil.

ORIGINS OF THE HERO

Superman serves as a perfect parallel to the journey of Jon Snow. Man of Steel isn’t a cinematic classic, but it’s story threads are so deeply rooted in literature and classical Hero storytelling that it’s very difficult to not see the story of Clark Kent permeate other stories.

A boy (”Hero”), born from an ancient line from a man believed to be the best hope before his life was ultimately cut shorter than expected (“Father”)

The boy kept in hiding

Raised by a good man (“Dad”)

Dad was a many of values and gentleness

“New Home” is a place viewed as much simpler than “Old World”

New Home is where Hero grew up

Old World was once a great place of power and wonder

Old World doomed itself

FAMILY OF THE HERO

Hero is raised by Dad and his family

Dad never forgets where Hero truly came from but tries to shield Hero

Hero feels out of place

Hero never truly fits in because, at his core, he IS different

Hero is kept hidden with a new identity

Dad dies with secret in order to protect Hero

Dad lied to the world and the lie was believed because Dad to the world Dad could not be a liar

Dad believed world may never be ready to know the secret

The person Hero loves is from New Home (“New Love”)

ELEMENT OF CHOICE

Hero suffers tragedy

Hero’s true identity is revealed

Hero suffers identity crisis

Hero meets members of Old World (“Long Lost”)

Long Lost was exiled when the Old World was collapsing and suffers in their journey

Long Lost yearns for a return to former greatness

Long Lost sees Hero as last thread connecting Long Lost to Old World

Long Lost tries to convince Hero that their world is better than New Home

Long Lost tries to pit Hero against New Home

Long Lost reveals that they must either force New Home to submit to Old World or New World must be extinguished

Long Lost tends to be uncompromising in their pursuit

Hero tries to encourage cooperation between New Home and Old World

Lost Lost forces Hero into a position of making the “Decision”

Hero must decide what to cling to

You may not like the Hero’s choice. But the Hero will not turn their back on Home.

WHAT THE HERO REPRESENTS

Hero is shown during identity crisis to be a blend of New Home and Old World

Hero is meant to bring out the best in both

Hero comes from Mighty Old World but raised with the gentleness of the New Home

Hero viewed as weaker by Long Lost due to gentleness

Hero’s perceived weaknesses are actually strengths

Hero draws strength from New Love

Long Lost underestimates strength of the Hero

Hero grows beyond what Long Lost is capable of because of qualities of New Home

Hero’s strength is the true legacy of Dad

FATE OF THE HERO

Hero makes Decision

Hero chooses New Home over Old World

Hero chooses the people the Hero loves

Long Lost grows to hate Hero

Long Lost thinks they must kill Hero to re-build Old World

Hero wants to avoid conflict with Long Lost

Long Lost forces Hero into conflict by threatening New Home and New Love(s)

Hero must destroy Long Lost (“The Conflict”)

The Conflict itself is tragic as Hero wished to avoid it altogether

Hero embodies the Reluctant Hero

Hero wins and preserves New Home

Hero never fully shuns Old World identity but blends it with his New Home

The New Home is simply “Home”

The Old World is simply “A memory”

Daenerys does not have to want to kill people to be an antagonist.

Daenerys can be an antagonist by pursuing goals and using means that conflict with the protagonist.

Jon Snow’s story so closely resembles Clark Kent’s not only in the hidden identity, but at the core conflict.

Zod represents Clark’s other half, his Kryptonian half.

Daenerys represents Jon’s other half, his Targaryen half.

Zod wants to re-establish his “home”.

Daenerys wants to re-establish her “home”.

That alone makes neither a villain but the means they choose to employ do make them villains.

Zod wants to re-shape the world and accepts that this means innocents will die.

Daenerys wants to force a choice for people to live in HER new world, or die in their old one.

Neither Zod nor Daenerys realize they represent the OLD WORLD whose time has come and passed.

Jon Snow grew up in the North similar to Clark Kent growing up in Kansas.

They were both formed by the traditions of the men who raised them much more than the historical legacies of their fathers.

The bonds formed after birth are stronger than the ones formed because of birth. Jon Snow and Clark Kent both reflect the internal struggle of “Home vs. DNA”.

Both will be faced with a choice...one which the Old World will force them to make. They both will be faced with skepticism from their Home once it’s shown that they’re not exactly who everyone believed. Both will ultimately make the same decision.

