#no amount of retconning will convince me otherwise | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

hopefullystillatheatrestudent · 4 years ago

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i'm so excited about you taking asks again ahhhh okay so. if you'd absolutely had to choose. what would be your top 5 cockles moments, and why? thank you ily <3

here’s the thing: there are so many routes i could go down with this, because cockles moments come in all shapes and sizes and formats. these include moments from their panels, their bloopers, the footage we get when they don’t even know they’re being recorded, stories being passed down from photo ops & autographs(one of my personal favorite ways to get cockles, tbh, because they’re all insane), and social media(tweets to each other, instagram posts & comments, etc.).

SO! since many a list like this has already been made, and i want to stand out from the crowd, what i’m gonna do is definitively give the number one spot to each of these five categories.(i might even throw in honourable mentions because they’re so despicably in love that they warrant that. i really put my whole pussy into this, guys, i hope you’re happy.)

disclaimer: these are my own personal opinions. but that also means i’m right. so. enjoy.

number one: top cockles panel moment

so we’re starting off with a bang, because how do you even BEGIN to rank what atrocities jensen and misha commit at jibcon. every single one they’ve had is damning in it’s own right, for different reasons.

however, considering just how much unabashed fuckery they’ve given us to sift through, it’s a good thing i do have a personal favorite despite it all. it’s heartwarming, the sweetest thing i’ve ever seen, AND it’s jarringly cinematic - mainly because it has a whole ass arc to it that was years in the making. it might even be surprising to some people, but my favorite cockles panel moment, and what i consider the one that encompasses their entire gut-wrenching journey from 2008-2013 in the most sweepingly romantic gesture possible, is this one.

i want this burned into my retinas. i am not even joking. when i'm through with my explanation, let me convince you why this is thee most romantic cockles moment of all time.

first, some history: people call this the resume off, but many seem to forget the botched attempt at a resume off a year prior. and yes, you guessed it: it's during their break up. it's a juicy time period for a reason, guys. it came across as exceedingly one-sided and VERY awkward. let me refresh your memory as to just how bad it was, and just how hard jensen was trying and ultimately failing at winning misha over: the funniest part of the whole resume off in 2013??? every joke/bit had literally already been made/done. they were just going through the motions again, but the difference THIS time...is that misha reciprocated jensen's energy. it. is. fascinating. i want to get into it more detail in another post, and i'll link it here when i'm done, but the main takeaway, i think, and the main difference that showcases how much they've grown in a year, is that in jib 3, misha flat out refused to do an accent, and this time around, he indulges jensen for literal minutes. when i tell you they're crazy, they're crazy. i can't wait to actually dive into it later.

ANYWAY, the resume off culminates in this moment here. and, like, a million things happen in this gifset. actually, more like a million and one. the music starts playingneediremindyouthatthesongissingingintherain(h e l p), misha starts dancing, jensen 'perpetually fake grumpy' ackles lets misha think he's not going to join, misha sits down defeated, but no!!! that was jensen's plan all along(look at his stupid fucking smirk) and he offers his arm to his dance partner who immediately grins like a fool, jensen then leads misha into their kick step, they perfectly synchronise and let loose, and are then very clearly having the time of their lives, hanging off of each other with joy and ease. from their expressions alone i can tell that this moment is so. so. so. so! much more than what initially meets the eye. i mean-misha is fighting back the biggest smile i've ever seen. to me, it reads like jensen is offering something to misha, something that misha kind of gave up on expecting, and him offering his arm like that is like, a surprise to him in the best possible way(and it's so not platonic, let me just say that.) as soon as jensen did that, it ushered in a new era of cockles. this panel is jensen and misha's favourite for a reason, and i think this moment is the biggest clue as to why.

whew!!! ok. that took a lot out of me and that was only point one. moving on,

number two: top cockles blooper moment

cockles bloopers hold an extremely special place in my heart, because it shows just how fucking disastrous jensen and misha are. they are so goddamn infatuated with each other that they HOLD UP PRODUCTION ALL THE TIME TO FLIRT WITH EACH OTHER(???). let me repeat. let it sink in. jensen ackles; arguably one of the most professional actors on that show who puts everything he has into each scene, with mountains and mountains of notes to prove it: would rather hold up production to flirt with misha collins. this sounds fake. it's not. he does it. all. the. time. and here's the thing guys!!! i'm gonna let you in on a secret!!! misha loves it. he loveesssss it. on top of that-misha collins: overlooked because he's pranked and people assume he's unprofessional as well, but his only pranks are in retaliation/off-set, and he rarely if EVER causes problems if he can help it....lets himself get carried away when it comes to jensen making kissy faces at him!!! are you actually kidding me!!! i mean. misha. it's just a face. you've seen it a million times. i don't buy that it triggers something in you that strongly....you like it, and you like jensen's reaction. you can't fool me!!! lisa berry's face in that one gifset shows just how fed up the crew is with their gross, coupley boyfriend antics.

i could pull up so many examples. sooooooo many. but my favourite was sealed since the moment i saw it.

i actually already wrote an analysis on it but i can't find it :(((( which SUCKS because i really unpacked the whole thing. i'll try to summarise.

basically, a backstory is part of this too!!! jensen and misha both had a really really hard time with this scene(because it's explicitly romantic there i said it), they sat down for hours and poured over their scripts together, they were super super nervous going into filming, both of them, jensen especially, were super hard on themselves for their performances not being true to their characters but they both complimented the other's work(boyfriend moments fr). so, yeah. they weren't confident going into shooting. and how do they get themselves to feel better???? by cuddling each other, apparently.

a lot. a LOT. happens in this specific blooper. to the point that i saw it years before i knew about cockles and it raised all sorts of flags for me.

1) stop pulling my face towards your crotch(as a thinly veiled request that misha would, in fact, move jensen's face towards his crotch, considering it was jensen moving himself there in the first place. also, why so comfy down there guys???) 2) you're my baby daddy i know(in the most intimate voice i've ever heard please) 3) i know, i know, i love you too i didn't say i love you i know but you wanted to say it etc. misha's right, of course. that's what jensen meant.

it just reeks of comfort, familiarity and intimacy between the two, and it's a moment that is extremely sweet and silly at the same time. they're so <3

number three: top cockles found footage moment

WONDERFUL category. truly the culmination of the cockles experience. many people have said that shipping cockles doesn't work because 'they're just onstage you dummies!! they're playing it up for the audience!!!' here's the thing, love. i could not disagree with you more. once you climb your way up the cockles ladder, you soon learn that they are, in fact, playing their dynamic DOWN, not up. they really are just Like That™, and they could not care less about the paying audience, if we're being honest, considering how much time they take to giggle with each other and refuse to let the audience in on the joke. and i love them for it <3

anyway, my point is that this category is for all you naysayers out there, all you 'jensen and misha's relationship is just for show and is real life queerbaiting'(?????lordhelp???) oh yeah? ok, explain this.

he. he. he calls jensen sweetheart. literally enough said. there's nothing to really add here, except, misha and jared then immediately engage in damage control. jared's method is distraction and misha's is retconning('get out of the car, dude') this was what got me to buy into the cockles dumpster for GOOD good. you don't call your buddy sweetheart accidentally and sound so completely earnest while doing it! especially not when that buddy is jensen ackles!!! you think he would let any of his friends call him that? do you?

one more thing; if it was a slip of the tongue, little mouth thing or whatever, you think jared wouldn't have jumped on it immediately??? i can hear it now. 'did you just call him SWEETHEART???' yeah. that's what i thought. you know why he didn't? because it was too revealing.

number four: top cockles autograph moment

i mean, i think we all know what it's gonna be, and if you don't, well, do i have the piece de cockles resistance that is gonna send you over the edge.

if you haven't heard of this story by now, as a cockles, truther, i'm gonna go ahead and get you to read it, because there is no possible heterosexual explanation for any of it, and you're fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

spoiler alert: it's the story where phones weren't allowed in an auto session, jensen nuzzles himself in misha's hair, leans his full body weight onto him, holds his hand, etc. etc. i'm imploding just repeating this back, actually. also, just, the sheer amount of stories from photo ops where they tackle hug each other or slap each other's asses or sing romantic songs to each other or almost kiss is, frankly, a lot. if i could wish for anything, it would be to witness them in person.

and finally,

number five: top cockles social media moment

this one is super difficult, because there's obviously a lot to choose from. but you know what? full send, i'm going with this one:

i just. what to say about this. how often do misha and jensen watch sunsets together for it to qualify as ‘always’ ??? why are sunsets synonymous with their relationship??? that’s like??? a very romantic thing????? ‘this guy’??? the fact that it’s a CANDID??? i don’t know guys.

that could have been better but i am TIRED so. there you go rose ily

#cockles #cockles ask #liz answers #i really just. spend hours. writing about misha and his boyfriend.#why. why do i. do that #long post for ts

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tumblezwei · 3 years ago

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Jesus the amount of intellectual dishonesty you fandom folk will stoop to just to defend the show never ceases to amaze me. If something is stated by a character in a show, it is not refuted by any other character, AND the narrative goes out of its way to have the other character take steps based on what was told to them, it is not a coincidence. They literally show SCENES FROM THE EARLIER VOLUMES when Watts was telling off Cinder to show the audience that he was right in his assessment of her.

Anybody that gave an honest and unbiased analyzation of Cinder's story and arc in V8 would be able to tell that what Watts said was coming straight from the writers. But even if you want to claim otherwise just for the sake of an argument, it's objectionably false as the writers made it explicitly clear in the V8 commentary that the scene was to have Watts "make points" to Cinder so they can break down her character tropes and "flip the script."

Would be amazing if you fandom regulars spent half as much effort giving honest criticism of the show instead of leaping through 10,000 mental gymnastic hoops to defend it.

I need you to know that this is so fucking weird. This is bizarre. I'm not part of some cult, dude, I'm a woman on the internet who's arguing about the characterization of a cartoon. If I spend my time leaping through hoops to defend this harmless part of a show, why is that so terrible? Why does that make you so mad?

But moving on, I legit don't know how to explain to you that just because a character says a thing and no one stops to say "actually, what you're saying is wrong" doesn't mean that we should take it as complete fact? I thought you guys liked "show don't tell?"

How am I supposed to convince you that Watts's egomania influenced his actions if you don't already see that? How am I supposed to get you to see that Cinder having an "ah-ha" moment because of Watts doesn't mean that the narrative is saying he's 100% right?

No shit he makes points about Cinder, no shit he sees her flaws, it wouldn't have hit Cinder so hard if he didn't. But that's not the argument. The argument is that Watts thinks Cinder is an idiot, and has always been and idiot, because he thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. He never says "you used to be so smart," because he never thought she was. It's a character flaw, not the writers preaching their values at the audience.

And pay attention there. HE never thought she was. HE doesn't think she's smart, but that does not mean that the narrative thinks she isn't smart. Watts's "points" we're about her failures, things that actually happened and were a part of her arc. But your argument is that the narrative was trying to retcon Cinder's intelligence and cunning and was using Watts to point that out. It was not.

I don't how how much I have to stress this lmao. Watts has always been critical of Cinder because he hates her, his criticisms that he brings up are accurate because it's part of her arc. She's a migraine because he hates her. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY ARE RETCONING CINDER'S CHARACTER.

Good God I'm begging y'all to stop. Being. So. Fucking. Literal.

#ask #anon #discourse tag #''intellectual dishonesty'' bitch this is tumblr not a debate stage #get off your high horse and go back to posting c tier memes on reddit

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jjackrabbitt · 3 years ago

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That Damned AU

Hey guys (gn), I know you’ve heard me talk about this before, but I’ve actually been working on it now, so here’s part of it. It’s called That Damned AU because it’s been waking me up in the middle of the night to think about it for the last two years, so it’s just me damning it. I will probably change the name at some point. If you have any suggestions, I will gladly consider them. Basically, That Damned AU follows the events of the canonical story line of MPHFPC, but I’ve changed some things around, messed with some details, and added a few things. Mostly to fix or add to things that I have complaints about or wanted to hear more of. I will be tagging it as That Damned AU in case you want to block it

Before we begin I would like to thank @finn-nito for letting me talk his ear off about all this and in turn talking my ear off. It’s been a lot of fun doing this with you and getting to know you.

