#re. rhea ↳ meta

[erad1cator]

tag / drop !

[made-this-cause-why-not]

How I would re-write Supergirl Season 2/3

(as some one who stopped watching after season three, and also has not rewatched the series since 2020) (reign arc and heroes of the week will remain unchanged)

So, starting off strong, at Alex and Maggie would not have gotten engaged. Season 2 finale would have been Maggie realizing she was rushing into things, Alex being all "no I love you, I know I do" and Maggie being like "there is a whole gay world for you to explore... go do it." This would lead to sadness, a bit of tears (Chyler and Floriana would be AMAZING- daytime emmy nominee worthy performance).

Rhea would reveal Kara's identity to Lena in the finale. It would be casual too, she would be like "you are much better for my son Lena, that kryptonian isn't worth her weight in dirt here. I can't believe he would settle for a lowly slave." And then Lena would be all "reporter" and Rhea would be like "Yes Kara Danver's, former slave to a, Cat Grant I believe her name is" and then Rhea would continue on her spiel and there would be a cut scene as the camera focuses on Lena taking in the information

They save the day- Monel leaves for what ever reason he had to leave- don't remember, don't care. Also, Kara and Mon-el would have never dated, he would have just pined for her and James and Winn would be all "join the club"

Season 3

Alex mourned over her first lesbian relationship over the 6 month gap between seasons, Lena hasn't told Kara she knows.

First DEO scene of Season 3 is Alex talking to Kara (and invertedly Winn and James) about her most recent date on an app. It went bad, Winn chimes in like "what was it this time" and Alex is like "she was weirdly into ___" then J'onn walks in, like "Alex I am sorry to interrupt but there are pressing matter to attend to- there is a meta human down town" (que hero of the week intro)

Lena and Kara hang out, audience find out that Lena hasn't told Kara cause Kara has to leave to deal with a alien and does the usual "uh, I hear my named being called, ugh bye" and Lena just smiles and nodds, and sighs wistfully, staring after her (supercorp shippers go crazy)

Ep 2 or three we first see Sam and Ruby in line for Noonan's or something (why did they establish that as a brand, just to immediately ditch it after season 1???) and it's just a cute simple little "Hi, I'm Alex, let me help you out" but Sam is endeared and Ruby just smiles because (I love Ruby but honestly) she didn't have that much of a personality early on in the season

That same ep we see Lena reuniting with Sam. After that, when ever Sam and Lena meet each other (I don't remember when or how) Kara and Lena are like "you two know each other" and Alex is all blushy like "yeah, Kinda, I mean, not really" and Sam is like "yeah, Lena she is the girl from the place". Sam and Lena share a look (agent reign shippers go crazy)

Sprinkles of supercorp here and there- Just Kara and Lena doing their normal friend shit but Kara being like "woah, I am feeling things maybe"

At ep 8 or so Kara is at the bar with Alex and ask her how she knew with Maggie, that she liked Maggie. And Alex is all "well, I guess I always knew I liked girls but it was always objective. Like, I would think, she is so kind and smart and beautiful and amazing, any guy would be lucky to have her. But something about Maggie just forced me to realize that I was the one feeling these things, not some guy. I don't know, something about her just made alot of things clearer. Like, I realized I was the one driving the car, not a passenger. She made me stop being so passive in my own life" and Kara is quiet the whole time. Alex then ask "why" and Kara is all "no reason". Cut to Lena at L-Corp working on something relevant to the plot (supercorp shippers go crazy) (that conversation inspires Alex to ask Sam out- they then start to date)

Next ep, Kara goes to Lena's office, and is all, "there is something I need to tell you" and Lena is all "I already know" and Kara is shocked an all "how do you know" and Lena is like "in hindsight it was obvious. *list of things that hold double meanings cause miscommunication trope*" "Lee- I would have told you earlier but I-" "It's fine, I get it. You were doing it to protect me" "protect you???" "yeah- you're supergirl". Que Kara sighing and then freaking out, Lena saying Rhea told her, Kara being pulled away by some kind of supe situation, and Lena being all "go get them supergirl"

Kara admits her feelings at the end of the episode. Lena is shocked, but agrees. They agree to go on a date, a real romantic date and not a friend one, but oops- it's ep 9 which means Kara fights reign, goes comatose and then we get angsty, driven lena being like "we gotta fix Kara"

From then on, the show goes like usual, but Alex and Sam are dating and Kara and Lena are as well. The show ends with Season 3, Alex leads Deo, Winn stays but James leaves to help in the future but it really doesn't matter because the show it over. Supercorp is canon, Alex and Sam have a daughter and everyone lives happily ever after.

Edit: forgot to say this orginally but more Cat cameos. I love that woman so much- she has to come back at least twice in season 3 and be like "I leave the city for five minutes and you let her do WHAT? Agent Scully, why on EARTH would you let your sister fight a world killer??? Have you no brains under that thick skull" or something. I just want for her to be there, see Kara and Lena together and pull out of peice of paper from her purse that says "gay" and be like "I knew when you first walked into my office. No straight women would willingly be yelled at that often" or something. Idk, she was just very deeply missed

[ajentmm]

Goddess’s Servants Weapon Refine Theorycraft

There was one regular hero banner after the “Three Houses CYL” banner, and we got another three houses banner. I couldn’t complain at the time cuz I love Three Houses cast, but I’m always respectful to the old hats. Coincidentally, we had two 3H banners each year since 3H was released until last year, where we only got one (Rearmed Ingrid). This was because Engage got two banners, as it was released last year. So I expect one 3H banner this year and a second Engage banner, with the royals of Solms. Back to today’s topic. This banner has the theme of all of Rhea’s close companies, the knights of Seiros and the two green hair faculty members. Does Flaynn count as a staff member if she’s locked in the castle by Seteth?  

Catherine: Thunder Knight

Lvl. 40 5 ☆  43/39/41/30/23                      Max Invest: 52/48/50/38/31

Thunderbrand: Grants Spd+3. At start of combat, if foe's HP ≥ 50%, grants Atk/Spd+5 during combat, neutralizes effects that prevent unit's follow-up attacks during combat, and also, if unit initiates combat, unit can make a follow-up attack before foe can counterattack.

Draconic Aura - Swift Sparrow 3 - Lull Spd/Def 3

The pre-promote swordmaster from the Knights of Serios, is here. She introduced the concept of relic weapons in the 3rd chapter, Thunderbrand. While this is a brave sword in 3H, but in FEH, it gives Nfu Desperation. This gives her a unique way to bypass the new “Reduces damage from 1st and 2nd hit if foe has Brave attack”, but it does mean she can’t quad-attack. If we give her an affect that lets her brave attack, that’s 4 attacks in a row, and that sounds to good for a refine. Instead, we can increase the damage she deals with those two attacks. We can also give her more defenses, so she isn’t a sitting duck on enemy phase.

Thunderbrand: Grants Spd+3. At start of combat, if foe's HP ≥ 25%, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+5 during combat, neutralizes effects that grant foe a guaranteed follow-up attack or prevent unit's follow-up attacks during combat, and also, if unit initiates combat, unit can make a follow-up attack before foe can counterattack.

Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). If unit initiates combat or is within 2 tile radius of an ally, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+4 during combat, deal damage = X% of unit Atk (if foe is a Dragon, Beast, or Armored, X = 20, otherwise, 10) and reduce damage from foe’s first attack by 40% (*Brave hit exception).

There. She’s going to get AS, full NFU, Dive-Bomb, +9 to all stats, 40% DR, and true damage. The AS and true damage is there imitating the combat art, Foudroyant Strike, which grant +6 Mt, +30 Hit, +30 Crit, and effective against Armored and Dragon foes. I could have used her higher Spd stat, but I figure this emulates the effectiveness bonus.

Flayn: Playing Innocent

Lvl. 40 5 ☆  40/39/27/21/35      Max Invest: 49/48/35/29/44

Caduceus Staff: Calculates damage from staff like other weapons. Reduces damage from foes' attacks during combat to allies within 2 spaces by 30%.

Rescue+ - Deluge Balm+ - Dazzling Staff 3 - Ground Orders 3

Flayn was a unique staff flyer, and a 5 star, meaning she can actually get a refine! Flayn was also unique to provide damage reduction to allies in an area of effect. This was when we learned that DR was multiplicative rather than additive, and we all had to relearn 6th grade math. Some people made Aether raid teams that stacked caduceus effect with Dodge units or Brave Dimitri. Surprisingly, the staff meta has changed drastically, and Flayn got a Fall alt that adds much more to her staff and her kit. With Halloween Flayn providing Special Charage +1 in addition to 30%, this flayn can provide just defensive effects.

