#one thing I really don't understand is why the focus on the female pov character's eyes the color of emeralds flawless features etc etc

[lovemyromance]

Why do you think there won't be an Illyrian plotline? There's been a lot of emphasis on Ramiel, the BR, the focus on the political unrest in Illyria and the backwardness of the wing-clipping of Illyrian females

This might get me cancelled but quite frankly I don't think SJM is capable of or even wants to explore that kind of story.

I don't like bringing race into things, but SJM is a white woman. It can't be ignored. While I'm not trying to say that people of a certain race can't write about injustice or about a different oppressed race, especially one that's fictional- I just think SJM specifically doesn't have the right voice... so to speak... to write such a story.

Like I am sure she understands injustice. She understands classism. She understands oppression. But a story like that deserves a full focus, a full detailed account into that narrative of feeling oppressed, feeling like you are inferior, feeling like you are lower than an entire group of people ... all based on something you couldn't even control.

That kind of story doesn't fit into what she has set up for ACOTAR. SJM is not writing a story about social justice. She is writing a romantasy. The focus being on romance, just as much as it is on the fantasy elements of magic and powers and drama and suspense and thrilling action.

The Illyrian world building isn't the focus of her story. It is the backstory to explain the current state. Like the distinction between High Fae vs Lesser fae. It exists to serve as background context, and nothing more in my opinion. It is a plot device. It shows why Rhys/Cassain/Azriel are the way that they are. It adds to the political conflict post ACOWAR. It gives Emerie a backstory.

I see that entire subplot the same way I think SJM uses SA as just a "check the box: trauma ✔️" when she's coming up with her characters backstories. It exists for the sole purpose of character building. SA trauma is used for several of her main and side characters, but it's never really focused on. Rhys talks about it with Feyre, explaining how horrible it was, but nothing beyond that. No focus on Rhys's healing from that, not even a Rhys POV about his thoughts on it. Gwyn also has SA, but beyond sharing her background with Nesta and being in that library, it's literally never brought up again. Lucian's SA with Ianthe is also barely brought up or even talked about.

Emerie feeling anger and self-hatred over her wings being clipped is honestly the most SJM has done with the Illyrian plotline. Azriel has outright claimed he doesn't care if Illyria is blasted off the map. Cassian tries to help, but most of ACOSF was focused on him and Nesta. This would've been the perfect opportunity to have Nesta train in Windhaven and learn more about the Illyrians and help Emerie -> but she didn't want to train there. So back to the HOW we go.

And to be clear - I'm not trying to criticize SJM. She is writing a romantasy. That needs to be kept in mind. People who open her books are expecting romance, drama, action. They are not expecting to read 800 pages on fictional social oppression. They are not expecting to read 800 pages of someone recovering from SA.

Like there are other books for that. There are amazing other books for that. But ACOTAR? That's not what ACOTAR is made for.

SJM has not even set up any main characters to be able to narrate that Illyrian subplot. Emerie is the only one that comes to mind that could actually give a detailed account of what it feels like. But she's not even talked about when it comes to getting one of the next spinoffs.

These kind of stories about social injustice need to be handled with care and grace, but also be truthful enough that it's not sugarcoating the true atrocities people faced. And I know this is about a fictional world, but I see this world building as similar to real life events. Like when early American colonizers drove out the native Americans. Jim Crow laws. Apartheid. Indians that suffered under the rule of the British. Jews during WWII.

Illyria might be fictional but oppression is not. If you're going to write about something like that, it's going to be open to a lot of scrutiny and it will have to be the focus. It will have to be written with careful, yet honest words. And SJM - or at least her editors- know that too.

It doesn't fit the story she has set up with ACOTAR. And if she tried to do it now, I don't think it would even go over well.

[silviakundera]

I found your blog while watching for love's sake splendid drama and nice commentary from you I saw you watch chinese shows and I have a question am I dumb or because why are they so frustrating I don't know if it's because I'm used to japanese ones where there isn't much romance and this is how romance is written these days or is this a cultural thing because why every one of these I watch has such weird romantic relationships where this dude is breaking his back for her from day 1 and this dudette is out here acting like he's number 5 on her priority list?

yaassss Love for Love's Sake representation. I will never rest from reccing that drama 👏👏 you clearly are NOT dumb & have great taste 😘

for cdramas, my beloved, in my experience of watching in recent years is that there is such a wide breadth of genres & tones. There is just SO MUCH. Definitely chinese entertainment has its own tropes and way of portraying romance. And you either like or you don't. But there are many different flavors. If you feel like you were seeing the same dynamic repeatedly, it may have been bad luck.

If you prefer minimal romance, there are definitely options for that in cdramas! There are mystery/investigation dramas and wuxia martial arts dramas with little to no romance. Because of censorship the gay romances naturally are circumspect and light on the romance (see: The Untamed, Couple of Mirrors, Word of Honor, Spirealm, Guardian). Since you like Love for Love's Sake, I'd rec The Spirealm on Viki - also queer love story about a guy who enters a video game and the people he meets there become real to him; though warning it IS censored and that means the ending is more ambiguous. I can't promise you'll like it. (Semantic Error and Eighth Sense are my other 2 fav korean gay romances btw. )

There are also cdramas that do include romance but in terms of screen time the romance is like 30% of scenes and the plot & character arcs are 70% of scenes. Like in Blossoms in Adversity that I'm watching now, yeah there is most definitely romance but the FL/ML romance scenes compromise like 25% of the overall screen time. It's about way more than who she might marry.

But also in terms of cultural differences? hmm idk because I'm not chinese. I really should NOT speak like I understand their PoV. From an outsider's perspective, I have felt like there are many cdramas with overtly feminist themes - commentary about restrictions on women, the challenges of navigating through a society that can be unfair and entrenched with misogyny. (I joke and yet not that chinese entertainment seems to have 3 propaganda drums that it beats: nationalism/unification, anti-war, and feminism.) It's certainly a fact that many cdramas feature female characters that fall in love but they maintain other priorites & don't let themselves be subsumed in devotion to a man. They have romance & find love but "keep their eye on the prize."

My best guess (??) about this is that it's a rebellion against old cultural mores about women's role being subserviant to father then husband, when during imperial times a woman was expected to prioritze her husband and his family above her own wants, health, and happiness. (It was immoral to be jealous or not follow direction from the man.) Modern chinese screenwriters, both men and women, appear to be writing for an audience that will respect & support the idea of a woman who has her own agenda and maintains focus on her goals despite her love for the ML. Perhaps because this is viewed as moving away from "old thinking". idk.

I presume the target audience in china for romance dramas simply doesn't worry so much that the ML is getting loved enough & aren't as sensitive to thinking he might be at a disadvantage... They're aware society is already set up to his advatange & for much of history he would have all the power in the relationship. (He might bend now and be giving it his all, but the audience knows he can tap into more power & control at will. if she gives up control & her goals, it will be harder for her to recover & reclaim status/money/power compared to him. There are dramas I've seen that pretty much explicitly state that FL wants to earn her own status and money that is hers, thru her own efforts, not lent by him - not prestige or wealth that comes through him and thus could be taken away).

Personally I don't view this as unromantic, just the practical realities of existing in a patriarchal society. (cdramas can hit different imo because they can be blunt about how people operate based on self-interest & pettiness, the realities of classism, the ugliness of rumors, how judgmental people can be about appearances, how you can't always get justice when wronged. Reminds me of the Discworld books that were very frank about how the common people commonly are. It's not saying: this is how people should be; it's saying: this is how things are, the bitterness of life, but you can still find sweetness & meaning within it)

There's another aspect: some cdramas have male protagonists (e.g. Mysterious Lotus Casebook, Blood of Youth, League of Nobleman, Eternal Brotherhood) and some have female protagonists. If you're watching a female protagonist, as the protagonist her priorities & goals are the story driver. So her love interest will take a back seat to that even though it's a romance. He's a support role - his job in the story is to break his back for the protagonist. (A Journey to Love is an example where ML and FL share the protagonist role & you can see that in how things play out, how they each have separate priorities that don't get dropped for love.)

At the end of the day, there are plenty of cdrama romances where I ship it hard and feel a mutual love & devotion between the couple. My fav flavor is where both FL and ML have their own strengths and can be counted on to support each other. I'm not keeping score on who owes who, and neither are they.

But it's all not gonna to be to everyone's taste and that's fine. :) When it comes to international tv, if we enjoy content from other countries then it's our good luck. But if we don't...well, it wasn't made for us. That's ok.

[thechosenanubis]

Hey, @mask-of-anubis hope you don't mind that i made a separate post with your tags as the main focus point. ( the tags are taken from this post if anyone is curious) But I felt the the topic is too important to just be kept in the tags.

Thoughts under the cut.

I want to preface this post by saying that you're completely right, that the hoa girls are held at a much higher standard compared to the boys. Sadly this is a common reccurence in most media.

Female characters are scrutinized for everything they do, no matter if you are a "traditonal gal", a "female warrior" or something in between.

As you pointed out, these girls are complex and they make mistakes ( and thank god that they do, because if they didn't and were instead some mary sues hoa would be boring as hell). We have to thank the writers for that because they wanted to create human characters.

Simply put: people scream about wanting "complex female characters!" and when they get them on screen they whine about how "toxic" "pathetic" "whiny" "bitchy" they are.

Let's take for example the worst form of this behavior: The S2 Joy-Nina rivalry. (yes, i'm really going there).

I'm one of the few people in the entire hoa fandom, that thinks that their rivalry ( while i can agree that it overstayed its welcome sometimes) was actually a good arc, and in some ways was inevitable.

People thinks that feminism means "the girls must always get along!" Ignoring that forcing two girls who have very different views, becoming friends just for the sake of Feminism™ is actually going to diminsh the quality of the story, and the characters themselves too.

In fact, since its quite implied in the pilot that joy has a major crush of Fabian, and i'm sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but no girl is going to be happy that her crush isn't single anymore, especially when (at least from joy's pov) she and fabian were quite close. Of course, the way joy went about it in s2 was wrong, but the girl is traumatized ( as all the characters in the show are to various degrees lol) and instead of blaming the teachers, she focused her anger on the easy target.

But keep in mind that Nina isn't a saint either: she's passive aggressive to an unhealthy degree, she lashes out at her friends, and is very possessive about a boy who isn't her boyfriend anymore.

