#most ships ever are utterly uninteresting to me and i do not see the point

[electricpurrs]

going to radically revolt and never produce or consume homestuck ship content ever again. NONE of these characters are dating. they ALL love each other very much and are best friends though

[elriell]

Two Mates? Elriel & (El)ucien Theory.

These are just a few of my thoughts compiled together regarding having two mates, the signs and breadcrumbs Sarah has incorporated. If you know me you know am a Lucien fan so this is nothing hateful towards him and we will be looking at his place within it all as well, that being said this will have bond rejection/misalignment talk so if that is not your cup of tea I understand and you can skip this! As always I would love to hear everyones thoughts so long as we are all respectful ♡

Let's start by discussing the where the two ships align and parallel mates behaviour, and then we will discuss where their arc's veer from each other...

“TOUCH HER, SMELL HER, TASTE HER– THE INSTINCTS WERE A RUNNING RIVER.” (Lucien in ACOWAR about the mating bond.)

“Letting his scarred fingers touch her immaculate skin. Letting them brush the side of her throat, savoring the velvet-soft texture.”

“Azriel's fingers lingered at her nape, atop the first knob of her spine. Slowly, Elain pivoted into his touch. Until his palm lay flat against her neck.”

“They'd exchanged looks, the occasional brush of their fingers, but never this. Never blatant, unrestricted touching. ”

“He prayed she didn't peer down. Prayed she didn't understand the shift in his scent. ”

“Her arousal drifted up to him, and his eyes nearly rolled back in his head at the sweet scent. He'd beg on his knees for a chance to taste it. ”

“He needed to know what the skin of her neck tasted like. What those perfect lips tasted like.”

“This one moment, and maybe a taste, and that would be it.  

“Yes" Elain breathed, like she read the decision. Just this taste in the dead of the longest night of the year, where only the Mother might witness them. ”

Now you can easily parallel this to any of SJM's mates, like Feysand or Nessian. But for the sake of brevity I will leave you with the original link to the wonderful @suelky post where it was pointed out w/ Feysand quotes as well. [source]

Also "The instincts were a running river.” sounds a little like “Azriel’s Siphons guttered, the stones turning as dark and foreboding as the deepest sea."

The Bonus POV has a lot of typical "Mates" behaviours manifesting between Elain and Azriel, and it would make sense this would be a extreme POV shift as we have never been inside either of their heads before so we were bound to have a major learning curve, especially with Az who is so reserved with his emotions.

“But Lucien’s attention went right to the hallway toward the back, his nostrils flaring as he scented Elain’s direction. And who she’d gone with. A low snarl slipped out of him—”

“So you will leave Elain alone. If you need to fuck  someone, go to a pleasure hall and pay for it, but stay away from her."  Azriel snarled softly.”

There are countless main trio parallels but most of you are aware of which one is my favourite...

“Knelt on those stars and mountains inked on his knees. He would bow for no one and nothing— But his mate. His equal.”

“Her arousal drifted up to him, and his eyes nearly rolled back in his head at the sweet scent. He'd beg on his knees for a chance to taste it.”

"Every instinct in his body came roaring to the surface, so violent he had to choke them with a brutal grip or else he'd find himself on his knees, begging her for touch, for anything."

And on to where they go their separate ways from a textual perspective;

"Elain only shrank further into herself, no trace of that newfound boldness to be seen.”

“Rhys kissed the hollow of my collarbone, and my core went utterly molten. “My brave, bold, brilliant mate.”

“You can give everyone that I Will Slay My Enemies look—which is my favorite look, by the way. You can keep that sharpness I like so much, that boldness and fearlessness. I don’t want you to ever lose those things, to cage yourself.”

“And he had the nerve once his powers were back to shove me into a cage. The nerve to say I was no longer useful; I was to be cloistered for his peace of mind.”

“Remember that you are a wolf. And you cannot be caged.” He kissed my brow one more time, my blood thrumming and boiling in me, howling to draw blood.”

I think finding freedom and power from within is something that the books have emphasized through Feysand and Nessian's journey's. Which is so interesting considering Lucien and Elain are both feeling tied to each other, as if in a cage of sorts.

Elain herself has been stuffed in to a box of other peoples making throughout most of the series, it quite prevalent she might feel caged by their opinions of who she is.

"Maybe she was never given a chance to be that way." I whipped my head towards him. "You think I stifle her?" Rhys held up his hands. "Not you alone."

“Nesta had been right. It was like a prison, this place.” [Graysen's Manor]

“Shall I tend to my little garden forever?” When Nesta flinched, Elain said, “You can’t have it both ways. You cannot resent my decision to lead a small, quiet life while also refusing to let me do anything greater.”

“She ignored me, and saw Elain as barely more than a doll to dress up, but Nesta was hers. Our mother made sure we knew it. Or she just cared so little what we thought or did that she didn’t bother to hide it from us.”

And as for Lucien I think his duty and honour to her is what is caging him;

“I can’t stand to be in the same room as her for more than two minutes. I can’t stand to be in this court and have your mate pay for the very clothes on my back.”

“Why are you here?” Cassian asked, unable to help the sharpness. “Where’s Elain?”

“I am not always in this city to see my mate.” The last two words dripped with discomfort.”

“Why?” Not a flicker of emotion. “He is Elain’s mate.”

I waited. “It would be an invasion of her privacy to track him.”

Godbless Azriel for respecting Elain's privacy.

I think we would see/understand a lot more if we got a chance inside their heads but the one time we did see Lucien's POV we got a good glimpse at how he feels about his situation with Elain and it wasn't particularly positive and reminded me of Rhy's parents.

"She’d seen him not as a High Lord’s seventh son, but as a male. Had loved him without question, without hesitation. She had chosen him. Elain had been … thrown at him.”

“...to remember that she picked it. Picked me. That it’s not like my parents, shoved together.”

Not using the word cage per say but the implication isn't much better.

“You know them better than I do. But I will say that Lucien is loyal—fiercely so.”

“So is Azriel.”

I don't think the debate is really whether Lucien is deserving of her, or even Azriel for that matter, it is a question of who is actually right for her and vice-versa, who has she been consistently written to thrive and smile alongside. And that is Azriel.

Why does Sarah constantly put Azriel in the picture, from day DOT. She was screaming "hey look Azriel is here, and they would work magically together"

“And I think Elain—Elain would like it, too. Though she’d probably cling to Azriel, just to have some peace and quiet.” I smiled at the thought—at how handsome they would be together.”

There are several instances/evens that occur throughout the series that set both Elucien and Elriel's relationships apart, and I think it is highly intentional on Sarah's part...

“I said quietly, “We will get her back.” But Lucien was watching me warily. Too warily.”

“From the shadows near the entrance to the tent, Azriel said, as if in answer to some unspoken debate, “I’m getting her back.” Nesta slid her gaze to the shadowsinger. Azriel’s hazel eyes glowed golden in the shadows. Nesta said, “Then you will die.” Azriel only repeated, rage glazing that stare, “I’m getting her back.”

Or we can look at both Solstice's and the clear differences in how their relationships are growing, and also how well one and other know each other.

“Tell me when you knew,” he demanded, his knee pressing into mine. “That Rhysand was your mate. Tell me when you stopped loving Tamlin and started loving him instead.”

“He left the rest unspoken. Because her mate was here, sleeping a level up. Because her mate had been in the family room and Azriel had needed to stay by the door the whole time because he couldn't stand the sight of it, the scent of their mating bond, and needed to have the option  of leaving if it became too much.  Elain's large brown eyes flickered, well aware of all that.”

&

“I want to see her. Just once. Just—to know.” “To know what?” He hitched my damp cloak higher around us. “If she is worth fighting for.”

“Azriel stiffened. “I know. I helped rescue Elain, after all.” Az hadn’t so much as hesitated before going into the heart of Hybern’s war-camp.”

GIFTS REFLECTING THEIR RELATIONSHIP MILE MARKS

“Az ran a hand through his dark hair. “Are we …” Unusual for him to stumble with words. “Are we supposed to get the sisters presents?”

“I handed Elain the small box with her name on it. Her smile faded as she opened it. “Enchanted gloves,” she read from the card. “That won’t tear or become too sweaty while gardening.” She set aside the box without looking at it for longer than a moment. And I wondered if she preferred to have torn and sweaty hands, if the dirt and cuts were proof of her labor. Her joy.”

“Don’t forget that gardening often results in something pretty, but it involves getting one’s hands dirty along the way.” “And torn up by thorns,” I mused,”

“I didn’t dare mention that if she had been wearing the enchanted gloves Lucien had gotten her last Solstice, nothing would have pierced them at all.”

“He and Lucien did not exchange gifts, though the male had brought a gift for Feyre and one for his mate, who barely thanked him after opening the pearl earrings. Cassian’s heart strained at the pain etching deep into Lucien’s face as he tried to hide his disappointment and longing."

Not only is she visibly uninterested which is painful to watch, it also highlights how little he knows about her. SJM is creating a visible gap in their dynamic.

“The golden necklace seemed ordinary -- its chain unremarkable, the amulet tiny enough that it could be dismissed as an everyday charm. It was a small, flat rose fashioned of stained glass, designed so that when held to the light, the true depth of the colors would become visible. A thing of secret, lovely beauty. “It's beautiful," she whispered, lifting it from the box. ”

“My Nesta. Elain shall wed for love and beauty, but you, my cunning little queen … You shall wed for conquest.”

“I painted flowers for Elain on her drawer,” I said, sawing and sawing. “Little roses and begonias and irises. And for Nesta … ”

“She plucked another figurine from the mantel: a rose carved from a dark sort of wood. She held it in her palm, its solid weight surprising, and traced a finger over one of the petals. “He made this one for Elain. Since it was winter and she missed the flowers.”

“Elain bit her lip and then smiled sheepishly. “It’s for the headaches everyone always gives you. Since you rub your temples so often.”

“I led her into the sitting room, where Cassian had a bottle of amber-colored liquor in each hand, Azriel was already rubbing his temples,”

“She hadn't bought her mate a present. But she'd gotten Azriel one last year -- a headache powder he kept on his nightstand at the House of Wind. Not to use, but just to look at. Which he'd done every night he’d slept there.”

“Azriel unwrapped the box, glancing at the card that merely said, You might find these useful at the House these days, and then opened the lid.  Two small, bean-shaped fabric blobs lay within. Elain murmured, "You put them in your ears, and they block any sound. With Nesta and Cassian living there with you...”

See yet again a very thoughtful and funny gift on her part. Now at it's core even just simply comparing their general reactions says a lot about the story Sarah is putting forward.

"Silence again. Then Azriel tipped his head back and laughed. I’d never heard such a sound, deep and joyous.”

“He chuckled, unable to suppress the impulse. "No wonder you didn't want me to open it in front of everyone."  

Elain’s mouth twitched into a smile. "Nesta wouldn't appreciate the joke.”

“Elain bit her lip and then smiled sheepishly."

"Cassian’s heart strained at the pain etching deep into Lucien’s face as he tried to hide his disappointment and longing."

“She hadn't bought her mate a present. "

The writing is nothing if not clear about the discomfort both Lucien and Elain feel in regards to each other, though they lay under different reasons.

We are given multiple incidents in which we are told about how mating bonds are not perfect and we are given clear examples of it repeatedly, about woman enduring out of obligation, and do not forget this is heavily discussed literally in regards to Elain and her circumstances.

“She’d been revealed as his mate, and endured the miserable union mostly from gratitude for her unharmed wings.”

“You said your mother and father were wrong for each other; Tamlin said his own parents were wrong for each other.” I peeled off my dressing robe. “So it can’t be a perfect system of matching. "

“She glowed with good health. Except … Her brown eyes were wary. Usually, that look was reserved for Lucien. The male was definitely in the family room,”

“Elain had already departed with Feyre, claiming she had to be up with the dawn to tend to an elderly faerie’s garden. Cassian didn’t exactly know why he suspected this wasn’t true. There had been some tightness in Elain’s face as she’d said it. Normally when she made such excuses, Lucien was around,”

“Elain, the wretch, had taken the seat between Feyre and Varian, about as far from Lucien as she could get.”

VS

“That smile grew, bright enough that it lit up even Azriel’s shadows across the room. “I would like to build a garden,” she declared. “After all of this … I think the world needs more gardens.”

“Then his gaze shifted to Elain, and though it was utterly neutral, something charged went through it. Between them. Elain’s breath caught slightly, and she gave him a shallow nod of greeting before brushing past, leading Nesta into the room.”

What if ”—I jerked my chin toward the window, to my sister and the shadowsinger in the garden—“that is what she needs? Is there no free will? What if Lucien wishes the union but she doesn’t?”

“Can you truly fly?” He set down his fork, blinking. I might have even called him self-conscious. He said, “Yes. Cassian and I hail from a race of faeries called Illyrians. We’re born hearing the song of the wind.” “That’s very beautiful,” she said. “Is it not—frightening, though? To fly so high?”

“ I couldn’t tell if she was looking at his blue Siphon or at his scarred skin beneath as she breathed, “Beautiful.” Color bloomed high on Azriel’s golden-brown cheeks, but he inclined his head in thanks and led my sister toward the back doors into the garden, sunlight bathing them.”

“This is Truth-Teller,” he told her softly. “I won’t be using it today—so I want you to.”

“Never, Rhys said from where he finished buckling on his own weapons against the side of the wagon. I have never once seen Azriel let another person touch that knife.”

The romantic subtext is there and has been for quite some time, they prove it book after book when SJM continues to grow their bond and nurture it whilst breaking her connection with Lucien further apart, and for what reason?

“A mating bond can be rejected,” Rhys said mildly, eyes flickering in the mirror as he drank in every inch of bare skin I had on display. “There is choice. And sometimes, yes—the bond picks poorly. Sometimes, the bond is nothing more than some… preordained guesswork at who will provide the strongest offspring. At its basest level, it’s perhaps only that. Some natural function, not an indication of true, paired souls.”

“Why not make them mates?” I mused. “Why Lucien?” [...]

“I’m serious.” I turned toward him and crossed my arms. “What decides it? Who decides it?” Rhys straightened his lapels before plucking an invisible piece of lint from them. “Fate, the Mother, the Cauldron’s swirling eddies …”

“What if the Cauldron was wrong?”

“Just this taste in the dead of the longest night of the year, where only the Mother might witness them.”

“The Cauldron chose three sisters. Tell me how it's possible that my two brothers are with two of those sisters, yet the third was given to another.”

It is remarkably interesting to me that we are told about what Rhys suspects/believes is responsible for mating bonds, paralleled alongside Azriel questioning it all, I also think it is abundantly clear from his answer to Feyre he doesn't truly know for sure.

We also have several lines of dialogue talking about the sisters and fate, their reason for entering the IC's life. Not only that but we get a glimpse at Azriel's personality and how despite the world (Rhys and the mating bond in general) telling him to despair, he still found it in him to have hope the Cauldron could be wrong.

This is so significant, and she has carefully woven his character throughout the series to make this incredibly plausible.

“If I had not met a shadowsinger, I would not have known that it is the family you make, not the one you are born into, that matters. I would not have known what it is to truly hope, even when the world tells you to despair.”

“And then he said to my sisters, “We have not known each other for long. But I have to believe that you were brought here, into our family, for a reason, too. And maybe today we’ll find out why.”

“All three sisters blessed by fate and gifted with powers to match your own.”

“Even after the bond is rejected, they see her as belonging to them. Sometimes they return to challenge the male she chooses for herself. Sometimes it ends in death. It is savage, and it is ugly, and it mercifully does not happen often, but …”

“Oh, I can, and I will. If Lucien finds out you're pursuing her, he has every right to defend their bond as he sees fit. Including invoking the Blood Duel.”

As you can see even back in ACOWAR she was weaving the web for Elriel's journey and an upcoming Blood Duel/The threat of one.

“Many mated pairs will try to make it work, believing the Cauldron selected them for a reason. Only years later will they realize that perhaps the pairing was not ideal in spirit.”

I think it is pretty clear from all the quotes above that Lucien is no her ideal spirit and vice-versa to be frank when you put it side by side his budding relationship with Vassa or hers with Azriel they are clearly very different.

“On the continent, there are territories that believe the females literally belong to their mate. But not here. Elain would have our full protection if she rejects the bond.”

“Azriel's hand slid up her neck, burying in her thick hair. Tilting her face the way he wanted it. Elain's mouth parted slightly, her eyes scanning his before fluttering shut.  Offer and permission.  He nearly groaned with relief and need as he lowered his head toward hers. ”

Elain is choosing Azriel, choosing their bond over the one assigned to her time and time again... Back to mating bonds;

“The ancient healer jerked her chin toward Lucien. “See what he can do. If anyone can sense if something is amiss, it’s a mate.”

“The mating bond. It is a bridge between souls.”

"She pointed at Lucien as she saw herself out. “Try sitting down with her. Just talking—sensing. See what you pick up. But don’t push.”

“Can you hear mine?” He wasn’t sure if she truly meant to address him, but he said, “No, lady. I cannot.”

Her too-thin shoulders seemed to curve inward. “No one ever does. No one ever looked—not really.”

"Azriel’s hazel eyes churned as he studied my sister, her too-thin body. And without a word, he winnowed away. Mor watched the space where he’d been standing long after he was gone.”

“Should we—does she need …?” “She doesn’t need anything,” Azriel answered without so much as looking at Lucien.

Elain was staring at the spymaster now—unblinkingly. “We’re the ones who need …” Azriel trailed off. “A seer,” he said, more to himself than us. “The Cauldron made you a seer.”

“It made sense, I supposed, that Azriel alone had listened to her. The male who heard things others could not … Perhaps he, too, had suffered as Elain had before he understood what gift he possessed.”

“But Azriel nodded. “You knew,” he said to Elain. “About the young queen turning into a crone.” Elain blinked and blinked, eyes clearing again. As if the understanding, our understanding … it freed her from whatever murky realm she’d been in.”

Are you telling me that Madja saying a mate would know, would sense whatever is going on with her, and as it turns out Azriel was the one to sense and uncover it is solely what, a coincidence? Also to emphasize what she said about "A bridge between souls..." Where else have we heard that terminology? The Truth-Teller scene.

“I saw the painting in my mind: the lovely fawn, blooming spring vibrant behind her. Standing before Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder. Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two. The only bridge of connection … that knife.”

Not to mention this scene is simply iconic for a multitude of reasons, how poetic Feyre describes them, the clear soulmates/ying-yang subtext and him giving her something he has given no other but that's another story.

Azriel has also been displaying some very protective fiercely so mating vibes towards her,

“Azriel stilled. “What happened to Elain?” Cassian waved a hand. “A fight with Nesta. Don’t bring it up,” he warned when Azriel’s eyes darkened. ”

“Cassian surveyed the shadows gathered around Az. “You all right?” His brother nodded. “Fine.” But shadows still swarmed him.”

“Nesta saw the blow land, like a physical impact, in Elain’s face, her posture. No one spoke, though shadows gathered in the corners of the room, like snakes preparing to strike.”

“Azriel’s Siphons guttered, the stones turning as dark and foreboding as the deepest sea. “Where did Lucien go.”

I think there are some mixed opinions on Lucien and whether he deserves her (and vice-versa in this fandom) but I don't think that is what this comes down too, they are both handling it in the way they think best/following their instincts.

Lucien is hurting throughout this process as well, but I think ultimately it is honor and loyalty binding him to her not any genuine emotion for her as a human being fae. I think realising they are not meant for each other and supporting each other developing true bonds with other people will be their journey. And it would be a completely fresh and new view of a mating bond.