[mazarinrouge]

Let’s Read The Promise: Part 2

Previously, I made a post compiling all my thoughts on the first part of the ATLA comic, The Promise. For the most part, I suppose it was entertaining enough. But I have to warn you here, part 2 is extremely boring. It’s a lot of word vomit and a dumb side-plot about Toph because the writer doesn’t know how to handle the main plot.

Without further ado, The Promise: Part Two.

Okay, so, by boring I mean painfully mediocre. Part two’s majority is a giant side plot about Toph’s metalbending academy, you know, because the main plot was too inane to expand upon. There’s really no saving it, and I guess the author noticed? This part is REALLY long and not all that interesting or outrageous. After Zuko stops his support of the “Restoration Movement” (Mass-Emigrate Unwilling Population Movement), fire nation teacher and kids come to the academy because it was previously a firebending dojo. Problems ensue.

I wish Zuko were in this fight so he could harm a child and then Aang would have to murder him because he made an Avatar’s Promise TM. This doesn’t happen though, they have a fight NOT to the death because Sokka is a wimp. Toph says we fight in three days so we can easily ditch this plot and go to some KATAANG. When you’re sure the reader is bored throw in Aang and Katara hand holding. That’ll work right? The audience can’t see behind your veil of bait. Right ?

The Aang Fan Club (which has apparently existed for a while. And is also composed of girls who all wear the exact same ugly green outfit. And all constantly carry the same picture of Aang with them wherever they go) shows up and Katara is Angery....grrr...

Hmm..where have I seen this exact scenario before? I mean, not to be rude, but this seems familiar somehow. I’m getting the vibe it was just...oh, I can’t put my finger on it...blatantly ripped from the show? No...

That would just be dumb and lazy, you know. If the writer just copied something he’d seen before. And would also kind of undermine the individuality of the comics. And reinforce the idea not much has changed since the end of the war, especially in terms of character progression. That would be dumb.

Also, this girl ends almost every sentence with a question mark. Is she supposed to be uptalking? It’s just a little annoying.

But then we SUDDENLY cut to Zuko and Ozai! (gasp) There’s only two pages of this, and it’s Ozai recounting an old family story from Ember island, which turns out to be a totally not obvious metaphor to what is going out right now. Little Zuko saved a turtle from a hawk, but now the hawk will go hungry. Little Zuko doesn’t know what to do. Big Zuko wants to help colonies, sees it is eradicating people from their land, doesn’t want to do that anymore, and then makes a different decision that is also bad. Big Zuko tries to get reassurance from his dad. Who, in the show, he kind of went up against and said he’d probably never agree with him, but alright. Ok. I’m saying that the analogy doesn’t work because Big Comic Zuko isn’t indifferent like the narrative wants us to think he is. He’s already made his choices.

The writer isn’t so sure what to do again now, so here’s more metalbending school filler. Sokka helps teach the kids metalbending, and you know, this side plot is pretty cute. It, along with the entirety of this part, is just so far off from the tone of the previous part. It’s a shocking mood swing, honestly.

We cut back to Aang and his ladies and

This is Katara in the corner. She is sad. She is moping because Aang don’t even pay attention to her.

Am I the only one who sees this weird discoloration on her lip, by the way? I’m wondering if this is just an online error.

This scene is weird. I don’t know. I’m glad Aang found a group of fanatic girls because they did have old cultural artifacts from the air nomads, and seeing that all makes Aang happy again. But I don’t think he’d just let Katara sit there moping around. Because, it’s not like this situation has happened before or anything.

There is now another talk between Ozai and Zuko.

“Do you think the Earth King [has any experience in political affairs at all? Didn’t yo know he was only a puppet for a higher organization? How is he even back in power anyway?]”

19 more pages of Tokka filler and random teenage assassin girl later...

We get one page of Aang and Katara talking to the Earth King about the problems. Somehow, Katara is the only one with the idea that Zuko may have legitimate concerns. And then this interesting conversation is immediately dropped the next page for more WACKY filler with the WACKY side characters Sokka and Toph, they’re funny right??

Yeah dummy, just go back to using the Avatar as your threat. I mean, you don’t need soldiers in the first place. This doesn’t feel like an escalation because it already seemed like Kuei was just using Aang to easily enforce his agenda.

Have you figured out the formula of this comic yet? If you did, then yes, you’re right. There is definitely more Toph and Sokka filler right after this short scene. I’m sensing a pattern here.

