#so thrilled that they’re both completely understandably justified in their actions
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wild that people are using the kiss in romantic aziraphale/crowley edits like babes did you not see that it was the world’s worst kiss and the height of tragedy
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saintobio · 3 years ago
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I’m probably also wanting to punch Gojo’s mom, but I completely understand her. Like that’s her son that’s hurt, of course she’s blinded right now. She’s not exactly invalidating y/n’a trauma but her baby is hurt and that’s all she can focus on. And yeah she did abandon her son at one point but I bet the guilt in that is one of the reasons she’s going so hard on y/n like making up for all the times she failed to protect her son?? Not that y/n deserves that, I just think that could be a reason even if she doesn’t realize that! Great chapter!
Anonymous said
Am I the only one who doesn’t hate Gojo’s mom and YN in here? both actions are justified. I was like you know what, they’re both right and wrong too you know. I mean, I came here for the drama and thrill and I’m enjoying it🍿
Also, reading readers’ sentiments, opinion and Saint’s response is a bonus.
Anonymous said
you cant tell a mother how to react when she watched her son try to kill himself multiple times. not to mention almost succeeding this time after he found out his son was hidden from him on yn's WEDDING. literally watching satoru be all miserable while yn is healing. yeah it's selfish but that's a mother you cant be telling her shes annoying and overreacting? when her son is in a coma on that hospital bed?
Anonymous said
no because my heart started hurting thinking that mama gojo wouldn’t even let y/n see him :( i was just imagining the karma it would have been for y/n not to see him since she and her family didn’t want satoru to see her when she was in the hospital 😭
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absolutely valid as well. gen has the right to be protective of her sister, and momjo has the right to be protective of her son. the only unsettling (?) part abt this is the fact that yn is being blamed over satoru’s suicide attempts even tho she never had an idea of what he was going through while she was healing on her own.
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sweetobseesion · 4 years ago
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About Wang So’s Villainy
*I DO NOT HATE WANG SO, NOR IS THIS A POST CRITICISING HIM. IT IS BASED ON MY OPINION , AND IT AIMS TO POINT OUT AND EXPLORE  HIS “VILLAINOUS SIDE” THAT SHAPES HIM THROUGHOUT THE DRAMA.
I just wanted to point this out because I’ve noticed people have two reactions to it. Either there’s people denying it or people heavily emphasising on it.I would like to clarify,that Wang So is very much a character that is caught in crossroads, stuck between both his selfless heroic nature and his ,beastly savage side.
The show never denied his villainy, not even for a moment.He was always dangerous,scary and he himself, usually acknowledges his crimes and extreme personality.
The only difference is , he had the scope to be a better person. He realises he is in the wrong and understands the consequences of his actions. But even then , he never changes. Murder is always a full forged solution in his book.
But what made his personality more flawed was his anger, pride and this ability to listen to only himself. It’s what made him into a powerful king too, but it’s also what affected his relationship with Soo towards the end.
It’s hard to discern whether his impulsive , suspicious nature is the result of his environment and circumstances that he grew up in or just his personality. His Nature. But Wang So has always been pragmatic, opportunist and suspicious of those around him.
When we see him enter the palace, he kills of a horse. When Jimong offers him the opportunity to protect the crown prince , he questions his intentions. And he never opens up to anyone and is always on guard, full of excuses and masks. Which is why when Yeonhwa suggests he learns with the princes, he says he prefers being alone with his hunts. We all know he wants to live in Songak,but he says this because he doesn’t want her to know his intentions. And even Yeonhwa,can see through it.
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He isolates himself from people.And it’s this exact combination of stubbornness, impulsivity and constant suspicion that makes it so easy for him kill anyone quickly and justify it. And since he isolated himself, there’s no one to stop him or make him think on it.And hence, he grows up, used to his extreme actions and not reflecting on it. Though he has his moments of regret, it’s not something he dwells on a lot.And he will never admit to it too,because he has pride.
All this makes it all the more easy for him to justify his actions.
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It makes him either invincible or impossible and stubborn. Quite possibly both, but that doesn’t mean he is not bound to face the consequences of his actions. He is human after all, and if he chooses reckless actions one after the other and defend it, he’s bound to face the consequences. It doesn’t matter if he has a good reason or not. General Park points that out to him , clearly.
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But he doesn’t think it through , and just ponders it for a while. But this moment, pretty much sets the stage for his inevitable end. All throughout his life he has to kill to survive, but the more he kills, the more enemies he creates and the more he has to cover up his path. And hence , the lonelier he becomes.
Meanwhile his relationship with Soo blossoms,and he finds it hard to explain his feelings for her.She shows him empathy and never judges him in his worst state,and tries to understand him. She treats him with kindness and like any other human being. He finds it easy and comfortable to talk to her and be around her.He opens up to her easily and listens to her easily. He also thinks about her and willingly incorporates what she says into his thoughts and actions. In other words , he has a crush on he doesn’t realise it. It’s quite hard for him to understand his own feelings, given how lonely he grew up.
And when he does,he is confused yet thrilled. But he still doesn’t possess complete understanding of his emotions, and he is not completely comfortable with having a person who sees right through him. Like when she sees right through his insecurity of his scar.And he punishes her for that by silence , and reprimanding her when she makes his favourite tea.
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He ignores her, and it’s not until she reaches out to him after the rain festival does he put his defences down. But then, this was only achieved through her own efforts.In order to help him,she creates a foundation that conceals his scar,and she helps him succeed in the rain ritual.
He pretty much sets his heart to her after that and chases her and focuses on getting her for himself.He never listens to her rejection or her refusal and is quite insistent with his ways.He seeks her out and is quite determined to have her and he uses all means possible to have her by his side. Like he asks the King for her, then he takes her out of the palace ,drinks poison to protect her and stands by her side.
But little does he realise that this puts her in danger more than anything else. Because the more he chases her the more jealous Wook gets, the more worried his father becomes and the worse her reputation becomes ,because everyone calls her “bad luck” and blames her for how he turned out. But thing is , he does not realise it. He never sees the damage he’s unintentionally caused to her because in his mind he’s doing the right thing, choosing the right thing. He won’t listen to anyone who disagrees and he defies anyone who tries to stop him and that includes the king. In his mind, he already sees himself as the Knight in shining armour, who fights for the woman he loves.
And as his feelings grow, he also finds himself getting easily jealous. He has this habit of just assuming things and sticking by it, and it makes it hard for him to communicate.When he has to marry someone and is aware that is a deal breaker to her, he never reveals to her the reason behind it. Fans say this better than making up a excuse but I don’t see how this is better as it just leaves her alone without an explanation.All because he assumes she would hate him anyway.At the end of the day an explanation is better than an assumption or an excuse. He gets jealous when Baek Ah gets her the best present. His emotions have now become completely besotted with her,and is eager for real romance .So it’s not much of surprise to see his reaction after he discovers Jung hid in her room,it’s clear that he’s suspicious and doesn’t trust her easily.But this time , he goes to her asks her. He communicates and clears his doubts and reaches a deal. And it’s all sweetness for once.
Soon, their loyalties are tested, and they both hesitate to sort it out on their own. Wang So tries to sort it out all by himself and Hae Soo is hiding the people he’s searching for, eventually confesses to her , she holds back since she has too many warnings and supernatural visions that hold her back, but she does trust him . But it’s too late,and he ends up killing a brother and that haunts him. But that’s what pushes him to realise his place and finally steer him towards his path of being king.But for that when he’s asked to sacrifice Soo, he understands and breaks up with her in the cruelest way possible,by blaming her for his brother’s death.
The thing is, while saying those cruel words, he is also venting his anger out to her. When he returns he is still cold to her , but she still chases after him.She is burdened with guilt,and he cannot deny his feelings. Soon this leads to reincoincillation But thing is, Soo know he left her for the throne, but listens to his other reason anyway.She is beyond the point of no return, desperate to be with him. Hence gets what he wants, the throne and the girl.And they’re happy , for a while.
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Until the issue of their marriage comes up,and everyone around Soo reminds her that she cannot marry him and be queen.The whole court urges So to marry Yeonhwa and he holds back, stubborn and he refuses to listen to them.Again Hae Soo ,has to give her approval and seem weak or the bad person.She is willingly talking the burn out for their relationship, both publicly and personally. Meanwhile , So grows more powerful.And he doesn’t back down this time.
He gets more stubborn and set in his ways,and refuses to listen to anyone else, especially now that his word is practically the law.He distances himself from Soo because he’s failed to live up to his promises of marrying her and starts channeling his anger to the Court and Jung .So he doesn’t hold back and starts unleashing his power and vengeance , beginning with Jung when he opposes him, and forbidding him to see his mother.When his mother protests , he forbades him to see her , which causes the queen to go on a hunger protest, asking to see her Jung.
We see Soo try to stop it , yes out of concern for Jung. But only because it’s in her character and she foresees the disastrous consequences, that it could possibly haunt him in the end and it did, in a way he never saw coming. When she sends for him ,he doesn’t reprimand or argue with her,he directly threatens her with punishment , proving he’s finally become the King he’s destined to be. Everything that was Wang So has already submerged into his conscience and only Gwangjong remains.