Now for the damned thing:

Ricky actually goes into the house with Jacob when Abe doesn’t immediately answer. Probably makes dumb comments about the decor or some thing. Goes back to his car for the gun when they see the screen door. Tells Jacob to stay there. Rushes back when he hears Jacob yell for Abe when the flashlight is found. Catches up to Jacob just on the edge of the woods and gives him shit for moving. Tries to lighten the mood and reassure Jacob, until they see the trail of blood. Is there with Jacob when he finds Abe. Ricky tries to keep Jacob from touching Abe because he thinks Abe is already dead. Both of them handle the situation Extremely Badly. We actually hear Abe call Jacob “little tiger” this time instead of just retconning it. Ricky alternates between trying to get enough signal to call the police and crouching with Jacob to try and help him. Abe’s riddle is delivered the same as before and Jacob does see the hallowghast. Ricky tries to shoot it but can’t because he doesn’t even know it’s there. When Jacob sees it he does grab onto Ricky and start shaking him with one hand, still holding onto Abe with the other.

Both boys have to be questioned, together and separately. Jacob sees Ricky’s interview because he gets a chance to snoop through the policeman's notes. He gets mad that Ricky wouldn’t admit to seeing the hallow and Ricky gets defensive about it. They don’t stop talking though because they mutually think the other is having a stress reaction and is seeing things/is erasing things from their own memories.

Jacobs parents didn’t really like Ricky before and they really don’t like him now because they think having him around will remind Jacob of finding Abe, but Jacob almost seems less stressed when Ricky’s around so they’ll allow it.

They don’t necessarily see each other more, but their interactions are way more emotionally charged now.

Ricky does start carrying his gun more because while he didn’t see the hallow, that was a scary night and he did hear something. He brings it into Jacobs house several times without Jacobs parents knowledge. This is a point of contention between Ricky and Jacob because if Jacobs parents find out Ricky will not be allowed back and will be cut off.

Because Ricky is still very much attached to Jacob when he starts seeing Dr. Golan this time, Ricky is in more danger of wights.

Dr. Golan hears a lot about Ricky. Probably significantly more than he wants to.

Ricky doesn’t get the medical attention that Jacob does because he’s poor and when Jacob knows Ricky’s having a problem he asks Dr. Golan for advice for Ricky.

Jacob is more resistant to Dr Golan’s work this time, because Ricky is there to call bullshit when he hears it and mentions that Jacob's meds are making him weird. Golan responds to this resistance by trying to convince Jacobs parents that Ricky is bad for Jacob. It does work but both of his parents are fairly shit at computers and they both have to sleep some time, so Jacob can still message Ricky and sneak out at night.

Ricky does appreciate when Jacob gets advice from Dr. Golan for him, but he does still give Jacob shit for therapizing him.

Both of them are being observed by wights at this point. Jacob gets a series of very weird food delivery guys and there’s like, three different cars that consistently follow Ricky. The food delivery guys aren’t outright weird, they just have the same ~*vibe*~ as Golan and some times they say strange shit. One of them knew his name without Jacob introducing himself.

The cars wouldn’t be weird if they weren’t definitely the same cars, didn’t only stop following Ricky when he A) was near his house or B) took random turns without signalling, and didn’t seem to follow any particular pattern to where he was seeing them. If they were in a similar area at similar times every day then okay, he just keeps seeing the same people on their way to work or whatever, but that’s not what’s happening.

Not much comes of it though. Jacob gets a few weird stomach aches, Ricky gets pulled over by a really strange cop once. Some one breaks into Ricky’s house while no one’s there and goes through stuff but doesn’t take anything or make a mess, the door’s open and a few things have moved when he gets home. You know, normal stuff.

Once, Jacobs parents go out of town. One of his mothers cousins is getting married, and they just aren’t sure that Jacob’s ready for travel and relatives and a party and everything. They don’t want to leave him for the weekend, but they both agree that he’s been doing really well lately (and it’s been months. They want to get out of the house and do Normal People Things). They tell Dr. Golan that Jacob’s going to be alone for the weekend and tell Jacob to go across the street to their neighbour for help if anything happens and they give the neighbour Dr. Golan’s number.

Roughly ten minutes after they leave, Ricky shows up. The Crown Vic goes in the garage, Alien is turned on, Chinese food is ordered and the weekend commences.

They barely even watch the movie, they’re busy talking. They fall asleep on the couch and honestly? It’s the best sleep Jacob has in months.

Until it’s about 4 a.m. and Jacob wakes up violently because this time the scene in his dream changed. This time he and Abe are in Abaton. He doesn’t know it’s Abaton, of course, and though the events of the dream have change, this one feels worse some how. Now he’s missing his grandfather and this place that he doesn’t even know what it is. He feels weirdly protective of it.

Dr. Golan Really doesn’t like Ricky. It’s significantly harder to manipulate Jacob if Ricky’s there to call bullshit. It’s still pretty easy to get Jacob to go to Cairnholm though. Even Ricky doesn’t call him a quack over it. Only tells Jacob to send him a post card of the only place on earth that’s more of a nowhere than Englewood, Florida.

Jacob does have some apprehension over being separated from Ricky, but he figures it’ll be okay since there will be a phone at their hotel.

They do spend a lot little more together than usual in the weeks leading up to Cairnholm. It worries both of them that they’ll be more than a 20 minute drive from the other. Jacob’s more obvious about it, Ricky (poorly) pretends it won’t bother him that much.

Jacob does bring one of his dads less favoured cameras with him, to take pictures.

His dad does try to insist that Jacob spends some time with him to look at birds. It’s funny, they keep seeing this one peregrine hanging around. Some times she, Frank says it’s a she, flies over them. She doesn’t seem too interested in hunting. Some times she disappears for a little while, but she comes back most of the time, unless it’s later in the day.

Kev and Martin are dating. I know it says in the book that Kev has a wife but no he doesn’t ❤️. Kev and Martin are dating and in love and very little will convince me otherwise. Everyone on Cairnholm is completely chill with it. They have dinner with Martins uncle on Wednesdays. Kev tried to take Martin fishing once and it went terrible but it was fun.

Jacob meets Martin on the first day, at the Priest Hole. He’s done at the museum for the day and is getting a drink with his sister and working on his poetry. He and his sister are harassing Kev while he’s on the job. They meet because Martins sister, Amelia, sees Frank and Jacob lugging more than they can carry up the stairs and makes Martin come with her to help.

Amelia is one of the very, very few ocs you’ll see in here, I’m not here to add a bunch of people. She’s here because I don’t want Martin to be lonely, as a plot device to make things move forward, and because I think we should have more women. Yes MPHFPC already has a good amount of active women characters, yes I want more.

They start talking because both Martin and Amelia are huge nerds who would be excited about bird watching. When Martin mentions the museum, Jacob gets interested, as before he thinks it will help him unravel his grandfathers riddle. That’s it for now, but I will try to update again soon, though it probably won’t be as long. if any of you have any ideas or opinions to add, I’d love to hear them!

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cateringisalie · 3 years ago

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My list of bearable Binal Bantasy VII tags is thinning...

But seriously. Being skeptical of Tifa’s narration of past events is not without merit. By the time the Lifestream scene rolls around she has been through three comas and some grevious injuries. The Lifestream scene is as revelatory for her as it is for Cloud.

The new assertion she was in any way actually friends with Cloud is not only in conflict with the OG’s portrayal but counter to Cloud’s development, her development, the growth of their relationship as adults and why (in general) people have them stay together post game.

Its unnecessary, frustrating and further damaging Tifa’s character who is spinning off further from who she was.

That Tifa and Cloud were not actually childhood friends does not mean they do not have a relationship in FFVII. It does not mean they cannot be together. Tifa “falling in love” with Cloud at the water-tower does not for a second make their later relationship any more meaningful.

All this new ship information does is make the relationship have longer longevity than previously assumed. As if whichever relationship has lasted longer is betterer and stronger. As if this should automatically undercut any other relationship Cloud or Tifa can possibly experience.

(in fact - and darkly cynically - this feels a lot more like enforcing that Cloud/Tifa and Zack/Aerith operate in near exactly the same way. The pairs fall in love in record time (two years prior to the Nibelheim incident both times as far as I’m ware), the boys go missing and the girls never move on with their lives. I get the boys have gone missing without a shred of explanation or closure, but now for both of them people are willing to wipe out a quarter of their lives waiting. Teenagers are resilient you know? They will be inconsolable if this happened but they would bounce back a lot faster and cleaner than they would expect. The approval of the never moving on this is purely to keep the shipping uncomplicated. There can only be one pairing for Tifa, there can only be one pairing for Aerith. And if you think otherwise you’re wrong in canon. And who wants to write or read about a non-canon ship? Unless its yaoi/yuri in any case. I am so tired)

Childhood friends incidentally is not, however much some insist, a common trope of the series - unless you stretch it a fair amount and it encompasses a trivial number of the pairings. And none of the big ones (you know; Squall/Rinoa or Tidus/Yuna).

Could Tifa do with more backstory? Of course. Did Tifa’s mother deserve a name? Absolutely! But not like this. Not when Cloud helping round up cats in Remake is now tied to finding Tifa’s cat in a new authored backstory. This speaks again to the constant magpie-ing of existing imagery and moments from older parts of FFVII to feed the present. The retconning in of importance by changing the meaning of otherwise unimportant moments.

Tifa is not and never was under any obligation to like Cloud as a child. She did not bully him, but neither should she expected to involve him in anything she did. I understand the book has muddied this gloriously, but for what effect?

I mean, I know where the desperation to make Cloud and Tifa childhood friends stems from. I know why you want Cloud to have fallen in love with Tifa at like age 5 or something and for Tifa to fall in love with him at 13. And I rail against it all the time that its not necessary. Being first does not mean better.

Maybe I am old, cynical and exhausted, but I kind of like watching Cloud and Tifa grow closer in FFVII. I like watching Cloud and Aeris grow closer in FFVII. I like to experience these things where I can... experience them? I don’t like reading books which assert things in blunt statements that clarify exactly what the writer intended. I certainly don’t have the patience to wait for a later book to clarify what happened on-screen when I have drawn my own conclusions based on my preferences. Especially as this is all contributing to that continued sense that the OG is a smelly, badly designed embarrassment we would rather tiday away for the crime of being graphically inferior (never mind it was championed on its looks on release) and “goofy” (and apparently unable to run the gamut of emotions I remember from serious to comedy, to silly, to tragic, to pessimistic and quietly optimistic and moving).

I’m coming back to this point to stress it - I want to see the relationship growth. Remake gave me that for Aerith and Cloud even if the details aren’t to my taste. First meeting is awkward because hey, random stranger/Cloud is tired. Cloud gets involved and spends more time with Aerith. And the high-five thing is used as a clumsy/awkward/eh but clear metaphor for how their relationship develops over the course of their time together.

To the point that yes, it makes sense for Cloud to want to rescue her. Less sense for Elmyra and Tifa to be “Well they might not vivisect her” and then delay for two full chapters, but the whole thing flows.

And here’s where I get accused of being a fake fan: I don’t like how Cloud and Tifa’s relationship develops in Remake. Flirting. Tifa being mildly fazed by Cloud claiming its been five years. Scared when he almost kills Johnny. Maybe hurt depending on your resolution scene (hey podcast people! No Gold Saucer multiple dates because too expensive? How are there branched resolution scenes in Remake then?). But there isn’t growth. They seem to fit into each other’s lives without worry, bit of flirting, strange super-intense moments jammed into inappropriate sequences (the train roll, climbing the plate, Cloud remembering the promise unprompted, Tifa not actually engaged with Avalanche’s plans). There’s no sense anything has changed between them, the missed five years has done anything to them.

