#jinx has learnt to be without her sister by now

[lullabyes22-blog]

Snippet - A Survivor's Story - Forward But Never Forget/XOXO

Sevika spittin' facts...

Forward but Never Forget/XOXO

Snippet:

"I hear you thinking," Sevika warns, without opening her eyes.

"Thinking?"

"About how to get Jinx away from him."

Despite reflex, Vi doesn't ball her hands into fists. She's getting better at concealment. Not a pro like Sevika. Not a savant like Silco. But she's learning. These past five months, she's learnt enough to last a lifetime. Yet she has so much left to know.

"He's not a monster," Vi says. "I thought he was. Now I understand he's just a fucked-up asshole. But that doesn't mean he's not dangerous."

"He's got his reasons."

"I'm tired of you defending him, Sevika."

"I'm defending—"

"—Zaun?" Vi's jaw grates. "Yeah. That's your big religion. The cause you've given everything to. And he's the messiah. You worship him. The rest of us have to believe too, or be cast out." Her eyes seize Sevika's, daring her to contradict. "It's easy to believe in him, too. I'd like to say otherwise. But I've seen him work in real-time. He's got a mojo. A pull, and he pulls who he wants. But that's not faith, Sevika. That's smokescreen to hide the rot inside. And someone like that, they learn all sorts of strategies to hide it. All that smooth talk, all that drive and charisma—they aren't Silco. They're the bracing that hides the sickness." 

"Look—"

"I have looked," Vi snaps, then takes a stabilizing breath. "I get it, okay? If he hadn't fought for Zaun, we'd still be under Piltover. If he hadn't done awful things, the Fissurefolk would be suffering worse. I understand that. He—Jinx—changed the city in ways no one else could've done. You can't scare monsters unless you're the scarier monster." She shakes her head. "Maybe he's the leader the Undercity—Zaun—needs right now. But what about ten years down the line? Twenty? What kind of shape will our home be if it's just a game of whack-a-villain every minute of every day? How do we take care of each other, if we're at each other's throats? How will Jinx take care of herself as she gets older? She doesn't need more monsters in her life, Sevika. She's got enough. She needs to feel safe. To know that her own city won't chew her up and spit her out if she slips up. To know her own home is behind her and not just a snakepit."

Sevika's features hold a deliberate smoothness. She says nothing.

"What people do isn't always who they are," Vi goes on. "Vander always told me that. I think it's true. For you. For a lot of folks who fought for Silco's cause. It's not true for Silco. Living means changing. Someone who can't change isn't really alive. Silco isn't." She swallows. "Not since Vander drowned him." 

Sevika takes a swallow of her beer. When she's finished, there's a half-smile on her face. Too old a smile, too knowing.

"You're right," she says. "He isn't alive."

Vi stares.

House odds were that Sevika would argue. That she'd shrug off Vi's outburst. Not that she'd pay it off with plainspoken fact.

"He's not alive," she repeats, "because he's forgotten how to be."

"Forgotten?"

"He's not you, Vi." Sevika's tone holds a weird stoicism. "If he was, he'd have had a different story. Not everyone's so lucky."

"Lucky?" Resentment creeps under Vi's skin. "I grew up in the Lanes. Same as you and Silco. I lost my family. My sister was stolen. I spent six years in Stillwater."

"A hard-knock life."

"What's that mean?"

Sevika shrugs. No sarcasm. Just blunt fact. "People in the Lanes—hell, people all over—go through all kinds of shit. They survive wars and famines. They get sold to slavers. They wake up one morning and a crazy Mage burns their village down. Or Noxus rolls in and salts all their fields. It's disaster after disaster. A life of hardship. Some learn early on how to cope. How to deal with pain. Others... it's like they just stop. Stop in time. Stop living completely." Her eyes go heavy-lidded. "Nobody has a perfect childhood. But some kids learn how to be happy, or at least float on when things aren't happy. A lot of it's down to nature. The rest? That's how you grow up. Who teaches you to be strong, and smart, and resilient. For you, it was Vander and your folks. Whoever gave you hope and kept you sane. For me..."

Belatedly, Vi understands.

"It was your sister."

Sevika doesn't flinch. Withdrawing a cigarillo from her pocket, she lights up perfunctorily. Brightleaf drifts in Vi's airspace.

"Don't recall mentioning Nandi to you," Sevika says.

"Silco did." Vi's eyelids droop. She feels tired all of a sudden. Torpid with the humidity; the slanting sunrays. With the surreal passage of time and the inexorable weight of history. "So did Vander, when I was a kid. She was the Priestess at Janna's Temple. Mom liked her." She looks away. "Mom was a believer in the old gods. Said they were a part of us, same as blood. She'd always visit the Temple for the Priestess' prayers. She'd stay for her stories. I remember those stories. I didn't understand 'em much, but I liked listening to her voice. I just never connected..."

That you two were family.

That you lost someone, same as me.

Vi's eyes are dry. But she feels the emotion lodged inside: half-processed.

"I didn't connect the dots," she repeats. "I'm sorry."

A plume of smoke rises pensively from Sevika's lips.

"She was a good woman," she says at length "Better one than me. I've made a career out of breaking bones. Nandi made a calling out of binding them back together.  But it was just a different kind of faith, y'know? She had faith in the divine. I had faith in me and mine. So I took care of her. She took care of me. We were family."

"Like me and Powder."

Sevika says nothing. She tips her chin back, staring at the sun-spangled sky.

"After she passed," Vi says, more tentatively, "you took up with Silco?"

The orientation of Sevika's body shifts.  "Don't recall mentioning that either."

"I—I saw you two."

"Saw us?" 

"Last night." Vi’s tongue burns as the confession slips past. " At the penthouse."

The cigarillo smolders in Sevika's prosthetic fingers: spark and flint. Smoke drifts over her face. Her hair's tied in a high tail today. There's nothing to conceal her expression. Not that there's an expression to conceal. Her eyes, meeting Vi's, reflect nothing in the metalhazy glints.

She is a monolith, and monoliths don't flinch.

Neither does Vi. This isn't a place for shame. They've known each other too long and too bitterly for that.

"I know," Vi mutters. "I know it wasn't my business."

"Then why make it your business?"

"Because—" It's an effort to match Sevika's stare "Because you and him... it's like you're stuck. Stuck on him. Stuck to him. He's bad news, Sevika. Not just for you, but everyone." She takes a shuddery breath, trying to keep the kneejerk anger out. "Whatever you're getting out of it, you can get better elsewhere."

"You offering, Vi?"

The near-flinch becomes a flush. "That's not what I—"

Except Sevika's not challenging her. Her demeanor's the same as when she and Vi used to spar: calm, level, blunt.

The bond between them doesn't go deep. Can't—given their convoluted history. Yet territorial as Sevika is, she takes care of her turf. Looks out for her own. Since Vi's return to the Lanes, she's treated her... not as an ally, but as a fellow Trencher.

They've both known hardship and come out stronger. They both understand that when disaster hits, it can make enemies out of friends—and friends out of enemies. 

Vi and Sevika are neither. They inhabit a shadowy zone in between. But that zone has its own language, and it's a clean one. No deadweight. No dredged-up debts.

Just the give-and-take of hard-hitting truth.

"It's funny," Sevika says. "The way folks throw that word around. Better. They're always thinking of what-ifs. What could be, instead of what is. Me, I like the facts. What's real, not what may come to pass."

"What's real is he's using you," Vi snaps. "Same as he uses everybody. He doesn't love you, Sevika."

"Love." Sevika's lip curls up at one corner. "What’s love got to do with it, little girl?"

"I—what?"

"You say Zaun's my big religion? Well, let me tell you. Love's yours. And it's got you—you, Jinx, Silco—so twisted up in knots, you're a fucking mess."

"I'm not a—"

"A fucking mess," Sevika repeats, and the tone brooks no argument. "All of you. That's the problem. You've got no perspective. No sense of self. No clue what's what. Everything's love, and you tote that word around like junkies with a fix. As if it's the answer to everything. The cure-all. Well, let me break it to you: it's not. Not even close."

"But—" Vi is stunned. "Then what's it for? What's the point?"

"There is no point," Sevika snaps. "Love's not a solution. It's not even a problem. It's just an emotion. And it's not the only one. There's rage. There's grief. There's hate. And they're just as real. Just another part of living." Her jaw hardens. "I loved my sister, Vi. Loved her enough that I'd strangle anybody who'd put a hand on her. Not because she was the best woman in the world—and she was—but because she was the best part of me. She was my family, same way Jinx is yours. When I lost her, I went to war. Didn't care if it was Enforcers, or Topside, or the whole goddamn world. I was ready to tear the planet down. Because I'd already been torn apart. I didn't have anything left."

"Sevika," Vi says, but doesn't finish.

She's been where Sevika has. She understands.

"I was broken," Sevika goes on. "I thought, without love, I'd stay broken. I was wrong. There's a whole lot more to life than that. And Silco..."

Her cadence doesn't waver. But there's a different undercurrent. Something raw, and blisteringly real.

"We had a thing, once," she says. "A shortlived thing. But that's the least of our history, Vi. It's not why I follow him. And it's not why I was with him last night."

"Why, then?" Vi's throat is tight. "Why stay with him?"

"Because… when I was broken, he knew what to do with the brokenness. He didn't ask me to be someone else. Didn't try to put me back together. He took me as I was. Because he understood that grief doesn't just end. It can't. There's no escaping it. But you can't let it end you, either. People have it worse; they have less. Me? I had more. When I had Nandi, I had everything. When I lost her, I lost it all. And what's left was an empty space, and filling it with something. Something that'd last the distance." She lets off a breath. A single strand of smoke uncurls. "Silco gave me that. He put his life in my hands. He laid his cause at my feet. He had faith in me. And that faith meant something."

"A way to go on," Vi says.

"That's the best anyone can ask for." Sevika smiles, and her hard face fills with soft lines. "Love's a fine thing, Vi. But it can't protect your family. It can't keep them safe. You gotta fight for that. And when you've fought as long as I have—taken more lives than you've seen years—it's not about the love. It's about what's left. About doing your part to keep it standing."

"Even if it means dying?"

Sevika doesn't miss a beat. "It's never about dying, Vi. It's about the life you choose before that."

"Silco can't give you a life."

"I know." Sevika's smile dwindles. The softness and hardness don't. "But he's given me everything else. The rest? I'll make do. My sister taught me how."

Vi says nothing. She's run out of arguments. Run, too, out of anger.

They sit in silence, watching the afternoon unfold.