But people, instead of trying to understand why they act that way, They prefer the easy way out aka calling them something along the lines of "Bitch" "Horrible" "Toxic" "Pathetic" "Whiny" "Bully" and everything else under the sun.

Really it's quite concerning that i've seen this behavior in multiple fandoms, and it has no intention of stopping. And no matter how you spin it, female characters can never win, because people will find a way to hate them regardless.

Because as you said, when did male characters ever been held responsible for their own actions? Right, never.

Because fans, somehow to make their fave male character "he's just a soft boy™ who can do no wrong ever" , they have to ignore every single flaw they have. Even if those flaws make them interesting.

Instead female characters are always blamed, villified for the same things the male characters do.

And really everything comes down to the double standard , doesn't it?

[variousqueerthings]

You're monsters. Here you are, hiding away at the end of time. Do you even know why? Because you are hated.

Hell Bent... and I think this will be a funny old rating after Heaven Sent.... I wonder if I need to at one point in the future once I'm a bit less inured with this era of dw go back and watch capaldi's era again with somewhat unblinkered eyes, because my confession is that... I don't understand a lot of what happened in Hell Bent, and I'm not sure if it's because it's a whole lotta nonsense or because I've maybe gone a little too hard on watching this era in a relatively short timeframe

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 10/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or given agency to her emotional interiority): 7/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 2/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 7/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 6/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 4/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 7/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 10/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 3/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 5/10

FULL RATING: 61/100 (if I can count….)

this rating is so fuckn funny to me. really up and down the scale! still, for anyone who's seen me rate a M*ffat finale before, this is by far the highest rated one. fuckn. easily. and all you needed to do, was centre the Companion character. didn't even need to write a plot that made sense (clearly)

OBJECTIFICATION: leaving on a high note, Clara is Not Objectified! neither is anyone else. gosh my standards are low sometimes.

PLOT-POINT: Clara is Not just a plot point in this either! woo! it takes us awhile to get to her, but then she has some pretty strong opinions, which she does enforce, on how she should be treated, which I think is especially Neat opposite Time Lords, who often tend to see humans (amongst many others) as inherently unimportant in the grand scheme of things

this episode honestly single-handedly gives me a lot of what I'd been constantly asking for with Clara, and while it is... well, it's very very very late into her run, it is nice that she leaves on a highnote. this idea of not wanting to die, and fighting against that death until it's on her terms is far more how I read Clara-as-character as well, versus the whole Thing in Face The Raven. thiiiis is who I see her as, at core

COMPLEXITY: so I actually went and looked at the wiki rundown of this episode and it states this -- "Aided by the Gallifreyan military, the Doctor usurps and exiles Lord President Rassilon. Now the new President, the Doctor learns that Rassilon imprisoned him in the dial to force him to confess about the Hybrid, which is prophesied by the Time Lords to stand in Gallifrey's ruins and unravel the Web of Time."

and I'm like, yeah, that's... that's what I thought happened uh, which... is all really dumb, as far as I can tell. wh- how did the Doctor's Confession Dial get to Gallifrey? why did they trap the Doctor in there as the best way to figure out the "truth" about the Hybrid? why does anyone think the Doctor knows anything about this in the first place? oh gosh, there's stuff here that belongs on the "godlike" doctor point, so I'll skip the "aided by the military" bit for now, but also... is this post-Time War then (yes, because they mention the Doctor is war hero... sigh) but... is Rassilon still in charge? how was that so easy???? what is the Web of Time, did we learn about this earlier???

all of this kind of -- as far as I can tell -- happens in the episode in a sort of "you know, all of this naturally a progression from one thing to the next" kind of way, and it's... it's not a natural progression! I've said a couple of times this season that it feels like I've missed an episode, but oh booooy does this episode hammer that home.

and that's just the opening, what happens next???

ok so the Doctor has the Time Lords retrieve Clara at the moment of her death, this is fine -- I mean, I still don't know why he's on Gallifrey to begin with, how they brought him there, or why they're doing as he tells them, but the Clara part of this story is actually the part that I enjoy!!! this is Clara's strongest episode this season and it's her goodbye! (well, I'm glad her goodbye episode doesn't suck actually, I'm glad she gets a nice send-off)

anyway then the Doctor and Clara run around Gallifrey for a bit, because technically Clara needs to go back and die, the Doctor steals a Tardis, all of this middle section, great, my love T'nia Miller is a Time Lord!!!! aw yeah!

then they go to the end end end of the Universe I guess and stumble over... Me! Me is fuckn! Still alive!!!!!!!! not a fucking scratch!!!!!!! how??????? why??????????? what is your purpose!!!!!!!

no, her purpose is to give this counterpoint about immortality and the Doctor, there's a metaphor here on idk. being this long-lived I guess. it's been done better before, numerous times, better with Jack, better with that guy in Lazarus Experiment, better in The God Complex, better with a whole buncha Time Lords, better in The Three Doctors, and I'm sure a whole host of other Classic!Who episodes I have yet to watch

the thing about Me is that she's introduced halfway through the season, her first episode is pretty good, her second episode is fiiine -- I'd say good even, on its own/in connection with the first episode, and then her third episode hits and I kinda... oh she's there to be an antagonist, but in a mysterious way where you're not sure where she stands, except she's made a whole bunch of errors, which she's not really enough of a character for me to feel any kind of sympathy with. when she realises she killed Clara, and she apologises, I don't care because she and Clara don't really have a relationship that makes it land for me

when she talks about the difficulties in setting up that refugee society, I don't care because I know we're not going to get anything really about this society and it's not going to influence the rest of the plot, and it didn't

she's such a thinly drawn character, that her use as a metaphor or a parable or a comparison or whatever she's meant to be doing is too loose for me to figure out what it is. it sucks to be immortal? I... I guess?

and now the Doctor wonders if she's not the Hybrid (which is the plottwist when the Doctor says "the Hybrid is me," he's actually saying "Me" as a name, fuckn... get it???) but... I still don't get why this Hybrid matters outside of a sudden prophecy or how it affects the greater universe that's been built. it feels like a last-minute addition to this season that they very quickly gave a few key characters a line here and there to allude to and then hoped it would stick. it makes no goshdarn sense!

technically I like this episode better than I've liked any other previous M*ffat-era finale episode, because it feels far more personal than any of those -- it's really about Clara saying goodbye on her own terms and that I really like

but the plot to get there is, as far as I can tell, nonsensical in its own internal logic.

oh, ok, to return to said plot, they're at the end of the Universe and Me -- the most immortal of all the immortals... somehow..... -- is just hanging out there in the ruins of Gallifrey, which... how'd she get there don't even worry about it, because we won't know and we've already apparently brought Gallifrey back into the main Universe somehow and I guess she just instinctively knew she'd come across the Doctor here or... idk, idkkkkk... I don't know. so much in this I don't know

the Doctor has a cunning plan to get rid of Clara's memory so that the Time Lords can't find her (?) and Clara overhears and rightfully goes "nuh-uh-uh, that's fucked up dude" (sure is, also... don't understand why it would work), but then she goes how about we basically roll the dice and one of us loses their memory and the Doctor says that sounds fair, and they do that and the Doctor has some brief Clara-amnesia

I don't understand why they do this. actually this is the main one that has me scratching my head. was it so that Clara could run while the Doctor was an amnesiac, is that what it was? I genuinely feel like maybe I just missed something on this one, but anyway, yeah, the Doctor pieces it back together, Clara runs off with Me in their Tardis (which the Doctor stole earlier) which got stuck as an American diner, the Doctor leaves in his Tardis, which had all the graffiti on it that Rigsy did, which disappears as the Tardis leaves

I think I need to rewatch that ending, because I was unclear actually on whether the Doctor remembers her face or not. it's not something that really bothers me in the way the rest of the plot-happenings in this episode do, but it's just something I wonder. I think that ending is good. I think it's bittersweet. I think it's a shame that Me doesn't feel more drawn, and that Clara didn't have much to do this season, so that them running off together felt like a natural next step, but I will take it as something one can definitely work with

I think it felt very natural to what I do feel I understand about Clara's character, and I like that she left the Doctor behind to go off on her own terms (honestly I never felt like she actually valued the Doctor much beyond what he was doing for her, but that's another post -- not like an "anti" post or anything, more of a "so Clara's kind of a messy bitch" post, which from what I've seen in fandom is something that's pretty chill of an opinion and in fact features heavily in why many people do like her character)

but yeah that plot... what?

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: Clara is in suspension and will eventually die, but on her own terms. the Doctor is alone again.

Gallifrey is uh... still not sure tbh. that was confusing. Rassilon is deposed? is he? does it matter? I don't think it matters

I'll still rate this point highly, because it is another of the big switches in the story -- new companion will be coming up, let's see how these events affect the Doctor's relationship with her

COMPANIONS MATTER: Clara is more proactive in this episode than most any other of her run since... s7 I'd say. I'd have to double-check on that statement, but it has been a continuous Thing to me that Clara is there to talk fast, make witty comments, and either wait for the Doctor to give her instructions, or take matters into her own hands in ways that make her straight-up villain coded at times

in this one once she's on Gallifrey with the Doctor and they're running around in this spooky place, there's some Stuff she does, while the Doctor fetches the ersatz Tardis + she calls out the Time Lords for sucking, which is always winner behaviour

and then she decides when she dies, in the future... the long way round. still not sure about the whole mindwipe thing, but at least that's on her terms as well (although again... not villain coded but certainly unhinged and for what, that one)

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: there's this bit at the beginning that I find insufferable, where the Doctor returns to the barn they were raised in (I do think it's funny that s7 showed the barn and then s8 was like "no yeah they were literally raised in a barn") and all the Shobogans (I'm assuming?) gather around, whispering tales of this super cool basically mythological figure, and then Rassilon orders the troops to capture the Doctor and the Doctor simply sends them off by being so cool, and then at the end Rassilon goes "fuckit kill him" and the troops are all going "no, this guy's a War Hero" and join with the Doctor and depose Rassilon for the sake of how fuckn Cool this guy is

it's everything I dislike in Who boiled into like. what was it 15 minutes or whatever of television?

also the Doctor then just steals another Tardis and runs off again, why did we need this whole build-up, there were other ways to get the Doctor to the citadel (like just straight up capturing him, you're being depicted as a military state, wtf do you care if someone has a good reputation in a war, even your super special war, and also why is the Doctor banking on this reputation, what is this whole bit saying???)

ohhhhhhhh it's soo. urgh. for the rest of the episode, the Doctor doesn't actually take centre stage so much in my opinion. once Clara is back, yeah there's some "ooh the Doctor what'll he do now" but mainly it's Clara with a bit of Time War lore sprinkled in, and then the whole bit at the end of the Universe where they reveal... do they reveal the Hybrid? is it just "the Doctor did too much to help Clara and that was bad"? genuinely does the Hybrid come up again ever???

but yeah that beginning.... at least Capaldi actually does look cool, whenever they tried something like this with Matt Smith, I was like, why is everyone staring in awe at a 12yr old?