And I’m sure some would take this as proof of correctness. But... somehow Remake is better for realism despite a lot of new clumsy, but this relationship is not dinged for being implausible? No way does that five year gap not seriously impact any prior relationship to say nothing of developing from scratch.

See this was a neat thing about the OG; while Tifa seemed to have an edge over Aerith by knowing Cloud longer, he was in effect meeting them at the same point in his life and more or less starting from scratch with both. Both ships are valid, and even if Cloud is with Tifa come the end, it doesn’t mean he can’t have romantic feelings about both women.

Oh, but Nojima has changed his mind/always intended it this way. And? I can change my mind about liking what he’s written - and my patience and tolerance of Nojima has waned massively since 1997. To the point where his involvement invokes a pained groan from me.

Plus the hilarious attitude that this is from the same people who insisted “the OG will always be there, stop moaning about Remake”. Well guess what? I don’t like Remake and I don’t really want it around. The OG is better.

Yes, Tifa is under-served and sure, it could be clearer about shipping (but the apparent hostility to ambiguity and personal interpretation is deeply distressing. These things can mean something to you and don’t have to mean the same thing to everyone. Interpreting the romancs - again - not a competition).

BUT

I will take the OG version of Tifa where she believed in the cause, where she had friends (again, yes, the relationship between Tifa and the rest of Avalanche is not well depicted, but it was better than actively curtailing it), where she ran a bar THAT ACTUALLY OPENED AND SERVED CUSTOMERS, where she hated Shinra, where she didn’t know how to treat Cloud because she had only really talked to him once in her life and DESPITE THAT that they great closer and spent their last night before THE END OF THE WORLD together over the Remake.

Where Tifa is wary of Cloud for about 5 seconds, twice and then defaults to constant flirting. Where Cloud is near smothering Tifa every second they’re together and she doesn’t tell him to fuck off once. Where she’s allied with Avalanche but hates their methods (and the pacifists are in a shop around the corner and she is not with them because...?). Where she has some absurd contrived plot about medical bills and buying Seventh Heaven for Barret and Marlene.

Which would lead to a whole other rant titled “Marle is the Worst” but this has dragged on quite long enough.

But seriously; if you argue that we can’t hate Remake because OG is always there, then you have to stop applying Remake back to OG and using it as proof. Which is exactly why many people bemoaned the Remake at all. OG is one thing, Remake is another. I don’t care for the latter.

And I know if anyone does read all this it will be about the meanie Cleriths who diminish Tifa for no good reason. And yes, they are indeed acting in bad faith. But what makes you think for a second evidence will convince these people?

In particular, the argument has raged so long and always will because if people do not like a ship they will not accept it as canon (if they care about this as a factor) NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS. Literally. Look at Loki if you want the most recent example of this.

Canon is to many “what I want” and often does not tally with the general interpretation. And you know, if being “canon” or guessing right early wasn’t triumphed as such a vital thing, we might not get these really terrible and pointless arguments.

Canon is a prize but here’s the big secret: fandom - in general - does not care. FFVII is an excellent case example given Sefikura overwhelms the other ships (and I think AZGSC is close?). And that’s not canon. That’s not even in the ballpark of the Cloud/Tifa vs Cloud/Aerith arena (even give that the former is roughly twice the size of the latter, you already won, so please stop?). Canon is only important if you think its important - and you get some more official art of sequences you can gif. And maybe you get kissing/implied sex/marriage/kids, but most of all you get a smug sense of superiority. And the last is why I have no patience with this.

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reachexceedinggrasp · 4 years ago

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Would love to hear about your beefs with Lucas because I have beefs with Lucas

(Sorry it took me three thousand years to answer this, anon.)

They mainly fall under a few headings, with the third being the most serious and the thing that I am genuinely irl furious about at least biannually (and feeling unable to adequately sum up The Problem with it after yelling about it so often is a huge part of why this post has been in my drafts for such a long time):

1. His self-mythologising and the subsequent uncritical repetition of his bullshit in the fandom. Obvious lies like that he had some master plan for 10 films when it’s clear he did not have anything like a plot outline at any point. We all know the thing was written at the seat of various people’s pants, it’s blatantly self-evident that’s the case. There’s also plenty of public record about how the OT was written. Even dumber, more obvious lies, like that Anakin was ‘always the protagonist’ and the entire 6 films were his story from the beginning. This is preposterous and every time someone brings it up (usually with palpable smugness) as fanboys ‘not understanding star wars’ because they don't get that ‘the OT is not Luke's story’... Yeah, I just... I cannot.

Vader wasn’t Anakin Skywalker until ESB, it’s a retcon. It’s a brilliant retcon and it works perfectly, it elevated SW into something timeless and special it otherwise would not have been, but you can tell it wasn’t the original plan and there’s proof it wasn’t the original plan. Let’s not pretend. And Luke is the protagonist. No amount of waffling about such esoteric flights of theory as ‘ring structure’ is going to get away from the rigidly orthodox narrative and the indisputable fact that it is Luke’s hero’s journey. Vader’s redemption isn’t about his character development (he has almost none) and has no basis in any kind of convincing psychological reality for his character, but it doesn’t need to be because it’s part of Luke’s arc, because Vader is entirely a foil in Luke’s story. It’s a coming-of-age myth about confronting and growing beyond the father.

All attempts to de-centre Luke in RotJ just break the OT’s narrative logic. It’s a character-driven story and the character driving is Luke. Trying to read it as Anakin’s victory, the moral culmination of his choices rather than Luke’s and putting all the agency into Anakin’s hands just destroys the trilogy’s coherence and ignores most of its content in favour of appropriating a handful of scenes into an arc existing only in the prequels. The dilemma of RotJ is how Luke will define ethical adulthood after learning and growing through two previous films worth of challenge, education, failure, and triumph; it’s his choice to love his father and throw down his sword which answers the question the entire story has been asking. Vader’s redemption and the restoration of the galaxy are the consequences of that choice which tell us what kind of world we’re in, but the major dramatic conflict was resolved by Luke’s decision not the response to it.

And, just all over, the idea of Lucas as an infallible auteur is inaccurate and annoying to me. Obviously he’s a tremendous creative force and we wouldn’t have sw without him, but he didn’t create it alone or out of whole cloth. The OT was a very collaborative effort and that’s why it’s what it is and the prequels are what they are. Speaking of which.

2. The hubris of the prequels in general and all the damage their many terrible, protected-from-editors choices do to the symbolic fabric of the sw universe. Midicholrians, Yoda fighting with a lightsabre, Obi-wan as Anakin's surrogate father instead of his peer, incoherent and unmotivated character arcs, the laundry list of serious and meaningful continuity errors, the bad storytelling, the bad direction, the bad characterisation, the shallowness of the parallels which undermine the OT’s imagery, the very clumsy and contradictory way the A/P romance was handled, the weird attitude to romance in general, it goeth on. I don’t want to re-litigate the entire PT here and I’m not going to, but they are both bad as films and bad as prequels. The main idea of them, to add Anakin’s pov and create an actual arc for him as well as to flesh out the themes of compassion and redemption, was totally appropriate. The concept works as a narrative unit, there are lots of powerful thematic elements they introduce, they have a lot of cool building blocks, it’s only in execution and detail that they do a bunch of irreparable harm.

But the constant refrain that only ageing fanboys don’t like them and they only don’t like them because of their themes or because they humanise Anakin... can we not. The shoddy film making in the prequels is an objective fact. If you want to overlook the bad parts for the good or prioritise ideas over technique, that’s fine, but don’t sit here and tell me they’re masterworks of cinema there can be no valid reason to criticise. I was the exact right age for them when I saw them, I am fully on board with the fairy tale nature of sw, I am fully on board with humanising Anakin- the prequels just have a lot of very big problems with a) their scripts and b) their direction, especially of dialogue scenes. If Lucas had acknowledged his limitations like he did back in the day instead of believing his own press, he could have again had the help he obviously needed instead of embarrassing himself.

3. Killing and suppressing the original original trilogy. I consider the fact that the actual original films are not currently available in any form, have never been available in an archival format, and have not been presented in acceptable quality since the VHS release a very troubling case study in the problems of corporate-owned art. LF seizing prints of the films whenever they are shown, destroying the in-camera negatives to make the special editions with no plans to restore them, and doing all in the company’s considerable power to suppress the original versions is something I consider an act of cultural vandalism. The OT defined a whole generation of Hollywood. It had a global impact on popular entertainment. ANH is considered so historically significant it was one of the first films added to the US Library of Congress (Lucas refused to provide even them with a print of the theatrical release, so they made their own viewable scan from the 70s copyright submission).

The fact that the films which made that impact cannot be legally accessed by the public is offensive to me. The fact that Lucas has seen fit to dub over or composite out entire performances (deleting certain actors from the films), to dramatically alter the composition of shots chosen by the original directors, to radically change the entire stylistic tone by completely reinventing the films’ colour timing in attempt to make them match the plasticy palate of the prequels, to shoot new scenes for movies he DID NOT DIRECT, add entire sequences or re-edit existing sequences to the point of being unrecognisable etc. etc. is NOT OKAY WITH ME when he insists that his versions be the ONLY ones available.

I’m okay with the Special Editions existing, though I think they’re mostly... not good... but I’m not okay with them replacing the original films. And all people can say is ‘well, they’re his movies’.

Lucas may have clear legal ownership in the capitalistic sense, but in no way does he have clear artistic ownership. Forget the fans, I’m not one of those people who argue the fans are owed something: A film is always a collaborative exercise and almost never can it be said that the end product is the ultimate responsibility and possession of one person. Even the auteur directors aren't the sole creative vision, even a triple threat like Orson Welles still had cinematographers and production designers, etc. Hundreds of artists work on films. Neither a writer nor a director (nor one person who is both) is The Artist behind a film the way a novelist is The Artist behind a novel. And Lucas did NOT write the screenplays for or direct ESB or RotJ. So in what sense does he have a moral right to alter those films from what the people primarily involved in making them deemed the final product? In what sense would he have the right to make a years-later revision the ONLY version even if he WERE the director?

Then you get into the issue of the immeasurable cultural impact those films had in their original form and the imperative to preserve something that is defining to the history of film and the state of the zeitgeist. I don't think there is any ‘fan entitlement’ involved in saying the originals belonged to the world after being part of its consciousness for decades and it is doing violence to the artistic record to try to erase the films which actually occupied that space. It's exactly like trying to replace every copy of It's a Wonderful Life with a colourised version (well, it's worse but still), and that was something Lucas himself railed against. It’s like if Michaelangelo were miraculously resuscitated and he decided to repaint the Sistine Ceiling to add a gunfight and change his style to something contemporary.

I get genuinely very upset at the cold reality that generations of people are watching sw for the first time and it’s the fucking SE-except-worse they’re seeing. And as fewer people keep physical media and the US corporate oligarchy continues to perform censorship and rewrite history on its streaming services unchecked by any kind of public welfare concerns, you’ll see more and more ‘real Mandela effect’ type shit where the cultural record has suddenly ‘always’ been in line with whatever they want it to be just now. And US media continues to infect us all with its insidious ubiquity. I think misrepresenting and censoring the past is an objectively bad thing and we can’t learn from things we pretend never happened, but apparently not many people are worried about handing the keys to our collective experience to Disney and Amazon.

4. The ‘Jedi don’t marry’ thing and how he wanted this to continue with Luke post-RotJ, so it’s obviously not meant to be part of what was wrong with the order in the prequels. I find this... incoherent on a storytelling level. The moral of the anidala story then indeed becomes just plain ‘romantic love is bad and will make you crazy’, rather than the charitable reading of the prequels which I ascribe to, which is that the problem isn’t Anakin’s love for Padmé, it’s that he ceased to love her and began to covet her. And I can’t help but feel this attitude is maybe an expression of GL’s issues with women following his divorce. I don’t remember if there’s evidence to contradict that take, since it’s been some time since I read about this but yeah. ANH absolutely does sow seeds for possible Luke/Leia development and GL was still married while working on that film. Subsequently he was dead set against Luke ever having a relationship and decided Jedi could not marry. Coincidence?

