#is he.. y'know. your narrative foil.

[iggyfing]

hmmmmm yes cillien foils with zenos, on'danya foils with fordola, and jofrid foils with yotsuyu.

will need to develop further.

[the-hawks-rye]

i know it's been said a gazillion times and said more eloquently than me but god the amount of missed potential in the sequel trilogy. thinking about how anakin became a villain because he felt he had no other choice (and the tragedy being that he always had a choice, and his character arc concluding with him deciding to stand up for what's right by saving luke), meanwhile kylo grew up surrounded by a loving family full of positive role models and chose evil knowingly because he craved power for power's sake. kylo idolizing the tragic figure of darth vader all the while burning the world around him. there was so much you could do with that but instead they had to sacrifice rey's character to make the movies about her fixing the genocidal white boy who never wanted to be saved

[flagellant]

Just saw a post where you said you're educated in theology with a focus on heresies. (I don't remember it word for word, but you said something like it)

So I want to ask, what's your favorite heresy?

To be fair, mines crom the third century. Basically Jesus said someone would betray him, and his word is the word of God. Technically Judas was just following Gods instructions, and shouldn't be seen as a bad guy.

We share the same favorite heresy! I'm a huge fan of Judasian heresies, which tend to focus around heretical redemption of Judas (but not always). My specific favorite Judasian heresy is the belief that one could argue that Judas was trusted in some ways even above Peter--for Judas was willing to betray the Savior so that He could take on the sins of all of humanity at his death, and of course to ensure his resurrection. There's a beautiful parallel to make, where Jesus consumes the sins of the world, but Judas represents those sins--or, alternately, represents the ultimate expression of free will and love for his God, taking the scorn of eternity for the sake of Christ. It's just such a fascinating distinction to make, y'know? I love it. It turns a story about the pettiness and vindictive greed of the human heart into a narrative foil as a different, but ultimately equal, act of selfless love through the scapegoat.

[bagog]

Star Trek: Discovery Narrative Highlights

So I really like Discovery, but differently than I like other Star Treks. My love for Voyager, for instance, is based off the sense of found-family in the face of sci-fi shenanigans. I could pick out favorite episodes, but my favorite episodes don't necessarily represent the epitome of what I love about the show, y'know?

It's different with Disco. There are concrete moments from through out the show that made me go "Okay, I like this, I want this. More of this." Here's some of them! This is indulgent and all from memory

Season 1 - Klingons Speak Klingon

In a story about Klingons fearing the Federation as an institution which will irrevocably alter their culture, the Klingons actually speak Klingon. Love it. Season 1 - Gabriel Lorca

I loved seeing a Star Fleet captain who seemed to have ascended because of his skill at war: a trait which ordinarily would not elevate one within Starfleet service, per se. It made him interesting. Your mileage may vary on where this went, but. He's still a big appeal on rewatch.

Season 2 - Queer People Helping Queer People

The introduction of Jet Reno is one of my favorite hallmarks in the show. I love Jet, and I love the way she serves as a foil to every other character. But best of all, I loved the scene when she is talking to Hugh Culber about how distant he's been from his husband (since coming back from the dead, so, you know) and helps him by relating her own story about her wife, who is now passed. To say I'm happy to see queer stories on Star Trek is a massive understatement, but this was the moment it locked in for me. In the world of the Federation, there's no difference between being queer or straight and anyone could've talked Hugh out of his funk. But in our world, it's usually queer people helping queer people make sense of their experiences. Recognizing the importance of that distinction and going with the queers-helping-queers take is a really big deal for me.

Season 2 - Amanda

This is hands-down the best representation of Amanda we've ever been given and she is so wonderfully human and warm that it helps you understand Spock and Michael so much better. I don't know what to say other than that, I love her.

Season 3 - The Future

I love that they went not just into the future, but further into the future than any mainline trek lore has gone. Hell yes. I'm bummed it's kinda a post-Utopian mess, but I get storywise why that's the case. I love the future starships, I love the future technology, I like that we just "BZP" to wherever we want to be in the ship now. In a show increasingly steeped in centuries of canon lore, it's smart and challenging to try to do "a millennium in the future."

Season 3 - Queer Family

Queer Family! Queer Family in Star Trek! This is my queers-helping-queers point but dialed up to 11. Love it, would do anything for it.

Season 4 - Artificial Intelligence

The ship is alive and she's named herself. This comes to a head in an episode in Season 4 where Paul Stamets feels very hesitant about this, after the plot of Season 2 was trying to stop AI from destroying the galaxy. There's this whole Measure of a Man but Not Quite Because Its the B Story thing going on, but at the end of it, there's a twist. Paul eventually learns to accept his new crewmate, but then he asks the person in-charge of the inquest "What would you have done if I said I wasn't comfortable serving with an AI?" and the dude goes "I would've assigned you to another ship. This was never about whether she has a soul or whatever, it's about if you can learn to accept that with you 22nd century brain." And that's.... that's great.

Season 4 - Mental Health

Mental Health is a thread running through some of Discovery (Season 2 flirts with Spock's neurodivergence, for instance) but never more than in Season 4. Hugh Culber, the ship's ray of sunshine and de facto counselor, is in bad shape, mentally, and he needs help. But the best moment is when the away-team is beset by chemical memories of panic and basically rendered useless with fear... except for Detmer, who helps them all get through it. When asked why she was unaffected, she says "Oh I totally was affected, but after my grievous injury during the war, I went to therapy for the PTSD and learned some coping strategies" AND THAT'S WHAT SAVES THE GALAXY.

