#romantic foil theory

[chompmon]

I need kana and aqua to talk or some shit broo it s a huge misunderstanding and its just hurting both of them for Nothingg 😭😭 im not blaming kana for how she s acting she s literally just a dumb teenager and she feels hurt and betrayed its FINE it just hurts my soul pls make up you two

[sylhea-raemi]

airi's realizing chapter gave me so much damage it's such an important chapter to me along with nero's gt9 chapter

[bookhousestark]

"You are Arya of Winterfell, daughter of the north. You told me you could be strong. You have the wolf blood in you." — A Clash of Kings, Arya X

We’re incredibly happy to announce that from July 22nd to July 28th, we will be hosting ARYA STARK APPRECIATION WEEK! We’ll accept edits, metas, art, any other fan work or simply your favorite moments about Arya Stark in her book version to celebrate her character together 💚

Please, remember to use the tag #aryaweek2024 so we can find and reblog your posts. If you missed a day we’ll still accept your submission afterwards!

Here are the prompts:

Day 1: Favourite chapter | Book | Quote Day 2: Family | Her pack | Nymeria Day 3: Skills | Magic | Overlooked traits Day 4: House Stark | The North Day 5: Romantic Interests | Favourite outfits Day 6: Parallels and Foils with other characters | Historical/Mythological/Literary Parallels Day 7: Endgame theories | Foreshadowing

As you can see there are multiple prompts for each day. Please feel free to choose one to do, or a combination for each day! We look forward your creations!

[sherbertilluminated]

Last night I was talking with my friends @teefigotem and @calypsopond about the pacing of the musical Les Miserables. I think Les Mis' libretto is one of the best foundations for a musical out there, but the first act has so much more plot and more iconic songs than the second, and I worry that top-heavy structure diminishes the ultimate impact of the uprising in the second act.

Caly and Maddy agreed that the 2012 film adaption had the right idea when it swapped the positions of "Do you Hear the People Sing" and "One day More." Transplanting the former to the beginning of Act 2 maintains the balance of revolutionary fervor (and iconic songs) between the two acts, and a serves as a payoff to the tension at the end of Act 1. While "Upon these Stones/Building the Barricade" begins Act 2 in the current libretto, it's high on exposition and low on enthusiasm. Since "Do You Hear the People Sing" has become an international revolutionary anthem, making it the opening of the uprising, rather than the prelude to it, builds on *ahem* that connection.

Just picture it: the audience returns to their seats, the orchestra hums with tension, and the lights go up on a somber street with a single voice—Enjolras, probably—singing. Students emerge from the set, workers join in, the turntable starts turning and it becomes clear that soon a barricade will be built in the street. The subsequent Marius/Eponine conversation that transitions into "On my Own" would still probably work here. In the span of fifteen minutes, the thesis statement of the revolting students turns into the reveal of the final barricade. It'd be pretty damn rousing, right?

The potential problem with this change is the lacuna it would leave behind. In the current structure of Les Miserables, "Do you Hear the People Sing" is an elaboration on Enjolras' claim that "they will come when we call!" and going directly from that rallying cry to a quiet romantic interlude flattens the rhetorical tension between romantic love and revolution "Red and Black" and makes Mairus seem a little silly (which, to be fair, he is. But Enjolras is not.) Although "Do You Hear the People Sing" is a little too bombastic for Act 1, before the uprising actually begins, there's still got to be some kind of transition. Something needs to foreshadow the violence to come. But what?

I proposed that the best transition would be a reprise of Stars. And that Eponine should get to sing it.

Since the Broadway premiere of the musical Les Miserables in 1987 and especially following the 2012 film adaptation, Eponine's character has been a locus for fandom attention and discourse. Because she's really compelling: despite being the daughter of the selfish, abusive Thenardier, she devotes her life to protecting Marius and ultimately sacrifices it for him. But the closest she ever gets to being understood is by the audience; even Marius, one of two people in the show to be kind to her (the other being Valjean), doesn't really understand the full extent of her devotion to him. And that devotion is powerful, whether as a proxy for audience members' own experiences with unrequited love or a representation of the bourgeousie's reliance on unacknowleged suffering. There's a lot going on with her in the musical. But there's even more to her in the Brick.

Unlike my esteemed Les Mis mutuals I'm definitely not informed enough to do original analysis, but I'm a big fan of the Javert/Eponine wolfdog theory. My introduction to it was with this post by @pilferingapples, although I don't know whether it originated somewhere else. The theory posits that Javert and Eponine, who are both compared to wolfish dogs for their ferocity and devotion to their idiosyncratic systems of morality, are character foils who represent the limited choices offered to people excluded from. I definitely don't know the op who suggested they trade methods of death (if anyone does, please let me know!) but that's also in the Brick. And while the musical adaptation doesn't preserve Hugo's canine/lupine symbolism, it keeps Eponine's one-sided committment to guarding Marius. And it keeps Javert's devotion to the institution of Law.

"Stars" is the hymn of that devotion. It's more sinister than Eponine's love for Marius, but in the grand scheme of things it's just as pathetic. Giving a short reprise of that song to Eponine not only explicates that parallel and gives new life to relatively-unused musical motif, it has the potential to tie together the action of the first act and add a new dimension to subsequent scenes.

Imagine if, instead of beginning "Do You Hear the People Sing" immediately after "Red and Black" or transitioning directly to the Rue Plumet, the scene changes to the outside of the ABC cafe. On the other side of the turntable/wall, Eponine is waiting. And worrying. She knows her father's going to rob a house tonight and that the girl Marius asked her to find lives there*. She can't let her father hurt him. She's smarter than him. She'll do whatever it takes to keep him safe, she swears—not to God or the stars, as Javert does, but to herself. The promise is shocking, because the audience heard that melody two songs ago and are just now discovering there is another way to be. There is another vow that can be made.

While she's singing, the ABC society files out the door. Maybe some hand out pamphlets or chat with people on the street. If the production wants to emphasize Eponine and Gavroche secret sibling bond, maybe they interact a little. But no one pays her too much mind. No one ever does.

The last person to emerge is Marius, looking a bit shaken. The timeline of the students' plans has been unexpectedly accelerated, he says. In case it's his last chance—nevermind why, 'Ponine, don't worry about me—he needs to see her once. You've found her, haven't you? Could you show me? Please? For my sake?

Consumed by shame and dread and the sense that he'll probably do something really stupid if she doesn't tag along, she agrees. And the stage begins to turn into the Rue Plumet, where "In my Life" begins. The whole interaction would take maybe two minutes.

There are of course thematic objections to this plan. There's the argument that "Stars" ought to be a unique, distinct song like "Bring Him Home." But those motifs are reused in instrumental form after Javert's and the students' respective deaths, so I don't necessarily think they're scene- or character-specific. There's also the argument that the melody of "Stars" is altogether too rigid for Eponine's character. I think there are a couple moments that would work quite well with the emotion("and if they fall as Lucifer fell," for example) but if you really don't want Javert's and Eponine's motif to cross, the melody of "A Little Fall of Rain" ("and you/I will keep me/you safe") could work for this moment too.

There's also the argument that Eponine already gets "too much" attention in the musical adaptation and doesn't need. But I don't know if that's true either. She interacts with Marius in several short scenes, she's present for "A Heart Full of Love" and "One Day More," she goes on her errand to Valjean, sings "On my Own," goes back to the barricade and dies shortly after. She gets about as much stagetime as Cosette does, and a little less than Marius.

It's true that she stands out as a character, but that's because she's got such interesting writing and is so isolated in the narrative. And while it's important to keep her "on [her] own," for the plot, using shared motifs to emphasize her symbolic similarities with other characters might make her character fit more cohesively into Les Miserables' grander thematic narrative. It could even make "On my Own" that much more powerful if she has a little hope that saving Marius from her father might get him to like her, and subsequently understands that this is not happening. But there's a lot more to her than being Marius' rejected best friend** and this choice has the potential to make that clear onstage.

In conclusion: moving "Do You Hear the People Sing" to the start of Act 2 letting Eponine do a wolfdog reprise of "Stars" between "Red and Black" and "In my Life" would be sick as fuck and maybe resolve some pacing issues in the libretto.