Smaller pieces of dialogue that need little explaining and a rather oddly specific choice of words in the latest book that is meant to set up the next one in the series:

“You’d know if she’d died,” Azriel said, pausing his work and looking up at Cassian. He tapped his brother’s chest with a scarred hand. “Right here—you’d know, Cass.”

“Elain and Feyre—that was the new status of things. The bond Elain had chosen.”

"I'd never do such a thing. you must be thinking of your other mate."

Honestly? At this rate I have no doubt Elriel are endgame and everything within canon text spells that out but I truly believe he will be her second mate/the will form a bond via some circumstance that shall arise due to these little hints.

I would love to hear your thoughts and/or additions because I by all means didn't do a massive deep dive and there are most likely tons more examples to add but I didn't want it to become overwhelming to read!

Hope everyone has a spectacular and magical evening <3

[panharmonium]

Hey, do you ship merthur? I have conflicted feelings about it because Merlin does love Arthur but also their relationship is kinda shitty.

short answer: i do not

longer answer: i might not be the right person to ask about this, because i don’t really “ship” anything?  it’s not how i engage with fandom.  (disclaimer: this is not a value judgment of folks who do engage with fandom that way.  just an explanation of how my own brain works.)

extra long answer: under the cut, because i suppose it was only a matter of time before someone asked me about merlin/arthur, and i might as well put my entire response in one place so that next time, i can just link to it.

questions like this are a little tough for me to answer, because i am completely uninterested in romance as a premise.  if it’s not there, i don’t care.  if it is there, i often wish it weren’t, because it’s almost never developed in a way that lives up to my standards.  i don’t always mind if something contains romantic relationships (provided they’re written well), but i don’t want them to be the point of a story.  i honestly cannot think of anything less interesting to me than a story that has as its main plotline “x character falls in love with y character.”  for me, in my brain, it’s like, “okay...that’s it?  do you have anything else to say?”  there is literally nothing about that that i care about.

this can be a little difficult to navigate in fandom, because one of the oft-heard commendations of “fandom” is ‘gosh, fandom is so wonderful, we can watch the same two characters fall in love again and again and again in a million different scenarios!’  which is true, for the people who care about that sort of thing, but that’s not actually ‘fandom.’  that’s shipping.  and there’s nothing wrong with shipping, but shipping and fandom are not the same thing, and they’ve become so conflated that it can be very difficult to engage in the latter without being absolutely swamped by the former.

many times, for me, fandom can feel synonymous with shipping.  there was a post i reblogged recently whose tags described shipping as often feeling like a prerequisite to engaging with fandom, and that is often what it feels like to me, particularly in fandoms where one ship is so ubiquitous that any and all other material is utterly dwarfed by it in scale.  (for me, my last two major fandoms have been merlin and teen wolf, so - i’m sure you see my dilemma, heh.)

all of that said, in terms of arthur and merlin specifically...

disclaimer: everything i say here is relevant to me only.  these are my own feelings.  i am making this post on my own blog, in my own space, in response to a question about my own thoughts.  i do not want, expect, or need anyone else to share these thoughts.  any commentary i make about fandom trends is not equivalent to condemnations of individual people’s opinions or shipping habits.  i do not mind or take issue with folks who ship these two characters.  i am glad you are having fun.  please do not @ me about something you disagree with.  i promise you it is not necessary.

okay.  with that out of the way.  

part of me is reluctant to expound further on this question, because my personal philosophy is that merlin and arthur as a ship have had more than enough time and space devoted to them in this fandom (way more than their share, frankly) and i generally prefer to focus on merlin and the other people in his life, as a deliberate counter to that.  but, since you asked, and because i have been experiencing the “i’m tired of romance” bug more strongly lately, here is the long-form version.

the number one reason why i don’t ship arthur and merlin is what i already outlined above: i don’t really “ship” anything.  i have never looked at two characters who were not already together/on an obvious potential path to being together and said “i want them to fall in love.”  that has just never happened to me.  (again - it’s not a BAD thing to have this happen, it’s just not something that’s ever happened to me.  i can’t relate to the experience.)

therefore, when i do appreciate a romantic relationship, it’s pretty much always because canon has shown me something romantic (or clearly pre-romantic) that i find to be well-written and compelling.  (it’s rare - as i outlined before, i would usually rather not deal with romance at all - but it happens.)  

arthur and merlin, then, never had that effect on me, because arthur and merlin, as depicted in the canon, are not in love.

[to anybody reading this who just snatched up their keyboard and started furiously typing, i beg you - please go back and re-read my disclaimer.]

they’re not in love.  the truth about these two is that if i had watched this show without having grown up in fandom as a culture (and without knowing exactly what kind of ships fandom immediately sees EVERYWHERE) the idea of anybody shipping these two together would never have even entered my mind.

(and like.  because i DID grow up in fandom, and i DO know exactly what kind of ships fandom sees everywhere, i knew before i even started this show that arthur/merlin was going to be an inescapable thing.  but that would not have been the case, if i had watched the series in a world where i didn’t know what fandom was.)

arthur and merlin, in canon, are not in love.  the show never does anything to give me an inkling that either of them are harboring romantic feelings for each other.  that is never what is happening onscreen.  literally the last thing on merlin’s agenda is romantic attachment, ever, and arthur is never, ever shown to be in love with anyone who isn’t gwen.  the show, onscreen, never tricks me, teases me, or leads me on.  i was never under the impression that merlin and arthur were in love with each other, because they weren’t.

but that DOES NOT MEAN their relationship matters less.  just because they aren’t IN love with each other doesn’t mean they don’t love each other, and one of those things is not bigger or better or more powerful than the other.

i struggle a lot in fandom (all fandom, not just merlin) with the persistent idea that romantic attachment is the peak, the natural endpoint on a scale of “how deep is your love?”  i am constantly running up against posts where the commonly accepted structure is to cite a moment of devotion or caring or some instance of basic connection between two characters, and then add a caption or tag saying ‘because they are JUST FRIENDS, right?’ or ‘^^totally platonic interaction between characters who are not at all in love, sure jan.’  

and honestly?  i hate that.  that is one of my least favorite things about fandom.  it makes me so tired.  

i am completely disconnected from this idea that there are like...things you can do that are too caring to count as friendship.  like - that there is too much devotion you can show, and if you go over the limit, then it’s laughable that you would do those things for “just” a friend.  that’s so unpleasant to me.

(and i do think [when it comes to non-canon queer ships, anyway - straight ships unfortunately have no excuse, sorry y’all] that part of this probably has its roots in pushback at the tendency of people who try to “gal pal” actual queer ships (or literal real life relationships), so this, at least, is something i can understand.  i’m queer myself; i get that.  and that is why i will never like - attach myself to someone’s post and start complaining.  people can vent however they want.)

it doesn’t change my own feelings, though.  i hate seeing every meaningful friendship i’ve ever been invested in talked about like it’s just a romance in disguise.

other things: i am uninterested in romance as a motivator.  

truly, from the bottom of my heart, i don’t care.

we are, at least in my corner of the world, oversaturated with romance, to the point where any piece of media that doesn’t include it in some fashion is shockingly bizarre.  it is EVERYWHERE.  it is in EVERYTHING.  i cannot pick up a book without running into a romantic plotline.  i cannot watch a movie or a tv show without being forced into multiple romances that i don’t care about.  (rare exceptions apply, as always, but i’m speaking generally.)

this oversaturation, for me, means that romance as a storyline no longer holds any meaning for me.  i see it EVERYWHERE.  it is in literally EVERYTHING.  making merlin into a “love story,” for me, makes the show so much less interesting, because there are billions of love stories out there.  love stories are practically the only kind of story our media remembers how to tell!  why would i take a story that is so unique in its exploration of deep friendship (that isn’t even quite friendship, because it’s not real, but merlin wants it to be real, but making it real would also destroy it) and loyalty (that isn’t necessarily deserved, but is still offered, but is damaging to the person offering it) and love (that exists in spite of arthur’s position as the oppressor, but still cannot erase merlin’s oppression, and is patently not a magical fix for the very real problems merlin is facing), and then want to water it down to “and then they fell in love”???

merlin bbc has so much to say about the transformative, redemptive power of love (not just romance), and the bonds we form with each other despite the fact that we don’t always deserve each other, and what we can do to make ourselves better, and how do we make amends for the ways in which we hurt the people we care about, and it is so complicated and there is so much beauty there and i adore it specifically because it is one of the rare pieces of media out there that doesn’t prop up romantic love as the most important and powerful force in the universe.  romantic love is not what moves the story.  merlin’s love for the people around him is based on compassion.  it’s bigger than the familiar and overused ‘i am desperately in love with this one individual person and that’s what drives my actions,” which is a premise all of us know has been done to death.  merlin’s love is not about romantic attachment.  it’s a deep, abiding love for humanity.  it’s based on hope, and faith, and the inherent belief that everybody matters, even in their worst moments.

condensing that kind of story into “and then they fell in love” erases its meaning for me.  it makes it trite.  uninteresting.  i have seen “and then they fell in love” fully sixty thousand times.  “and then they fell in love” has been done so often that it is utterly devoid of power for me.  boring.   i literally do not care.

other people might feel differently, and find a romantic love story compelling.  i don’t.  

i’m guessing the message that prompted this essay is asking me to evaluate how i feel about the “goodness” of the merlin/arthur ship, aka whether it’s worthwhile to ship it or not based on how healthy/unhealthy it is, which i definitely can’t answer, because i don’t think whether it’s “good” or not really matters.  i am definitely too old to be riding the newer wave of, uh...idk, purity culture type stuff that is so oft-debated on here, lately.

but you’re absolutely right, anon - merlin and arthur’s relationship IS kinda shitty!  it 100% is.  it doesn’t mean you can’t ship them, though, if you want; otherwise i wouldn’t be invested in any aspect of their friendship, either.  

the fact that merlin and arthur’s relationship is kinda shitty is an essential element of the show; it’s the microcosmic representation of the macrocosmic problem merlin is trying to solve, and even with that being the case, we can see clearly that this also doesn’t preclude them from having real moments of connection and care and love.  this is the contradiction i have to keep in mind whenever i engage with them in the friendship sense - merlin has been wronged by arthur in so many ways, and yet he still loves him and believes arthur can do better, and yet his dedication to arthur really does destroy his life piece by piece, and you really have to walk a line between those extremes and be thinking: in what ways was this a noble, honorable path for merlin to take and in what ways was this damaging, and was it all worth it in the end?

we probably wouldn’t still be watching this show if we didn’t ultimately think the answer to that last question was yes.  but there are also equally valid ways in which the answer is, truthfully, no, and i think really the only important thing when dealing with merlin and arthur’s relationship (in whatever capacity you prefer) is to keep that dissonance in mind.

so, to more directly address your question, when it comes to my interaction with the source material, i don’t ship merlin and arthur romantically because i don’t see romance when they interact in canon, and i don’t think their relationship could be improved or made more interesting/more meaningful by adding extra-canonical romance into the mix.  that’s really it.

but the other side of things is this: even if i were granted someone else’s ship-goggles to somehow see romance between these two (eg, once, in the distant past i read a harry potter fic that was so well-constructed it sold me on a relationship i didn’t [and still don’t] actually see in canon), i still wouldn’t choose to ship merlin and arthur, and it’s not because they’re a “bad” ship (no such thing, folks - tag your stuff and let people live their lives, thank you), it’s because this fandom has already been swallowed by them and i cannot bring myself to make that imbalance worse.

trying to be in the merlin fandom without shipping merlin and arthur is just...a little bit difficult sometimes.  i think probably even people who do ship merlin/arthur are aware of that.  sometimes it can feel like merlin/arthur is a given in this fandom, not one of many options - as if you’re not in the merlin fandom, but rather the merthur fandom, and you know you really, really do not belong there.

and it’s not even a canonical ship!  it’s not even real.  and yet if you like this show, and you want to engage in the fandom, your experience is, without exception, going to be chock full of merlin/arthur content by default.

essentially, my struggle with the merlin/arthur dynamic in fandom is two-fold:

1) the strikingly imbalanced content distribution

the merlin fandom, in terms of content distribution, is a pretty accurate mirror of merlin’s own existence, to be honest, in that pretty much every aspect of it is eventually taken over by arthur pendragon, and in that there’s a reasonable debate to be had about whether or not that’s a good thing.

(spoiler alert: it’s not.)

even so, it is what it is, and as i said before, me commenting on fandom trends is not meant as a condemnation of individual preferences.  people like what they like!  that’s just how things are.  shipping arthur and merlin isn’t a Bad thing to do, by any means, and the fact that so many people do is just, you know, bad luck for me, lol.  but at the same time, the wildly unbalanced distribution of content does make it more difficult for folks who don’t ship merlin/arthur to engage in fandom with quite the same level of ease, and even though it’s nobody’s fault, it is still perfectly reasonable for people who don’t ship merlin/arthur to be frustrated about that.

fanfic is a pretty good case study for how this plays out.  i saw a post a while back that was titled something like ‘merlin bbc gothic,’ and the first bullet point was “canon ships are rarepairs,” and HOO BOY, that is true.  stats-wise, merlin/arthur makes up ⅔ of the merlin fic on AO3.  ~25,000 fics.  the next most popular tag after merlin/arthur is arthur/gwen, but arthur/gwen have ~2,900 fics in their tag.  and when you remember to exclude any instance of merlin/arthur from the arthur/gwen tag, that number drops by another thousand, to ~1,940.

that’s buckwild.  come on.  merlin/arthur has twenty-three THOUSAND more fics than the next most popular (and CANONICAL, i might add) ship?  and every other ship’s numbers are even lower than that?*

and if you don’t want to read shippy stuff in the first place, like me - the merlin “gen” tag has less than 8000 fics in it, by comparison, and then you STILL have to filter merlin/arthur out of the gen fics, leaving you with about 6300 - which number has to be filtered down further to remove OTHER ships that still make it past the gen filter.

in comparison to 25,000.

like.  i’ve been in fandom long enough that i’m not surprised - mean, i came into merlin directly off a teen wolf phase, and boy, that’s a whole other bowl of noodles right there, with added squick factors that are irrelevant here - but i’m still just...man. 

it still makes my head spin.  and it is still frustrating, every time.

*(there is a lot more to be said about how gwen fits into all of this, and i know it has been discussed more thoroughly in other places, but yes, another reason i am leery of arthur/merlin as a thing is that i’m just...not super comfortable with what that implies for gwen and her position in the story.  even if i personally am slightly more compelled by gwen/lancelot, technically - i still don’t quite feel comfortable taking gwen out of her canonical place.  she belongs at the top.  she deserves to be the love interest and she deserves to be the queen.  and like - people can say that her relationship with arthur isn’t “developed” or “convincing” enough to warrant retaining in fic, and i get it, the show really did fail gwen in S5 - but i still don’t buy that argument.  people literally INVENTED a romantic relationship for themselves and put 25,000 fics worth of effort into building it up; there is no reason why an “underdeveloped” canon romance couldn’t have gotten the same treatment.  except, of course, for the fact that one [Black, female] character was being shoved aside to make way for yet another two white dudes.)

(and i’m not saying that everyone is doing this deliberately or maliciously.  but we all know this is a cross-fandom trend.  there is literally no reason for the gap in content to be THAT wide.  a canon relationship with twenty-three thousand fewer fics than an invented ship?  just...that is a stat that bears thinking about.  it doesn’t mean that merlin/arthur is a “bad” ship, or that you can’t prefer lancelot/gwen, but it IS still important to recognize these patterns where they occur, across fandoms, and to really think about what they mean.)

2) the arthur-goggles

my second struggle with merlin/arthur in fandom is the ubiquitousness of the arthur-goggles, aka: the tendency in fandom, as in canon, to make everything in merlin’s life about arthur, and everything in the show about merthur.

this one specifically really gets to me.  i am very committed to the idea that merlin is a complete individual, whether arthur is there or not.  i write a LOT of meta about merlin being a whole person, specifically pushing back on the idea that merlin was “born” for arthur’s benefit - my motto is basically that “merlin’s life does not revolve around arthur pendragon,” and the way his life begins to revolve around arthur pendragon in later seasons is not in fact touching or romantic or beautiful; it’s a tragedy.  merlin does not exist only in the context of his relationship with arthur; he possesses worth outside of his mission to save the prince of camelot, and he was already a complete person before he ever met the prince of camelot, and one of the many issues we have to think about when dealing with arthur and merlin in any capacity is how merlin is told from the get-go that he is supposed to devote his whole life to arthur, but arthur is never given any such reciprocal responsibility.  

merlin and arthur’s relationship, just like the distribution of content in this fandom, is wildly imbalanced.  merlin spends all of his spare time thinking about arthur’s life; he ties himself in knots trying to help arthur develop as a person.  he is constantly working to keep arthur safe and happy.  but arthur, at the end of a long day, doesn’t spend his nights agonizing over how he can improve merlin’s life.  he just goes home and goes to bed.  he never once thinks, ‘my purpose on this earth is to serve and support my friend merlin.’  he is never told his life isn’t his own, that he is supposed to be one half of some two-sided coin.  only merlin is told that his entire existence is earmarked for someone else, that his life’s purpose is to be someone else’s better half.  only merlin is expected to devote his entire being to someone else’s betterment.  only merlin is expected to say demeaning, self-abnegating things like “i was born to serve you.”  

arthur, by contrast, is allowed to have a life of his own.  he is allowed to exist on his own terms.  he is never told that his worth is dependent on how well he can prop someone else up.  and while fic might like to imagine merlin being the most important thing in arthur’s life, in canon that is just not the case.  

merlin exists on his own merits, and the idea that he does everything he does just because “he’s in love with arthur” will never sit right with me, because it’s simply not true.  merlin and arthur’s relationship is important to both of them, yes, and of course it is undergirded by deep love and care, but it is also way more complicated than that.  merlin’s investment in arthur’s life - and his grief at arthur’s death - are NOT solely driven by his love for arthur as an individual; they are inextricably bound up with a sense of obligation and duty and self-worth and, eventually, failure, because he’s been told that protecting arthur is a) the only thing that matters about his own life and b) the only way to free his people and save an entire kingdom.  and i think ignoring this very real complexity in favor of “merlin does what he does and feels what he feels because he’s in love with arthur” cheapens the depth of the story and flattens merlin’s character.

arthur-goggles automatically make everything about merlin/arthur, though.  so the difficulty, for me, with merlin/arthur as a ship, is that it can be hard to make/find things about merlin that people don’t instantly, always try to link back to arthur in some way.  merlin is not allowed to have things that are just his, and he can’t exist in a state where arthur doesn’t somehow factor in - no matter how unrelated to arthur something is, or how non-shippy it’s meant to be - there’s someone out there who’s going to loop it back to merthur in some way.

just like - scattered examples of things I’ve encountered:

all of merlin’s non-arthur love interests on AO3 having massive chunks of their ship tags actually being merthur fics, with the non-arthur ship serving solely as a stepping stone on the way to getting merlin and arthur together

readers, on fics that are specifically designated as focusing on merlin+someone else and in which arthur does not appear, leaving comments asking “so how long until arthur shows up,” “can’t wait to see arthur,” etc

meta about how ‘merlin’s time in camelot was actually really bad for him as a person’ being reblogged and modified by someone else with an addition like “but merlin doesn’t regret a second of it because he wouldn’t have known arthur if he were anywhere else,” and the OP having to reblog their own post and explain that this is literally the exact problem they were trying to critique

in fic, merlin’s friends being utilized only as vessels with whom he can have discussions about his developing relationship with arthur

etc etc

it’s not always huge egregious things, but wearing arthur-goggles means EVERYTHING comes back to merthur in some way, which for me is just...really insulting to other characters, and really limiting in terms of story analysis.  

so, for example - this is a VERY specific example that few will relate to, because i am probably the only person on here who has ever tried to search the tag for merlin’s friend will from ealdor (a niche fave of mine) - but with him, especially, it is very hard to avoid bumping into a lot of people wearing arthur-goggles, because everybody seems to imagine him as merlin’s ex, who is only upset about what’s going on in 1.10 because he’s jealous about arthur appearing alongside merlin, never mind that will and merlin have known each other since birth and have a relationship that LITERALLY predates arthur by two decades.

so with him, as an example - the other day, i saw some post in the tag that was like “will gets teary when arthur makes his inspirational speech in ealdor because he finally understands what merlin sees in arthur and he can’t be mad anymore”

and that is just patently untrue.  it is not even remotely close to a legitimate interpretation of what is happening in that scene.  will hasn’t come around to arthur’s way of thinking yet; he literally still packs his things and leaves after this happens, and he is - i mean, first of all, he’s not crying, lol, and he stalks out of that scene weary, angry, and fed up, because he thinks the village is delusional and all of his neighbors are going to get killed in the morning.  his arc - his dissatisfaction with what is going on, his anger at the ignorance arthur wields as a nobleman with all of that wealth and privilege, his resistance to the big “let’s fight kanen’s men with sticks” plan - that is about him and his history and who he is.  it is not about an (imaginary) merlin/arthur love story.  

but when the arthur-goggles are on, all roads lead to merthur.  even when the other characters in question (*coughWILLIAMcough*) would be beyond mortified to have merthur, of all things, assigned as their motivation.

