#it makes her so fascinating to me

[overkill-max]

Special Ops: Lioness Season 2 - Josie

Spoilers after the cut if you haven’t seen Episode 3

I am still disappointed we haven’t seen Cruz yet, but I do understand why. We need to see things from the new Lioness’ perspective. And what a contrast. I love that the show always gives us contrasting characters that mirror each other. Now we see how different Cruz’s introduction was to Josie. Cruz thought that “if you ain’t cheatin’ you ain’t tryin’.” She wanted to prove to Joe so badly that she was what Joe was looking for that from the start Joe wanted to break her because she thought it wasn’t enough. Then, in the middle of the mission, because of how Joe treated her, she had doubts and told Joe she “wasn’t cut out for this.”

Then we have Josie, who from the start told Joe she didn’t want to be a Lioness. That she heard about it and no one ever came back. She knows if she says she loves her country she is signing her own death warrant. She wants to keep flying and serving her country, she doesn’t want to die for it in the way that Joe wants. So she lies and says she doesn’t know Spanish, she doesn’t know why her family has nice things. The family she never talks to, the family she isn’t close to.

And Joe keeps pushing until she gets a yes. That Josie will sign up for a program she doesn’t believe in, for a mission to destroy her family. For someone that follows the rules because he family always saw themselves above it, I can see why she would hate to do anything that colors outside the lines.

This is a problem for Joe, because she doesn’t care, she has a mission and everyone is expendable.

I love that Josie thinks that everyone is just as big of an asshole as Joe. And we see how before they liked Cruz and got along with her, she was a Marine and they went on a mission with her. They bonded. Things were probably different with Isabel (the first lioness we saw get killed). Then we see Josie who gets the cold shoulder and is thrown from captain to having to dress in a pantry because she wants privacy, something she was given due to her rank versus basic, something she alludes to.

The slow stripping of who she was, so that Joe can get her lioness is brilliant as it is cruel. Because at the end of the day, Joe tells Josie that she doesn’t care about others, she will kill a teenager if that gets her what she wants. She will even get Josie into trouble with the country she has been protecting for years to get what she wants. So either you’re a mole for your family or you’re a mole for us. Decide if you want to live a little longer in jail or with the illusion of freedom.

And I miss Cruz, but I do like seeing how different things are for Josie. How can you manipulate someone who has a family into dying for your mission? How do you manipulate someone that lied to protect herself, her family, into destroying that same family? You break them, little by little, you torture them by taking away the comradery the military offered them, the rank, and the one thing they’re good at, and then, when she realizes she’s out of her depth, like she said she would be, you continue to take more, until there’s nothing left. That’s when you really recruit her.

You break her again and again until she gives you what you need.

I miss Cruz but I’m also glad she’s not here, because Joe is even more brutal than ever. I can’t wait for next week’s episode.

[eydilily]

would you bite the hand that feeds you?

[koipepo]

That omake of little Kabru not being able to show off his howetown sweets because of Misril gets to me a lot so...

Here's a happier Kabru (and Lairu)

[horsechestnut]

I just think it's really neat how much fans have latched onto the fact that Stephanie Brown was Robin.

Like, both in and out of universe Stephanie was never meant to be taken seriously as Robin. The writers only made her Robin so that her death in War Games would be shocking and Bruce only made her Robin because he thought it would make Tim jealous enough to come back. She only had the mantle for 71 days before being fired (for doing something that literally every other Robin has also done and not been fired over), and she was only active during 50 of them. There are only six issues where Steph is Robin in the canon timeline.

Her final words before her death are asking Batman (Batman, because even on her death bed he doesn't trust her enough to take off his mask) if any of it was real. Was she really Robin? And Batman assures her that of course she was, that she was part of the legend and no one can take it away from her. Except it's a lie, because despite his reassurances, Batman never puts up a memorial or does anything to preserve her memory. He never really thinks of her as Robin, and even her friends will always think of her as Spoiler before ever remembering Robin.

Meanwhile DC spent years ignoring her time as Robin, to the point where it was completely erased from existence for awhile. It's technically back now, because timelines are weird, but unlike the others it's never been altered. She's never been given a second chance at it, no one's ever gone back and added more issues or details about those 71 days, or even seems to want to acknowledge them most of the time.

But fans have clung on to it anyway. Sure, there are lots of people who make Robin posts that are just about the boys, but there are just as many people who are ready to fight anyone who doesn't include her. Maybe it was only for a little while, but she was Robin, and we're sure as hell not going to forget it. If DC isn't going to bother to remember, than we will.