*There is a moment in the show where she realizes that she and Cosette grew up together. I like it in concept but it's a little awkwardly-placed and integrating it into the unnamed Red and Black/In my Life transition song would be great. Overall, her interactions with Marius seem like afterthoughts in between the larger numbers, which isn't fair to either of them.

**And for the record: this not a post pitting her against Cosette! They are both good characters and I wish the best for both of them!

[orbital-obvious]

The Batman (2022) thoughts [pt 2/?] FRIENDS AND FAMILY (w Spoilers)

Kinda squeezing opinion about Batman Allies (mainly Selina) and Bruce's family (which includes his parents and Alfred) into one post but we'll live.

Martha Wayne being a woman with mental health issues that had to have gone to several mental facilities felt like a revelation. I am kinda sad I didn't see more discussions about it in the tags. ESPECIALLY since a lot of her anguish stemmed from Trauma and being so close to the public eye. This is intensifies tenfold if if you relate it to theories like "Bruce is Autistic". Because, HELLO, Martha's family probably viewed her as "wrong" if she exhibited neurodivergent behavior and I keep thinking about possible parllels between her and her son and Thomas accepting her as she is and ahhhhhhh. MUCH TO THINK ABOUT.

Selina Kyle felt much more down to earth in this, which I was thankful for. She felt very... not REALISTIC, rather un-fantastical. She is not Catwoman YET, and is weirded out by costumed weirdo Batman and that made their interactions a lot more potent. The movie also did away with some Catwoman-isms I don't like, what my friend reffered to as "too sexy to be alive".

Actually, I felt as if the movie used wigs to have a visual representation of Selina going into a "role" - being sexy, looking innocent, etc etc, while her no-wig look came into play when she was more her real self - which is part of the movie theme of identity.

That is not to say that Selina wasn't MESMERIZING, btw. They gave her this sparkly/flakey eyeshadow that reflected the light so prettily and made her shine.

Selina red wig look was the best Selina wig look. Gosh, Kravitz made that plastic wig WORK. ALSO NARRATIVE IMPORTANCE. The movie heavily associates black-red with the Batman, so Selina wearing a red wig and black outfit is singling that she is working with the Batman.

no "Hello boys!" from Selina. Thank fuck. Also I kind of enjoyed a version of this character that is not overtly flirtatious. Her romantic moments felt kind of sweet, actually. (I'm going to think about Bruce going "Selina?" when the eyecam gets turned on forever)

So..... Selina and Anika (her "friend" that also worked in the club) were dating, right?

I greatly enjoyed this version of Alfred. It was a diversion from the usual interpretation but I think still managed to capture the character's essence. Alfred is Bruce's father (Bruce, keep your teenage-angst-at-30 for yourself, please) - and I enjoyed his prodding trying to get Bruce Wayne to function like a person in society (level: impossible)

There is more staff than just Alfred - Dory the housekeeper, who also seems like a person who was with the family before the Waynes murder. I don't know why, but I really liked this addition. Maybe becasue it allowed my next point, which is-

It's never was outright said, but I got the feeling like Alfred was the Waynes bodyguard, not butler. Which makes a lot more sense in this more "grounded" universe. It also explains why Alfred was so torn about their death and gives better reasoning as to why he felt it was his duty to protect young Bruce. It's not only Bruce the death is eating up, but also Alfred, and perhaps even more so (as Alfred said, Bruce was just a kid). HOWEVER, I think Alfred dealing with those intense emotions and still not spiraling to WHATEVER Bruce had going on makes him a good foil to Bruce and a better mentor/father figure.

I was legit scared they were gonna kill Alfred. Not only cause I LIKE Alfred, but because I could not even begin to fathom the abyss Bruce would have spiraled into.

Martha was an Arkham? Bruce have a connection to ARKHAM? that's a FAMILY? are they in charge of Arkham Asylum? Are any of them alive? I get that the point here was to be like "Bruce Wayne is the prince of Gotham" (as per Falcone- using Prince cause he's the king) but. Like. HUH?

Thomas Wayne was an idiot for consulting Falcone, and that is the best case senario of that predicament. Especially in a city like Gotham. But that's just the thing - Thomas panicked in how this could have affected Martha / Bruce (I fully believe Alfred when he said it wasn't about the campaign) and that made him act out stupid. It's humanizing.

While I think the death of the reporter was way beyond a reasonable reaction, what business does ANYONE have with Martha's mental health? Rhetorical question, of course. Falcone hinted it was a hit piece but tbh I think it was more like a scandalous "tea" and "drama" about a public figure. There is so much to say about the personal life of public personas, prejudice regarding mental health and especially mental health WITHIN the Batman stories. The movie really wasn't about that, but, you know, many thoughts.

[yanderes-galore]

Hi again! For pokemon, could you do a rivalry-ish situation, with an overprotective platonic Genesect with it's trainer, versus a romantic yandere Ghetsis, please? And reader is very wary of him, and doesn't trust him at all. Thank you!

I'll try my best, sure!

Overprotective! Genesect vs Yandere! Ghetsis

Pairing: Platonic (Genesect)/Romantic (Ghetsis)

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Overprotective behavior, Manipulation, Possessive behavior, Violence, Kidnapping, Threats of injury, Attempted murder, Isolation, Forced relationship/Dubious companionship.

Genesect was a Pokemon altered and created by Team Plasma.

As a result, it most likely hates humans/Team Plasma.

An idea of how this dynamic can go is this...

Genesect escapes the labs of Team Plasma and finds you.

You are a Pokemon Trainer who is collecting Gym Badges with your friends, so essentially a role similar to the Black & White protagonists.

You fight against Team Plasma whenever you can, which catches the eye of Ghetsis.

When Genesect meets you, it watches from the bushes for awhile.

It doesn't trust humans after what it went through... so it observes how you interact with your own Pokemon companions.

Eventually Genesect may jump out of hiding and attack you.

Despite your fear you prove yourself in battle, tossing a ball at the strange Pokemon by the end of it.

This is how Genesect becomes your Pokemon.

It takes time to get used to you, but upon seeing how your other Pokemon act around you... it feels comforted.

You aren't a bad human.

In fact, soon Genesect begins to rely on you and listens to you in battle.

You find the Pokemon interesting and may even assume its origin is Team Plasma related.

It's a Bug Type... but also oddly cybernetic.

It's unique... but you care for it all the same.

Now, Ghetsis originally saw you as a nuisance.

You keep foiling his plans like some sort of vigilante.

Although... his interest increases when he sees you with the escaped Genesect.

You've managed to tame the living weapon to work for you.

He grows intrigued by your bond yet also hates it... and now finds himself with a new obsession over you.

Ghetsis finds you... attractive and powerful due to your team.

With Genesect under your control he finds some admiration for you within him.

Yet you are very wary of the Team Plasma leader...

Genesect even shows aggression towards Team Plasma members, another factor adding to your theory on its origin.

You don't trust Ghetsis, he's too charismatic for his own good.

When he talks to you he's very manipulative, always tempting you to join him.

Why fight him? He can give you power if you join.

When you disagree or Genesect defends you... Ghetsis feels fury burning within him.

You always manage to slip through his grasp.

He has a feeling Genesect is helping you, too.

He can't get anywhere near you without the threat of being shot by Genesect's cannon.

Genesect has a feeling Ghetsis is trying to do something with you.

It fears that he may be trying to experiment on or hurt you... so it defends you with its life.

Ghetsis doesn't intend on harming you... when he has you, at least.

Until he gets you in his arms he doesn't care how much harm comes to you.

Due to how deranged Ghetsis can be... he could break a limb on you or knock you out cold until he gets what he wants.

But when he has you he'll isolate you away... treat your wounds... and keep you to himself.

When he has you in his grasp he'll even take control of Genesect.

After all, that Pokemon has caused enough damage anyways.

But if Genesect oversteps... well... Ghetsis could always just have it killed.

After all... such a Pokemon has kept him away from his beloved.

Genesect can try its best to defend you... but Ghetsis will find away around the issue.