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How could anyone expect her to understand him, when the man who loves her and risked his life for her is now threatening her with punishment, while instilling fear in her ?He’s being a King more than anything else. Jung arrives late and the queen dies.He later berates her for not taking his side, and walks away before she has the chance to apologise or provide comfort. He’s broken yes, but he is also unwilling to listen.Then, he proceeds to kill Chaeryung without an explanation, probably expecting her understanding in that matter too. People still blame Hae Soo , like they do for everything. But it was too much of a shock for her, just watching as she is beaten to death,without any anticipation or explanation.So explains his reason, but it’s too late, the graphic images of what she saw still reel in her head and no excuses can properly apply, because he really did kill her without warning. The reality of the palace becomes clear to Soo, and she makes up her mind.
Meanwhile, Wang So is furious and he blames Wook for all this,and when he goes to his room.He finds Yeonhwa , sitting there trying to trick him into consummating the marriage,but he sees through it.He makes a deal with her to get his revenge against Wook and it involves making the same promise he made to Soo.
So executes his plan to stand up to Wook, but he’s shocked to see Soo stand up to him. He states that he doesn’t like it but he listens to her this time, only because she doesn’t give him the opportunity to walk away by kneeling and she comes up with a good reason.
People point out and sometimes even write lengthy metas defending his actions, romanticising it and citing it as the greatest example of love to ever exist. But they fail to understand why this is considered problematic.It’s problematic because it’s so twisted and it’s bound to have consequences. He’s out here framing his brother, using consummation with his sister as colleteral, and is deriving pleasure out of momentary revange using his position of authority.As if that’s not that’s not bound to have consequences.
As viewers, we have an idea of how conniving Wook is. But the  idea Goryeo’s society has of Wook is he is a wise scholar an benevolent individual, a brother in law of the king who would be gracious enough to marry off his sister to him. He has the ministers in his fingertips, and if the King were to kill him over a bird, it would just prove what they and history have been thinking : That he’s a tyrant and a wolf dog who’s only good at killing people. He’s early into his reign and it would certainly build up a reputation that would not get him respect from the ministers.On top of that this was a guy that blamed himself for killing his brother for years.
And that’s exactly why Soo stops him. Sure she doesn’t want Wook to die, but also doesn’t want So to be remembered only as a bloody king. But this riles up his suspicion and Jealousy and increases his paranoia more than anything else.Next we have Jung , who finally has a chance to use his decree. He goes to Soo, who basically says what she’s been saying all along.  That she wants to leave and there’s no hope for their relationship.She’s honest with him and even confesses her hate.He again doesn’t listen to her and walks away, vowing he’ll never let her go.
And it finally allows Yeonhwa to execute her plans meticulously and for Wook to have his revenge. Wook confesses his past relationship with Soo, and it literally turns his brain upside down.He cannot believe the woman he loves used to love his enemy and she still sticks up for him. And it’s all it takes for his paranoia to sweep in and convince himself that she has never loved him and it was all Wook. He says he’ll never see her again and agrees to let her out of the palace.
I guess his actions after this split truly exhibit the many layers of his characters: his insecurity, his hypocrisy, pride ,vulnerability and jealousy. Insecurity in his feelings for Soo, that she loves someone more than him. That she never loved him and has abandoned him.Jealousy in the fact that she loved and married someone else.I guess these overwhelming emotions make him really vulnerable, and that’s what makes him cry, and still keeps tabs on her, because despite all the anger and hatred , he cannot forget her.
Besides, we cannot discuss his aspects of villainy without discussing his childhood, which is really the cusp of where it all begin. Personally, I think he only survived because he’s Wang So. He Fought back.He never let anyone disrespect him,and he found his own way to derive respect.  I think he deliberately improved on his skills, from combat to education, he improved because he wanted to prove to everyone that’s he much more than what they think. He doesn’t care for people. He only cares for his people. He’s only selfless towards those he cares about.
And that’s where his final and most darkest qualities surface: his pride and hypocrisy.All of his actions, from the beginning to the end, have been influenced by his “pride”. There’s no denying that it’s a big part of his character and the writer made it clear from the get go. We cannot say if it’s because of his traumatic childhood, and how he was treated as a hostage or it really is a underlining element of his personality, but Wang So is all about proving thing this to people. Proving that he is someone who’s much better what they think and getting back at them for putting him through what they did. It’s Soo that makes him see that power can be something more . That it can be used to do something more and help people. It’s she who makes him selfless.
But with that pride and pent up anger, he has this side of him that’s bit of an hypocrite. Why else do you think he’s able to continuously make excuses for all his actions, from the beginning? I’m not sure if it’s because he’s him or hypocrisy is a dominant gene that gets passed on to every member of the Goryeo Royal family and runs fresh in their veins , but just like all of them, he’s an hypocrite. He only sees his side of things.
He blames Soo for leaving him , but he left her as well. Two years prior, and even now. He accuses her of not trusting him and not understanding him , but as we can see , he’s the one with trust issues and he’s the one who misunderstood her feelings. He spies on her and assumes she never loved him , and really, this time he cannot blame anyone else but himself for his actions. It’s because of these actions that they have such a painful separation. He’s so involved with himself at this point , that besides seeing only his side of things, he views himself someone who’s wronged, but he never sees how much he’s actions hurt and affect the ones he’s loved .
There’s no denying that that throne makes him very vulnerable that his insecurities and guard go up times higher , making him isolate people even more. But it’s what makes him such a hypocrite , because he can only see his side of things and excuse anything he does. Especially now that he’s a king , he believes his judgement is better than everyone. Besides, anyone in a position of power, have to be a bit of an hypocrite to begin with. The trick is to not let it completely consume you. But it does and it isolates him, and its what causes him to shut himself from everyone.
In retrospect, I still vehemently hold on to my view that it was best for Hae Soo to leave the palace.With his tunnel vision, once again he never sees the danger he puts Soo in. He tells Soo that she would be his only Queen, but he says the same thing to Yeonhwa to make her give up on her brother. But he doesn’t see that she expects to have him all to herself and be  his “only queen”. So when he plans on making Soo his “second queen” and she has a child on the way, how did he think Yeonhwa will react? With open acceptance and genuine Joy? He’s so blind to her problems and caught up in his struggle, it does not even occur to him how there’s no hope for her in the palace.
All of this problems arise because of all the reasons that I’ve discused in detail. I’m not denying Hae Soo has a part in it, but this is a post focusing on Wang So’s flaws. It’s because he’s possessive, stubborn, arrogant and ignorant that he reaches the conclusion that she never loved him, believes the words of a random spy and spies on her and sees what he wants to see.
There is this thing where people always compare his love to Jung’s and argue that Jung loved better, because he didn't expect anything in return.I would like to remind them that there was a time and Soo didn’t reciprocate Wang so’s feelings and he was ready to sacrifice everything for her. He would drink poison for her. But it all changed when she started loving him back. It’s hard predict how Jung would’ve been if she reciprocated his feelings, but I’m sure he wouldn't’ t have been the same. But where his love triumphs  over So is in the respect he had for her as a person. Jung respected Soo. He respected her choices, her likes and her personality. Whereas,So only agreed with aspects of her personality and disagreed with the rest. He never respected or understood her as a whole. There was no acceptance of her as whole. His love is great but it’s also very suffocating, because there’s no space for her as a whole , flawed person. In his love there’s only space for the Soo he wants her to be: kind, understanding, fun, naive,loyal, and smart. But the stubborn, arrogant, independent, impulsive Soo that can argue back and make her own decisions ? Let’s just say there’s a reason her never listens to her in the first place.
Which is why when the news of her death reaches him and he reads the letters,  The consequences of his actions finally hit and the reality is so cruel he cannot handle it. Which is why he is in so much denial,that he is rushing in the hopes of seeing her one last time. But this time, he’s simply too late.
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And this was partly a consequence of his own actions, but it finally hits him: He’s all alone now.He finally understands Hae Soo and longs for her.
The thing is, it wouldn’t have ended up all like this if he had listened to her or apologised. But like mentioned above, all his insecure,dark qualities come together, and bring out his worst self.
But ironically, that’s exactly what Goryeo needed at the time.They needed a king who’s stubborn, not easily influenced and full of pride that will withstand till the end.A king who is powerful enough to push his law through, despite opposition from noble families. And now, he has more than enough reasons to influence him and push him through those decisions. From his horrible childhood to Soo, everything stood as a reason for shaping him into who he is set to become: The powerful 4th King of Goryeo.
But its sadly it’s exactly those qualities destroys his relationship with Soo. As long as he is king, she will be used as his weakness.
My main point in writing this lengthy, tedious post is because to be honest, I’ve seen way to many Wang So stans in this app, who in order to support him, bash and blame other characters for his actions, and look at him through dreamy, swoon worthy glasses. They overlook his flaws and make defences for it, but the things flaws are very much a central point of his character.
He is a passionate lover and an astute King. But he is also is an experienced and skilled warrior, a possessive and jealous man who has no problem with scheming or giving out harsh punishments.He is childish, with trust and mommy issues and he has never recovered from the scars of his childhood. All of which eventually shapes the man he becomes.