SO.  now that i’ve gone over both the canon and fandom aspects of my reasoning, the succinct summary in response to your question is just that no, i don’t personally ship merlin/arthur.  because:

a) i don’t see it b) the fandom is already trying to drown me with it and i choose to center other characters out of spite c) i just think merlin deserves better lol

however, as i said in my disclaimer - that doesn’t mean other people shouldn’t ship and enjoy it!   merlin/arthur is very much not my cup of tea, but that’s no reason why other folks can’t have fun with it.  i think the best portrayals of it, probably, will be those that keep in mind exactly what you said - that merlin and arthur’s relationship is “kinda shitty” - but this is fandom, so if what folks really want to write is just lots of happy AU’s with no issues, then they should go for it!  the point of fandom is to have fun connecting with people over a shared love of something, so i am happy to let others have fun doing their thing, and i will just be over here doing mine. 🙂

[kyloreyorgana]

STAR WARS 9 ! TROS SPOILERS !

In case this is not obvious enough, this post will contain SPOILERS for the last Star Wars movie, which I’m just now coming home from. These are my first thoughts. I have tried to tag as best I could so that people who mute the tags don’t see my post. Do not proceed f you don’t want to read any spoilers.

You have been warned. Long (and I mean LONG) post ahead.

First of all, I’m happy to be back y’all! Just with TLJ, I come from months (or has it been years already ?) of inactivity to jump right back into the fandom, as obsessed as I was back when I came home from TFA. Which is funny because at the time TFA came out, I had lost all interest in Star Wars and heard so many critics from people who’d seen it and said it was horrible and that Disney basically sold the franchise to the devil that I didn’t even want to see it, to keep the good memories closer to my heart. One night, one month after its theatrical release, I thought “aw fuck I might as well see it, at least for Carrie, Mark and Harrisson” so I went to the cheap theater that was near my home... I had zero expectation, and really I think it’s the reason why I loved the movie so much. I didn’t chose to ship Reylo, this ship whacked me like Harley Quinn’s oversized hammer with the Hades and Persephone aesthetics. When I came out, completely mesmerized with what I had just seen, I jumped on Tumblr as soon as I got home, and I ended up creating this blog just days later. I wanted more and more, fics, metas, fanarts, headcannons, theories, cracks, I could never get enough. For TLJ and TROS, I had lost most interest in the fanfics and the fandom (because as much as I love the movies and some people in the fandom, most of it can eat shit as far as I’m concerned). I heard so many critics of TROS already, I was afraid I was going to be disappointed. But I loved it. Only Star Wars can make me go from utterly uninterested to “Wow I can’t wait to see this new Star Wars in theater, what a time to be alive”, to a stage of total obsession that lasts for months. And that is the reason why I don’t give two shits about anyone disliking the movies. It’s sad you didn’t like them, but it made me feel the same way I felt right back when I was a child watching the original movies with my father. It feels like home. And that is the best thing I could ask for.

Like in TLJ, I cried as soon as I heard the first note of the opening. The last Skywalker story, the last time I ever see my Space Mommy on the big screen...

I know the Reylo community is about to be nuts. The whole movie, like TLJ before it, is basically a series of things we’ve already done in fics and theories. I am 100% positive I have read a fic where Rey and Ren try to hold back a ship with the Force and Rey ends up involuntarily shooting lightning. Whichever one of you did it is probably going to have a stroke in the theater. I nearly did.

And really, I wish I could see the look on the Antis’ faces when they see the movie. I’m sure it is a sight to behold. I wanted to scream “TAKE THAT, BITCHES” more than once. As in TLJ.

My biggest fear was what they would do with Leia. I knew Disney said they wouldn’t use CGI and chose to stick with the scenes Carrie had already shot, and I was afraid it wouldn’t honor Leia’s legacy. Well I... have mixed feelings. While the way they used Carrie’s scenes and made it look like she really is here is to be lauded, it sometimes feels like Leia had nothing interesting to say but they tried to put her in a dialogue anyway, because she needed to be seen doing (or rather, saying) something in the Resistance. And about her death... I still can’t put my finger on what exactly I didn’t like about it but I felt like something was missing. Watching the scene, at first I didn’t know if she was having a heart attack or if she stabbed herself or chose to give up her life because she somehow felt it was the moment, I’m still not sure just why she did what she did. I wish they put something more to motivate her decision and explain what exactly she does. I don’t know, a flashback of Leia holding baby Ben, a little more dialogue, something. Not just Leia suddenly getting up and going to bed whispering her son’s name. 

I knew I was going to be disappointed. Among all the celebrities’ deaths, Carrie’s is the one that affected me the most, and believe me I was a wreck when Bowie passed. I miss her, I think about her every single day. And Leia deserved more, much more. When I saw TFA, part of the reason why I loved the movie was that, even though it pained my heart that Han and Leia’s son turned out this way, I thought they would make it right. I spent hours imagining a scene in the 9th movie where Ren would defeat Rey (incapacitate her the Skywalker style cutting her hand or something) and approach to give the killing blow, and Leia would enter the scene, pick up Rey’s lightsaber, look her son dead in the eye and say “Over my dead body, son”. Because Leia would never give up without a fight, even with her son. And she would get her son back, and her story arc would have been completed. I would have paid good money to see this. 

Episode 9 was supposed to be Leia’s movie, just like ep. 7 was Han’s and ep. 8 was Luke’s. When Carrie died, I knew it would be compromised and it broke my heart, because Leia deserved better. She lost everything. Her parents, her planet, her father, her husband, her son, her brother, the Rebellion, the Resistance, everything. She fought all the way, all her life even faced with the worst odds she never gave up hope, she inspired hundreds of people to keep fighting for what is right, and she would never have a satisfactory ending. What a fucking heartbreak. She didn’t even get to see Lando. Leia deserved more. Every little girl in this world who grew up with her as a role model deserved more. But c’est la vie, as we say in French... My only solace is that I know fanfics and fanarts are going to make me feel a little better about it.

Of course I cried every time I saw her on screen, and especially when they honored her body, as we all honored Carrie when she passed away. This was one of the many fanservice moments, and surely the one I liked the most, although there was some concurrence (more to it later).

Another thing I didn’t like is what they did to Poe’s character. Many people disliked TLJ because of it, which they attributed to a political agenda of hate on men. This is so ridiculous and has already been debated enough that I won’t get into it. I did like the evolution of his character in TLJ, because for me it was an interesting character development as well as a good message: wartime is not only about barging in fights head first, shoot first think later, as is, let’s be honest, everything Anakin ever does. At one point, the narrative of the reckless hero who saves the day when a situation seems impossible and everyone begs him not to do it gets old. Sometimes in war, you have to think ahead, to plot, and yes, listen to what your allies have to say. And it actually was a good critic of toxic masculinity. Could the conflict between Poe and Holdo have been avoided with minimally sane conversation ? YES. But the message was here (as were Holdo’s hair and dress and WOW gurl) and I thought that was it, and Poe would evolve into a wiser person.

But this Poe is, at least in the first half of the movie, not very likable. Hear me, I never really liked Han Solo (never been into macho men) but I really loved Poe in TFA because he was genuinely nice and brave. Here, he’s bitter and annoying. I told myself that he was jealous of Rey because he heard of Finn’s crush on her and he wanted to keep Finn all for himself, which I know is just a crack headcannon, but hey, anything to make it better I guess.

Of course, I’ll never forgive Disney for not making FinnPoe a thing, when even Oscar Isaac ships them hard. And trying to make Poe flirt with the other girl (whose name I even forgot and whose face we didn’t even see, now tell me again how Star Wars has been corrupted by feminists... sigh)  Speaking of, it is me or did two women kiss at the end ? 

I liked the new droid, it reminded me of my puppy. But at the end, it was just another fanservice moment, it didn’t really do anything useful onscreen apart from being cute and funny.

When Rey was finally revealed to be a Palpatine as I hoped, I giggled like a wee girl. Watching TFA, I begged the old gods and the new that they wouldn’t make her another Skywalker, because it would’ve spoiled the Star Wars spirit for me. The whole franchise, in my opinion, is a story about fighting for what you believe is right, no matter who you or your parents are or where you come from. Even though Luke and Leia’s ended up being Vader’s children, they weren’t the only meaningful characters. Anakin was basically a Space Jesus and went from a total nobody to the Chosen One. I didn’t want Rey to be a Skywalker because it would mean that your importance would only ever lay in your bloodline, and that is depressing and totally against the spirit of the Rebellion/Resistance: no matter who you are, you can fight for what is right. For this reason, I wished for Rey to be either a real nobody or Palpatine’s granddaughter, which is also why I liked the fact that Han and Leia’s son turned out bad, even though it made me sad for them (Leia didn’t deserve this). No matter your bloodline, you can always make things right, or fuck up badly if you let yourself be taken away. And, of course, the reveal that Rey and Kylo Ren are two sides of the same coin (aka one of the many times where I picture us Reylos screaming CALLED IT in our seats) was exactly what I hoped for, a beautiful balance. I didn’t share Palpatine’s implication that a Palpatine and a Skywalker are meant to work together, though. That is not how I choose to interpret this duality. That is not what they end up doing, anyway.

Speaking of that old pal Patine, seeing the trailers I feared I would feel nauseated that they chose to reanimate the Big Old Villain, just like they reanimated the Even Bigger Death Star in TFA (how lazy can you be ?). But I enjoyed it. What saved it was Palpatine’s will to be killed by Rey to perpetuate the Sith rite of passage. I don’t even care if it’s cannon or not. I was afraid they would recreate Vader’s dilemma in ROTJ with Rey, but I liked the choices she made. And the throne scene worked for me. Like the rest of the movie it was flawed, for instance we don’t even get an explanation on how he survived. Just like we don’t even get what Finn wanted to tell Rey, even though it was emphasized several times. Was it a love declaration ? What happened to the rushed romance with Rose in TLJ ? (What happened to Rose, actually). While we’re at it, why did Palpatine want Ren to kill Rey ? So many questions. So many flaws.

And, of course I cannot comment this film without mentioning my sweet star-crossed lovers, Rey and Ben. First, I’m really eager to see your reactions. We did it, Reylos! Years of hate and slander and we were right all along. Let’s rejoice.

I like Rey’s evolution. For the moment, I don’t feel like I have too much to say about it (which is fine because this post is way too long already). I like the way she handles her emotions, I like her choices and her character evolution. 

And Ben. Oh, sweet Ben. Although I think the part where he gets his old mask fixed wasn’t necessary, I kinda like what they did with him as well. I must say though that I liked his hair in TFA better.  Oh boy, I loved Kylo Ren but I absolutely adore Ben Solo. And I think the way the movie depicts him even surpasses some fics. The moment when Rey gives him the lightsaber and he gets up and does the Han shrug  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  I almost lost my mind. This ties with the hommage to Leia’s body as my favorite fanservice moment.

And their relationship... Look, I know I wet my pants really enjoyed myself in TLJ when they held hands, but that scene felt rushed even for me who ships them with the force of a thousand suns. Like many things in TLJ (and, as I said, also in TROS) it felt like things I had already seen in fanfics, but in the fics I enjoyed the most Rey had tried to kill him at least 5 mores times before even agreeing to have a one-on-one conversation with him. Their romance in TLJ felt like it was hormone-driven, but I get Johnson couldn’t really do a slow burn in 2 hours. When Leia died and they both felt it in the Force, I could feel that Rey wanted to touch him, to confort him, to grieve with him. I’m glad she didn’t. It wasn’t time. And I really like that she told him she wanted to hold Ben’s hand, not his. And Ben, the Dork Knight, finally realized that if he wanted The Girl, he shouldn’t, you know, threaten her and chase her but get back to the Light Side like she begged him multiple times. Because he really isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, this is apparently what makes him choose to tip over. That or the fact she saved his life. I was still frustrated by Leia’s death so I don’t know if I’m not entirely convinced because it happened just after, I’d have to watch it again. I liked Han’s moment, though.

And in my opinion, Rey and Ren’s fight on the wreck of the Death Star is as good as Anakin and Obi-Wan’s. My Reylo heart will always have a special place for their couple fight in TLJ (aka the best non-sex sex scene in cinema, don’t @ me) but I also liked this fight in light of their relation. Surprisingly, it reminded me more of their fight at the end of TFA, when we see Ren holding his blows and Rey barging in. I thought it was endearing.

The end. Oh my god, the end. I can’t wait to see the first gifs and I really really can’t wait for the HD gifs, because oh boy, I now only live for Ben Solo’s smile. That’s it, I found my will to live, my depression is cured. And the way he handles Rey’s body with the utmost care (while Finn apparently watches it and does or says nothing). And that kiss... And the SMILE. And the KISS. 

Oh, dear gods. Oh dear.

I can’t wait for the first fics in which Ben doesn’t die and they live happily ever after on Tatooine or Naboo or wherever they damn want. Or the fics where he is indeed dead and they still share a beautiful relationship (if Force Ghost Luke could get his X-Wing out of the water, I’m eager to imagine what Ben would do with his Force dick, tongue and fingers. Forgive me, it’s getting late and I’m still flustered thinking of their kiss)

And the fact that she declares herself a Skywalker ? I know a lot of people are disappointed in this, but apart from the fact that she completely deserves the title in my opinion when she inherited the will of both Luke and Leia, which is reason enough, she is absolutely married to Ben and deserves her place in that family. Also, it’s again a beautiful way to remind you that bloodlines don’t matter as much as what we choose to do with our lives. And while I’m glad they showed Leia’s Force ghost (I would’ve been really mad if they didn’t) I’m super frustrated they didn’t show Ben’s. What am I to believe, that he gave his life for her, became one with the Force and vanished into litteral nothingness for him to never be seen again ? Like hell I don’t. Again, counting on the fics and arts to right this wrong.

The movie sure has its flaws, and I still have many unanswered questions, like what the fuck is the badge Maz gives Chewie, or how Rey does her lightsaber staff at the end, and I wish they explained some things better. I wasn’t sure if the saber Leia wanted Rey to have was hers or her mother’s. Most of those questions will be answered by bigger geeks than me in this fandom, so I really can’t wait to read from y’all.

I know a whole lot of people are going to hate the movie. The antis, the gatekeeping trve fans (already I’ve seen people say that those who enjoyed the movies are not Real Star Wars Fans and welp, we’re going to see a lot of shit). The manbabies who genuinely believe in a feminist takeover and see equality as a direct threat. I’m specifically happy they will be disappointed while I got the privilege of enjoying Star Wars as much as I did. It’s not my fault, or Disney’s fault even, that they turned out to be on the Empire’s side. And the day has not come when I defend a megacorporation. 

Leia was the first SJW. The Resistance lives on. People will always fight against evil, like it or not. I know the world is a shitty place and we don’t have much hope nowadays for things to get better, and Star Wars has always motivated me to keep going and stick to my values and my convictions. I felt chills several times in the movie, like at the end where everyone comes to fight, and now I’m more willing to keep fighting than ever. For Leia.

Godspeed, Rebels! 

[the--regenerating--degenerate]

Sol Invictus: A RWBY Sci-Fi

Chapter One: The Dread Pirate Raven

On board Muninn. Wild Space

To say that the Heir Apparent of the Protectorate of Atlas, Weiss Schnee; Lady-Marshal of the March of Mantle, Countess of the planet of Mantle and The Shield of Atlas, was in an uncomfortable position, was to make the grossest of understatements. 

Her prison cell in the brig was dark and cramped. It barely had enough room for even her, as short as she was, to stretch out with even a modicum of comfort. The only light Weiss was afforded was when the door opened, where it would shine through, just ever so briefly, as her ‘generous’ hosts delivered to Weiss her daily bread and water. This was usually some sort of recyke nutrient paste formed into a stiff brick bar and water tinged with the taste of copper from the treatment filters on board. This was also the only human contact she was afforded.

Not that she particularly cared for her guard. 

The guard her captors had chosen, or maybe who had volunteered; Weiss wasn’t exactly sure, was a spiteful and arrogant woman. Her hair was shaved close to her head, tattoos and kill-markings ran up her bare arms. Some of which, Weiss noted dejectedly, were fresh and still raw. No doubt to mark out some of her unfortunate crew.

“Awww what’s the matter, Captain?” The woman smirked, faux concern dripping from her mouth like poison. “Your quarters not to your liking? I assure you it is the best that we can offer you, Milady.” 

Weiss said nothing, she wouldn’t give a pirate wretch like this the satisfaction. 

“Not talkin’ eh? Ah well.” The smirk, if it was possible, grew wider as she held out a tin plate. “Brought you breakfast… nice steaming pile of recyke…” 

The plate fell from her fingers, crashing to the floor with a wet splat and clang of tin on armoured plating. 

“Damn. Sorry about that, just clumsy I guess,” she clucked her tongue, “Well… that’s all you get until dinner.”

Weiss shrugged and turned away, pulling her tattered officer’s coat around her like a blanket. 

The woman outside her cage snorted. “You know… you could end this. All you have to do is tell us who you are. Which House you belong to, Atlassian. You’re worth a few creds. Might as well tell us…”

Weiss knew better than that. If she did, her crew was dead. These pirates needed them alive for the time being. If only just to question them. Once they found out that Weiss was Heir Apparent of the Protectorate, the crew would lose all value and just be a waste of resources. Better off dead then consuming valuable calories and drinking water.    

She leaned in closer, face obscured by shadows, the light behind her giving her a faint artificial glow. Her tone changed from mocking, to cruel and cold. “Then we could stop asking your crew. They’ve been really unhelpful as well, and let’s face it, your nobleness… they aren’t worth it. So what do we care if one, or two, or a dozen decided to go for a cold walk?”

Weiss leapt at her, crashing against the bars straining to wrap her fingers around the other woman’s throat.

The guard barely reacted, a thin cruel smile spreading on her lips.

“Touched a nerve I see. Well… like I said, just tell us who you are. Do that and I will personally see that no more of your crew decide to eat vac.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Weiss hissed, her voice as frozen as the vast ice fields of Atlas.