And they weren’t leaving their homes and families the first time, and it’s all okay because you guys peacefully forced them out right? I also like how Aang dismisses what Zuko says, so he can do that dumb fucking beat of, “ A promise is a promise I am going to murder Zuko.” Of course, Katara has nothing to say on this either. They’re like little dialogue machines that don’t interact with each other, just spout dumb one-liners.

THERE’S MORE FIREBENDING METAL TOPH ACADEMY BULLSHIT RIGHT AFTER THIS WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES THE PROMISE WHT THE FUCK.

It cuts to Zuko and Mai. Mai is leaving Zuko forever because she found out Zuko had the audacity to talk to his dad. Eh, I saw the inconsistency too, I don’t blame her.

And with that, the Earth King is marching a giant ass army on Yu Dao (his own territory, I assume. Still no clarification on how the governments there work). Everything seems doomed. But Toph’s academy is okay, so that’s good I guess.

TL;DR

Pages total: 76

Pages without filler: 18 (23%)

[travllingbunny]

Theory on how <SPOILER> from Agents of SHIELD came to be

Everything under the cut. Major spoilers for the latest Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode 4.15 “Self Control”, promos for the next arc (returning in April) and the title of the last arc (the remaining 7 episodes of season 4).

And I’ve just seen the news as I was finishing this post…

R.I.P. Bill Paxton. Just 61, that’s way too young to go. :(

As you all know if you’ve seen the latest AoS episode, it ended with some pretty huge and twisty (and twisted) revelations about the virtual reality universe created by Holden Radcliffe and Aida, called “The Framework”. Ya all no doubt also know that, thanks to that, you-know-who is returning to the show (cue hilarious fandom meltdowns over the last couple of days, just as you’d expect). And, just as I was hoping ever since the Framework was mentioned (and kind of guessing, since Chloe Bennet gave an interview a couple of weeks ago saying that episode 15 and the last arc was going to be awesome, mindblowing, and rewarding for fans who have been watching since season 1) it looks like we’re going to be spending a lot of time in the Framework - in fact, we’re obviously going to be spending the last 7 episodes at least partially in the Framework, because the last ‘pod’ (as they call those arcs now) is called…

Yep! That’s right! Earlier in the season when they mentioned Hydra in a pretty random context, I joked on another blog that the show just loves Hydra so much it doesn’t know how to quit it even when it’s dead - and boy, was I right, more than I knew! I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m absolutely loving this. Because it seems that, out of all variations of Hydra, this seems to be the Captain America: Winter Soldier, Alexander Pierce version of Hydra, which is the best one - it has never worked narratively as well as it did in CA:TWS,’when it was a blatant allegory for modern authoritarianism and US security policy of the 2000s (no matter how much many people may like to go with “rah rah Hydra are NAZIS!!!!” which is obviously incorrect, for those who have a basic clue about what National Socialist ideology is actually about) and in season 1 of AoS, when it was basically the dark side of SHIELD coming into the open, the other side of the same coin. Only now in this AU, this Hydra has apparently subsumed SHIELD and is out in the open and publicly accepted. 

Jed Whedon has confirmed that this is not just a shared virtual simulation, but a full-blown AU, because apparently the magic (?) of Darkhold has given Aida the ability to replicate the ‘real’ world perfectly - except for “fixing” just a few things to make the lives of those who are connected to the Framework better and less painful. Namely, they fixed the “greatest regret” of everyone whose brains Aida has scanned and connected them to the network (May, Coulson, Fitz, Mack, Mace, Radcliffe’s ex-girlfriend Agnes, and probably Radcliffe himself as well). As far as we know, or can guess, based on what was revealed earlier in the season, these are:

May - Bahrain (we saw it play out differently and get a “happy ending” in episode 4.11 “Wake Up”)

Coulson - joining SHIELD instead of having a normal life

Mack - obviously, his daughter dying

Fitz - probably something about his father; he eithe wishes he had a loving and supportive father, or a loving and supportive father figure growing up

Mace - based on all we know of him, he probably wishes he were an actual superhero

Agnes - ? I don’t know. Maybe she wishes she had never hooked up with Radcliffe?

And everyone else in that world is basically an avatar whose life turned out differently due to those changes. Whedon’s explanation about Darkhold serves how this AU is so elaborate, and to make these virtual people - like Framework Ward - seem more “real”. But Daisy and Simmons have now hacked into the Framework without having their brains scanned, so they are going to be inhabiting these version of themselves that would have existed under very different circumstances, without Aida having adjusted their memories accordingly. (Or at least Daisy will… Things may be a bit tricky with Simmons…)

Now here are some scenarios how it all came to be.