Caduceus Staff: Calculates damage from staff like other weapons. Grant allies within 3 spaces the following effect: Grant Def/Res+4 to unit, inflict Special cooldown charge –1 on foe, and reduces damage from foes' attacks by 30% during combat. If unit is within 3 spaces of an ally, grant Atk/Res+6 to unit during combat, inflict Special cooldown charge –1 on foe, and reduce damage from foe’s first attack by 30%.

Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). At the start of combat, if foe's HP ≥ 25%, grant Atk/Res+6, a guaranteed follow-up attack to unit, and damage +7 to unit during combat.

So the base effect has change to a 3 tile radius, gave Flayn the same effects (with some different stats and a 30% on first hit only), and added Guard and Def/Res+4 to the effect list. Then, the special effect is just Special Acceleration, along with Atk/Res+6, guaranteed follow-up, and a fixed 7 damage.

Seteth: Seiros Adherent

Lvl. 40 5 ☆  44/36/36/32/24      Max Invest: 53/45/45/40/32

Spear of Assal: Grants Spd+3. If unit is within 2 spaces of an ally, grants Atk/Spd+4 to unit during combat and neutralizes foe's bonuses to Atk/Spd (from skills like Fortify, Rally, etc.) during combat. Grants Atk/Spd+4 to allies within 2 spaces during combat.

Swap – Brazen Atk/Spd 3 – Drive Atk 2

WOW! A Lance Flier! That rides a wyvern! And is a man! And he’s NOT a GHB unit, he’s a 3-4 star!? AND he has a perf!? AND it has Lull Atk/Spd built in, which restricted from fliers?! It’s a miricale.

Spear of Assal: Grants Spd+3. If unit is within 3 spaces of an ally, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+4 to unit during combat and neutralizes foe's bonuses (from skills like Fortify, Rally, etc.) during combat. Grants Atk/Spd+4 and “neutralizes foe’s bonus” to allies within 3 spaces during combat.

Effective against Cavalry. At the start of combat, if foe's HP ≥ 25%, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+4 to unit during combat, grant addition Atk/Spd = penalties active on unit’s Atk/Spd x 2. Calculate stats independently. At the start of combat, if foe's HP ≥ 25%, restore 7 HP to unit after combat.

So, why isn’t this weapon effective against Cavalry? It’s effective in Three Houses. Along with that, Seteth grant “Lull” to all allies, now in 3 tile radius, similarly to Flayn. He’s also getting +8 all stats, Unity Atk/Spd, and healing 7 HP. The restoring HP is a reference the healing at the start of turn that Spear of Assal has in 3H. Why we haven't gotten another weapon with this effect, or even a Renewal 4 is likely because it promotes stalling and makes Reciprocal Aid more useful. 

Shamir: Archer Apart

Lvl. 40 5 ☆  41/40/40/25/24      Max Invest: 50/49/49/33/32

Survivalist Bow: Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). Effective against flying foes. If unit is not adjacent to an ally, grants Atk/Spd+6 during combat, and also, if foe's HP ≥ 80% at start of combat, foe cannot counterattack.

Moonbow – Atk/Spd Solo 3 - Null Follow-Up 3 - Rouse Atk/Spd 3

Ah, Shamir. A prototype Rita from Pokémon, if you will. We don’t get many colored bows, unless it’s for a tomboy 5 star archest. Her personal skill in 3H is Survivalist, inspiring the name of the bow, and it granted more Str/Spd for one turn after defeating a foe. FEH doesn’t have any “defeat foe” skills, not even Galeforce had that. So FEH was like, “we can give her the solo condition”, and throw in “cannot counterattack”. But Feh already has Elenora’s Mirage Long Bow for “no counterattack”. This bow has the advantage of Accelerates Special trigger, so it can be more powerful, but the HP condition can still be there. I will lower it to 50%.

Survivalist Bow: Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). Effective against flying foes. If unit is initiate combat or if the number of allies adjacent to unit ≤ 1, grants Atk/Spd+6 during combat, neutralize penalties on unit’s Atk/Spd, and also, if foe's HP ≥ 50% at start of combat, foe cannot counterattack.

At start of turn, if Special cooldown count is at its maximum value, grants Special cooldown count-1. At the start of combat, if foe's HP ≥ 25%, grant Atk/Spd+5, neutralize skills that inflict “Special Cooldown –X" during combat, deals damage = X% of unit's Spd when Special triggers (X = unit's max Special cooldown count value × 10, + 20; excludes area-of-effect Specials), and after combat, if Special cooldown count is at its maximum value, grants Special cooldown count-1.

So if Elenora is going to deal two hits of high damage, Shamir is going to nuke with Moonbow (or Deadeye if you have inherited it). She also gets half – tempo so she can charge Deadeye for the second hit, if you wanted to by pass DR Specials. Then there is Spd based true damage on Specials for more nuking.

Nemesis: King of Liberation

Lvl. 40 5 ☆  43/39/23/37/34      Max Invest: 52/48/31/46/42

Dark Creator S: Grants Def+3. During combat, boosts unit's Atk/Def by number of allies with HP ≥ 90% × 2 (max 6). During unit's first combat in player phase or enemy phase, reduces damage from attacks during combat and from area-of-effect Specials (excluding Røkkr area-of-effect Specials) by percentage = number of allies with HP ≥ 90% × 15 (max 45%).

Dragon Fang – Chill Atk 3 – Savage Blow 3

Why can’t this guy stay dead? Nemesis is back to be the bane in everyone’s . . . what’s that? His weapon sucks? Well, he’s back to be the bane for the first time ever. With a weapon condition that requires his team members to not take any damage to get only Atk/Def +6 and 45% DR. This was novel at the time, but now everyone has at least 40% DR on first hit. If one of his three allies gets hurt, it’s only Atk/Def+4 and 30% DR. This makes him better in Aether Raids where there’s 5-6 allies, but that’s where the Lightning Towers are, making his weapon useless. Oh, and it’s only the first combat encounter that the DR is available, meaning you won’t be tanking the whole team. So, how do we change it.

Dark Creator S: Grants Def+3. During combat, boost unit's Atk/Def by number of allies with HP ≥ 50% × 2 (max 6). At the start of combat, if it’s the unit's first combat in player phase or enemy phase, or if unit's HP ≥ 25%, grant Atk/Def/Res+5 to unit and reduces damage from attacks during combat and from area-of-effect Specials (excluding Røkkr area-of-effect Specials) by percentage = 30 + number of allies with HP ≥ 50% × 10 (max 60%).

For starters, I made the Atk/Def boost it’s own separate thing, from basic stat increases. Instead of being ≥ 90%, I when with allies with HP ≥ 50%, making it like EarthFire Boost, but without the proximity to those allies. I added the unit’s HP ≥ 25% condition, so he can tank more foes on enemy phase. Plus, if he is at 1 HP from an AOE or Lightning Tower, he will still get stat and DR at least once per phase. I gave him the usual +5 to Atk/Def/Res, cuz he will need the Res. Then I just added 30% DR as the minimum amount of DR, making the maximum 60%.  

Foes with Range = 1 cannot move through spaces adjacent to unit, and foes with Range = 2 cannot move through spaces within 2 spaces of unit (does not affect foes with Pass skills). At the start of combat, if foe initiates combat or foe’s HP ≥ 75%, grant Atk/Def/Res+5, a guaranteed follow-up attack, restores 7 HP to unit after combat.

And to make it so you need to use AOE, Lightning Towers, etc., I made his secondary effect Bulwark, so he can be the frontline defender and keep his allies safe, instead of being the final foe. You got to protect your allies, even if they function like your Horcruxes. On top of that, with the enemy phase standard condition, he gets another +5 to all stats and a guaranteed follow-up, which he desperately needs. Best skill to give him now is afore mentioned EarthFire Boost or Atk/Def Finish, and Gambit, for more damage and DR.

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

I hate to say it, but most frequently "Valyrian supremacy" is used a buzzword so antis can call Targaryens Aryans and Nazis (even though almost everyone in Westeros is white and thus "white surpremacy" does not apply). Mind you HOTD's black Velaryons threw a spanner into that paradigm briefly, but they rallied! Helped, yes, by Aemond doing the Valyrian purity thing (which has its origins in the (faulty?) belief that dragonriders needed Valyrian blood, the purer the better; but note how it continued even after the death of the dragons).