[justanerddummie]

I've got a lot of things to say about s2 so I'll divide them in two posts, spoilers after the cut beware

First thing first, the intro, it's beautiful I love it, it gives us a lot of information about every character and what they're going through, about how each and everyone of them is changing and that's exactly why I think it will change before the end of the season, once everyone is focus. I don't think it will change every act, even though I'd love that but I'd surprised if it didn't change at all.

Now let's talk about the juicy stuff.

Jinx

What I really want to talk about is the figth with Vi and Cait. I really don't think Jinx went there with the intention of dying, I think she went there with the intention of killing both Vi and Powder for good, and also found herself face to face with the monster she created, Caitlyn. When Caitlyn shot her finger off was probably the first time we've seen, Jinx, not Powder, actually being terrified and what is Jinx if not a mask, a persona that Powder has learnt to wear to survive the undercity when she was alone the first time around. Right now Powder needs people more than ever, she needs Ishta and she needs Sevika because Jinx isn't working anymore she needs to find a new way to be able to survive and I think it's the perfect timing for her to become the face of the revolution, because she's ready to accept people in her life once more, because simply surviving by being the baddest bitch around isn't viable anymore, she needs an higher purpose to move her forward and finally bring her out of the metaphorical cage her past rappresents. I can really see Jinx take on the role of protector this season, to the undercity, to Ishta and maybe Vi? After watching her stand up to Cait, literally blocking her bullets with her own body, I think Jinx has realized that even though Vi has made a lot of awful decision, she is still there, she just needs a little push to remember who she is. Let's be real the nothing else to lose clip has basically told us that they were teaming up again, we're getting the sisters back together this is just something that re-enforces the theory.

Sevika and Ishta

Ok, this is rough because I'm just speculating and I have nothing to base this hunch on, but I unfortunately think that Ishta is going to die, and that Sevika is going to betray Jinx. The only thing that supports this insane theory is that Arcane is a story told in cycles the end for how awful it is will never change, it's always the characters making the same mistakes of the past and to whom do we see Jinx being compared to? Vander. And who did Sevika betray? yep Vander. I'm pretty sure I'm wrong but I can totally see Sevika become the next Vander or Silco, by the end of the season, and I guess a lot of people think it's going to be Jinx but as Jinx has said herself to Smeech, "every one that gets close to me dies". Ishta and the people of the undercity are going to be collateral damage and this will prompt Sevika to turn on Jinx.

Ekko

He's the only one who got the assignment. He's the only one who tries to break the cycle of violence, he tries to do it with Jinx even though he gets blown up by a granade as a thank you and he breaks it with Heimerdinger without pointing the finder and this time he manages to get an ally in fighting the arcane pollution. No notes here, Ekko is the bestest boy.

Mel

I think the intro is telling us that by the end of the season Mel is going to be in the position Ambessa was in the blood and tears music video. I might be wrong but I can see her understanding what the fuck is Ambessa up against and choose to take her family side here. She is ready to become both the fox and the wolf (poor Jayce, he's going to get through another divorce). Also hasn't Mel been revealed a mage by the catastrophic promotional campaign? I guess that would explain how she and Jayce are unscathed.

Viktor

Jesus Viktor is kind of hot, I would love to talk about him but he's barely even been shown and I know basically nothing about lol lore. I can't understand if he's a good guy, a bad guy or a secret third option, so far I can only say that if he's able to control the arcane pollution in order to heal people he could be of help to Ekko.

Jayce

He keeps changing his mind on everything as usual, but I personally could have not argued with what he said to Viktor during the divorce. He was right morality means nothing if you have a chance of saving your friend's life. Other than that, I loved the weird glitchy thing at the base of the hex gates and how Ekko basically told him he's to blame for the arcane pollution that is destroying his home. Really hope Jayce owns up to it and does something to actually fix his mistakes.

Ambessa

I loved how she controls the scene while basically being background. The way she regards Caitlyn when she shuts Salo up at the meeting. It's obvious she thinks she's finally found the perfect person for the job, Caitlyn has the power to make Jayce build weapon with hextech, her family name carries way more respect than Salo, and what's more she's a decorated officer, the one who managed to uncover Marcus corruption. I mean she'd be every fascist wet dream, it's pretty obvious that the big houses of Piltover will get behind her without saying a word. Salo on the other hand would have been a much thougher sale, even if safer. Let's be real Caitlyn isn't a coward or an idiot like Salo and for as much as Ambessa will be trying to manipulate her, Caitlyn will be breathing down her neck. It's obvious at least to me that if the leader of a foreign country is offering help she will want something in return and Caitlyn being the daughter of a councilor will at least have had a bit of training in politics and know at least the basics. I can see Cait bend her morality to the limit willingly, but not fall for the manipulation, not completely at least. I really hope she'll not be that stupid, but I guess we'll have to see.

Cait and Vi will get their own post, cause seriously there is just too much to talk about.

[loveydive]

ppl obsessed with ships in arcane but tbh i dont care THAT much for them. not when jinx's and vi's relationship is SOOOO much more compelling

[hastyprovocateur]

Jinx Case Study: Why you can empathise/sympathise with her but not defend her

(Arcane spoilers ahead, please proceed with caution ⚠️)

I just want to start by saying I ADORE Arcane and have fallen for every character from Vi, Caitlyn, Vander Ekko, Jinx, Silco, Sevika to Jayce, Victor, Mel, Heimerdinger even the more minor characters like Ambessa (and Howl lol) and Cassandra. Everyone is so beautifully written in whatever capacity they appear that I, for one, am invested in all of them.

That said, I have a gripe against views that defend Jinx. Jinx makes for a beautiful, grey, highly pivotal character and I have several views on her based on the plot and writing itself that refute that Jinx was entirely a victim of her circumstances. I would start by admitting that different people have different mental resilience and different degrees of being grounded in their values. In the first ep of Act I itself, we see that little Violet and Powder are facing their dead parents, Violet looking deeply affected as Powder stands without expression, looking up to her sister to understand how to react to the heavily traumatic event.

Now here we can say two things, one is that Powder may not know how to react to it at all, she's too young to fathom death and doesn't understand the gravity of what she's seeing or, Powder feels exactly what Violet feels, she feels the sense of loss, dread and horror, but the shock of the sight has stunted her reaction and she's unable to feel anything because her mind has shut down, afraid of the flood of emotions she is feeling in that moment. Now, this is where the difference between Violet and Powder's mental capacities come to differ. Violet can feel her emotions, exercise them in terms of action or expression and then eventually process them and not be controlled by them. Powder, on the other hand, feels too deeply to be able to efficiently control her feelings, and when her feelings do boil over, they begin to guide her completely.

This can also be attributed to the fact that Violet was older, which doesn't make her automatically mentally stronger but means she has, by virtue of time, received a good foundation for understanding and processing her emotions. This can be for many reasons, she spent more time with their parents, in a peaceful familial environment, receiving love and attention, where she was tended to and her feelings were validated and understood by her caregivers or maybe she's just more hardy that way. But we can definitely wager that whatever Violet got from her parents, Powder got less of owing to their death.

Now, this puts them in an imbalance. Violet is self-focused, more resilient, able to tell right from wrong, able to have the mental strength to stand by her resolve, she still is a child, however, in Act I, she has a tendency of physically dealing with her problems even when fighting isn't the best solution, that and running away (extreme fight or flight), something she indirectly learnt BECAUSE she's a child, she's imprinted on Vander and his teachings (biggest being fighting since that's how he's survived the Undercity for so long) AS A CHILD. Now Powder has always had different needs from Violet, she is seen to need a lot more of verbal assurance, company and care, her talents lie outside of fighting, in engineering and marksmanship.

She's emotionally needy (which is understandable as she's younger) and when she's unable to receive it from Vander, she turns to Violet. And she hasn't just turned to Violet, she has ATTACHED herself to Violet. Act I literally has her have a panic attack just from being left behind by Violet so needless to say, a lot of how Powder turns out depended on Vi, who, don't forget, is also a child so to expect her to always have a perfect parental response to whatever Powder does is stupid. The plot, people and Jinx herself claim that Violet "made her into the monster she's become" but I strongly disagree. Powder has been innocent so far in Act I, up till the point she sets off the monkey bomb to save her family. It was a wrong move to have a) left her lodging after Vi told her not to and b) tinkering with something she didn't know too well about (hence the overloaded hex crystals)

It went bad, it killed most of her family and when Violet asked her if she did it and Powder confirmed it, she did what she knew to do, physically lash out at the cause of the problem, which, at that moment, Powder stood for. The person who singlehandedly killed her family. Violet, despite being in great grief let herself get angry over what had happened, she felt *something* as opposed to Powder who really couldn't fathom the damage she had done, being a child having the same trauma response she did when she saw her dead parents, her mind taking all the pain and locking it out instead of processing it or letting her face up to it lest she goes crazy which she did either way. Violet didn't have a breakdown, she didn't swear to blame Powder for life, for being disobedient, for knowing less, for taking away the only thing she knew in terms of family.

She saw that innocence in Powder as well and backed off, she "fled" (her other learnt response) for a few moments, resentful of her (wrong) actions and had all intentions to return to Powder who is also her family. But as we know, Marcus intercepted her and Silco got to Powder first. Now here is where choices have started being given. Any average child, with an average mind and an average upbringing, wouldn't immediately turn to the dark side even if they initially find comfort in it. There are certain "learnt" responses, values that endure even in the smallest children. Powder knew goodness through Violet and Vander and for much longer than she knew Silco.

But the moment Violet "left" for Powder, she again went into the panic of being abandoned, her lack of mental resilience made her fearful of the consequences of being on her own or being unloved/unaccepted, so to counter that fear, she simply latched onto the next parental figure she could find. Which was Silco, unfortunately. She undid years of learning and knowing Violet and Vander's goodness, and imbibed Silco's ideals because for Jinx, being accepted and affirmed has always been more important than doing the right thing. And that's how she remained in the years following her being adopted by Silco as she committed murders, thefts, various acts of terrorism, helping run Silco's drug empire basically.

It was all so that she'd have someone who would love and accept her. When Silco said "We'll show them all" Jinx also resolved to "show" her sister down just because she believed she gave up on/thought less of her as opposed to Violet who didn't lose faith in Powder even after she killed their family and till Act III even when Jinx threatened to have served Violet Caitlyn's head on a platter, she still stopped Caitlyn from shooting her down because she. Never. Lost. Faith. In. Her. This makes me wonder how much of Jinx was herself and how much Silco. If Powder had refused to work as a henchman or participate in his business proceedings, would Silco have idealised her as much or loved her as much since one of the reasons he loved her was because he saw so much of himself in her, as the "abandoned one" when Powder wasn't really abandoned? He accused Violet of not accepting Jinx, would he have accepted Powder? As the innocent girl she was who wanted nothing to do with the man who killed her family?