Anyway, this is very indulgent and probably nobody reads this, but thanks if you did.

[verecunda]

One more crackpot theory before bed: the Dark Wizard is Radagast. The moths that feature in his enchantments hint at his natural affinity with birds and beasts, but the reason that Rhûn is becoming a desert is because it's a sign of Yavanna withdrawing her grace from her errant Maia. (Saruman is out there somewhere going, "I told you we shouldn't have brought him!!!") Somehow Gandalf, maybe with the help of Nori and Poppy and/or Tom Bombadil, are going to find a way to help him change his ways - probably involving the power of friendship - and he's going to go through some extreme rehabilitation, giving up power in favour of just chilling in the woods. He will be a narrative foil for Sauron, proving that you can change your path if you actually, y'know, try.

[batsplat]

I therefore humbly ask for conrext for the "performing behaviours" textpost, the "doomed by the narrative traits that foil yours" one and the "withall due respect, which is none".

I love these textpost with all my soul

(text posts here) thank youuuu. narrative traits got a separate ask so I'll tackle that one there

this is just a cute little fun moment that TO ME is a bit of a symbolic step on casey's road to graduation... it's hard to tell from the photo itself but he is genuinely delighted on that podium. right at the start when the anthem plays, he quite forcefully (by his standards) beckons for the australian crowd to sing along

coming to the end of a tough season for him on a ducati that was just... not it anymore, though his late season form was way stronger than that bike deserved. it mean that he'd come into that weekend with the realistic expectation that he'd win phillip island. I think you can easily look back on a streak like casey's at phillip island and see it... well, retrospectively it's a bit of a foregone conclusion, but you don't necessarily quite feel the gravity of each individual win. his first in 2007, the race right after sealing the title and his triumphant homecoming; the second in 2008, finally ending his barren run of five race losses/valentino wins; the third in 2009, only the second race back from his mystery illness and a true triumphant return... and then the fourth here, which ended up being his last with ducati

but it also meant he was under PRESSURE from FANS to PERFORM

"It seemed be to that when I won it twice in a row and was going for the third, nobody was really expecting it," said Stoner, who would go on to lead throughout and win by 8.5 seconds. "But this year everybody seemed to really expect it and they weren't going to take any other result. "Definitely before the race I was feeling a little bit of pressure, a little bit nervous - more so than I normally am. "I think I need to have a few more nerves before other races, because I didn't seem to make any mistakes in the whole race. I was really happy with the way I was riding."

sometimes quite cold when talking about racing at this circuit vs racing at any other but HERE he's really... engaging with the process... he cares because the fans care, it makes him NERVOUS, he handles it and wins, he wants them to celebrate with him... look at our little showman over here, our entertainer...

here's the podium photo with valentino and jorge:

and y'know. there's just something fun about tracking casey's progression - from his first visit in his ducati prime to the circuit, where apparently he was grumpy about valentino showing up with a special livery at his home circuit. this has always been the cause of a bit of weirdness between the two of them, right, with casey's italian team and valentino's australian team that valentino always felt gave him a special connection to that circuit. there was an element of spite in casey's first win at the circuit... and now he's increasingly capable of letting himself actually relish the moment. he's grown up a bit!! he's conducting the crowd, ever so slightly more at ease with the role of the showman - no longer the kid hiding in his helmet, too embarrassed to wave at the crowd and acknowledge how good he is. valentino might have been the main figure to force that transformation, might have put casey in a position where he had to put a bit more work into how this entire public engagement business worked... but casey has always been an extremely capable learner. look at him, playing with the crowd. how far he's come

this is from jerez 2009, just categorically one of their funniest handshakes, and there is ZERO reason whatsoever for them to be so fucking weird about it. every angle of this handshake is funny in its own distinct way

I picked the one where casey has the most clearly antagonistic expression for purposes of the text post pairing and saved the other ones up, but honestly they're all excellent. even funnier because it's the same podium valentino does his 'look it's my lil guy' routine

look, it's his lil guy

this is the third race in the season, valentino's first win. they've occasionally been a little snarky towards each other in the press during this time period but like. nothing egregious. for context, this is them at the previous race at motegi:

casey once again getting a failing grade in being a '''hater'''. buddy what is this

one fun thing that DOES happen in this race is that valentino overtakes casey with a lovely little block pass and... guess where it happens. valentino at jerez, right. but honestly I don't feel like casey could've had any complaints with that - it's completely clean, zero contact, and surely valentino can't be banned from executing innocent little turn thirteen block passes for all eternity

so yeah. no particular backstory beyond valentino and casey just having a really weird handshake for absolutely no reason. they deserved another title fight

[a-cloud-for-dreams]

Here For You

Prompt: Based on this post by @malthemagnifisent

Pairing(s): Aerin Valleros/Mal Volari x Salem Nightingale (F!MC)

TW: None?

Tagging: @choicesficwriterscreations

A/N: Ok so Salem and Mal are my main pairing, I don't have a separate MC for Aerin. However, Salem being the flirt she is, did flirt with Aerin and obviously my favorite pathetic man started to have a thing for her, so I like to think in an alternate universe they might have ended up together. Maybe one where they weren't stopping the Shadow Court or one where they met in Whitetower. Perhaps one where she was a noble herself. It's just fun to think about, especially knowing she's a realm-walker. Anyways, in the main timeline, Salem is with Mal (romantic soulmates ofc) but she has a deep understanding with Aerin (platonic soulmates, like two sides of the same coin/narrative foils y'know?) Wow this was long, hope you enjoyed this lil mini fic!