Though it’s romantic that he states he will find her wherever she is, even if he does, it won’t bring him the romance or closure he desires. Why? Because, he still has to face the consequences of his own actions. He has to answer why he never came to get her, why he thought she never loved him etc..
He has to learn from his mistakes and understand Soo better.He needs to learn to differentiate love, and to trust her more.He needs to handle his anger properly and not confuse and channel it towards Soo. He needs to respect and understand Soo better, and all of that takes time.And space. And lots of conversations and privacy.
It’s ironic but once again through on his own words, he’s set to prove himself all over again. For all the discussions on “fate”, it seems like he’s deciding his own “fate” now. Again, very heroic but the road to it is very difficult, and there’s no Hae Soo to bear the brunt of making difficult decisions anymore.
But the real question is, whether is the same qualities that drew them apart, will it lead him to her now?
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I suppose that’s the roundabout irony we’re all rooting for in the end.
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egg-emperor · 3 years ago
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Yeah, seeing eggman be not a totally bad guy is nice from time to time and all but it should *stay* in boom, the main version of him has done so much bad stuff I’m not sure why people even actually try to see good in him, like… are we forgetting the whole metal virus mess you can’t just be like “oh but he was nice to this one person that one time” dude’s evil and it’s fun that way, he’s literally the main villain
I've never been a big fan of him being like other villains that have good sides but while Boom isn't my favorite for it, I accept it because it's a completely separate universe. It should stay that way, as Boom has done things that classic/modern would never and vice versa, so it wouldn't make sense. It'd be another hypocrite situation like with X Eggman, which I'd like to avoid a repeat of. But unfortunately, in recent years people have tried to push the idea of Boom and classic/modern's personality and intentions being the same, when they aren't.
I have never understood trying to see goodness in him either, especially since it'll go nowhere as he's never genuinely going to step down from being the main villain and be redeemed. When I fell in love with classic/modern Eggman years before Boom existed, I never tried to find an excuse for his actions. Fictional characters can do terrible things and still be loveable and entertaining because they're fictional. We don't have to feel guilty for accepting them as they are or believe they have to change to justify liking them.
IDW once seemed promising in giving us a gloriously evil Eggman at the very beginning of the metal virus arc and I had high hope for it to remind people that modern is much more cruel and evil than Boom. But they acted like he was an incompetent joke later on and I don't like the direction they tried to take with the whole Tinker thing because both downplay his villainy, so I don't use often use IDW moments as my evidence anymore. There were good moments that can work as examples in later Archie but as always, I prefer to go by the game canon for my evidence.
Because even in the games, he's captured and used innocent animals in his robots, has been extremely harmful to the environment as he doesn't care as long as the world still exists for him to conquer, has awakened a god of destruction to destroy a city and build on its ruins, became an attempted suicide bomber when things didn't go as planned, held a 12 year old hostage with a gun to her head, tried to blow a 15 year old to smithereens, said that killing an 8 year old "would [be his] pleasure", split the world apart to awaken another monster and would've realistically killed thousands in the process, captured innocent aliens to harvest their energy, enslaved the D6 using the painful Cacophonic Conch, and his forces likely wiped out and killed many Resistance forces during the war in Forces. And those are just main series games, I could get into all the spinoffs/handheld games but need I say more?
He's a selfish egotistical bastard and there's no doubt that his actions resulted in the suffering and deaths of many. The only times he's helped save the world were to save his own ass and the world he wants to conquer, and get those other villains out of his way. He's also aware of the collateral damage of his plans, (there's no way he couldn't when he sees the results of his actions but he's even outright acknowledged it with the most blunt, careless tone in Lost World) yet shows no hesitation or remorse when doing things where others might get hurt, as long as he gets what he wants. He also manipulates others for his selfish gain, discards of anyone the moment they're no longer useful, and he'll seek to ruthlessly destroy anyone that gets in his way.
All of this leads me to believe he isn't someone that can be changed, excused, or forgiven. I don't headcanon him to have a tragic backstory to place the blame but even if he did, would it really justify his actions? Is it really possible for a man that goes such extreme and dangerous lengths to accomplish his selfish goals to ever suddenly regret it and care about others? I have yet to see anyone make it work in a believable way, as even official media like X and IDW can't pull it off when it makes him a hypocrite that contradicts his actions with no reasonable development. (Though even if there was, I just don't think that type of development could realistically happen.)
Meanwhile, Boom hasn't done anything near as bad as classic/modern game canon Eggman in the slightest. He's been evil on a much less deadly level and a jerk sometimes but that's about it. He has also done genuinely good deeds that didn't have secret selfish motives behind them. Unlike classic/modern, who only cares when something is also affecting him and when he can get something out of it. It's also implied that Boom just wants attention and friends and would even befriend Sonic and friends, while classic/modern Eggman only seeks to destroy them and makes it very clear how much he wants them to die for getting in his way, especially Sonic of course.
If someone is to explore that with Boom Eggman and consider him becoming much nicer over time or even completely redeemed, it makes much more sense to me. It's still not the most interesting to me personally as I love when villains are really evil, but it doesn't bother me. But as for classic/modern Eggman, I love him with all my heart but I know he's a terrible person for all the things he's done and that it's all his choice, so I don't try to excuse or defend his actions with the idea of "he's not so bad when he does things that can be considered good deeds sometimes." (Especially when selfish reasons can be found in those acts.)
I adore classic/modern Eggman's true villainy, it's resulted in all the most epic moments and the chaos he causes is thrilling. I love his evil egotistical ways and I wouldn't want to take it away from him. But at the same time, I can accept that Boom lacks a part of him that I like, so I wouldn't try to make him more evil than he was because I understand it wouldn't work. But people still try to believe that there's genuine good in classic/modern just like Boom, which also doesn't make sense when considering all the things he's gone. It's good that they're separate and can explore different things.
I have no problems with Boom Eggman being his own entirely separate and drastically different version and I absolutely love that classic/modern comes across as a cruel irredeemable bastard. So I accept their differences and I wouldn't try to change either of them!
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gamebunny-advance · 4 years ago
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The Thrilling Continuation~
@kujo-supernova​
As to not clog the dashes with increasingly long posts of anyone who has to put up with this, I started a new post~
[Original response here]
K, I agree with 95% of what you said, so I don't feel the need to go over it point by point. Even the stuff I don't agree with I’m not going to really address  because it's irrelevant to the argument I’m trying to make. This isn't even an argument about each other's opinions anymore so much as I'm just commenting on the fandom at large now. So basically everything I'm about to say is not really directed at you (except for the last part), and is more directed at this fictional straw man of the fandom that probably doesn't exist, but I'm gonna attack anyway because it helps illustrate my thought process.
But thanks for reading anyway if you do~
I don't take issue with the fandom because I'm trying to defend Kliff or say that anyone else is 100% in the wrong here. This is a story about flawed individuals that make bad decisions. It's multi-layered and complex, and that's why I love this game so much.
My issue is largely with how the fandom in general is hypocritical in the way they treat Kliff because they see him as *more* "wrong" than he actually is, but my goal is not to prove that he was in the “right”.
Yeah, B2J (mostly Mayday) did get to learn from the experience that they were wrong because they're the protagonists: the purpose of their story is to learn that lesson. Kliff exists to be Mayday's "shadow". He represents an extreme that Mayday could have become had she not realized that taking over NSR isn't the solution to her problem. But as the true antagonist, Kliff literally *can't* come to that same realization: it would be redundant. And that's fine. For the purposes of the story that it wanted to tell, Kliff getting a resolution was not necessary, even if it leaves him in a bad spot with the other characters.
But that story is done and now fandom gets to write new ones. He still has a lot of character that can be explored: Now that rock is back in the city, what will he do? Why is rock specifically so important to him? Why does he know so much about every artist in the city? Why does he look so much younger than he actually is? *cough*becausehe'savampire*cough*
But largely the fandom doesn't seem interested in exploring any of that and more than just a handful of people seem to outwardly reject the idea of writing him as even *capable* of the kind of growth that B2J went through.
I brought up DJSS specifically as a counterargument to Kliff because he is THE scummiest person in the cast for all the reasons you said and more, but he is still one of the most popular characters because he has a cool design and a sexy voice, and maybe some people see him as a "sad boi" and want to coddle him. I am also one of those people for all 3 1/2 of those reasons, but I don't believe that you need to think that a character is a good person to justify liking them. There's a lot of reasons to like a morally gray or even morally black character, and agreeing with their actions/opinions doesn't need to be one of them.
I just think it's hypocritical to excuse one character for their flaws and not another with similar ones. Like there's some nuance to it that can change what makes something okay in one context and not okay in another, but I think the comparison between DJSS and Kliff is apt.
In my opinion their shared flaw is being egocentric. They are both willing to sacrifice the health and happiness of others for their own agendas. They express it in different ways, but it all comes from the same place: They think that what they're trying to achieve is more important than the feelings/condition of others.