Now, the Doctrine of Exceptionalism was created to propagandize a political narrative of exception to the rules set by the Faith of the Seven. Not exceptional people per se, but a different people with different characteristics (eyes/hair/dragonriders/immunity to common diseases). And that, in addition to their non-Andal origins, meant the Faith's rules did not apply. Again, not exceptional, just exceptions.

Still, have some Targaryens (and Velaryons and Celtigars etc) felt they are better than regular people? Yes, but many have not (other than some standard noblesse oblige). It's not a consistent family paradigm as much as something held by certain individuals in certain generations. And in general, any Targaryen superior feeling is just an expansion of the standard noble's attitude towards smallfolk, i.e. their "lessers". See my strata of society meta: the Targaryen royals are the top stratum, yes, but it's still just classicism and feudalism. Just enhanced classicism and feudalism.

(Also note race is much less of an issue in Westeros classism than xenophobia - which can overlap, such as in the case of Dorne, but even white Dornishmen got the same hate in the pre-union and Blackfyre era, and even in current Westeros among their traditional nemeses in the Reach and Stormlands. Though said Dornish hatred can indeed be very color-based racist as well.)

But anyway. Once a fandom paradigm has settled in, it's very difficult to fight it despite its obvious logical flaws. (e.g. when people call Daemon a supremacist re Rhea Royce - even though the exceptionalism doctrinists Jaehaerys & Alysanne were the ones who married them! And again the “supremacist”/doctrinist paradigm falls apart when you consider Daella's marriage candidates and the would-be ones for Saera and Viserra.) But thank you for trying nevertheless.

I see the term "Valyrian supremacy" thrown around here a lot but what does it mean exactly?

My guess is that this concept stems somewhat from the Doctrine of Exceptionalism and primarily from sentiments espoused by characters like Viserys III (a famously reliable source of information) and, well, show!Aemond:

She had always assumed that she would wed Viserys when she came of age. For centuries the Targaryens had married brother to sister, since Aegon the Conqueror had taken his sisters to bride. The line must be kept pure, Viserys had told her a thousand times; theirs was the kingsblood, the golden blood of old Valyria, the blood of the dragon. Dragons did not mate with the beasts of the field, and Targaryens did not mingle their blood with that of lesser men. (AGOT, Daenerys I)

In Aemond's case there's clearly a lot of subtext here, and Viserys III's idea of Targaryen history elides the fact that plenty of Targaryens have married members of First Men, Andal, and Rhoynar houses (their direct ancestors Betha Blackwood, Dyanna Dayne, and Myriah Martell, to name a few). The emphasis on bloodlines is also not exactly unique to the Valyrian families, and honestly I’ve generally seen accusations of "Valyrian supremacy" directed toward that which are clearly just bog standard Westerosi feudal conventions.

In regard to the Doctrine of Exceptionalism, it’s a provision that Jaehaerys and Alysanne made the Faith of the Seven adopt and which states that Targaryens are allowed to continue their tradition of endogamous marriage because they are Valyrian and have different customs than the rest of Westeros. Bear in mind that they did this after a group of assassins tried to stab Alysanne while she was pregnant because the Faith of the Seven viewed her unborn baby as an “abomination” conceived of incest, and thus the Doctrine serves a very particular political purpose. The same can be said of endogamous marriage itself—a revealing example is that of Queen Rhaena, whom the Lannisters tried to coerce into marrying one of their own, as this would have produced Lannisters who could ride dragons and had access to them since Rhaena’s dragon was known to produce eggs. Jason Lannister clearly had similar designs for Rhaenyra on the show.

[lyteupthelyfe]

girl help why are the relic combat arts like that

theory brain not go brrr atm but i was browsing the wiki and found it interesting that all of the heroes' relic combat arts are named like...actually really concerningly???

like we have Foudroyant Strike (devastating/calamitous strike), Beast Fang (which is honestly the tamest, how ironic), Ruptured Heaven, Heaven's Fall (the Dark Creator Sword's CA, makes sense, Nemesis killed Sothis/wants to kill Byleth), Ruined Sky, Atrocity, Burning Quake, Apocalyptic Flame, Dust, Raging Storm, Fallen Star, and Eviscerate.

~ analysis below the cut besties ~ (cw mentions of death + genocide)

The only one that isn't alluding to the literal end of the world is Sublime Heaven, which afaik basically means something along the lines of a...surreal heaven--heaven, the celestial vault, supposed realm of like, perfection or whatever, is broken--shattered--with Ruptured Heaven. well, more like a seam has burst open. with the sword of the creator, its horrific origin in the murder of sothis violates what was known, the status quo of nabatean (and fodlish) society--the world, even (lmao gotta throw in that arcana link). but fusing with sothis, knowing the truth of who she is (but with her "not having acted like a goddess", is like, the most important aspect--it made sothis relatable, a fun, enjoyable, human character, who also has all this responsability, past, and trauma) allows for, even if the sky is ruptured escaping from zahras, the ultimate repair of the world (regardless of route). and like. a sublime heaven is one that...is real. its magical, insane, world-saving, but real because not only does the sword realise its true power, not only does byleth accept the sothis within then, but they...allow for all this heady, large, grand plot of the nabateans and foldan's truth (whatever that might be in each route) to become close and real to both the player and the characters. becomes, well, sublime.

anyway, beyond that, on all the other combat arts, there's no real link to the arcana (or crest) (or dragon) (fyi in the order above its tower devil world world death strength chariot wheel of fortune empress high priestess (devil) moon and sun)--they all just seem rather morbid. like it's the end of the world. and, well, for the nabateans that were murdered and warped into each weapon, it was. like to go for a rather morbid theory, it's almost like each combat art is related to the way its dragon was murdered; i.e. "goneril" was burnt alive, "dominic" was made dust, Chevalier eviscerated, at least partially (given that he relatively survived to become an Apostle) (names in brackets, the dragons weren't actually named that obv, some were probably actually named Luca, Iris, Bernhard, Gajus, Wilhelm(?), Marcelle and Simone, but that's not for this post, rather a post on rhea's trauma coping) (wait no i just had a theory. but not for this post. another one.)

ANYWAY my essential point is that through the combat arts we have a continual remembrance and recreation of the red canyon tragedy--these are like, weapons used to kill people, were made through the killing of the nabateans, ofc the combat arts are named such they are living memories of the violent, unjustified and brutal end of a world. if we were able to meet the actual nabateans in-game, and similar things to the sothis fusion moment happened, then maybe we'd get happier ones, but they can't ever be sublime because the tragedy of their re-creation is the sad remembrance of each as victims of the tragedy and nothing more.

honestly this is probably a tremendous factor in rhea's own survivor's guilt, the only people in fodlan who probably actually knew the other nabateans are rhea, flayn, seteth, indech and macuil

now i don't want to get meta but something something the 1181-1185/6 war is built on the bones of the ""war of heroes"" and something something the past no matter how distant still affects fodlan in myriad ways, some more overt than others

something something ignorance of the truth leads to the repetition of history and condemns the fate of the word to a self-fulfilling prophecy carved in bone

oops ty for listening to my rambles, 'd love to hear your thoughts, g'night!

[childofaura]

So I tested Canto Control Limstella in Summoner’s Duels

I wanted to make a post about my findings of Canto Control Limstella because part of me feels like I just overpowered it with meta-breakers, but the other part of me feels that it was primarily Limstella that messed with this person.

So I just had a battle against a relatively standard Summoner’s Duels team:  Regular Peony, Reginn (Merge 4), Mage Reinhardt (Merge 10), B!Eirika (Merge 1), and B!Hector (Merge 10). Reinhardt, Reginn, and B!Eirika of course all have Canto abilities.

The team I decided on so far:

Limstella, Def/Res Ideal, no B-skill yet, Canto Control, and Bracing Stance 2 seal

Regular Nifl, standard build no merges and Distant Guard 3 seal. Used for damage reduction on Limstella

Askr, standard build no merges and no S seal. Wanted to get that sweet Opened Domain stat boost for Limstella

Fallen Rhea, standard build no merges and Fury 3 seal

Reyson, Steady Posture 3, Renewal 3, Ground Orders 3, and Earth Dance 3 seal

Now you’ve got an idea of my team, so I do wanna figure out if this is just because I ran three meta-breakers (Nifl, Askr, and Fallen Rhea).