There’s a lot of blinking red ‘issues with women’ warning signs all over Lucas’s work, but the prequels are really... egregious.

#sw #salt #more unhinged rambling #anyway dowload the despecialised editions #unsubscribe from Disney+#be free #usually we'd be having a big family thing for Boxing Day but you know #so God bless us all at home separately #I hope everyone had as happy a Christmas as possible in keeping with the situation #I should see if I can drag my brother outside to build a snowman

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theshapeofhorror · 4 years ago

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Comparing and contrasting Halloween 2′s Michael Myers to Halloween 1978′s

After re-reading this: warning. Snark about / towards Halloween 2 ahead.

Halloween 2′s portrayal of Michael is an oddity to me. I constantly see other sequels trashed for their portrayal of Michael, yet never this one - even though, from a writing point of view, this is really where the train started to derail from its tracks. The writing of Halloween 2 is an absolute mess and Michael is no exception to that - don’t get me wrong, I have crazy amounts of nostalgia for this movie and I love Dick Warlock as Michael Myers, but if I’m being honest, this portrayal fails to capture any of the original movie’s fascination and quite simply doesn’t work as a good continuation of Halloween 1978′s Michael.

(There is one scene I’d call an exception to that, but it can’t carry the rest of the writing / portrayal / movie on its own.)

Let’s get into it.

1. The good - The costume

One major reason why I think this portrayal is quite well-liked amongst fans is that, unlike a lot of the other sequels, it got Michael’s looks right. It’s honestly super wild to me that I have to cite this as a positive - this is a character who doesn’t talk and gets defined by his looks and body language. Insane that for most of the sequels they failed to get this basic yet crucial aspect of the character right. But anyway...

All snark aside, Michael does look pretty great in this movie. I chose that screenshot of a side-view specifically to highlight the following: they actually had someone play the character whose physique and height fit Nick Castle’s from the original movie. The mask is the same, if grittier/dirtier (which works, considering he rolled around in the grass after getting shot and all), and also big points for continuity - you can actually see the bloody holes in the coveralls where Loomis shot Michael at the end of Halloween / start of this movie. The coverall looks good, too.

Based on looks alone this portrayal doesn’t disappoint and actually happens to be one of my favourite in the whole franchise. (I’m especially partial to that scene where Michael stabs Laurie’s empty bed.)

This movie, quite different than Halloween 1978, isn’t afraid to give the viewer full-on frontal shots of Michael, starting right from before his first kill less than ten minutes into the runtime all the way up to the end. In a way I feel this detracts from the tension, but I can see why they did it - they probably thought “Hell, the viewers know what he looks like anyway if they saw the first movie, might as well”.

2. The good p.2 - Throwbacks to Halloween 1978

I don’t consider this a necessity, but some easter eggs / throwbacks are always appreciated (by me). Halloween 2 in parts does a pretty good job of capturing and recreating some of those iconic moments.

The first 15-ish minutes of this movie in general are, thematically, almost a 1:1 of Halloween’s intro scene; we get a long POV shot of Michael lurking around and watching Loomis (Judith), then Michael picks up his weapon of choice, then the first kill (stabbing with a knife). Though this is also where Halloween 2 quite diverges from the beaten path in some ways, in giving us a full-frontal of Michael and the mask and a close-up of his eyes.

3. The bad - Different way of killing

Objectively, if I strictly view this movie as a slasher, this isn’t a negative, and I think most people don’t take it as such. I sort of don’t either - the kills in Halloween 2 are visually impressive, creative, and have some nice gore. (I love the syringe kill, for example - the lighting / visual ambience in that scene is awesome.)

However... they don’t fit the character of Michael as established in Halloween 1978. In that movie Michael kills for gratification, because he gets something out of it. The kills are drawn-out, have long build-up with extended stalking, and all relate to choking the victim in some way or form. Michael only chokes one character in the entirety of Halloween 2, and that guy doesn’t even die from it. There are no vocalizations either. That’s not to say that Michael can’t change his motivations for killing or change his character - but Halloween 2 takes place during the same night as the original movie.

It’s simply unbelievable that Michael, who, at the end of Halloween 1978, still tried to go for choking Laurie despite her having escaped and injured him, would suddenly throw all of that out the window and stab Alice’s throat mere minutes after the end of the first movie. Unless...

4. The bad p.2 - Different motivation for killing

... they went back and changed his whole motivation for killing.

Which they did. And it’s flimsy writing at best.

So, Michael’s motivation for killing in this movie is getting to Laurie. He’s somehow connected to the idea / spirit of Samhain now and wants to end his family line, or so the movie (and later sequels) make it seem. Most of the other victims kick the bucket because they might end up between him and her in the hospital. As for why he kills Alice and some of the others that technically wouldn’t have? No idea. I guess maybe he still enjoys killing, but really, I only assume that because of the context of Halloween 1978. This movie doesn’t do anything to prove / hint that he does, aside from the hot tub scene which feels almost out of character compared to the rest of the portrayal.

5. The bad p.3 - Don’t fix a thing that isn’t broken

A rule that Halloween 2 doesn’t give a damn about. This movie doesn’t even try to continue Halloween 1978 in this regard. Michael was after Laurie from the start because they’re siblings now, even if neither him nor Laurie ever even interact with that tidbit. It might as well not be in Halloween 2, but it changes a lot for the original movie. You get a certain sense of retcon when you look too closely, something I have never enjoyed in any form of media.

Though it has to be said that I neither hate the idea of a more supernatural Michael nor the sibling plotline itself. Some other entries to the franchise explored the second one to decent / great effect (RZ1, H20) and the Thorn trilogy (Halloween 4-6) is my absolute guilty pleasure among slasher movies.

6. The bad p.4 - Robo / Zombie Michael

This isn’t a knock on Dick Warlock as an actor at all. Some of the earlier Michael scenes of this movie show that he can give a convincing portrayal of the character.

He has the stiff spine and lack of shoulder movement.

The confidence.

And the fluidity. (I like the oddly fitting description of Michael from the otherwise questionable ‘78 novelization: his gait was quick and graceful for a big man)

Really, what happens mostly in the last act of the movie is something I personally think should be blamed on direction and writing - Michael chasing Laurie through the hospital at a snail’s speed isn’t only based on acting. The script determines that he walk over very slowly and swing at her legs when she climbs up the pipes, the script determines he swing like a zombie at empty air after Laurie shoots his eyes.

Nevertheless, and whoever is to blame, Halloween 2 features zombie!Michael.

As well as robo!MIchael. (Despite how good he might look in that scene)

And it just doesn’t fit anything we saw in that first movie.

7. In conclusion

Michael Myers in Halloween 2 is a very, very different character than we saw in Halloween 1978. He has different motivations, kills for different reasons, no longer threads the line between human and supernatural but instead full-on crosses it; he moves differently, kills differently. He fails to be a continuation of the original Michael; he’s more his own character than anything else.

Halloween 2, apart from the hot tub scene, doesn’t manage to capture the fascinating “evil, fucked up psychopath threading into supernatural territory at times but still displays decidedly human behavior and quirks” nature of the character of Michael Myers; it feels empty and flat compared to the original movie, and it paved the way for the absolute mess that some of those later sequels / portrayals of Michael would turn out to be.

However... it is a portrayal that’s easy to simp / thirst for, as Dick Warlock happens to be a very attractive man who looks great in the Michael Myers costume. And, also, the hot tub scene exists. :)

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ufonaut · 4 years ago

Note

Hal, Carol & Sinestro for the ask meme

thank you!!! let’s see

HAROLD JORDAN

Sexuality Headcanon: bi and yes, it includes aliens.

Gender Headcanon: cis dude

A ship I have with said character: HALSIN for that good ol friends to enemies to lovers and hal/leaving the glc once and for all and please stop falling for guardian propaganda. that’s the real otp

A BROTP I have with said character: i like hal being friends with ollie i guess? i think hal is generally very approachable (on a surface level) so there’s always good shenanigans around but the hard travelling heroes era is where its at. i also long for some hal & sinestro real best friends hours from back in the day

A NOTP I have with said character: hal/kyle or hal/guy or hal/any of the gls. bro i just plain dont get it. i also think batlantern is very uhhhhh weird, to say the least, but possibly manageable

A random headcanon: hal is habitually homeless and has won couch surfer of the year ten years running (awards hosted on oliver queen’s couch). joking! that’s all canon. my random hal headcanon is that he’s never quite found his place in the world again after coming back from the dead and he’s infinitely afraid of any amount of power that might make him parallax again. also! he’s still got grey temples, he just dyes his hair

General Opinion over said character: i used to be pretty to very indifferent about hal but he’s definitely grown on me over time and right now he’s one of my all time favourite characters, all thanks to his arc as parallax & spectre which i think is still one of the most daring and incredible things to have happened to a hero in mainstream comics & every day i wish it hadn’t been retconned

CAROL FERRIS

Sexuality Headcanon: straight! carol is one of the straightest ladies i’ve ever seen in my life

Gender Headcanon: cis lady

A ship I have with said character: uhhhhh honestly no one? i like carol/hal as like. exceedingly on and off because hal’s type is apparently complete assholes but i definitely don’t think it’s necessarily healthy for either

A BROTP I have with said character: i think carol should hang out more with the really alien looking sapphires. I Wanna See Some Aliens

A NOTP I have with said character: hal/carol does reach those territories sometimes when mr johns tries to convince me that they’d ever get married. otherwise indifferent

A random headcanon: she keeps rehiring hal at ferris aircrafts because she genuinely enjoys seeing how he’s gonna mess up this time

General Opinion over said character: i love to hate carol! she’s one of those rare female characters that’s unlikable because she’s herself and it’s not like. a bad thing, it’s absolutely hilarious that she’s the exact same type of asshole as the average villain but it’s Never Quite Acknowledged. i want carol in everything ever, observing the disaster that’s hal’s life. but also less terminally comic book-y sexey sapphire outfits please

THAAL SINESTRO

Sexuality Headcanon: korugarian terms related to sexual orientation aren’t translatable in english but all intents and purposes he’s bi. he’d personally call it [TRANSLATION NOT AVAILABLE]

Gender Headcanon: again, alien concepts not immediately comprehensible to us so let’s just say cis dude but closest would probably be cat

A ship I have with said character: HALSIN (see above) but also ARIN/SINESTRO and also ABIN/SINESTRO. yes he was in love with both of them yes he was heart eyes at first sight. nothing to be done about that. also ARKILLO/SINESTRO due to arkillo being canonically in love with him

A BROTP I have with said character: generally i’d give everything to see more canon evidence of hal & sinestro actually being friends because the whole “tell, don’t show” approach reallllly hasn’t been working to anyone’s advantage. that being said, my greatest desire is actually more young sinestro & abin shenanigans because i’m sure for the longest time abin was literally sinestro’s only friend and it says a lot that sinestro spends so much of his life mourning him & that u know somewhere in his heart taking down the guardians would feel like victory on that front too. abin, avenged

A NOTP I have with said character: i WOULD say lyssa/sinestro but i think it’s hysterically hilarious as long as they let her be as feral as in the sinestro solo annual where she eats books

A random headcanon: sinestro’s favourite earth tv show is ancient aliens to the point of obsession. no, he doesn’t believe ancient aliens built the pyramids because he’s an anthropologist & has some degree of common sense but he’s holding out hope that one day they’ll do an episode about the real ancient alien cultures he’s studied

General Opinion over said character: SINESTRO WAS RIGHT!!! SINESTRO WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING AND I WANT EVERYONE TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT. i loved sinestro at first sight but his solo definitely changed everything for me in terms of realising just how complex a character he is. i wish dc remembered he exists and would give him another run that actually expands on the themes the solo offered us (korugarians as refugees, sinestros guilt and underlining desire to make everything right, soranik as the leader of the yls, etc etc)

#hal jordan #carol ferris #sinestro #thaal sinestro #green lantern #HOPE THESE ARE GOOD THANK U #anon #ask

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insertsexualitypun · 5 years ago

Text

Ok so there’s some big continuity errors in terms of Hope’s age. Like did they retcon her age to be the same as the twins? Is she supposed to be graduating soon? Does Salvatore work differently than a regular school in that being a certain age or attending a certain amount of years doesn’t necessarily mean graduating at a set year? Hopefully this’ll all get explained soon by writers either directly or written into the show.