DJSS seriously does not give a damn about anyone other than himself and he doesn't even have the courtesy to try and hide it. Even after his district is restored, he's still the same asshole he always was. He STILL calls B2J "Plutonians" (and I don't count him saying that "they aren't so bad after all" as "change", because even as a professor he was capable of expressing backhanded gratitude) and his reason for playing music is STILL "self-importance". He is in the same place that he started and will probably continue to abuse his district over his sense of ego unless Tatiana or someone else finally forces him not to. And everyone either accepts that or disregards it because that's just who he is. And again, that's fine, but I find it hypocritical.
Like I feel like many people's problems with Kliff is that they're not interested in exploring his character beyond what has been presented in the text. And that's fine too. It is perfectly valid to enjoy the game as it is and not want to explore it beyond that, but if having such a small scope of a game's themes and characters causes you to get "bugged" when someone presents a different interpretation, then it might be beneficial to look at another reading.
For example, let's go back to the satellite argument. My point about the satellite being "symbolic" was to disprove "murderous intent". His motivations for dropping it are totally separate. You say that you still think his motivation is being fueled by bitterness over Tatiana leaving rock. Your exact words: "I still think part of it was done out of spiteness for Tatiana leaving rock", but I feel like that's a very surface level reading.
In my opinion, rock is just the window dressing to the core of his actual problem: he feels like he's not getting back what he gave. He drops the satellite after her response to this question: "Did my loyalty mean nothing to you?" Which was, "I don't give a damn about you. I owe you nothing." which I think is far from a trivial response.
In any relationship, even a non-romantic one like this, it hurts knowing that the other person isn't as invested in it as you are. Even more so if they were to flat out say, "I don't give a damn about you." Like, can you imagine being told by your favorite content creator that they hated you to your face after you've done everything you could do to support them as a fan? Would most people react calmly to that in the heat of the moment?
Like we don't know the extent that Kliff was involved in Tatiana's life, but Tatiana never implies that he's lying about supporting her after the Goolings disbanded. Their relationship couldn't have been completely parasocial because she immediately recognizes him and addresses him by name when she sees him, and her being Kul Fyra isn't common or easy to obtain knowledge, so he must have been close to her to even know that. We know what he may have been willing to do for her given how much he helps B2J, and had Tatiana been upfront about her feelings with Kliff in the past, then I don't think he would have even bothered to give his sob story because he would have known that she wouldn't be receptive to it.
What I'm getting at is that "abandoning rock" isn't the actual reason he felt hurt enough to want to retaliate. It was likely more about "abandoning him" than it is a loyalty to any particular genre.
Even with this reading of his motivation, I don't think he was justified in doing what he did. Tatiana was totally right in calling him out, even if she was harsh about it, because in the end it doesn't matter how much he might have done for her if she didn't want it to begin with. He should have just walked away and accepted that she wasn't the person he thought she was, but people don't always do the right or rational thing, especially if they're caught up in the heat of their emotions and I think that's a relatable emotion worthy of discussion and dissection, even if it's not positive.
Will reading any of that change your mind? Probably not, but it's another perspective, and that's really all I want to offer.
Saying you're okay with someone liking something that you don't, isn't the same as understanding it, and that's what I want to change. I don't need anyone to agree with me, I wouldn’t start these discussions with strangers if I did. My end goal is to get you to understand where I'm coming from, and I think you're just *barely* missing my point. Hopefully I’m understanding your points too, but maybe I’m wrong about you’re getting at as well. UoU
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aurirising · 4 years ago
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Another potentially unpopular/controversial opinion
From the girl who brought you the long defense of Kal/call out of the squad, comes the thrilling and really rather contradictory sequel. I humbly present to you A Defense of Squad 312 because nuance is fun and important and I'm nothing if not fair in a situation like this.
Okay, so, to clarify, I'm not necessarily going to be saying that their actions were morally right or that I agree with them per se, but, what I am going to do is explain why some of them make sense and are understandable given the circumstances and who the characters are as people.
I'm gonna go character by character here and first up we have Scarlett. Go big or go home right?
So, Scarlett has possibly the worst reaction, but also the most justified. Everyone in that squad has gone through absolute hell but Scarlett has at this point suffered the most, second only to maybe Auri (who has had time to process and let go and move on and stuff in the Echo but we can get to that later). Let's remember that both books in their entirety span less than 2 WEEKS and in that time Scarlett has:
Had a death scare for her brother on the very night all this started
Been shoved into an incredibly dangerous mission which she, along with everyone else, was completely unprepared for
Been attacked by God knows how many different groups of people almost everyday INCLUDING AURI, even if that wasn't really her and she didn't want to do that
Lost her absolute best friend in the universe thanks to this mission neither of them really signed up for
Had to watch her brother, the only family she has left who she absolutely adores, fight a monster with a TINY KNIFE and almost watch him get killed right in front of her
Watched all the people she's grown to care for and feels at least somewhat responsible for get hurt and nearly killed over and over again
Actually lost her brother to the clutches of the very people/being that took away her best friend maybe a week ago and doesn't know if he's even still alive or what might be happening to him
Been thrown into a leadership role she has never wanted or trained for under the absolute worst circumstances and doesn't have time to grieve anything that's happened to her and is now being slowly crushed under the pressure of leading the squad and keeping them safe that even Tyler - the best Alpha in their year - struggled with
And this isn't even to mention the fact that the Starslayer killed her father and his relation to Kal did in fact put them all at higher risk from the Unbroken even if, like I mentioned in my Kal post, this can't all be blamed straight on him.
Now, although this isn't all Kal's fault and, if Scarlett was thinking more rationally, she'd realise that, you have to remember that she ISN'T thinking rationally. Look at that list and tell me that if you'd been through all that, you'd be thinking clearly and I will straight up call you a liar because we humans are incredibly emotional beings and stress and loss makes us do all kinds of things we'd not normally do. And Scarlett, well Scarlett is one of the most deeply emotional people of all.
Throughout both books, it's repeatedly said and shown how much and how deeply she cares, even about these people she's only just met, and, I mean, she's a FACE for gods sake, feelings and caring about people and being in touch with the emotions of others to better negotiate is literally part of her job and one of her core personality traits. If that kind of stuff would destroy any one of us, it would without a doubt destroy her too. And then to get such an earth-shattering piece of news that could at first glance link directly to most of her problems? Well that is just the straw that breaks the Camel's back and so she lashes out. It makes sense, it's understandable and an emotional response that doesn't come out of nowhere. It's been built to all this time and no, it's not fair and it's not right, but when you snap, you snap and Kal is about the only thing right in front of her that she can see having caused her some of these problems that she can let it out on.
I want to reiterate once again that this isn't right. It's not an action that's supposed to be okay, it's one that highlights the flaws in good people and that doing what's right isn't always easy and people sometimes act selfishly. But the fact remains that she had a reason for behaving how she did, even if it wasn't a good reason, and though she acted incredibly harshly, that doesn't make her a bad person, it just makes her a person.
Also like, if I remember rightly it wasn't her who was first to tell Kal he needed to leave but choosing as the leader to do so also makes sense in circumstance. Something like that reveal will create something of a rift whether people want it to or not. When you find something like that out, you absolutely would start questioning what you know about a person in even the best of times and, as we've already established, this is far from the best of times. With everything going on and the crushing weight of grief and anxiety and fear and doubt and everything else she's feeling, it isn't surprising that she would opt for the simplest solution to this. Whether Kal was trustworthy or not and regardless of whether he'd been the cause of any problems before or would be in the future, if he's not there, he can't possibly cause any further problems and they can focus on what they have to do without that extra worry on their minds. In both a tactical leadership sense and from a highly emotional view, it makes sense and I get why she and the others chose that.
Once again, I'm not saying it's fair or right or just, but it is understandable and one poor and somewhat cruel decision does not make Scarlett a mean person.
Okay, moving on. You'll be glad to know I'm not gonna go on so much with the other characters because there was significantly more to talk about in regards to Scarlett than any of the others.
I'm actually gonna talk about Fin and Zila together because I feel a lot of their reaction comes from a similar place and they handle it in ways not too different from each other.
So for both of these guys I got the impression that they were more shell shocked and a little hurt rather than truly angry like Scarlett. They don't do or say a whole lot in this scene in comparison to Scar and Auri and Zila even tries to mediate just the tiniest bit at the begining. Both of them really seem to mostly be puzzling it out and trying to deal with the hurt of being deceived somewhat (especially Fin after he'd shared some meaningful bonding moments with Kal and had also come to him about the note and been lied to then) and barely get involved in the whole thing. Fin really only does when it looks like things are about to get physical between Kal and Scarlett and it's more out of worry that her rage is going to get her hurt if she tries to punch him or something (which is exactly what happens). And Zila is just in distress throughout the whole thing and again this doesn't seem to be specifically because of Kal but more from the fracturing of this group she'd started to feel at home in and like she belonged. She'd been coming out of her shell in the last few days after finally letting these people in and starting to feel safe with them and then this huge fight and breaking up happens and it's like another family unit is all being ripped away from her again and it triggers that trauma response that makes her start shutting down again.
Similarly I can see some of that response happening a little bit in Fin because he also has never felt like he belonged and has always been cast out and he finally found a group that cared about him and didn't consider him a burden because of his disability and he's also having that torn apart which can't be easy even if he seems to handle it better than Zila since it's more traumatic for her.