"I can't believe we are still arguing about this," Tyril mumbled. "It's too dangerous and I won't let Salem endanger herself!"

"And you think I want to, Elf Boy?" Mal rolled his eyes. "You're the one who even brought it up! She practically ran to get away from you and your horrible plans."

"Say that again, Volari-" Tryil snaps.

"Come on you two, this isn't like us at all, let's all calm down..." Nia stepped between the two of them glancing back and forth.

"I'm being perfectly rational, I suggest you let the Rogue here know that we aren't back at the orphanage and don't have to play by his rules anymore."

"And I was just starting to like you..." Mal muttered under his breath.

"Are we yapping or are we gonna do something?" Imtura comes in, playfully swinging a new sword she found in the hallway of artifacts inside the abandoned elven library.

"We can't do anything until these two stop bickering! I barely got through this scroll on the Ash Empire," Kade whined.

"And I haven't received the elven honey cakes I requested ten minutes ago!" Threep frowned. Everyone else groaned.

Aerin stood back watching the whole ordeal with furrowed eyebrows. Was this the same motley crew who managed to defeat the Shadow Court as effortlessly as they did? They may have been lucky the first time around since it seems impossible to be productive around a group filled with opposing personalities like theirs.

Maybe he could have been like Nia, chiming in to maintain peace but he had a feeling they wouldn't take his words seriously. The only reason he was even out of shackles was because of Salem's request to do so. He shouldn't squander his opportunity to bond any further than he already has.

He wanted to, of course. And he felt like kicking himself for betraying the only people who bothered to be kind to him. They were willing to sacrifice Baldur to the Drakna for Light's sake! Anyone back at Whitetower would have been shocked to even think such thoughts.

He stepped away from the marble pillar he was leaning against and towards the lush gardens behind the library to check on Salem, desperately avoiding the unwanted memories blurring his mind of the night in the forest glade, the night with her.

Our kiss? That was real, Aerin. And it's still real...

He closed his eyes tightly. He couldn't let himself get distracted. Not again.

~~~

She hated this. The soft linen garment she changed into was soaked by the wet grass. The bottom edges of her leather boots were covered in mud. And her hair dampened by the soft drizzling raindrops. One would think a respectable elven library would have more places to hide in, to be left alone. But of course, she wasn't able to catch a break.

In any other circumstance, Salem always found the rain beautiful. Despite the darkened skies and messy aftermath, there was a beauty in the sorrow it evoked. Like the promise of warmth was hidden behind the tears of Light.

Even with his poetic nature, Kade thought she sounded ridiculous. But he liked that she wasn't afraid to be. Salem was honest, and she was able to look past appearances.

At least, most of the time.

Aerin cleared his throat when he found her. "Are you okay?"

She turned around quickly to find a nervous Aerin standing with his arms crossed over his chest and an unstable stance.

Have I been crying this entire time? Salem sucked in a breath, frantically clearing her face of remaining tears. "What do you think?"

"Were you crying?" his voice barely remained even. He steps closer to her.

She chuckled, a few strands of hair brushing over her face. Aerin blushes at her soft laugh, a complete shift from her confident demeanor. "I forget how smart you are sometimes." She stands up and quickly dusts off her soiled garment, turning to face him. "Did they stop fighting?"

"You didn't answer my question, Salem."

"Aerin..."

He hesitates before continuing. "No hero is invincible. You're not an exception."

"Gee, thanks."

He shakes his head. "You've gone through so much..."

Because of me.

Salem rolls her eyes. "There have been others who've lived through worse. Are living through worse." She places a hand over her forehead to quell her head pain.

"You're talking about the children at the orphanage," he says as if it were a fact he was familiar with.

"They're so young, and they've witnessed horrors they should have never seen," she shudders in frustration, her fists clenched behind her back. "And if I can't stop the Ash Empire or Valax, what good am I? I'm no hero-"

Aerin's gaze sharpened. "I won't let you talk about yourself that way."

Salem closed her eyes, slightly pivoting away from him. Aerin stepped directly in front of her and looked into her eyes, clouded by fear, worry, anger.

He wasn't thinking clearly when he pulled her in for a tight hug. Salem gasped at the sudden warmth, but rested her head on the crook of his neck. Aerin ignored how she smelled like warm spices and cedar wood. He ignored how perfectly she fit into his arms. He ignored the temptation to push away the soft damp strands of her hazel-brown hair and stare deeply into her mesmerizing eyes that made him think back to a happier time before things were so complicated.

She laughed softly. "I'm terrified, there's so many people depending on me and I can't mess anything up."

His grip tightens. "And you know that you can depend on me. I'm here for you. Whatever you need, whenever you need me. It's the least I could do."

She stayed silent for a second. He was worried for a second. Did I do something wrong?

"You know, you give pretty good hugs. Nia and Kade would be proud." Aerin sighed in relief. He reluctantly leaves her embrace and tilts his head to the side.

"T-Thanks," he runs a hand through his now wet jet black curls. "We should probably head back before we catch a cold huh?" Salem smiles, trailing slightly behind him.

"And Aerin?"

"Hm?" he turns around.

Salem smiles, feeling like a heavy burden that has been lifted off her shoulders. "Thank you."

~~~

it's a lil OOC since Mal would obvi be the first to check in with Salem immediately after she left the room but it's for the ✨plot✨ hope you enjoyed reading this!