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: what is the Time War anymore but a way to make the Doctor's street cred go up?

there is stuff, like the Tardis looking like the 1963 Tardis, "reverse the polarity," the memory wipe references Donna, the Bad Wolf motif inexplicably shows up (I do wonder what that has to do with this episode) -- it's just the way that war is talked about makes my skin itch, otherwise relatively chill

“SEXINESS”: and thus, we send Clara on her next journey, happy in the knowledge that JLC, along with Capaldi, cured this run from terrible sexy dialogue

INTERNAL WORLD: Gallifrey as society? I hardly knew her. Military politics? dictatorship? Shobogans? idk, here's a barn, and now here's some. rooms. end of the Universe Gallifrey? uh. is also there

I think especially after setting up so many questions in the previous episode and ending it on that shot of the Citadel, this is kind of a let-down

POLITICS: so it's not really that political, but I did highlight the military element a few times, and I do think there should be more to it on this show than "this war guy good and that war guy bad because this is the hero and you're not." there has been more gravitas given to it than that, including in M*ffat's run so idk why... this.....

I also think the Doctor's own political relationship with Gallifrey is kind of not really a Thing in this -- and the Doctor has a more complicated relationship that "Time Lords Bad/Good" or even "always outside the Status Quo." The Doctor has done Status Quoing before, even though they're technically not a big fan of a lot of the setup in this place, but in this story none of that is really what's interesting

also a brief extra moment of "oh now I'm regenerated into a Woman, I realise that the other me was so full of Testosterone and Ego" that... ok we get it, you're trying feminism on for size. now we just need to get into the third wave, at least

FULL RATING: 61/100 (if I can count….)

AFTER ALL OF THAT, Clara leaves on a high. isn't that funny.

but seriously, there's so many questions I have, and if they do in fact get answered in the episode, mea culpa and all that, but uh. yeah, I was going "wait what's going on? why?" the entire way through

sometimes nonsense has gotta be gotten through in service to emotional pay-off, I guess. Au revoir Clara, hope you have a lovely time doing exactly what you've been doing before: getting into a toxic relationship with an ancient being in a time travel machine

(and next episode we say goodbye to River as well, lotta fuckn goodbyes happening huh)

similar question to last episode, why is it called Hell Bent? (I really need to get that list of questions together so I can do a concentrated search)

[consistentsquash]

Asoiaf Detailed Rec - Rubicon: A Dreamer's Sextet

Asoiaf Sunday! Easter Sunday so best time to rec a fic about the Failed!Jesus archetype Rhaegar Targaryen. I am actually late by one day but anyway.

TL;DR - He's a total loser. But also the guy who never learned to hate.

My fav author summary ever - She is horny. He is not. They live.

Why Rec - Because using sex for character development and story exposition is valid! Because good ace representation doesn't have to always mean sex repulsed. Because sometimes humans do be complicated and messy. Because established relationship means you have got to keep establishing it. Because het doesn't mean it can't be super queer. Rhaegar is Ace coded with really low/zero sex drive but he's got the kinkiest married sex life and that becomes the biggest building block in their relationship. This is actually my favorite Ace characterization I have personally read.

YMMV - I feel like when a fic deviates from a lot of standard conventions it can be a tough sell. Which is totally understandable. I am reccing it because I loved it. But of course YMMV. These things are subjective. There is a lot of sex for exposition which can also be YMMV.

Big things - This fic won't make sense if you don't have some basic info about their canon.

Ok! Time for details! Sorry if my rec is really bad but I don't go for het fics normally. Also no agegaps. Also they are married. Also they have kids. Stuff I totally nope out of. Idk I mean trust me. It's an eldritcher fic. So it's just really weird/sensitive/brilliant. Nothing is normal.

Will probably clean this up for writing a meta on AO3 later :D If i get the motivation.

Link - Rubicon: A Dreamer's Sextet

Author - eldritcher

Pairing - Rhaegar/Elia. There is also some vibes of Rhaegar/Oberyn but it's complicated.

Type - het, canon divergence, Not canon compliant in the sense Rhaegar, Elia and their children survive

Length - 150000 words. Complete. It's a collection of fics. So depending on whether you read the full thing or just some one shots the length is going to be different. I used the series length here. We get POV one shots from Rhaegar, Elia, Aerys, Rhaella, Arthur Dayne, Rhaenys, Lyanna, Oberyn, Doran. Highly recommend reading the full thing because it's brilliant.

Themes - Asexuality

One of the best parts about this fic. It really said here is this handsome hero archetype everybody crushes on. Also he is Ace. Deal with it. Total sensualist. But you can have sensuality w/o wanting sex. You can also be sex positive. You can also be bi and ace. Like you can be anything and how you feel about things can change from time to time. Mess is ok. Of course it doesn't say it like it. The fic doesn't feel like checklists on good rep. It's just when you read it you get it. YMMV. Idk if that's better than flat out saying things. But this really worked for me. Also the reason why I am writing a het fic rec. Omg.

Themes - Masculinity

Rhaegar's characterization is a meditiation on masculinity. Idk how to explain. But it breaks him down in this flesh and blood style. Really sensitive. Normally in fanfic/romance genre I am more used to seeing sensitive takes on female characters instead of male characters. Especially cishet hero type male characters in a het fic where they can be for wish fulfilment type roles. Slash fic is of course different but also similar. One of the M/M characters generally will get more sensitivity/focus compared to the other character. This is pretty different. The vulnerability/nuance in Rhaegar's characterization is insane.

Themes - Queer

Asoiaf fandom like hp fandom can get pretty weird about what a het fic should be like. Probably not the right place to talk about it. But I feel fanfics can be subversive in a lot of ways. I really love how this fic subverts some fandom concept of a het fic. Rhaegar and Elia are really queer in the sense they are super different. They are not neurotypical, they both have hyperfixations, dysphoria but at like some emotional level. Anyway it's the type of mess idk how to describe because they are super messy humans.

Odd and odd, matched in equal wedlock, and it has become something like felicity.

It really says you can be weird and also the world's biggest loser but you can be happy in a relationship.

Themes - Failure

The biggest win of this fic is the Rhaegar POV. He is a pretty controversial/polarizing character whose motives are unknown/ambiguous in canon. Fandom can get into whitewashing/bashing territory for that type of character.

This fic straight out builds his character as a failure and also makes us sympathize with him. I mean you end up rooting for him because that's how great the character development is.

He carries the rivers he failed to cross.

Themes - Love

A really unconventional love story. But it's definitely love. It's the type of love that just becomes mythological but like without epic soundtracks or montages.

There is a promise in the reek of burned clothes and hair and the man bathed in her water. Something of the father handed to the spouse. It is only a promise. Words are not deeds. It is only a promise, that he will cross this last river to her.

What I really love is how they really fail a lot. Like they make promises and don't succeed like they want. But it's ok. Because trying your best counts! Points for effort! :D

Themes - Hope

I mean! This is an eldritcher fic. Hope is everywhere! The vibe is pretty Tolkien about that. Sometimes you got to believe in stories and that's what you need to get to the other side of some tunnel.

"Nymeria fled the cruel dragon-lords after Garin fell. She took her people with her, on any sea-worthy vessel they could get their hands on. They sailed, for months and months, until months became years. Many perished, many deserted, many rebelled. One night, Nymeria stood at the steer of her vessel, and looked up at the bare sky in despair. Perhaps she prayed to a god. Perhaps she prayed to none. A star rose for her. Bright it was, and enduring. She led her fleet where the star went, south and south and south, until they washed ashore on Dorne. There, waiting for her, beneath the star, was Mors Martell. Gladly, she married him and twined their houses, binding her sun to his spear. He gave her a myrtle crown and taught her about the fruitage of oranges. Thus she became the Dornishman's wife." An old tale Doran liked to tell Oberyn and her when they were children. Her odd husband listens to her raptly. There is a strangeness in him that is not merely dragon-blood or dreams. She thumbs his brows to undo the frown that has settled there. Children believe in stories. And it is belief that gives stories life. "Only a story," she tells him.

Themes - Feminism

Really, really feminist. I mean. Idk how to explain. It is a Rhaegar centric fic. But a male protagonist doesn't have to mean you can't have a fic which is feminist. Rubicon is pretty uncompromising on that. No boss ladies or femme fatale or archetypes like that. But this story in canon is a really slippery one for the Bechdel test. Which means the fic fandom just can get into character/ship bashing and writing female characters like archetypes/pit them against each other. I really love how the fic explores the female character trauma in the canon with a lot of sensitivity.

Characterizations

Book characterizations. No show elements from GOT. But the characterizations are deeper/more nuanced because these are not POV characters in the books. They are dead by the time the books start. Really beautiful interwoven characterizations where you can see Isabel Allende style The House of Spirits influence in their generational trauma. This fic got me from somebody who just didn't like Rhaegar's character to actually seeing him in a more interesting light. Deep and beautiful characterization and character dynamics of the Robert's Era Rebellion Targaryens. The Aerys and Rhaella POVs are insanely good and dark. The Rhaegar characterization is superb. Elia is also brilliantly characterized. The whole series is unforgettable, intense, unsettling, uncomfortable and absolutely a must read.

Plot

It doesn't really have a lot of plot. It's just Rhaegar and Elia from 16 to 40. How their characters change/grow. The plot parts are just the canon divergence because they survive the war and get a bittersweet ending.