For now, we can safely assume the show will be predominantly based at Salvatore with everyone being a student, though.

But can I just say,,, I would LOVE a season closing with Hope either graduating in whatever capacity that means at Salvatore, OR leaving because she’s tired of having to be the hero/they lost someone in the process of fighting some monster or something and she goes back to NOLA. Tbh I’d prefer the second one bc Drama but that’s just me

Then, the next season opens and we get some catch-up time at the school but then - surprise surprise - some new Big Bad is discovered (probably after being hinted at at the end of the previous season) and they’re like “what are we going to do?” And they share a collective, knowing look.

Cut to shots of NOLA probably at night and there’s Rousseau’s and it’s busy as can be, night in the Quarter, people are living it up! We cut to a guy going up to the bar and being like “hey can I get two beers?” And the bartender turns around and GUESS WHAT it’s our favorite Tribrid and she’s like yeah sure and hands over the beers and he looks at her and asks “are you even old enough to be drinking let alone serving drinks?” and she goes “if you want your beers, yes” and he shrugs and walks off.

Then another guy walks up and sits down and asks for a whiskey and she’s like alright and she grabs the bottle and a glass and turns around and it’s Alaric and she’s like “what do you need, why are you here” and he says “what, can’t a guy just visit New Orleans and go to a bar” and Hope is like “if you weren’t you, I’d say yes but we both know there’s something else otherwise you’d be drinking in Mystic Falls.” And he tries to talk her into coming back and she’s like no I can’t, I don’t want anyone else getting hurt because of me. And he’s like alright but I’m in town for a few more days if you change your mind.

And there’s a prOPER SCENE BETWEEN FREYA AND HOPE (WITH MAYBE EVEN KEELIN AND NIK BUT LETS NOT PUSH OUR LUCK) where Hope is talking about it and they convince her to go because “we’ve missed you here, but you’d never be happy here while you’re thinking about how you could help them. And you can’t say you don’t care, because if that were true, you would’ve never brought this up and asked our opinion in the first place.”

And finally Hope meets Ric at his car and has a line like “If you say anything, you’re getting the silence spell the entire way there” and he just smiles and goes “good thing I packed snacks for two” and Hope is like “don’t push it”

And BOOM season whatever of Legacies starts.

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miniwolfsbane · 4 years ago

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Random: Gambit and women’s weight

(I had energy drink and it’s wearing off, so here I am! 0_o) Edit: Also, forgot Remy was married to Rogue, but let’s backtrack and hypothesize and all that.

Okay, since I’m not on The Gambit guild forums anymore, I have to have somewhere to put this random thought that’s been bouncing in my head since 2010-ish:

Would Gambit date a woman that’s morbidly obese and not be embarrassed about it?

I also have to dissect this thought, so here it goes.

My first instinct says no. He would flirt with her hard, all day long, no question. In fact, let’s just forget most women in the X-universe all look the same. Say there was a significant amount of overweight women that admired him. I think he would think twice before saying yes to a date, if at all.

I saw a fan art on DA making Rogue overweight (I obviously wasn’t looking for it, it just showed up in a group I was in at the time), claiming that Gambit would love big women. (This conversation did not involve me, I just read it.) The thought alone made me laugh internally because a) We don’t know that for sure B) it was coming from someone apparently in support of either accepting yourself as you are, (Not always bad until your health is in jeopardy), or in the fat acceptance crowd. (She called Rogue calling herself fat in one episode “fat shaming” or something. Ummm...?) Headdesk. Can’t find it and looks like the artist left DA. Edit: Somehow I found it? And the whole thing is in two separate pieces. (Not linking so the artist can have some anonymity) One piece, the artist had a conversation with someone who didn’t like they made Rogue fat, and said in response to Rogue complaining she was fat in one episode “ Just some good-old-fashioned sizeist writing”. OMG, really? Girls can complain they’re fat. Not everyone wants to be fat. (Holding metaphorical mouth shut to not go on a tangent.) And then they made another piece in response to the complaint after a conversation, and that was the whole thing about Gambit would love big women. Okay, whatever. I’m sure no one cares and it’s years after the fact. This is all from 2017. I’m not insulting them, I just highly disagree with the whole fat acceptance thing. (Probably because I’m overweight and other reasons and I’m a worrier. It’s not always going to kill you, but being fat can impact your health and shorten your lifespan. Not always, but in most cases.) Sorry, ranting again.

Let me just say, I’m not in the fat acceptance camp. Won’t go on a tangent. I’m fat, but I’m not going to say being fat is great and it’s blah blah blah. So, there’s that. You can be fat and healthy on the inside, I will say that, but being overweight can take it’s toll, there’s no getting around that. Edit: I DO post pics of big women in my imagines, yes. That’s because, in my view, you’re not going to lose the weight overnight and we’re not all shaped the same. I never promote obesity purposely. (Maybe an unhealthy recipe here and there, but everything in moderation.) I also believe in representation for different body types, fat, skinny or otherwise. Edit: So I’m more in the ‘You’re not going to lose weight overnight, fat shouldn’t be fetishized, treat your body with love and respect, people that care about you want you to be your best self, all body types need representation, but that doesn’t mean the consequences that may come with weight gain should be treated lightly, not everyone can lose weight easily, and no one has to be super skinny, but we just shouldn’t let ourselves go either, we all have our own journeys to go through, you should lose weight for yourself and for your health if it’s effecting your quality of life.’ camp. Yes, that was a lot.

Back to Gambit, he’s got all the confidence he can muster and usually doesn’t give a crap what other people think of him, right? I can’t help but think/believe he’d have reservations about dating someone very overweight. Nevermind if he’s attracted to a woman that looks like that or not. (I’m trying my best to word things carefully, but I’m bound to offend someone. I get cursed out again or something, I’m just going to ignore you. Have a nice life.) I think back on the Guild forum, someone said that Remy sees all women as unique, and I have no doubt that’s true. He isn’t so lustful he’ll just chase after any woman, no. And I don’t think like in the Deadpool series, he’s JUST attracted to women with a white streak. Like, ew. Makes it sound like he’s fetishizing Rogue’s hair for goodness sake. Remy is attracted to strong, (emotionally, physically or both), powerful women.

It’s really easy to write off who/what kind of woman a fit, masculine character is attracted to. Especially if we see it several times in cannon or, like in X-Men comics/TAS, most (but not all) women look the same. (Thank glob X-Men:Evo had the girls have unique body types and not look like clones of each other. Thank you, Mr. Gordon! WATXM...not so much. >_>) Going back to the Guild forums, I kicked off an interesting discussion once asking if Remy would be comfortable dating someone significantly taller or shorter than he was. The answer was a resounding positive, that he’d be okay with it either way. Point is, I just don’t think he’s canonically attracted to a big woman.

Now, if he were, great (sort-of?). I don’t think he’d get squick about it either. (Dirty minded, um, wouldn’t put it past him, even if I don’t approve.) He’d probably call her a beautiful figure, curvy, majestic, blah blah. He’d stick up for her when others talk about her, and just be that cool guy we love about it. Granted, Remy wouldn’t be able to pick her up, but there’s cute stuff he could do, and would probably make a lot of remarks and stuff. *Blushes*

Now, if he had to be convinced or talk himself into a date, that’s a whole other topic. Probably more suited to a fan fic than a fast paced comic, but we’re only speculating while the energy drink wears off here. The other X-Men would probably point out the woman’s good qualities, as well as be honest and point out what a fluff hat piece of slime Remy is being. (Can’t think of good not swear words right now, don’t bother me, I’m busy.) He’d give in to one date, be charmed, then two...and so on. It would catch him off guard, next thing he knows, he’s dating and falling in love with someone who wasn’t originally his type. Dude is open to things and has a big heart after giving his love to a woman he couldn’t touch, so it’s not impossible in theory. He’d just go into it skeptical, maybe even figuratively kicking and screaming, or not at all. He IS an all or nothing man after all.

OMG, this things is getting long. He’d probably be a bit crushed if she let him go if he REALLY loved her. Or at least I like to think so. Could be wrong, who knows? We’ll never know, because this hasn’t and probably won’t happen in cannon. If they retcon the Romy marriage at some point and this does happen, just let me know? I haven’t read comics in ages and would sleep on this.

So...yeah. (*Jumpy*) I’m sure Remy and said big woman would bond over Cajun food and cooking. He’d snuggle with her. Now I’m just rambling. Kinda wonder if he’d try and buy her clothes or not? Make-up for sure, big girls are pros with make-up. Definitely the usual jewelry. He’d have a whole new world to navigate, that’s for sure. (Like, Do or don’t buy her chocolates? Invite her to the gym? He’d probably avoid bringing up how much she weighed in the beginning. And etc.)

...Now I just want to write fan-fic, but I am/was at the half-way point with this with Molly’s stories. Molly was never huge, but same concept, similar reaction with Remy. And I’ve got something I’m writing for my own enjoyment (crazy 500 page live-action Molly/Remy fic-yes, it got out of hand and I have no life) that has the same feel and concepts. So, I may have answered my own question a bit already. Well, thanks for reading this insanity. Have a good day.

#Gambit #Remy LeBeau #fat #woman #fan questions #fandom #opinion piece #X-Men #essay thing #X-Men:Evolution #rant-ish #blathering on #weight #women #dating #size #fat woman #comics #comic book

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azwriting · 5 years ago

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The Only Hope (Forget Me Please, Kylo Ren x Fem!Reader) - Chapter Two

A/N: FUCKING FINALLY!!! I’m so sorry that this took so long, life got a little crazy and yeah. But I think im back in business so yay! Anyways here’s chapter two, we are still in Rey’s POV but next chapter we will finally start delving into who’s under the mask ;)

Also! I know Ben took his lightsaber and turned it into the cross guard one, but for the sake of my imagination and this story he just made a new one... Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! Feedback is always appreciated ;)

Summary: The Resistance Three try to convince the mysterious Jedi ally to aid them in the fight against Palpatine. All while Rey begins to piece together some of the Jedi’s hidden past.

Warning(s): Me retconning TROS, a made up species, angst, a moment that feels like Reylo but its not, Finnpoe rights baby

Word Count: 4658

“The dagger’s translation gave the coordinates for Kef Bir, we informed the General of where we were heading and she insisted we come here, to find you.” Rey finished explaining, her eyes darting across the faded and worn mask in search of any sort of response. All she found were stone cold eyes locked forward, observing the three of them. The woman was not even surprised to hear Palpatine had somehow survived and if she had, she showed no sign of it. If it had not been for the quick and overpowering assaults she had thrown at Rey earlier, the young Resistance fighter would have assumed she was a statue or perhaps a protocol droid.

The four of them sat around a small unlit chamber, in the dead center of all the huts above. There had been small villages on Jakku, ones that were primitive and rural, but this was entirely different. The forest moon of Endor was silent, no one passing through since the end of the old war. No trade, no work, no nothing. The planet appeared deserted in a sense. One would grow to suspect it held a secret, as does every corner of the Galaxy, but Rey suspected this secret was far greater than what her eyes could see.