[gojuo]

Y'know I was excited for the dance to be portrayed in a tv show while it's not the best story grrm has written so far, however with good writers it can be one of the best drama/history stories. When I read the book I've been interested in Aegon/Rhaenys/Daeron and Jace. All of them have great potential, and unfortunately all the show did was making Rhaenys one of the worst caricatures of feminists like??? This is extremely misogynistic lmao. While Aegon, Daeron and Jace have been sacrificed for Show!Aemond, the showrunners favoritism of him is very clear and undeniable, like all of Jace's and Daeron's qualities such as being studious, dutiful, skilled, charismatic and worthy claimants of the iron throne have been removed and given to Aemond in the show. Show!Aegon is just a plot device for other characters development (mainly Aemond) and jace is basically there to show how good and worthy Aemond is lmao. I don't think any of the showrunners have read the book because Aemond who basically caused Daeron's and Criston's deaths , who abandoned his family is now the family guy the worthy heir?? Why can't the characters be given a fair portrayal rather than being used as props for other characters. This show has soo much potential but they've failed every time.

I spoke about your "Aegon character sacrificed to prop up mainly Aemond" bit in the previous ask I just answered so I'm not gonna repeat it here, and I have never given a fuck about Jace (book nor show) so whatever about him, but Rhaenys ... man Rhaenys was literally my favorite character from Team Black and what the show did to her hurt my fucking soul.

Like ugh when I think about it, I think the "internalized misogyny" shtick the writers tried to put on Alicent (who was a bad bitch in the book that literally went against the wishes and words of the patriarch of the entire continent to put herself in a more advantageous position) was better served for Rhaenys. Her narrative foils are Rhaenyra and Alicent, both women who refused to take the L and went on to fight for their own causes, but it was Rhaenys WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN, BY ALL LAWS AND CUSTOMS, QUEEN, who decided to bend and break to the will of her grandfather (the patriarch) and keep her head down and stay meek instead. It would have made sense that she would have had an inferiority complex and internalized misogyny because she was passed over twice by Jaehaerys. Once when he chose Baelon, her uncle, as heir over her, and the second time when he (and almost the entirety of the Six Kingdoms) chose Viserys as his successor over Laenor, her child, during the GC101 (which then set the Iron Precedent that the Iron Throne could not pass to a woman, or to a male descendant of a woman). She's been beaten down and humiliated twice, basically. And then she goes on to watch how Rhaenyra gets chosen to be heir by the patriarch of society (something she didn't get from Jaehaerys) and how Alicent the Queen decides to go against the patriarch and fight for her own self (something she didn't do against Jaehaerys). Her self-worth would be in the gutter because of that old hag Jaehaerys and it would make sense for her to be envious and jealous of Alicent and Rhaenyra both and to be deeply disappointed at her own "worthless" self when faced with those two strong women. Then, her moment of catharsis and redemption (for herself) would have been Rook's Rest where she finally decides to do something for herself, to be a hero, to feel like she's at least worth something when she goes to save the people of RR by her lonesome after Rhaenyra essentially bans her sons from going there, the only other dragonriders aside from Rhaenys, Rhaenyra and Daemon at the time 😢 UGHHHHHHHHH AND THEN THEY DID THAT SHIT TO HER IN THE SHOW ....... I HAATEEE HOTD AAAARGGHHHHHH

[thebarefootking]

Ren Narita

I have complicated feelings about Ren Narita that have very little at all to do with Ren Narita. Which may not necessarily make for a satisfying answer -- as I know he's your dude -- but allow me to try. I was initially excited for Narita's return from excursion. I don't remember whether or not I got to see him as a young lion (and if I did, it wasn't for very long at all), but Shibata had enough of my respect that I figured any protege of his would at least be good to have around. Initially, I was interested in the contrast of how Umino and Narita use the influence of their mentors in creating an image for themselves. As foils for one another, they were engaging as character studies. However, individually, they did little for me -- Umino even less than Narita. When Narita joined up with Suzuki and El Desperado, I was tentatively optimistic. Suzuki is an impeccable mentor for someone of Narita's description to have. And El Desperado excels at helping others develop their characters and add movement to their stories. It's one of his most impressive skills. And it got a workout last year. But not with Narita.

Were there occasional moments that utilised Suzuki and Despe as characters in interaction with Narita? I won't lie and say no. More Suzuki than Despe, I think. But mostly and for what seemed like weeks and months at a time, they functioned as bodies to fill out Narita's party. How many times did we watch them enter to Narita's music? Minoru 'Kaze Ni Nare' Suzuki entering to the music of some bloke who just showed up? How many promos did Despe stand behind and to the left of Narita, having physically shrunk himself to avoid pulling the spotlight away? And I don't just mean he reined in his personality and mannerisms -- though that was very much the case. He literally, physically made himself appear smaller until it was his turn to speak. Their policy with Narita was so hands-off that I wonder what it was meant to achieve at all. And I admit that it did not take long for me to begin resenting him for it. More than just about anyone on the roster who isn't just, y'know, a scummy person irl -- every time I saw him, I just thought, Ugh. That guy.

I sort of checked out of what Narita and Umino were doing pretty much entirely, for a while -- which is a shame, because I really did find them engaging, at one point. There was just so little to Narita that was identifiably Narita -- and everything to Umino that was identifiably Umino was honestly kind of annoying. And I was so sick during WTL that I missed most of what went on then.