Ghetsis will have you in the end... he promises that...

Even if he has to squash a bug and you come to him broken.

[tessarionbestgirl]

What will happen to Daemon’s story since Nettles is gone?

Well, different than everyone else, I think will happen but will happen in different way, Nettles is cut out, but similar to Young Griffin, they are giving parts of her arc to different characters.

First they making Mysaria and Rhaenyra a romantic relationship,therefore, it gives Mysaria motivation for feeding Rhaenyra's paranoia regarding Daemon, making more about jealousy and attempts to end this relationship than her grasping for power. So this part is happening.

So I think they can go with two options, first she could feed Rhaenyra's paranoia by implying that Daemon is having something with Baela or Rhaena. And again I think is possible and I do believe Daemon will come back showing more support for his daughters. But there is problems with that because Rhaena and Baela, don't have Nettles anti-war message, they are to much of supports of Rhaenyra to make that plot work.

It need to be someone that is a outsider to Rheanyra become really paranoid about it and even send people to kill her. It needs be someone that that make Daemon question his own acts about war and that is not Rhaena and Baela because they are so pro-war characters and supporters of Rhaenyra for that.

And the only character that fits this is Alys, until now. And I just connected this possibility last episode. But the changes they made with her character kind makes her fits in this place and how their dinamic plays out also fits too, because they do look closer and closer, and that as well was a big change if they did that change is for some reason.

We saw how they set up Rhaena claiming a dragon last season. And I don't think they would spend so much time with Alys and Daemon if they aren't cooking something more.

And if the leaks are real about Heleana and Aemond this just add even more but making they constantly parallels between Daemon and Aemond. And narrative foils.

So it adds to much up for me this last option. But I don't know. Is just my theory, I could be wrong.

[cuckaracha]

Ohhh please give Ace opinions. I love seeing people yap about Ace

With pleasure ^_^!

V spoilers talk! V

Most of my opinions were revealed to be sort of true on the last episode so it wouldn't surprise me if this is one-to-one what everyone believes now: Ace to me seems like an extremely love starved person, like, its so painfully obvious that he's faced some sort of neglect in his life. So much so to the point that he keeps himself guarded all the time to avoid falling for the trap of liking someone and then they immediately turn on him. Hence what he said to Levi during the trial. Ace is feels too much. He's well aware of his surroundings and how shitty he acts, but if he doesn't feel anger or fear, the loneliness kicks in. It's a toxic cycle of self-hatred, low self-esteem and cynicism. Though I do believe that it's mostly the situation making his bad habits shine more brightly, because during the prologue/chapter1, Ace is kind of just a bratty jock. He cracks jokes, he hangs out with everyone and he seems to not be plagued as much by his fear unless you breach the topic.

Hence why I personally think that there's no other person like Levi to be used as foil for him. Regardless of how you think on their relationship, be it romantic or platonic or whatever, it's nothing new that their attitudes clash so much, it comes back around to them covering each other's weakness very well. A little guy that feels to much and is scared of giving out of fear of being hurt, and a big guy that feels too little that gives to others out of necessity. So when taken to their natural extreme, they would very obviously have problems, specially under the circumstances that they're both in. Ace, tragically believing the one thing he knew he shouldn't have, and Levi hopelessly attempting to fix what he inadvertently broke. It's peak toxic yaoi imo.

(which also, at least in my opinion, makes Levi the one true Ace lover. None of the other boys have as much of their nuance intrinsically mangle with Ace's as him. But again, that's just me. Ship this little freak with however boy you want. Fuck it. Make him a slut even.)

The other thing that has popped in my mind a lot is his family situation. I know with my take of his family, he's like a middle child or whatever, but that was just me wanting to be contrarian to the obvious, more solid interpretation of Ace being the eldest of the 9 brothers. Because when you think about, him being forced into jockeying by his family to maintain them economically makes sense. He hates it, but if he doesn't do it, he'll be the loser everyone knows him to be. He'd be disposed of by his family, believing that they only care about him for his talent and the money that comes from it. And if he doesn't do it, the job might fall to one of his younger siblings. Something he can't morally do. Because as much of a stupid little shithead as he is, he's not an idiot. Ace knows what's right and what's wrong. He understands the cruelty of the world to an extent. And as such. He's forced into being the breadmaker for his big ass family until the day he either retires or dies.

All this to say. I love Ace Markey. He's such a silly little goofball full of depression and anxiety that is one fart away from going insane. Like I haven't even touched on my thoughts on Taylor (which I also got right on my earlier theory) and how that affects the Ace economy. I relate so much to this guy it's fucking unreal. I don't think I've ever hyperfixated on a character this much. Like. So much so that I even got a fucking custom plushie made out of him and am constantly drawing him.

Anyways thanks for listening to my old man ramble, have an Ace my friend Fennex made.

[izzysbeans]

A theory I am way too deep into is that buck is going to move into Eddie's in like, 7x07, whether it's just for the rest of the season or something longer. I think all the nods towards buck paying his bills, Tommy's comment about how nice the loft is, and the news in the background about house prices surging are a lot of little details that point towards something bigger. Also, I think it would fit in nicely with Ryan's comment that they 'get closer than ever this season'.

It just fits the narrative foil so well of Eddie not being ready/able to commit to Marisol yet, and realizing how his relationship with Buck compares to his romantic relationships, in a sense of just general ease and comfort and what he looks for in a life partner.

In conclusion, I'm losing my mind.

You are so not alone in loosing your mind here my friend because oh my god i have seen this theory going around a bit and i actually think this might be happening. Like we KNOW nothing is ever random in this fucking show and they are definitly going somewhere with this. And it fits with the couch theory which has been a staple in the fandom for a long time. I feel like that could bring so much to the table there in terms of how they see each other and i agree that i can be part of what Ryan meant when he said they get closer then ever. I think there might be more to it tho

It's just the frasing of that "i love you to the core" that just feels like there might be more to it then just that, but i'm totally going to scream if this happens

And alsooo i feel like it will be a perfect way to show that like Bobby said Eddie has no problem commiting to "other things"

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

hello again everyone i'm putting on my tinfoil jester hat & passing out Hefty grains of salt. its batshit theory time!

in short: i think Julie is gonna get violent & might end up killing someone - or she'll at least try. and i'm pretty sure something terrible is gonna happen to her.

in long: hoo boy. strap in

first off, i'd like to say that i love womens' wrongs And rights! all of this is said with utmost affection & respect for Julie. i love it when characters do terrible things, its interesting and so tasty for the story and their development <3

second disclaimer: most of this is just based off of what we have / know as of now. which is, admittedly, not much! so despite having short arms, i may be reaching very far! i'll get the based-on-knowledge part of my thoughts out of the way before getting into the more abstract I'm Just Making Shit Up At This Point part (educated guessing, yk yk!)

not sure where to start so i'll begin with what starting this line of thinking - flower symbolism. I've gone a little bit into it in a previous post from a while back (where i just made observations about the neighborhood map), but i'll restate the relevant parts. there are two flowers in the neighborhood with greek myths attached, and similar ones at that: the hyacinths outside of the Post Office, and the sunflowers outside of Frank's house.

most people know the hyacinth myth! Apollo, while playing metal frizbee with his (male) mortal lover Hyacinthus, Apollo's thrown discus bounced off of the ground and accidentally hit Hyacinthus in the head, killing him - then Apollo turned the spilled blood into the hyacinth flower. in another - popular - version of the myth, the wind god Zephyrus was jealous and blew the discus off course to kill Hyacinthus. as for sunflowers: Clytie, a nymph, was in love with Apollo and grew jealous of his relationship with a princess, Leucothoe. Clytie informed Leucothoe's father of the relationship, and he buried Leucothoe alive as punishment. Apollo turned his murdered lover into a sunflower. two flowers attached to greek myths about Apollo falling for a mortal, and that mortal gets murdered by a jealous non-mortal.

next, I would like to bring attention to This Concept Artwork from 2021. now i'm not gonna use this as a definitive "oh this exists so it must mean-" but there are always elements of concept work, especially Canon concept work, that sticks or can allude to themes or information that will be revealed later in the story. concepts are concepts for a reason - it means there's a solid idea that's being explored in depth, most times for use (especially that deep into the story crafting).