Prose

The prose style is kind of less poetic compared to Ossuarium. Which works great because Ossuarium had dragons. By the time this fic happens in the canon timeline the dragons are dead. So their world is less supernatural/magical. The lowkey prose kind of reflects that.

Some other thoughts

Rubicon is Ossuarium honestly. Just a continuation in the canon timeline. It has the same queerness and feminism vibes IMO. YMMV.

Length - 150000 words. Complete. It's a collection of fics. So depending on whether you read the full thing or just some one shots the length is going to be different. I used the series length here. We get POV one shots from Rhaegar, Elia, Aerys, Rhaella, Arthur Dayne, Rhaenys, Lyanna, Oberyn, Doran. Highly recommend reading the full series because it's insanely brilliant.

[fractalfractures]

Introducing Books 2 and 3

I take back everything I said about Book 2 being a more interesting genre. It is also, to all appearances, a romance novel, and definitely takes place in the modern world.

So far the story goes:

Prologue: Main character looks at a beautiful starry night and thinks cynical thoughts about how life is suffering and the only person you can rely on is yourself, and how it’s been 13 years since the incident that taught him this, which he considers the beginning of his current life. Also, he lives in a cabin surrounded by trees, and his family owns an inn, and it’s pitch dark all around with the village’s lights barely twinkling on the horizon, so sue me for thinking this was a medieval hamlet somewhere.

Chapter 1: He goes into town to run some errands and runs into ... HER. The person he sees in all his nightmares. Turns out that betrayal of 13 years ago was by the girl he’d thought was his soulmate. And she’s all, “Hi! Remember me?” and he’s basically “I do everything I can to forget you, please go away and never interact with me again,” and she’s like, “Oh, so you still think about me, yay! That’s great, since I obviously came to this tiny boring town just to be near you, and I’m threatening to stay here for ever and ever! Now I’m going to keep smiling and being fake-friendly and pretending you want to go out for coffee with me,” and he is nearly fainting from terror until he gets his chance to escape, and also mad at himself for noticing exactly how beautiful she is (obligatory description of her looks, including skin so blindingly pale it burns with a few minutes in the sun, yet is somehow devoid of so much as a single freckle, and as a pale-skinned individual myself who has to deal with far worse than freckles no matter how often I apply sunscreen, it’s like she’s TRYING to make me hate the character even more than I already did.)

Chapter 1, part 2: 13 years ago, the girl’s point of view. They are both 16 and in high school. She’s new in the boring little town, her family having moved because of financial difficulties, and there are some Bella Swan parallels with how she relates to her parents. She literally runs into the guy who was until now our main character, and just can’t take her eyes off of him and has now idea why. Then when she gets to class the only available seat is right in front of him, and she’s just so aware of his presence behind her she can’t concentrate on the lecture! Meanwhile her friend has spent the whole chapter trying to warn her that he’s bad, bad news and she should stay far away from him, nobody at school (except his one friend) can stand him even though he’s rich and throws the best parties, and as for why they go to his parties, it’s like a Communist dictatorship where nobody likes the supreme leader but they’re also not about to say so to his face. It’s just easier if they all follow his orders and that way no one has to deal with his explosive temper.

Chapter 2: Present day, dude’s POV. He helps his bff fix a car and practices taking in every detail of his surroundings without seeming to pay attention, a highly-developed skill that serves him well in some kind of mysteriously-alluded-to job that will probably be explained a bit more when I finish translating this chapter.

So that one’s looking to be its own kind of hot mess. Translating it felt super fast compared to the other one, for whatever reason. I think the writing’s a little better in this one, too, or at least more conventional novel-ish.

Book 3, meanwhile, was very clearly going to be a story about a women who gets sent back in time to the Wild West of the US in the 1800s, and eventually finds herself torn between her desire to go home and her desire for the hot bachelor she meets there. I’ve covered one chapter so far, and what I didn’t  expect was for it to spend several paragraphs establishing how happy and content this Main Character was with her life so far, working her way into a satisfying career and close enough to her sister to talk about opening a business together. That doesn’t stop her from getting mad when Little Sis confesses to having signed her up with a marriage agency, which of course turns out to be sketchy as heck. First they call her asking would she like to learn about the bachelors who have already showed interest, despite sis having already gone back to take her off the list. Then they convince her to physically come to the office to watch her profile being removed from the database, and it’s a creepy dark mostly-abandoned complex with one woman there, and she has to sign a paper consent form to have her info removed even though she never consented to have it put there in the first place, and the woman leaves with the papers and then the lights go out and she doesn’t come back so main character tries the door and walks out into the living room of our unsuspecting 1800s gentleman who had just written off for a mail-order bride asking specifically that the woman be obedient. There is absolutely no staring awestruck at each other in this one, but I guess he’s a good guy because he tells her she doesn’t have to marry him if she doesn’t want to, she’s free to leave. After considering her prospects wandering the arid wilderness alone, she says sure I’ll marry you, and they immediately go into town to look for first more modest clothing and second a preacher, while she’s secretly plotting her escape as soon as she gets hold of a telephone. The chapter ends with her finally figuring out she’s been sent back in time, and fainting.

This one wins the award for most errors per paragraph wrt commas. With the others I kind of tried to keep to the original writing style but this was just too ridiculously bad.

[cienie-isengardu]

Erron Black. Arguably a character I don't know much about. Is Erron Black feminist, sexist, or just soft on girls? Now I know MK everyone can fight everyone, but in story mode...

In MK10 Milenna impale his hand with a knife, but he doesn't fight her. I'll except injury for that one.

But then with Cassie Cage later, he fights her, only after she engages him, but once he knocks her down he stops fighting her to fight Kung Jin in the market.

Later on the bridge fight, we do see him fighting Jacqui Briggs, in the background, but she charged him, so she initiated it, and when they focus in he is fighting Kung Jun again.

In MK11, when young Erron Black goes after Jade and Kotal, he let's Jade leave without so much as a glance.

In the Black Dragon fight pit, even though she is right next to him, he ignores Sonya Blade until she actually attacked him. He doesn't even point the other gun at her, he points it up and looks away, until she punches him.

The only time it looks like he initiated a attack on a woman was when Sheeva got shot in her shoulder armor (and shrugged it off), but we immediately see him chasing down Nightwolf, so that looks like a accident. And they only fight after she punches him across the room.

And in the comic's when he kidnapped Cassie and Jacqui he defended them against Kano, telling him not to hurt them, and when he realized they were in serious danger, tried to free them and help escape.

Unless I'm missing something, well he doesn't avoid it, he doesn't fight initiate fights with women.

Before I will talk at length about Erron Black and his attitude toward women I wish only to emphasize this is my subjective opinion and there is no need to agree with me on this. Because no matter how much source material will be brought into discussion, there are many ways to interpret his mindset, especially since A) what Erron says is not always compatible with what he is doing and B) the specific game mechanics that limit and/or adapt his “personality” to the needs of the storyline.

Long text ahead!

Mortal Kombat X’s stated Erron Black was hired by Shang Tsung 150 years ago. So he was born and raised at least the previous century and half, thus his approach to women may be old-fashioned but I wouldn’t say he was somehow deeply concerned per se about gender to begin with. Yes, the mentioned examples suggest otherwise but their context is as important as Erron’s action alone. Because the context of the game will not always work well with in-universe logic. I’m talking here stricte about game mechanics that are built around chapter’s main hero that must win against the opponents and in the mentioned examples Erron was sadly just an obstacle to beat down so it is not like he could headshot Mileena, Sonya or Sheeva or any woman and be done with the problem despite how marksmanship is his forte. Also, the game mechanic in MKX kinda made me joke that Erron shouldn’t be left on his own for too long because his competence in those chapters seemed that bad (from Outworld’s main cast only D’Vorah looked to me as a competent character and she was a traitor, that says a lot about Kotal’s team doesn it?). Anyway, on the basis of the specific nature of the game alone I wouldn’t go so far to judge Erron’s mindset, especially since he was a background/supportive character in MKX and MK11 story modes. So far, Black didn’t have his own chapter - thus the story isn’t told from his POV.

To be honest, games and comics present Erron in different lights, thus his approach to women may vary from one source to another. Because of that let’s firstly look at the sources separately.

In MKX, on Kotal’s voiceless order, Black was going to kill Rain. Mileena attacked Erron by surprise before he could shoot down the rebel but it was Kotal’s chapter so the emperor was the one that dealt with her. Erron was part of the background during chapter 2 without any impact on the story.

Then we have chapter 4 about Kung Jin.

When Cage Team met Erron Black for the first time, the man demanded to know what is Special Forces’ business here including “a reason why we shouldn’t kill you”. Despite the not so friendly welcome, Erron was willing to address Takeda’s remark (“I can read you… You’re not from Outworld.”) and did not resort to violence once Cassie’s explanation did not satisfy him. Looking at the uncertain situation of Outworld, Erron’s lack of trust is understable - Kotal was still at war with Mileena thus in constant danger. Of course, it is up to interpretation, did Erron listen to Jin solely because the prospect of money spoke to him so much or there is some bias (thus the cynical remark about Raiden’s seal and dismissive attitude) against Cassie, the woman in charge. I personally tend to think Erron was simply cautious because the last Earthrealm that got close to Kotal tried to kill the emperor. And yeah, Kano is nothing like Cassie, Jacqui, Takeda or Jin but there was no way for Black to know that for sure, especially since Outworld and Earthrealm weren’t really at the best terms at that time and Raiden’s name did not foreshadow anything good.

The next sequences may be interpreted as Erron being soft on women but I’m gonna present here different possibilities:

Once Jin went ahead to disrupt the execution, Erron’s first reaction was to shoot him yet Black took aim instead of shooting blindly without care for the crowd (or at least the slow down of his action is how it looked to me). Because he was focused on Jin - the main culprit whose action caused unwanted riot, Cassie easily stopped the attack. Should Erron be more focused on the female soldier at his side? Most likely, but all of this happened in mere seconds so I can understand why stopping Jin acting on his own accord was priority to the mercenary since it was related to his job and he was the one that agreed to take Earthrealmians to Kotal. Which may be the reason why Black just knocked down Cassie and immediately ran after Jin. And mind you, Erron knocked down Cassie by hitting her on the head with the butt of the pistol, which is not a gentle way by no means.