Finn and Poe sat stiffly unsure of the ally while Rey was just dumbfounded. She had been led to believe that all the Jedi, besides Master Skywalker, had died in the destruction of the new Jedi Order at the hands of Kylo Ren. Yet the woman across from her wielding not one, but two lightsabers proved otherwise.

Had this woman even been present at the Jedi temple? If so, how had she survived? How did General Organa know her? What did the purple kyber crystal represent? Why was her face hidden behind a mask? What was her name? Rey had far too many questions and nowhere enough answers. Nor did they have the time…

“Kef Bir?” The woman inhaled sharply, her posture straightening. Her head dropped down for a moment before the emotionless eyes met their gaze once again. There was a quick gleam of emotion hidden in them, but Rey could not read it. The subtle reaction made her nervous though, what was awaiting them on Kef Bir?

“I don’t know how I’ll be of help there.” She was right, Rey did not know what to expect there or if they would even need the Jedi’s help, but Leia had sent them here. Rey knew this ally was of importance, she could feel it through the Force, and Leia had known this too. The woman in the mask was strong with the Force, it flowed through her like a vivacious stream. It was why the forest moon had felt so utterly rich when she had first arrived, the mask creating it all.

Although Rey could still feel an abundance of energy, that felt far away as if it had been hidden behind a thick black cloak, hidden from plain sight. She was unsure how to describe it, but it felt distant, out of reach, guarded. Despite whatever Rey felt, it was clear that the last Jedi could be of tremendous help in whatever they faced.

“I don’t know either, but General Organa knew we’d need help and she sent us to you, you may be our only hope to prevent Palpatine’s Final Order.” Rey confessed, a gentle plea evident in her tone. She could not defeat the vile Emperor herself, many had tried and failed in doing so. The mask stood abruptly, eyes narrowing down at her.

“I’m nobody’s last hope, I’m sorry but I can’t help.” She moved to leave, but Poe caught her upper arm and roughly yanked her back. Sharp eyes turned back to glare at him in disbelief over his sudden actions, but Poe ignored it.

“Why? Why won’t you help?” The woman tugged her arm free and took a cautious step back, but Rey suspected it was so she did not harm the pilot, not the other way around.

“It’s just an endless cycle. I was born into a Galaxy still healing from the Empire and I’ve lived long enough to see something take its place.” The woman winced inwardly, eyes playing an endless amount of suppressed horrors. “You may defeat Palpatine and his Final Order, but what about the First Order? What about the next ones seeking total power or the ones after that?”

Her questions had them all looking off in thought. The Resistance was barely equipped to stop the First Order, how would they continue to prevent others from attempting to rise and suffocate the remaining freedom out of the Galaxy? It was an easy answer, one that left a bitter aftertaste in their mouths, they would not. “The Galaxy will never know peace, I’ve accepted that.” The somber tone that slipped into the modulated voice caused Rey to question if this woman truly had accepted such a dreary fate. The blank (Y/E/C) skipped across each of their faces before resting on Rey’s. “It’s time you do too.”

The woman spun on her heel and was quick to leave. The three Resistance members watched in silence, in disbelief, a look of stupor on their faces. Why would General Organa send them here if this ally would only refuse to help? There was only so much time before Palpatine released his doomsday upon the Galaxy. Rey’s stomach twisted at the sinking in reality, how was she supposed to save the Galaxy alone? Kylo would only want to assume the position, the vacancy the Emperor would leave behind and the woman refused to help, chalking it up to an already doomed attempt. They would be alone in this fight and they would lose.

Rey was truly as alone as she had been on Jakku.

The peculiar sound of birds chirping broke through the silent forest. The mysterious ally froze mid stride, head snapping up to the thick lush tree coverage. Rey’s eyes followed, searching for the source of the sweet call. The sound reminded her of a much softer, sweeter, musical rendition of the wind chimes constructed from useless scavenged parts that she had had hanging inside her small home on Jakku. When the rare dry breeze of the desert swept through the interior of the fallen AT-AT walker, the rusted parts would clink together and fill her ears with a choppy noise that signified to her that one day she would find her belonging. Her already twisted stomach dropped at the realization that she had not found that belonging yet, not with the Resistance nor with the ways of the Jedi.

The chorus continued on for a moment longer before slowly dying off leaving the forest and the four of them surrounded by an uncanny stillness. With the absence of the melodic sing-song of the birds, Rey pondered if the sound served as the same hopeful reminder to the lonesome Jedi. With the unwavering rigidness of the woman’s stature, Rey began to believe it did.

“Wait-” Poe started before cutting himself off. He hummed the melody of the birds to himself over and over again until his narrowed eyes lifted with confusion. “That was the call of the Dalae.” He announced, head snapping back to look at Rey and Finn.

“Okay and you know this why?” Finn questioned lifting his one eyebrow, unsure where his significant other was heading with such odd information and how he knew it. Rey was curious too, especially as to why the pilot felt compelled to inform them of such a thing now when their only possible assistance was leaving.

The woman was still frozen in place though, but her head now held onto the moist and moss covered ground. The Force swirled around her as she seemed to be focusing inward, her hands clenching and unclenching as she grappled with some internal conflict. Whatever this bird was, the harmony it had emitted greatly unsettled her.

“When I was undercover on Kijimi posing as a Spice Runner to obtain intel on the First Order’s weapon dealings, I had a lot of spare time. Read a lot.” Poe explained stepping closer to the two. Rey was still reeling in the fact that Poe had been a Spice Runner even if it was to help the Resistance. She was even more baffled that he had not told her or Finn about this covert mission. “Educated myself on various species across the Galaxy and the Dalae bird was one of them.”

As he moved closer, Rey did not miss the way the mask discreetly peered over her left shoulder at them. Even in a state of concentration, she still was aware. Although with multiple points to focus on, her once hidden aura started to bleed through, revealing her state of mind to Rey. She was anxious, tense, and something else Rey could not put a finger on. The woman’s body trembled slightly, the thin hairs on the back of her neck stood up, goosebumps erupting across the rest of her skin despite the layers she wore. Her heart was racing and over the quiet hum of the forest, Rey could hear the distorted and labored breaths that escaped the mask.

Fearful… the word bounced around Rey’s already cluttered mind as she came to the conclusion as to what the other emotion that had seeped through to her was. The woman who had single handedly taken her down with an unforeseeable and unparalleled skill was scared? What did she have to be fearful of? Was it them and their uprooting of her life here in this forest? Was it the looming and imminent threat of Palpatine? Or was it the past that was hidden beneath the fading paint of the mask and the barrier of two crossed lightsabers? Rey was not naive, she knew the mask hid more than a face, but she was unsure as to what.

As quick as the Jedi’s aura had slipped through, it disappeared. In an instant, Rey felt the overpowering emotions retract with the simple action of tightening a clenched fist. Besides for her curling fists, the woman was still locked in place fighting her inner turmoil, one Rey could not decipher.

“Okay Babe, this is great that you educated yourself about this stuff, really it is, but I don’t think now is the best time to brief us on all your bird knowledge.” Finn attempted to terminate Poe’s somewhat delirious ranting, something Rey had begun to tune out. Perhaps the injury he had acquired on the Star Destroyer was beginning to get to him.

Poe only shook his head in defiance, he was never one to back down from expressing himself, especially when he believed it to be of dire importance. Whatever he knew of this bird, the Dalae, Poe knew it was essential to share and be heard. No matter how inopportune the timing was…

“The Dalae bird is only native to one place and I’ll give you a hint it’s not the forest moon of Endor…” Poe trailed off, eyes skimming the surrounding trees for the incongruous bird.

“What do you mean? Where is it from?” Finn probed, his thick eyebrows furrowing once again. Rey’s did as well, but she remained silent. Her mind was a whirling disaster filled to the brim with possible catastrophes, her newly illuminated origin, and the hopes of saving a dying religion. She did not have room to digest the curiosity behind a migrating species.

“The Nayli countryside.”

Rey’s eyes snapped up, the stories she had heard over the course of the last year replaying in her mind. The General had told her many stories of how she used to visit the quieter countryside, Nayli, when she could spare time away from the fragile rebuilding of the New Republic. “Of Chandrila?”

Poe nodded reading her visible shock, “Yes. So what is a bird only native to a planet in the Core Worlds doing in the Outer Rim?” Rey and Finn exchanged a look, Poe was right. What was it doing out here? Especially a bird from the former capital of the New Republic. The former home to the General, Han, and their son…

Their internal inquiries were soon brought to a screeching halt though. “Let me get my things and then we can be on our way.” The three Resistance fighters spun to face the direction the modified voice had called to them. The woman now stood tall, hands unclenched, and head locked straight forward on them. She nodded rapidly confirming her words more to herself than to them before she took off back towards the small huts. Three pairs of eyes followed her, neither one fully processing the meaning of her statement. The Jedi would be coming with them Rey realized, she was going to help them. Perhaps Leia had been right to send them here.

Rey watched as the woman launched herself off the dirt ground and landed onto one of the many hovering bridges, only to disappear into a small hut to her right. As the small wooden door closed behind the body of green and brown fabrics, Rey began to ponder why the sudden change in the ally. The woman had been reluctant to help, seemingly accepting the inevitable defeat against Palpatine and his new Empire, but something had changed. As a cool breeze swept through the surrounding woods, the leaves brustling loudly in the trees up above, Rey recalled the terror that had frozen the ally in place… all beginning with the call of the Dalae bird.

Ewoks were… not what Rey expected. As she leaned against the rough bark of a towering tree awaiting for their new companion to return, she finally caught a glimpse of the legendary warriors who fought in the Battle of Endor. Yes the tales had spoken of a small indigenous tribe that had aided the Rebels, but the young scavenger had never realized it referred to their stature. Details like such often disappeared as the stories spread across the Galaxy. For Maker’s sake she had thought Luke Skywalker, the Jedi, and the Force were all a myth. Yet, it was all true and she had become a part of it as she embarked on her own journey.

Rey witnessed as the woman, her face still obscured by the mask, emerged from her small hut up above. Even walking on swaying lumber bridges, the ally moved with an indescribable grace and balance, features that bled through into her fighting style.

The ally bent down before two Ewoks and even though she was beneath them, Rey could still hear bits of dialogue. Although they spoke in Ewokese, a language Rey did not understand, she remained silent and eavesdropped as the three conversed. As she listened Rey could not help but wonder how long the woman had been here and why she was here in the first place. It was clear she was the only human on the moon, but it seemed like that had been a purposeful choice. Rey had been left all alone as a child, sold and abandoned, it was hard for her to imagine someone consciously making the choice to be alone. It was the one thing she never wanted to be…

“Protect.” A single word in Galactic Basic slipped through the cracks in the bridge, a word uttered by the mask. Rey focused back onto the three above and found the Ewoks to be nodding before the woman abruptly stood back to her full height. With one swift jump, the Jedi descended down towards Rey just as she had done when they had first stumbled upon the small village. The ally landed perfectly on her feet just a few steps in front of Rey, (Y/E/C) eyes focused as always.

“Where are the other two?” She alone had stayed to wait, Finn and Poe returning to the Falcon to prepare for the next stop on Kef Bir. Her voice sounded on edge, but it was possible to be just from her descent or the heavy modification of the mask. Although Rey noted the way the eyes bounced around the surrounding bridges in apprehension.

“They went back to ready the ship.” Rey answered and the woman’s chest collapsed as she let out a large exhale. What was she so fearful over? The ally was very guarded, unwillingly to trust anyone. A hand shot out and gestured for Rey to lead the way and silently the two women began their trek back to the Falcon, leaving the Ewok village behind.

The quiet fresh air of the moon encompassed them on their walk as well as total silence, but Rey could not help but glance over at the woman every so often. With such a close proximity, one where they were not attacking each other, she could not assimilate the overwhelming energy that flowed from the other Jedi.

