#she's flawed because she's human

[juleshollow]

Kaneeka-Tabitha theory

Oh my god I might have hated on Kaneeka unfairly

In my previous post I wrote about Kaneeka becoming a different person whenever Tabitha is involved. It just hit me: Kaneeka acting so uncharacteristically, against her core principles... COULD IT BE SYBIL'S TEA??

Ok it might be a strech but hear me out. Most of the things Kaneeka says about Tabitha make total sense. She's against the exploitative coal baroness, fair. She doesn't like her personality, also fair (we know Tabby is an asshole). But she goes beyond that.

In my playthrough, I called Tabitha before going into the mines. Kaneeka was terrified of the mines. She should have been relieved that someone knew where we were, in case we needed rescue. She's responsible, so she should have put our safety before her personal opinion of my cousin. But it was Tabitha, so she didn't.

In Episode 3, Kaneeka didn't want me to invite Tabitha to the ghost hunt, but she accepted when I insisted. She was even nice about it (she said "I guess she's your family" and smiled)! But when the gang got together she suddenly became cold and made us leave before Tabitha arrived. Kaneeka is rational and mature, so she shouldn't go back on her word after making an agreement. But it was Tabitha, so she did.

And then, if Tabitha doesn't sacrifice her years and leaves the ghost in the library:

Kaneeka is smart, so she should see that exchanging part of life for a house is not a good deal. She should have said that the ghost was trying to rip us off. But it was Tabitha, so she didn't.

And she is caring and compassionate, so she should have reassured us that our well-being was way more important than any material thing. But it was Tabitha, so she didn't.

What I'm trying to say is that she goes against everything that defines her for Tabitha. Kaneeka forgets her fears and her very identity in order to be cruel to our cousin. It goes beyond dislike: at one point it becomes hate.

And we KNOW Sybil is already mind controlling her daughter with her tea. So, what if Sybil amplified Kaneeka's underlying dislike for Tabitha in order to keep her away from her?

We already suspect that Sybil is either The Witch from Charles Shaw's play or her descendant. We might not know what Sybil's intentions are yet, but it's clear that The Witch played a great part in the Scarlet family's downfall. And Sybil is already manipulating the only remaining Scarlets: she gives Tabitha special tea for the goat and she tells us to go find the rest of the carvings. We don't know what kind of magic ritual we're being part of, but I think Sybil might want to get rid of the Scarlets once and for all. In fact, Sybil wanted Tabitha to sacrifice her years. She tried to convince her!

So it would make sense that Sybil tried to keep Kaneeka as far from Tabitha as possible! We're constantly facing mortal danger, after all.

So... if Kaneeka sometimes does things that go against her nature... and she's also occasionally hypnotized by her mom... you know...? I mean she only does this when Tabitha is involved!

[dreamerdrop]

I don’t talk about my love for Kira Nerys too often because. Look. I think if DS9 handles anything well, it’s Kira, hands down.

Her character development is a work of art. She is so traumatised, so angry, so beaten down and STILL FIGHTING at the start. She struggles so much with her PTSD, with the idea that she is ever allowed to be in anything but attack mode…

And then, slowly, gradually, she becomes a whole new person. She laughs, she smiles, she makes corny jokes, she does dumb fun things for the sake of enjoying herself. She has friends, she has a family, she is surrounded by love and joy and HOPE.

Even in the middle of second war, she’s DIFFERENT now. She’s not the same miserable angry person she was, afraid to let go of the vigilant surivival instincts that kept her alive for so long. She’s come back to life as a person who has something to live for.

She has done terrible things. Her hands are stained with blood. She is never going to be able to forget her trauma or the suffering, both her own and that of her people, nor the suffering she inflicted while fighting for her freedom. But she recovers. She heals. She carves out an existence where she is truly, genuinely happy to be alive.

I don’t need to talk about Kira as much as some other characters because this all happens on screen. It’s right there, and it’s beautiful and perfect.

Kira Nerys goes from a person who cannot conceive of herself outside of the horrors she has suffered, inflicted, and fought against, to someone for whom her trauma is just one part of the larger picture, a piece of a rich and vibrant tapestry that is now filled, overwhelmingly, with joy.

Kira Nerys is like, hands down, bar none, one of, if not THE best characters Star Trek has ever created. I love her so much. She is just, completely and utterly perfect, especially in her flaws.

[doverstar]

to be clear, I think Rose Tyler being an often-selfish character is great. I think it's great because real women are selfish. Real women get petty. Real women hear their ex boyfriend say he's going out with a mutual acquaintance and get unfairly jealous and real women then say things like "she's a bit big" when they shouldn't and they have no right. Real women can be monsters, and Rose Tyler is relatable and I love how she is written and I love her, thanks for listening

[oneluckydragon]

Thinking about how these two met. Get adopted, idiot.