Which brings us back to what I started with, Violet has always had the resolve to not give up no matter what, no matter what it takes, she stands up after she's been obliterated in a fight, she holds out on her sister even after everyone can see she's far gone meanwhile Jinx has just made her choice for revenge, for chaos, bloody war and inflicting pain on others, even in her fight with Ekko, she gave up and was ready to take herself out along with him. At that moment, she gave up on both of them. The boy she knew her whole childhood faded away for her and in ep 9 Act III, she gave up on Vi too meanwhile both Ekko and Violet never gave up on the Powder they knew. The Powder Jinx gave up on in the season finale.

Ekko saw Benzo, his father figure die, his neighbourhood being transformed into something gnarly and unfamiliar, his friends and comrades being brutally killed by Jinx and Silco's men. Violet was imprisoned on no charges for 8 years and was beaten up regularly just to be put in her place as she lived in guilt for what she'd done. They were no less broken than Jinx and I don't say this to compare their trauma but to say that there's always a choice and Jinx constantly made the worst ones. Ekko could've ran a drug cartel parallel to Silco to put up a fight, Vi could've wreaked havoc the moment she was released from prison but no, Ekko created a safe world for Zaunites, especially the children, to give them another chance outside of the drugged-out streets.

Violet wanted peace between Piltover and Zaun, falling for a Piltovian despite her being an enforcer, representing what took her parents from her, hell, she doesn't even kill Sevika because Violet doesn't fight to kill. The same way Caitlyn doesn't shoot to kill. This lies in contrast with Jinx blowing the council up because Silco got what was coming to him (sorry, I can explain that more if you want but long story short, twisting the narrative, enabling, projecting onto and feeding into your adoptive daughter's worst fears, trying to kill her sister she clearly cares a lot about isn't gonna fly). And no, I don't accept any defenses based on mental health because that's offensive to those with mental illnesses.

Having mental issues doesn't naturally make you evil or dark-sided, like being a psychopath doesn't make you a serial killer, that's a stupid assumption to use just to defend a villain you like. The show itself highlights it when Victor says that "There's always a choice" and he's absolutely right. There is always a journey in regards to trauma and it always ends with "so what are you going to do about it?". Are you going to be better for it, to nip it in the bud or do you want to unleash it on those around you, make it someone else's problem? Such things don't hold up in explanation, a criminal is a criminal, like a r*pist is a r*pist and the question is "is your trauma worth the victim's life or suffering?". No, it's not. Never will be. You could've been through hell but it is still your call to put someone else through it. That individual choice makes you who you are.

That said, I also acknowledge that Jinx can possibly make the right choices in the future if she ever decides to stand for peace or try and do the right thing. You are always one choice away from doing good but yes, that will not nullify the harm she's caused so far. Excited for season 2 of Arcane :)

[space-blue]

Why was Sevika being so weird when she first fought with Vi (after the timeskip) and especially when she was about to deliver the killing blow? It looked like she really enjoyed hurting Vi. Attention to the time when she had a manic expression while burning Vi’s face with her mech arm. All the time Vi’s livid with her and never reciprocates her taunting demeanor. Later when Sevika answers Vi’s question of Powder's whereabouts, she taunts her how her sister now works for the guy who destroyed her and her family’s lives and is considered his daughter. Sure, she said these to catch Vi off guard and make the killing blow but uttering them without the goading tone would’ve done the trick. When Sevika prepares to finish her off, she again smugly tells Vi she’d give Jinx her regards. You see what I mean? Why does she act like by overpowering this barely adult person she’s accomplished this great feat? Vi isn’t some stuck up Piltie councilor who’s finally getting what they deserved lol. Like, Vi’s not Silco/ Sevika’s arch-nemesis. Sevika’s last memory of Vi was her as a freaking teenager who tried and failed to stop silco’s uprising. By all means kill her, what’s with the gloating and melodrama?

IDK what to tell you, dear Anon.

You literally has everything down pat. Except maybe for this :

All the time Vi’s livid with her and never reciprocates her taunting demeanor

let me point out Vi started the conversation by trying to retire Sevika's jaw from her face.

Sevika literally never starts a fight with Vi in the entire show. It's always Vi coming and looking for shit. She's just like Jinx and never asks her questions first. I feel like Sevika is entitled to the beat-down she gives Vi.

As to why she looks like she's taking pleasure in it? Well... Because she does? It's just characterisation. It tells us that Sevika has a cruel streak and enjoys having power over people, or at least people who came swinging at her. The way she jabs at Jinx to hurt her emotionally is the same. IMO it's something she learnt to do for Jinx, since she can't really physically manhandle her. Making her cry was probs the best alternative lol

In F&D I addressed that tendency of hers like this (bear in mind this is about VI being Silco's daughter, and they're on the same (reluctant) team) :

--

In that confrontation at the bar she uses her words instead of her fists, the way Silco taught her, many years ago, when he enlisted her to copy pamphlets with a bunch of other kids.

'You're all good at boxing, but this is a different kind of punching, you see,' he'd said, smiling at them as he handed out charcoal pencils and recycled sheets of grey paper. 'When you use the right words on someone, it's like you punch them right in the brain.'

Brain to brain punching. Sevika had thought it hilarious, and it had worked well enough to trick them into copying for him all afternoon. It's a lesson she's never forgotten, and she hones her words, makes them count. An opponent can be thrown off balance by a well placed taunt, sometimes defeated before the battle has even begun.

It's a total knock-out with Vi. The word daughter as good as lays her out.

--

But I made Sevika a little nicer in my story than she is in the show. I think the cruelty is part of her appeal. She's not a good person, even though she fights for a good cause. Her getting her way might also have resulted in fewer deaths (from keeping Jinx on a much tighter leash), but we just can't know.

Sevika is a child of Zaun, and one who did very well for herself. By definition I think this involves a lot of ruthlessness. Cruelty, or an edge of sadism, probably only helps, the same way that sociopathic character traits help CEOs crawl to the top of their companies.

I think that makes her a fantastic character, with a lot more depth. She CLEARLY cares about the dream. She's probably the only character who really gets Silco. She's hard working, she's loyal, she's intelligent... and she's mean and relishes in the hurt she doles out.

Queen behaviour.

[pathofcomets]

oh, the misery

fandom: arcane (league of legends)

relationship: silco & jinx (father-daughter)

summary: You can’t kill the snake without cutting its snake. Long live Silco’s legacy. (AO3)

Silco knows the moment when Vander hangs his gauntlets in that bar he keeps as a fortress that his brother is a changed man: not the rebel, not the fighter, not the man willing to kill his closest friend.

Silco knows, war changes people. They were supposed to be siblings, and now Silco is a dead man and Vander is a peacemaker. War weakens, he knows from how he now leaves himself open on his left side, all because of a faulty, tainted eye. War weakens, he knows from how Vander has learnt to care and love, and bow his head and talk in a low, slow voice.

Silco knows, time changes people too. He has waited for so long that his hate has dwindled to almost nothing, just the flares of pain in his body, his scar that does not fully hides. When he stares the man that has wronged him all that time ago, and all throughout the years separating them too, he almost feels nothing at all, just the elation of finally having caught up with the weeping wound in the timeline of his life. Vander, each second ticking away with each breath he takes, with each desperate sweep checking on his children, is running out of time. After all, Silco was simply bidding his time, lying in wait.

Silco knows, that the love for a sibling can survive hate, can live longer than respect or worry, but cannot withstand betrayal. The oldest tale, the truest as well: you may share a womb, a bond – but once someone turns on you, turns their back on you, it’s game over. Brothers and sisters make the most miserable of enemies, they know you so well after all. They can dig so deep and pick at hurts you didn’t even know you had. They can take one look and understand the undoing weakness by the way your body stands, by the blood flow in your body. That’s why, he swears, he’ll never be the same as his brother.

So Silco knows, that he is strongest when alone. That does not mean that when a little powder added spark to herself and turned herself into a jinx, he knew how to do anything but stare in awe, want to get closer, if only to see better. Others stared in awe too: at him though.

His eye hurts, the dark straining it further. They never do when looking at her. How to explain to the underground, to his surviving city, that he’d sell them all, gut them all, wreck all their futures, all their loves, for the pleasure and safety of his daughter?

Of course, they don’t understand. Just as he didn’t understand his brother, when he has stared at a pink-haired girl and made her his world, his successor. There’s nothing as undoing as a daughter. But tucked away, in the corners of his own office, knowing all his secrets, building him dreams and power, is his most precious treasure. She has held a weapon at his face a month in, and he has taken any blood drawn with the pride of a father seeing his daughter grow into herself.

Silco knows, that to accept peace once meant to be weak, just as he knows that to accept it now means to be strong. He was strong once, and he is so weak now.

Silco knows, from first-hand experience, that brotherhood, sisterhood will not survive other bonds. He will not give Jinx, for nothing at all – because she herself has chosen him, has made herself in his image; his perfect daughter, just as she is. He has heard it all, the critiques and the suspicions, and all fades away when her arms go around his neck, when she says his name. He has allowed the destruction of her entire world, and she has got on her knees in front of him and loved him, the only way she knew how. And it has been glorious, the best part of his life. When she looks at him, he’s not just a damned man, but someone who can also give, not only take. Someone who can and must protect, not only pain.

And Silco knows, Jinx is just like him. Even when she doesn’t want to accept it, even when she thinks she got him all figured out, even when she tires of her old man’s words – like daughters do. It doesn’t stop the doubt, it doesn’t stop the begging: she has never told him so, he has simply trusted fully and blindingly.

At that table, staring down the ghost of Jinx’s past, Silco is so unsure that he knows nothing at all. His fingers still work, at undoing her restraints – and he’s the fool who taught her the knots in the first place, and she’s a perfect student.

Silco knows, he’d jump in front of any bullet for her. He doesn’t have to, the bullet meets him where he is. This is only the second time in her life that she got on her knees for him, and just as once she asked for his love, without words, he now gives her his forgiveness, for which she didn’t know how to ask.

Yet, you can’t kill the snake without cutting its head.

Long live his legacy. The future cannot change in a human’s lifetime, but if he leaves it all in her hands, Silco knows it will all be as it should. After all, it would have been war regardless.

Silco knows he’s just the first casualty.

Silco knows Jinx will survive the war.

Like father, like daughter.

[no-goodbyes-no-regrets]

The right choice? chapter 3! (AO3)

ch 1, ch 2

A/N: Let me know what you think!