Three words echoed through her mind and Rey shuttered. The three words had been spoken to her once during her attempt to reach out and connect with the Jedi of the past. Now they haunted her mind and plagued her sleep, never leaving her conscience peacefully. As she looked to the Force user beside her, Rey wondered if the woman knew how to help. The idea was quickly squandered, the voice had told her to restore it, it was solely up to her.

A glimmer of light reflected up and into Rey’s eyes, making the young woman wince slightly. Her brown eyes looked down and caught sight of the two lightsabers strapped to the side of the woman’s hip. One hilt was a darker gray durasteel with a black handle and the other was a silver durasteel with blue, purple, and orange coloring near the emitter. It was strangely familiar, the all silver one, something she had seen before in a dream.

Before her voice of reason could object to the impulse that flared up within, Rey’s hand hastily reached forward for the saber. As the tip of her fingers grazed against the cold hilt, flames bloomed behind her eyes and screams flooded her ears.

With a heavy gasp, Rey stumbled back in terror. The high morning sun sunk into the horizon being replaced by the pitch black night sky, full of a plethora of stars. The tall dense trees that surrounded her plunged to the ground revealing an open plain filled with small huts. One hut in front of her had been destroyed, crumbled into just a pile of rubble. Rey’s chest tightened and she felt a wave of nausea overcome her at the sight of it. It deeply unsettled her, made it feel as if something crawled up her cold and damp skin. Deep down she knew where she was, what she was looking at, but she was unwilling to believe it. She had just been on Endor how had she gotten here?

Screams broke through her disorientated state, pulling Rey away from the ruined hut. Off in the distance stood a grand temple surrounded by stone statues and pillars, a large dome in the center of the sacred framework. Her lips parted in shock as she realized the temple was encased with thick tendrils of fire. Even from where she stood Rey could hear the desperate pleas for help. She raced towards the flames before she could even think to command herself to move… it was as if something else entirely controlled her.

Dashing through the tall grass, Rey rushed towards the people in dire need of assistance but her attempt to help was quickly stopped. Long arms hooked around her waist, yanking her back and into a strong hard chest. The lightsaber she had not been aware of slipping through the fingers of her dominant hand.

“No Rey, I can’t lose you too!”

Rey’s blood ran cold, goosebumps erupting across her skin as if she was back on Starkiller base in her scrappy scavenger attire. She knew this voice, knew the desperation woven into the words, it haunted her dreams too. Twisting in the tight embrace, she turned to face her impediment.

Flushed chest to chest, Rey looked up to find frightened watery eyes looking down at her. She knew these brown irises and the hints of green speckles that were hidden in them, she knew the eyes of Ben Solo. They were filled to the brim with sadness, fear, and pain. She had seen these emotions in his eyes before; after he had killed his father, in the hut on Ahch-To, and when he had taken off his mask before her on the Star Destroyer. Yet, she had never seen them like this before; with traces of love interlaced in them.

“I tried to, b-but the fire’s too strong.” He choked out. His breathing was ragged, he was scared, and looking down at her as if she was the only thing that could save him from the torment inside. Fresh tears escaped his eyes and trickled down his ash covered face, his lips trembled as they parted and his whole body shook against hers. He was shaken to core and desperately seeking comfort, her comfort. “I never-” Ben stuttered out but his voice cracked with despair. “I didn’t want this.”

The fire behind felt like an afterthought as Rey reached upward and pressed both of her palms to Ben’s dampened face. Slowly she stroked soft comforting circles onto his skin and he let out a breath of relief. “I know. I know you didn’t but Ben! We need to help them!” The words that slipped from Rey’s mouth were not her own. Her actions were not her own. No, it was as if they were preordained, done by another through her.

The cries for help only seemed to grow and Rey snapped out of the trance that Ben had put her under. She struggled against his secure grip, feeling the undeniable cool durasteel of a saber pressed against her back despite the kiss of heat from the fire that licked up her back. She needed to help, she could not turn her back on them.

Ben’s arms suddenly released her and Rey felt the warmth of one of his palms press against her cheek. Her face was wet, she was crying as well. They were both in agony over something she did not know, something she had never experienced.

With a sharp inhale, the night faded away and the sun of Endor fell back into its rightful place in the sky above. Rey’s gut twisted as she tried to comprehend it all. She knew that she should not have touched the saber, she had learned that on Takodana what felt like a lifetime ago. But, she could not focus on that, not with what she had seen and experienced. Rey had not been there for the fall of the New Jedi Order, she had not been stopped in her attempt to help the other students, but someone else had been.

Rey’s eyes lifted up and away from the silver lightsaber to find the woman watching her intently. Traces of long buried pain surfaced in the tears pooling in the last Jedi’s magnetic eyes. “That lightsaber…” Rey’s voice was no louder than a whisper. “It belonged to someone else.” She did not dare say his name, pain that was not hers seemed to blend into her own making her heart wrench. The ally shuddered in response, tears slipping down into the depths of the mask.

“Why would you have his saber?”

As the question left Rey’s mouth, it dawned on her what she had encountered when touching the lightsaber, his lightsaber. It was a memory, the woman’s memory. She had experienced the heartbreaking night from the woman’s perspective that was why she had had no control over her actions and words. The ally and him had been close, the Force flowing strongly through them both, forging an uncanny connection. It had felt like life itself…

Rey’s eyes widened and her mouth grew dry at the realization, “You’re- you’re his balance.” Their fight only a short while ago came to mind and the familiar movements of the Jedi. She was all confident strikes, agile deflects, her attacks lying somewhere between the cross of a graceful dancer and feral animal. A way she had only seen Kylo Ren move.

The woman’s eyes narrowed swiftly and she stepped forward. Her stature was imposing as she looked down at Rey, making her feel as if she was a young scavenger again who had not brought back satisfactory parts for Unkar. “No, you don’t know anything. Those padawans are dead. There is no balance.” Her words were harsh and brimming with vulnerability just as her (Y/E/C) eyes were. As if her thoughts had been heard, the woman’s hand sprung up and closed her visor, locking away the only window into her soul Rey had. The mask quickly pivoted and stalked away, heading for the Falcon.

Rey stared after her, mentally digesting everything that had just happened. Kylo had said his balance had died and that was why the Force had connected them, her power being the only one to match his. Yet, this woman was very much alive, brimming with Force sensitivity, and hidden away in the forest of Endor. A fact the Supreme Leader did not know and Rey knew that was intentional. The woman and him had been close, she could sense it, could see it in the way he looked at her the night of the fire. Ben had looked at her with such compassion, held onto her with such need, stopped her from running into danger. The memory, the woman’s memory, replayed in Rey’s mind and she could now see that it had not been her hands touching Ben’s face, not her voice speaking to him, not her name that he had called out in fear.

“No (Y/N), I can’t lose you too!”

“Your name, I heard him speak it.” Rey called after the Jedi, the woman who’s name she now knew. She was uncertain as to why she felt compelled to tell her of her insight, maybe because the young Resistance fighter wanted to prove that she did in fact know something. It was an unwise decision though, to provoke such a powerful Force user.

The ally ceased in her steps, swinging back around with such ferocity, Rey gulped. With the visor closed all she could see was her reflection in the mask. The helmet was cold and distant without the small opening, reminding Rey of a Stormtrooper, or a Knight of Ren, or even Kylo himself… an enemy. This woman was not supposed to be her enemy, no they were allies, brought together by the General and perhaps even the Force.

“And if you were wise, you wouldn’t.” The woman instructed, voice nothing but hostile. She turned once again and left, heading towards the direction Rey had appointed.

Touching the saber and revealing a piece of her buried past had struck a nerve in their already defensive ally. Turning her from guarded and reserved to cold and bitter. Rey’s eyebrows furrowed, she had touched Ben’s saber and saw a memory from the woman’s perspective. She had to be the balance Kylo spoke of, Rey could still feel the phantom attachment the two had in the past. A bond…

Like she had been caressed by a ghost, a chill bit up Rey’s neck as her mind began to repeat the three words the Force had spoken to her months ago. The three words the Force had whispered to her as she searched for a balance. Only when she would repair it then balance could be found within the Force. She had believed that the Jedi could help her in restoring what she had to, but what if this woman, (Y/N), was one half of the broken piece?

Taglist: @2heures @thephantomwriter @thefandomzoneisdangerous @carol-chann @gambitsqueen @pancakefancake @zaneholtzwrites @moonprincess003

@siren-queen03 @dixonsbugaboo @keithseabrook27 @minluc @vampgguk @nhievyenne @robindoesntloveme

#kylo ren #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren x fem!reader #kylo ren fanfiction #ben solo #ben solo x reader #ben solo fanfiction #ben solo x female reader #star wars series #star wars fanfiction #star wars imagine #Adam driver x reader #azwriting

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shm128iii · 5 years ago

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Final Fantasy VII Crack-Theory Time!

FF7 Remake spoilers under the cut.

So in Final Fantasy VII, the Ancients/Cetra were a race of people who were considered stewards of the planet, able to communicate with it. Aerith is said to be the last of the Ancients, and Sephiroth kills her ‘cuz she’s the only with the power to stop Meteor. With her death, they’re all dead and gone.

That said, however, come the Remake...

Which character is the one constantly saying that they can “hear the planet crying out in pain”?

Which character’s actions are almost entirely driven by - even moreso than Aerith - protecting the planet, no matter the cost?

Which character has a surprising amount of knowledge about the Ancients and their teachings when asked about it, even if they claim they “didn’t believe it at first”?

Which character was seemingly able to, in the remake’s ending, use a plant Marlene was tending to in order to let her know that they were alive and okay?

And finally...

Which character was the one that the writers had first planned to have Sephiroth kill in the original game before settling on Aerith instead, and IS killed by him in the remake before getting revived by the Retcon Ghosts Arbiters of Fate?

Barret Wallace is a motherf@#$ing Ancient and you cannot convince me otherwise.

#Final Fantasy VII #Final Fantasy VII Remake #Barret Wallace #Spoilers

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rwby-redux · 5 years ago

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Deconstruction

Worldbuilding: Semblances II

Last time in Part I, we analyzed the failings of Semblances from a meta perspective. Now we’re going to look at them within the context of the actual show. Before we begin, let’s revisit that list of basic traits that are universally shared by Semblances.

A Semblance draws upon Aura as its source of power. When this fuel is depleted, a person can no longer use their Semblance, and must wait for their Aura to regenerate before it can be used again.

The specific ability or nature of one’s Semblance is alleged to be an expression of the user’s personality/character/soul.

Overuse of a Semblance can adversely affect a person and cause physical side effects, such as fatigue, headaches, or fainting.

Semblances can interact with Dust in such a way that their skills are augmented, resulting in the temporary acquisition of new subskills or secondary characteristics.

Through training and regular usage, Semblances can gradually become stronger or more advanced.

The intensity of certain emotions, such as stress, panic, despair, or rage, can cause a person to subconsciously activate their Semblance.

This refresher will be important as we go more in-depth. At the very least, it’ll save you the hassle of having to jump back and forth between tabs.

Limitations of Semblances

Recall point one. If your first instinct is to say, surely having a limited amount of Aura is a good limitation for Semblances, then you’d be forgiven for thinking that. In theory, it makes sense: a power based on a finite energy source does seem like a pretty significant drawback. My main issue with this being a credible limitation for Semblances is that we, the audience, have no way to gauge Aura depletion over time. And by extension, neither do our characters. In the first three Volumes, students used specialized monitors (usually on their scrolls) to keep tabs on Aura over the course of a sparring match. Not only do I like this because it’s a clever visual aid for relaying information to the audience, but also because it conveys clear worldbuilding information: characters don’t seem to have a way of innately sensing when their Aura is low. This idea seems to be reinforced again in V7.E3 - “Ace Operatives.” In the opening scene, Clover reminds RWBY and JN_R that their scrolls have been upgraded with Atlas tech, and they shouldn’t forget to use them. That line of dialogue is accompanied by Blake consulting her scroll for her teammates’ Aura levels. To my knowledge, there’s nothing in the canon that suggests characters can sense or feel when their Aura level drops, or how far away it is from depletion.