The woman grinned as she stood up and turned on her heel, leaving Weiss once again in the solitude and darkness of her small prison cage.

Leaving her to her despair, anger, hatred and the constant repeat of the attack replaying in her mind's eye.     

The attack had been unfathomably swift and terrifying in its brutal execution.

It was Weiss’s first command, fresh from the private tutors, career officers and other nobles hired to instruct her and mold her into the picture of a perfect Atlassian. To celebrate, she had been given command of the frigate Tundra March and a patrol to the frontier of Atlas space. 

In reality, her command, her tour, was little more than propaganda. A display to the common people that the House of Schnee was the ruling House. It was a display of family duty to other Houses of the Noble Officer class, that Jaques Schnee was still Lord-Protector of the Protectorate of Atlas and his family would share in that duty.

The patrol was slated to take three months and cover the most stable and uninteresting part of the Protectorate of Atlas’s Frontier. It was to be done in the utmost secrecy. Only her Executive Officer had been informed of who she actually was, with the rest of the crew not told anything of who their Commanding Officer was, until well after Tundra March’s departure from port. Even then it was just rumors amongst the common voidsmen. 

Not that the secrecy had ultimately mattered much. 

Two weeks into the dull, uninteresting patrol, in an uninteresting dead system, a system which only warranted a name simply because it existed, Tundra March struck a mine.

The mine had detonated near the aft of the ship; just before the engine room. The explosion tore a massive hole in Tundra March, knocking her off keel and sending her adrift. Her power fluctuating, two of her engines dead, venting atmosphere and crew into the silent void.

Weiss had only just climbed back to her feet, when, over the cries of the wounded, the calls of damage control and the cacophony of alarms, the sensorius called out two more contacts; both of which had only just been picked up on the barely functioning sensors. 

Assault boats filled with boarders - ‘ticks’ as voidsmen called them.  

Weiss had rushed over to the sensor station and saw they had maybe a minute or two at the most before the ticks would latch onto Tundra March. They would cut and peel their way through her armour. Then the boarders would flood into Weiss’s ship.

Weiss was already reacting; giving orders to the Atlas Marines to entrench themselves, and prepare to repel the attackers. Her crew were disorganized, fighting a dozen fires which had spread through the decks, while yet more tried to seal off the areas ripped open to the void. 

None of that truly mattered.

They were Atlassians. 

They were the definition of discipline. The epitome of calm on the line. 

They would meet these boarders and they would throw them back into space. 

Back out into the cold void.

At least that had been the plan.

Unfortunately, Weiss’s plan died stillborn when Tundra March shook as several high-velocity, solid slug railgun rounds, from what could only be another ship’s main battery slammed into her. Damage was extensive, fires broke out as armour buckled and several more systems failed.  Over the ship-wide comms, Weiss could hear the screams and gunfire as the boarders pushed their way in. No doubt heading to the main power core, or engine room. Or the bridge. The Tundra March shook violently from another round of railgun fire. 

If it wasn’t for the boarders cutting their way into her ship, Weiss would have been forgiven for thinking that these were shots intended to kill, and not cripple further. 

They were done. 

They were beaten. 

Even if boarders were repelled, Tundra March was utterly crippled. She was a sitting wreck, easy prey for the ship that was now racking them with railgun fire.

To resist was to die. 

There would be no honour in dying and achieving nothing.

Weiss did something she never thought she could do. Never thought she would do.  

She asked for terms… and surrendered her ship to the Captain of the black ship Muninn- the Dread Pirate Raven;  the Scourge of Mistral, the Pirate-Queen of Wild Space, the most  infamous pirate to plague the more civilised areas of space, since the Great War 

Soon afterwards she was brought on board, separated from her crew and thrown into this cell.  

Weiss reached out a hand through her bars, fingers stretched and fumbling at the canteen of water just in reach. She needed to think, she needed to plan. 

She would get out of this. Somehow.

Weiss took a deep breath. She was Atlassian. She was a Schnee. It was expected, demanded of her. She had to live up to her family name. 

And by the Gods of the Void, Weiss promised herself, she would be so much more than her family name.

--------------

Yang winced as she heard the wet, bruising sound of a fist hammering into a gut. The coughing, weak sputter of a man unable to defend himself, as two pairs of burly arms held him up. Tears of pain ran down the man’s face as he slumped in his captors’ arms; His once pristine white uniform now solid in sweat, mucus and blood. 

“Two punches… jus’ two is all it takes te make ye more limp than me grandmum?” the interrogator asked in disgust. He turned and looked over to where Raven Branwen stood tall but disinterested in the casual brutality.

Why Raven had asked - in reality had demanded- that Yang come down to witness this was beyond her. 

Yang felt her fist tighten in the heavily-padded gloves she always wore now; feeling the scales on her rigid knuckles stretching the fabric and rubbing against the built-in heavy shock-plates.  The interrogator had gone back to his work, striking at the man’s face, before switching his aim to the kidneys.   

“This one ain’t worth the effort Cap’in. Might as well send ‘im off fer a little walk outside.” The man sneered as he turned back towards them. 

Raven said nothing and continued to watch. Every now and then, her blood red eyes would slide over to Yang, studying her, gauging her reaction; judging her as Raven always had. 

The interrogator shrugged and pulled the man up by his hair. “So… I’m goin te ask’ ye again lad… who is ye Cap’in? What ‘owse is she from? Jus’ up an tell an I’ll stop ‘ittin’ ye. Trust me boy, I can be doin’ this all day and night.”

The man said nothing, other than groan and mutter small incoherent insults. 

Yang had to admit, she admired the boy’s courage. 

“Is there a point to this, Raven?” Yang finally asked, growing tired of the display. Her tongue running of the tips of her fangs. 

“There is,” her mother replied, not even bothering to turn and look at her daughter. 

Silence once again fell between the two women. The beatings continued unabated at a steady pace. The rhythmic thump of punches wore Yang’s already thin patience down more and more.   

“What? Other than to show that you get off on punching helpless prisoners?” Yang finally spat back. “If that’s all then I’m heading back to my quarters.” 

“You will do no such thing, Yang. You will stay right there.” Raven ordered, finally moving to turn and glare at her, “You need to see this. You need to be a part of this.”

Yang glared back, a silent test of wills between the two women. Finally, Yang huffed and leaned back against the wall. Yang knew Raven, she knew there was something coming, something that she knew she wasn’t going to be able to avoid.

Better to face it head first, instead of pussy-footing around it. That wasn’t her style anyway. 

Raven continued to glare at her daughter, which Yang dutifully ignored, before allowing a self-satisfied smile stretch across her lips.

“Vernal,” Raven spoke into the communication device woven into her collar. “Bring our esteemed guest to the interrogation chamber. I’m growing tired of these games and believe a demonstration has become more than necessary.”

“Right away Raven. We’ll be right up,” came the crackling reply over the com.

Yang barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Vernal was a sycophant and Raven’s little attack-dog. 

Gods… She sounds like an arrogant bitch even over the com.

They didn’t have long to wait, the door opened and the white-clad officer was aggressively pushed through and into the small room, Vernal following behind with a confident swagger and that familiar arrogant smirk.

Yang only had the briefest glimpse of the Atlassian officer; she hadn’t been allowed to be part of the boarding party and had been forced to watch the attack on the frigate from the bridge. 

The officer was surprisingly young for someone to be placed in command, her long white hair disheveled, her officer’s uniform rumpled and torn in several places. A long scar over her left eye was the only mar on her which Yang could see. It didn’t take away from her beauty, it added to it. It gave her a ruggedness, made her seem more human than the image of a porcelain doll that her pale flesh and ice blue eyes gave.   

“Well then, so are you still refusing to cooperate with us?” Raven asked as the Atlassian recovered from the push, standing straight and tall despite the restraints around her arms. She glared right into Raven’s amused, red eyes, not bothering to respond. 

"I will admit, your defiance, while at first amusing, has tried my patience. So I will ask you one last time, Atlassian. Who are you? What is your House?"

The officer said nothing, but continued to stare down the three pirate women, breaking eye contact only to take the briefest glance at her subordinate, who was hanging in the arms of his captors, crying and panting in pain.

Seconds passed as the Officer refused to answer, or break further eye contact; she was daring them to do their worst. 

Finally, it was Raven who broke the fragile silence, an almost gentle pulling at her thin lips.  

“I admire resilience. Especially in one so young” 

Yang couldn’t believe the almost serene gentle smile that crossed over Raven’s lips. In the two years since she had known her mother, she had never seen Raven give someone a look that bordered on mercy or even kindness. 

It put her on edge. Yang knew something wholly unpleasant was being dreamt up in Raven’s mind.   

There was only one rule with Raven. The strong live, the strong take, the weak die.    

“Well,” Raven continued, “let’s see how long that resolve can last. Yang. Kill him.”

The officer let out an involuntary gasp. The captive stiffened, then sagged almost acceptingly into his guards’ arms. 

“What?” Yang asked turning to her mother with a look of confusion and horror. 

“I said kill him.” Raven gestured to the man, more of a boy really. “This Noble refuses to cooperate with us. Though I do admire her resolve, it does not come without consequence. Kill him.”

Yang stood there silent. Her hands tightened into fists, shaking with rage. She felt the scales on her forehead crease as her temper began to slip from her control. 

It was a state of being familiar to Yang, one that flooded her system with adrenaline, one that made her faster, stronger and hit harder than any normal human. Even without her gene-tailoring. 

But now… now she needed to be calm. She needed a clear head. She was walking a tightrope, Raven was testing her.    

“No.” She finally spat, getting her anger under control. “I won’t do it.” 

Raven’s grin slowly vanished, her eyes became cold as she regarded her daughter. “No?” 

“No.” Yang spat again, matching her mother’s ruthless stare.

“So you are going to challenge me? Is that it? Take Muninn for your own? Are you strong enough to even dare?” Raven hissed as she drew the short blade at her hip. “Well Yang, are you?” 

For the first time in her life, Yang felt herself hesitate. Her mother had pointed her sword at her, challenging her. Raven was daring her to make a move. 

Yang could feel her temper spike again.

Vernal’s smirk widened. It was clear she had already envisioned the outcome, and was now simply enjoying the show, as she  eagerly awaited the prospect of violence. 

The Atlassian was quiet, eyes darting between the three other women and the men holding her crewmate. 

What was she planning? Yang quickly suppressed the thought. It didn’t matter and being distracted, being hesitant would give Raven every opening she would need.  

Yang could feel her hand inching towards the holster of Ember Celica at her hip. Her fingers flexed almost eagerly, itching to grip it, itching to draw.  

“Remember this, Yang.” Raven’s voice was cold, frigid, but also tinged with the same excitement flooding through Yang right at that very moment. The excitement of the prospect of a battle for supremacy between the two women. “If you draw, and when you lose, you will lose everything. Not just your life, but your sister’s will be forfeit as well.”

Yang’s hand froze above her pistol’s grip. Ice-cold fear quenched the white-hot rage in an instant. 

“She has nothing to do with this,” Yang hissed, choking down the panic at the thought of her little sister Ruby being hurt. 

“Of course she does.” Raven smiled grimly; “If she lives, she’ll try and take revenge. So what is your choice? Draw and lose everything? Or do as I say? His life, or your’s and your sister’s?” 

Yang hesitated, her own life she was more than willing to risk. It was part of who she was, a thrill seeker, an adventurer. But she wouldn’t, she couldn’t risk Ruby’s. Not after they had just been reunited. Not after they were slowly coming together again. 

Yang’s hand fell limp and she took in a deep shuddering breath. “Fine. I’ll do it.” 

Yang turned and walked towards the helpless man, watching as he struggled, as bruised and beaten as he was, to hold himself up. To look her in the eye. 

Yang barely felt her hand move as she slowly pulled the heavy boarding-pistol from its well-oiled holster. She could feel the heavy weight of the ceramic and steel, as it came free. Slowly she raised and pointed the pistol at the boy’s head.

The two stared at each other for several seconds: the condemned and the executioner.  

Yang squeezed the trigger. The pistol bucked in her hand as it roared. 

The boy’s head exploded, splattering apart in a mess of blood, skull fragments, and grey matte,painting the back wall in ghastly portrait.

The pirates let the corpse fall to the floor and laughed as they did. Blood from the headless body pooled quickly and slicked the floor.  

Their job was done. 

“Well, that’s that.” Vernal snickered, “Good to see you actually do have some brains in your head, Yang.”

Yang turned, wanting to strike at the arrogant woman, but stopped herself. 

Now wasn’t the time. Not with Raven standing there.

“Vernal, you are no longer our guest’s guard, Yang, you will take her place. Now see that Weiss Schnee is seen back to her quarters, we have important guest arriving in the next several cycles, I want to be ready for them.” 

“Weiss Schnee? The heir to the Protectorate?” Yang whispered. 

The officer looked stunned as well. 

“You...You know who I am?” The officer, Schnee asked, her already pale face turned even paler if such a thing was at all possible.

“I knew who you were the moment we attacked your ship.” Raven replied, “You really think I would risk attacking an Atlassian frigate for some no-name noble?”

“Then what was that about?” Yang asked, barely containing her rage and loathing. Gesturing at the corpse. “Why did I have to kill him, if you already knew?”

Raven regarded her daughter with little more than contempt. “ You needed this. A point had to be made. You are soft. Weak. You could have refused. You could have tried to kill me, maybe even succeeded. But you are so attached to that thing that you call a sister that I could use her against you. Now see to the Schnee, that’s an order.” 

With that, Raven pushed past them, Vernal following behind, only pausing briefly to send the two of them that arrogant, sickening smile she was so well known for, before following after her captain like the loyal dog she was.

Leaving Yang alone with the Heir apparent, Weiss Schnee.

Leaving Weiss alone with someone who had just murdered one of her crew. 

[yourereallyhere]

Together

BELIZA MARRIAGE KILLED ME. THAT SNEAK PEAK KILLED ME. WE'RE GETTING HEART BELLAMY BACK. TO SAVE HIS WIFE. YES. I AM SO EXCITED. THIS IS ALL SO GREAT. so I wrote a short 6x06 spec sorta thing ???

you can find it on ao3 or under the cut !!! hope you enjoy and come freak out with me in my inbox !!!!!!

He rubbed a hand down his face and let out a shaky breath. The room was a goddamn mess. He had gotten so good at controlling his anger but he just... broke. They took her. Clarke, Clarke, Clarke. Her name raced through his mind as he yanked on the chains binding his hands with no success. The door was too far and he had settled for yelling, banging on the walls, throwing paintings, chairs, anything that would make noise. Anything that would let someone know that he was here. It was all he could do to focus on something other than Clarke and the rage bubbling inside him. Yes, he was stuck in this room, but he was also trapped in his thoughts. He was helpless just as Clarke had been as she was ripped out of his arms once again. He should have been there for her. He could have stopped this if he was. The tears in his eyes that had started forming when he was paralyzed hadn’t stopped since and the image of the most important and beautiful face he had ever seen leaning over him was ingrained in his brain. And not in the way he had imagined it countless times before. This time it brought him only horror and pain. So much pain. Because that wasn’t Clarke.

According to the sunlight shining through the window two days have passed since the night Josephine Lightborne had exposed herself. The sun was setting for the second time since he’d been dragged here by the body snatcher and her guard, and Bellamy began to wonder how nobody had found him yet. Were they wondering where he was? Had Josephine lied to them about his whereabouts? Had she taken Madi now that she knew she was a nightblood? Had his family been taken and chained up just like him, fearing for their lives, waking up as soon as they caught themselves dozing off, avoiding the meals they had been given meal after meal?

He couldn’t help but wonder how long ago it had been that she was… killed. Even after years of believing she was dead it was too much to even think of that word. She was alone, again. Was it while he was out at the ship bringing Madi to her? While Clarke was meeting with Russell and Simone? His heart aches thinking of the girl losing her mother. But it couldn’t be. They didn’t even know she was a nightblood yet. And Clarke had apologized for leaving him in Polis after that. Josephine couldn’t have known about that. Clarke was still herself then; he was sure of it. Could it have been before the party? Maybe it wasn’t really Clarke dancing with the doctor at the Naming Day celebration. He quickly shook that memory away. What kind of man thinks about the familiar tug on his heart at seeing his… friend with another man when that friend’s body had been taken over by another consciousness? When that friend was supposedly gone? Only once the door opened did he realize he had made his way down to his knees. He released the hair from where his hands held on tightly on top of his head. Josephine walked in, shutting the door behind her and he quickly rose to his feet. A stern look took over his face and he crossed his arms over the chains. Be strong. For her. She handed him a bottle of water and smiled. But it wasn’t a Clarke smile. He could just tell. Clarke’s smile wasn’t a malicious one, built on pride from causing pain. Hers was built on years of finding the light through trauma. It was built on hope. We’re still breathing. He breathed in deeply, steadying himself. How could this woman just wear Clarke’s face? It disgusted him. His best friend seemed so close, yet she was light years away. “How you holding up?” She asked though she seemed uninterested in his answer. He released something between a heavy breath and a snort and turned away from her. “Wow. That good, huh?” She laughed and something about that squeaky sound that so contrasted Clarke’s hearty one got to him.

“How do you think I’m doing?” He yelled. “You’ve kept me locked up here for days. You took my best friends life — you took it over!” If looks could kill, Josephine would have reduced to a frivolous pile of ashes before him. He was fuming, chest heaving, eyes ablaze.

She seemed shocked at his anger for a moment before collecting herself. “Best friend…” she lifted a skinny finger up to her chin. “Is that what they call it these days?”

Bellamy felt heat rise to his cheeks on their own accord. She sensed his reaction and moved closer, slowly moving the finger up his chest. He flicked it away. “Don’t. Don’t touch me. Don’t you dare.”

If she had processed that he had threatened her, she didn’t seem to mind. She continued to press on his nerves, whittling away at his patience bit by bit.

“Tell me, Bell,” she started. His jaw clenched at the familiar nickname. A reminder of the other important woman in his life, another one he couldn’t protect, another one he’d lost. “Does it bother you?”

“Which part?” He huffed. This was all too fucked up. Even for him, and he’d seen some really fucked up things.

“You have to look at a girl you love, knowing that it’s not her.” She chuckled. “I mean, I shouldn’t say girl, really. You should see what I look like under here. Because damn.”

“Stop it. You have no right to talk about her.” His nails dug into the skin of his palm so hard he was sure the skin had broken.

She ignored his comment. “What am I even saying? You probably have. Before you caught on you should have seen your face when you looked at me. John was right. Blah di blah ‘I’m Clarke’ blah di blah ‘everyone hates me’. Except you. God, I’ve never even met the poor girl and she’s already depressing me.”

“Shut up!”

That got her attention. She let go of the strands of hair she twirled between her fingers. “Face it, Bellamy. Clarke’s dead.”

“No.”

“No, what? She’s gone. Finito. Dunzo. Bit the dust. You might as well help me. I can keep your people safe. We can make everyone nightbloods, together.”

Together.

Leading the hundred.

Together.

Pulling the lever at Mount Weather.

Together.

Against the City of Light.

Together.

In head and in heart.

Together.

Thoughts of Clarke bloomed in his chest, giving him the strength he needed to hold himself back from destroying the body that once held so much life and love. It now only showed evil. Clarke’s smile and laugh. The smell of her hair as he tucked his face into her neck. Her pointed gaze when she was angry. The way she pursed her mouth when she couldn’t figure something out. The light in her eyes when she learned something new. The perpetual support she provided when he was desperate for comfort. The unstoppable ambition and determination to take on the responsibilities that had constantly been forced onto her. No. This was not the Clarke he knew. The Clarke he knows. She is strong and brave and always finds her way out of the trouble she faces. She’s been through worse. She’s been through hell and back again and again and each time she comes back more powerful than the last. It never ceases to amaze him. This mind drive is no match for Clarke Griffin, and even if by some unlikely chance it is, it wouldn’t be for the both of them, together.