The chapter 6 is focused on Takeda and partially on Cage Team’s run from captivity. The Earthrealmians were important hostages, even if falsely accused of working with D’Vorah. So it makes sense that “Outworld Champions” weren’t trying to kill them. Otherwise Kung Jin would be shot down for good yet Erron kept him just at gunpoint. Once again, the game mechanics don’t make much sense considering how Jin stayed behind as air support but somehow ended up on the bridge while Jacqui disappeared somewhere in the background. Also, the same as with Cassie in Chapter 4, Erron did not kill defeated opponents nor tortured / injured for fun (Rain is a different matter because Erron went for killing only after Kotal’s voiceless order to finish the traitor).

In Chapter 11, Erron is even more degraded into a support role and he did not attack nor take part of the skirmish in the forest until Jacqui beat down Kotal. Personally I suspect he could be (in universe) too injured for hand to hand combat but once Team Cage was surrounded and Kotal gave the order for execution, Erron was aiming at Jacqui and if Sub-Zero did not show up, Black most likely would shoot to kill.

(Also, he did not shoot any enemy from a distance, so the women and men were treated the same although if this is a matter of game mechanics or Erron’s own moral code, hard to tell. Black recognized himself more as Outworlder than anything else so he may actually follow the common there idea of one on one fight.)

So, MKX story mode alone does not tell us much about Erron’s mindset about women because he has never been the one starting fights in the first place. This kinda makes sense since he is a mercenary and kills or injures only those who Kotal wishes to see dead or punished. Besides that he didn’t injure / kill Cassie when he had a chance but he didn't do so with Jin either. MKX!Erron gives the impression of a collected, detached type of person who is far from macho stereotypes or psychopath/sociopath like Kano.

Thankfully there is additional information like dialogue intros and Erron’s ending (from what we learned about Erron's approximate age) that aren’t canon per se but at least give some insight into his psyche.

The best counter argument for eventual Black’s habit of going easy on women is his own ending in which he ambushed and killed Cassie, Jacqui, Takeda and Jin (this situation was repeated in Briggs’ ending except this time Cage Team was saved by Jax). This is a rare moment in which Erron was the attacker and on his own initiated the violence toward others. In this case, he attacked women and men alike.

Then we have intro dialogues in which Erron usually deals with people in a professional manner, some even sometimes addressing in a polite way. Like “Mr. Kung” to Lao, “Mr. Hasashi” to Scorpion and “Mr. Takahashi” to Takeda. Surprisingly, he addresses Cassie and Sonya by their military rank (Sergeant Cage and General Blade respectively) which suggests that whatever Erron learned a century or two ago about gender-related social norms most likely evolved accordingly to his own life experiences, especially those gained in Outworld.

At the same time, it seems some of outfashioned - harmful - convictions are still enough deeply rooted in him to say stuff like that:

Kenshi: The friendless wanderer.

Erron Black: Least I don't take orders from a woman.

Kenshi: Which century are you from?

Which is kinda ironic since Kenshi takes orders from Sonya whom Erron addresses by high military rank without any snide comment about a woman in the army. But as far as I managed to check the intros, this is the only(?) one outright sexist thing Erron said to anyone and surprisingly, he didn’t say that to any woman, just to Kenshi. Frankly, if the idea of taking orders from women was so offensive, why would Erron bother to call Mileena the Crownless Queen or Kitana the Fallen Princess, if both titles by itself imply facing women that are used to give commands or even hire people like him? Once again, there is little to no sexist attitude toward women in context of their power over other men. Which suggests that whatever prejudices Black may have, he does not allow them to affect his interaction with other characters. Usually, at least.

Okay, the insult toward Kenshi could be some of Erron’s deep-seated sexist beliefs adding to the reason why he didn’t support Mileena in the fight for the throne. Yet, at the same time, if that was the case, he could outright say he doesn’t agree to be bossed by a woman to her (or he could be accused of that by her or any character really). Of course, it could be something similar to Black’s claim to care only about money with MK11 strongly hints he is saying one thing and doing differently but I will come back to this topic in a moment.

Another argument against this insult: Erron was one of the characters that did not mock Mileena’s look, origin or called her crazy. If he really thought listening to women's orders was so bad, then he didn’t show that when interacting with her or other female characters.

At the same time, like many other male characters, Black is not immune to the beauty of women around him and some of his comments sounds disrespectful and are unwelcome by the ladies:

Sonya: The gunslinger.

Erron Black: I could take you away from all this.

Sonya: I must be a jerk-magnet.

→ Sonya is not amused by Erron’s words at all.

Erron Black: Hello, beautiful.

Jacqui: Messin' with the wrong girl.

Erron Black: But it feels so right.

Jacqui is like the only one woman described by MKX!Erron as the beautiful one, the other he usually referred to along the lines of hot / sexy. Yet once Jacqui outright warned him to not mess with her, Erron deliberately ignored her because it amuse him. Whatever it is a sign of an old-fashioned mindset (a remnant of the times he grew up) or just simply (male’s) egoism on his part, Erron likes to flirt with women but he does not always respect their opinion or wish to be left alone.

At the same time, Erron rarely tried to change women’s minds about him or their eventual relationship. So far, only the intro dialogue with Kitana seems to be the exception:

Kitana: Stop!

Erron Black: We've barely begun, my lovely.

Kitana: It will end quickly.

Black may put his own amusement above other people's personal comfort, yes, but didn’t act creepy like Kano did, especially toward Blade-Briggs-Cage family as a whole.

So we have this

Jacqui: I really don't like you.

Erron Black: I really don't care.

Jacqui: As long as we're straight on that.

in which Erron doesn’t care for Jacqui’s dislike of his person but doesn’t impose himself on her. He does not resort to the common rapist “excuse” that woman says no but her body says otherwise, like Kano did (“Your mouth says Kano, but your eyes say Kan-yes.”) and this contrast puts Black in a more positive light. Similar thing happened in the intro dialogue toward Tanya.

Erron Black: My friend, Tanya.

Tanya: We are not friends, bounty hunter.

Erron Black: Have it your way...

Again, whether trying to be friendly or ironic, once Erron was “turned down”, he simply accepted the situation without any additional crude remarks.

Interestingly, interaction with Sonya showed that Black was capable of rethinking his statement about hot/sexy women:

Erron Black: Girls with guns? Always hot.

Sonya: I'll shove 'em up your ass and fire.

Erron Black: Almost always hot.

Those examples suggest Erron may treat women differently, depending on their “fighting experiences”, age and origin and maybe even how sexually / aesthetically appealing they are to him. For example, veteran Sonya’s threat was taken seriously while (novice / new generation) Jacqui’s warning was ignored. At the same time, the intro dialogues didn’t hint at any romantic or sexual interest in Ferra (a young female symbiote) nor D’Vorah (Kytinn) and relatively good looking Mileena who deserves a separate paragraph.

To be honest, Erron, Johnny and Kano are like the main three men openly showing their (sexual?) interest in women around them. Understable, Black’s flirting / comments rarely were appreciated yet he still was less creepy or aggressive towards others than Kano. Erron didn’t bother to hide his eventual (sexual) interest in beautiful women but it can’t be said A) he had no control over his sexual drive and B) has rapist / sexual predator tendencies.

Another interesting thing: with few exceptions like Kano or Quan Chi, Erron threatened people with violence usually after they offended him and most of the time maintained professional neutrality toward his rivals. In that regard, Erron treated other characters the same regardless of their gender.

This is something worth keeping in mind how Black, as mercenary, in general is not the initiator of violence. Unless someone will pay him. For money, Erron would attack (kill) anyone, including women (to Tanya, “The Kahn wants your head.” + Erron’s Epilogue).

The last detail to talk about: one of the intro dialogue with Cassie suggests Erron thought she was an easy opponent.

Cassie: Is something funny?

Erron Black: I'll win this easy.

Cassie: You're going down hard.

but to be fair, he thought the same about Sub-Zero

Erron Black: You're an easy target.

Sub-Zero: As are you.

Erron Black: Bullets beat snowballs any day.

so I wouldn’t say it was the bias toward Cassie because of her gender and just Erron’s own arrogance (and maybe lack of good judgement on his part).

In summary, MKX!Erron in game alone tends to act in a professional manner. He had an occasion to shoot defeated opponents but did not seize the opportunity against not only Cassie but Jin as well. During the storyline he was rather collected, emotionless. In intro dialogues he openly expresses his interest in tough, relatively attractive women yet the banter is far from the creeping tone of Kano’s interaction with female characters.

Then we have Mortal Kombat 11 in which past and future timelines are messed up. Sadly, Erron’s characterization departs from the neutral-polite one seen in the previous game. Of course, this could be blamed on the younger version of Erron, but frankly, twenty years for someone living at least for a century and half shouldn’t make that big difference in behaviour and well, MK11 outright claims Erron is prone to violence for violence’s sake instead of just money. Which is one of many plot-holes and divergences between both games I guess.

Anyway, Erron, again, was the background character to beat down, so it is worth remembering that he couldn’t permanently hurt or kill anyone from the main cast. In chapter 2 he let Jade get away when he was facing Kotal and frankly, there is little explanation for that in-universe wise. I personally suspect it may be related to Erron’s own sense of honor, as in respecting one on one fight without cheap moves like shooting someone’s beloved person. Not practical in the mercenary job but it is possible for someone born and raised around two centuries ago. Also, Shao Kahn’s anger was focused mainly on killing Kotal for taking the throne. Because of that Erron could be not interested in Jade who simply did not have any significant political matter at that time. Sadly, it is really hard to say for sure what was on his mind.

In chapter 6, past!Erron stormed the Special Forces Base alongside Black Dragon members. There were women in that group but sadly, Black did not interact with anyone beside Johnny Cage. We can at least assume, Black did not mind fighting side by side with women.

Similary, present!Erron in chapter 7 showed up in the background during the alliance attack on Coliseum. The attack was led by Kitana (albeit did Erron join her to save Kotal out of loyalty or for money, it was not explained) and there were female fighters in the group. It seems then Erron does not mind fighting side to side with women.

During the pit fight (chapter 8), past!Erron faced the past!Sonya and the past!Johnny. Frankly, the same as in the previous chapter, game mechanics make little sense because there was no real reason for Erron to open the ring and face the characters when he could simply shoot down both from a safe distance. This really undermines the whole point of Black being a gunslinger, isn’t it?