Anyways, I don’t think this person realized I had Canto Control on Limstella until they set B!Eirika, Peony, and Reinhardt top-left of the map above where I placed Limstella, Rhea, Nifl, and Askr. Only during Turn 3 where they tried to fruitlessly move B!Eirika with Drawback do I think they realized “... Wait... is that Canto Control?”

Limstella attacks B!Eirika, doesn’t kill her because their Speed sadly is not high enough to double-tap, but it’s a chunky amount of damage. Sure it takes a little chunk out of Rhea’s HP but with the Beast and Dragon allies + Reyson’s healing abilities (Reyson refine when, IS?), she can cut off the Fury seal’s damage by regaining at least 1 HP.

B!Hector cannot attack Limstella due to Rhea’s placement, and instead moves directly in front of Askr, who manages to take down B!Hector untransformed. B!Eirika tries to attack Limstella but is taken down by Rhea. Reinhardt desperately tries attacking Askr to no avail (no damage, and Canto Control prevents his retreat. Nifl takes down Peony, Limstella takes a chunk out of Reinhardt and Askr finishes him off, leaving poor Reginn to try to flee. Alas, it is to no avail as Nifl moves, then Reyson gives her another movement, then she destroys Reginn.

So (and you can answer honestly and brutally, I will accept the criticism and maybe try to work the team to be a little less cheap and a little more fair), do you think this win was attributed more to the meta-breakers, or to Limstella, or to both on a somewhat equal scale? Because my logic was as follows:

> Place Limstella.

> Get a Near Save to protect Limstella, let’s go with Rhea, given her healing ability and built-in Null Follow Up

> We’re gonna need a Beast or Dragon unit to give Rhea the healing ability... Let’s stick in Reyson, since he’s a singer.

> Let’s add Nifl for damage reduction.

> Oh, Askr has Def/Res boosting, that could work for Limstella.

[gascon-en-exil]

A while back I had asked you about Monica. You said that you think she was just intended to be a joke character, not too much depth or taken too seriously. Since then, I have seen a number of takes about Monica. Some think she's as bad as Tharja/Faye. Some think she's obsessive/stalker. Some think she's harmless. Some think she's cute with Edelgard. And some think Monica haters are just anti lesbians and have no other reason to dislike her. Do you feel any different about Monica now? (1/2)

Also re: Monica, I heard someone say that her obsession with Edelgard is no different than Dedue and Dimitri, Catherine and Rhea, or Hubert and Edelgard. But I very much disagree. Dedue, Catherine and Hubert all stand out as characters for themselves. They shouldn't be reduced to simply an obsessive character and they're certainly not stalkers. I was wondering if maybe you might be able to explain what makes those Lord and retainers have a different feel than with Monica and Edelgard. (2/2)

I've seen various opinions on her as well, but my own hasn't changed much. I still dislike how much her attraction to Edelgard (and Dorothea) is used for uncomfortable humor, and that the writing avoids potentially interesting areas for relationship development - particularly in Monica's non-reaction to Edelgard telling her that she'd been willing to let Monica die if it had been more convenient - because they might appear to be too critical of Edelgard. It reminds me of Byleth having only sympathetic dialogue options when asked about Edelgard in SS/VW, or the conversations some mutuals have been having about how Claude is criticized in GW 's writing for some of the same things that Edelgard does (without criticism) in CF.

The comparison to those other characters doesn't hold up, because I can't think of a single time when their devotion is played for laughs. Even the most popular Dimidue meme is about Dimitri's strange eating habits, and not Dedue being overbearing. Monica does have moments where she feels less one-dimensional, namely her paralogue with Bernadetta and her appearance in Part 2 of AG, but those moments aren't integrated well with the rest of her character. Monigard (is that the ship name?) also has an uneven energy, in contrast to the cold professionalism of Edelbert or the mutually codependent passion of Dimidue, which makes it much harder to gauge how much Edelgard really cares about Monica. (Of course, then comes in the meta understanding of how Edelgard has always been written to have only one true love: the player-as-Byleth....)

[bardicindignation]

Reasons Why the Master Should've Been the Timeless Child

Okay, so I was re-watching some Doctor Who the other day, and I got to thinking about all of the problems I had with Chibnall's writing with the Master (rip Missy's excellent character development) and the whole 'Timeless Child' thing in general. And then it occurred to me that it would make way more sense (and, in my opinion, far more compelling) if the Master had been the Timeless Child instead of the Doctor.

and then I talked to @rhea-imagined about it and decided that I would make my first attempt and a semi-coherent meta post:

It would make the Master going absolutely apeshit and destroying all of Gallifrey even after all of the progress Missy had made make, just, so much more sense

Ruth and the whole 'past regenerations that the Doctor doesn't remember' thing can totally stay. Maybe the Doctor was one of the original Timelords to receive regenerations but didn't know where they'd come from. They find out and, being themself, rescue the Master, steal a Tardis and run away.

That could go a long way to explaining why the timelords hate them so much, plus the whole "wanted for a bunch of crimes thing" bc god knows the Time Lords wouldn't let them go easily and wouldn't put setting the Judoon on the Doctor beyond them at all. Plus, it's the Doctor, so they're running into all sorts of trouble along the way anyhow

(just now realizing that, technically, this would make the Master the Doctor's first companion, which is extremely funny)

And the Doctor and the Master spend who knows how long running from Gallifrey, planet to planet, world to world, causing and solving problems in equal measure, and they're the best (and most chaotic of course) of friends

and the Master still chooses the name Master, but it's really short for (or else it just doesn't quite come across in translation) 'Master-of-One's-Own-Fate'

But then the timelords catch up, and it's over. But the Master is so important, and the Doctor so brilliant (and therefore useful, and also as leverage), that they can't just kill them and so they erase both of their memories entirely.

And all of this would go a long way to explaining the Doctor and the Master's relationship, as well as why the Master is Like That because

everything that happened would result in, just, an enormous amount of trauma: rage, hurt, fear, emotional pain, the whole kit and caboodle, which wouldn't necessarily go away with a memory wipe

what the memory wipe would do is take away any means that the Master would have had to deal with it: speaking from personal experience, it's almost impossible to deal with that kind of emotion in any kind of constructive way if you have no idea why you're feeling it

So what you end up with is a genius (who, to be honest, might not have been the most stable of beings before the memory wipe) with a near-bottomless well of all of that mess of emotion and trauma with no direction for it whatsoever. Add to that the High Council electing to send back the signal to save Gallifrey and driving the Master mad at age eight...yeah, they pretty much screwed the Master (and themselves, and the Doctor) over with that one, on top of all the other ways they'd already been screwed over

So: insane, incredibly traumatized genius who's filled to the brim with rage with no direction. Why does he fixate on the Doctor? because of their interactions in the past:

He loves the doctor because they were friends, and the doctor tried SO HARD to save him, and he HATES the Doctor because the doctor should be able to save him, should KNOW and UNDERSTAND him better than anyone and it's like they don't REMEMBER HOW

(Which, of course, isn't rational, because them getting caught wasn't the doctor's fault, and it's not the doctor's fault that they don't remember anything, but, again, if you don't know why you feel something you can't cope with it, suss it out and deal with it)

and then meanwhile, you've got the Doctor, who's also got an unhealthy dose of trauma from everything just, perhaps, somewhat less severe, and they haven't been driven insane by the drums.

What the Doctor's got is this perpetual feeling of guilt for failing the Master, even when stuff happens that isn't in any way shape or from their fault, or even having anything to do with them, because they tried SO HARD in that past life to save them, and it didn't work. Helloooo, guilt complex (that they probably already had, this just makes it worse)

(Also goes a long way to explain the whole insane amount of mercy and forgiveness and love the doctor had for the master)And so, even when the Master becomes Missy and the madness is gone, there's still that rage, and still with no direction, because she CANT REMEMBER so she takes it out on what she always does: that which is important to the doctor

Which, incidentally, is WHY the whole basement imprisonment stuff was beginning to work, because Missy was finally starting to figure out that she isn't actually angry with the doctor at all, doesn't hate them

also, I'd like to think, that after the Master finds out the truth, the whole O thing, would have gone VERY differently

Like, still would've been a total shitshow, but maybe not so much with the world domination and they trying to kill the doctor and her friends because he's finally found where his anger actually goes (and had already begun to figure out where it DOESN'T while he was Missy)

(He still doesn't explain anything useful, bc he still (rather pettily) hates that the doctor forgot and wants her to figure it out herself, rip)

And maybe, when the Master is the timeless child, he doesn't burn all of Galiffrey. Maybe he leaves the civilians, the ones who aren't time lords, who didn't know, didn't benefit the way the Time Lords did. Maybe he leaves the children, who didn't know better, because he's seen what these people DO to children, and its not their fault. Maybe he leaves the Doctor's adopted family and any of their kids/grandkids who are still alive, bc they always cared for them, both of them, and they never knew either

Maybe he only burns the old, callous, cowardly and cruel timelords who got them into this damn mess in the first place and did nothing to fix it, those high handed bastards who would have seen him and the doctor utterly destroyed and gladly profited from their pain

(maybe he waits for the Doctor to figure stuff out, and they make a bonding experience out of blowing up the Citadel or something and then leave again. If Romana's still around, she can be in charge lol.)