He met Josephine’s eyes in a wrecked yet confident and utterly passionate gaze — one he had often used for Clarke herself, but not for intimidation. He was gonna get her back. No matter what.

“Together with you? Never.”

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 110: Onion Gang

“No more weirdo friends.”

There have been a handful of Steven Universe episodes that I only watched once, didn’t like, and didn’t watch again until reviewing them for this project. Time has been kind to many of them: I’ve come to appreciate Ronaldo (especially in Rising Tides, Crashing Skies, which I was super down on) as well as Say Uncle and The New Lars. I don’t necessarily love all these episodes now, but they’re a lot better than I once thought.

But yeah sometimes my first impression is right on the money.

Onion Gang is the most boring episode of the series by a country mile. The show has meandered before in the likes of Cat Fingers, Steven’s Lion, and Open Book, but these stories at least resolve in interesting ways. Looking forward, Escapism has even fewer words than Onion Gang, but it’s designed to simultaneously add to Steven’s many ordeals and act as the calm before the storm (and it’s also, y’know, watchable; silence can be a good thing, ask any episode of Samurai Jack). But Onion Gang is relentlessly uninteresting throughout.

The glacial pace isn’t helped by comedy bits falling flat at a rate that’s almost impressive. I try pretty hard to find things I like in episodes I don’t, but there’s literally nothing here for me. That is not easy. Especially considering how much of a sucker I am for Onion, slapstick, and weird goofy side adventures. This should be right up my alley, but hoo boy is it not.

Still, I’ll give it a try: the most generous reading of Onion Gang is that it focuses on Steven misunderstanding Onion, and if you squint, you can draw a parallel between his assumptions about Onion and his assumptions about Rose (both silent, mysterious figures in his life) being proven wrong. False narratives are a recurring theme in Steven’s arc, and another one pops up here. But even if that broadest of strokes is an intended connection, it doesn’t stop Onion Gang from being a catastrophe.

The only Onion Pal that leaves any impression is Garbanzo, and the impression is that Garbanzo is the worst character the show has ever produced. Villains like Kevin and Aquamarine are horrible, but that’s the point. Irritating secondary characters like Ronaldo and Lars have actual depth, and otherwise further the plot and are reliable for decent humor at times (it’s a shame that only one of them grows, but still). Garbanzo is a kid who shouts the word “Garbanzo” as if this is inherently amusing, and uh that’s it. The joke isn’t funny the first time, and doesn’t become funny through brute force repetition. It’s just annoying.

Squash, Soup, and Pinto are...there? They mostly exist for the gag of Steven naming all of them, a continuation of his unusually domineering presence in Onion Gang. Because oh yeah, on top of everything else this is a dreadful Steven episode. It’s not Sadie’s Song, because his presumptuous attitude doesn’t cause actual harm, but this is a bad look on a hero whose powers are supposed to be based on empathy. His narration of Onion’s actions mostly acts as another gag, and like Garbanzo, it’s not a funny one, but that doesn’t stop the episode from repeating it ad nauseam.

Steven’s weird behavior doesn’t stop there. The overlong go-kart scene ends with Steven seeing Garbanzo spray ketchup on himself, then instantly forgetting he saw this and openly wondering if Garbanzo is hurt. Which makes this the dumbest Steven has ever been. It makes zero sense that he would be bamboozled by something he saw faked with his own eyes, to the point where the gag itself becomes confusing: this would be like if he saw Amethyst eat his dinner then asked where his dinner went, it requires Steven’s intelligence to plummet so perilously that it confounds what we’re supposed to find funny about the joke in the first place.

But the most bizarre misfire by far is Steven declaring that he’s “the lonely boy with no friends his age” when Connie Maheswaran exists. She’s busy (as is the underused Peedee), but our hero makes the flying leap that this means he’s utterly friendless. This is a kid defined by his ability to make friends. He saves the ocean once and the planet twice by making friends. The entire show hinges on his fundamental friendliness. This plot point is ludicrous, even when we take into account that Steven is being annoyingly melodramatic.

A nitpick, but one that fuels the Ronaldo-level conspiracy theorist in me, is that Connie was prepping for school in Buddy’s Book and is attending school in Mindful Education, so if she’s shopping for school supplies in Onion Gang then either she’s doing it super late (which doesn’t sound like something she or her mother would ever allow) or this episode, which mind you is stated to take place as summer ends, should've aired between the two Connie episodes. The conspiracy theory is that Onion Gang would’ve looked even weaker when shoved between two episodes about what good friends Steven and Connie are, so it got moved to settle between two Crystal Gem stories.

I think that it’s theoretically possible to make a good episode that evokes unambiguous pathos from Onion. But considering the character works because he’s this strange, menacing force of nature in an otherwise pretty normal population of humans, I’m not sure he’s a character that needs the depth. Onion Friend hit a sweet spot of making him grow a little, but maintain his creepy charm. Onion Gang goes further, but in doing so removes everything interesting about Beach City’s resident weirdo. Gone is the kid who two episodes ago was robbing the arcade with a crowbar and a bandit mask. Here instead is an odd but sensitive kid whose mischievous friends somehow render him less mischievous than usual. It’s bad enough to have a boring episode, but a boring episode with Onion as the focus? Again, it’s almost impressive.

There’s no reason to watch this episode instead of any other Onion-centric episode if Onion is your jam. There’s no reason to watch this episode instead of any other Steven-centric episode barring Sadie’s Song if Steven is your jam. There’s no reason to watch this episode instead of rewatching Last One Out of Beach City if being charmed by friendship is your jam. There’s no reason to watch this episode instead of Buddy’s Book if thematic resonance in regards to false narratives is your jam. There’s no reason to watch this episode instead of any episode of Craig of the Creek if kids playing outside is your jam. Only watch Onion Gang if you’re a glutton for punishment.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Part of me wants to rank this higher than Fusion Cuisine and House Guest, where I find more insulting mischaracterizations. But both of those episodes have enjoyable elements that are weighed down by lousy depictions of Connie and Greg; Garnet’s a riot in the former, and there’s a sweet song in the latter despite being muddled by context. Whereas there are no real bright spots in Onion Gang. It’s an unbearable eleven minutes that I’m never going to watch again.

Sadie’s Song is worse because it’s the worst Steven episode in the series and it misses the mark so much, and it’s important to Sadie’s arc so it’s harder to skip, which makes me resent it more. Island Adventure is worse because its moral is that abuse is a reasonable method of communication. But that’s all that’s stopping Onion Gang from reaching the very bottom.

The good news is that this is it for my No Thanks list, and while I might’ve had a bit of fun dissecting why I dislike Onion Gang so much, it bears saying that 6 stinkers in 180 episodes and a movie ain’t shabby.

Top Twenty

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

Last One Out of Beach City

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Mindful Education

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

When It Rains

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Chille Tid

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Catch and Release

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Buddy’s Book

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

Future Boy Zoltron

No Thanks!

     6. Horror Club      5. Fusion Cuisine      4. House Guest      3. Onion Gang      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael After Midnight: The Legend of Korra

Avatar: The Last Airbender is, without a single doubt in my mind, one of, if not the, greatest cartoons of all time; it’s up there with Batman: The Animated Series, The Simpsons, and all those other time-tested classics. But even as it ended, there was always this feeling like the magnificent world created for the show could be explored ever further, expanded upon, and just in general be given a whole lot of new perspectives.

Enter The Legend of Korra.

The show is set several decades after Aang saved the world (as Katara always believed he could, according to the opening narration). Aang eventually died and a new avatar was born, the titular Korra; the show is all about how she comes into her own as the Avatar.

Now, just from that brief summary, it seems like this show would be an awesome thing right off the bat, right? Everything is there for this to be an epic continuation of an incredible animated work… and yet, it took this show two Books to truly find itself, and even then there were some truly questionable storytelling decisions that leave this show far behind Avatar in terms of quality. And look, I like this show. I really do. I enjoy it, I enjoy seeing the callbacks to the earlier series, I like most of the villains a great deal, I love the mythos they created about the Avatar as a concept by showing us its origin, there is a lot of genuinely great stuff that’s on par with the original series here. But while the original show had weak episodes here and there, Korra had entire weak Books; where the original show had some occasional bad writing, Korra had some truly bad plot points; and where the original show had a dragged-out romantic arc that, while a bit tedious, never really overstayed its welcome, Korra had one of the absolute worst romantic arcs in modern fiction with the most terrible, stupid, pandering, and nonsensical ending imaginable, one that insults me on so many levels.

But I’m getting far ahead of myself there. I’m going to briefly go over each Book and what works about each, and what doesn’t. The best place to start is from the beginning, so… let’s start there.

Book 1 has a sort of reputation as being a Book that was too rushed to really live up to its full potential. And you know what? I’ll agree to that. Nickelodeon really screwed this show over big time throughout its run, but the tiny amount of episodes they allowed the first Book was a big problem. The plot that doesn’t really get going until halfway through, the inane twists, the rushed conclusion… with more episodes things could have been fleshed out a lot better. Here’s the thing, though: even with more time, if they kept a lot of this Book the same… it would still suck a whole lot of ass.

Book 1 is pretty much a trainwreck, evident from the first scene, which shows a toddler Korra bursting through a wall, showing off every kind of bending save air, and saying “I’M THE AVATAR AND YOU GOTTA DEAL WITH IT!” This is our introduction to our main character. This is the first time we see her, our first impression. And they decide to introduce her in the least likable, most obnoxious, and dare I say most Mary Sue-ish way possible.

Now I have gone on record before saying I absolutely loathe the term Mary Sue; I find it to be a term that lacks any real substance to it and is really just shorthand for someone to dismiss a character. But the most common definition - a character who has so much going for them, rarely suffers any consequences, and is just well liked by everyone while getting the world handed to them - actually, sadly, fits Korra in the early episodes. She’s good at all forms of bending save air from when she’s a toddler, she almost instantly becomes a pro playing sports, she gets two cute boys fawning over her, she gets the greatest possible airbending teacher anyone could ask for… One could argue she gets built up so much like this to make her being torn down halfway through the Book more powerful, but it just really comes off as grating and obnoxious to watch.

It’s not like the other characters are written much better. Mako in particular is written to be one of the biggest morons on Earth, and Bolin, while charming, is something of a Diet Sokka. Tenzin is easily the best character of the Book, what with being voiced by J.K. Simmons and all, but his children… yuck. All of them are annoying and just feel superfluous, with Meelo in particular existing for seemingly no reason other than fart jokes. It’s not like Avatar was above using those kinds of jokes, but they didn’t have an entire character dedicated to them. Lin Beifong is pretty cool, a worthy successor to Toph, though be warned: she takes a lot of stupid pills between this Book and the next. Asami is pretty and badass, and she’s also one of the better characters of the Book, but sadly she gets tangled up in the worst aspect of the entire first Book: the love triangle.

The love triangle involves Korra, who is loved by Bolin and Mako, though Mako was in a relationship with Asami after they met, and Korra is with Bolin, but secretly likes Mako and… who cares? This is not what anyone wants out of a show based on Avatar. Just because they’re teenagers doesn’t mean they need to get up in all of this sub-par soap opera bullshit. This here honestly ruins the Book; while some would say Book 2 was the weaker Book due to its incredibly stupid plot and lackluster villain, at least Book 2 had Varrick and the Avatar Wan episodes. This Book really doesn’t have any big plus it can count in its favor. No, not even Amon.

Amon is the villain of Book 1, and early on he is just indescribably cool. His menacing voice provided by the always excellent Steve Blum, his creepy mask that evokes the titular V of V for Vendetta, his ability to remove bending, the fact he manages to scare Korra shitless… it’s all amazing. And then comes the reveal that he’s actually a bender. A waterbender, even. He has been using bloodbending this whole time to remove people’s bending. All of the shit from the big reveal really just leads to defang Amon from a nightmarish force to be reckoned with to a miserable bundle of angst. Noatak, who he is revealed to truly be, feels like an entirely different character. Still, even with his derailment, his final scene is one of the most effective in the entire series: as he and his brother escape on a flying ship, his brother, despite his brother’s words indicating that he wants to start over a new life with him and have things be good between them again, takes an electrical gauntlet and fires into the ship’s fuel tank, causing an explosion which kills them both. This is a murder-suicide that was shown on Nickelodeon. It is emotional, powerful, and truly shocking in a good way. It’s easily the standout scene of the Book, and almost makes it worth it.

Then comes the asspull.

You see, Korra had her bending taken by Amon. This could have led to so many incredible storylines as she worked to gain it back, utilizing only the airbending she was stuck with, the one kind of bending she wasn’t instantly good at. Sure, it may have ended up retreading a bit of Aang’s struggles, but that was good stuff! But instead… Aang’s spirit comes out of nowhere and the past Avatars all combine their powers and POOF! Korra gets her bending back. This is a dreadful resolution; I get they were unsure if they’d get to follow up on this or not, but leaving the door open with uncertainty is so much better than closing a bunch of doors. Why not have her just get a talk from Aang, telling her she can get her power back with enough training? End it on a dark but still hopeful note, with her having to work back up to how she was before. That would have been a hell of a lot better than this deus ex machina crap.

Overall, Book 1 is just a hot mess. It has isolated elements that are pretty good, but overall it’s kind of a complete mess story wise and character wise. It’s frankly amazing this show got a second Book… but it did. And oh lord is this Book something.

Book 2’s biggest crime is that it is utterly forgettable. I hardly remember anything from the first half of this Book because it is just so bland and uninteresting, and while it’s nowhere near as bad as Book 1’s love triangle, it doesn’t even stick in the mind. The shining gem of this first half - and the Book as a whole, mind you, if not the SERIES - is Varrick, the eccentric inventor, and his beleaguered assistant Zhu Li, who is frequently asked by Varrick to “do the thing.” These two make all the difference; without them this Book would easily be more unwatchable than the first, but with them… well, it still sucks but they manage to carry things.

Unalaq, the villain of the Book, is an utter bore. He’s obviously bad from the get-go and he is easily overshadowed later by the far more intriguing Vaatu, who ties deep into the mythos of the series by being one of the reasons the Avatar came to be at all. Unalaq also has two kids who are just as boring as he is and who spend the series not doing much anything noteworthy.

The real draws of this Book are basically everything to do with the spirits and their realm, as well as the origin story of the Avatar. Avatar Wan’s big two parter is the first part of the series to feel as fresh and epic as the original series, and it shows us just how the Avatar came to be in the first place. The other scenes in the spirit world are pretty great, featuring appearances from Uncle Iroh, Wan Shi Ton, and Admiral Zhao of all people. Then there’s the big shakeup at the end: Korra is now cut off from her past lives, and spirits and humans can now live together. These are some huge changes to the status quo of the series to the point where it feels like an apology for how bad and pointless Book 1 feels in the grand scheme of things. And you know what? Apology accepted. Book 2 is a mess, but it manages to find itself in the end and help steer the show into being the great work it ended up as.

Now on to Book 3.Book 3 is where the show really was able to show off how great it could be, to the point my only issues with the Book are minor. Most of my problems stem from the fact that Korra had very small Book, with about 12 or so episodes per book as opposed to Avatar’s 20. This is kind of a problem, because it gives some characters less of a time to develop, a fate that unfortunately befalls the members of the Red Lotus who aren’t Zaheer. Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore the Red Lotus and think they’re all fascinating villains, and Zaheer is one of the most interesting villains in the series as an evil airbender, but Ming-Hua, Ghazan, and P’Li sadly get very little in terms of backstory. You DO get something, but they end up feeling more like the Cobra Unit from Snake Eater than fully fleshed-out bad guys… which is to say, they’re fun and effective, just don’t expect them to show great complexity. I wholeheartedly believe that they could have been expanded on if Book 3 had those extra seven episodes in it, and it’s a real shame we didn’t get to truly explore these fascinating characters.

My other problems, again, are pretty minor. I didn’t much care for Bumi becoming an airbender, and felt like it sort of cheapened his and Tenzin’s character a bit. Kai, a pubescent airbender scamp, was not a very likable character here, and it was pretty annoying having to put up with him, not to mention his ship tease with Jinora. Zuko also shows up, but it’s in a very minor role and he’s not really focused on at all. There’s a few more nitpicks here and there but these things are really my main issues.

The story is a lot darker and more mature here, especially in its repercussions for the rest of the series. Korra’s near-death experience here leaves her broken and haunted by PTSD, which becomes a major focus in Book 4. This Book is also where they really stopped giving a shit, and there are several particularly shocking and gruesome deaths for the show. We have Zaheer answer that age-old fan question “Could an airbender suck the air out of somene’s lungs?” with a demonstration on the Earth Queen, P’Li’s laser eye backfires and blows her head up, Ming-Hua is painfully electrocuted to death, and Ghazan takes a page from Gollum’s book and dies immersed in lava (and rubble for good measure).

This Book truly delivers the experience this series promised us in the beginning; it truly feels like an evolution of the Avatar series in the best way possible. While there are a few bumps here and there, there’s nothing really brutally bad that could derail the overall quality of the season. It has a great villain, and that villain has a great villain posse; there’s a lot of great cameos and character appearances, including some surprising ones; we learn more about Lin’s past; we get a whole lot more airbenders and an interesting plot going on with them that even in the end makes Kai more likable; and most importantly we have a solid plot with real consequences on the characters.

Oh, and there’s that little Zelda Williams character who appears near the end… wonder what her significance is…

She’s Book 4’s bad guy.

Book 4 is the final season of Korra, and while I don’t think many would say it surpasses Book 3 (which is quite the task, considering), I definitely think it’s a really great final season that wraps up just about everything that needs to be wrapped up. It also does a really good job with character development, like, REALLY good.

This season is where Korra really becomes a character I love, because her struggles are very personal and interesting. She’s constantly haunted by what happened to her in Book 3, and is stalked by a shadowy version of herself wherever she goes. Long gone is the obnoxious borderline Mary Sue character that she felt like in the first season; here, Korra truly feels human and relatable. More impressive than even that may be the transformation of the character Prince Wu, who starts the season as one of the single most unlikable characters in the whole series but ends up as an amusing and even somewhat heroic figure. Frankly I find it hard to hate a character who utilizes his terrible singing to help evacuate a city.

As I mentioned before, Kuvira is the villain, and she’s very much a visionary sort who thinks ruling the world under her iron fist is what’s best for everyone. Zelda Williams really gives her a real air of importance and even a bit of sympathy; she’s definitely a great example of an anti-villain of the quality of Zaheer, though I wouldn’t go as far as to say she’s as good as him exactly. Still, one can’t help but appreciate a woman who creates a massive robot that fires death lasers made out of entirely unbendable platinum. I know a lot of people find this thing to be utterly ridiculous and stupid, with little foreshadowing of its existence and just in general how ludicrously impossible and impractical it could be… but come on, it’s a GIANT ROBOT. I guess it just appeals to my inner Metal Gear fan, even if I do realize and accept it’s the most ridiculous thing in any of the two series.