Anyway, Cage took the forward position (which I think is both because despite his injuries he tried to shield Sonya AND because he actually met Erron during an attack on a Special Forces’ base) and got shot in the arm. After a short skirmish, Erron knocked down Johnny and aimed to kill the injured man.

The most logical thing for Erron in this situation would be to shoot down Sonya first and then finish already beaten down and exhausted Johnny. In defense of the Black though it is worth emphasizing that he didn’t completely ignore Blade nor turned away from her.

Most likely the weird slow-down action of aiming at Johnny was a moment of distraction that Sonya simply used to attack. Similar to MKX, game mechanics do not allow Black to headshot the main heroes, even though, in-universe, he should do just that and be done with the job. There is also a possibility that past and present Kano still wanted to keep Sonya alive for their own amusment (torture and sadly most likely rape) what could explain why Erron didn’t shot her from safe distance. I mean, the game alone did not voice what Kanos really ordered Erron to do.

I know that MK games like to slow down action for dramatic effects, but I strongly believe it was actually a matter of a few seconds of distraction (Erron looking aside to shoot Johnny and aiming) that Sonya took advantage of rather Black ignoring her on purpose. Even more since Black did not hesitate to shoot at her and seemed to enjoy facing “the legendary” Sonya Blade.

The same as MKX, Mortal Kombat 11 does not explain Black’s mindset. He does not shoot Jade or Sonya when he has a chance but he does not make any rude remarks toward women in general. However the intro dialogues shed a light on the complicated relationship that Erron has with women.

From what we learn about Erron, his childhood was far from normal or safe. We don’t know details, but what he shared with Cetrion and Cassie strongly suggest that Erron’s both parents were abusive people:

Cetrion: You shot your own father, Erron Black.

Erron: Sonofabitch had it coming.

Cetrion: Honor thy parents, mortal!

or

Erron: My Ma would’ve loved you, Cassie Cage.

Cassie: Aw, sounds like you miss her bunches.

Erron: I hated Ma.

or

Erron: I grew up around tough women.

Cassie: Didn’t they teach you respect?

Erron: They taught me to hit back.

The last statement suggests young Erron was abused by women (most likely including his own mother) to the point he is now willing to hit back anyone regardless of their gender without remorse. Erron himself says “I ain't above shootin' a lady” (intro dialogue vs. Sonya).

Beside that, an abusive mother alone could influence Black’s approach to women - and most likely she did, since he admitted to hate her. Surprisingly, Erron uses the past tense (“I hated Ma”) so there is a chance he gained distance over time in that matter. It also seems like whatever he feels about mother usually doesn't affect his relationship with other female characters. For example, in the mentioned banter he did not insult Cassie for reminding him about the abusive parent. Despite the bad childhood intro dialogues hint Black actually likes dangerous women.

Erron Black: I stepped out with Nitara before you.

Skarlet: You clearly have a type, Erron.

Erron Black: Just like living dangerously.

Like in the previous game, Erron openly shows his (sexual) interest in various women. The interesting change however is how:

His interest extends now to more alien-looking female characters like Nitara or Sheeva. Surprisingly, Mileena’s advances are still rejected. Also, Erron has like zero respect for the goddess Cetrion but to be honest, he does not respect any god.

Erron is more disrespecting by using nicknames like Legs or Baby Doll for Sonya or Sugar for Cassie. Of course, it may be just the “charm” of younger Black - hard to tell in most cases which version is speaking - but it creates an overall feeling of ironic, at times irritating or insulting approach to female fighters. At the same time, there are women that Erron refers to in a rather consistently respectful manner - Jacqui (Miss Briggs, Little Lady), Jade (ma’am, missy), Kitana (Princess, Kahn).

Before I will focus on the complex situation with Mileena, I need to talk about Erron’s important trait: he often says one thing but does the opposite. This is especially noticeable in intro dialogues concerning money and loyalty. Both games agree the main motivation for Black is a good payment, albeit MK11 highline also the thrill of danger. Anyway, Erron admitted he is willing to betray Kotal, a current employer, if someone offered a better deal (“Until a better offer comes along.”, “There's always a better offer, Kotal”). This strengthens the impression Black cares only about himself yet he rejects all propositions coming from Kotal’s enemies such as Shao Kahn, Rain or Mileena, Quan Chi, Shinnok and Kano/Black Dragons. At the same, he is willing to work with/ for Kitana who happens to be the best friend of Jade, Kotal’s beloved. Which makes Erron still operate in a group wishing no harm to the ex-emperor.

I’m bringing this into discussion because there is strong possibility that under the tough guy act, Erron still follows some “old-fashioned” sense of morality and is decent enough to not attack or harm women (and in my opinion, people in general) unless A) it is part of the job or B) is self-defense. Which could explain why he let Jade walk away or why he didn’t shoot Sonya from a safe distance but faced her in hand to hand combat. Depending how long he lived in Outworld, he could simply adapt into local customs - the people of Outworld are a combat-focused society and because of that have a strong sense of honor code. Erron’s eventual softness toward female fighters would get him in serious problems and I doubt he could afford such weakness when serving Shang Tsung or Shao Kahn.

So, why did Erron not want to serve Mileena, the designated successor? As the Empress, she was in position to offer the best (materially wise at least) deal after all.

In MKX!banter Erron claims Kotal paid him better:

Mileena: You aided the usurper.

Erron Black: He offered more coins.

Mileena: ...and no protection.

Meanwhile, MK11!Black outright says it was not a matter of money but of Mileena’s behaviour. Considering how prone to violence she was, it is no wonder why Erron decided to work for someone else.

Erron Black: Now what's got you all rip-snorting mad?

Mileena: When I gained the throne, you abandoned it.

Erron Black: Wasn't no pay worth dealing with your crazy.

This brings me back to the MKX’s banter suggesting Erron may dislike being bossed by women. Considering the implication he is currently negotiating a proper deal with Kitana Kahn (“New Kahn, same deal?”), the problem is more complex than judging someone by gender alone. I mean, Erron worked for Shao Kahn who himself was a cruel tyrant so sadism shouldn't be anything new for Black, right? Except, he was hired by Shang Tsung and because of that I think it is highly possible Erron had just indirect contact with the Emperor. Thus Erron could be not ready for Mileena’s unstable nature(?) and cruelty.

I mean - Erron comes from a pathological family and grew up around tough women. In his opinion Cassie has some traits or behaves in a way for which his mother would’ve liked the girl. So there are certain things that Black connects to hated mother. Now, Cassie is more of an extrovert type of person, showy and with sharp ripostes but she is one of the good guys and cruelty for fun is not her thing. So, if someone like Cassie can somehow make him think of a hated parent (that most likely is dead for decades now), how much Mileena could trigger Erron in the wrong way? To the point he chooses his mental health over money and/or thrill of danger?

If this is true, we may further wonder if bad experiences with tough women in childhood are the reason why despite flirtatious nature, Erron’s interest in female fighters usually is strictly sexual attraction? Because it really looks like he does not try to emotionally connect with women. Even his “thing” with Skarlet seems to be more a matter of thrill than a serious relationship, considering how Erron was okay with her eventual death.

(The possibility of Erron being freaked out by Mileena also rises an interesting question about her mental state between MK9 and MKX)

This is why I think Erron did not have a problem with working for women as long as they did not remind him too much of past abuse. And this is pretty nice implication, considering how tough guy Erron is for most of the time.

Because of that, Kotal questioning if Erron is jealous of Jade could be read in different way too:

Erron Black: So, you and Jade, huh?

Kotal Kahn: Jealous, Erron Black?

Erron Black: She's quite the looker, Kotal.

And yeah, Erron brings this to the matter of appearance alone, but hopeful as I proved earlier, Erron sometimes says one thing but does (thinks) something totally different. Because of that I suspect he may not be really jealous of Kotal for having a sexy lady but actually of the relationship itself. You know, build on respect and love than just build on sexual drive.

Like I said before, the game cutscenes and character banters may be interpreted in many ways but for me MK11!Erron Black - at least the older version - seems to mask his trauma and/or complex nature of his relationship with women under the act of tough guys. At the same time, there is a high possibility he still follows an out-fashioned sense of honor and though he is not above shooting women, he does not attack them unless it is demanded. Though to be fair, in my opinion this is how he approaches everyone. A mercenary’s mindset that distinguishes him from the likes of Kano.

In Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermatch, Erron met Sheeva, when the Shokan Queen in the company of Fujin, Nightwolf and Shang Tsung carried a coffin to the Soul Chamber. Black and Baraka decided to confront the Shokan woman and it quickly turned into a fight (and the typical game mechanics).

There is a question though - did Erron really take Kitana's offer or did he stay with Kotal? Because it’s really suspicious that he happened in the place where defenless, injured Kotal was in the healing process. Anyway, whatever the case, Black directly or indirectly worked for the new Kahn so it is highly possible his actions were dictated by Kitana’s best interest rather than his liking or disliking anyone.

Let’s just look at the situation - Kitana is the empress but she promised to treat her allies as her equals. That means Sheeva, as well respected Shokan Queen, plays an important role in the new regime - killing her or permanently injuring was out question, otherwise Shokan people could rebel against Kitana and in result the freshly established peace would go straight to hell.

In my opinion, this is why Erron asked Sheeva’s group to go with them quietly so the situation could be explained to Kitana without unnecessary violence. Black actually was okay with Sheeva go to Soul Chamber as long as Shang Tsung (Shao Kahn’s sorcerer) and the suspicious coffin was returned to him. Thanks to Shang Tsung, one of Tarkatan warrior died and thus the situation got out of hand. It makes sense Erron was more focused on Shang Tsung (hated by Kitana), Nightwolf (whose current self is revenant) and Fujin than on Sheeva who, potentially, was protected by political immunity.

When the Shokan Queen beat down Baraka, Erron in my opinion did not try to hurt her, only fired a warning shot. Maybe to make sure Sheeva will not kill Baraka (another important leader whose support Kitana needed to uphold the peace in Outworld). The Earthrealmers on other hand were another matter. Maybe Erron was too trusting or too reckless to not pay more attention to Sheeva or simply didn’t really think she was the traitor. It was after learning she is trying to resurrect Kitana’s evil mom - a dangerous, not consulted with Empress decision - Erron faced Sheeva in hand to hand combat.