In this reality, the Hydra takeover may have happened in a more “peaceful” way. The events of Captain America: TWS only happened because of Cap’s actions. Maybe in this reality, without Coulson, the Avengers did not get to band together in time, and the crisis was actually resolved by the bombing of New York (this is not my idea, someone on Youtube brought up the bombing). Maybe Cap died, and never got to foil Pierce’s plans. Or maybe Cap was never even awakened from his sleep. In any case, it’s probably a result of Coulson not being in SHIELD.

So in this scenario, there may not have been a big Hydra/SHIELD showdown (the Triskelion is still standing, undamaged) - they were practically the same organization for decades, and SHIELD just transformed into Hydra, or Hydra subsumed SHIELD. Some people probably were quietly disposed of, and others may have gone underground (I have some ideas who may be among the latter, based on some filming spoilers), but there is no separate SHIELD organization still standing. And neither organization got the reputation of terrorist organization in the public - instead, this new Hydra, which I’m going to be calling SHydra, is out in the open publicly accepted.

Now, how would that happen? We know that the Inhumans are pretty much universally feared in the AU (kids are even taught in school to fear them), and that Hydra has successfully subsumed SHIELD and is now out in the public and accepted. Those two things could be connected. Some really catastrophic events and widespread fear of aliens and Inhumans - these threatening ‘others’ - could have gotten many people to decide that stricter security and tougher measures are needed, and Hydra used the fear and instability to convince people it’s necessary. (This would of course be incredibly ironic considering the goal for which Hydra was founded, which was to bring to Earth the most powerful and dangerous Inhuman of them all, but that was a secret kept even from many of the Hydra members.) Now, the fish oil thing presumably never happened, but the world may have become aware of the Inhumans in other ways - whether it’s just  through Katya and other who left Afterlife, or the Royal Family (incidentally, the subject of the upcoming Inhumans TV show) or some other Inhumans, or something else may have happened that  led to a lot of other people going throuth the Terrigenesis. There are ltos of different possibiltiies.

 And a lot of people within SHIELD and in the public decided that maybe that’s right, and freedom really wasn’t the main priority under these circumstances. After all, SHIELD (with Hydra in it) was already an organization that did things like kidnap citizens and bring them in for illegal interrogations, or recruit troubled and desperate teenagers by practically kidnapping straight from juvie, or send their agents on what were practically suicide missions, or secretly break into government facilities in various countries, killing everyone inside, in order to steal dangerous weapons because they thought it was safer in their hands, and then hoard those weapons instead of destroying them or sending them into space (which Fury was lying about to the operatives with security clearances under Level 9). And they almost launched Project INSIGHT. So why not take it to the next level, when the world is under such a threat?

(Incidentally, Project INSIGHT probably went as planned, which would mean that at least Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, as well as Stephen Strange, are dead, since they were among the targets.)

This is where May’s regret also comes in. Saving Katya was not a happy ending, unless you change her nature completely, since she was deranged and incredibly dangerous. Maybe she did all sorts of destructive things since (Bahrain happened several years ago) and was responsible for some of the fear of the Inhumans in the AU. Which could have made May all the more determined to fix things, with tougher methods and stricter security, if needed. She was already in season 1, when Coulson was insisting on icers instrad of killing, prone to saying things like, maybe it would be better if Chan Yo Hin did not survive, or telling Ward after his murder of Thomas Nash “You killed a man in cold blood! (…) Which would be OK, if you hadn’t killed the wrong guy!” And if May is Hydra, you know that she’s not in it for opportunistic reasons like Garrett, she’s not in it just for personal loyalty to one person, like Ward - she’s in it because she really think that’s the right way to go. 

In this reality, Daisy may still be called Skye and may not have superpowers, if she had not gone through Terrigenesis. I kind of want her to not have powers, as it would force her to do things more in the old-school way.

The SkyeWard of it is the easiest to explain. Coulson not being a part of SHIELD butterflied away all the reasons why tha relationship was doomed. This is a reality where Ward was not a double agent in the team Skye/Daisy was a part of, since without Coulson’s resurrection he had no reason to be (since that was all about Garrett giving him a mission to find out more about Coulson’s resurrection, so Garrett would find the “Jesus juice” to keep him alive), so there’s no personal betrayal or finding dead bodies of strangled agents. And, considering how much she was into Ward from the start, the only reason they were not together in mid-season 1 was because Ward was keeping his distance in order to be focused on the mission Garrett had given him, and opted for sleeping with May for tactical reasons (something he also wouldn’t need to do in the AU). In this reality, they got together and stayed together for the last 3-4 years, happily working together for SH…Hydra.