----

“Morning.” Aaron said to a hungover and groggy Liv as she came down the stairs.

She grunted some kind of reply and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who else was sat at the table with Aaron.

“What’s he doing here?”

“Good morning to you too.” Ben said and took a sip from his coffee.

“He’s my boyfriend. I want him here.” Aaron told her.

“Did he spend the night?”

“You got a problem with that?” Ben asked.

“I do actually.” Liv shot back and turned to Aaron. “I thought you’d dumped him for being a lying piece of shit?”

“That was just a misunderstanding. We’ve worked it out.”

Liv looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Really? After all the shit you put Robert through for lying… you just let him get away with it when he says it’s a misunderstanding?”

“Robert has nothing to do with this.” Aaron insisted. “We talked and we sorted it out. That’s it.”

“It’s what people in an adult relationship do.” Ben told her and pulled out a chair. “Do you want some breakfast? Or does yours come in a vodka bottle?”

Liv glared at him but ignored him and focused on Aaron.

“I don’t want him here.”

“Tough. I do.”

“It’s my house.”

“Yeah, well, I pay the bills. Do you want to start helping out with that?”

“Instead of spending all of your money on booze.” Ben added.

“Don’t you have a home of your own to go to? So you can get out of mine?”

Ben smiled and took another sip of his coffee.

“Aaron wants me here. And that’s more than we can say about you right now.”

Liv glared at him again and turned to Aaron who was suddenly very interested in buttering his toast.

“Really? You’re going to let him speak to me like that? You’re kicking me out of my own home for him?”

“Nobody is kicking anyone out.” Aaron sighed. “But Ben is my boyfriend and he’s going to spend the night every now and then.” He shrugged. “That’s not going to change because you have a problem with it. Or him.”

“You’re choosing some randomer over your sister then. Nice.” Liv said sarcastically and put her shoes on before grabbing her jacket.

“Where are you going?” Aaron asked as she yanked the door open.

“Why do you care? You’ve got him, don’t you?”

She slammed the door shut instead of replying, making the windows rattle in their frames.

Ben squeezed Aaron’s hand.

“She’ll come around.”

“Yeah…” Aaron agreed and hoped he was right.

---

“Sugden!” Robert looked up from his work. He was working in the library which usually meant a quiet day. Only apparently today that was not the case.

One of the guards gave him an expectant look.

“Yeah?”

“Come with me.”

“What? Why? What have I done?”

The guard sighed as he put the cuffs on Robert.

“Why do you guys always think you’re in trouble?” he muttered under his breath.

Robert bit his tongue. He’d learnt early on that talking back to the guards was a bad idea. It had caused him to end up in isolation more times than he cared to remember.

“Your lawyer is here. Won’t take no for an answer apparently when told to come back at the set times for legal rep. What do you need a lawyer for anyway? Aren’t you serving life?”

“She’s just… helping me get my affairs in order.” Robert lied. He didn’t trust anyone with his news and didn’t want to jinx anything by talking about it.

It had been a few weeks since Vic’s visit and they’d talked on the phone regularly. She’d been pushing him to at least see what his chances would be, and the law firm his previous solicitor had suggested to him, told him they’d put their best people on his case.

He’d met with Laura once and he liked her. She’d been honest with him that it wouldn’t be easy but he still stood a chance.

In the end it was the care package Vic had sent him that had made him decide to go for it.

It wasn’t so much the sweets or the pictures, or even the drawing from Seb, but knowing there were people out there who wanted him home with them. That life didn’t just go on without him. That Vic and Diane missed him. That his freedom was worth fighting for.

The guard led him to a private visiting room where Laura was waiting.

“Could you remove my client’s handcuffs please?” She asked nicely but at the same time made it clear she wouldn’t accept anything other than “Yes ma’am, right away.”

“But it’s protocol.” The guard tried.

“I don’t care. I need to discuss things with him and these restraints make me uncomfortable. And I’m certain they won’t be necessary.”

The guard hesitated for a moment but then did as she asked.

“I’ll be right outside if you need anything.” He stressed.

“Thank you, but we’ll be fine.” Laura told him and waited for him to leave the room, before turning to Robert. “Sorry to drop by unannounced.”

“That’s ok. Not like I’m doing anything important in here…” he sat and sat down.

“Well with a little bit of luck, that will change in a few months.” She opened a folder filled with papers. “They don’t like me bringing in a laptop.” She explained when she noticed Robert eyeing the paperwork. “So we’re going old school.”

“Right.”

“I met with Wendy Posner. Victoria gave me her number and assured me she’d be willing to cooperate… and she did.”

“Ok…”

“She made a statement, on camera, that Luke confessed hitting his brother the same day you fought with him. I have the transcript here if you want to read it.” She handed him a few papers.

Robert glanced at them and then put them down on the table.

“What does it mean for my case?”

“It’s a first step.” Laura told him. “But an important one.” She continued. “We’re not trying to prove you didn’t hit him. You confessed to that, you can’t take that back.”

“Right.”

“All we have to do is kick up enough dirt to make the court doubt the murder charge. Which was bullshit to begin with if you ask me.”

“But… Wendy saying that… it doesn’t mean anything, right? She could just be saying that because…” Robert shrugged. “I don’t know… she’s fallen out with her son.”

Laura nodded.

“Which is why I’m working on Luke Posner himself now. Wendy’s given me his contact information and I met with him yesterday.”

“You did?”

“I did. He’s scared and doesn’t want to make a statement… yet.”

“Coward.” Robert muttered.

“He’s worried he’ll end up in prison… which I can’t guarantee won’t happen… but that’s not my problem.” Laura grinned. “Wendy has also signed off on the exhumation of Lee’s body and another autopsy.”

“Would they be able to tell which blow killed him? After all this time?”

“Any medical examiner worth their degree should at least be able to get us some more information.”

Robert nodded and looked down at the papers again.

“And you know someone like that?”

Laura grinned.

“I married one.”

---

“Hey, Bex, how are you?” Vic answered her phone when she felt it buzzing in her pocket. She was working and the Hop had a strict no personal calls during work hours policy, but Kim wasn’t around and she figured she could get Jai to cut her some slack if he caught her.

“Did you get the pictures I sent?”

“Yeah, yeah, I did. They were perfect, thanks. Robert really loved them.”

“Good. I don’t know why he couldn’t just tell me himself though. A text or phone call would have been nice.”

“He’s in prison, Rebecca…” Vic said slowly. She’d been having to remind Rebecca of the situation almost every time she talked to her.

“Oh. Right. Right. I knew that.”

“Didn’t you write it down in your book?”

“Oh uh… maybe? I don’t really use it anymore. Things have been much better lately.”

“Yeah? That’s good.” Vic said, not really believing her, but not wanting to upset her either. Not when things were starting to get better between her and their family. “I’m glad.”

“Remember when you said you would like to see Seb again?” Rebecca asked, ignoring the rest of the conversation. “We’re in the neighbourhood right now, I have a spa day booked in Hotten.”

“Oh. Uh… I’m working… but Diane is home with Harry. She’d love to see him too.”

“Harry? Is that her husband? I thought she wasn’t married?”

“No, Harry is my son. Diane watches him for me when I’m at work.” Vic explained slowly.

“Oh, right. Well… you could have told me that.” Rebecca said, sounding annoyed.

“So uh should I ask Diane to meet you somewhere or can you drop Seb off yourself?”

Suddenly the Hide café door opened and Rebecca walked in, phone in one hand, and holding onto Seb with the other.

“I can drop him off.” She laughed and hung up. “This place has changed so much!”

“Bex!” Vic rounded the counter and went to hug her. “I can’t believe you’re here.” She bent down to get at eye level with Seb. “And you too. You’ve gotten so big.”

Seb hid his face in Rebecca’s coat.

“Don’t be shy… I’m your aunt Victoria. Do you remember me? I know we haven’t seen each other in a while.”

“It’s ok Seb.” Rebecca said, pushing him forward. “You’re going to stay with auntie Victoria now. Mummy will be back later.”

“Is Ross here too?” Vic asked, standing up again.

“No he’s having a boys weekend… I think.”

“You think? You’re still together aren’t you?”

“Yes, yes, of course we are. Of course.” Rebecca said quickly. “Anyway I have to go. That spa won’t wait.” She turned around and walked out the door, leaving Seb with Vic.

The little boy looked unsure of the situation and Vic felt sorry for him.

“How would you like a chocolate muffin?” she asked and smiled when he nodded eagerly.

She got him settled at a table and gave him some crayons and a colouring page from the kids menu, before calling Diane and asking her to come get him.

She tried talking to Seb but the boy wasn’t very talkative and mostly focused on his colouring.

“You’re so much like your daddy, you know that? He’ll ignore the world too when he’s working on something.”

She brushed his hair from his face and looked at the door, wishing Diane would walk through it.

Only when the door opened, it wasn’t Diane, but Aaron and Ben who came in.

“Great…” she muttered under her breath.

Ben walked up to the counter, obviously looking to order.

Vic sighed. She was still on shift and she was the one working the counter today so she couldn’t ignore him and wait for someone else to take his order.

“One moment.” She called out and turned to Seb. “You just work on this, I’ll be right back.”

Seb nodded and Vic made herself get up to go serve Ben.

“What can I get you?” she asked, trying to sound as professional as possible.

“Two coffees and two large cheese pizzas. I’m taking the afternoon off so we’re having a long lunch.” Ben told her.

Vic nodded and rang up his order and waited for him to put his card on the machine and pay.

Behind Ben, Aaron suddenly went pale and rigid. Vic followed his gaze and noticed he had spotted Seb and couldn’t take his eyes off the little boy.

She was just trying to figure out whether or not to say something, when Seb looked up from his colouring and noticed Aaron.

A smile spread over the boy’s face and he was up and out of his chair in seconds, running over to Aaron.

“Daddy!” He yelled, all but launching himself at the one adult he recognised.

“Hiya mate.” Aaron picked him up and hugged him close almost automatically.

He shifted him in his arms after a moment and put him on his hip, pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

“I can’t believe how big you got.” He told him. “Are you visiting your auntie Vic?”

Seb nodded happily.

“Bex dropped him off earlier.” Vic explained.

“Really?” Aaron asked Seb who nodded again. “And I see you got yourself a snack too.” He said laughingly and wiped the chocolate from Seb’s mouth with his sleeve.

“Choc muffin!” Seb announced happily.

“Oh wow, lucky you.”

Seb nodded and wiggled in Aaron’s arms so he’d put him down. He ran over to the table to grab the colouring page Vic had given him.

“For you daddy!”

Aaron knelt down in front of him.