More human!Echo.

[titfairy]

[undead-moth]

I know I've been on about this for a while now and I'm being a hater but you're telling me SydCarmy was "always meant to be platonic" even though there are two seasons of writing making use of tried-and-true explicitly romantic tropes, themes and writing signals, and SydLuca is going to be romantic because...he was nice to her on screen for a few minutes?

I don't even care if people ship SydLuca, or if they just prefer it, but you can't honestly tell me that you believe Carmy was always meant to be a friend but Luca is an obvious love interest.

Just because Syd and Carmy haven't kissed or confessed their love to each other doesn't mean that isn't very obviously the direction this show is going. The Bear has already shown you who is endgame. It has shown you every episode of the show so far.

Honestly I really don't think The Bear fanbase understands this show or cares about these characters or the story being told here, which is unfortunate because this show is shockingly well-written in comparison to most shows right now, and we should be so grateful for it but all we're doing is complaining that the writers led us on by not making a ship canon fast enough. It's just. Sad.

[noperopesaredope]

You know, despite the new live-action ATLA absolutely slaughtering Katara's character, there is one upside, and that is the many video essays explaining why the OG Katara was amazing actually and why all her flaws and "annoying" aspects actually made her a great character.

Like, thank god we're all acknowledging that Katara's angry and even bitchy moments are part of what made her so complex, and we're all appreciating just how amazing and interesting she is.

[redeemed-wren]

I am thinking about. Jamie and the Second Doctor.

Because out of all the incarnations of the Doctor, Two is arguably the one who uses manipulation and disguises the most. He thrives on using people's intelligence against them, on tricking people, on bluffing and his bluffs working. He has a different disguise every story pretty much and is constantly playing some kind of role.

And then you look at Jamie, and some of Jamie's most front and center traits are his loyalty and his honesty (and protectiveness, but less applicable). Jamie is loyal to a fault and extremely trusting of the Doctor. He's honest and straightforward and deeply caring.

And Jamie is the one who sticks by the Second Doctor for as long as he physically can--and you'd look at those two characters, one who is manipulative and cunning, and one who is loyal to a fault, and you'd think the Doctor would easily be able to take advantage of Jamie, that Jamie would just be a tool for him but he's not, they're on equal footing. Jamie pulls the Doctor down and reminds him what being human is all about.

[queer-cackling]

love seeing people react to Vi becoming a cop like "Oh my god this is so out of character!! What's going on!" When it was not, and that was the point, I fear.

[aleksanderscult]

Was the Darkling that much of a liar as the fandom makes him to be?

Because it's literally one thing for a character to truly lie every other page and another for the reader to have been tricked by the narrative that he's a compulsive liar.

If we thoroughly search and find his lying moments in the Grisha trilogy then it would be these:

“I don’t want to answer you.”

“Oh.”

Then he sighed and said, “One hundred and twenty. Give or take.”

After a moment, the Darkling said, “My great-great-great-grandfather was the Black Heretic, the Darkling who created the Shadow Fold.”

“How?” I pleaded. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“By helping me destroy the Shadow Fold.”

“What’s Baghra’s power, anyway?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I think she was a Tidemaker.”

“Because every day we don’t find the sea whip, I’ll peel away a piece of her skin. Slowly. Then Ivan will heal her, and the next day, we’ll do it all over again.”

“Where are they? ” I screamed.

“They are safe. For now. They will be on my skiff when I enter the Fold again.”

“As hostages,” I said dully.

He nodded.

So in the whole trilogy the Darkling lied six times. Four if you count the scenes before he was revealed as the "evil guy".

His first real conversation with Alina is considered both by the protagonist and the fandom as manipulative and shady. He lied about his identity, age and true goal. Now let's take it from the beginning.

The fact that he lied about his age and identity wasn't something personal against Alina. This is the exact same lie he had been telling the world for four hundred years as a means of survival and staying as head of the Grisha. Also, did we really expect him to say "Yeah, I was the one who created the Fold. Hehe what can you do?☺️". We would be lying too if we were in his place.

Another thing that needs to be understood here is that the Darkling was testing her. He was trying to see what her personality is like, how does she feel about her newfound powers and, most importantly, what has she heard and how does she feel about him. I'm pretty sure that he was kinda sure that Alina would have been influenced by the people's views about him. And he was right. Alina was afraid of him thanks to the rumors and superstitions that surround him. If she also knew who he truly was then she would run from that barn ASAP.

Now let's see the next lie that the Darkling spat out. The one where he told her that he needs her to destroy the Fold. This was another test. Trying to see how she would react if she knew her true purpose as the Sun Summoner that everybody expected.