They both have milder reactions that are able to be somewhat more logical in approach since they comparatively have less emotional investment in some of the implications of this reveal than both Scarlett and Auri do. However, they're both still deeply hurt by the fracture this has caused within the group and Kal is in fact part of the cause of that fracture for them so they go along with Auri and Scarlett (who is literally their leader now and following orders and sticking together is so important to these two now that they have this group. They don't want to lose any more of it). And like I mentioned in the Scarlett section, they're smart and they recognise that distrust within the group as they head into what's next is incredibly dangerous and a huge detriment to the mission so since they are understandably hurt and a bit unsure now, they make the logical decision to reduce the potential risk in keeping him around.
Okay so a quick bit on Tyler. He, like Scarlett, is understandably hurt by finding out about Kal but his reaction is muted and more reasonable after what he's gone through with Saedii on the TDF ship and also due to the gravity of his situation and everything going on with Cat somewhat overshadowing it all. I don't think anyone is really mad at Tyler so I'll move on, but I think his level of hurt, betrayal, and anger is more in line with what I'd expect from him and probably Scarlett if she hadn't been through all she had and was being more rational.
So, where my irritation starts coming into play more is with Auri. She's spent 6 months with Kal in the Echo where they grew closer and more in love and I guess I can see questioning all that because if he lied about that for all that time then what else could he lie about? But there's also the debate to be had about certain point of view like in Star Wars and whether omission of something that might never really have needed to be said is acceptable. And the thing is, I can't give a definitive answer on that because every person is going to have a different opinion on that idea in general and on Kal's handling of this situation in particular based on what we've experienced in our own lives and where we draw the right/wrong line or handle the grey area of morality. With something like this, there really isn't much in the way of a right answer and that's okay.
But I think the thing I see with Auri which makes her a bit more understandable here is how she's using Kal's OWN WORDS to rationalise this and figure out how to feel. "And I remember you said our past makes us what we are." That part in bold is what Kal told her, what she knows he believes. When you know someone holds that belief and then you find out THAT is their past, there will be a question mark over them no matter how well you think you know them.
Also, Auri has dealt with so much loss lately and time and again people and systems she should have been able to trust and feel safe with have let her down or turned against her and, speaking as someone with some level of trust issues, I know it's incredibly hard to get rid of doubt after it's started to set in and all too easy to call up any small moment that might support that doubt, so I can see why Auri might be doing that now.
I am still personally of the opinion that Auri should have reacted better and known him well enough to not have acted that way but remember this is a defense post and I already gave the other side (at least most of it) on my Kal defense post.
I think we're gonna leave it here now. And in conclusion of both of these posts, whichever side of this you come down on more (or even if you sit in the middle like me), that's completely fine and valid and you're not wrong for feeling a certain way about a situation like this. Fundamentally, it comes down to which characters you most identify with and who's experiences most resonate with you.
It's not a clear cut right and wrong thing because literally every single character handled something badly and everyone's motives, including Kal's, were understandable in some way and believable. They're all people and people are flawed and selfish and jump to conclusions and lash out and although we have to remember that those aren't morally sound things to do, they're a shared human experience.
I know no one asked for this long-ass analysis of this scene and situation but as a writer and film student, scene and character analysis is kinda what I DO so I thought I'd go ahead and make this post. Something like this is actually brilliant writing from Jay and Amie because there's a lot more nuance to it than a quick glance at the situation might suggest and since it's such a hot topic in this fandom after Aurora Burning, I wanted to address it and make sure a bit more of an in depth look was taken into exactly what happened.
Anyway,
Tl;dr: this is something of a counter point to my Kal defense post and every member of the squad had understandable reason for reacting the way they did in this situation, even if they may have been too harsh. People are flawed and these characters are no exception, but that's okay.
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mbtiofwhys · 4 years ago
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Persona 5 and how MBTI can expose writing (in)consistency
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Disclaimer
We’re studying writing and narratology as self taught, we are passionate about narrative in general and we believe in MBTI as a tool to analyse things and frame both reality and fiction in a different way. These are our opinions on the matter of how MBTI can be useful in approaching plot and character consistency, but don’t take it as a scientific paper;
We’re writing this article after a good 3 runs and various hundred of hours spent in this game per mod. We’ve already analysed the whole main cast and tried to explore everyone of them more in depth, so please don’t take anything in this article as an attack to a certain character or the game as a whole. We love P5 and P5R wholeheartedly - for this reason, we can’t overlook problems when they arise;
Big huge enormous spoilers for both P5 and P5R.
Premise
Characters are the most important element of a story - yes, even more important than the plot. Especially if you consider that a plot is, basically, characters doing stuff to reach a goal. Lots of stories revolve around a particular event or atmosphere, a fictional world to explore, or an issue, but there will always be characters in them because, as human beings, we’re attracted to people, their flaws and their problems.
So, if characters are the basis of a story, going deeper we see how fictional works tell us about how and why people overcome hardships and become a better person in the process (tragedies surely exist, but they aren’t the norm). That’s what is called the transformation arc.
That being said, how do we use MBTI? Since cognition is essential and behaviors mean nothing, we tend to look at characters both from a narrative and metanarrative standpoint. This means putting aside what characters do or what they like, and focusing on how they gain information, make decision and what are their motives. Since stories tell us about people and their struggles, it’s interesting to understand why characters act in a certain way, what really moves them forward. 
This approach, inevitably, must compromise with the fact that fiction is made by people, and people can make mistakes. Works of fiction aren’t flawless and sometimes, trying to find what type a character is, is a way to bring light to those problems. Rules are a social construct, they’re fluid and constantly change, but they also provide useful tools to analyze stories, discovering their strength and their flaws. So, stories aren’t defined solely on strict rules, however MBTI can push one to better understand what is a good story or a well-written character and, vice-versa, why stories can fail to amaze us.
Why Persona 5?
Because it’s an excellent case study to show both how our typing process must adapt to face different situations, and what means to analyse a wide cast of characters that aren’t always perfectly written. The cast, though, is diverse enough that you can have characters with similar or opposite types that interact for 100+ hours, and this creates a very interesting setting for comparison and conflict.
Moreover, the confidant system can be a golden source MBTI-wise, because, if properly developed, a confidant can give us great insights about the character, or show other sides of them outside the main plot. 
Tropes and typing
Persona 5 offers really great examples of what means to differentiate between typology and tropes when typing. Since we’re talking about fictional characters, we must acknowledge that sometimes there is a correlation between certain tropes/archetypes and certain types (mbtinotes on Tumblr talks about this more in depth here: https://mbti-notes.tumblr.com/spotting#fiction ). This, though, isn’t a rule and mustn’t become a limitation when typing, because cognitive functions work regardless of tropes, exactly as they do regardless of behaviors. P5 has both types that follow the tropes they are often associated with, and types that are completely different. 
Ryuji is one of the main example belonging to the first case. He matches the Book dumb and Dumb blonde tropes, alongside with the Hot-blooded and Idiot hero ones. Those traits are usually linked to Se doms: always hungry and with lots of energy. In Ryuji’s case, though, he’s not an ESFP (only) because he’s loud and reckless, but also due to his approach to life and general cognitive process. That being said, it’s also true that he embodies the most common conception of what an ESFP looks like.
A similar example also applies to Akechi: he’s presented as the smart ace detective (The Ace) and later on as the mastermind traitor. He possesses many traits often linked to ENTJs, especially when they’re the villain, antagonist or anti-hero of the story. This doesn’t serve as a limit to his character though, and Akechi shares the majority of a young ENTJ’s cognitive process, alongside with some of its tropes.
On the other hand, P5 also offers characters belonging to the second case, for whom only looking at their tropes and role in the plot can be misleading typing-wise.
It's the case of Futaba: she’s an INFP according to our typing process, however the game always stresses her quirky and antisocial side, something so strong it defines her as a person even after her narrative arc. This is why many people type her as INTP, since those traits are often linked to Ti doms, high Ne users or rationalist types.
Another example is Yusuke: we typed him INTJ even though the community often refers to him as an ISFP. Our main complain regarding Yusuke as an ISFP is about how this type is justified only using the tropes he’s associated with. Since Yusuke is a bizarre artist and a weirdo, he must also be an ISFP in love with painting, art and beauty, right? Well, this is true, but not because he’s an ISFP. His behaviors don’t stem from an ISFP cognition, rather from the one of an INTJ, in our opinion.
Narrative arcs
Narrative arcs define the plot, but (following a shonen structure) they also sadly tend to be too much stand alone in the game, especially when it comes to character development. This leads to a situation where characters shine in their narrative arc, but then just sit in the background for the rest of the game, as a part of the Phantom Thieves. This isn’t entirely a bad thing, since Persona 5 revolves around a large cast of characters and tends to focus more on the group as a whole, so this structure suits the game’s leitmotif appropriately. However, narrative arcs surely enhance what we said about tropes and stereotypes, not always in a good way. 
There’s also the problem of characters following the plot/comic gags instead of the opposite. A story may undoubtedly be full of gags and fanservice without it compromising its characters and their purpose inside the narration, but problems arise when said characters must adhere to rules set by the plot, rather than being realistic people freely taking actions and making mistakes.