But it was impossible to miss the news of Narita betraying Umino and joining Bullet Club. And it was comforting to my self-image that my first thought was that it was good for Narita. That I didn't hate him so much for something he had no control over that my first impulse was to celebrate Suzuki and Despe being rid of him. That was just my second impulse. But it has been good for Narita. I admit I don't really grasp the full scope of HoT!Ren, but it's a right sight better than he was doing for himself before. I look at him, and I know what character I'm looking at. The cloak is a menace, admittedly. It looks like he had a heel turn, and while HoT went home to get drunk and celebrate, one of them found it in a closet somewhere. I was certain, at least, that it would be temporary -- just for a show or two, or at least replaced for Wrestle Kingdom. El Desperado, after the betrayal, accused Narita of lacking the courage of his convictions. (I could say a lot about the narrative parallels between a younger Despe and the current Ren, and how Despe is a wretched hypocrite, but that's a bit beyond what I hope to portray here.) I'm an unapologetic fanmoose, so I initially nodded along. But what were Narita's convictions? I can see a lot more of them now than I did before. And when I watched him walk out at Wrestle Kingdom, still wrapped up in that goddamn cloak, it hit me.

That doesn't look like a man who lacks the courage of his convictions.

I am eager to see what he does about it.

[pynkhues]

Do you think if GG would've gone on long enough, Gregg x Annie would've found each other <3? I just never got the love between Gregg and Nancy. Didn't see it, didn't get it. Especially from Gregg to Nancy.

Now it was horrible how Gregg cheated on Nancy while they were trying to conceive a bb (!!!???) don't get me wrong, and Annie was wrong in her part, and I was real proud she held strong and stopped it. And when Gregg couldn't even say what he liked about A, UGH, it just really cheapened their connection but honestly I didn't buy that at all. Really, the mother of his child, they've known each other forever, but he can't come up with something?

But G x A always had a connection that I just didn't see between G and N, and they had amazing chemistry. He was definitely not ready by s4, he had serious some maturing to do, I do believe that. But there was still this something there between them, ya know? That started in the pilot and never went away. Thoughts?

I totally have a soft spot for them too, anon. Mae and Zach had such great chemistry (although tbh I think Mae tends to have chemistry with everyone, haha), and their dynamic just had a real texture to it, y'know? I enjoyed them a lot.

I hear what you're saying about Nancy, but honestly, I think her and Greg not really having chemistry was deliberate. Nancy is probably Annie's primary narrative foil in the show, especially in the first season - she's not just perceived romantic competition, she's the 'adult' Annie can never quite be. Successful, together, with the big house and the resources that Annie can't provide for her child or herself. Annie undermines that and Nancy's perceived perfection and validates herself by sleeping with Greg and revelling in their more quote-unquote 'passionate' relationship. It's why Annie only really calls things off with Greg when she learns that not only are they trying to get pregnant, but that Nancy's struggling with her fertility - it's the destruction of the image of Nancy as perfect.

But yes, that's not your ask, haha - do I think Annie and Greg would've been endgame if the show had continued? Potentially? I think the show was committed to growing and deepening their relationship, even if it did fall more by the wayside in later seasons, but I don't know if it would've become romantic again. I think it'd be hard to balance without it being a big regression for both characters. So much of their arc apart and together was about breaking free of the arrested development that was triggered by having a baby as children themselves, and while I think finding each other again in adulthood is a pretty romantic prospect overall, I don't know if Greg and Annie ever really get enough distance from each other to come back to each other in a new light?

I do kind of love that though too. There's something to the fact that there will always be this thing between them even if it never quite becomes The Thing again that really gets me.

What do other people think?

[raayllum]

Before s4 came out I didn't follow anyone here (didn't know you guys existed) so I was sitting there trying to point out parallels between Callum and Viren and how wild it would be if in a canon divergence au they would forced to work together and how horrified they would be as they slowly realized shit we are alike, and maybe even a good team and all of my friends were like????? Honey, sit down, maybe to watch something else, touch grass outside?

Which, fair. BUT NOW HOWEVER I know I'm not crazy 'cause your posts are in my dash to not only say yeah, those two nerds have their similarities but to point out so much other things I wouldn't have guessed like never, so all this rant to say thanks, now I can go back on my bullshit with your beautiful gifs as cientifical proof I'm in fact so right

Hello & first off, welcome to the fandom, I hope you're having a great time!! And thank you for sending this ask in because Viren-Callum parallels are literally one of my favourite things in the entire show!!

And have been for quite a while (as this post documents, from post-S2 onwards back in Feb 2019 I've been chugging that sweet foils juice and only getting continually more fed), I always figured S4 would majorly ramp it up (just like S2 did from S1) but I am still thrilled beyond my wildest dreams that the foil dynamic is becoming this richly layered / complex / overt, y'know?

I think in terms of personality presentation Viren and Rayla are very similar as well (which I still need to do a S4 update for them whoops) but in terms of narrative weight and arcs and Viren's personality beyond his independence/paranoia? It's Callum all the way down, 100%

Like, they were already tied together as mages with Claudia's loyalty to each of them pit directly against one another (with Viren unsurprisingly winning) as well as brothers to the king (Harrow, Ezran). As Callum lets go of titles and calls Harrow Dad, Harrow insists on Viren using his title formally (which Viren already often did so) and Viren forsakes him as a brother. The plume of Harrow's funeral pyre in 1x04 going into Callum's primal stone transition shot; Viren going to the butterflies to de-corrupt himself while Callum looks at the Star primal on the cube, etc.