Apparently she failed that test as well:

Alina panicked when she heard that the realm's future lies on her shoulders, when she understood that she would be the one to destroy the Shadow Fold. Imagine how she would react if the Darkling said "Okay look. I need you so I can use the Fold against some nations, not destroy it". Yup, she would scream and run.

There's no way the Darkling would say the truth to her, especially since he saw how frightened and prejudiced she was about him and how clueless she was about the whole economical and political situation Ravka was at this point.

He was waiting for the Sun Summoner to be born and emerge for centuries. He would never risk losing her now because of her narrow views and some brutal truths. It was a matter of life and death for him in order to protect his country. And this girl was too young, too naive to understand.

So no. He didn't do it because he had something personal against her or to seduce her. He did it for the good of his country so this girl would stay no matter what.

Sadly, it's evident that in the end the Darkling's suspicions proved to be right. She run away. And when he found her he chastised her about her selfishness and her inability to see the bigger picture.

“Did you deserve my trust? Baghra whispers a few accusations in your ear, and off you go. Did you ever stop to think of what it would mean for me, for all of Ravka, if you just disappeared?”

“You didn’t give me much choice.”

“Of course you had a choice. And you chose to turn your back on your country, on everything that you are.”

“That isn’t fair.”

“Fairness!” he laughed. “Still she talks of fairness. What does fairness have to do with any of this? The people curse my name and pray for you, but you’re the one who was ready to abandon them. I’m the one who will give them power over their enemies. I’m the one who will free them from the tyranny of the King.”

The Darkling was right, she did have a choice. I once heard a line from a show that said "In life we always have a choice. But sometimes it's easier to think that you don't" and it applies to Alina here perfectly. She had a choice but she said to herself that she didn't. And by doing so, she only proved Aleksander right. She can't handle the truth.

Now the next lie is when he lied about his mother's powers. Don't have to dwell here because it's the same thing as before. It's the same lie he tells everyone "I don't know. I'm not sure". The Darkling (publicly) has distanced himself from his mother and keeps that relationship a secret. It's just part of his persona (just like his age, his identity etc.). Again nothing personal against Alina.

The next one is just some clever emotional manipulation. When he made clear to Mal that he would curve Alina's skin he knew that the threat was just enough. He has seen them act all cutie-cutie and being sacrificial for the sake of each other to a disgusting point so he took advantage of that (I say good for him).

And the last one is just my personal favourite if you ask me. That strategy he displayed there was my most favourite that he ever showed. Since he knew again how the threat would be enough for Alina to come to him like fish on a bait. He embraced his villainous persona and pretended that he would hurt those children if she didn't surrender to him. But he knew better. Mindless heroism would just bring her right into his net and again he was proved right until everything fucked up and died.

In his own words:

“I know what you thought, what you’ve always thought of me. It’s so much easier that way, isn’t it? To puff yourself up with your own righteousness.”

Just some delicious shit actually.

So, in conclusion, no. He wasn't a compulsive liar. But when he needed to lie he did and only for (as he saw it) selfless reasons. In fact, he mostly either evaded the truth or spoke truth. So misinformation just spilled that man's reputation lmao.

[monards]

i am literally so for rhinedottir being evil and mean and the most insane villain in this game. but oh my god does half of this god forsaken fandom not comprehend that one of the biggest themes and motifs in genshin the concept of human as a title is convoluted and confusing and that EVERY person has insane amounts of nuance necessary to understand and no villain is gonna be WHOLLY evil without other, redemptive traits (whether previous or current) because that’s how people WORK. SHE CAN AND IS GONNA BE MORE THAN EVIL. AND MEAN. AND BIG BAD VILLAIN.

[avadmortain]

THE KISS ON TOP OF THE HEAD OH I AM UNWELL ‼️

[buttered-toast-and-sentiment]

if I had a nickel for every time Harriet Vane had to awkwardly comfort a heartbroken middle-aged woman who was sobbing on her shoulder over much younger man, while trying to soothingly fix said woman's makeup, while also trying to hide how Deeply Uncomfortable she (Harriet) is, I would have two nickels.

Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

[aiura-stan]

i am sane and normal about teruhashi kokomi

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads

The Deep Sky

scifi mystery thriller

on a deep space mission traveling from an environmentally devastated earth with hope to restart humanity elsewhere

when they’re halfway, an explosion kills 3 crew and pushes them off course

the only witness is the Alternate who has no specific role, and she has to figure out who caused it & if they might continue to sabotage, while they're figuring out a way to get back on course with limited resources

flips between present and the past: of her childhood and training for the mission, her identity struggles, and relationship with her mother

questions the ethics of ‘restarting’ humanity elsewhere vs putting resources into fixing earth

[nikki-rook]

Not stupid. Human. - 6x14 / 7x19