specifically, right now i'd like to look at the type of flower Julie is holding. pansies. normal ones + the primary fucked up pansy. pansies are symbols of love - both romantic and platonic, but predominantly platonic. it can also symbolize nostalgia, thought, admiration, remembrance, and can even be used as an "i'm sorry" flower. in victorian times, it was often used to represent forbidden/secret love.

stick with me, i'm getting to the point i promise

now, another thing is how much of Julie's character (meta-wise & in regards to the WH show as a production) is centered around love. her house is the "cutest" or most feminine one in the neighborhood, and it's downright infested with hearts, from the windows to the bushes to the chimney. she exists as Frank's foil, and it's almost definitive that she was meant to be Frank's love interest (there's just. so much evidence that there's no way that's not it). and just look at her! she looks like a love interest! if WH was a real show that i sat down to watch, i'd see her and immediately go "oh, ok, that's her base role"

this contradicts with what we know of her character - Julie seems big on platonic love, loving her friends, but other than that? she very much steps around what her house/character design is trying to say. she's hopscotching right over what the production wants from her. the only thing she kinda sticks with is the whole flower thing

but. but but but. i wonder! after the update, I'm pretty confident that the neighbors are influenced by the "script" and the workshop, even if they're not aware of it. see: the difference in how they act in the "recovered media" (where they behave more like they're characters playing out a bit, their dialogue has no natural lulls and it just sounds like a (really good) script) vs the 14 audios & the phone calls (natural dialogue, they seem more layered & like actual people instead of just characters, there's no set shenanigan - they're just doing their own things). and we can assume that the latter audios are from the neighbors off-script off-the-air.

despite this, they still somewhat try to fill their roles. the question is: how much of that is authentic, and how much is them still feeling that pressure to perform? just like how We as people feel pressure and expectation from societal rules/norms, even if we're not conscious of it. like, say... kids growing up thinking being queer is wrong, even if they've never been directly exposed to / made aware of homophobia/transphobia. We fill in the absence of being told "this is right" with "it must be wrong", and We act accordingly

so apply that to sapient puppets who were (again, most likely) made with set relationships, dynamics, and character details in mind. they're meant to be This Way, even if they want to be That Way, and that internal "programming" has to conflict, at least a little. like how I've seen Clown mention that homophobia will/may be a theme, and the only way i can see that happening among puppets who have never been directly exposed to it is if the above happens: they feel pressure from something they're unaware of. expectation from a "higher" plane of existence. as above, so below.

OKAY NOW WE'RE GETTING TO IT I PROMISE! blend this all together into Frank & Eddie catching feelings. they weren't meant to fall in love. they're not supposed to be together. it's - from the perspective of Playfellow & society (in the time period WH was active/created) - wrong.

Julie is supposed to be with Frank. Frank is supposed to be with Julie. in a way, they are together - they're best friends. they're foils. they were created to compliment each other and click. in the media audios, they're almost always together. if one of them is in a scene, so is the other.

so what happens if Frank starts to pull away? if he starts to spend more time with Eddie - what if Julie feels like she's being pushed out? what if she asks Frank to come play, only to be told he already has plans with Eddie, and if Julie tries to join in, what if Frank tells her no?

if it were me in this situation, I think I'd start to panic a little. everything has always been the same - it's always been Frank and Julie. that's how it's supposed to be. Frank and Eddie, well that's just - that's just wrong! and if, at this hypothetical point in the story, things are tangibly starting to degrade/go wrong, Julie might cling even harder, panic even more.

you see where I'm going with this? what i meant with the flower symbolism and what it could point to?

their world is falling apart, and Julie's one constant - Frank, her best friend, her grumpy rock - is pulling away. for Eddie. the mailman. and so what if the jealous "lover" takes action? Julie can make things go back to normal. she needs Frank, and in her mind she's losing him, but she can't lose him. she can't. and maybe that little whisper of expectation that she can't hear but feels nonetheless, fuels this fire. it makes her feel justified, makes her feel the need to act and "correct" this. maybe if she gets rid of the distraction, Frank's love and attention will be hers once more.

i mean, people do insane things when they're under that much pressure. from current probably-horrible events, a loss of control in their own life, their closest person seemingly distancing themselves, subconscious pressure from societal expectation. especially when it comes to love - platonic or romantic. w/ Julie, i'm pretty sure it's platonic in regards to Frank. though she is bi, so you never know! could be both!

and maybe it won't be about Frank & Eddie, if any of this turns out to even a little right. maybe there's a factor I'm not considering or haven't seen yet. but i really do think that there are things pointing to it.

like yeah, the Concept Art linked above. the caption saying "liar", the specific species of flower, Julie holding it over her mouth as if keeping a secret, the hammer. not sure if the person standing over her is her primary puppeteer, an abstract, or something else (it seems cracked?) but that's not what this theory is about!

then there's the flower patch - both behind her in the concept art, and the one behind her house on the map. it's striking me now that the two look very similar. they have mostly the same flowers, even. blue/yellow/white/orange "daisies", some daffodils, what i think are roses (it's hard to tell specifics on the map). an odd choice to make them so similar (unless it's coincidence!).

when I first saw the patch, my immediate thought was "holy shit is that a body dump?!" bc it's oddly green compared to the rest of the map, it's placed at a noticeable distance behind Julie's house - as if it's supposed to be "hidden", and it's the lushest spot in the neighborhood. now, to provide a counterargument to my own claim: it could be very green because that's how things are shaded, it looks like it's at a distance from the house bc the map is 2D, and its the lushest spot bc Julie's all about flowers - also, i doubt flowers would spontaneously grow since we can assume none of them are real. it's a puppet world of props. but who knows.

(and okay this might or might not be relevant but we can assume Julie is the one who made the chalk drawings on the path, right? i think there's a spiral in front of her house. just making a note of it.)

and there's just how much "pressure" seems to be on Julie compared to the others. she doesn't match her house. she doesn't fit her "role" the way she's meant to. AND OH AND I ALMOST FORGOT - by the swingset, there's now a bowling ball and what looks like red scissors. idk about you guys but i associate scissors with Eddie. he's all about crafts, after all! now i'm really reaching but hey? murder weapon? Julie does seem fond of bowling balls... that's a perfect bludgeoning weapon to have on hand (in abundance!)

in conclusion, i just think Julie has major potential to do some deliciously fucked up stuff. in fact, i hope she does! it could be handled/done in an absolutely fascinating way, and could have intriguing consequences.

who knows, maybe i'm right about her trying to get rid of Eddie (not out of malice or anything, just fear & pressure), and there'll be a whole thing where he keeps on coming back, completely unaware that she tried to off him, bc he's a puppet and it's probably really tough to kill something that wasn't really alive in the first place. i mean, in This Observation post i made about some new map secrets, there's a strange window shine on the Post Office door that could be spelling out either "nexus" or "new us". that plus the apparent extra hands/faces behind the door... Eddie is quite accident prone. who's to say he's not used to being replaced by himself? it's not like he'd remember. or is that the reason his memory is bad? holy shit wait - no wait this is a tangent. sorry. this post is about Julie lmao maybe i'll make a different post for this Eddie Thought i just had bc ough. ough...

and also, before anyone tries to come at me - because there's always people who twist words to Start Shit or misinterpret/miss the point - i'm not saying that Julie is like... homophobic. or hates Eddie. or is a "jealous crazy-" just. yk? and if you think that, maybe reread the post. or take a reading comprehension class &lt;3