I've always been fond of Callum having to work with Claudia or Viren if/when the two mages come back across the moral horizon line, purely because those dynamics are so complicated and tainted, and yet they are also two people who can uniquely understand Callum's headspace and attachment to magic (or perhaps not unique understanding, but like, mirroring, haha?) I've written Callum and Claudia doing so before but idk if I've written Viren and Callum (although I have written them being on friendlier terms in "looking for a way to break in," although it's a very small part of the fic). I may have to write a canon divergence at one point where Callum is taken on as an apprentice to Viren (or Viren's old mentor Kpp'Ar even) but we shall see

Because like, they're both smart and clever and research focused, and just pragmatic enough to not be completely opposed (if they had a common goal) but Callum would have some lines he isn't willing to cross to the same capacity, which would keep Viren in check, and Viren could bring in knowledge/experience Callum doesn't have by virtue of just being so much younger. As well as primal mage (and friend of Xadians) Callum having access and knowledge of things that may surprise Viren and teach him a thing or two in addition

I think what makes me the most excited though is a couple of things stacked on top of each other, tbh

Viren's speech in 4x04, regarding, "I have always been ready to do anything to protect my family, however dangerous, however vile. In the name of love, you may perform acts so unforgivable, you can never forgive yourself" just as Callum finds a new consequence for doing dark magic way back when

We see Callum in 4x07 is later horrified of the possession mostly because "I'm afraid he'll force me to do awful things. Or hurt people I care about" (as Callum has already done, if not vile, then dangerous things to protect his loved ones, notably Ezran and Rayla)

The fact that Viren doing something awful to save Soren as a kid is now working it's way in the show (also in 4x07) of "You would be dead without Dad's magic" to be explored further in S5

Callum also having to inevitably fail to free Aaravos, with all the symbolism behind the idea ("Accidents happen" "On purpose" / "I hope it was worth it to you, putting everyone's lives in danger" / "This doesn't end well for you" / "It's the key of Aaravos, no good will come of it") that he may have more of an active hand in purposefully freeing him under coercion, also possibly in S5

Like if Callum and Ezran start being tested in s5, and Callum saves Ez at any cost (thus leaping over how Viren and Harrow failed each other bc those sweet generational parallels? Gold). Or Viren wanting to save Claudia and not wanting Aaravos to be freed, with perhaps Callum freeing Aaravos in order to save someone like Rayla but

Just having parallels with Aaravos thus far hasn't been the main reason, it seems, to have such an intense foil relationship between Viren and Callum, but there's still gotta be a bigger reason, and it really feels to me like this aspect of Viren might be why he and Callum have been so contrasted with each other

Other posts u can show ur friends if you want to:

My general Viren-Callum foils tag

A pre-S4 breakdown of all the ways they parallel each other season by season

A post-S4 breakdown of how they parallel each other with some bonus foil stuff

[kimwexlers-brownhair]

i know this is a loaded topic and there is a ton of hashtag discourse about it, but what’s your opinion on sansa and arya’s dynamic in the books? (obviously the show really messed up with it’s portrayal of them)

GRRM definitely played up Sansa's preteen histrionics with Arya because he wanted her to be Arya's perfect foil. According to the original outline, Sansa was likely going to continue down that route in the narrative. Luckily GRRM changed his mind, and while she's definitely still a character with shades of gray, she has a lot more dimension to her now. So I do feel like the Sansa-Arya dynamic in the first book was pretty exaggerated in Arya's favor. That said, it still feels like a real sibling relationship, and it remains one of the most memorable in the books. They love each other, but they're also idiot kids, y'know?

[thewrongexecution]

this post is about ffxiv oc lore, not any well-known mythological figures. thank you for your understanding.

Been thinkin' about Theseus lately.

(Theseus is my Azem. If you don't know what that means: don't worry about it! these sorts of posts are as much to vacate my own brainspace as communicate ideas to others. you know how it is.)

((See, twitter didn't allow me the space to post these sorts of disclaimers, which really was a blessing. kept me on point. Hardly a paragraph in and I'm already digressing. not that that's a problem per se, just. different.

anyway.))

I love the way ffxiv plays with the theme of... mirrors, reflections- foils, that's the word- the three-body problem of being You And No-One Else, The Masks You Wear, and A Bit Of Everyone Who's Ever Touched Your Life all at once. (Millennia and Tataru, I realized just some few days ago, is itself a mirror of Ardbert and Lamitt, which is a fun joke for my brain to play on itself imo.) So how do I take my WoL (Millennia) and refract her through a funhouse mirror to reach my Azem (Theseus)?

Theseus has remained in the semi-fluid state a narrative device tends to take when the internally-understood path from A to B is nonlinear or otherwise opaque, but I've made recent progress by working backwards.

Personality-wise, I've always enjoyed taking canon depictions and extrapolating them far beyond what anyone involved might've reasonably intended (ask me about Luigi's Persona sometime), so how do I rationalize Millennia as the type of Silent Protagonist depicted in a way that makes sense was a fun puzzle to chip away at. (She's severely traumatized and dissociating due to post-calamity events for most of ARR, and only starts to recover after successfully killing a god or two makes her go, hang on a minute, shouldn't I actually be dead by now? Y'know, as ya do.)

I describe his style of speech as eloquent minimalism, the idea being to pack as much meaning as densely as possible for maximum impact; deliberate, measured, and a little bit like poetry:

"How have you been?"