More specifically, we’re referring to:
Ann and harassment
This, in our opinion, is the most emblematic case about narrative arcs and how they tend to be isolated from the rest of the game. Ann’s arc doesn’t revolve around a big issue, differently from others later on where the Phantom Thieves face threats against the entire Japan. However, Kamoshida feels like a real villain and the pain inflicted to his students isn’t less relevant than other issues. The firs arc tells us a story about harassment, how it may lead to victim blaming, social exclusion and extreme actions like Shiho’s attempted suicide. So, the game surely starts with a realist and captivating take, but what lies after it? Sadly, not much. From that moment on, Ann still remains the most sexualised member of the group and is often the one whose body is used as a tool to gain intel or other useful things - Yusuke’s modeling affair and the second letter of recommendation on Shido’s ship are just two blatant example.
And while Ryuji’s confidant is simple and straightforward yet still works properly, Ann’s one can be dull, revolving around characters less interesting and engaging than the ones we see during Kamoshida’s arc. Moreover, her confidant takes place while Shiho is still recovering, so we see her mentioned only few times.
Makoto and duty
Every awakening in Persona 5 is thrilling and moving but, speaking for us mods, we think that Makoto has one of the most galvanizing. Her arc embraces the leitmotif of rebellion and it works even better than the others since she always appears as a diligent and polite student. But is there something more after her awakening? Sadly, as we saw for Ann, the answer is no. Makoto’s confidant is plain, a simple solution placed by developers to show her personality while introducing new characters. It works, but it doesn’t give a further twist to the premise the game showed during her awakening. Not to mention that, despite her decision to less blindly follow the rules, Makoto is often relegated to the mom friend/dutiful student role, reminding others of rules and schoolwork and stuff. Yes, she has a relevant role in Sae’s arc, but we still find her confidant lacking what is shown during Kaneshiro’s arc.
Futaba and self growth
Futaba’s arc is interesting on many levels, especially because we see how a hikikomori undergoing severe traumas can overcome them, thus becoming a healthier person. Even though her arc is one of the most emotional in the game, Futaba quickly resets to a stage where she’s more of a comic relief than a vivid character and she often kicks in just to mock the other thieves or to solve problems tied to computer science and technology. Yes, this is coherent to her character, at the same time it often closes her in stereotypes since Futaba is limited by those roles rather than showing her new and mature side.
Kasumi and Sumire and the lack of closure
Sumire’s arc and confidant deal with finding acceptance and a new balance between her old and new self, since Sumire slowly accepts her sister’s death. Or, at least, this is what the game tries to convey to the players. We love what Persona 5 Royal added to the main game and we played both versions for hundred of hours, however we must admit how both of us mods found lack of proper character development throughout Sumire’s confidant. Her arc does a great job in showing how much pain she had to endure and how she begins to live with her sister’s death. But at the same time her confidant doesn’t give her a new starting point, in our opinion. Why? Because reaching rank ten with Sumire means that she just finds a new way to be tied to Kasumi, and not in a completely healthy way. Sumire admits how gymnastic was a way to be together with her sister and how she loved accessory activities tied to the sport, like eating ice cream after training, more than the sport itself. So, Sumire never really cared about the competitive side of gymnastic and, at the end of her confidant, it seems like she sticks with it just as a way to be tied to Kasumi again. Yes, this is surely a healthier way than the one she took with Maruki’s help, and we know how our opinion regarding Sumire can be controversial, at the same time we don’t think her confidant truly ends her arc properly.
What has typing every character highlighted?
After 3 playthroughs, two platinum trophies and many hours spent discussing this group of punks, we used MBTI to give a structure to our articles and, unexpectedly, we often had to slightly change our approach in typing the main cast. It’s been a huge project of analysis, research, reading online discussions and further learning. In the end, we’d like to write down our own conclusion about these characters. This specific section might be a bit more about our personal opinions, though.
Protagonist (ENFP)
Typing the protagonist was the wildest part of this project. Since he’s mostly an avatar controlled by the player, we knew everything had to be taken with a grain of salt. We separated canon from player’s choices, as a way to find what makes the protagonist a real character (sadly, not as much as he would have deserved). We also tried not to rely too much on gameplay mechanics in typing. In the end, we progressed by process of elimination, discarding the option that surely didn’t fit. We agreed on ENFP for him, but ENTP isn’t a bad match either. Even if a character so malleable by the player can’t be associated to a single type so easily, we do believe that a starting point somehow exists. Our hope for the future is that in new games we’ll get to play a real character, though.
Morgana (ESTJ)
Morgana was pretty hard to type, especially regarding the perceiving axis - which is a pity, because he’s not the stock ESTJ type of character. But since he’s the mascot of the Phantom Thieves, Morgana is often even more stereotyped than the other characters. He decently shows his dominant function during the game, but way less his auxiliary and tertiary ones, since his personality gets subdued by his function as the sidekick of the protagonist.
Ryuji (ESFP)
We talked above how tropes aren’t always detrimental and Ryuji is the perfect example of this concept. He was the easiest character to type, due to his simple (yet defined) personality. Ryuji demonstrates how a character doesn’t have to be complex or multifaceted to be interesting and loveable.
Ann (ESFJ)
Ann is the opposite case of Ryuji: a character driven by plot rather than by being a vivid person. We aren’t saying we dislike Ann (honestly there isn’t a thief we properly dislike), but we must admit how typing her was really difficult, and not because she’s too complex. It’s safe to assume she’s a Fe dom, however the game doesn’t give any solid clue about her perceiving axis - we traced down Si only by elimination and because her confidant show a clear FeNe loop, but otherwise the game offers nearly no clue of her Si (or Ti). Ann’s personality can’t shine properly in a game where, outside her narrative arc, she often has to follow the role of the ‘attractive/supportive character’ assigned to her. 
Yusuke (INTJ)
Yusuke is an interesting case: typing him wasn’t easy, but, contrary to Ann, just because he’s more complex than he may appear. Under the ‘artist’ trope (that misled the majority of the community towards ISFP) there’s a character with less predictable sides and a well-written arc. Also, a very nice example of a non-textbook INTJ, since these types are often associated with science and/or greater battles in life. Yusuke was a nice surprise to find.
Makoto (ISTJ)
Typing Makoto was a bit of a slow process, since there isn’t a popular type assigned to her by the community. At the same time, identifying her cognitive functions wasn’t too hard, so we can at least say she’s a relatively solid character, meaning that even if she’s mostly a textbook ISTJ, she still shows the development process of her inferior Ne and tertiary Fi in her confidant. Her growth is pretty linear, and the problem lies precisely in the lack of a proper twist in her personality, since she could have been far more interesting and less predictable.
Futaba (INFP)
Futaba was hands down the hardest character to type, since she’s tied to all the stereotypes of being quirky, asocial and nerd, usually associated with INTPs. Futaba perfectly shows how a theoretically well-written character can’t shine under specific circumstances: she has an emotional and complex arc, which was in fact our starting point in typing her, since it’s a pretty clear example of a FiSi loop. Yet, she acts more as a comic relief or as a source to solve IT-related problems, and her functions aren’t properly shown.
Haru (INFJ)
Despite the meme of Atlus hating her and not giving her the proper screen time (which isn’t untrue), Haru was pretty easy to type. She’s a nice example of how a character doesn’t have to follow his type’s tropes to feel real. Haru isn’t the typical daydreaming INFJ with a saviour complex, and in fact she gets sometimes mistyped as INFP. Unluckily, as for Ann, the game doesn’t do a good job in giving her a well-rounded personality, and in fact finding evidences of her third and fourth functions was pretty hard.
Goro (ENTJ)
Akechi is probably the most multifaceted and complex character in the game, at least in P5 vanilla - we believe Maruki lowkey stole that record in Royal. However, since he’s a well-written one (even if he still lacks a proper narrative arc, to a certain extent), Akechi wasn’t hard to type. The most interesting thing is that he may seem the classic ENTJ with a psychopath/killer personality, but in reality, he probably doesn’t suffer from any mental illness, and his character revolves around what happens when functions are used unhealthily, or are excessively underdeveloped. For this exact reason, though, we find a pity that the game doesn’t properly address the consequences and aftermath of a teen that had to commit severe crimes and murder people to find a place in life.
Kasumi (ENFP) and Sumire (ISFJ)
There’s a lot to say about Kasumi and Sumire, especially regarding their role in the plot and their confidants. Typing them wasn’t easy, since we only see Kasumi through Sumire’s actions, and both of them have a half-confidant instead of a proper one each. So, with both sisters we had to proceed a bit by process of elimination, since they appear for a relatively short time and without super strong evidences of their types despite a few functions. Sadly, they highlighted how writing characters for plot’s sake rather than by making them vivid may lead to incomplete narrative arcs.
We’ve come to the end of this article. Thank you for reading!
This officially concludes our journey with the P5 main cast - it’s been a wonderful experience to learn more about both MBTI and the characters of the game we loved so much. If you want to discuss things with us, we’ll gladly listen. You can reach out here on Tumblr in comments, asks and dms, as well as on Instagram.