AS FOR THE SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPENING TO JULIE. this is based on Two things and also Vibes. this section will be mercifully short compared to the rest of this clusterfuck of a post

so in the Livestream Trivia doc compiled by @/theneighborhood watch, yes i'm referencing this again sorry, there's this tidbit:

that, plus This Artwork, which features Julie (they're her shoes!) standing at the edge of an apparent chasm (the edge of the set, i assume) paints an interesting hypothetical picture. maybe she wanders a little too far and falls off the edge of her world. maybe she discovers something and Wally has to do something he doesn't want to do, but "needs" to. hey, who knows. maybe she is gonna hurt / try to hurt someone, and in an attempt to save them / stop her, Wally pushes her - either accidentally or on purpose, either way the end result would be the same. now I'm just pulling things out of my ass so lets move on lmao

then there's the Unknown Record in the website's media section. i actually recorded the audio and sped it up - i'll post that video later - and it seems to be an excerpt from Alice in Wonderland. the only part of it i've been able to clearly pick out is "Alice found herself falling down.... down... down..." followed by, presumably Alice speaking - who's high pitched voice reminds me of Julie's. so that's another point in the Julie Goes Bye-Bye Via Rapid Descent theory. or just goes temporarily missing! it could be that the only relevant part of the above trivia tidbit is the "falling down a cavern", and not the "never seen again" part. but it could. be. both.

though! though. Clown has stated that if all the neighbors were to take on roles in Alice in Wonderland, Wally is the one who would be Alice. which follows his direct connection to the spiral/eye pit, and the phrase "down the rabbit hole". so it could be either or. it could be both! it could be neither! this is all speculation, which brings us to....

the end! we made it! i hope you're still carrying your Hefty grains of salt! soon you'll be able to fill a large chicken-shaped shaker with it all!

[tokyosmega]

finished the rise of kyoshi, here's my word vomit about it:

SPOILERS AHEAD !

• i LOVE how they treated lightning !!! that's probably my favorite part. looking at how lighting is revered in kyoshi vs how its so mundane in korra is just . so cool ???

• the sapphic representation made me eternally happy <3 even though i could have done with more (i'm a romantic at heart) seeing kyoshi and rangi being soft and close was sooo sweet. the lgbt rep in avatar really makes me feel represented and i hope we can see it more on screen

• the worldbuilding around the pre-existing worldbuilding is so cool !!! the si wong tribal traditions, the deep politics of the earth kingdom, the reverence of yangchen and kuruk, i loved it all ! also, loved the little references to the show, like the cabbage jokes + the gan jin vs the zhangs

• the fights were amazing. there were a couple times when i couldn't really comprehend what was going on, but i think that might be because kyoshi's bending is just like that. they went in a direction that was far more graphic and brutal than the show, but i feel like that was completely vindicated because kyoshi lived a graphic and brutal life

• jianzhu was a REALLY interesting villain! the overarching theme of good vs evil within the avatar universe played well with him. he is a man that thinks only of the good that will come while doing evil deeds, and kelsang mirroring him as a man who thinks of the evil he is doing despite knowing it will be good in the end is really great. nice foiling avatar

• kyoshi's element training seemed to go a little fast for me, but that might be because aang took three seasons to master the elements. but i don't know, kyoshi going from being an inept bender to suddenly being proficient in everything with minimal training was a big jump, even though it took like 300 pages

• i LOVED kyoshi's origins !! her parents being daofeis + her mom being an air nomad was super unexpected but a great way for the story to go. it really helped set her avatar journey apart from korra and aang

• i fully subscribe to the theory that lao ge is guru pathik btw . also the fact that they couldn't find the avatar for multiple years and then just pointed at some guy and was like "yeah that's him" is HILARIOUS to me

ok that's all guys thanks for coming to my ted talk

[catofoldstones]

j0ns@ isnt 100% to me but stans disbelieving in the ashford tourney interpretations now because it didnt fit what they wanted makes me lol now its invalid by having robert arryn when its not supposed to be a 100% recreation, harrold harryn is too much coincidence that it signals sans@'s suitors ,saying the final targaryen suitor died is coping because like Valarr Targaryen, jon also just died the difference is he'll get resurrected

my favourite excuse is "well nobody married lady ashford" well duh its a tourney,it might not even happen in a romantic light more for desperate political reasons the denial is hysterical

Hi anon,

I understand their need to constantly be “debunking” the theory because how dare Sansa have a parallel in another book and thereby be an important character in the series as a whole😤

I don’t think Robert Arryn is the chink in the armour they think he is. With all of Sansa’s previous suitors & Harry, there have been concrete plots to get her married to them. She was officially betrothed to Joffrey (the Baratheon suitor) before the Tyrells brought in Willas (the Tyrell suitor) and were actively planning to spirit her away to Highgarden right under the Lannisters’ noses, only for them to catch wind of the plan (if it can even be put that way) and forcefully get Sansa married to Tyrion (the Lannister suitor). As for Harry, Baelish’s northern plan comes into play which rests on the heels of Sansa getting married to Harry. Not to mention Hardyng is a pretty unknown House to just throw in, dontcha think?

Lysa brings up Sweetrobin in passing, with no plan or even an actual intention to marry them. This is literally never brought up again when Lysa is alive, or even after. The only one repeating any similar sentiment is Sweetrobin himself, who has a crush on Sansa but clearly doesn’t know what it means. So should we take Sweetrobin as a valid suitor? I mean, do crushes count? Because then why not include a whole legion of other Westerosi men who are interested in Sansa and make it a watertight argument. Baelish absolutely wants to marry Sansa, he even asked Cersei for Sansa’s hand in marriage, why isn’t he included? “Because…” yeah you’re there. My point is, the arguments against Baelish & SR are both strong but take a step back to what they have in common, Sansa’s story is leading somewhere else and thematically neither of them fit. One is less serious than the other & thats SR. Be fr with your SR arguments jesus.

Moreover, the Ashford theory and Sansa’s suitors don’t have to be perfect analogues of each other. Hell, we know nothing about Lady Ashford except that she’s 13 and involved in a tourney that was disrupted, and that Sansa is 13 and involved in a tourney that will be disrupted. Man, does this girl have to be named Pansa Ptark now for it to be a valid parallel? Why does George even bother naming his books, he should start calling them the war of the roses and be done with it. Why are we even reading political fiction, let’s just open today’s newspaper. Tf.

And I don’t think I can add anything to the Jon - Targaryen suitor theories that hasn’t been proposed + your points too. We consider R + L = J to be true, first and foremost. The “white guardian”, “dark hair” “the Targaryen suitor being dead” etc etc. In the same vein as the argument above, does he need to be named Jonnel/Jonos now to be taken seriously? Well, he is in another parallel but even that is “reaching” so what can I say? 🤷‍♀️ They’re not going to see what they don’t want to see, but, like you said, watching them jump through hoops and perform mental gymnastics and open a whole circus in the process is truly hilarious lol.

You do bring up an excellent argument, anon, that all of Sansa’s previous suitors have been for her claim to the North, so her marriage with Jon might also be for political reasons. However, the slight exception of Joffrey who was a King in his own right (lmao) exists; which again sort of foils Jon and his actual claim to the iron throne. So I feel that while a political marriage is totally on the cards (solves one too many problems for my liking 😤), Sansa might marry him out of love considering her theme of independence and not-marrying-for-claim. But who am I to say 🤷‍♂️

Lastly, nobody crowned Lady Ashford the queen of love and beauty so Sansa isn’t marrying anyone is sort of funny. Well, Loras gave Sansa a red rose amongst all the young maidens present there, are they a foreshadowed endgame pairing now? Also, how does one come up with Sansa is gonna end up as Lady of the Vale by marrying HH and Sansa is going to end up alone in the same breath?

[neonscandal]

Manga With Me: MHA Crackpot Analysis

I know we’re collectively running off the high of chapter 406 (just me??) but anyone else curious about the parallels we saw in chapter 407 to themes from way back in the training camp arc? I have a feeling they'll bear on what kind of ending our boys will have when all is said and done and I got time today to explore that.

⚠️ Spoiler warning: through chapter MHA 411.

Before you waste your time diving in, let's start with what makes this a crack analysis - I'm still making heads or tails on what this means for BakuDeku because... while I think the series will end with a reckoning between them, it doesn't mean it'll be to confirm the romantic underpinnings or that both of them will live.