Not much to analyse here, especially not with limitations of game mechanics yet I strongly believe Erron’s course of action was dictated by political situation and Kitana Kahn’s best interest so killing or seriously injuring Sheeva could be out of question. Also, like I said previously, Black is rarely the aggressor, what I believe is related to his mercenary’s mindset.

The last source, Mortal Kombat X comics series, requires a little clarification: I treat it as a potentially additional insight into Erron’s psyche than any real canonical material. Partially due to many plot-holes but also because of overwhelming violence used for violence’s sake alone. That said, here what happens:

Earthrealm (Special Forces) and Outworld (Kotal Kahn) weren’t on the best terms. To help Kotal, Erron and Black Dragons kidnapped young (under 21 years old) Cassie and Jacqui and took them to Outworld. During the journey through the dangerous jungle, girls tried to run away but got hurt in the process by Kano. Erron openly talked against brutal treatment of prisoners.

Looking at the difficult situation of Kotal, it was in Erron’s best interest to keep Cassie and Jacqui in one piece. Otherwise the whole plan would fail and then Kotal would be forced to deal with really pissed off Sonya Blade. And that would take a bad turn for Black himself. But like I said earlier, the tough guy act could also cover Erron’s more empathic nature that in the mercenary world was seen as a weakness to exploit. I personally think he did not like torturing people if that was unnecessary but also that he would have spoken against it even if Cassie and Jaquie were boys.

Then the Red Dragons attacked to take over hostages.

(Once again, a tough guy act with the “girls are Kotal’s property” as in cover up his worries about the situation or his true mindset, or mix?)

When the fight started, Erron went to tied hostages:

One one hand, Erron needs the girl to stay alive and not be taken by the enemy. On the other hand, he does not promise them safety nor ask them to run away. He is freeing them so the two girl (both under 21 years old) will fight against experienced criminals armed with swords and other dangerous stuff. This is actually an interesting detail, because it suggests Erron thought Cassie and Jacqui had a chance against thugs or that at least that way they wouldn't be a burden to him.

Jacqui punched him and Erron, either was taken by surprise or did not want to hurt her, was “saved” by Kano. And then betrayed by the Black Dragon leader.

Kano’s worlds raise a question, how much Erron is driven by the money and how much he uses the tough guy act to actually hide his unwanted “vulnerability” (as in, having moral sense and not being the heartless psychopath like Kano).

My general conclusion about Erron is that, for a side character he has a really complex relationship with women around him. I strongly believe that Erron sticks to some old fashioned sense of honor that mixes well with a mercenary's mindset. Thus rarely he is the one attacking first. This most likely influences his interaction with female fighters but at the same time, Outworld is not a place where people are judged by gender but for their skills and powers. So, Erron living there for decades for sure got influenced by that mindset to some degree.

I would not call him a feminist - not because he couldn’t be one but for lack of proper material to analyse. Feminism has many shades but in the most general sense is about establishing the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Erron does not show much opinion on that matter and does not interact with “common” women; those truly weaker than him, disabled or anything else other than warriors, soldiers or queens. With lack of such interaction there is no chance to come to a proper conclusion.

Does Erron have a soft spot for women? It is possible but that would not stop him from hitting back or killing them if the situation called for such action. I think the safest option is just that Erron is in general a more emphatic and honorable human that he wants to admit, to not look weak or be exploited by others. In contrast to Kano, Black for sure has some moral code he follows no matter what. Even if this get him into trouble more often than not.

Hope it answers your question!

[fonulyn]

I saw someone the other day here on good ol' tungle complain (before the show came out, mind you) that Claire wasn't going to be in the show enough and wasn't gonna play an integral role, and like. I can understand why that thought is upsetting, bc the girl is a badass and deserves more screentime for sure, but like not only did they end up being wrong (our girl kicked ass, played a huge role in the plot, and was just generally amazing) but they had like, blamed Leon a little bit for it? As tho it was his fault the writers don't give three shits about the female protagonists in the franchise (who, if I remember correctly, only one of which gets an actual entire game to herself? The rest, to my knowledge, are POV swapping games, which are fine but like. Come on Capcom)??? It was v weird and caused me to unfollow them bc they were already disappointed by the show, they blamed Leon, and they acted like, surprised? I don't know about you, but I'm never surprised by franchises like this when they put one of their main female characters on/in the promotional to garner attention and then she's actually only in it for five seconds. That's just misogyny (which I'm not excusing or saying is okay, obvs, but don't push blame onto the other main character, just bc he's the main character? Leon didn't choose to push Claire out of the spotlight, and honestly I don't even think he did. Like he got more screentime then her, yeah, but I think this is as close as we were gonna get to a fair split amount of time between the two, with capcom's history of "women? What women? Oh you mean convenient plot devices?"), so don't hate on people who love Leon, and don't hate on the character himself. Like what the what? As a Leon lover (he is my favorite, I love him sm), I am pissed that we never get to see Claire in anything, that we hardly ever saw Jill after RE3, and that all female protags are secondary to their male counterparts. It's bullshit, frankly, but taking it out on other fans and the other characters in the franchise is. Not good, and will just isolate you further from the fandom. Don't know if this is a hot take or not lol and I'm not trying to like be mean or start a fight with anyone, I just needed to rant about this bc it was bothering me and I figured you would kinda get where I was coming from? Also I love your rants, you are v knowledgeable lol

okay so... i saw some of that going around too. and it doesn't really make sense to me for multiple reasons. first of all, some people already decided that ID would suck even before it came out, they decided Claire would get no screen time and decided they'd ruin her character and... all of that before they'd seen more than the trailers? and I just don't get it, why not give it a chance before judging it?

i do understand that people want Claire to have a big role and want her to get the chance to shine. i want that, too! she absolutely deserves that! and I get being scared of what would become of it! i was nervous beforehand that they'd take the characters (both of them) into a direction that I'd find disappointing. when I pressed play on the first episode I was terrified as much as excited, because there was no way of knowing before seeing it.

but i do think it's important to press play and watch for yourself before condemning the entire thing.

and as for blaming Leon for Claire allegedly not having a large enough part in it? it... makes zero sense. it's not like they're living breathing people who have an actual say in what happens? :'D overall I find it weird how readily people jump to attack other characters to defend their own favorites. I don't understand this whole shooting down others to lift your own fave. there are ways to appreciate a character without hating on everyone else.

(that is not to say you're not allowed to hate on characters! of course you can hate characters! but like. you don't need to hate whoever you deem a "rival" just because. it's not a competition.)

and yeah, there is a long history of misleading promotion where a character is advertised as a main character and then sidelined to only appear for a bit. and it was a possibility. but it didn't happen, and I for one am happy about it. (what I am disappointed in, is that they made it seem like Leon and Claire would work together, while they did that for like two and a half minutes. but well. can't win them all)

(tangentially, they did something a bit similar to Chris in re8 too, the promotions relied super heavily on him but from what i understood (without having actually played the game, so correct me if i'm wrong!) he was a playable character for a very small portion of the game. so. they used him and his fanbase for promotion a little misleadingly. so yeah it is a real concern that could've happened)

like you said, Leon might've gotten more screentime if you only count the minutes. but Claire was an integral part of the story, she was fighting for the things she believes in, she got to be fierce (that headbutt is like the highlight of the movie :'D) and it wouldn't have been the same without her.

yeah it is bullshit how Capcom just threw Jill aside, and are tragically underusing a lot of their female characters. and I'm not trying to excuse that. but I do think they have a general problem with forgetting all of their characters except for Chris and Leon, who have gotten to be in most things (even tho to be fair they're not getting a fully consistent storyline either but. they do get screentime?). they create the most wonderful characters and then forget all about them, and it sucks.

but that's a problem with the people who make these movies and games. not the characters in said movies and games. so taking your own disappointment out on other characters and their fans is just... counter productive at best. it just leads to anger and resentment and the absolutely pointless fandom wars no one benefits from. i, for one, am too old for that bullshit.

so yeah, I get what you're coming from. it is so frustrating to see the unfounded hate. and tbh I've seen Leon get quite a bit of it. but that just comes with the territory I guess. he is popular, and some people react badly to it. which doesn't make sense to me, personally, but hey it is what it is.

I know it's easier said than done, but try to focus on the good! we got new content, Leon and Claire both got to be important parts in the story, they both kicked ass and looked amazing doing it! for the most part they both felt very in character, and I have high hopes we might get more in the form of season 2! :3

also, I'm glad you're enjoying my ramblings :'D I have a lot of thoughts but I usually get carried away rambling and I'm never sure how much sense i make, lol.

[aspoonofsugar]

Do you think like hange's death was needed for armin to grow , levi might die for mikasa to step up? When levi got hurt during female titan arc, she made sure that she was doing her best to assist humanity in bringing down the female titan. So, could that be her final push or do you see levi surviving this? I expected mikasa and kiyomi to talk but that didn't happen, now I am just hopeful for an ackertalk but based on how fast things are going I don't know anymore.

Beside the fact Levi wanted to respect Hanji sacrificing themself what do you think of the people's statement that says this ruins their development because Levi just let them go without even attempting to stop them? Also wanted to ask u thins regarding the same statement it's because levi's personal feelings towards erwin and he's just done with even trying to hope for the best so they simply let Hanji go. I'd like to read your interpretation.

(I've already asked this from someone else but I'd like to know your thoughts as well) Do u think Levi should've at least suggested they shouldn't use the commander as bait and use other characters just like he did back in Shinganshina? I understand Hanji didn't want anyone to stop them, but I've seen discussions of people saying Levi let Hanji go too easily and didn't even try in the slightest to stop them. Sometimes I feel like yams just wanted to get rid of the vets. Do you think so?

Hi! I've seen discussions criticizing Hanji's death, in particular how Levi and Jean could fight in their stead. It's clear Levi isn't even agile enough and they're not even sure of his combat abilities atm so it makes sense for him to stay behind. Although in the same statements it was brought up that he will have to fight Eren or Zeke eventually without having the strength so why not using it now so they could save Hanji? What do u think? I'd like to read ur opinion abt Jean too :)

I'm usually neutral to snk ships but gosh this "if it was Moblit he would've stopped Hanji from going to the battlefield" and "Levi didn't care much about Hanji's life so he let them go" is really getting out of hand in the fandom. I hold no grudge against HanjixMoblit, but this opinion is full of errors. Sorry for spamming you with this. I know you're not the biggest fan of shipping in the snk universe.