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[starry-skies-116]

Elizabeth/Vanessa/Vanny Playing Fire Emblem Three Houses (The Sequel That Literally NOBODY Asked For :’D):

Plays as F!Byleth, recruits Sylvain immediately when arriving at the Monastery even though she doesn’t really need him- “free unit lol”

*Fodlan Winds starts playing on the first level* “DOOT DOOT DOO DOO THE FIRST LEVEL~” (Michael/Freddy’s ears are destroyed by her terrible singing lmfao-) 

IMMEDIATELY becomes an Edelgard stan and joins her army of simps: “Adrestian Empire, the obviously correct choice.”

*takes one look at Hubert and turns to Glitchtrap* “He reminds me of you, Daddy…” (William inside: ‘I’ve been compared to a goth kid by my own daughter… heart been broke so many times y u do dis to me ;-;’)

Is suspicious of Rhea from the beginning, but the archbishop’s motherly nature kind of makes her miss Eleanor, her own mother *cries*

“Black Eagle Supremacy all da wae, ride or die lol”

Yells “ZA WARUDOOOO” every time she divine pulses

Hilda cannot be recruited on the Black Eagles Route *cue Liz being held back by Michael from breaking her switch lol*

Doesn’t know how stat-buffing items and weapons work, so she just does some random bullcrap combinations and hope that they work-

“How does one bait mage aim without my squishiest character dying please help me.”

“The hell is def and res level-ups” (doesn’t know how instrumentally that’ll help her down the line even with how many times she gets screwed over)

Axes and Reason Magic, the ONLY correct choice. :)

“HOL UP DARK SPIKES INSTAKILLS THE DEATH KNIGHT!? Y’ALL ALREADY KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS”

“WE KNOW BITCH, YOU ARE FERDINAND VON AEGIR.”

“KAHEEHEE DARK SPIKES T TIME BOIS”

“Ooo glowy bone sword what it do- DAMN SON IT’S A WHIP”

*gets sniped by that one mage halfway across the map for the uptienth time. Again.* “How is Evan so good at this game”

Doesn’t trust the Crest System in the slightest, agrees with Edelgard on her later conversations and supports. Later learns about Edelgard’s past (spoilers so I won’t mention it), and basically brandishes the dagger she got on her utility belt <3

“Bernadetta do be sniping everything in sight tho never listen to the meta kids”

*having a mental breakdown mid-map* “AHHAASDGHAAHAH I CAN’T DO THIS"

Evil laughs alongside Hubert every damn time he evil laughs, 10,000% ships him with both Bernadetta and Ferdinand (I just think they’re cute together okay??)

“Miklan’s map is shit uwu- WHAT THE HELL IS THAT KILL IT BURN IT OH GOD”

“The hell are gambits”

“I wasted like four divine pulses and restarted my save file two times just to stop Lindhart from dying”

Least favorite characters: ofc Catherine and Cyril bc she’s young and opinionated lmfao

Actually builds a healer, unlike her brother, but that only helps her a little bit since she still doesn’t have her tanks and dancers- (its Lindhardt lol)

“FIRST PARALOGUE BABY LET’S GOOOOO- wait wdym I can’t control allies on main story maps what kind of tomfoolery is this”

“Holy Tomb map is shit and I hate it uwu- wdym protect the Crest Stones does this look like the face of a remotely decent strategist to you I hate this game”

“ᵒʰ ᵍᵒᵈ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ'ˢ ᵃ ᶠᵒʳᵏ ᶦⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ʳᵒᵃᵈ”

Obviously protects Edelgard lol

Crimson Flower uwu <3

*trying to be sensible for once and scanning enemy stats pre-battle* “Dedue Molinaro stay the hell away from me”

“SHE’S SCARED OF RATS THAT’S SO CUUUUUUTEEEEEE”

Obviously very much pissed at the artificial difficulty of the final boss map, but begrudgingly agrees that it makes sense due to Rhea’s true nature as per the game lore (again, spoilers so won’t talk about it here)

Almost sacrifices every single unit she has due to the entire map being on fire and the knights flanking Rhea with their stupid stats, but Edelgard’s her closest thing to a tank and Lysithea snatched Thunderbrand from Catherine, and Lindhart chillin in the back so she’ll be fine lol (except for the GODDAMN ARMORED GOLEMS, OH BOY WE LOVE GOLEMS DON’T WE??)

S-Supports Edelgard bc she a disaster bi/pan

“Why don’t we get more chapters I wanted to see Skillrex sountrack and ICBM’s at Shambhala come on guys”

*Edge of Dawn end credits theme starts playing* “y’all mind if I praise the lord…?”

[crystalelemental]

“el-jarado: I'm still wary. Fallen Edelgard's kit is held in check by the fact the AI is too stupid to use her right, something people overlook a lot. Fallen Rhea has a lot of the same stuff but her kit is so effective even the AI can't fuck it up. But perhaps I'm just overreacting because I got so sick of people acting like FEdel was the biggest problem in the meta when horseshit like LSigurd and Yuri still has exactly one decent counter and isn't likely to get more soon.“

That’s not entirely untrue, but the AI will also throw Rhea into attack mode and let her die that way just fine.  Her biggest issue is the same issue that’s always existed: Saves are bullshit.  Unless you can get her alone, or handle all her allies in enemy phase (impossible at this juncture), she is just going to sit there and not die.  This is where that extra 40% of foe’s Res as damage comes in; if that pushes her over the edge into “One-shots B!Erika,” then she’s definitely a much larger threat than F!Edelgard.  If it doesn’t, they’re effectively comparable.  Both have no advantageous or disadvantageous matchups by weapon triangle, both have the denial of follow-ups and the strong retaliation via special, and both go down like a sack of shit to these hyper offensive armor counters that can blast them and heal back up with Surge Sparrow.

[handlewithkara]

I know I’ve been radio silent for a kind of unacceptably wrong time, but actually I have been writing. I have even sent stuff off to the beta (1 fluffy established relationship smut, one angsty one night stand and the entirety of “All The Boys I Used to Love”) and I have real hopes about posting them. 

Anyway, I’ve also been thinking a lot about various Karamel things and there are some things I really need to get off my chest. So sorry about long rambling and bad screenshots. 

Mon-El:  You should, uh, know that you deserve the same compassion that you show others.

Kara: I forgive you. 

I think there is a reason why I and I'm sure many other Karamel fans found this moment to be absolutely beautiful. Because even beyond getting to see them on screen together again, getting to see them talk, have a real conversation, a lot of this moment made me want to pump my first and shout "Yes!!! Exactly!". Because there is just so much TRUTH in that statement, in that scene.

This scene also made me want to go back and talk again about the reveal of Mon-El's true identity and Kara's subsequent forgiveness. Now I will be the first to admit I get why some people are unhappy with it and I'm sure there are many Karamel fans who would have welcomed it if it had taken Karamel longer to reconnect after the truth came out. But just because it can be argued that it was rushed or that it wasn't great that the moment of forgiveness happened essentially on another show, I feel like going back and remembering and even defending that nonetheless there were some really good touches in how the storyline of Kara's forgiveness played out.