In the ‘real’ world, Skye/Daisy was recruited for SHIELD by Coulson and Ward. With no Coulson, she still could have been recruited by SHIELD (Hydra… SHydra). Maybe by May and Ward. In the normal reality, she was originally investigating SHIELD to find out about her origin and her parents, and that’s how she got their attention, and that may have happened here as well. Rewatching season 1, I was struck by how important Ward was in those early episodes for her growing closer to SHIELD (ironically enough) and away from the Rising Tide. It was second in importance only to the father/daughter relationship she immediately developed with Coulson. In season 3, she has admitted that a large part of the draw of SHIELD was that it was the only family she has ever had, and in episode 3.9 she said she could understand how Ward similarly needed a strong father figure (which he found in Garrett) and even how Garrett could draw him into Hydra, because she was fooled by her mother for a while. With all that in mind, it’s not that hard to imagine her becoming a part of SHydra, with May as a strong mother figure and Ward as boyfriend.

But now the Daisy with all the memories of things that have happened in seasons 1-4, has dropped into the life of that other Daisy/Skye who has had a completely different last few years… and boy, is she in for a surprise when she sees who her boyfriend is. And this Framework Ward, who has his personality but completely different memories of the last 4 years (pretty much the opposite of Hive), is going to be equally surprised when he sees her acting strange and not so happy to see him, and becoming almost a different person overnight.It’s going to be awk-ward, to say the least. And fun to watch, in a terrible way. Or terrible, in a fun way.

Fitz probably had a father figure in this reality and it resulted in him being much more confident than the real Fitz ever was, which has led to him becoming a genius billionaire (playboy philantropist). I like the idea thatRadcliffe designed a reality where he actually knew Fitz from an early age and was his father figure, both because he wanted it and because he thought it was what Fitz needed. Radcliffe’s influence may have made Fitz a lot more confident and successful, but maybe a also lot less ethical. He may be working for Hydra as a consultant, like Tony does for SHIELD in the ‘real’ world. (I don’t know who the woman with him was, but it would be fun if it’s Agnes - it would pay off the weird Aida/Fitz vibes from earlier in the season.) 

So, I’m going to guess that Agents of Hydra are:

May - one of SHydra’s leaders Ward and Daisy (probably still Skye) - SHydra agents Mace - he may be the Patriot, the public superhero face othe organization, SHydra’s version of Captain America Fitz -  SHydra’s version of Tony Stark Mack - not sure, but he may also be an agent (SHydra is out in the open and accepted and members may be able to lead more 'normal’ lives)

Now, Coulson is the only one we know for sure is a civilian - a school teacher. But they still need to find a way for him to be in contact with the others… If what RoboCoulson told RoboMay is true, that that Philinda are together in the Framework, maybe Coulson is May’s husband. They could have still met if he went to the SHIELD Academy but then opted not to join after all. He probably never met Audrey (because in the real world he met her because he was on an assignment to protect her from Marcus Daniels aka Blackout), and definitely didn’t meet Rosalind. May’s relationship with Andrew may have gone south, but for different reasons than in the real world. Maybe he didn’t like her new development. (Speaking of other characters, Lincoln is probably alive, but either in the Afterlife or being a doctor somewhere, and has never even met Daisy.)

…And then there’s Simmons, who is… dead? Or “dead”?

I’m not convinced she’s really dead. My first assumption was to assume she’s faked her death. It wouldn’t be the first time a character in MCU has done it. The reason I believe that is that I would be incredibly surprised if we did not see Elizabeth Henstridge in any of the Framework scenes, and I’m not sure how that would work if she has no Simmons avatar to embody.

But looking at the shot of the gravestone in HD, it says she died on 8 November (year can’t be seen). Could that mean she actually died in this AU during the events of FZZT (which aired on 5 November 2013, and AoS time seems to roughly correspond to real life timeline)? That would  mean that she died during the events of that episode, because Fitz was not there to encourage her to find the cure.

But then it would be hard to see what Simmons could do with a rotten corpse in a coffin as her only avatar (sorry for the image). She has no Willow to resurrect her if she is really dead.  So how exactly do you get Simmons/Liz Henstridge in the Framework?