“Thank you so much, it’s beautiful. But don’t you want to save that for your mummy?”

Seb shook his head.

“For you.”

“Thank you. I love it.” Aaron carefully rolled up the page and put it in his pocket. “I’ll find a good place for it.”

“Aaron we should go. The coffee and pizzas will get cold.” Ben spoke up.

Suddenly Seb noticed him and looked confused.

“This is uh… my friend Ben.” Aaron explained. “We uhm... are going to play video games together.”

“Me too!”

“Uhm… maybe some other time eh mate? You can’t leave your auntie Vic on her own, she’ll miss you.”

“I want to go with you!”

“Yeah Seb, we can do some more colouring.” Vic cut in. “We’ll make a picture for mummy and nana Diane too.”

Seb didn’t seem convinced but thankfully at that moment Diane walked in and distracted him.

“Daddy? My friend Ben?” Ben said, annoyed.

Aaron reluctantly got up from the floor as he watched Seb settle at the table with Harry and Diane.

“What did you expect me to say? He’s three.” He hissed, trying to tear his eyes away from the boy.

“Kids understand more than you think.” Ben argued and grabbed their lunch and walked out the door.

Aaron sighed and rolled his eyes and followed him.

Vic watched them leave and bit her lip to stop herself from smiling.

[shiny-procrastinates]

(re)Watching Magia Record S1 - part 13

part 12 here

Hello and welcome everyone to the last post in this series. Most people probably would watch this ep right after the other one and there's much to be written, so let's skip the recap and get right to it.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record S1 episode 13

This show in a nutshell.

Really though, poor Iroha. She only came to this town to look for her sister and now she's learnt a cruel secret and is being urged to join a cult. Talk about someone who must have no idea what's going on anymore.

Back in reality, Yachiyo has finally caught up. She tries to stop Mifuyu from showing them the truth, but I'd say it's too late now. Also, Mifuyu's sure being a jerk today. You don't get to blame Yachiyo for letting them come when you're the one who made sure this would happen!

Yachiyo gets upset, and Mifuyu disappears. Iroha wakes up with Yachiyo cleaning her Soul Gem and Yachiyo says this but, nah Yachiyo, they'd have to learn this sooner or later and you don't seem like you'd ever tell them.

Iroha and Yachiyo start making their way out of Memory Museum. Tsuruno and the others were with Iroha when they went down but now they're nowhere to be found. Wait, does that mean we don't get to see their reactions to learning the truth? What a let down.

On this topic, Iroha's also pretty calm despite everything, which is probably part because realization hasn't settled in yet, part because she's occupied worrying about her team... but maybe also in part because Iroha has a wish she can’t regret, so she just doesn't care about the price as much as others. Doesn't she look like this kind of character? "I don't care what price I have to pay if that means I'll save them"-like.

Oh.

Hey Yachiyo 1: that was really outta nowhere; 2: that's not very nice of you, jumping ship just as things have hit rock-bottom. What the hell

Iroha, of course, is as shocked as we are (we are?). Sure Yachiyo had been acting strange since yesterday but this is a bit much. You can't just decide this on your own when 3/5 of the team is MiA

Iroha follows after Yachiyo, pressing her for an explanation, but Yachiyo refuses to give one.

Iroha's understandably upset at Yachiyo's attitude and asserts she refuses to leave Yachiyo's side if she won't give her a convincing reason to. And really, she has all the reasons to lose her cool here: one of her best friends is leading a cult, she's destined to a fate worse than death, half her team is missing and now the last one wants out for absolutely no discernible reason besides because she wants to. Even a saint has their limits.

Also, like, Mikazuki Team is like family to her, Yachiyo can't just decide to destroy her home with no explanation like this

Hearing what Iroha said, maybe Yachiyo realized she wouldn't get Iroha off her tail without saying anything, so she reveals her reason for wanting to disband the team. Yachiyo says that her wish was to survive. However, the way it worked was that she sacrificed others for her own survival. So she thinks Iroha and co. will die if they stay with her.

Even hearing this, Iroha's not convinced. Could such a wish really exist?

So yeah, Yachiyo was having a little crisis there and ended up being eaten by the Rumor(?). Thankfully, Iroha could still see her signal on the Soul Gem GPS, so the girl firms her determination to save her.

While Iroha's doing that, Yachiyo's having a lecture by herself to herself inside the Rumor. Quite the novel way to do introspection, if I do say so myself.

Here, we learn that Yachiyo originally wished to survive in the modelling world (we're never directly told that she's a model but there's lots of visual cues to it throughout the series). She did it because she thought she had to be a strong leader to protect her companions. She didn't want to survive at their expanse; so, uhhh...

She isn't then. Wishes in this series come true in the exact way the Magical Girl wants it to, so Yachiyo's wish can't be killing anyone if that's not what she wanted. She's misunderstanding.

...I wish they'd have put Kanae and Mel's last words in the actual scene they belong to rather than just a still, since they're literally one of the main reasons Yachiyo even reached the conclusion that their deaths were caused by her.

Iroha has learned "hold B to charge".

So, yeah, Iroha must've had a training arc off-screen because even though she's only been shown sucking at battles the whole series, she's now suddenly strong enough to defeat a Rumor on her own. Or maybe she just wanted to save her wife Yachiyo that much.

Iroha defeats the Rumor of Memory Museum (the place's an actual building, if a weird one, so that stays), hugs Yachiyo and is about to literally drag her by the hand to go search for the others, but Yachiyo's still reluctant. Iroha then tells her that Yachiyo and the others are the one who made her this strong, so she'll prove to her that her wish isn't what she thinks it is.

Don't jinx yourself, idiot! Thank god you've got protagonist plot armor.

Now, if only years of survivor's guilt could be cured this easily in real life too.

Yachiyo finally calls Iroha by her first name, accepting Iroha's promise.

The museum starts falling apart, probably thanks to the damage it received when Iroha was fighting the Rumor, so Iroha and Yachiyo have no choice but to leave the place now, even though they haven't found the others yet.

Iroha barely dodges some debris, stumbling, so Yachiyo carries her instead. Iroha's Soul Gem has been drained from fighting the Rumor, so she's having a hard time moving already. Doppels may be a thing, but there's no guarantee that they're safe, so Yachiyo's call of going to the Coordinator's to get a Grief Seed is probably correct.

As Iroha's situation worsens, Yachiyo follows Chibi Kyuubei until almost the entrance. Then, she meets with someone we know very well.

Mami says something about a gospel, and Yachiyo asserts that she and Iroha have no intention of joining the cult.

Which makes Mami snap. This girl is clearly not on her right mind. In fact, one could say she lost her head (ba-dum-tss).

Mami and Yachiyo start fighting, and I guess as expected of a veteran of 7 years, we have to commend Yachiyo here on meeting Mami's blows while carrying Iroha on her back. Yachiyo pleads with Mami to hear them out but Touka, the brat who was just watching the battle, tells Mami she doesn't have to, and Mami just keeps on her offensive.

Of course, there's only so much Yachiyo could do handicapped. But today is not the day Yachiyo's getting a bullet to her head, because

A certain someone who really likes impromptu hydrant smoke bombs is here.

Sayaka! Nice save, shining cape hero of justice! You have no idea who exactly you're calling weak tho

Seeing Sayaka, it looked like Mami had went back to normal for a moment, but nope, she's still borked. Like in all timelines where she learns it, seems like Mami didn't take the truth well here either. The difference is that she can't witch out in Kamihama so something happened instead.

Mami keeps monologuing, with Sayaka of course not understanding a single thing she's saying. Then, Mami starts to doppel out. The girl has seriously lost her mind and is now obsessed with salvation. (and man 10/10 on the VA’s voice acting here)

And here comes the bullet hell! This is so overkill Mami

Sayaka and Yachiyo do their best to deflect the rain of bullets, with Yachiyo turning back and trying to compete in number of spears. Jesus, just how big exactly is the amount of magic a veteran magical girl has? This is insane!

Yachiyo tries to send a stream of spears, who are deflected with one Tiro Finale, with another one headed their way right after

Sayaka blocks the Tiro Finale with her sword. The shot is so powerful one of her arms is torn off AND SHE ATTACHES IT BACK MID-AIR

holy-moly!

Hope this museum has insurance.

Sayaka just barely manages to reflect that bomb, which saves them from being blown to smithereens. Touka was having a nice tea time watching the spectacle, but then realizes she had something else to attend to so she exits, leaving the stage to Mami, who resumes her bullet hell.

Sayaka uses Yachiyo's spears as a platform to get closer and attempts to grab Mami, to no avail. She falls down and tries to take cover, but Mami's bullets are now homing bullets apparently, because they just change direction and start raining in her direction again.

Down below where Yachiyo's hiding, Iroha manages to wake back up, but she looks, like, on the verge of dying or something. Iroha tells Yachiyo they have to help Sayaka and Yachiyo rebukes there's no way they could win, to which Iroha subtly implies she wants to use her doppel, assuring Yachiyo it'll be okay and raising yet another flag.

Mami finally corners Sayaka, but before Sayaka can become blue Swiss cheese, Iroha comes in with her doppel to cover her. Very convenient that she suddenly knows how to control it.

Aaand Yachiyo can do that too, because of course she does, why wouldn't she. (/sarcasm)

But, uhhh, hers is considerably more creepy, what with the extra arms and stuff. Yikes.

Yachiyo says that doppels are dangerous, but one has to wonder when and how did she even learn about them. After all, she did seem surprised when Iroha did not turn into a witch in Seance Shrine.

While that's going on Touka's just out here deciding by herself that Mami would want to die for the sake of salvation. Just, uh, I don't think you can judge that when she's gone nuts, and you're a jerk if you put her in that scenario expecting her to die. Not that anyone had any doubts you're a jerk, mind you.

Also, what does she mean with Mami helping with developing Rumors?

"hey Kyuubei, I don't want to be meguka anymore, can I retire?"

Even using their doppels, Iroha and Yachiyo are not managing to make even a dent in Holy Mami. Iroha ends up getting bashed into a wall, the doppel taking over for real and her becoming a sitting duck for Mami, but Yachiyo yeets Mami before she can shoot. I'm sure this wasn't supposed to be funny but there's just something hilarious to me about Yachiyo just yeeting Holy Mami and her bouncing away.

Yachiyo transforms and shakes Iroha back to reality.

Again, why the heck do you know this, Yachiyo.

Iroha raises yet another flag for herself. What next? Are you going to say you want to marry her when you two go back?