Let's start with what informs this hunch:

Note: There's a serious bit of nuance we're missing from the English translation though I'm having a hard time finding the original post I liked many moons ago that essentially goes into the fact that, when Midoriya told Compress to "Give him back," referring to the Bakugo marble... he used language that had a possessive connotation. 👀 In fact, even with the English translation, we can see that Compress specifically calls out the phrasing to be odd, we just miss the subtlety of why that is (they really don't want us to be great). Compress nobly shoots back that Bakugo doesn't belong to anyone but this violent idea of possessing someone... DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR TO ANYONE??

We have seen, scattered throughout this entire story, that All For One has always been obsessed with recapturing the One For All quirk. It's why he targets the successors so compulsively. I assumed it was because, as the dynamic had been cast, that One For All has always had the power to best All For One. It wasn't until we saw the vestiges locked within OFA, Yoichi in particular, that we realize there's a bit more to the story. AFO's origin story in chapter 407 casts a really interesting foreshadow.

This alone isn't particularly damning or why I think it has impact on the story's end, or at least not comprehensively. Now that we see All For One up close... we've gotten some insight into his disposition as well. Specifically, here:

This mentality sounds exactly like...

At the heart of the story, everything has centered around Midoriya and Bakugo and their quest for number one, as inspired by All Might.

Canonically, we know that, in universe, their adoration of All Might has led to an embodiment of a facet of what they believe makes him a good hero. The Win to Save vs. Save to Win camps that are defined most readily at Ground Beta by All Might himself.

Midoriya and Bakugo are frequently cast as two halves of the same whole and as an impetus, not only for their mutually linked improvement, but also inspiring others around them to level up, as well. While it can be inferred that All Might as a mentor is largely the catalyst for this, it would be remiss to say that he doesn't have his own host of parallels but, at the center of this crack pot theory is his obvious relation to All For One.

To simplify where I'm going with this and explain the upcoming mental gymnastics: All For One is a foil for All Might.

We've seen Midoriya and Bakugo, in their quest to be heroes, embody two halves of who All Might is as a hero. In fact, Bakugo's reconciliation of his previous inability to "Save to Win" marked a major development in his character evolution and perception by people who aren't in Class 1A (Monoma. I'm talking about Monoma). On an unrelated note, members of Class 1A get to a point of not treating Bakugo like a ticking time bomb as they drag him around and infantilize him (Tsuyu) and this marked difference provided further exposition that the class has come to realize that he's mostly bravado and bluster and maybe not as awful as depicted at the onset of the story.

All that to say... given the parallels we see in the latest chapters. Are they meant to be two sides of All For One, too?

A continuing theme of the story (I'm sure I blab about it in other Manga With Me threads) is the fact that anyone can be a hero. However, there's also a critical examination of one's ability to be villainous regardless of intention or perception. We see it in the case of Endeavor, in particular, but also with characters like Hawks and Lady Nagant... and the Hero Commission, in general. Alternatively, even villains are redeemable or may have good intentions and we're seeing a lot of their redemptions play out through the duration of this war.

If we've seen the resolution of their embodiment of All Might, does it make sense to cast Midoriya and Bakugo in the shadow of who All For One is, as well? Arrogant, possessive, merciless and with an ego that looks only to subjugate others.

I think what causes unease about these panels and their comparison to AFO is because I'm expecting a huge cop out. We've been getting a lot of damning BKDK moments with an extra serving of Togachako. Would this new parallel cast them more in a brotherly light? With these parallel's and All For One's defeat... what does this mean for BakuDeku?

I think we've seen Bakugo overcome his likeness to AFO, as it were. Despite their competition, he recognized why he couldn't face Midoriya's spirit so, instead he rejected him. He reveals as much to All Might directly. Midoriya is no longer just a pebble and, based on vestigal Bakugo, I think we can all agree they are linked by something akin to fate. In fact, Bakugo was only able to save All Might (and balance out his guilt for "ruining" All Might while pulling off an All Might signature fist of triumph) with Midoriya's help and their wordless collaboration. He even grabbed his hand!

But the object of AFO's obsession is his brother and I can't help but also draw the connection between Bakugo's previous inability to reach out and accept Midoriya's hand back at the pond where Yoichi willingly grasped Kudou's (... pre-Bakugo, Bakugo) and escaped his brother. The coincidence is too much and I can't help but look for meaning in how this story seems to be coming full circle. Because, on the one hand I want to compare them to AFO but on the other hand, is the better comparison between AFO and OFA themselves?

In the latest chapter, we've seen that Shigaraki has robbed Midoriya of at least one OFA vestige and subsequently their inherent quirk. Will it all end by him losing each of them until he's back to being quirkless? A destruction of AFO seeing a destruction of OFA and ending this dispute of ideologies that's gone back several generations? Successful in besting Shigaraki but... losing someone who means so much to him in the process?

7/19 Edit to clarify, what I’m trying to say is: if the resolution to Bakugo’s hubris was reaching out a hand to a “pebble” to ultimately defeat AFO… would the resolution to Midoriya’s possessiveness be to lose everything?

It's too much to think about but I don't call it crack pot for nothing. I'm still formulating my hypothesis but think this next chapter should have something huge to explain how Deku is still able to avoid Shigaraki despite no longer being able to use Gearshift and losing Danger Sense. Maybe it'll be the linch pin in figuring out if there's a hypothesis to be had or whether this was all a big reach. I still can't decide.

[noveratus]

I just finished listening to the last episode of this season of the Magnus Protocol, and I have thoughts, both for the episode and the season overall. Spoilers below.

I have mixed feelings regarding this episode. To put it short, I think it is fine as a regular episode, but I don't like it as a season finale. I think that Celia's reveal and Gwen taking over Lena's position was handled really well, but I think it was done kind of late. I will get more into this in the season review since that is where my main issues lie, the structure of the season itself. Also, the whole 'Sam being taken' thing and being shoved into this other universe betrayal would have felt more meaningful if we had an idea of what the other world looks like, because, if I remember correctly, Sam is falling into a world without the entities where people are most likely rebuilding now so it really doesn't feel that bad and he can just walk through the portal again which is why I wish this reveal had been done in a different episode. It simply doesn't feel worthy of the season finale, and the cliffhanger was very undeserved. We already know the Archivist doesn't want Sam dead. In fact, I have a theory it was trying to save Sam from Celia. Honestly, I'm more interested in whatever is happening to Collin because that guy is dead dead now. There is no way he is living.

Ok, for my season reveal: I think that this season was alright, good even! Not as great as season 4 or 5, but better than season 2 for certain. I think I might like season 1 of the Magnus Archives better simply because of the build up. Are the things real? Are they not? And then Martyn being terrorized for weeks and it all culminating with that attack. It was really cool and had an actual resolution, even if not all questions were answers, there was a sense of finity by the end of it which this one lacks. It just doesn't answer enough questions. "Oh, but Celia-" I think Celia was too obvious to be considered fulfilling, which isn't to say the reveal wasn't great, but I think it needed more. They had to at least have revealed what happened to Collin I think.

Now, for my main issue with the season, it started really well and it was pretty interesting in the first episodes, the character dynamics were really fun and I wanted to learn more about the computers, but at some point the show became the 170th love triangle this side of the pacific with a forced romantic subplot on the house. I think that Alice and Sam being exes is an interesting development, but you didn't need the romance man. You already have Alice as the foil for them just not wanting them to investigate, you don't need to make their previous relationship and current relationship be a whole thing, genuinely, who wanted this? And it wasn't built up, it just happened so that Sam would follow Celia around like a puppy dog (as if he wouldn't do that as was with him being obsessed with solving the secrets of the institute as seen with him exploring with Alice) and half of the season felt like Sam and Celia talking about how they were going to investigate about this and never really doing any investigating while the plot hit Alice like a truck.