I think what’s really great about this book is how it really just makes things that shouldn’t work, work really well. Case in point: there was an annoying, executive mandated clip show that, if they didn’t do, would have caused a lot of staff to be laid off. So what does the team do? They use the episode to take the piss out of everything in the show that didn’t work, from the shitty romance subplots to a hilarious scene where Zaheer, Amon, and Vaatu are all on the phone and trying to keep not just Unalaq, but Varrick’s movie version of Unalaq, out of the loop. In fact, the entire thing basically being Varrick doing an abridged series of the show is golden, because everything Varrick does is golden. Speaking of Varrick, his “Do the thing” catchphrase is used interestingly three times: one time it is a legitimately heartbreaking tearjerker, and the other two are just the sweetest, most heartwarming things you will ever hear. This sounds absurd, but again: this Book is all about making the most implausible things end up pretty good.

There’s so much about this Book that really makes it stand out - from Hiroshi Sato managing to reconcile with his daughter and sacrifice himself to the return of so many characters to just about everyone getting a happy ending… it’s a shame that it all got overshadowed by the most shallow, stupid moment of the entire series. Hell, BOTH series. You know what I’m talking about, you know what it is, it’s the thing that made me want to write this review in the first place:

Asami and Korra end up an official couple.

Now, generally speaking I wouldn’t have a problem with this. I like both characters, I myself am bisexual so it’s nice to see characters represent me in media, and hey, I’ve always championed Dumbledore as a great LGBT character when he was never explicitly shown to be so, so why do I hate this so much? Well, in regards to the latter, here’s the thing: Dumbledore is not the main character of the series, and his homosexuality is foreshadowed. We are not privy to Dumbledore’s private thoughts, we are not even given an in-depth look at his character until he dies in the penultimate book, and romance was never really a focus of the character. In contrast, Korra is in fact the main character of the show and who we follow the most, romance has unfortunately been a major factor in her development since the first Book, and the biggest problem: her being bi for Asami comes right the fuck out of nowhere.

There is like one line earlier in the book where Korra, while wandering, only really wrote to Asami. That’s it. These two barely interact or show any signs of romantic interest in each other until that final moment when they walk into the portal together. It feels like the ultimate ass pull, just a really lame third option to resolve all the love triangle garbage while simultaneously winning brownie points for being such a bold, daring move for a cartoon… but it doesn’t even show them kiss. They stare longingly at each other. THAT’S IT. Contrast Steven Universe, which is wholly and unabashedly filled with LGBT romance, particularly Garnet, who is literally the physical embodiment of a lesbian relationship, or even Adventure Time, who built up PB and Marceline’s past romance before having them get together and even kiss onscreen in the finale of that show. Korra is ultimately nothing`special, and that final moment was not a big step forward for representation or an important moment in TV history. It was a poorly built up shocking swerve that ended a series that had finally risen to the quality of the series it spun off from with the same bullshit that hampered this show’s original seasons to begin with.

Despite this, Book 4 is definitely a good finale to a show that, while it didn’t start out as such, ended up great. Really, the fact the final book was good despite having a lot of stupid elements and bad romantic resolutions is sort of a microcosm of the show as a whole, and showed despite those things the show could still tell an interesting story and be as grand as the original show was.

I don’t think this is one of the greatest cartoons of all time, but as a sort of follow up to the original series, I think it’s pretty solid. It was at its best when it was trying to tell mature stories and deal with darker subject matter than one would expect from a modern cartoon, and fumbled when it tried to shoehorn in the sort of romantic gunk one expects from teenagers. It worked best with its characters when their flaws felt natural and their issues were personal, and its villains worked better when they had simple yet fully fleshed out goals rather than overly complicated backstories or evil for the sake of evil. Korra is most definitely a mixed bag, but it’s a mixed bag I definitely recommend opening up sometime. If you liked the original show or just like story-driven or action oriented shows in general, this is one of the best ones of recent years. You have to slog through some crummy stuff to get to the gems, but boy oh boy are those gems shiny.

Also, I should have mentioned this earlier, but I am just so happy Toph is just a cranky old bad bitch even after all that time. Even while the Avatar world changed so much, it’s nice to know that some things will never change,

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Analyzing Sneak Peeks - They’re SO Giving Me the TD Tingles!

Good morning! First let me say that it doesn’t look like I’ll get the Titles meta up until next week. My apologies. I’m still wrestling with it, and there’s just so much going on this week with the premiere so close.

Yesterday, my FB group was just afire with all the stuff we saw in the recently-released sneak peeks. They make me super-happy, so I wanted to go over them with you.

First there’s this sneak peek. Watch it here:

Yeah, a certain dark ship is freaking out about the hug, but whatevs. As I said in my group yesterday, Daryl seems utterly uninterested. But that’s not even what I want to talk about here. What caught my attention is the dialogue. After the hug, Daryl says, “It’s gonna be fun.” Carol answers, “No it isn’t.”

Sound familiar? It should:

That’s the exact same phrasing used in Still. And no one’s talked about killing walkers being fun or not fun since Beth and Daryl did. This whole thing FEELS a lot like Operation Lead the Walkers Away in 6x01, but they didn’t say anything like this in S6.

Other things in this sneak peak:

When we first see Morgan walk toward the group, there’s a crashed, upside-down car behind him. Despite being upside down, it STILL has it’s trunk open. What are the odds of that?

Side Note: Also notice the fire hydrant on the left. There are actually 3 in this scene. The other two are in the other direction. One on the left of the red car (which is red, but looks a lot like the one Carol drove when Rick exiled her from the prison in S4) and the other in the distance on the corner. 

What block has 3 fire hydrants so close together? Goes back to the Daryl = Fire, Beth = Water Theory.

I’m curious about Tara’s line: Pleasure doing business with you. Not sure what it means or if it’s even a TD thing. It’s just an odd thing to say at a time like this. It has the ring of a deal, like the way things are run at Grady or the Sanctuary. Or even the prisoner exchange?

Daryl’s, “Better than letting things be though, right?” just reminds me a lot of, “We might as well do something.” Even if it’s not an exact dialogue parallel.

Same when Carol says, “It’s started.” And Daryl says, “Yeah, it was always gonna be that way.” Kind of like, “It went the way it had to, the way it was always going to.”

Onto the next promo. 

This one’s way crazier. Watch it here:

Okay, so let me just go over the symbols I’m seeing quickly and then we’ll talk about the super-important ones we can really sink our teeth into.

There’s the clock, which I’ll come back to.

Purple flowers by the bedside. This mirrors the purple flowers Rick saw in 1x01, as well as the ones Maggie saw when she woke up at Hilltop in 7x05. Tons of Beth parallels there. 

There’s a repeat sign in the metal work.

Kind of like we saw in the trees here: 

Kinda points to Oceanside maybe? Although we do also see them around Morgan and the mailboxes a lot. Actually, given the clock stuff you’ll read below, I’m wondering for the first time if this could represent the V-shape of the clock hands.

I like that Daryl sends a message with an arrow. Not sure how to interpret that yet, but I think it’s interesting. I think Daryl is showing lots of self-control by NOT shooting Dwight just like Dwight did to Denise. And for the record, watching Dwight look terrified when the arrow hits, I almost feel like it’s a death foreshadow for him. Who knows when he’ll die–maybe not for a long time–but I wonder if they’ll kill him just like he killed Denise?

We see him through the spokes of a bike. (X, X, X) And even the “tomorrow” on his note is important. I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll talk about it more in my Titles meta when I get it posted. In short, we think “tomorrow” = war, but also winning the war and also probably Beth in some way. Again, details coming.

Tara writes in a journal (like Beth’s journal), has red licorice in her mouth (Red Object) and is wearing the sunglasses she found in 7x06. (Linked to Beth’s possible blindness.)

There are school buses in the background when Rick is giving his speech. I’ll come back to that one too. 

Okay, that’s most of the small things. Just lots of symbols we’ve seen a lot in recent seasons. 

Onto the two BIG Things:

1. School Bus Parallels.

Just a few bars of a song are played at the beginning. It sounds a bit like an Irish jig, but M-Nonny was able to identify the song as a parody of “Another One Bites the Dust” done by Weird Al. It’s called, “Another One Rides the Bus.”

I’m sorry? The bus? As in School bus parallels? (X, X)

Two thing about this:

1) In S4, Maggie thought Glenn was on the school bus. He wasn’t. They did a minor death fake out for him. It turned out he was back where they’d originally come from at the prison. No one knew he was back there or thought to look for him there. Massive Beth parallels there, because they went back looking for her in a car, but she was back at Grady, where they’d come from. No one thought to look for her there. Chances are they circled out from the car, just as Bob said they’d made circles out from the bus, looking for Glenn.

2) The other major bus they used was the one Abraham and Team D.C. took toward the capital in 5x05, Self-Help. Remember that this bus had the same license plate as the car that kidnapped Beth in Alone. That bus was headed to D.C. So “another one rides the bus” suggests some other character we haven’t see that fits into both these molds. In other words, Beth.

2. Let’s talk about this damn clock. Did it strike anyone else as SUPER suspicious?

First of all, we’ve seen this time before. In 7x06, at Oceanside, Cindy looks at a clock that reads the same time: 8:22. In terms of episodes, that points to 8x04, which is the episode I personally think Beth will show up in. But it’s SO much more than that.

It’s an upside-down mirror image of the clock from Still. Look:

In Still, the clock’s hands point out and up. The time is 2:52, which is 8 minutes before the hour. Remember that it says this time the first time Beth and Daryl pass it. After going into the gift shop room, where Beth puts on her yellow polo (escape), they pass the clock again and it chimes the hour, which means 8 minutes have passed. Probably an indication that things will come back around in season 8.

This clock that we saw Oceanside and now in this sneak peek has hands that mirror the Still clock, but they point out and down, with the time at 8:22, or 8 minutes before the half hour. Not entirely sure what that points to, but no way it’s a coincidence, especially as we’ve seen it twice now. Could mean something big for 8x06, or for the MSF (8x08) which is half way through the season.

Either one works as ep 6 would mirror 6x06, Always Accountable and 7x06, Swear, which were both super-heavy on the Beth symbolism. And of course the MSF could also potentially be big. Not only bc it’s the MSF, but also it will be exactly 3 (Rule of Threes) seasons after Coda, and it’s also the second date listed on the headstone in Alone. All of which make me happy.

@bluesandbeth also noted that this clock had no second hand. What came to mind for me is the clock from 5x09. This one:

@paolo_pedini (IG) told me that the red dial there isn’t a second hand. (I wouldn’t have even thought about it on my own.) If you watch, it doesn’t move. It stays in place. It has something to do with the fact that this is an alarm clock.

So this clock from the sneak peek mirrors the clock BETH CONTINUALLY STARES AT in 5x09, in that there is no second hand.

But look at this clock in 5x09 more closely. Yes, it is a different time. It says 5:10, not 8:22. But if you look at it, including the red hand, it points to three of the four directions we’ve had indicated here. We have one roughly on the two (ten after the hour), roughly on the 4/5, and roughly on the 8. The only one we’re missing is the one pointing to the 10.

Not sure how to interpret that, but maybe as an “in-between”? The clocks prior to Beth being shot (the one in Still and the 10:10, Get Well Soon on her wall) point upward. All the clocks in 5x09 point to 5:10 (which also point to the episode where the music box wakes up) and now in S7 and S8, the clock hands are all pointing downward. Do what that what you will.

M-Nonny also pointed out that we see presentations of the positions these hands point to in the second hand of Beth’s ticking clock in Slabtown.

See? The meaning of these clocks is SO much more complex than we ever realized!

I also looked into the Westclox brand. It’s a company that’s been around a long time. Since pre-WWII. They’re best known for their alarm clocks and, wait for it, pocket watches. Glenn anyone? Also, randomly, their headquarters was burnt down back in 2010. The work of two arsonists, who were convicted. No idea if that went into the planning, but Still didn’t air until 2014. Beth and Daryl would qualify as two arsonists in Still. And then there’s The Arsonist’s Lullaby. Now that brand of clock is being shown, front and center, in S8. Just saying.

Just gonna throw in the 8 here in the background (on the black back pack on the right side of the picture) while Beth plays, still sings, and looks at the 5:10 alarm clock.

(Creds to a Nonny in my inbox who I haven’t answered yet for pointing this out to me. 😉💖)

Okay, that’s basically all I have. If you’re anything like us in the Safe Zone, you should be freaking out about now. Happy Saturday, Everyone. ;D Episode 1 tomorrow night!

[writesandramblings]

The Captain’s Secret - p.1

“Objects in Motion”

A/N: This little plot bunny has been following me for a few weeks so I had to pursue it. The story is set pre-Discovery. Owing to lack of information available at present, I’ve taken the liberty of naming Lorca’s previous ship the USS Triton. With the reveal of the Buran, the Triton is now Lorca’s first command, and he subsequently takes command of the Buran. (The reasons for this will eventually become apparent.)

Full Chapter List Audiobook Version 2 - Game Set Match >>

The banal nothingness of interstellar travel was anathema to Gabriel Lorca, because as fast as they were moving, he hated sitting still.

As the Triton hurtled through the cosmos towards its latest transport assignment, Lorca wandered the bridge and did everything he could to avoid sitting in the one seat most officers spent their careers hoping to attain: the captain's chair.

It wasn't that Lorca had any aversion to actual specifics of the chair, and certainly he had longed for it as much as anyone, but now that he had it, he found it irksome. It was comfortable enough, but Lorca hated sitting as a general rule, and so instead he paced the bridge with a padd in hand, wandering past the various command stations and idly glancing at console displays as he did.

Arzo, his science officer, referred to this behavior as "hovering." Lorca liked Arzo. The Tiburonian was abruptly honest and unflappable, a good foil for Lorca's aloof confidence. "You are making the crew nervous," Arzo had said during their first week together. "The constant hovering over shoulders... do you not trust the competency of the crew?"

"Have you ever thought how hard it is to sit in the captain's chair and do nothing but waggle your fingers for hours on end?" Lorca had replied. This was not, of course, an accurate summation of the role of captain, but it did describe how sitting the chair made Lorca feel.

Arzo had harrumphed and fixed Lorca with a look that suggested sitting still in a chair was not something Arzo found to be particularly difficult. Even now, three months after the conversation, recalling that look still made Lorca smile.

As usual, Lorca found himself up by the viewscreen, one of the few places he could stand on the bridge without making anyone feel like he was hovering over their shoulder. He read over crew requests as streaks of starlight tantalized the edges of his view. To think that each of those streaks had a story, and that he, as captain, might detour and discover any of those stories as he willed...

"Captain, I'm picking up a transmission." Kerrigan was the communications officer on duty, a decent but uninteresting man who liked to talk a lot but usually said very little. "Broadcasting on all bands, audio and visual. Unknown language."

"Origin?"

"A Dartaran ship," supplied Arzo. "Far edge of our sensor range. Small."

The Dartarans were a notoriously private species in the region who occupied an array of moons and planets in the cluster of systems they claimed for themselves. They were not averse to the Federation or anyone else, they just preferred not to be involved in outside affairs.

"Adjust course to intercept and put it onscreen."

The starry streaks disappeared and Lorca found himself standing directly in front of an enormous green eye as an endless stream of wet, lilting syllables assaulted his ears.

"‒ lalilalulhallilinnlalanalenilalalanelamelimanlalunilalemilanalalennilaminulalalaililana‒"

Lorca took a half-step back. The words, if they were that, belonged to an alien with soft grey skin, pale grayish blue fur, and a pair of almost perfectly round enormous green eyes the color of fresh spring grass with dark slits evenly spaced around. Standing in front of the screen as he was, Lorca could make out the flecks and strands of striations in the creature's giant irises and see the lights of the Dartaran ship's console reflected on the broad, glassy surface of its lenses. The alien's tongue fluttered like a small grey moth just inside its mouth. The neckline of some sort of fluffy white garment was visible.

"‒lemalunilalamelanalilianilililialemalal‒"

Whatever it was, it clearly wasn't Dartaran. "Translation?" said Lorca.

"Coming online now," promised Kerrigan.

"‒lalimilalilunilalamanilamili‒ me! Help me, please! Is there anyone there? Please, can anyone hear me? Help me! Hello, can someone please help me?"

The transition from nonsense sounds to abject desperation was abrupt enough that the helmsman just behind Lorca startled in her seat. The universal translator rendered the voice as high and gentle, almost childlike, and feminine in tone, but that didn't mean anything. The pleas continued without pause, an endless stream of begging directed at no one and anyone with very little variation in theme. "If there's someone out there, anyone, please, I need help. Please. Can anyone hear me? Please, help me, please..."

Between the clear distress, the unknown language, and the unfamiliar species, it was a veritable siren song for any Starfleet captain, and Lorca was not averse to its tune. "Arzo?"

"A personal transport vessel. I detect no structural issues. I am attempting to search for any matches to species in our database."

"How certain can we be of the translation?"

Kerrigan bristled. "Extremely. The base elements and structure of the language don't match anything on file so I had to initiate a new matrix from scratch, but the alien is alternating in matching phrases of Dartaran, Romulan, and even English. The vocabulary is limited, but accurate."

That any of those la-la-la syllables could have been an attempt at speaking English bordered on ludicrous, but both Kerrigan and the computer seemed to think it true. "Open a channel."

"--if there's anyone out there, please, I'm in need of--"

A beeping noise drew the alien's attention and it stopped speaking and looked around.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

"This is Captain Gabriel Lorca of the Federation starship‒"

The alien did not hear him. "Hello? Can you hear me? Is someone there? Hello? Hello?"

"Trying again, sir," said Kerrigan quickly, sounding vaguely sheepish. The beep on the other end sounded again. This time the alien started poking around the console and Lorca heard the connection cue.

"Dartaran ship, this is‒"

"I see you!" exclaimed the alien, visibly startling. "You're human! Can you see me?"

Lorca remained professionally nonplussed. "Yes we can. This is the USS Triton, responding to your distress call. Please identify yourself."

The alien brought its hands together and began moving them in a repeating circular motion, one over the other, like a fly cleaning its legs. "I'm Lalana!"

It wasn't an easy name. Three softly-voiced but wet syllables verging on two, lah-lah-nah turning almost into lullna, the tongue flicking concavely against the roof of the mouth yet remaining almost stationary. Lorca managed it passably well. "L... Lalana?"

"Yes! Yes, that's right!"

Whoever this alien was, it did not seem to have a firm grasp on proper intership protocol. "I'm Captain Lorca. Can you explain the nature of the problem you're having?"

"Yes, absolutely! I'm trying to escape." What the alien lacked in knowledge, it certainly made up for in enthusiasm.

"Captain! Another vessel coming into sensor range, also Dartaran."

Lalana's hands switched from the circular motion to a rapid knocking together of curled fingers. "That is them! Please, please, don't let them take me back. I beg of you, help me!"

There were too many unknown variables, but Lorca judged the alien's pleas to be sincere. "We're headed towards you already, there's no need for worry. Can you tell me who's chasing you?"

"Margeh and T'rond'n," said Lalana. "They are… hunters. They captured me."

"The pursuit vessel is broadcasting a message," said Kerrigan.

Lorca was forced to make a split-second decision. "Now, Lalana, don't worry. If you need help, we are more than happy to provide it. But I'm going to have to hear what the folk coming after you are saying, all right? Not that I don't believe you‒"

"Yes, of course!" interrupted Lalana, utterly devoid of pretext. "To you, I am hardly ilr. You must be careful." There it was at last: a word the translator couldn't parse. It was somehow reassuring to Lorca; it suggested this wasn't some form of perfectly-crafted, elaborate ruse. It could still be a ruse of course, but at least it wasn't a perfect one.

"Let's hear it," Lorca said to Kerrigan.

A recording of two Dartarans appeared on the Triton's viewscreen adjacent Lalana's feed. They were brown in color, with orange streaks along the ridges that lined their spiky jawlines.

"Federation starship!" boomed the smaller Dartaran. "We are in pursuit of stolen property. This is an internal Dartaran matter. No assistance is required. Repeat. Federation starship! We are in pursuit..."