Somewhere else, Touka arrives on her appointment: a speech for the cult. And oh my hell just look at how many magical girls there is! The amount of Black Feathers always blows me away, since the impression I got from og and even the spin offs is that, sure, there are some groups of magical girls around like the Holy Quintet and the Pleiades, but I still though it was more of a rare thing. It's shocking to see THIS many in the same place. (...I suppose the game needed the cannon fodder :x)

HEY what are these two doing here?!

Touka continues her speech over Iroha and Yachiyo's battle.

This cult leader here continues her discourse, preaching about how the power to wish for something is what advanced civilization, so magical girls, who have the power to make a wish reality, are better than normal humans, and so are deserving of being released from their fate.

OH NO, TSURUNO HAS GONE WEIRD TOO

*bonk*

There goes Holy Mami down the collapsing museum.

It's not like Touka's completely wrong (except for saying that magical girls are superior), but if it wasn't clear enough already, their actual actions makes her speech be full of hypocrisy.

Back at the crumbling Memory Museum, Iroha has managed to jinx herself so hard throughout this episode she pierced her own protagonist plot armor. Great job!

Try as she might, Yachiyo just cannot pull her back up, which also makes no sense when you consider how strong magical girls are, but alas.

And to make things worse, Mami is also pulling a literal "you're going down with me", so Iroha, making a split second decision, pulls her hand away from Yachiyo's grasp, lest both of them fall and get buried... breaking the one promise she made probably not even a hour ago.

I think that last thing she said was "sorry", but don't quote me on that.

What a loyal Mokyu. Never mind that if they can turn into water they probably can't die from this.

Yachiyo's about to follow her fate too, but thankfully Sayaka comes in for the save, only giving a brief glance to where Mami disappeared before getting the heck out of there.

Well, people promise lots of things, Yachiyo.

OH I KNOW YOU, what was your name again? It's been so long I forgot.

Back at the The Wings of the Magius' HQ, Touka's done with her speech. The way the anime cuts from Yachiyo falling to the depths of despair to the cult clapping is just *chef's kiss*

Oh no Felicia and Sana also joined the cult :(

EXCUSE ME, WHAT

oh frick we'll have to deal with that too!? Aren't things already effed up enough as is!?

...being meguka is suffering.

Also the song playing over this last sequence, Nigredo, is a real banger. Momentarily filling in that hole Kalafina left in our hearts.

After the end credits there's the teaser for season 2, with lots of overlapping lines and blink-and-you-miss-it frames hinting at the things that'll happen. I'd have to screenshot basically the whole sequence to get everything and season 2 is coming out like, today, so I'm not even gonna bother.

- x -

Aaand that's it folks! Puella Magia Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record Season 1! (still a mouthful)

I cannot express just how hyped I was by the end of this episode back when it aired. Did you get fired up watching it too? I was so into it back then I just couldn't stop theorizing for like, over a month, so eventually the curiosity was just too much and I caved in and watched the game.

On that matter, ironically, despite me loving the game story to bits, this is the ONE episode that makes me wish I didn't go and watch the game. Why? Because I liked this episode well enough before, but now I just can't get over how stupidly better the resolution to Yachiyo's arc was done in the game. I get runtime constraints and all, but it's almost an offense to her character having her believe in Iroha right away just because Iroha said she wouldn't die. Aaaaghh what the heck, I don't know how they could have done this better with the time on the episode but this wasn't it. I'll be eternally salty we got robbed of the full extent of alpha Iroha, too.

So yeah, I do apologize if this post sounded more salty and sarcastic than usual.

One thing I realized re-watching this though is that the reason this episode is so awkward with that character part is exactly because they halfheartedly tried to stick to the game. Yachiyo bringing back her "it's none of your account" and Iroha defeating the Rumor on her own were part of the game, but because they hadn't kept those character traits throughout the anime it falls flat here, because anime Yachiyo didn't use that almost as a catchphrase, and anime Iroha is never shown to be competent enough to take on a Rumor on her own (the opposite, in fact), so those come out of nowhere. Even last episode, Yachiyo 180ing because of what Mifuyu said comes out of the blue in the anime, because we're missing the context that she actually went back to behaving like she used to when she first disbanded her team, and anime Yachiyo didn't have the hold-up with the word "friends", at least not as clearly. On the other hand, Yachiyo being willing to accept Iroha's words right away does fit in with anime Yachiyo, who was always more soft than game version, but here it becomes awkward because they had had her acting like her game counterpart since last episode and then suddenly she snaps back to the anime self again.

What I'm trying to say here is that they should've changed this scene even more to fit the actual characters anime Iroha and Yachiyo are, rather than halfheartedly trying to force it to go the same way as in the game. That's what I think.

Besides that, Tsuruno and co.'s reaction to the truth was cut out, but I'm sure we'll get around to seeing that next season. Holy Mami's fight is cool but... I dunno. Except Sayaka reflecting that Tiro Finale, it felt really uninspired. It could've been shorter if that meant giving more time to the story, imo

Now for things I REALLY like in this episode, there's the whole sequence with Touka's speech. You might've even guessed this considering I said the dream sequence way back in episode 1 is my favorite ever. IT'S JUST SO GOOD. The constrast between Touka delivering this super charismatic discourse about magical girls, the saint of her cause being lunatic and their actions being just the opposite of the noble cause she says they're preaching is marvelous. They even manage to use this time to reveal that KaMoRe and Tsuruno and co. are on the cult. Really, really well done.

This ending tho. Iroha disappearing is the biggest anime original thing to happen besides Kuroe, so that's got me curious to see what they'll do with this. I love the game, so I have complicated feelings about the anime diverging from it, but I can't deny it's exciting to think about what they'll change up. Ultimately, it's more likely that they're just rearranging some stuff to make the progress more straightforward, but it'd be really cool if it went full anime original too. Just I'm not sure on the odds for that.

I'm sure they'll keep us on the suspense until the very last moment possible but I'm sure Iroha's not actually dead. Looking at a meta sense, there's no way they'd kill a main character off-screen. Storywise, it'd be hard to move Ui's mystery forward without the one person who remembers her and they're not just going to drop this plot, and also for Iroha to be dead Holy Mami would also need to be dead and we can't have that because they haven't even went into what's wrong with her yet. So yeah. I'll believe it when I see it. Would it be absolutely crazy if they did? Yeah, but it ain't gonna happen. (please don't make me have to bite my tongue show)

Whew, this post is long af. I didn't plan for this. I don't feel like writing a season impression because all of s1 was mostly set up for what's to come, so I can't say if it was good or bad until the series is over. Originally, I'd planned to put up another post with my theories for s2, but considering that comes out today I'm not sure there's even a point to doing it anymore lol

In any case, I hope I could provide you some fun with these posts! Being honest, the reason I decided to write this was because I've always liked to hear people's opinions on the shows I like, but I don't really have people to watch things with me, so I just read reddit and stuff. Doing that, when I was watching Symphogear s1 some years back, I stumbled across these posts of someone watching it for the first time and had a blast reading those as I watched. So I wanted to provide someone with that experience too. I'll never reach the comedic genius that person had, but I can at least keep you company while you watch :)

...these are also super useful to check back on the order of events too :v

So yeah, writing these was fun, though there were lots of parts where I really went out of ideas of what to say; it forced me to actually sit down and rewatch (or else I'd procrastinate) and made me pick up on a lot of things. That's a plus in my book.

Now that we are done with this, I hope you are as excited for season 2 as I am! I'm not sure if I'll keep writing about it here, so yeah. Whether we ever meet again or not, remember:

Don't ever make a contract with a white weasel.

[antoniatzhang]

ok here we go

BASICS

full name: antonia trevisani zhang

birthday: may 15th, 1960

age: 19

pronouns: she/her

current residence: wimbourne house, hemlock room

languages: english, mandarin, italian

BACKGROUND

hometown: siena, italy

previous home: n/a

parents: emilia trevisani and zhang jie

siblings: tbd

pets: lucrezia, a tarantula, plus two dobermanns back in italy named alto and nico

WIZARDING STATS

wand:  11″, occamy feather core, wood tbd, unyielding, lined with occamy eggshell silver. 

patronus: jaguar (uncast)

boggart: tbd

amortentia: tbd

PERSONALITY

strengths: adventurous, thorough, observant

weaknesses: unrepentant, misanthropic, self-centered

MBTI: ISTP-a

alignment: chaotic neutral (?... I just hate the word evil so you be the judge of it)

zodiac sign: taurus

likes: fire, deadlines, quidditch, running, spiders, her dogs, shortcuts

dislikes: people, 

MIRROR

height:5'5

body type: skinny

eye color: pitch black

hair color: pitch black

faceclaim: natasha liu bordizzo

voiceclaim: rooney mara w/ accent

EDUCATION

primary school: london school of witchcraft / class of 1978

hogwarts house: slytherin/ class of 1981

degree: healing sciences, mind magic

extracurriculars: dueling club, quidditch, JWL

classes: tbd

BACKGROUND

People are idiots, of that Antonia is sure. Although she is not particularly accomplished in anything worth remarking, Antonia is entirely convinced that everyone is beneath her, in one way or another. That one? Lazy. The other? Presumptuous. The third is naïve. The fourth, unambitious, the poor thing. She could go on and on about the defects of each and every person in the world, without ever recognizing these same exact defects in herself. She has learnt, after all, that in her, all acts are justifiable, because she is special. Talented. Those who see defects in her are likely jealous, as she’s always been told by her parents. This posture makes it difficult for her to like just about anyone, as their defects always make them seem incredibly unworthy of her time. Upon joining Hogwarts, Antonia decided her most likely chance of meeting decent companies would be joining the Junior Witches League, seeing as her mother had been associated to its Italian branch and always spoke wonders of her sisters. So far, however, she remains unimpressed. Her few good qualities are her impressive talent for jinxes, hexes and combative magic as a whole, which she hopes to show off at dueling club, and her ability to push herself relentlessly in everything physical –adrenaline is a key motivator to Antonia. Quidditch and dueling are the most orthodox ways to get those kicks, but other creative ways are also on the table. Danger strikes her fancy.