Stephanie Brown was Robin. She was part of the legend. It was real. No matter what, no one can take that away from her.

[seefasterdraws]

from the homumiko mines

[fictionadventurer]

Maybe the problem with Christian fiction is that it's non-denominational. People are just "Christian", with no effort put into showing what practicing that religion looks like for them specifically. No indication that there are other Christians who could have different beliefs. No wrestling with differing ideas and the struggle of how one should live out their Christian faith. And that makes it unrealistic and unrelatable.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

The girls are plottinggggg

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[laniidae-passerine]

Danver’s specific brand of racism is so intrenched in love it’s fascinating. Her daughter is precious to her and her daughter is Indigenous and in this town, an Indigenous woman is not viewed as a precious thing. They are abused and raped and murdered and therefore, being white is the ‘better’ choice. She is actively whitewashing her daughter, not only because she’s afraid of what she doesn’t understand and because of typical coloniser mentality, but because she doesn’t want to lose her. Danvers can’t distance Indigenous identity from white violence and it’s killing what she loves.

[elvisqueso]

Pocahontas refusing to confide in Nakoma.

Pocahontas (1995)

rambling lil' meta under the cut

i've been thinking a lot about pocahontas's relationship with nakoma and what kind of friends they really are in the context of the film. when we meet them both, pocahontas is elevated and nakoma is in a boat far below her, shouting up to reach her. i think nakoma is always reaching for pocahontas and pocahontas will only reach back sometimes. it's a pretty unbalanced friendship, when you look at it, and i wonder why nakoma remains the main point of contact in the community for pocahontas besides her father. perhaps it's because they're similar ages. maybe they're childhood friends who just got so used to each other that the one may take the other for granted.

pocahontas never confides in nakoma, and you gotta wonder why. even their first interaction has pocahontas demurring when she answers that she was up on the cliff thinking. thinking about what? She doesn't say, but she doesn't refute nakoma's assumptions.

and nakoma...what does she get out of this friendship? maybe she's just used to trailing after pocahontas this way, maybe she just doesn't have another friend, or she thinks pocahontas needs her.

nakoma is sort of a foil for thomas, who trails after john smith like a starry-eyed fanboy with an intense para-social relationship perspective. nakoma also is the active participant in the friendship, not pocahontas. nakoma fills in the gaps of their relationship with assumptions and guesswork, because pocahontas is so reticent, so hesitant to share of herself that nakoma Has to. and when pocahontas's seclusion goes too far, when she fails to confide in nakoma some of the most essential elements of what she intends, nakoma has to fill in the gaps again. and when she does it's Not Good, and her solution is to send their strongest warrior (a man with affection for pocahontas, who might keep her secrets if she needs him to) to try and save her friend. and then it all blows up in their faces and a man lies dead in the water for it.

every relationship in the movie is so tragic like brO—

[overkill-max]

Special Ops: Lioness Season 2 - Joe

Spoilers after the cut if you haven't seen it.

I have so many thoughts on the new Special Ops: Lioness season, and most of them revolve around how hilarious it is that Joe constantly tells people she doesn't want her assets picked for her, and then she just lets men pick them for her.

They pretend it's a suggestion, but really, there's just something to be said about a woman constantly seeking absolution from her first loss by pretending that because she wasn't the one that picked them after that, it couldn't possibly be her fault when they fail her again.

Joe feeling Isabel's loss and refusing to be better from it is just *chef's kiss* I love that the first season shows us how she had the perfect marine and turns her into something that goes so against the core of who she is, that even if the mission was successful, it's still a failure.

Now, she has another exceptional soldier and the first thing she does is push and push, wanting to break her. Then, when Josie is right on that edge, Joe does what she does best, she humiliates her further by forcing her to strip. It serves no purpose, her uncle knows who she is. Her cover is that it will be a public dismissal. So they know she's a pilot as well. So it serves no purpose to do this for the mission, but it does serve a purpose to Joe and that's what matters.

Joe will always think about the lionesses that came before this one. And instead of being better, she chooses to break Josie that first day, no SERE, just her wielding her power around and throwing insinuations around so Josie breaks. Then she brings back the first lioness and tells her to strip.

I love the parallels and how Joe will always sabotage herself and the mission before it even starts because she wants control so badly that it warps her.

What is everyone's thoughts on the first two episodes of season 2?