Having to rely on scrolls to monitor their Aura would be an excellent limitation to impose on an otherwise limitless superpower. Not only would it require the characters to constantly monitor their Aura, but it could introduce realistic problems. Like what would happen if a character’s scroll was lost, or destroyed, or its batteries died? How would that affect the character’s behavior in regards to Aura-related tasks? Great idea, right?

Now here comes the kicker: we don’t see any evidence of this in the show. When Team RNJR was traveling through Anima, none of them discussed having to find a village to recharge their scrolls. It’s not as if the trees have outlets that they can conveniently plug their scrolls into. Similarly, none of the characters from Volume 3 onward consult their scroll during fights to see where their Aura levels are at. You don’t see characters changing fighting styles midway through a fight in order to conserve what little Aura they have left. You don’t see characters minimizing the use of their Semblance in favor of more efficient tactics.

That’s why limited Aura doesn’t seem like a believable limitation for Semblances—not for a lack of possibility, but for a lack of execution. If characters made more of a fuss about it on-screen, I could buy it. But apart from one or two throw-away lines, characters don’t seem to pay attention to how Aura depletion affects Semblance usage, and by extension, they don’t adjust or change their tactics during combat to compensate for it.

Bear in mind that this discussion has only touched upon general limitations. We haven’t even addressed Semblance-specific limitations yet. Can Marcus Black only steal one Semblance at a time? Can Sun only make a certain number of clones at once? If Yang doesn’t eventually release the energy that she’s stored up, does it backfire on her? Is Pyrrha limited to only one type of magnetism, like ferromagnetism, or can she use more than one type? If Robyn uses her Semblance on someone who’s stating an incorrect fact, but they believe that fact to be true, then does it indicate that the person is lying? Does Hazel’s Semblance allow him to bypass/negate his Aura’s healing factor in order to stab Dust into his body?

And on and on it goes. A combination of vague or poorly-established mechanics for Semblances, coupled with the wide variety of Semblances, makes it impossible to predict what could be a hindrance for our characters down the road. This in turn creates a lack of stakes—how can we, the audience, be invested in the dangers that the cast faces, when we don’t know if those dangers are credible in the first place?

Active versus Passive Semblances

Usually when a character reveals information, it’s meant to answer questions, not create more of them. Such was the case when Qrow revealed his Semblance to Team RNJR for the first time—he brings misfortune, or rather, causes people (and objects in the nearby vicinity) to be blighted by bad luck via the manipulation of probability. Qrow is our introduction to passive Semblances, a term which, if I’m being honest, I’m not even entirely sure is canon. Someone’ll need to correct me on that, but for now “passive Semblance” will do. Because we have precious little information on the topic, I’m going to be relying on direct quotes.

Qrow: My Semblance isn't like most—it's not exactly something I do. It's always there, whether I like it or not. I bring misfortune. [1]

This passage tells us two different things: (1) passive Semblances are always active, and (2) passive Semblances can’t be controlled.

You can already see the problems with introducing a new concept this late in the game, because this new information clashes with what (few) previously-established rules we already have: Do passive Semblances require Aura? If Qrow’s Aura is depleted, will his Semblance continue to run, or will it become unusable like everyone else’s?

This ambiguity becomes even more frustrating when we acquire more information a little over a year later:

“It's not necessarily constantly running, it's more that it randomly spikes to cause unfortunate situations. If he chooses to amplify it in a fight, then yes, it does cost him.” [2]

Now we’re being told that that his Semblance isn’t “always there,” that Qrow can control it to an extent, and that his Semblance only depletes his Aura when he chooses to amplify it. Here we have an example of the character in the show being directly contradicted by one of the show’s creators. This implies that either they didn’t do a good enough job explaining passive Semblances the first time around, or they changed things after the episode aired. It isn’t just a he said/she said issue, either—Semblances requiring Aura is one of RWBY’s core mechanics for its pseudo-magic system, and by having a character whose Semblance breaks that cardinal rule, it makes the writing more difficult to believe or trust in terms of what’s canon versus what’s a retcon; what’s a subplot versus what’s a plothole. It doesn’t help when we get even more contradictory information from later episodes:

Qrow: I wouldn’t thank me. My Semblance brings misfortune. Sometimes I can’t keep it under control. [3]

I’m sorry, I thought we just established that Qrow can only amplify his Semblance. Now you’re telling us that he can partially suppress it too? Either he can’t control it at all, he can amplify it, or he can sometimes suppress its effects. Make up your damn mind.

The effects of his Semblance can be as minor as a coffee spill or as dire as a collapsing building… [4]

No! Stop it! Knocking over a Starbucks latte is not the same thing as demolishing a fucking building.

How is Qrow’s Semblance able to do something as insanely energy-demanding as toppling infrastructure without expending any Aura? How does his Semblance locate or prioritize variables in the environment to exploit/sabotage? Like, if there’s a mouse hanging out near some sort of Dust-powered generator in the building, does his Semblance send out subliminal messaging that convinces the mouse to chew through an electrical wire and cause the generator to explode?

Look, I refuse to believe that spilling a cup of coffee is somehow equal to setting off a stick of TNT or taking a wrecking ball to the side of a skyscraper. It doesn’t make any sense, which means that you have to provide a proper explanation for how it works. Because otherwise you’re going to be left with an audience that assumes Qrow’s Semblance is powered by (a) plot convenience, or (b) rats.

This—all of this, right here—is my issue with passive Semblances. (And don’t even get me started on Clover’s.)

Semblance Discovery, Auratic Plasticity

Did you notice the fancy scientific-sounding term in the heading?

Ooh. Auratic plasticity. That sounds official. You’re probably wondering where that term came from. A scene from Volume 5 you haven’t re-watched in a while (not that I can blame you). A World of Remnant episode, perhaps? Maybe it’s from one of the comics, or the director’s commentary on a DVD, or even an AMA on Reddit?

To answer your question: it didn’t come from any of those. Auratic plasticity is a term I coined exclusively for the Redux. Specifically, for talking about what goes behind discovering a person’s Semblance, and what factors are at play when that Semblance takes on its unique form.

Before we can talk about Auratic plasticity, however, we need to talk about all the ways someone discovers their Semblance. It can vary wildly from person to person. For some, their Semblance unlocks randomly while doing everyday run-of-the-mill things. As alluded to by Taiyang in V4.E9 - “Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back,” Yang’s Semblance activated while she was getting a haircut. For others, it can be the byproduct of training, extreme stress, or an otherwise fatal encounter. [5] In rare instances, Semblances can be hereditary, thus removing any ambiguity of what that person’s Semblance will be when it first activates.

The reason why I bring any of this up is because RWBY’s official stance is that Semblances “generally reflect the wielder’s personality.” [6] If Semblances were generally tied to the personality of the wielder, then it would fail to account for the correlation between the circumstance that triggered the Semblance to manifest, and the resulting Semblance expression.

Let me give you a few examples.

Adaptive Semblance: Nora’s Semblance was unlocked when she was struck by lightning. Consider the fact that her Semblance allows her to absorb electricity without taking any damage from the electric current. Rather than her Semblance being tied to her personality, Nora’s is likely a case of an adaptive Semblance—as in, her circumstances required a very specific Semblance in order to survive the 10,000 amperes running through her body. Instead of her soul generating a Semblance tied to her personality, it prioritized generating a Semblance that would help her survive an immediate and life-threatening scenario.

Innate Semblance: Ruby’s Semblance was discovered one day while training. If we’re to assume that there weren’t any dangerous circumstances factoring into that training session, it’s likely that her soul generated a Semblance that was in fact tied to an aspect of her personality. In this case, her superspeed is a projection of her enthusiasm and hyperactive zeal, and her tendency to prioritize others’ wellbeing over her own, trying to figuratively (and in this case, literally) reach them before they’re harmed.

Hereditary Semblance: Weiss and Winter, and (presumably) Whitley, Willow, and Nicholas all share the glyph-based Semblance unique to the Schnee lineage. The confirmation of their Semblance being explicitly hereditary contradicts the idea that Semblances are an expression of one’s personality. If we go by that logic, it implies that—what, their personalities are all the same? They have no individuality? I’m sorry, but that’s just dumb.

This is why Semblance discovery is important, and why the canon should have paid more attention to developing it. There’s pretty compelling evidence for a person’s Semblance being tied to multiple factors apart from their “personality.” I know that I’m digressing here a bit, but the main reason why I bring up this correlation isn’t just because it clarifies inconsistencies with the canon. It also presents an opportunity to enrich the lore of the show.

In the Redux, Auratic plasticity is the ability of the soul to generate a Semblance based on either an immutable personality trait (innate), a scenario-specific survival method (adaptive), or a “genetic” trait that’s repeatedly selected for due to its inherent fitness (inherited). These three categories are determined by a value called hierarchical prioritization—basically, it’s the soul’s ability to decide what Semblance-trigger gets precedence. I’ll get into more detail when I start the Amendment, but it felt important to clarify my intentions early, so I could justify writing 700 words on why Semblance discovery is important.

Adverse Effects of Using Semblances

Unlike Limitations, which focuses on what a Semblance can or can’t do, Adverse Effects deals with the negative repercussions/consequences of using a Semblance.

Or in RWBY’s case, a lack thereof.

(For the moment, let’s set aside the magic/not magic discourse and acknowledge that yes, in the traditional sense, Aura, Semblances, and Dust are part of RWBY’s magic system, the same way bending is part of A:TLA’s.)

When designing a magic system, you’ve got to balance it. Otherwise, the system contains powers that are vaguely-defined, OP, and bereft of any costs.

One way to implement a system of checks and balances is by giving that system a cost for using it. In RWBY’s case, the only “cost” experienced by characters is physical fatigue whenever they overextend themselves. But in the grand scheme of things it’s not really a detrimental consequence, in part because of how infrequently exhaustion is viewed as a legitimate threat. Seriously. When was the last time you saw the main cast fail because they overdid it while using their Semblances? It just doesn’t happen.

One way you could implement a cost is by tying Semblance usage to a physical demand. According an article by Julia Belluz, Winter Olympic athletes consume anywhere between 1,300 - 2,500 and 4,000 - 7,000 calories on average per day.

It wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to apply this to RWBY. Given the high-intensity acrobatics the characters perform on the regular, it would make sense that strenuous physical activity, coupled with Semblance usage, would create costs in the form of caloric needs. Maybe that’s an issue Team RNJR needs to deal with while backpacking across Anima. Is food a top priority for them? Do they have to restrict Semblance usage when running low on rations? Does the group ever have to hunt or forage for food to meet the energy demands of fighting Grimm?

Not only does this balance out Semblances, but it opens the door for potential worldbuilding. Is “Huntsman” ever used as a euphemism for “glutton”? Do all-you-can-eat buffets ban Huntsmen from their establishments? Do Huntsmen have a reputation for being less picky about food options? In places that use trade-and-barter systems, are Huntsmen willing to accept food as payment instead of lien?

I think that’s more or less everything I wanted to say about Semblances. I have a few unrelated nitpicks, but I can save those for another time. This post is already longer than I intended it to be.

[1] Volume 4, Episode 8: “A Much Needed Talk.”

[2] Shawcross, Kerry. “CRWBY AMA.” Reddit interview. February 12, 2018. [https://www.reddit.com/r/RWBY/comments/7x3w4s/crwby_ama_w_miles_luna_kerry_shawcross_and_paula/du5bpdm/?context=3]

[3] Volume 7, Episode 3: “Ace Operatives.”

[4] Wallace, Daniel. The World of RWBY: The Official Companion. VIZ Media LLC, 2019, page 94.

[5] Volume 5, Episode 4: “Lighting the Fire.”

[6] Wallace, Daniel. The World of RWBY: The Official Companion. VIZ Media LLC, 2019, page 39.

#deconstruction #worldbuilding #writing #semblances

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