Kerrigan looked at Lorca. "Do you want to respond, sir?"

Lorca didn't answer immediately and looked at Lalana. "I assume if we take you aboard the Triton, you have no objection to returning their ship?"

"No, no, but… the ship is not the property they wish for the return of. The property is me."

Lorca had studied up on the Dartarans prior to his posting to the Triton, along with all the other notable players in this region of space. While the Dartarans were not full Federation members, they had associate status and all signs pointed to them becoming members at some point in the future because there were no actual barriers to it. It was just that the Dartarans were slow, cautious, and scrupulous, and had chosen a very slow timeline to pursue.

Which indicated to Lorca that, whatever societal customs the Dartarans had, slavery was not among them. "I didn't think the Dartarans engaged in slavery."

"Oh, no, I am not a slave. I am a…" The universal translator seized up a moment and finally spat out, "pet."

Lorca's fingers tightened on the padd in his hand. It was one thing to answer a distress signal, quite another to wade into a situation of potential diplomatic delicacy.

There was a course required of any Starfleet officer interested in pursuing a command career: Intercultural Ethics. One of the lectures was inspired by an anecdote of Captain Jonathan Archer, Starfleet's first captain, about an off-hand comment made about his dog.

That off-hand comment led to a full two hours of the course devoted to the question of free will and pets. Dogs, while not possessing the same logical, reasoning, and communication abilities as humans, were nevertheless intelligent creatures who had thoughts and feelings and could understand basic commands and communicate their own needs and wants. Yet if a dog ran away, the expectation would be for it to be returned to its owner, regardless of whether the dog wanted to return or not.

What about other primates, and the more intelligent birds? Though protected now, they had long been subjects of abuse and research, often against their will and with little regard for their well-being, and many were also kept as pets. Given their intelligence, did that constitute enslavement? A monkey might learn to operate tools or utilize nonverbal language. Where then was the line as to what level of intelligence might be considered a pet and what should be considered an independent being with a right to self-determination?

What were Dartarans in pursuit of a wayward pet going to feel? Would they see the pet as having a right to choose? Or would they, like the average dog owner, demand the return of the animal, even if it was smart enough to steal a spaceship and hold a conversation? And even if their pet seemed to be a wholly intelligent being, was it right to enforce the ethics of one culture onto another? As humans still kept pets, were they in a position to judge, and did that open them up to be judged as oppressors by another species?

Any of these points might have gone through Lorca's head, but he was only momentarily reminded of the lecture and briefly wondered how badly this might impact Dartaran/Federation diplomacy before deciding it probably wasn't important because of one tiny detail.

Lalana had said they were hunters.

Lorca crossed over to Arzo's station with two long steps. "Show me both ships. Distances, speed, weapons. All of it."

Arzo's display lit up with information from across the bridge: weapons analysis from the security station, course and speed from navigation, plus Arzo's ongoing scans of both vessels looking for anything of note, most recently checking for signs of explosives or spatial anomalies.

They were identical ships, a matched pair of personal transports traveling at almost the exact same speed, except the pursuer was going very slightly faster and would eventually overtake its target in several hours if they continued as they were. If the lead ship stopped, though, it would be caught in a mere seven and a half minutes.

Both ships had shields, but neither had their shields engaged. The Dartarans seemed to have rerouted their shield power to their engines, accounting for the boost in speed, but even so, they were managing only a smidgen above warp three. Weapons consisted of a pair of cutting lasers -- designed for asteroids and good at short range, but incapable of doing anything more than tapping on the Triton's shields.

"All right, let's give this a go, then. Lalana, I'm going to ask you to trust me. Can you do that?"

Lalana's head bobbed. "It is within my power to do so. As for whether I will... Yes, I will trust you!"

"Isolate and hail the Dartaran ship. Dartaran vessel, this is Captain Lorca of the Federation starship Triton. We have reached an agreement with the thief of your vessel to return the ship to you, with the one single caveat that the thief requests to be taken into our custody." He said this with great gusto, as if announcing the Dartarans had won a prize.

The Dartaran recording was replaced by a live picture. The larger Dartaran bristled, but it was the smaller who spoke. "Federation captain! This is a Dartaran concern, we have no need for you. The crime was committed in Dartaran space and must be dealt with by Dartaran justice."

"Be that as it may," said Lorca, "the thief has promised to set your vessel to self-destruct unless this one condition is met. So in the interests of you not losing what looks to be a very fine and expensive vessel, why not let us take the lead on this? The Federation would consider it a great token of our esteem for your people if we can get you your ship back, and then we can talk to your Council about having the thief returned to Dartar so you can also get that Dartaran justice you're after."

The Dartarans exchanged a look. The larger spoke in a low, deep voice. "Thank you for your offer, but no."

Lorca had been hoping the Dartarans would fold, but apparently they were going to double-down instead. Fair enough. He crossed his arms and fixed the Dartarans with his most recalcitrant glare. "So you're telling me you'd rather have your ship destroyed than get it back?"

He gave the Dartarans a moment to chew on that. They didn't answer, which was as telling as anything they might have said in reply. Lorca unfolded one of his hands as if making an offer and waved it faintly about to subtly illustrate his points, of which there were three. "Perhaps I'm not making myself clear. I'm not asking what you want to do about your stolen vessel, I'm telling you what's going to happen, and if you have a problem with that, then you can bring it up with the Dartaran Council and have them petition the Federation on your behalf." He ended with his hand closed in a pensive fist.

The Dartarans hissed and growled and terminated communications. Lorca snorted. "Is our channel with Lalana secure?"

"Yes, sir."

Lalana's audio resumed mid-sentence. "‒but as much as I am grateful for the assistance and as enjoyable as that was, I do not wish to blow myself up, else what was the point of me escaping in the first‒"

"It won't come to that," promised Lorca. "You just hang tight, and everything will be just fine."

"Captain," said Arzo in a sharp tone indicating he had something important.

"Hm," Lalana continued as Lorca moved back to the science station to take a look, "you did request for me to trust you, and I suppose given the circumstance it is only fair for me to allow the opportunity to..."

"Well that can't be right," said Lorca, looking back up at the viewscreen. "How can it?"

"Nevertheless, sir, I am quite certain. Our sensors read no life signs aboard that ship." They looked at Lalana.

"Oh!" exclaimed Lalana. "Oh, no, they wouldn't. You see, my species, we... we do not show up on scanners. That is why it is such an accomplishment to hunt us. If it were easy, our skulls would not be such a spectacular trophy. If is my understanding that we emit an electromagnetic radiation field indistinguishable from the background noise of the universe. We look like nothing on technology devices. As the hunters say, optical and sonar only."

Lorca stared. "Did you say skulls?"

"Oh, yes. We are not usually taken alive." Lalana sounded entirely nonplussed about it, as if this statement were something so obvious and self-evident it was the same as saying the stars were shining and space was big and full of them.

Lorca leaned over the science console, gripping it tightly. It looked like a movement of calculated intensity, but in truth he did it to steady himself so his crew wouldn't notice how shocked he was. Not that they would have. The entire bridge seemed to be frozen. The helmsman's mouth was hanging open, and over at the communications panel, Kerrigan was blinking in disbelief. "Are you telling me Dartarans hunt you for your skulls?" asked Lorca in a measured voice.

"Not just Dartarans. I was taken by Dartarans, but any hunter who relishes a challenge might go to Luluan. Gorn, Tremi, human... There is no one species that hunts us. Any do."

Human. The word echoed in Lorca's head. In this day and age, to think that there were humans who would knowingly fire upon a sentient species in the name of sport... Of course, Lorca knew as well as anyone that humans were as fickle, diverse, and morally variable as any other species, but it was still a rather uncomfortable feeling to know that the person you were talking to might view your species as so utterly bereft of decency based on firsthand experience.

"Captain?" said Lalana, and Lorca realized the bridge crew were looking to him for some sort of sign.

It took him a moment to find the words. All the jovial amicability and lightheartedness present when he had been toying with the Dartarans was gone from his voice. "Lalana." Lorca swallowed and took a deep breath. "Would you be able to tell us where Luluan is?"

"I do not think so." Lalana looked downward and away. "I do not know how to get there. I do not even know how to fly this ship. I... just wanted to escape."

Lorca took another deep breath and exhaled it slowly, centering himself. "All right. Let's just get you off that ship and we'll go from there."

Since they could not pick up Lalana on their sensors ‒ and it was unclear if the transporters could even properly register a pattern given the unknowable biological variables of a living creature that appeared as background radiation ‒ they could not beam Lalana directly over to the Triton. To further complicate things, they would have only seven minutes once Lalana stopped before the Dartarans caught up and potentially interfered with any operations underway, and Lalana had no real navigational control over the vessel beyond making it start and stop.

The easiest solution was to have a pilot beam over and take control of Lalana's vessel, but Lorca rejected the idea outright. "They can detect a transporter," he drawled, "and that opens us up to accusations of piracy, with evidence to back it up. No, we're gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way, with a docking procedure. Carver?"

Lt. Carver, the helmsman, pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Maneuvering the Triton into position relative such a small vessel will be tricky given our mass and power, but it can be done."

"How fast?"

"Six minutes, maybe."

"I need it done in two. Chief, you said the ship would fit in our shuttle bay?"

The chief engineer, Billingsley, grunted in assent. What she had said was the transport was roughly twice as big as a shuttle, which wasn't even close to saying the same thing from an engineer's point of view. It just happened to be technically correct in this instance. "It's a tight fit. Not impossible, but I wouldn't want to force it in two minutes and damage the bay."

"What if we could give you, say, four minutes? That enough for the kind of precision to make you comfortable?" There was a mild sense of confusion. Why would the chief have four minutes to tractor the ship to the shuttle bay when Carver had been allotted only two?

"Captain?"

Lorca grinned with self-satisfaction. His crew didn't share his smug confidence, but Arzo at least could tell the captain had what was probably a brilliant but needlessly showy and over-complicated plan. In the three months since Lorca had taken command, Arzo had learned that most of Lorca’s plans could be described this way.

Lorca glanced around the room conspiratorially. "Now, docking one ship to another, that's no piece of cake, we'd need at least one of the ships to be stationary. But what if neither ship were stationary?"

"You mean running the tractor beam at speed?" said Billingsley with a mixture of dread and excitement.

"Exactly!" Lorca held up the padd in one hand and plucked the insignia from his uniform with the other. "We match our speed and course ‒ we can do that easily enough ‒ and use the tractor beam to pull the transport in nice and tight towards the shuttle bay." He moved the insignia close to the padd. "Then we decelerate slowly as the transport does."

"Minimizing strain on the tractor," Billingsley observed.

"By the time we're at a dead stop, the ship's pitching distance from the shuttle bay. Won't take more than fifteen seconds to finish bringing it in. Now, the Dartarans--" Lorca put down the insignia and grabbed Arzo's arm, signaling him to make a fist. Arzo begrudgingly complied. Lorca slowly moved the padd towards Arzo's hand. "They've closed the distance as we've decelerated, but we've bought ourselves another sixty, maybe seventy-five seconds to do what needs doing before they arrive."

"That is a hell of a lot of effort and risk for an extra sixty seconds," said the chief engineer, wondering what would possibly make it worthwhile.

Arzo lowered his arm. "Dare I ask what it is you want us to do with this extra time, Captain?"

Lorca smiled. "A lot can happen in sixty seconds."

Part 2

[stormofteacups]

The Last Jedi: a spoilerific response to a friend’s review

SPOILERS

Direct discussion of plot points in the movie!

Ok ok ok ok

Let’s jump in

“Luke Skywalker’s character is turned on his head. The film starts with Luke throwing his beloved lightsaber off a cliff, which shocked everyone in the theatre.”

That was not Luke’s beloved lightsaber. That was his father’s lightsaber. By holding on to that lightsaber, OT Luke was holding on to an idea of who his father was. When confronted with his actual father, he refused to let go of that false idea and so paid a price, by having it cut off.

Think about that. Keep that in mind. It’s very important. This is a theme that very specifically plays out at the END of the film.

“He is an eternal optimist in return of the jedi, even succeeding in turning his father from the dark to the light. Where others gave up on Vader, Luke remained hopeful. Luke remained true. Given all of this, we are supposed to believe that he almost kills one of his own students because he sees the dark has overtaken him? Surely not more than Darth Vader, surely not more than the absolute darkest version of a human being (seriously, the imagery of darth vader is just brilliant). Luke’s failure and reason for his exile does not align with his character at all, making his behavior shocking and surprising, but not interesting.”

I agree with you that Luke betraying Ben is just so out of character. It’s the part of TLJ that I struggle with the most.

I have a hard time accepting that a character who chose to believe in “Crazy Ole Ben” Kenobi on Tatooine, who chose to believe in sassy, snotty Princess Leia (and god I love how she gave no fucks about every lame ass dude she met), who chose to believe in the about-to-not-even-exist-anymore Rebellion, who chose to believe in cynical and selfish Han Solo, who chose to believe in the lingering goodness of Darth Vader and was proven right in every instance of holding faith, would then have a lack of faith so profound that he would, even for a moment, consider murdering a boy. Especially his sister’s boy.

BUT

I CAN accept that his betrayal of Ben WOULD utterly destroy Luke. I do believe that a man whose character was based on faith, optimism, and hope would be so completely shamed and broken by that moment, that he would shut himself off and abandon the other person most hurt by his actions, Leia. I can accept that, I just have a very hard time with the caveat that Luke would ever do that to another person.

You could say that this goes back to the OT with the lesson that doubt and fear lead to the dark side, and I have a tangential rant about that stance (what up Jedi temple that includes alters to both light and dark with literal and thematic examples of how one must have the other to be functional), but yes, it’s a desperately weak plot point, from where I sit, but there it is.

And I’m rolling with it because that plot point folds into the themes and overarching messages of the film. So ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

“We know nothing about Snoke, we know nothing about how he came to lead the first order, we know nothing about his haggard appearance, and so many great possibilities died with that character. How was he trained as a sith with all of them dead? Where are the knights of Ren and his connection to Snoke? How did he come to lead the First Order (as the SUPREME COMMANDER, not just a high ranking member of the empire like Vader). Snoke’s death surprised everyone, but that’s it. A moment of subversion that does nothing to serve the story.”

Snoke was always uninteresting and unimportant. Just like the emperor was always uninteresting and unimportant in the OT. They were plot devices. They were something to point to and shout “absolute evil!”

Let me let you in on a secret: absolute evil is not interesting. It never has been and never will be.

What is interesting is the struggle against evil. It’s the choices you make. It’s your compromises and / or sacrifices. The evil is not the story. If you’re looking at Snoke for compelling story, then you’re looking at the wrong thing. The reason Kylo is compelling is specifically that he is NOT absolutely evil. There are still choices for him to make. We fear for Rey BECAUSE of the choices she could make. Snoke already made his choices, Ya boring.

“The First Order as a lazy, uninteresting antagonist for the rest of the series. “The First Order Reigns” indeed.”

The first order: did you need to know more about the empire in order to understand and enjoy the original trilogy? Nope.

Maybe we get more about the first order in another movie, maybe we don’t. I do think there could have been room in these last two movies to discuss how and why an organization like that could rise, but honestly, the simplest answer is to look at our current political climate and say to yourself “Just look at all these rich fuckers literally taking healthcare away from sick children. Look at all these myopic, racists shit bags pretending Jesus was NOT a brown refugee. Look at all these nazi / fascist motherfuckers angry that the world doesn’t belong only to them. God Damn it, white people.”

That’s really all I think there is to the empire and the first order.

“Leia being a superman in space is one of the worse things I’ve seen in the movies. This doesn’t have much impact with my overall thesis but I have to mention this. Leia is out in space for a long time, we know she is strong with the force, but there could’ve been so many other ways to show this other than this scene. ”

And why, exactly, can’t Leia be Superman in space?

Listen, I didn’t like having them give me the moment of intense grief (but to be honest, I started crying when I saw ‘GENERAL ORGANA’ in the scroll) and then snatching it away like that. I feel a scene like that would have been MUCH better served later in the film, but they needed Leia to remind us to forgive ourselves and each other; to smile and remind us that you never fuck up so bad that you can’t try again. But again, WHY can’t Leia be Superman in space? Why? Really think about it? If you JUST didn’t like it, then okay. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ you like what you like.

“Finn’s entire story was unnecessary and should have been cut. Why are we, as an audience, supposed to care about this story? It does nothing, doesn’t expand anything about the characters, other than being able to see Finn fight his old boss, but the whole story turns out to be a red herring. Rose (Finn’s companion throughout this story) was introduced without fanfare, and we are supposed to feel connected to her at the end when she saves finn, but I have trouble remembering her name. She had a sister that died, and she was sad. That’s all I got. I feel that you shouldn’t introduce a new character into an ongoing series if you won’t do anything significant with development. Finn’s partner and the admiral were both throw away characters. Compare this to someone like Lando, who is introduced in Empire Strikes Back but steals the show in his direction. We get a full fledged character, interesting and flawed, and all in one movie. It can be done, it was just done poorly in The Last Jedi.”

About Rose:

The fact that you know what her name is, but you insisted on calling her “Finn’s partner” is something I want you to think hard about.

The fact that she had SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH MORE screen time in TLJ than Poe EVER got in TFA (and let’s remember that Poe was both a literal and figurative throw away character in TFA) and yet you talk about her like a throw away character while never referring to Poe that way is something that I want you to think about.

Anyway

About the “Finn’s entire story was unnecessary and should have been cut.” thing:

It wasn’t Finn’s story. That might be where you fell out of step with the movie and the beats felt wrong? It was not his story. It was Rose’s story, through which Finn grew.

As far as the criticism that Poe, Finn, and Rose had a pointless plot line...well, yes and no. The fact is, they all should have had faith in the leadership of The Resistance.

The plan to launch the transports and WHY maybe could have been shared with more people, but they were being tracked through hyperspace, something that was supposed to be impossible, so it is reasonable that they would keep their last, desperate plan on a strict need-to-know basis. Poe had been demoted through his recklessness, Finn was barely known to anyone in Resistance, and Rose was a maintenance tech. None of these people would be on the need-to-know list.

Their ploy was hurriedly conceived and executed without any consultation with others, because they lacked faith in their leadership (and this included General Organa, who would have been instrumental in putting that leadership into place). Their plan was not a great plan. Basically, what I’m saying is...they fucked up. They set themselves up to fail and then they failed. Sometimes people fuck up and they fail.

And here’s the thing, everyone who keeps calling the Rose/Finn plot a red herring is right! Their story line serves a bigger narrative purpose than this one movie.

What does this movie tell us, over and over? We are the spark.

Rose and Finn inspired people along the way. Most obviously, they inspired the children in the stables. Those kids will tell the story of how they helped the Resistance to their friends and family and anyone else who will listen. Others will remember the wild stampede and subsequent freedom of the racing animals and will feel their own desire for freedom and rebellion reflected in that act. Those sparks will catch. The flames will spread. Rose, Finn, and Poe failed in what they set out to do, but they accomplished something else. They sparked hope.

Why are we talking about Lando? We got a new Lando, that was Benicio del Toro.

“That leads me to this next part. Admiral whats-her-name that takes over the resistance capital ship is a terrible character all around. When she sacrificed herself at the end for the fleet, there was no emotional impact at all (even given how great the cinematography is during the suicide scene). The director should’ve let Ackbar go out this way, why try to make us attach to some random admiral we know nothing about? Ackbar has history as a character, has a weight to character. Having him go out the way the admiral did would have made a great impact, and seen a great character go out in a very satisfying way. Instead, he is thrown out without fanfare and replaced. The only distinguishing feature of Ackbar’s replacement is that she had purple hair and argued with Poe. Which brings me to another not only throw away character but throw away plot section.”