(And, if you’re interested, we’ve also wrote about Maruki, Sojiro and Tae).
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elixir448 · 5 years ago
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Good Girls 3x01 Thoughts and A Very Bad Attempt at Speculation
What an episode! I felt like we were moving at breakneck speed and the commercial breaks weren’t enough time for me to catch my breath. It was super fun to watch the episode live with everyone and freak out together, even though I doubt I’ll be able to pull it off next week.
Anyway, if it’s not obvious, I really loved the episode and now that I’ve had some time to digest everything that happened, I have a lot of thoughts.
Opening Montage
This show loves a good montage, particularly an opening montage. This one did not disappoint and really dove straight into the meat of the episode, which was Beth struggling with her guilt over shooting Rio (see below) and the girls trying to perfect their counterfeit cash.
I love that there was no dilly-dallying. No prolonged pretense that the girls are law-abiding citizens now. Nope, they’re trying to do everything they can to get their money-making hustle started up. All the jobs make so much sense:
Beth - she loves crafting, she uses it all the time and she’s good at it. There’s literally no place that makes more sense for her to work at!
Ruby - I recall from last season that she had a friend who worked at a nail salon and did her nails for Thanksgiving and it just makes sense that she would be good at doing nails since hers have always been on point during the last two seasons.
Annie - the shot where she was skidding into view was perfect! The job fits so well with her recklessness and I felt like it was such a good callback to her driving the Porsche in 1x01.
Beth’s Guilt
I know people have had a lot of thoughts regarding this. I agree with some of them and not so much with others. Personally, I think it was well-handled overall and I don’t think we’ve seen everything that this storyline has to offer yet. We’re only on episode 1 of a 16 episode season!
One of the main complaints I’ve seen is that Beth was pretty flippant at times with the fact that she killed Rio, saying things like “I don’t wanna bring him back” and “I think we could take him because I’m guessing he’s mostly skull.” While I agree that these remarks are flippant and disrespectful, I also think it’s really significant that this only happened in the presence of other people, like Ruby, Annie and Dean. In the first instance, with Ruby and Annie, I think she was trying to downplay the extent of how messed up she must have been feeling to have approached Rhea and Marcus in the first place; by saying that she doesn’t want Rio back, it makes it seem as though her only intent was to try to help Rhea and Marcus in some way, rather than because of the fact that she has been profoundly traumatised by what happened. Don’t even get me started on the fact that Ruby points out “It’s not going to bring him back!” This is Beth’s best friend and sister and for her to feel the need to point this out shows that she recognises that there is something extremely unhealthy about Beth’s behaviour but also that it’s about more than just guilt.
With Dean, I think it’s notable that he apologised about the fact he brought up Rio, acknowledging that it might be a trigger for Beth. That indicates that over the 4 month time skip that we’ve had, it’s potentially an issue that has come up. By living in the same household as her, he maybe picked up on the fact that she is not, in fact, okay. Trigger is a word that is very much used in the context of mental health issues and it’s significant to me that even Dean has picked up on this. Furthermore, she never even mentioned that she was going to paint the girls’ room purple to him; she clearly doesn’t value his opinion very much and we know that Beth is a fairly emotionally clammed-up character; I can’t see her revealing the slightest thing to Dean about how she feels regarding Rio’s death, beyond her crying and collapsing into Dean in 2x13 following the shock and trauma of it all.
Another thing that’s important to acknowledge is that nobody, not Dean and not even Ruby or Annie, knew what Beth and Rio were to each other. Hell, Beth didn’t even know what they were to each other. They shifted from antagonists, to two people who were orbiting around one another, back to antagonists, to two people who had sex, to business partners, to friends (and very tentatively on Beth’s part, Rio was a confidante for her), to lovers and then to ‘work’. There was probably so much more in between and a lot of overlap. Even the terminology I’ve used here doesn’t really fit their relationship! I mean, it’s hard to put the label of lovers on Beth and Rio when they had sex twice and never even had a defined sexual relationship. And they were always orbiting around one another. They still are. They never interacted once in this episode and yet Rio’s shadow hangs over almost all of Beth’s scenes. These storylines are driving the plot forwards and this episode basically pulled that rope that’s been around the two of them for so long now even tighter.
Let’s bear in mind Ruby and, in particular, Annie’s reaction to finding out that Beth and Rio had sex; basically, they were shocked, horrifed and, on Annie’s part, judgemental. They never saw Beth and Rio in the moments that we, the audience, saw them in. In 2x09, Dean believed that Beth having sex with Rio was a direct consequence of him cheating when we know it wasn’t; Beth also hit Dean right where it hurts and said that she just really liked having sex with Rio but we know that she was emasculating Dean in that moment.
By acknowledging how torn up she is over Rio’s death, Beth would have to unpack everything she felt for Rio, after she ‘murdered’ him. She was never able to do this even while he was alive; in fact, she struggled to even acknowledge what was happening and the connection between them. If she shared this with the people in her lives, none of whom understood what she and Rio were to one another...well, what would be the point? He’s gone, she feels guilty and the truth is that guilt and remorse don’t bring people back from the dead.
We get it but they don’t and they never have.
The other complaint I’ve seen is that Beth’s guilt seems to be solely tied to taking Rio away from his son. I can partially understand this but I do think that it’s not the sole reason for Beth’s guilt and it certainly wasn’t the only reason for her guilt that was depicted in this episode. The opening montage alone is a terrific example of this.
It starts with Beth in this dimly lit environment and then when she snaps out of it and realises she’s in front of a customer, we see that she’s actually in a shop and the customer is in a brightly lit portion of it, in front of the counter, while it’s much darker behind Beth. It might mean nothing but the way that scene starts really indicates to me that thinking of Rio takes Beth to a dark place.
In the opening scene, Beth reflects on Rio. The man. The fact that this was a man she knew. But did she really? He’s gone now though. And she feels weird. Suddently confronted by the abruptness of death. There’s no mention of his family in this scene at all. She thinks mainly about his death, how it’s haunting her and how she isn’t sure if she ever really knew him. It’s clear to me that she doesn’t just feel guilty because of Marcus. The scene really underlines how much time Beth has spent thinking about Rio and about him alone.
Despite this, she has four kids. The introduction of Marcus in 2x01 gave Beth an insight into Rio’s life that he had carefully orchestrated to make her realise that they were more similar than she wanted to admit and that they had similar motivations. Their children are certainly not the only things in their lives that connect them. Beth and Rio see each other and they always have. They enjoy the thrill they get from crime but they also have families to provide for. It’s justified until it isn’t. Basically, I think Marcus being a major perpetuating factor for Beth’s guilt makes complete sense and it would be strange if this was less of a factor than it was portrayed as in this episode. They were both parents and of course Marcus is representative of the pain she caused when she shot Rio.
Rhea’s Cheque and Rio’s Money
I’m going to include this discussion here just because I think it links up nicely with Beth’s guilt. Also I weirdly love that Beth and Rhea were wearing the same colour in this scene. I don’t really know what it represents but Rhea has clearly opened up to Beth over the past 4 months and Beth opened up to Rhea in this scene, sharing her financial troubles, so maybe it has something to do with that.
It was so difficult to watch these events unfold on screen. I remember thinking gosh, I really hope Beth doesn’t cash that cheque but also kind of hoping she would because of the plot potential with the consequences of such an action.
Beth is at her very lowest here. I think the last time we saw her come close to this was when Dean took the kids in 2x08 and we saw the aftermath of that in 2x09. Emotionally, financially, ethically and morally, she has hit an absolute low and she knows it. She obviously feels like a crap person and spent the entire night thinking about cashing the cheque, about Rio, about Rhea and about Marcus. Honestly, it’s heartbreaking to watch.
I think it’s really important to highlight the financial burden she’s facing at the moment. She risks losing the roof over her family’s heads. Her kids’ heads. Her babies.
It’s also important to point out that, of the three girls, Beth is the only one who is in a dire financial situation right now. Stan is raking in the money at his new job, even though both he and Ruby clearly don’t love it, and the Hills are making ends meet for Sara’s post-transplant medications. Also, as they no longer seem to be paying a lawyer to have the charges against Stan dropped, it looks like that financial burden has been removed too. Annie no longer has to pay a custody lawyer and is not at risk of losing Sadie (I have no clue what happened with the drug felony charges; I think that was dropped as a storyline between seasons 1 and 2); I do think she needs money for hormonal blockade medication but it was not mentioned in this episode. My point is that, in this episode, it’s very clear that Beth is in big trouble financially and is imminently at risk of losing their family home.
I love that the writer’s aren’t shying away from the implications of such an action and that it’s a real moral dillema, both for Beth and for us as the audience. They aren’t portraying Beth as a sanctimonious individual in this episode. She doesn’t know that Rio’s coming for her so she has nothing to fear on that front in this episode. She ruminates for an entire night. Just because she thought long and hard about it doesn’t justify her actions. Of course it doesn’t! It’s still utterly reprehensible and she’s agonising over that. But it’s necessary. And I love that the writer’s are choosing to depict such a complex, deplorable act on screen by a main character!