1.) First I think it has to be acknowledged that Kara is a deeply forgiving person. Something we have seen over and over again, even long before Mon-El entered the scene. I think it is stressed the most in season 1 when Alex is clearly worried that Kara will hate her for taking the life of Astra, one of Kara's few living relatives. And instead Kara completely and unquestionably embraces Alex instead (a moment that I think is very well mirrored in season 5 when Kara doesn't have even an ounce of grudge or hesitancy when Alex lashes out at her after Jeremiah's death). But we have seen this in smaller ways as well, whether it is Kara reaching out to, showing empathy with, connecting to or befriending people, who would be "rivals" in other shows (Lucy), or straight up villains (Leslie, Rhea and Sam/Reign come to mind, to showcase that this attitude is pretty much independant of deservedness). IMO even her clearly seeing past Cat's abrasive or insulting behavior and still seeing the good in her is a clear example of this.

2.) How Kara acted when she found out.

First I want to say: look, Kara knows what it is like to find out that a person you are emotinoally close to lies to you, to find out they were somebody else from what you thought they were and they have been keeping that from you.

And look how she didn't come up with a complex plan to screw Mon-El over and "make him feel the same kind of pain she felt". How she didn't lie to him and pretend to be okay and continue to relationship just so she could stab him in the back, steal from him and carry out a scheme to lobotomize the entire world just because she got hurt.

But I do want to stress, that isn't because she wasn't angry or because she is Kara and as such some kind of benevolent forgiving saint.

The very first scene after she finds out is her having dinner with the Daxamites. And Kara is passive aggressive pissy. And petty. There is this scene where she steers Mon-El into having to fess up and explain himself in front of everybody, something that he is clearly uncomfortable with.

Heck he even vocalizes it. 

Mon-El:  I'd rather not.

Kara:  No, no, Prince, by all means. Please tell us of your heroic escape.

What woud have been the 100% "saintly" reaction? I don't know. Maybe to cry and run off the moment she found out the truth? Or to immediately turn down dinner with the slave owning autocrats? But that's the kind of nuance I love about Kara as a character. Yes, the is good and forgiving and strong and awesome, but she also has a temper and she absolutely can be petty.

But the thing is... Kara's petty phase doesn't last long. By the end of the very same episode, Kara does the sane thing, the fair thing.

She demands an explanation. She cares about the details (”Were you ever gonna tell me the truth?”) She listens to what Mon-El has to say. She is not convinced. 

And she cuts Mon-El out of her life. THAT is the non psychopath thing to do when you are disappointed in somebody. When you think that they will just hurt and disappoint you again and you want to protect yourself.

Kara:  He lied to me about who he really is - for nine months. -  I can't shake it

Kara:  I don't even know who he is anymore.

Kara (about Winn’s girlfriend):  You're just going to forget about it? Aren't you afraid she's gonna hurt you again?

3.) Why Kara forgave him aka The Crossover.

I'm not going to pretend the crossover is perfect. There are many things worth criticiziing, whether it's from a meta level (was it a good idea that Karamel making up took place on a different show? should the focus have been more on Westallen?) to a structural one (the conflict Westallen have doesn't really match the conflict Karamel have all that well, nor does the problem of "Tommy" from the music world have that much in common with the real Mon-El, Musicmeister's action are really random and lack motivation). But going back to it I wanted to talk about it on a pure character level. Namely: What is the reason Kara forgives Mon-El? What motivates her?

Is it Musicmeister reminding her that she luuuves Mon-El, is it just because Musicmeister says so, is it jealousy, is it because she doesn't want to be single again, is it Mon-El having a good explanation, is it her being touched that Mon-El followed her, is it that she came close to dying?

No.

To me it is pretty clear that the focal point of the episode is this one.

Kara:  I think you're being a little tough on your son. [...] it's obvious why he didn't tell you right away. I mean, look at the way you're reacting. Maybe if you just listen and and hear his reasons and try to see things from his point of view maybe maybe you'd understand why he didn't tell you before now.

And that's why Mon-El's words about Kara's compassion for others ring so true. Because this is at the heart for why Kara re-embraced Mon-El. She gained some distance, looked at the situation from a different perspective and started thinking about it differently. Kara put herself in Mon-El's shoes and came to a conclusion about how he felt about the whole situation. That's why at the core of Kara's forgiveness is empathy and compassion.

Mon-El's motivations didn't change. They are still really sucky reasons. But Kara put herself in his shoes and empathized with him anyway and had compassion. All things she said are still valid, that she didn't deserve to be lied to, that Mon-El didn't give her a chance to react.

And that's why it felt so good when in s5 when Kara regained her spine, she stresses this. That her motivations do matter (and mind: Kara did listen to Mon-El's motivation and she did care about the details even before Musicmeister entered the scene). That the compassionate thing would have been to care about why Kara did it. Because when she shoe was on the other foot, that is exactly what Kara was willing to do. To first listen to Mon-El's explanation and then put herself in his shoes and empathize with how he got there and have compassion for him as a flawed person. Who did screw up but Kara is pretty damn bighearted. And that's why she rocks.

4.) So Mon-El's lie = Kara's lie?

So was Mon-El's lie about his identity basically the same thing as Kara's lie about her identity? I don't think so. I think there are both aspects that make it worse and aspects that make it better.

First the obvious one:

When Kara lies about Supergirl (or when Alex lied about working for the DEO), she is not lying about a morally bad thing. She is lying about a morally good thing. There is nothing morally reprehensible to most people about saving others or working to protect others.

By comparison, being the Prince of Daxam isn't just something many people would find morally objectionable as long as they knew the details of it (imo picture it less as fairy tale prince and more like "actually my dad is Saddam Hussein/Bashar Al Assad/Kim Jong Un"), it's also something that Mon-El specifically knew Kara disapproved of.

So regardless of whether one agrees with that Kara's blanket dislike of "The Prince" was justified, Mon-El knew that she had a strong opinion on this and hence knowing about this aspect of his life would be something she would reasonably want to know about, care about and it might have a big influence on her opinion on him.

Secondly, after the nature of what Mon-El is lying about, there is the is the aspect of motivation. Let me stress once more that the story has made it clear that motivation is something Kara does care about. That's why she cared about asking Mon-El to explain himself (after some encouragement from Alex and Winn). it’s what Mon-El talks about in 100, that Kara’s motivation matters and that's why in season 5 when she puts her foot down she makes it clear that her motives to lie do matter. 

And the thing is: Mon-El doesn't have a good explanation for it. There is no "well the government told me to" or "I did it for personal safety or to protect the safety of others", no "I lied becasue I was trying to save the life of my bother", no "well if I told the truth our parents would start a mob war", there is only "I was lying, but I wished it was true" and "I was worried about what your reaction would be". (let me note here: I actually like that about the story, that there is little attempt of the story to muddle the waters here and justify it. Mon-El screwed up, Mon-El is contrite, Kara is willing to give forgiveness despite there not being any excusing additional aspects).

So far, so reprehensible, right?

Well to me there is one thing that makes Mon-El's lie about his identity different than Kara's lie about being Supergirl/an alien, that I think has a meaningful influence on why Kara was willing to forgive and embrace. At this point in the story, "being the prince of Daxam" wasn't really an active part of Mon-El's life. It was part of his past.

Yes we can discuss whether you can ever truly shake off that kind of privilege or what you were taught, but the base point of it is that Mon-El didn't really lead a double life with Kara. He didn't pretend to be the perfect little boyfriend with her and then turned around and snuck off to lead a life of Daxamite privilege and decadence. When he said he was going to work, he really went to work. He had no access to that life of privilege anymore and he made no moves to regain it. All the things that Kara cared about: his feelings for her, him being flawed but trying to be better were still very much there (Alex: “Maybe he's just a guy who's ashamed of his past, and he's looking for a fresh start.”). 

Similarly, all the flaws that Kara might associate with being the prince (like promiscuity, laziness, cowardice) were still visible and present in Mon-El before she knew he was the prince.  

When Mon-El lied about his idenity, he lied about a part of himself that he at the very least had mixed feelings about and eventually grew to actively dislike and try to get rid off. A part of himself he didn't actively engage in and that he eventually went to great lengths to reject.

By comparison when Kara hides that part of herself, she hides something about herself that still very much takes up large chunks of her time, that is very meaningful to her and that she has every intention of carrying on, of keeping up.

Mon-El lied about his past, Kara lied about her present. That's why I think if somebody dealing with Kara found about Supergirl, they could reasonably say "Wow, I feel like I only know like 50%" of you. While with Mon-El, with the kind of insight Kara had into him at that point, finding out that he used to be the prince of Daxam is a lot more like "Wow, I feel like I only know 90%" of you.