Hello anons,

I think that symbolically Hange’s death is because in this way the younger characters can grow. It is definately true that in real life one does not need to lose mentor/parental figures to become an adult. However, snk is a narrative and in stories it is common (even if it is not necessary) for mentor figures to die. This is mostly true for a story, which is full of war and violence like snk is.

In short, yes, I think that Hange’s death specifically was also so that Armin could be made commander and is so forced to grow up. Up until this point Armin has been incredibly passive and has refused to take care, so it makes sense that he loses the last person he can turn to to receive orders.

When it comes to Levi, him dying to motivate Mikasa instead is a possibility, since they are strong foils and parallels. As for now, I am on the fence. On one hand it would make sense for the last mentor figure to die. On the other hand Levi has not been playing a mentor role this arc and has received his personal focus with Zeke. That said, he can both die, so that the 104th must move on and solve his conflict with Zeke.

As far as how Hange’s death happens in story, I think it was handled decently. They are in an emergency and have very little time to decide what to do, so Hange acts as a commander and takes charge. They decide they are gonna sacrifice themselves for the others, so that there is still a chance to stop Eren. In a sense, they follow in Shadis and Magath’s footsteps. I mean, why did Magath stay and did not order someone else to stay in his stead? He was the commander of the Warriors just like Hange was the SC’s commander. Still, he chose to stay to redeem himself and the feeling I got while reading the chapter was that Hange felt something similar, but different.

In the chapter Hange aknowledges twice that they could not offer any alternative to the POVs and plans they disagreed with (Yelena’s and Floch’s). Still, they decided not to give up and to take responsibility in some way. I feel that this is why they decide to go. They wanna act as a leader and save their comrades.

As far as to why Hange is the one, who goes instead of Armin and Reiner, Hange states that they can’t afford to lose titan shifters at this stage. Symbolically they stop two of the most self-sacrificial characters. Reiner and Armin are parallels because they both despise themselves and always search for a way to die heroically. However, the story keeps negating them this way out because they are asked not to run away passively, but to face life actively and to solve the conflict. Here, Hange negates them death once again. It is a part of a pattern.

When it comes to Levi and Jean, I think that, narratively speaking, they both have other conflicts to settle. It was not by chance that Jean is the one listening to Floche’s last words. He is probably going to somehow inherit them and to give them importance in the future. He will probably convey them in a more nuanced way compared to Floche’s. After all, Jean has always been the one more sympathetic to the Jeagerists and islanders’ reasons, even if he could not bring himself to side with them. Levi, as I have stated above, has a conflict to settle with Zeke.

In-story, I doubt Levi would have managed to buy enough time (he can barely stand). As far as Jean is concerned, I think that he and the others simply had very little time to elaborate things. Hange announced they would go and went without letting the 104th time to protest. There is also the fact that they are out of time and can’t start a discussion, not to consider Hange is their superior and they all look up to them and usually listen to them. Anyway, it is clear from the looks in their eyes that they are shocked.

Finally, the interaction between Levi and Hange shows that they clearly care about each other. All in all, Levi does the same thing he had done with Erwin aka respected his comrade’s wish to die as they want. In the chapter it is said that Hange has started talking like Erwin.

They too have started thinking about their dead comrades and how they would react and it is clear that they have been struggling with the role of commander. When they say goodbye to Levi, they even states they want to die on their own terms. This is basically what happened with Erwin. Erwin too wanted to die free and as himself and the point of the Serum Bowl was for Levi to realize it. Here, Levi is simply respecting Hange’s will.

There is also the fact that the characters are all leaving on a very dangerous mission and that they are not even sure they will survive and this is bound to influence their reaction to situations.

Thank you for the ask!

[tellywoodtrash]

Hey. Relaxed Sunday wishes after the Saturday nite 🎉. For all the focus On SSO IB has never really shown us his thoughts about Annika have they? We see Annika's journey of falling for him& she's talked about it a number of times in the show. But never him. I mean his reactions to her yes, but not the process. As in why her out of all the girls he has met!! We know but we don't know his POV, do we? Have they ever shown that? Do you think the makers will ever have him do that?

Hi hi @nopatienceanymore

Sunday is a working day for me, so *sighhhh*. But time is moving relatively quick for me, so yay! I hope you’re having a restful Sunday too! ❤️

Other than a few choicely-placed flashback montages (esp. during moments of crises, such as when Daksh kidnapped her, etc.), no, we’ve never really seen Shivaay’s side of things. This is not unusual in desi tv shows. IPKKND was similar too. Often the show is the story of the male lead, but we’re shown a perspective heavily leaning in the female lead’s favour (because the audience is largely female, and she’s the one they’re relating with, and putting themselves in the place of while watching.) Plus with these characters often being stodgy alpha males unable-to-articulate-themselves-emotionally, we are to infer their love from their ACTIONS, than lengthy voiceover monologues. They fall in love with the manic pixie dream girl-woman, because this is the first time in their privileged life that a girl (or anyone, really!!!) has bothered to challenge them and stand up to them and not let them get away with their BS, rather than fawn over their looks and/or wealth. They get off on the whole “takkar ki ishqbaazi” concept that this whole show is based on.

I think we should be getting some kind of confession of love from Shivaay’s side either before the wedding or when the truth re: Pinky and why Anika left him comes out, so that’s our best bet on finding out his side of things. Other than that, don’t hope for emotionally constipated Billu to be monologuing about his journey into the world of love. The best the man can do is parrot the words that Anika has told him (“khidkitod khoobsurat”, “meri saansein ruk rahi hai”) back to her, in an attempt to make her understand what she means to him. 🙄🙄🙄

[variousqueerthings]

I didn't take notes during this episode, foolishly

it's Mummy On The Orient Express, and Clara is leaving... after one last hurrah! and there's a Mummy!

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 9/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or given agency to her emotional interiority): 7/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 8/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 8/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 3/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 6/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 6/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 10/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 5/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 5/10

FULL RATING: 67/100 (if I can count….)

okay okay, we're a little higher, although as mentioned about this era, it feels a little more complicated to rate with this system than s5-7

OBJECTIFICATION: considering Clara's wearing a flapper dress, it's remarkably, refreshingly free from "sexy" commentary

we do forever have Clara's suit in Time Heist to compare to...

PLOT-POINT: this episode is about Clara figuring out her Stuff around the Doctor and yeah, "I'm fully addicted to the power of travelling the universe and affecting events and will allow other facets of my life to be shit in service of this" feels like a strong Character Moment

Clara is giving me a bit of Rose Tyler energy in this idea (not in personality as such but... some things for sure), but I'm going to wait until I've seen it all to get more into that

of course, the actual way the Doctor treats her in this episode isn't... great... but that, I think, is part of it. the Doctor continues to get away with this behaviour, because the upsides still outweigh the downsides

COMPLEXITY: I'm keeping this for now, because I cannot remember if the train computer mastermind Gus comes back to this or is relevant... as it stands it's reeelatively simple on the whole, but with some curveballs in relation to why it matters that they study the Mummy, which we still don't know

I will allow this, it's giving a little teaser for something in the future, potentially.... technically the Mummy going after the weakest first is kind of silly, surely a soldier would be going for the strongest first? or am I showing a lack of understanding in good tactics... eh, I'll allow it

the ending wraps up kind of abruptly though, we're told what happens rather than shown

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: Clara is now going to keep hold of her incompatible parts of life with an iron fist, and keep travelling with the Doctor

there's another mystery with who Gus is and why they gathered people to study the Mummy

the Doctor was respectful to a soldier + there's another one onboard in the main cast, so that tendril is still with us

COMPANIONS MATTER: Clara doesn't actually... do much. which undermines part of the Thing around the power that comes with travelling. M*ffat-era once again is really really weak in giving the companion just... Things To Do in the episode plot, beyond having emotions about things

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: Ohhhhhhhh the Doctor. is still a dick. there's a speech at the end of this, where the Doctor explains that sometimes there are no good decisions (which is oddly echoing what Science Lady from last episode said in order to justify killing the moon, which the Doctor didn't agree with, so...???) and so he needed to be pragmatic about the situation

but does that explain the sheer dickishness with which the Doctor treats people with a minute to live, who know they're going to die, who are scared?

does it engage with this line, explaining why the Doctor is cold and rude to people who have just seen aforementioned death, and wonder if they could be next?: People with guns to their heads can’t mourn

does it give a good excuse for the Doctor calling everyone around him "idiots" for not knowing what's going on?

now, this is presumably a part of the ongoing exploration of this Doctor's abrasive nature, but I do keep going back to Time Heist, which had the Doctor be abrasive without being cruel. this Doctor is often incredibly cruel, for no reason

character regression continues

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: there's a few little callbacks, nothing special in one way or another

“SEXINESS”: I will say this season seems to be blissfully free of this post-Deep Breath!

INTERNAL WORLD: yeah, I won't think too deeply about this, because it would break immersion a tad. the idea of this train in space. the way it works. the reason it's there. the recreation of a British era of colonialist and classist ideals. the fact that most of the guests turn out to be holograms and nobody onboard realised this. how big is this train? are there other guests elsewhere? why these scientists? what do those characters bring to the table a single time in the episode? why was that woman on there with her grandmother? etcetc. stretched a bit thin for The Bit

POLITICS: aforementioned Orient Express In Space concepts are a bit unthought-out. it's not egregious, it's just there. more soldiers

I'm noticing soldiers, because it wants me to notice soldiers, but what is it telling me about soldiers? on the whole? I'd love it if there was more... Substance in the soldiers being shown. the concept about soldiering

FULL RATING: 67/100 (if I can count….)

I would appreciate it if eventually the soldier Stuff pays off, both narratively and politically, but I'm not convinced M*ffat has enough of a political opinion on the military

would appreciate it if the Doctor's dickishness pays off/is explored, but oh boy are they running with this for over half a season!

Clara's trajectory is quite interesting

hope the little teasers pay off also