You are a friend who I trust with knowledge that could otherwise shake public confidence in The Warrior of Light (TM) if shared freely. This last adventure nearly killed me, but even more so than usual, in a way that even I was worried I might not survive. There is a tale here, and I want you to stop and listen fully and without distraction. How do I convey all that as minimally as possible?

"Mortal."

So, how to rebuild that in a way that is-and-is-not the same, reflecting the attitudes and society of the Ancients?

Efficient brutalism.

"How have you been?"

You are a confidant who I trust with knowledge that could otherwise shake public confidence in The Seat of Azem (TM) if shared freely. This last adventure nearly killed me, but even more so than usual, in a way that even I was worried I might not survive. There is a tale here, but it has ended, and there's no need to recount it. How do I convey all that as efficiently as possible?

"Dead."

Millennia is the silent protagonist that thinks carefully about the meaning behind everything she says- and doesn't say; posture, gesture, expression, and a variety of hums and grunts can all convey in moments what would take a wordsmith minutes. Theseus, in contrast, is the silent protagonist who sees no need for small talk or pleasantry; they rarely even blink, let alone smile or frown or wave.

But the double-edge of being quiet is it leaves a lot of room for others to speak for you. Because they're both public figures, the public decides for them that they're stoic or cool or haughty or wise or what-have-you. So it goes.

For combat, I previously posited Theseus could wield a Gun or Keyblade or Keygunblade, and while those're great as jokes, they don't necessarily make for a great parallel. Millennia herself started out as a Warrior, but possessed only middling physical prowess; to compensate, he relied on clever tactics and psychological warfare to cow his enemies and strike unexpectedly. These days, she has a full suite of esoteric combat styles at her disposal, and relishes the opportunity to accumulate more.

So, a collection of varied combat styles, emphasis on unconventional tactics over raw power, and maybe a connection to Warrior.

It's Blue Mage. No wait come back hear me out on this one

It's not literally Blue Mage; rather than cast the same powers as their foes, Theseus studies how beasts and creatures fight, and adapts those combat techniques for personal use. A martial rather than magical art, similar to Monk or Ninja, coupled with the visceral terror of an unblinking robed cryptid scuttling menacingly towards you at coeurl speeds. "so what's the connection to Warrior" Inner beast, outer beast. Funhouse mirrors, innit.

And because it's Ancient and because I'm me: someone who studies the ways of war of living things is, of course, a Biologist.

The ultimate and final measure of any Azem, then, is "How bad can they clown on Emet-Selch?"

Imagine they are sparring. Emet has taken one look at this upstart wiry gangler and decided there's no possible way they could be an appropriate heir to the Seat of Azem. The job is difficult and dangerous and this Elezen-before-Elezen simply does not have what it takes. Theseus just knows they've been assigned a task to their quest log, and doesn't give it any more thought than that. So they are sparring.

Emet asks how they fight and they say only "Biologist." Emet clarifies, not your vocation, not your profession, your combat style. They drop to all fours and, as if the phone they aren't communicating over had a bad connection, repeats "Biologist," before going zero to sixty on the old man.

Later in the fight, Emet starts spouting some grand monologue about true power and transforms. Theseus... doesn't. Emet questions this decision, but without hesitation or consideration, Theseus simply says "I like being me," and resumes adding injury to insult.

[catty-words]

season 3 is probably my fav season of nhie and although as baxton girlie number 1 i love the blooming of their bromance in the 3.06 episode, a part of me wonders about how paxton saw benvi's friendship while daxton was dating like... its not possible that only aneesa saw their chemistry right?? we know that paxton is veryyy perceptive like he was in his phone the entire time he saw fab and aneesa interact for less than 30 seconds and he caught the chemistry with no previous background of their interactions, no way he didnt see his gf tension with the guy she previously cheated him with!!! i totally get him playing it cool and not saying anything, but i wish to see how he felt about it while he was dating devi yk?? what are your thoughts on it?

mm, this is a very good point - paxton is very perceptive and it hardly seems plausible that he'd fail to notice the benvi of it all completely. though i am willing to buy that ben consciously chose to approach devi only when paxton wasn't around + that devi was cautiously tight-lipped about anything ben-related around paxton because of how the cheating played out. if i were going to rationalize a canon for the dissonance, that's how i'd do it.

my main thought, though, is that this is another solid example of season three feeling like the rightful emotional continuation of season one, with season two existing as a fever dream floating out there in a liminal space between being part of the narrative and completely outside it. because season two paxton was almost unbelievably self-conscious about what everyone would think about him taking devi back, but season one and season three paxton knows that people will adjust to his choices or they won't - he's going to be over here living his life how he wants to anyway, thanks (here, have a bonus post on this topic).

the true shame, i think, is that devi doesn't have to have cheated on the both of them for paxton and ben to recognize and engage with how they're foils. the fact that ben is a foundational pillar of devi's identity would necessarily come up in a daxton relationship, if the relationship were given its due by way of a full season to develop and breakdown, because paxton 👏 is 👏 perceptive 👏. and i highly doubt he'd sit idly by after watching ben be obviously in love with devi for an extended period of time. any resulting confrontation would almost certainly leave ben frustrated by the fact that paxton isn't the bad guy who only cares about getting into devi's pants that ben's cast him as in his perception of their love triangle. eventually, they'd reach the same place they do in the hospital in 3.06 - a recognition that they a) both care deeply for devi and b) are far more complex individuals than is convenient for continued resentment.

and, y'know, if i were going to write paxton noticing the benvi of it all, it'd look something like this. 😘

[septiembrre]

I'm a little late but I just saw your post from a year ago about latinx rep in good girls and its sad reflecting back on it and how the show could've done better. Rio was just another stereotype, I hate how he was ambitiously latino and there was just no connection to his culture. Was he first, 2nd, or 3rd Gen? If he was 1st Gen it didn't make sense to have the family speak English. One thing that always annoyed me is how OOC he was at times and how the writers purposely made him out to be like some brown aggressive misogynistic man. They didn't bother making him complex. In a way I'm glad the show got canceled. As a Mexican woman the way Rio was written was racist.