And then there is Sam, who is probably the most boring character in his show. His personality traits are that he is into women, is obsessed with solving mysteries, and that's it. Considering that his obsession with his job is something he shares with both Celia and Gwen, that only makes him feel even less appealing. Also, Celia and Gwen have a much stronger reason for why they are who they are, which in Celia's case is her son and the trauma from being in the apocalypse while Gwen is proving herself, which is something that Sam is apparently trying to do as well, except in his case it is not really all that well built. Like I have said before in my previous posts is Gwen, while I despise her and I dream of her death every day, is a really well written character, because that is what the audience is meant to feel. They are meant to hate her, she is kind of a bitch. Alice? She is the most well written character in the show. She has nuance, you understand why she does what she does. Celia? She has potential. Personality wise, Celia is a bit flat for my taste, but she has enough of a backstory and motive to be very interesting if you just remove the stupid forced romance plotline. She is just a woman, a mother, trying to do her best in a pretty shitty situation, which I can stand behind. But Sam is none of those things. Yes, he got rejected by the magnus Institute and saw some fucked up things, cool, but compared to the rest of the cast, it just feels flat. It doesn't have the same impact as Jon retelling his story of how he came across the first book, so what you end up with is a cardboard protagonist surrounded by otherwise very interesting characters! Hell, even Lena and Colin who are meant to be secondary characters are more interesting than Sam since Colin has the paranoia Jon had and makes you wonder just what the hell is he seeing? And Lena, who is in charge of these monsters and yet still clearly cares about people is genuinely fascinating and I want to learn more, and I hope she doesn't die off screen. I want to like Sam. I really, really want to like him, but by God he feels like every protagonist ever and it is so stale and it is so boring and it doesn't help that the season drags on for too long on the later half with people talking about how they are going to do things and never doing them which is my main issue with Season 2 of TMA where there is a lot of people talking about how they will do stuff and how people will do stuff but nothing of importance actually happen. I genuinely think you can cut from season 1 to season 3 of the original show and skip most of season 2 without anything of notice and the same can be said about a solid 5 episodes of this first season of the Magnus Protocol which, since they are on the latter half. There is a lot of build up, and it is not that it doesn't go anywhere, but it is not the reveal one might think it would be. Which is kind of insane considering the writers are the same people who wrote seasons 4 and 5 of the magnus archive, which are probably some of my favorite pieces of media ever and I get that it could be a slow burn and all that, but this is just 2 seasons. There isn't a lot of time to burn slowly here, especially since they are adding a lot of new concepts like alchemy that I feel like won't be handled how they should be handled.

Another point I want to bring up regarding the The Magnus Protocol, actually starts in the Magnus Archive with how it handles its female characters. So, in modern media we have something that I like to call the Nagging Wife problem, in which writers will write women, particularly the love interest of MCs as being 'smart' so they will oppose the MC whenever they act in a dumb way or a way perceived as dumb by them, which puts them in a position antagonistic to your Main Character. Think Wanda from Fairly Oddparents or Marge from the Simpsons for example. And that is a very glaring issue present in TMA where despite not being love interests, all of the main female characters will, at one point or the other, act as Jon's 'nagging wife' at some point, leading to their nagging irrevocably affecting the plot and making Jon act as more of a whump since 'oh look how poorly treated Jon is' and hey, this could have worked, but because the cast is mainly female and none of the characters is really given as much depth as the male characters, we just get Jon's many nagging wives and entire episodes of them doing pretty much that and it can be very inconsistent with their character and very annoying and off putting. Luckily, the Magnus Protocol doesn't have as much of that. Yes, there is Gwen, I suppose, but that's her point in the narrative. She is the most morally dubious one. But I was so terrified that Celia and, particularly, Alice would fall under the 'Nagging Wife' problem, but luckily, for the most part that isn't the case because, while yes, Alice does go against Sam, I think she is pretty consistent overall and they do call her out on it which definitely helps avoiding the issue.

Overall, I like the Magnus Protocol, but I don't think it is anywhere near as great as the Magnus Archive, neither as a stand alone story nor as a sequel. I hope this changes with the next season, because, as it stands right now, I don't think it has that much of a reason to exist- as a sequel. As a standalone story, it is good, not as great as its predecessor, but good, which might sound harsh considering that I said I like this podcast, but then you need to remember how TMA ended and so far, this season hasn't really improved on the ending nor surpassed it.

Final score: 7/10, but only as a standalone story, Gwen and Alice carry it hard, with Celia being a solid character as well and the side characters being interesting enough, but not enough happened to them. Put them in more situations, please, and thank you. As a sequel, as it stands, it's a 5/10, maybe lower, but it has asked a lot of questions that could lead to something great.

Have a doodle of my beloved and my beloathed for the trouble as well :)

[not-poignant]

Birthday Spotlight - Ash Glashtyn

[27th February - Pisces]

Ash Glashtyn, the fun-loving, cheerful, highly-sadistic and hypersexual Unseelie waterhorse from the canon Fae Tales series, adopted brother of Augus Each Uisge, and eater of humans, has been a beloved and then polarising character among readers. He's been a star in a couple of stories, but mostly he exists as a comedic, sexual, dangerous foil to his composed, sinister brother.

Ash Glashtyn is a monster who is ashamed of being a monster, but when he's a human, he normally has way less internalised issues with himself, and just wants to make the most out of life! He lives big, loves travel, loves everyone, but doesn't want any romantic relationships out of life. This boy will fuck everyone, and finds everyone stunning and beautiful and worthy of his time, but he's solidly aromantic and isn't planning on sexually cohabiting with anyone (with the exception of Strange Sights and The Wildness Within!)

An unlikely mediator, annoyingly charming, human loving, relentlessly curious, intensely protective, and appreciator of the sensual, Ash is one of the most 'human' of the Fae characters, and I've been happy to have him by my side for over ten years.

I’m a mess . . . I don’t even know. I’m not made for all this high political bullshit. I’m not made for any of it, Augus. I’m just some dude, you know? Just some guy. I’ve been waiting for things to go back to normal ever since you went missing.

The Court of Five Thrones

Shadows and Light - (fanfiction) First mentioned in From the Darkness We Rise, and his first official appearance in Into Shadows We Fall, Ash was a beloved character early on despite being on the enemy side and loving the worst villain in the story. An affable and obvious victim who just wanted the best for his brother, Ash struggled to come to terms with the fact that his brother needed to be defeated, and was vital in securing the win/victory for the good guys, even as it meant ruining himself in the process.

The Wildness Within - (AU) The truly sane part of an OT3 featuring Augus, Gwyn and Ash, Ash managed to keep his brother grounded, get Gwyn out of shackles, stop Gwyn from running away in the human realm, and keep Augus from losing his mind when the Raven Prince kept throwing obstacles into their path. Ash was the compass point that kept them on the path to their true north in this story, and we'd not have the relationship we have between them, or the happy ending, without him!

From the Darkness We Rise - (fanfiction) Mentioned only.

Game Theory - (canon) Ash's first canon appearance is also an intense one. The first time we meet him he is drugged out of his mind, the second time he loathes Gwyn, and is drunk, and the third time he punches Gwyn hard enough in the face to break his cheekbone.

The Court of Five Thrones - (canon) Ash works on a book called 'how to lose friends and my brother by trying to be so overprotective while not listening to anyone.'

The Ice Plague I - (canon) Ash, having reconciled with Gwyn, joins the ensemble cast as Julvia's unlikely protector, and a watchful, compassionate eye on the group.

The Ice Plague II - (canon) Ash, starving into insanity like his brother, Augus, doesn't have a good time.

The Ice Plague III - (canon) We learn Ash's heartsong as he loses it, and meet the Glashtyn for the first time. Not a fun guy, it turns out! Or super fun actually, if you like songs about rape and torture. Which the Glashtyn does!

The Wildness Within - (AU) An OT3 of Ash/Augus/Gwyn, Ash here is his waterhorse self, and this story imagines a world where Augus saves Gwyn from his family, and he and his brother learn how to deal with a semi nonverbal torture victim, and become an unlikely polyamorous triad.

Quid Pro Quo - (AU) Gwyn/Ash. A mostly PWP series of Gwyn finding Ash in the human world, and being coerced-persuaded into sex that has a lot of overstimulation. A lot of hurt/comfort and aftercare moments.

Strange Sights - (AU) Ash/Augus. The 'Ash rapes Augus and nearly ruins their entire relationship' one that features dark!Ash and vulnerable!Augus. This one is probably one of the darker longfics I've written, and it's the only story I've thought about deleting. Eventually I decided not to, and I still think it has some of the most beautiful writing in it. A lot of Ash perspective, for people who enjoy that!