That's why I think that upon realizing that, considering Kara's general attitude towards forgiveness and considering that she knew, felt and believed about Mon-El it was reasonable that she came to the conclusion that their relationship was worth preserving, at least for now/while she was still evaluating him and seeing how he would behave in the future, in regards to her, his parents and heroism. It was still a leap of faith of her to do that, but considering what we know of Kara's personality, I think it makes sense that she is the kind of person who would make this leap of faith.

So to recap, the top reasons why it made sense that Kara forgave Mon-El:

1.) Kara has shown over and over again that she's a very forgiving person whether people deserve it or not

2.) Kara herself has also lied to/deceived people she liked or cared about her identity (ie Cat, Lena). AND she has also previously been lied to by people she cares about about having a whole other identity (Alex). Because of this Kara imo clearly and staunchy believes that a lie about one's identity does not invalidate the connection you have with a person, it doesn't mean that it invalidates the interactions you have with them or that you don't really care abuot them, that the relationship you have with them isn't real.

Obviously Kara still considers herself a friend to the people she didn't let in on her secret and obviously Kara thought that her relationship with Alex was more meaningful than the fact that Alex had a secret second job.

3.) The encounter with Musicmeister above all stressed empathy, namely Kara relating to Mon-El and how he probably felt.

4.) In the end, Mon-El's lie was fundamentally about the past, it in retrospect didn't really have that much to do with what Mon-El was at this point and with what he was inside Karamel's relationship. It's pretty clear to me that at that point Mon-El had already emotionally seperated himself from his role as the prince and from his parents.

I believe that Kara sensed that and put trust and faith in that and she ended up being proven right about that (Kara: ”we found a connection.Through the kindness in our hearts”)”. If you look at the scene where she breaks up with him, imo she doesn't get hung up on the lie, but she does lose faith, she worries that longterm Mon-El won't have the moral fortitude to be a hero or a good boyfriend. ("You just want things to be easy, Mon-El. But being a hero and falling in love, those are not easy things. They're hard and they're messy. And they hurt sometimes.") This is what matters to her, whether he will have the strength of character to stick with being a hero. 

Mon-El refused to rejoin his parents, essentially cut them off, staying away from them even beyond what Kara expected or wanted (Kara clearly was supportive of Mon-El reconnecting with them as his parents), to the extent that was wiling to support Kara and stand by as Kara kills his mother and unleashesh a dangerous attack on the rest of his people, is willing to join the fight against them and even after being split from Kara shows no signs of returning to his life as a prince.

It's pretty clear to me that Mon-El basically cut off that part of his life,  that at that point it wasn't an active part of his life anymore and that in the future he did everything to minimize that part of himself (compared to Supergirl being a sizable, ongoing part of Kara's life that is important to her and that she intends to carry on in the future).

That doesn't mean that his lie wasn't a big deal or that Kara had no right to be mad about it, but I do think it lends some believable weight to why Kara was willing to take the plunge and accept him.

Again, this is a character aspect we have seen many times in Kara, that she is willing to encourage and embrace people to turn their life around, even if they have gone pretty damn far into their road to villainy (again, Livewire, Rhea).

One last thing I want to say, I have read people claim that they found it "out of character" that Mon-El became a good and attentive boyfriend after this experience. I personally always read this as a clear and natural progression. This event of Kara's forgiveness imo clearly left a big impression on Mon-El. He didn't just almost lose her, I think he also truly got that Kara not just forgiving him but being willing to re-embrace him and give him the benefit of the doubt was a big. fucking. deal and that probably the vast majority of people in her position wouldn't have done it. So it makes sense to me that he was on his best behavior and eager to show both his gratitude and she wasn't wrong to gift him that.

Conclusion: Kara is a kickass awesome person and character and the story of her forgiving Mon-El is more nuanced than people give it credit for

[artemispanthar]

This is such a neat article. I had always assumed, being a prequel series, that the show had a bottom-up goal-driven writing process, since, you know, they have a specific place they need to go and a certain amount of time to get there, but it's actually more character-driven.

Also, apparently my premature eye rolling re: Kim wasn't too off the mark since she was initially included without much thought beyond "potential love interest" and "moral compass" so she really could've so easily gone in the cliche and thoughtless way a lot of female leads are written if not for the strength and insight of the actress and the openness of the writing crew to let the role grow.

I'm also just always enamored with the performance or energy of the actor influencing how that character is beyond how they were intended to be. Like in the SU pilot Pearl is very much a stern big sister-type but in the series proper she has a much more mom vibe because Deedee Magno Hall just radiates mom energy at all times. And in general it's just always neat to hear actors talk about their characters and the characters' unspoken thought processes

Also also, I've written things with characters who I intend for a specific role only to basically have that character stop me and go "oh no, that's all wrong" and completely change where I'm going. And honestly from a meta perspective it's, like, super in-character for Kim to basically take charge and ownership over how she's going to be portrayed in this story

[inyoursheets]

1, 6, 17 for the asks!

Tell us about your current project(s) – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

my current and only baby is warm water, which has got seven chapters up as we speak and it’s been a while since ive updated it. it’s a roommates!AU with a friends-to-lovers arc & some heavy mutual pining, self-indulgent fluff and the occasional bed sharing (to be published). progress is going messy af and im feeling sad about that, bc i really enjoyed working on it before and spending time on my first proper multi-chapter fic, whereas now the writing’s just not working? ive got a few chapters written, but the ones that aren’t written fully yet need a loooot of work and for some reason i can’t seem to actually do it, as ive just complained about here. what i love most about it is that ive actually managed to accidentally process some things through it that i didn’t know still needed processing, which was a fun surprise

What character do you have the most fun writing?

i think i had the best time with the instigator’s rhea. she’s invited to my fantasy dinner party!

Do you think readers perceive your work - or you - differently to you? What do you think would surprise your readers about your writing or your motivations?

oh, no doubt, no doubt. other people’s perceptions of me and my work are something i think about far more often than i should. i can’t control people’s perceptions of me, which is a lesson i keep having to learn in all of life. also -- different people perceive things in different ways! which is one of the most fun things about being human, and something i actually love to explore through writing, but also one of the most difficult things to remember and to truly, fully grasp on a day-to-day basis. i worry about what other people think of me a lot, and im trying to stop doing that, bc i like i said, i can’t control it, and can’t please everybody bc different people have different wishes/needs/preferences. i tend to think i annoy just about everybody on this site, but what do i know? also, i might annoy different people for different reasons, some of which i may anticipate (like how incredibly long my ask responses are) and others i may not see coming.

as for how my work is perceived -- i honestly have no fucking clue. the fact that it is perceived at all is mind-blowing in and of itself. somebody even mentioned it on twitter, asking if anyone else was reading warm water, completely unprompted, and people responded???? said they read it and loved it???? WHAT???? ive never even engaged with the good girls fandom on twitter and this just happened? WHAT????????

i keep being pleasantly surprised by people’s reactions to my work. the fact that people read it at all, and sometimes enough to let me know how they feel about it, is wild to me. im shocked to learn that some of my fics have made people reread or refer to them as one of their faves. that is so incredible, bc -- i do that a lot. im a big fic re-reader, and i love fic so, so much, so to know that something i wrote inspired that same thing in somebody else? W I L D. but how people perceive it exactly, im not even sure. id say that most comments i receive don’t include interpretative statements about the fic itself, so id be very curious to know how exactly people do interpret and perceive my work!

i think maybe some readers would be surprised to know how often i use fic to work through my own shit and how much i project onto characters. through writing warm water i suddenly realized (as i hinted towards above) that i actually know what it’s like to be in love with a close friend! something i lowkey forgot about/repressed lololol. i know what it’s like to overanalyze the smallest of things and interpret signals a hundred different ways and swing from ‘it could never mean to you what it means to me’ to ‘.....or could it?’ again and again and again. it is so satisfying to not only accidentally find a way to process that, but that other people actually enjoy the result of that! fic is so cool! i love writing! aaaaah! 

thank you for asking!!!! meta writing asks!!!!