A childhood like Antonia’s could be described as picture perfect. The setting of Villa Trevisani, a true Tuscany-style mansion in the outskirts of Siena, Italy, was abundant and dreamy. From an early age, she figured she must have been a very special child – what else could explain the garden, the toys, the clothes, all dreamy and all at the tip of her fingers? She was special, as her father explained. Unlike other kids. Not only was she a witch, she also belonged to a phenomenal lineage, and was therefore entitled to all the best things in life. The company of all those goods made for decent substitute of her parents’ attention. They loved her, sure, but both lived hustled celebrity lives – her mother, Emilia Trevisani, a singer and tabloid favorite celebrity in Italy, and her father, Zhang Jie, a superstar quidditch player who led the Chinese national quidditch team to victory on three World Cups, as their seeker. When the couple met over the 1958 Quidditch World Cup, hosted in Italy, they fell in love fast and suddenly, and were married just under 5 months dating. Jie moved to Emilia’s Villa Trevisani and signed a contract with the Grifoni di Siena, Italy’s most popular team. The couple’s first child, Antonia, came to the world at the same time when their marriage was becoming lackluster and dull. They avoided a divorce for the sake of the child, but she understood their relationship perfectly, from a very young age, and saw that there was no love there. Her childhood days were spent in attempts to trick her governesses, distilling all her energy running through the garden, climbing on the statues, throwing fits. She broke her bones more times than she would be able to tell you, in the most various places, and developed quite the tolerance to pain. In quidditch, she could always push herself to the most dire conditions, and her father supported her involvement in the sport tremendously.

Antonia learned she ought to be proud of her lineage, particularly on her father’s side. More than anything, she held a profound sense of admiration for her grandmother, Zhang Baozhai. Zhang Baozhai was the reason why the Zhang name brought chills to the better informed witch or wizard, principally to those in Asia. A sullen, cutthroat woman, she built a dynasty from the ground. First, through years of political influence in the Chinese Ministry of Magic. Second, forging her own line of work – a business operation that ran on the limits of legality and employed dark magic to fulfill the desires of their costumers, whichever be their nature, and always for a lofty price. Baozhai formed a particular bond with her granddaughter and often treated her with more love than she’d ever had for any of her sons. Their bond was so solid that, upon her passing, Baozhai’s wand chose Antonia, an event that brought herself and her father much pride.

tw: violence, physical abuse

Once, in her teenage years, Antonia thought she’d found true love, and she grasped and clung to it for long, painful months that felt like years. At the age of sixteen, she met an English man – a wizard, and a muggleborn, about five years older than her, all of which made the simple fact of her allowing him to get to know her outrageous. He was in Italy for a mysterious job. He was a mysterious man. Everything about him drew her in and, before she knew it, she was too deeply inebriated to deny her feelings. They lived two months of an intense romance, or so she thought. One day the man disappeared without saying a word, and the mysterious job turned out to be stealing pieces of her family heirloom from her home. This enraged her. For months, all she could think of was confronting him, not for the theft but for the deceit, the ridicule. She pestered her parents everyday about allowing her to move to London, on excuses of the most varied – the quality of education, the cultural enrichment, perfecting her English, even the weather, absurd as it was. Eventually they caved in, as they always did. And so, Antonia moved into London, concluding the last two years of her primary education in London School. During that time, finding her deceiver was like a mission to her – not a day went by that she didn’t dedicate herself to it. When she finally found him, living well-off in a condo, Antonia confronted him in his house. Upon the accusations and demands for explaining himself, she was met with resistance, but not the type she’d expected – the man lashed onto her with overwhelming physical strength. She didn’t remember the details – all she remember was feeling utterly subjugated and reaching for her wand like a drowning man to a life buoy. She stunned him, but it didn’t feel like enough. Nothing felt like enough. Had she been a better person, she would have left and reached out to the DMLE, but instead, she did something else out of unexplainable rage: she attempted to obliviate him. And failed. Miserably. Instead of forgetting her, or anything, he forgot everything, including basic motor functions. He went into vegetative state. This earned him a one-way ticket to St. Mungus, and Antonia earned an expulsion from school. But not one that couldn’t be lifted by her father, who knew just who to persuade with words and whose palms to grease. Antonia came out of this traumatic event feeling victorious, and felt not a pinch of regret for what she did. In fact, by the time she had to choose her degree, she thought it would be ironic to choose Mind Magic as her degree, with particular interest to obliviating. She still visits him in St. Mungus every year, traditionally during Christmas time.

TL;DR

yea sorry I sometimes overdo it here’s the tl;dr:

- hates everyone, think’s she’s better than anyone

- have you ever met someone who always turns the conversation into something that’s 100% about them, like, almos doesn’t even pretend they’re listening? yup that’s her

- spoiled af, if you’ve watched murder of gianni versace, think andre cunanam’s dad and you’ll get the picture of her fathering profile

- adrenaline junkie

- tw violence/physical abuse: ex-boyfriend-turned-conman tried to be physically violent to her so she stunned and obliviated-ish him (ik makes no sense, but she was in chaos), except she didn’t know how to obliviate someone and ended up turning his brain into mashed potatoes. figured, welp, guess I have a talent for the thing, might as well become an obliviator. so now she’s studying mind magic.

- I’m going with death eater long term (duh), please hmu with plots if you have any ideas!!!

- also yes I was obviously inspired by natasha’s ethnicity (chinese + italian), this is not a coincidence

[darkestwolfx]

Bolt from the Blue - Re-Review #42

“Isn’t that something else?”

Yes, because when has a giant, blue laser in the sky transmitting solar energy down to Earth ever been a good idea in the world of Thunderbirds Are Go? Oh no, nobody panic, this is a completely innocent piece of machinery.

Look at Parker getting all technical.

“Mr Kinnear!”

This poor man just can’t catch a break can he? He finally came to his senses and left behind the waste of space that is Fischler - honestly I wouldn’t have stayed working for that man as long as this guy did - only to end up with what seems like his sister?

And after all this, he ends up saying;

“This still beats working at Fischler Industries!”

That, can only tell us what an absolutely terrible employer Fischler was. Considering we don’t see him again I’m wondering if the GDF finally did something about him...

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that. We have some... safety overrides to make sure nothing could possibly go wrong.”

And you were saying? Honestly, this show has jinxes everywhere.

Did Miss Edmunds remind anyone else of another familiar face that makes your skin crawl? I’ll leave you a hint.

So, I love this episode. It might partially be because there’s a panda in it - and yes, I work with pandas - but there are other reasons too and I’m sure we’ll get to them.

Firstly let us address the plane struck by ‘lightning’.

“The plane’s gilding but losing altitude. There are four in need of evacuation. Two pilots, one child.”

“That’s only three. Who’s the fourth?”

“Brains, you want to tell them?”

“It’s transporting a rare giant panda in the cargo bay.”

“Ok, four to save, one’s a panda.”

Scott - honestly the way he says that line gets me every time!

“Gordon can go with Virgil and help with the evacuation.”

“Yes! I’ve always wanted to see a giant panda up close!”

“That’s not likely to happen.”

“You’re crushing my dreams, Brains!”

“But it’s in a sealed, environmentally controlled container-”

“La la la la la - I can’t hear you!”

Honestly, weren’t Gordon and EOS made for each other? They could encourage each other to be like children forever.

And so now we’ve got to another of those reasons I mentioned - it’s Gordon’s facial expressions (throughout the whole episode). So, this is officially the world’s most disappointed face.

“They appear to be highly charged plasma bolts.”

Hoorah for that... Just what we need. Well, we’ve never had a rescue like it, that’s for sure.

“Can’t you see I’m in the middle of a pre-sentation?”

“Perhaps you should see what he wants.”

“Oh I’m sure it can wait. The safety commission will shut us down without your approval. So I want to make sure you approve.”

Yeah... definitely a relation to Fischler.

Brains, John already got what they were without you.

"A solar collector.”

Shall we send Thunderbird Three to investigate?”

“We may not have to. Lady Penelope’s already on board.”

“John, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Not sure it’s a pleasure to nearly be torn apart by plasma bolts, but hey.

“Hang on Captain, we’ll get you out of there.”

I think this is a speak too soon moment.

“We’re about to go critical.”

“Does that mean ka-bloom then?”

“ka-bloom”, I love that, it’s very Parker.

“Surely you have a way to reset something like this?”

“I’m a sales director, not an engineer! Did I mention we have three delightful colours to chose from?”

No you didn’t until now, and please don’t mention it again. I think the colour of the episode is set at blue anyway.

This episode really does get off to a dramatic run.

“Thunderbird One’s been hit!”

“Same here! We’re all going down!”

“No one panic! That bolt must have overloaded our circuit breakers. We’ll try rebooting.”

I love how Scott is completely in control here. I mean, it’s believable considering that TOS always made him out to be a honoured pilot. We saw him save Anderbad City with some pretty good flying to in ‘Fight or Flight’. Also, as the eldest we would expect him to have more experience and considering he’s taking over as leader from their dad, you would have expected him to have a pretty level head. This is a complete change however to his reactions in ‘Up from the Depths’ and a little in ‘Heavy Metal’ where he was reliant on others to help him fix his own ship and flight pattern. Either we’re meant to see that he learnt from these events, or that these are anomalies in the writing process.

“Gordon, flip the switch.”

“No problem, just like when your hairdryer blows a fuse at Tracy Island.”

“What? What do you mean my hairdryer!”

Another nice little TOS reference here - in ‘Operation Crash Dive’, Gordon saves Fireflash by treating it like fixing a fuse before he later fixes the TV on Tracy Island, claiming the same.

“Gordon has flight control. Try to keep us in the air!”

“Relax, if more plasma bolts hit, I’ll use your hairdryer trick again.”

“One time. One time that happened!”

Admittance is still admittance, Virgil. I love how Gordon can get things out of people by just being persistently annoying.

Just taking some air, ey, Virgil? Big brother to the rescue. I sense Scott likes doing that.

“Scott... little help!”

“I’m jetting down now. Try not to move.”

“Ready, step!”

“Got it! Thanks for the boost.”

“Any time.”

In fairness, I think this scene is a little piece of genius and it’s another scene that contributes towards my love of this episode. So, here come the reasons;

1. I think it would take an awful lot for Virgil to ask for help, even from his brothers. Even in ‘Skyhook’ and ‘Earthbreaker’ when Thunderbird Two was going down, he didn’t ask for help. He accepted it yes, but he didn’t actually ask for anyone to come and save him.

2. So, accidentally, Virgil ended up in danger of either falling into the ocean, or worse, being hit my a plasma beam. As a result of that, Scott’s comes to his rescue. Now this, puts Scott in danger too, because if either of them took a direct hit there would be bad things. But this isn’t even thought about or discussed, which totally fits in character (especially for these two). The level of reaction here is what matters, and the danger they throw themselves into for each other will be thought about later.

3. The worry and relief. You can tell they have shared worries about this and the dialogue projects this so, so well. In those five lines is everything we need to know about their emotional states.