About the Admiral whose name you also will not deign to use (can you tell I was real offended by this thing? Listen, if a character didn’t work for you, okay, but considering the OT had TWO NAMED WOMEN, and the ONE MEANINGFUL WOMAN in the prequels who apparently freed her planet from corporate oppression just to die of sad about her boyfriend is such a monumental bummer! And also I don’t think A SINGLE STAR WARS MOVIE HAS PASSED THE BECHDEL TEST????? I just think maybe you could be a touch less disrespectful and dismissive, please? Especially because):

Hey, yo! Did you pick up on how the establishing shot of Admiral Holda addressing the fleet echoes our most recognizable images of Mon Mothma addressing the rebellion? ADMIRAL HOLDA IS SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY. HER SACRIFICE IS A SYMBOLIC END TO THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY FOR THE SAKE OF A NEW STORY. ITS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF THE MOVIE. THEMES HAPPEN.

THERE IS DEATH AND DECAY AND THEN THERE IS NEW LIFE.

SPEAKING OF:

Remember Luke’s dad’s lightsaber? The one he tried to throw away at the beginning of the movie? The one that Rey keeps picking up and holding on to as a symbols of who and what she thinks the Jedi are? Did you see what happened when Rey tried to pull a Luke Skywalker and redeem the dark side user she felt connected to? It blew up in her face and broke. I feel like that’s pretty important, you know? Because themes.

“What I lament most is the missed potential. We have been given fantastic explorations of the Star Wars universe in books and video games, some great explorations of the Light and Dark side that give a more nuanced view of the Star Wars universe. Luke even starts to mention the Hubris of the jedi, which I hoped he would elaborate on more and go into why he thought the jedi were wrong. I also hoped he would go into why we avoid the dark even though the jedi are wrong, I hoped Luke would explain how he came to these conclusions other than one student that fell to the dark. I hoped so much for so much more. There was a real opportunity here to make this exploration part of the main saga, but we instead get subversion for the sake of subversion, surprise for the sake of shock. There were some great things to build on from the previous film, but those are tossed aside for the sake of surprise.The Star Wars saga is worse because of the director’s decisions, and I’m sad it happened that way.”

The lament of potential: hey, I get it. I watched Vallerian. I GROK the lament of potential, but I think I have to agree with Davis that this seems more about personal expectations built up over the last two years. And also, the potential isn’t dead, you know? We’ve got a whole other movie coming with Rey and those books and her new found self determination.

There is not a loss of potential. There is more to see and do!

[oumakokichi]

Because you were talking about Juzo, I'm curious, why was Kirigiri one of your favorites as well? I feel her character development was minimalistic at best and was dropped after the first game, especially in the dr3 anime

Although Ouma is definitely myfavorite ndrv3 character, I’ve been joking a lot lately that Saihara is the one Iactually relate to the most—because I too am an anxious depressed mess, feelsocially awkward at all times, and am a huge Kirigiri fan.

While Kirigiri is certainly nota character to demonstrate her emotions very noticeably outward, I wouldn’t saythat her development is minimalistic in the first game. If anything, Kirigiriis one of the characters whose growth and development is followed the most bythe first game, after Naegi.

The thing is, her developmentstarts from a different position than Naegi’s. Rather than starting from astandpoint of being naïve and overly optimistic or trusting, Kirigiri startsout rather like Ouma, actually. She’s rather cynical at heart, especially indr1, something many people tend to forget about her character. As a detective,she accepts what neither Saihara nor Jin Kirigiri want to accept about theirjob: that people have to be doubted, suspected, and questioned.

Dr3 certainly does drop theball on her character development, but, well—it did that for everyone’scharacter development, pretty much. Future Arc started strong, showed lots ofpromise, and then sadly ruined all the potential it had with weak writing. Bydelegating Kirigiri to the role of “damsel in distress” and “beautiful self-sacrificingcinnamon roll” all at once, dr3 did a really bad job at remembering whyKirigiri became so popular in the first place, because she never used to fitinto those character tropes typically reserved for female characters in the DRseries.

While I’m glad she lived (Seiko’santidote bottle was something I noticed right away when her “death” episodefirst aired, so the foreshadowing was definitely there), I don’t feel dr3 didher justice by any means. She was forced to take a backseat role; just as Chisawas used as nothing more than an object for Munakata’s character arc, Kirigiriwas forced to parallel her by being used as an object for Naegi’s arc. And thatwas a pretty huge insult to her character, in my opinion. Had the switch beenthe other way around, with Naegi sacrificing himself (in a wonderful throwbackto dr1 Chapter 5) and Kirigiri taking an unexpected protagonist role, I would’vebeen a lot more satisfied.

But unlike other DR characters,there are plenty of other materials besides just dr3 to give us insight intoKirigiri. The Kirigiri light novels, for one, as well as the new visual novel,Kirigiri Sou. Kirigiri’s continued popularity is a testament to what sherepresents to the DR series, from a mystery perspective. Just as Junko isiconic for her role as an antagonist, Kirigiri is iconic because of her role asnot only a detective, but thedetective. All the insight she provides Naegi and the player in dr1 about whatsolving a mystery entails, about how to reflect on the mindset of both victimsand culprits, as well as what exposing the truth really means, are themes thathave come up not only in dr1 but in every other DR installment to date,including ndrv3.

Kirigiri is perhaps thecharacter whose advice and teachings have lasted the longest. She instinctivelyunderstands, and helps the player understand, what a real mystery is all about.Where ndrv3 leads the player into a false sense of security before lampshadinghow ridiculous and utterly dangerous it is to trust people blindly, Kirigiriwarns Naegi of the dangers of blind trust and extreme paranoia as early asChapter 1 in dr1. While she’s certainly aloof and uninterested in socializing,especially at first, she’s someone who grasps what the “heart” of a mystery isall about, and helps guide Naegi and the player into understanding it too. Andunderstanding the “heart” is the first step to understanding any mystery presentedin the future, too.

Kirigiri starts dr1 as someonewho is level-headed, reasonable, and extremelysecretive (excessively so, sometimes). She’s smart, calm, and collected, butcertainly not infallible; having replayed dr1 quite recently myself, I’venoticed several instances in which her failure to take action as quickly as shecould’ve causes her to be surprised and blindsided when murders take placeelsewhere. Like Ouma, she often prioritizes her own objectives in: 1.)exploring the school and exposing the mastermind behind the whole game, and 2.)finding out the truth about her own memories, backstory, and talent, so smallerhurdles and culprits among the group can and often do throw her off guard.

Most importantly to note, she’snot a team player, especially not at first. Kirigiri’s cynicism and paranoiamakes it difficult for her to trust others besides herself, though notimpossible. The one major difference between her and Ouma is that Kirigiribelieved in the necessity of trust after doubting others first. Her bond oftrust with Naegi is something gradually developed throughout the course of dr1,slowly and steadily. It’s not something she would have developed with justanyone, but rather something she and Naegi both developed specifically becauseof their shared experiences with one another.

But she certainly didn’t careto explain her motivations or objectives to the rest of the group, nor did shebelieve in telling even Naegi about what she knew on anything more than a “need-to-know”basis. She’s extremely sensitive about people butting in on her personal life. Inher FTEs she says point-blank that she feels emotions just the same as otherpeople, but that she intentionally hides them behind a mask of composure—becauseshe has nothing to gain by tipping other people off as to what she’s feeling orthinking at the moment. In this sense, she’s also quite similar to Ouma. Butwhere Ouma’s mask is all about feigning every emotion, usually in a veryexaggerated fashion, Kirigiri’s is a mask of stoicism.

When others in the group wantto know where she’s been or what she’s been doing, she doesn’t feel any need totell them. Even when it clearly begins putting the group in a more disorganizedstate and things begin reaching a boiling point in Chapters 4 and 5, sheremains extremely closed-off and secretive, and it’s clear that there’s no onein the group she would trust with any of her personal information besidesNaegi. And even Naegi, she never tells the whole story to.

Naegi had to make a consciousdecision to cover for Kirigiri’s lie in Chapter 5—it wasn’t something sheprepared him for, and she knew there was a chance she might actually be sendinghim to his death, if Alter Ego failed to kick in. Still, it was a sacrifice shewas willing to make if need be, and that’s something incredibly cold andpragmatic and that I love to see in characters who are all about “the endsjustify the means.”

Just like Ouma, she wasabsolutely dead set on investigating things to the end. She couldn’t let thingsend with her death, which is why she refused to sacrifice herself in Chapter 5,just as Ouma initially refuses to let himself die in ndrv3 Chapter 4. Hertunnel vision towards stopping the mastermind and figuring out what happened toJin Kirigiri and how far he was involved with the killing game means that shedoesn’t want other people sticking their nose into her business.

Her feelings towards Jin arethe main proof of the fact that Kirigiri can also be driven by personalvendettas, pettiness, and unresolved anger and frustration. As someone who canperfectly understand the resentment towards an absent father figure, I alwaysappreciated that Kirigiri’s conflicted feelings about Jin were handled quitewell in dr1. The narrative ultimately focuses on the fact that yes, Jin lovedhis daughter and was a caring father, but he was also careless, overlytrusting, and thoughtless about how his actions would influence others.Kirigiri was allowed to be angry at Jinwhile also still caring about him, and that was a deeply realistic and humanreaction.

I appreciate the fact thatKirigiri, especially in dr1, was a character never played for fanservice, andnever used as an object of male character development or waifu-baiting. Therewas little to no forced romance between Naegi and Kirigiri in the first gamewhich is what led me to enjoying naegiri quite a lot on my own—when thenarrative isn’t trying to push it in a romantic connotation, I tend to warm upto these sorts of ships a lot faster. Dr1 was very emphatic about appreciatingtheir dynamic as friends first, withanything more than that being a matter of personal interpretation.

The fact that she’s extremelyintelligent, capable, and arguably a protagonist in her own right thanks tospinoffs like DR: Kirigiri and Kirigiri Sou now is a large part of the reasonwhy she’s still #2 on my overall DR ranking. Before Ouma came along, she wasactually #1 and I didn’t think anyone would ever shake her position. I stillreally enjoy her every time I do a reread; if anything, Ouma’s character hasmade me appreciate Kirigiri even more, given the noticeable similaritiesbetween them.

Anyway, these are just my personalthoughts on the subject! I’ve always appreciated that Kirigiri was a characterwho both embraces and embodies the role of a detective, but who alsounderstands the full meaning of “the truth,” and isn’t afraid to lie, cheat, orrely on other cold and calculating tactics in order to achieve her objectives. She’san extremely compelling female character in my opinion, and I’ll always have abig soft spot for her. Thanks for asking, anon!

[leonmckennedy]

repose

characters | ships: Noctis + Prompto

ao3 mirror here

no warnings, no au, just high school fluff

this was supposed to be a quick writing exercise but its 1800 words instead, thanks

It wasn’t often that Prompto went over Noctis’ place to actually study. Quite the opposite, actually. Their days are usually spent goofing off, loitering around popular hang outs in the city, eating junk food, playing video games until it was so late they could barely keep their eyes open. It’s what Prompto wishes they were doing right now; instead he’s staring intently at the textbook in front of him, the work pages conspicuously empty as he tries to figure out why the hell he needed to know the intense biology of random beasts.

Noctis has his face literally buried in his book, and Prompto gets the impression that if he stares any longer at that page it’d spontaneously burst into flames.

Naturally, this predicament is Noctis’ fault anyway. Ignis had been by earlier in full nagging mode, after seeing Noct’s latest test scores. Now Noctis isn’t a total idiot — he’s just a lazy fool who tends to sleep in class rather than pay any real attention, and his scores often varies wildly because of this. Obviously, Ignis wasn’t too fond of such unbecoming behavior from the Crown Prince, and is now bringing it upon himself to force Noctis to actually do his homework for once. He wouldn’t be swayed by any amount of pleading, and even after his departure from the apartment they both still found themselves overwhelmed by the advisor’s… intensity. So much so that they felt compelled to continue on even without his presence there, like the man would know if they were up to no good. (And undoubtedly he would, that Prompto is sure of.)

Thus, they’re studying rather than playing video games. Prompto would be complaining more but he isn’t exactly an honor roll student himself.

Prompto picks up his pencil and twirls it around his fingers, letting out a soft sigh through his nose. He can understand the material on a basic level, it’s just the act of applying it to the corresponding questions and responding correctly. Homework is truly the worse. The pencil nearly flies out of his hand, and as he catches it before it hits the floor he’s dismayed to realize that that was the most riveting thing to happen to him all evening.

“Ugh… ” Comes from across the table, and Prompto looks up. Noctis has, at this point, apparently given up on trying to read completely and has placed his whole face on the open book, like he’s trying to become one with the material itself. “I hate this.”

“Same here, dude,” Prompto says, sighing, and receives a groan from his friend in response. “At least we’re like….. Almost halfway done? Maybe?”

Noctis sits up straight. The textbook, once having been stuck to his face from how long he was lying on it, falls unceremoniously to the countertop. He loses his place because of it, and it doesn’t seem like he cares very much. “Prom.”

“Yes?”

“Entertain me.”

Prompto snorts, leaning forward on the counter and balancing his cheek on his hand.

“I’m serious.”

“Aren’t we supposed to be doing homework?”

“Dude,” Noct says, and it’s the most exasperated way Prompto has ever heard someone say “dude” before. “I’ve been reading the exact same shit for the past like, two hours. I don’t think we’re gonna finish this tonight.”

“Speak for yourself dude. You may be a quitter but I, on the other hand, have finally discovered what the fourth stomach in a Catoblepas does.” Noctis gives him a glare so pointed Prompto can feel the stab going right through his heart. “Psh, fine. What do you have in mind, your royal majesty?”

Noctis rolls his eyes. He brings a hand up to go through his hair, tugging at it a bit. “Surprise me.”

Prompto isn’t good at surprises. Frankly there’s a lot of things he wouldn’t consider himself to be good at, but surprises are definitely top tier on the list of incompetencies. He leans forward a little bit, bringing his other arm up in order to rest his chin on both of his hands as he watches his friend.

Surprises aren’t his specialty, but Noctis… Noct makes him want to try. If only to see what kind of utterly ridiculous responses he could wrestle out of the guy. “I could kick your ass in Justice Monsters V.”

“That’s less of a surprise, and more of a blatant lie.”

“Ow. Be nice.”

Noctis laughs. Two seconds later his laughter turns into a rather loud yawn, and he makes a point of pushing away from the counter in order to stretch his arms over head. Once done with that he cracks his neck a few times and sighs. One of those deep, I’m so done with life please let me nap sighs that has Prompto shaking his head fondly.

“Well.. while you figure that out…” Noctis gets up and walks away from the table and marches right over to the couch. He belly flops onto the cushions, and Prompto just watches, unsurprised. They’re at the point of no return; they are definitely done with homework now.

“What’re you expecting me to do? Put on a show? ‘Cause I gotta tell ya Noct, I’m not that great of a dancer.”

Noctis shrugs. Well, as much as he can with a face full of soft throw pillow. Prompto sighs, twirling around in his seat a few times. It’s late, but not actually late — it’s not bedtime (well, for Prompto, and other people that aren’t living embodiments of sleepiness like the Crown Prince) but it’s a bit too late to go out, with tomorrow being a school night. Now that he’s not focusing on reading boring schoolwork Prompto can feel the restlessness in his bones, his body begging him to do something, to be active. So he thinks. And as he watches his friend become acquainted with the softness of his couch, he gets an idea.

“Oh dude, dude! I got it!”

Prompto jumps from his seat, jogging straight across the room and down the hallway. He goes into Noctis’ room and grabs all the blankets and pillows he can fit in his arms and fumbles back into the living room. He drops them all in a pile in front of the couch where Noctis, intrigued, watches him from a half-seated, half-lying position.

Noctis wiggles his nose. “What?”

Prompto places his hands on his hips, grinning. “Blanket fort.”

Noctis looks at him for a moment before snorting out a small laugh, sitting up fully on the couch. “We’re not three.”

“Noct, blanket forts are timeless. No age restrictions ever.”

The boy shakes his head but looks amused all the same, and that’s enough for Prompto. He makes another run to Noctis’ bedroom, stealing a few more blankets — and gods did Noct have so many blankets, no wonder he never leaves his bed in the morning — and then gets to work. Noctis, despite his “trying” to act uninterested, is pretty enthusiastic about it in his own sort of way. As they pile up blanket after blanket, bringing over a few chairs to the sides of the couch in order to give them more working space, it becomes apparent to Prompto that Noct has never done this before.

It’s not like Prompto has had too many opportunities to do this himself. He mainly made forts for himself, for those nights where the silence of his empty home was deafening and the only comfort he had was his cocoon of pillows. But somehow, to him, it’s sadder that Noctis has apparently never done it ever, as the excitement in his eyes is very telling. Though, once the fort is all set up, with a sturdy roof and makeshift bed of pillows underneath, Prompto is pretty sure part of it is Noctis wanting to sleep.

Still, Prompto makes a silent promise to make more forts for them later. It’s more fun with another person anyway.

It is, unsurprisingly, the most comfortable experience ever. Noctis’ rich people pillows are of much higher quality than the ones Prompto has at home, so lying inside of their fortress is like lying on a satin cloud.

They’re both in pajamas; Noctis lent a pair to Prompto, as it became very obvious that they blond would not be returning home tonight. They lay side by side, the only light being the illumination from their phones as they play a few rounds of King’s Knight. Prompto is losing but he doesn’t have the heart to care, when he’s this comfortable. Is this what Noct felt like every night? Prompto would be stuck in dreamland every day too if that’s the case.

Eventually there’s a very telling yawn from the prince, who lets his phone drop from his hand while he stretches across the blankets lazily. “Mm, it’s bed time…”

“It’s always bed time for you, dude.”

“Shut up,” Noct says, though there’s no heat to it. He rolls over and ends up face to face with his friend. He blinks his sleepy eyes and stares right at Prompto. After a few seconds he seems unimpressed with what he sees, and he makes a small noise, nothing more than a huff of air. “You okay?”

“Y-yeah? Why?”

Noctis gives him a sleepy once over and then shrugs, burying his face in a nearby pillow. His response is a muffled “No reason.”

Prompto sighs, burrowing into his own little puddle of blankets. He’s okay, yeah. He feels fine but… He watches his friend, lying mere inches away from him, shifting to get comfortable, and it does something to his heart. The realization that he has a friend, a friend who likes him and likes to indulge in his stupid little ideas with him hits hard suddenly. It’s not that he doesn’t think about this every other day of his life, but that little moments of bliss like this makes it so much more apparent and the longer Prompto thinks about this, the bigger the lump in his throat grows.

After a few moments of deliberation, Prompto shifting a little, he starts, in a small voice: “I’m just… happy. I guess.” So happy he might burst. Or cry. Or both. “Like… I know a pillow fort is a random, stupid idea but... thanks for doing it anyway.”

Prompto looks over, expecting, well…. Not entirely expecting anything actually, but what he gets is a clear view of Noctis’ sleeping face. Of course the guy fell asleep already, of course. Usually he’d have an exaggerated sigh to give at the fact, but with the way Noctis lies there, face half obscured by blanket and looking so utterly defenseless and peaceful, Prompto finds himself smiling instead.

“…Goodnight, Noct.”

Ignis finds out they skipped on their homework the next day, and the resulting lecture is almost enough to make Prompto regret befriending Noctis. Almost.