Wah, I’ve been sitting on answering your ask. I wanted to tease your ask apart and respond to it sentence by sentence. But... my brain kept rechazandolo, so now I have feelings dump instead.

Since Good Girls ended, I have been parsing through how I feel about S4 and GG overall — sometimes more positively, sometimes more negatively. Then, I flip to reminding myself it’s not that serious (it's just tv! this is supposed to be my leisure activity!). Then, I waffle back to reflecting.

So, no textual analysis just feels and whining under the cut. I know folks are still mourning the end of the show and I don't want to yuck anyone's yum. Tagging with #ggnegativity.

My short answer is that Good Girls is my beloved, sometimes joyful, sometimes hurtful, complicated little show. Even now that we’re no longer getting new episodes I’m wary of sifting through the information we have about Rio because it’s a mess and it seems like a lot of his character was poorly thought out (ahem, all those dumb messages from Bill Krebs confirming multiple instances of lack of intentionality or care!).

I say this because I was tempted to start responding to you by riffing off of your comment with, “y'know, now that you say that, I think he’s third or fourth gen…”, pero who cares? And the point was never specifically about what gen he is, or even more specifically about... lol, I was going to say it doesn't matter what nationality he was, they just needed to pick one. Ugh, but the wording of that is too glib. The lack of intentionality behind these details feels sanitized to me, it feels very white gaze, it feels lazy.

However, I could have forgiven a lot of this weak character construction if his baseline, plot-related characterization on-screen was more consistent. But, Rio was often used as a plot device in a way that often fell flat for me, a weekly recurring bogeyman whether his antagonism made sense or not. On one hand, I feel for the creative team, because I think they were in a hard place, trying to avoid romanticizing Rio, and trying to seemingly backtrack the sexualization of him in Season 2, but... Idk, it's complicated.

Retrospectively, it’s sitting with me how much Good Girls is rooted in whiteness. While it's something I discerned before (lol, most obviously with 2x13 and in S3 with Lucy's disposability), you know how some shows get to their third or fourth season and finally start investing in their marginalized characters? It’s a crappy thing to hold out hope for, they're crumbs! But, I was. And we did get some Rio worldbuilding. But, ultimately, it felt weak to me -- under-conceptualized or under-worked.

For example, I liked Nick as a Bigger Bad who drove Rio and Beth together. I also thought that Nick's non-existent moral code was a lovely foil to Rio's, and that this contrast humanized Rio in a way that he needed. It also cast a new light on Rio's behavior of the earlier seasons, outside of Beth's perception in a way that I thought was healthy and needed. Great, meaty stuff! However, Nick and Rio's relationship came across as shallow to me. There really did not seem to be a lived-in quality to their scenes. The show really struggled with that element overall -- even with the three lead protagonists (their decades-long history with each other and interactions between their families being largely absent). I wonder why they made that choice.

It's strange because on the flip side we got a hefty amount of contextualization for MLM guy Vance and Annie's bf Kevin... Even that cop who Mick killed! All white men, too.

Me da pena.

Or maybe the thing that bothers me is that those scenes between Nick and Rio didn't center Rio's perspective effectively? Despite the one-on-one scenes being outside of Beth's framing (Rio being a secondary character typically tethered to Beth's story arc), there still was a lot of distance between Rio and the viewer? Like I think of Vance in his kitchen with his wife and child, and the way we as viewers were brought into that to empathize with him, and I think of the distance of Nick+Rio boxing scene or the scenes at the bar. Argh! It's hard to pinpoint without the textual analysis I feel too grumpy to do. It was such a narrative choice to keep Rio aloof and I side-eye it.

Anyway --

Overall, the writing room/show creators/decision-makers didn't seem to consider Latine/x/a/o viewers throughout the crafting of Good Girls and that sucks. It really feels like I'm being told to conform to the white gaze in watching the show, and after 2x13 that makes me feel prickly and defensive. A part of me yearns to do a rewatch to map Rio’s character (and inconsistencies) but I still yield joy from Good Girls — it’s been my main comfort story during the pandemic. I also rendered joy from Season 4 specifically — some of those scenes between the leads at the end were phenom!!

I am leaning into what's bringing me joy right now, so I feel hesitant to stew in critique, even while I also feel some sort of need to make sense of the hurtful racializations. I have a compulsion to write them all down on the same post or list -- somewhere where I can see them all at once and understand. But, at the moment, it’s not a use of my time and energy that feels good. Opting into fics and writing is bringing me a lot of joy during hard times.

I have to close with one final whine, that I am SO fatigued with television options right now. I find myself desperately wishing for more TV out there whose priority audience isn't only white folks. Good Girls isn't alone in its treatment of Latinx characters, or alone in mishandling characters of color or gay characters, or prioritization of empathy for white het male characters, but certainly, creating something more thoughtful shouldn't be so hard.

[incorrect-dishonored-quotes]

Thomas: Hey, I have a question about Corvo.

Daud: [Sighs] What is it?

Thomas: Is he... Y'know...Your narrative foil?