The Shaking Shape of You - (AU) Augus/Ash oneshot, in the world of The Wildness Within. This one's porn, folks.

Tumblr Prompts - Fae Tales - (AU and canon) Ash is in a couple of these! In one, he's an unlikely companion while they all go grocery shopping in the human realm, in another, Augus reads to Ash.

Unwound - (canon) Part of the ensemble cast here, his best chapter is the one where he gets Gwyn high on marijuana and Gwyn gets the munchies.

The Ash and Gwyn Interludes - (canon) Chapters where Gwyn and Ash work to reconcile between the events of The Court of Five Thrones and The Ice Plague. Features rare Ash canon POV chapters.

Ten Minutes and Ten Minutes More - (AU) A Mosk/Eran PWP oneshot where Ash gives Eran 'advice' on how to basically sexually assault Mosk. He has black hair in this one, and looks as sinister and dangerous as his brother.

The Augus and Ash Interludes - (AU) Written in 2013, these started off as canon and some quickly became not canon. But features very sweet or silly or angsty moments between Augus and Ash.

Tumblr Prompts - Fae Tales AUs - (AU) I don't actually remember these O.O Very 'I have no memory of this place' Gandalf quote.

When the Tables Turn - (AU) Augus/Ash, Ash is a detective who decides he wants to rail drug trafficker and crimelord Augus Each Uisge. I never finished this, but it was fun

The Best of Broken Resolutions - (AU) The Architect AU (Gwyn/Augus), in which Ash is a member of a band, and gets way too drunk and manages to make his presence known even in this story.

Salt Water - (AU) Ash/Augus. An 11k Id Fic with magical healing cock. Augus is raped by Stertes (yes, that one), and Ash fucks him better e.e

The Day the Ferris Wheel Came Down - (AU) Before Spoils of the Spoiled even existed, I played with the idea of a high school AU here!

Underline the Silver - (AU) An upcoming Augus/Corbyn Prince omegaverse story, where Ash will at the very least be mentioned.

A fun-loving, booze-loving, human-loving, upbeat-appearing quick-thinker, who always looks on the bright side, is ready to back a friend.

Pansexual, aromantic, and loves everyone. Enjoys sex and making connections, but also is happy to move on and make more going forward.

Loves his brother so much. SO much. Too much? He'd say there's no such thing!

Memes

If cheerful emo manifested into a human person

Redheads have all the fun

What? The cheerful guy sometimes has some deep-seated issues that he's not really talking to anyone about? O.O

Most memorable in the canon for his internal conflict around eating humans but needing to eat them. He loves humans so much that he spends most of his time living with them, something Augus and most Unseelie fae view unfavourably.

An unlikely friend of the Nain Rouge!

If he's going to be attracted to another core Fae Tales character, it's going to be his brother first, and Gwyn second, but only in the AUs.

Getting himself half-killed by The Raven Prince

Betraying his brother to save his brother's life, and that creating bitterness between them.

Using pop culture references around Fae who are all talking like Victorians.

This guy can fit so much alcohol in him!

Betraying Gwyn, but not to save Gwyn's life. The mutiny in The Court of Five Thrones goes down as the biggest turning point for his character in the entire canon.

Ash always has auburn hair except in a single oneshot AU, Ten Minutes and Ten Minutes More.

Always cheerful, and that cheerfulness always hides a darker and more sexual side.

Fucks - does he ever fuck

Kinks are always some variety of overstimulation and overwhelming his partners with pleasure.

Curious about people

Protective over those he perceives as vulnerable, including the humans he eats in the canon!

Ash was initially conceived as a foil to the idea that 'all Unseelie fae are evil' in the same way that Crielle was conceived as a foil to the idea that 'all Seelie fae are pure and good.'

Ash Glashtyn's personality is based on actual folktales connected to the Glashtyn. He has been described as capable of great good and great harm, but he's also been described as a waterhorse capable of extreme evil and sadism. He's actually considered more sadistic than the Each Uisge, which I kept as a trait. In fact there is one story where the Glashtyn in human form stabbed long pins and needles into unsuspecting children and women through their buttocks, breasts and other fleshy parts.

The reason Ash looks the way he does was part of a complex storyline that never came together, which frustrates me, but otherwise Ash and Augus would look very similar so I needed something to differentiate them more easily! Plus I really loved the idea of a character who doesn't look immediately kind of 'dark and forbidding.'

Ash has been one of the most polarising characters. During the Shadows and Light era, most people loved him intensely. During the Game Theory era, people became split. People who never read SAL generally hated him until the very end of The Court of Five Thrones.

Ash's heartsong was a secret that only Augus knew for almost a decade. Even I didn't know it for a little while. I always told myself and others that the only time we'd all learn what it was, was when he lost it. When I knew what it was, I told everyone it began with an A. Only one person out of about 100 guesses got it right. :D

I mean, we’re not dead or being actively tortured so it’s like…prospects aren’t all bad.

The Ice Plague II

[partywithponies]

Glossary of media discussion terms I invented myself and then bring up casually as though you should know what I mean (AKA Tash Translation Guide):

The Inherent Eroticism of Solving Crimes Together:

the simple fact that the kinds of common character dynamics between the two leads of any given detective or mystery or police show (i.e. trust, devotion, talk of being "partners", sneaking around together in the dead of night) are often very easily read as romantic or sexual to fandom-brained people, even if that obviously wasn't the intention. Even if one of them's already married. Even if there's a 30 year age gap. Doesn't matter

The Holliday Grainger Effect/Holliday Grainger Syndrome:

Named for the actress Holliday Grainger and the MULTIPLE TIMES she has been cast as the less attractive/less desirable narrative foil to the more conventionally attractive and desirable female lead, as though we're all supposed to pretend Holliday Grainger isn't also an incredibly beautiful woman

The Milton Keynes Conspiracy:

Named for my joke conspiracy theory about the teen soap Grange Hill, in which I claim that within the Grange Hill universe, Milton Keynes isn't actually a real place, and that whenever a character disappears suddenly with the only explanation given being that they "moved to Milton Keynes", that was just code for them having been disappeared by the government for getting too close to The Truth™️, and every time something odd or unexplained happens or something major is just brushed under the rug and forgotten about, that was all just shady alien-related government activity and all part of The Milton Keynes Conspiracy. I tend to bring up The Milton Keynes Conspiracy whenever a show's canon, continuity, or geography makes absolutely no sense under close scrutiny and the only "logical" explanations left are things like time loops or aliens or cracks in space and time or government conspiracies.

Bastard Man (Affectionate) and Bastard Man (Derogatory):

A very important distinction. The sparknotes version is that a Bastard Man (Affectionate) is a Card Carrying Bastard who does it all with charm and charisma and confidence, knows they're a bastard and takes a twisted pride in it, and is at least funny about it, while the Bastard Man (Derogatory) is just whiny and sad and won't actually admit to being a bastard man, and usually the narrative won't admit it either and keeps treating him like a tragic hero no matter what. Has a tendency to just get away with stuff with no payoff and isn't even funny about it. Shares a lot of DNA with:

Sadboy:

My absolute least favourite character archetype, though that's purely subjective and there are still SOME Sadboys I like. I know that my opinions are not universal because part of the reason I have such a visceral dislike for them is because they're often tumblr sexymancoded and I cannot escape them in the show's tags. They're wet. They're pathetic. They're miserable. And they're pretty. Usually played by a skinny pale white boy. (Like I said. Tumblr sexymancoded). And because of this, the show and the fandom alike will expect you to ignore the fact they're an awful person and excuse everything they've ever done wrong. Look, you can't be mad at them, look how sad they are about it. Look at their big wet puppydog eyes. In fact they haven't done anything wrong at all and you're crazy for saying they have. It's everyone who was mean to him who is wrong and his wife/girlfriend is a bitch for getting mad at him. He's just a sad wet little meow meow. Ugh. Disgusting. When will [REDACTED ACTORS HERE] answer for what they and their characters have done to me.