[welcometogrouchland]

I love Steph's origin as told in the Secret Origins 80 page giant- I just overall think it strengthens her character by giving her a lot of pathos and adding to her heroism (which isn't something writers were focused on in her actual intro in detective comics #647 since she was just meant to act as a plot device back then) BUT there is one tiny detail in it i will begrudge, and that is the portrayal of her having a minor love at first sight moment for tim

Secret origins 80 page giant, ID in alt

(or well, technically this was their second meeting in that story (the brick was the first) so...love at second sight?)

Mostly because Stephanie showed no interest in her introduction and only showed romantic feelings towards Tim AFTER this moment here:

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Straight up the progression here goes:

The adventure in 'tec where they first meet -> Tim investigating the same crime scene as Steph -> she beats him up not knowing it's him at first, apologizes but says he shouldn't have scared her -> he remembers her/the moniker she goes by -> they talk about plot for a few pages -> Stephanie starts flirting

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Which...is so fascinating to me and says so much about Stephanie. She highlights the fact that Tim "remembered" her. Like. Steph. Girl. This is our bar? It's sweet but kind of speaks to how much Stephanie is ignored at home/how little and sporadically she's shown interacting with her peers (and rarely ever the same kids twice). Her idea of peak romance is just...being on someone's mind even when you're not there.

Kind of also adds layers to Steph's proclivity towards jealousy later on, a manifestation of her insecurity and loneliness (though don't get it twisted, she's not written this way bc Dixon and co think it's an interesting character flaw, they wrote it bc they think it's an inherent character flaw of (particularly young) women/girls, which is very apparent in how he approaches Ariana's character as well from what I've read)

Also the fact that Steph becomes so smitten for Tim almost immediately after this is (a few issues later she aggressively flirts with him during AN ACTIVE HOSTAGE SITUATION. WHERE SHE'S THE HOSTAGE) again is kind of a mixture of kind of funny and sad. One boy is nice to her once and she's fully ready to wife him. Girl you are deranged (affectionate) (concerned)

[k20spock]

god I love how fucked up whatever marcille and falin have going on. i tenderly sort through your bones and piece you back together. i never really knew you and you never really knew me.

[pmpknsoup]

i actually am a defender of georgie and melanie and basira being mean or rude to jon bc that man really needed to be put in his place sometimes. like i understand that they were also wrong sometimes— basira is hypocritical and the other two could be nastier than necessary, but i literally cannot blame them at all. jon was so out of line sometimes

[sysig]

Ellen McLain’s commentary from my trivia playthrough

[natasha-in-space]

So I'm replaying Ray's After ending rn, and it got me thinking that what I adore so much about Rika as an antagonist is just how damn scary she can be. I always found those who cause harm with good intentions (at least in their point of view) much scarier than those who hurt you with pure intention on hurting you. I think the best example of it is this CG in particular:

Look at that. Such a loving, gentle expression on her face. Probably kissing his forehead. Because she loves him. Heck, without any context, this CG looks even sweet, if you think about it. And yet, all that is while Saeyoung is forcefully sedated on a powerful concoction of drugs even a trained agent like him can't do anything about (and Saeyoung WAS definitely trained to deal with this sort of thing, hence it's mentioned that this is a 'special' kind of drugs). He looks miserable. Bags under his eyes, his expression pained and troubled, even his hair is paler than usual. All that as a direct result of her actions. But she's utterly blind to it. What's scarier, is that she knowingly shuts off her understanding of what's really happening. She's not oblivious to it at all. She just chooses not to see it that way. Simply because she doesn't want to.

Rika is the type of antagonist that will cup your cheek into her warm hand with the most loving of smiles on her face, all while you are getting elixir poured down your throat. Even whispering to you that you're doing great, that the pain will soon pass, and that she can't wait to see you reach the happiness she knows you deserve. I won't be surprised if she even cried genuine tears of compassion during some ceremonies for her believers. All while being the sole reason behind their suffering.

And that's... God, that's terrifying to me. I love that about her.

Rika Kim, they could never make me hate you

[luckiestmushroom]

The absolute irony of Robin’s beliefs being freedom, while Sunday’s are Order, and yet when she intervenes in the final battle, she’s desperately trying to get Sunday to agree with her, take her side, change his views. And it’s Sunday who’s like ‘we are on different paths, that’s how our lives have gone.’ Just really telling that even now after all this time he values Robin’s freedom and her beliefs, even as he’s preparing to enact his own plan. While Robin deep down still wants him to conform to her ideals and come back to her side. This is why they are truly diametrically opposed now because the only way Sunday is coming back to her side is if he totally conforms to what she wants as he did when they were children, and the only way Robin would join him would be to betray what she believes in completely.