[nakajimabone]

サッカー選手における筋力とパワーの重要性(跳躍高(r=0.78)、10m(r=0.94)、30m(r=0.78)のスプリント、および有酸素性持久力が男子プロサッカー選手の最大筋力と高い相関関係がある) 筋力とパワー サッカーでは、キック、スプリント、タックル、ジャンプなど、繰り返し大きなパワーを発揮する運動が行われます。 スプリント能力とジャンプの跳躍高を含むパワー発揮能力の測定値は、サッカーのパフォーマンスと明らかに相関することが知られており、跳躍高(r=0.78)、10m(r=0.94)および30m(r=0.78)のスプリント、および有酸素性持久力が男子プロサッカー選手の最大筋力と高い相関関係があります。 カウンタームーブメントジャンプ(CMJ)は主に下半身のパワーを測定、またスクワットジャンプ(SJ)は下半身の筋力を筋力を測定するための有効なテストとみなされています。 WISLOFFの報告 Wisloffらは、ノルウェーの上級サッカーリーグの優勝クラブであるRossenburgと、最下位でシーズンを終えたStrindheimを比較しました。 筋力とパワーと持久力が、Rosenborgにフィールド上のパフォーマンスにおいて���り有利な基盤を与えたことを示唆しています。 高強度のレジスタンストレーニングを用いた筋力トレーニングは、初期加速と方向転換動作、水素イオンの制御と緩衝能、さらにスプリント能力を改善すること、その結果、試合中に経験する疲労を遅らせることが知られています。 PETERSONの報告 Petersonは、筋力を増大させる最も効果的な方法をまとめています。 その方法は、選手のトレーニング歴により変わり、最大筋力とピークパワーの間には高い正の相関関係(r=0.77~0.94)が認められることから、高強度レジスタンストレーニングは、パワーの先行条件であることが裏付けられます。 注目すべきこととして、高負荷(>80％1RM)を取り入れたレジスタンストレーニングは、低負荷のレジスタンストレーニングに比べ、最大筋パワーのより大きな増加をもたらします。 #サッカー #筋力 #パワー #トレーニング #横浜 #桜木町 #野毛 #Nakajima整骨院 引用・索引Wisloff U, Castagna C, Helgerud J, Jones R, and Hoff J. Strong correlation of maximal squat strength withsprint performance and vertical jump height in elite soccer players. Br J Sports Med 38: 285–288, 2004. Peterson MD, Rhea MR, and Alvar BA. Applications of the dose-response for strength development: A review of meta-analytic efficacy and reliability for designing training prescription. J Strength Cond Res 19: 950–958, 2005. https://www.nakajimabonesetter.com/entry/blog/post-14516 (Nakajima整骨院) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDsIYdMByfM/?igshid=tqo8bndosgeb

[rheaseehornfan-blog]

But one of the most compelling and complex new characters to be introduced into the ABQ universe has been Kim Wexler, Jimmy’s partner in law and love. Over the course of season three, she’s dealt with the fallout from season two, when Jimmy sabotaged Chuck’s Mesa Verde files on her behalf (without her knowledge). Since then, she’s helped Jimmy defeat Chuck in court, only to find her relationship with Jimmy collapse under the weight of guilt and moral decay.

“Those moments, and the con scene when him and Kim try to re-enact playing around with cons and stuff at the bar and he goes so dark…and it isn’t that he just goes dark, he’s unavailable to Kim in that moment in a way that’s very lonely. It’s sort of like, “Where did you go?” And that scene also broke my heart because Kim, who has extreme trouble showing any vulnerability, it’s a load to ask for help for anything, barely starts to say to her only confidant, “I’m struggling with this, I’m struggling with how I feel about this.” And would she have gone on, I think she would have said, “I just snapped at a client.” Paige, the Mesa Verde client. I think it was abhorrent to Kim for her to lose control like that. But she doesn’t get that far because Jimmy cuts the conversation off. He is not willing to have a conversation about the consequences of actions, about his conscience.

And there’s such deep sadness and tragedy to what that says about him and what that says about us. It was sad. Bob and I called each other and I was like, “Why am I so sad that Saul is arriving, it’s not like I didn’t know that Saul was arriving.” And Bob said the same thing. We’ve come to really love Jimmy and it forever alters how I see Saul. I feel like if I were to re-watch Breaking Bad right now there would be this weird meta thing happening where that show is now informed in a different way because I’m watching this show, and wondering how much of that is a mask. Is there any conscience left in that person? Is he suppressing it, or is he entirely a different person?”

“I thought that the fallout from the trial in the second half of this season has been particularly tragic, because Kim was the one who willingly helped Jimmy with Chuck. Jimmy was kind of trying to keep her at a remove from all that, but then there was that beautiful moment where she grabbed his hand at the end of episode three. And she said, eyes wide open, “I’m going to help you with this, I’m here for you.” And the consequence has been that even though they won the case, they have fallen apart before our eyes, it seems. Is Kim overworking out of guilt, is it as a distraction from her relationship, or is it just so she can control something in her life? I think it’s all of the above.”

“And by the time we get to the penultimate episode that just aired last Monday, in the car crash scene, it’s everything that you said. It’s physical exhaustion, it’s emotional exhaustion, it’s intellectual exhaustion. I imagine she stays up at night not just doing her work, but trying to make sense of how do you keep your head up? What does it mean to be a good person and where does this road lead? And I think that it’s just eating away at her. 

And I liked the idea too that this once was probably a saving grace to her. We don’t know entirely where Kim came from, but you get the idea that when we meet up with her when Better Call Saul starts, she started in the mail room not as an intern out of high school, so she came from somewhere else and desperately needed to believe that if you keep your head down, and just work hard enough you can save yourself. And people just keep poking holes in that.”

“This reminds me of my favorite episode from last season, the “Rebecca” episode, when she says, “You don’t save me, I save me.” It also feels as if this is an area where Kim and Jimmy have a lot of similarities. They both are so hardworking and dedicated to making sure that they are carrying their own weight. And there is a certain amount of pride that comes with that.”

“Well I have to admit, I don’t feel like Vince and Peter write a lot of happy endings. Better Call Saul to me has a lot of complexity as to what exactly are the most tragic of events. I was thinking about this the other day when someone was saying, “What’s the most tragic thing that could happen to Jimmy?” Would it be watching him lose her or something horrible happening to her? And I was like, “Yeah but, it would also be tragic if she’s there, to see what kind of erosion went on.” It’s like either way, there is something great lost. But again, I don’t know her backstory. I make it up for myself to play the character, but I don’t know where she came from. I don’t know what else there is to reveal about her. I’m just very grateful that it will definitely be very interesting because of these writers.” - Rhea Seehorn, gothamist, (6/19/2017)

[thatsjustsupergirl]

Can I use the fact that I called Lar Gand being killed by Rhea a week ago to justify the fact that each episode convinces me more and more that Mon-El is going to die protecting Kara? Because, while initially I thought maybe Mon-El would get real character development and maybe die while helping Kara, as things went on and I realised that Mon-El is only a hero for Kara and that's not going to change I find the episodes just convince me more that he's going to take a bullet for Kara (tbc)

(2nd part) Probably from his mother. Possibly around episode 21. Part of me feels like this is wishful thinking. But I started thinking Mon-El was going to die after 2x08, when I found him annoying but not intolerable, and nothing has happened to change my mind. You and ultranos have made me think more about how this show is written than I've ever done with any other show. I don't know if I'm happy or annoyed at how much I'm thinking about this lol.

Hahaha, well, I’m ... sorry that the nerdy overthinking has spread to you?

I honestly didn’t mind him until the show started giving him unearned rewards in the form of others’ trust and respect when they’d previously been lukewarm to downright unimpressed -- all patched in via tell instead of show, so it was lazy storytelling for a lazy character. (How meta?) And then they badly misused him on top of it, which is why the storytelling focus on Kara seems like it’s gotten lost. Mon-El was effective and even interesting as a foil for Kara’s prejudices and a yardstick to measure just how far she’s come in her own immigrant narrative compared to him as someone fresh off the boat. (see what I did there? show you lay all the building blocks and yet you fail so hard at assembling them. why.)  Kara’s perspective got lost when the text made Mon-El serve too many purposes in her storyline, and that’s where a lot of frustration is coming from.

Re: the end of the season -- the show has been completely unsubtle on the Romeo & Juliet thing for two straight episodes now, piled on top of the Hamilton duel, the literal wearing a red shirt in the Daxam flashbacks, and the repeated villain references to his vulnerability to lead. One of the directors was quoted describing this storyline as “tragic.” It’s not going to end happily, at least not this season, no matter what direction they go.

Unfortunately, the tragedy part is going to fall flat with a large majority of the audience because the character-building was so ineffectively done -- it’s going to be more like “ding dong, the witch is dead,” but ... oh shit, maybe that’s what they’ve been aiming for all along.