4. It’s not often these boys have to rescue each other, but when they do (like with Alan&John in ‘EOS’, the instant response seems to be to cover up the fear; “Thanks Alan, I was really sweating there at the end.” “I noticed.” And this dialogue is doing the same thing. The clock is ticking, the situation is precarious and yet what we get is the use of simple words as part of a conversation meaning something completely different. The power of words is transformative, and whenever they can be used with double meanings, they carry so much more strength. People in real life often never say things as they mean. It’s like with death - we don’t often use the word in conversation, we’ll refer to it as something else, and this is exactly what the Tracy boys do - they face danger head on, and they skirt around the less nice possibilities, whilst knowing what they are potentially confronting the whole time, just without saying it. Because we all know once things are said, they are hard to take back.

5. Childlike brotherhood. The nature of this scenes very much takes me back to imagining a younger Scott and Virgil helping each other out with the simplest of things like learning to ride a bike. There’s a very clear, well-built, brotherly relationship shown in this scene, and that comes across so well, in the dialogue that could refer to nearly any other situation, than hanging for your life from a doomed plane only miles above the ocean with plasma bolts trying to hit you.

So, who was the mastermind behind this excellent scene? Elly Brewer is mainly known for writing episodes for the Tracy Beaker series’, which is a completely different kettle of fish to something like Thunderbirds Are Go. She wrote ‘Lost Kingdom’ which was another fantastic episode, and this is (unfortunately) the only other script she wrote for this series. I think this is an absolute shame as her handle on the brother’s was perfect, and her use of dialogue was perfectly balanced out to disguise/contain other feelings whilst commenting on the action. A someone who also has ambitions to be a writer, she is a real example of how to write character interaction. I believed every inch of this script - not only for this scene, but for every scene and every character - and okay, the acting brought it to life, but a good script often allows for good acting, so they come as a pair most of the time.

I’ve already mentioned above my feelings regarding Scott in this episode (who is portrayed again, as a really strong pilot, just like how Dan Berlinka wrote him in ‘Fight or Flight’.) I’m not trying to slate or show anyone up here, but I feel like compared to Ben Townsend, Brewer and Berlinka had a much better handle on the character of Scott Tracy. Don’t mistake me here, Townsend has written some amazing scripts for Thunderbirds Are Go - ‘Heavy Metal’, ‘Up from the Depths’, ‘Brains Vs. Brawn’ (and more I won’t list them all) - but interestingly two of the above I’ve mentioned, are also the two episodes where I felt the discrepancies with Scott’s skills as a pilot creeping in. I love both episodes for their content and some perfect moments, but it definitely feels like Townsend is uncomfortable or at conflict writing for Scott (in places, because he did give us some amazing moments like Scott&Ned, but I think there are definitely points where I question his decisions, especially against strong episodes like this and ‘Fight or Flight’ which put Scott very much in the driving seat). ‘Inferno’ -which I think is one of the best scripts written for this series, with it’s realism and excellent interactions - is also one of Townsend’s works for this series and (apart from maybe ‘Up from the Depths’) is what I consider to be his best work. It is interesting that Scott does not appear here though.

Remember that this is all only my opinion, and as always, I’m more than happy for you to disagree with me. That’s the whole point of discussions, and please feel free to discuss it (I will reply, although it might be at some point later in the week). Dropping it to my ask box may be easier than in the comments if you do with to have a full length discussion.

“Virgil, we’re almost at the water!”

“Release the plane and pull out. Repeat, pull out!”

Some of that quick thinking made towards an awesome rescue. I mean, the plane went down, but really who cares about that? There was nothing in it, and a plane can be rebuilt.

“Sorry Brains.”

“For what?”

“It’s time for you to go.”

Lady Penelope has way better aim than I do!

“Careful Parker, the walls are burning up!”

“You don’t ‘ave to tell me twice. hOh boy, hit’s ‘ot hin ‘ere. Blast! Missed.”

“Go on, Parker! I’ve got you!”

“Much hobliged, M’Lady.”

Parker is just a grade one badass. Look at him go! And Parker and Lady Penelope are an absolute perfect duo. Their teamwork is always spot on and their relationship is brilliantly explored in scenes like this. Lady Penelope has always been a considerate character, but high society (in the past at least) have always been assumed to have had a lack of care for those below them (I’m sure there were those who did, but history just records the majority). Lady Penelope has such care for Parker - probably as much as he has for her - and scenes like this are perfect for showing exactly what makes their partnership work. It’s very give and take, even when it seemed like Parker is just driving her around. She’s always got his back and it was lovely to have another scene showing that off.

Still think it’s “a perfect take your daughter to work day”? They definitely picked a day!

“Woah, I’m in Thunderbird Two!”

“The panda’s doing just fine. I heard him munching on bamboo.”

“Aww!”

Look at that thinking face of love and affection.

“Thank you for saving him.”

“You’re welcome. We love having satisfied customers.”

“Yeah, furry or otherwise.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Oh...”

“Thank you.”

“Can I go see Mr Panda now?”

“I think he’ll like you.”

“Really?!”

And this is the world’s happiest face! Gordon has achieved his dream. Having seen pandas myself, I can completely understand why it was a dream of his. Also, the Gordon and Virgil interaction (in this whole episode, but especially here where words aren’t even needed) is just absolute perfection!

And now to tie up some loose ends;

“I may lose my job over this, but I am not gonna lose my life!”

I think you might have lost that anyway. I mean, I think the GDF are gonna be putting her on trial for this.

“Oh now, isn’t that sweet! I didn’t expect a welcome back committee!”

“She realises that we’re arresting her, doesn’t she?”

“I don’t know.”

Don’t worry mate, I don’t think any of us would really know how to deal with her. She’s positively crazy.

See what I did there? Her annoying talking has rubbed off on me!

[littlemissnellie]

and finally for glimmerbrook we have a household of my own creation: the akers. 

ex-crook jamari turned his life around when he met darwin, a rather unassuming potion merchant, who took his breath away the second they met each other’s gaze. he was certain that he’d been jinxed, that was the only rational way to explain the way he felt, but alas, it was all from his own heart. his friends had led him down the wrong path from a young age, but his desire to impress this guy could be the the thing to finally pull him back onto the right one. low and behold, spending more time figuring out how to get that handsome guy from the potion shop to speak to him than figuring out which rune statue would be the easiest to smuggle home does wonders for a person’s mindset and at the end of it all he came out the other side of this plot a changed man, with a loving husband to show for it. if darwin wasn’t enough of a reason to change his ways then their children certainly did the trick. this was the first time in jamari’s life where he had people depending on him, after years of fending for himself and being the only one that had to face the consequences, he now had three, innocent, little lives in his hands that he had to protect. they all think of him as their hero, darwin included, but jamari  can’t shake the fact that he still feels like a villain...

as always, if you’d like to have them in your game then check out the download link below, and if not then i hope that you enjoy finding out a little more about them in their fact files!

download: simfileshare

i hope you’re doing okay!

jamari akers:

what began as taking a tiny crystal from a market stall to give to his friend for a birthday present he couldn’t have otherwise afforded quickly spiraled into an unshakable habit of swiping things that weren’t his - after a while it became less about the monetary value of the items and more about the thrill of the game, but when he realised that there were people out there that needed the money he could get for the items more than he did he became the robin hood of glimmerbrook - take from the powerful and give to the needy, all anonymously, of course

 he’s not proud of his past, but the one thing he did take from it was a lot of connections with other spellcasters in the realm - it wasn’t the most noble of approaches to friendship, but he had to get to know his victims before he robbed them; it helped him understand their way of thinking - now he takes the much more civilised route of a fortnightly book club

a really avid reader, even as a young boy he loved story books - he’d imagine himself in each protagonist’s shoes and get lost in their tall tales - he never felt like he could be himself, but books allowed him to shed that uncertainty and become a new person entirely, even if it was just for a chapter or two at a time

darwin akers:

never would have pinned jamari as an underground criminal the first time that he saw him, not that he had a ‘model thief’ to base him off, but still - sure, he had a sort of roguish charm about him, but that didn’t exactly scream ‘i steal things for sport’ - he never asked him to change his ways though, that was entirely jamari’s decision and although he’s very grateful for the fact that they don’t have to run from the law every other tuesday, he is kind of attracted to that bad boy side of his husband

unlike jamari, he always strove to do the right thing - he lived an unassuming life up until jamari sauntered into his potion shop to shake everything up and whilst jamari changed his delinquent ways, darwin came to realise that his life by the rule book had been a rather dull one - he wasn’t exactly inspired to start committing petty crimes, but he did start straying ever so slightly closer to the wild side to spice things up a bit

when he gets invested in something, he practically hands his whole heart over - he doesn’t do things by halves, especially when it comes to celebrations or special occasions - his date nights in particular are not to be missed; after hearing about jamari’s feelings of being an outcast, his heartstrings were tugged on so hard they almost snapped and ever since he makes sure to pull out all the stops to reassure him how much he cares

boston akers:

totally idolises his dads - he picks out clothes in their styles, copies the ways they walk and if he ever gets a good grade at school he races home so that they’re the first people to know about it; their praise means everything to him

it’s not like he goes short of their praise though; they haven’t taught him much magic yet, just the odd training spell here and there, but even in those few lessons they’re both blown away at how quickly he’s able to pick them up 

really headstrong - it’s rare that the kids at school ever pick an argument with him because they’ve learnt that he just refuses to back down from his point - if he believes in something then there’s no changing his mind

aimie akers:

super duper shy - she’s practically hanging on one of her dads’ legs from the second they step out of the front door to the minute they get back - daycare drop-offs are an absolute nightmare for them; the first time they took her it was basically lunch time before the teacher eventually managed to coax her away from them

gets on really well with her twin sister, but, even though she’s the oldest, she’s definitely not the one in charge; elsie just bosses her around all the time - in all fairness though, aimie doesn’t really mind it, she kind of likes not having to make the decisions

has a lot of imaginary friends that she plays with - she doesn’t seem shy at all when she’s playing with her toys and babbling away to them, so her parents are fine with it - well, were fine with it, they’re a bit more dubious about how ‘imaginary’ they are now after darwin caught her chattering to her bookcase and a book sliding off the shelf without her touching it...

elsie akers:

what aimie lacks in socialising skills, elsie has by the bucket load - she loves chatting away to her parents and her older brother, but aimie’s still her favourite target because she does the least amount of talking back

insists on counting all of her stuffed animals before going to bed - if they’re not all there then there’s no way she’s even putting her head on the pillow - and besides, what else is she ever going to use that counting knowledge for??

gets caught playing with her dad’s potion bottles at least once a week - she knows now, well and truly, that she’s not allowed to even be in his potion room, let alone touch the bottles because they’re dangerous, but she can’t help it; the colours are just too pretty!