New and Returning Side Characters
JT - I cannot even begin to describe how happy I was to see JT in the first episode. We knew he was returning from the news during hiatus but this was even better than I expected. The actor had such brilliant chemistry with Retta in season 2 and with Christina and Mae in 2x09. The four of them just clicked and were hilarious in the two scenes they shared in this episode. I wonder if the issue with him using Ruby’s address for access to her school district will be explored further in this season or if that storyline won’t be mentioned again, especially since it seems that scam is just running in the background now!
Lucy - She is just precious! I adore her already and Charlyne Yi is amazing. I am so consistently impressed by the casting for this show and I really feel like Charlyne is going to fill the James Lesure shaped hole in my heart right now. She clearly adores Oju (sorry if I’ve spelt that incorrectly!) and I’m starting to wonder if Annie kidnaps Oju as a way of preventing Lucy from getting in their way, for example, if she demands a cut or if she decides to tell someone about the counterfeit cash or take advantage of the girls in some other way, just like they have with her. Or perhaps Rio interacts with Lucy at some point this season? Oh my god. All the possibilities are making my head spin!
Krystal - What a genuine sweetheart! Noureen DeWulf did an incredible job and I pretty much fell in love Krystal immediately. The fact that she thought to give a gift basket to the Hills? And the whole scene with the gag reflex? I adore her. I’m really crossing my fingers for a Stan and Krystal friendship arc. They are both such wholesome individuals and I hope that Ruby comes to recognise Krystal for who she seems to be so far, which is a genuinely nice gal. Also, we know that Onyx (played by Megan thee Stallion) is going to be up to no good so I’m excited to see her interact with Krystal and Stan on screen! God please give me Krystal and Stan having each other’s backs.
Rhea - Jackie Cruz is a boss. From what I’ve seen bouncing about on Tumblr, she’s supposed to be appearing in 4 episodes of what has been filmed so far. I really loved her and Beth’s friendship in this episode, even though the foundation of it is deceitful and extremely unhealthy on Beth’s part. I’m not sure if Rhea will find out what Beth has done and I can only imagine the fallout and angst should Rio ever share it with her. But I can’t help but love the two of them. I mean they were chatting about hot coaches! We rarely see Beth loosen up like that with people. Just compare it to her interacting with the PTA mums in 2x10. The difference in Beth’s demeanour is striking. I’ve seen some theories that Rhea already knows who Beth is and is playing her, which is definitely possible. My gut instinct says no but my theories for this show have been wrong so many times before. I also just want to see Rio’s face when he realises that Beth has inserted herself into this private part of his life; he’s going to be absolutely furious and I am here for that plot.
Marcus - How were the fandoms predictions and fanfic writers’ portrayal of this character so accurate? He’s an angel. And he and Jane are clearly best friends! Is this what dreams are made of? And he loves planes too. This episode. Oh my god, this episode is feeding me. Please let Rio give Marcus the planes he made in that hotel room. Please! Ahem, moving on. Manny has said several times that their is something that stops Rio from killing Beth in this season, a line that he won’t cross and that it’s addressed early on. I’ve seen some theories that it could be because Marcus adores Beth. It definitely could be! But I wonder if there is another reason why, particularly if the doors into the crime world are really blown off their hinges in this season and they have a common adversary or goal.
The Hills
I cannot emphasise how much I love Stan and Ruby. For me, they are definitely the heart of the show alongside the three girls. This episode really doubled down on that and I missed them so much.
So the Hills are managing to pay for Sara’s meds, particularly with the money from Stan’s new job. It seems that he’s having to step in to prevent people getting too forward at the strip club and is getting into some physical altercations because of it. I am so excited for his storyline this season, especially after Manny said that it is the storyline he is most excited about. I mean, I’m scared. But here for it.
Sara’s struggling with her meds and I remain shocked by how completely adorable lil’ money is.
I’ve already said it but I want a Krystal and Stan friendship. I’m so curious to see how the strip club ties into the overall plot of the season. It has to have something to do with the counterfeit cash right? And maybe Onyx becomes involved at some point?
Ruby’s scene on the phone with Gwen is so incredibly important. I always do my best to be nice to people who I’m on the phone with, even when it’s frustrating. The scene was so well done and I loved the message of how you don’t know what someone else going through. So be nice. And we know Ruby’s nice. But she��s also scared for her daughter and frustrated with Stan’s job and we all get it. Even Gwen does.
Annie and Sadie 
Oooooofffft. Could that call out have felt more like a burn? I feel like Annie kind of needed to hear this and what Mae has said in her interview, about Annie becoming more cautious and little more introspective, makes so much sense now. Of course it would be Sadie that would trigger such a shift! Although not for long apparently, given the inappropriate crush that Annie seems to develop (from 3x04 synopsis); I do still think that it’ll be on the doctor that Rob Heaps has been cast as but I kinda wish it would be some else. I am curious to see how the writers handle this moving forwards because Annie’s already done some pretty serious self-reflection in this episode and I really do think that whatever happens, she’s not just going to forget what Sadie said. I imagine it’s something she’ll struggle with this season. 
Also, fuck Noah (I posted the exact same thing while watching the episode). He sucks.
That scene with the toothbrush had me hollering. I know some people hated it but I guffawed my way through it. For me, Mae really delivered on the hilarity in this episode, alongside Lucy. Her bickering with Ruby while she was trying to make a dumb point was sooo good.
Agent Turner
I know a lot of people hated Turner and are glad that his character’s gone. But god, I’m going to miss that obsessive, sanctimonious son of a bitch. I adored him as a character and James Lesure was absolutely fantastic. Also, can I just say that he was a total snack? Especially in that suit. Killer. I’m also kind of bitter than I won’t see some of my wishes come true this season, mainly seeing more scenes between Beth and Agent Turner and them having a drink together, even if they were still antagonists. We coulda had it aaaallllllll!!!!!!
I’m really, really going to feel James Lesure’s absence and I wish him well on his next project.
I love that the writers understood the importance of giving him a final scene with Beth. These two have been playing a cat and mouse game for two seasons and I needed a farewell to their relationship. His pop-by on Beth’s place of employment was really well done and Christina and James killed it, although they always do so why am I surprised. Him saying “It’s not easy making an honest living” really takes me back to the moral hypocrisy he displayed with Stan in season 2, stating that he did what he had to, to get to the letter of the law. Don’t get me wrong, I love complex, rich, fun characters like Turner and I really like that writers chose to display this facet of his character again, with him fully believing that he has the moral high ground over Beth.
Rio
Right. As soon as I saw Turner walking with that plastic bag in his hand, I knew he was going to see Rio! The planes! The planes! If he gives a plane to Marcus in the next episode, I will die. Happily.
Also, I was struck all over again by the way Rio moves, talks and his presence in that scene in the hotel room. Manny brings so much to the character and it’s really amazing to watch.
We got some really important insight into Rio’s character in this episode, one of which is that there have been significant periods where he has been absent from Marcus’ life, which is such a great piece of character insight. We saw Beth struggle to balance crime and family in season 2. We saw Rio attempt to comfort her and share his own experience in 2x09 (”It’s lonely at the top.”) and I really loved that this episode shed some light on the fact that Rio is like Beth in this aspect. That he struggles just like her and misses his kid. Retrospectively, it adds this kind of tragic depth to the first bar scene in 2x09.
That last scene. Ohohohohoho. So much to talk about. It seems pretty clear to me that Rio has a pretty solid alibi with how much he interacted with the lady in the hotel lobby. I love that, of all things, he wants to chat loyalty points and EXCUSE ME “NEAT”. I never thought I would hear that word come out of Rio’s mouth but here we are. And I’m into it. Also, the way his voice shifts when he says business. Oh boy oh boy.
So it seems pretty clear that Rio’s spent the past 4 months playing Turner, clearing the board for himself to come in (I think this is going to have repercussions which I love because we always see the consequences of the girls’ actions but rarely of Rio’s actions). I’m also really curious to find out if Carlos Aviles’ character was in the van and if he’ll say anything about it? Maybe to Beth or if we’ll see him and Rio interacting at some point this season.
The whole thing with the billboard was a great touch and really doubled down on how devious but also cocky Rio is. I really got the same vibe from the final scene of the The Usual Suspects, where Kyser Soze uses the items around him in the room to construct an elaborate, convincing lie for law enforcement. And they fall for it. Gosh, brilliant.
Also, loved Rio’s outfit in that last scene. And looks like there’s no nose ring either. I had a feeling there wouldn’t be, even with the video that dropped on Valentine’s day just because of that shot of Rio in the season 3 trailer, without a nose ring.
So that’s it! I have no clue where else to slot this in but Beth’s hair and clothes. A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++!!!!!!!!!! Like, her hair doesn’t really look like a wig anymore and those sweaters. THOSE WELL-FITTED BLOUSES. I could not stop staring. She’s a literal angel.
Also, quick warning that I’ll probably reblog and add stuff to this because I’ve definitely left some stuff off of this because I’m too tired to finish.
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ardeawritten · 4 years ago
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Halo 4
The game-player in me is thrilled with the very pretty levels, new weapons, flashy enemies and more creative, less linear methods of level progression/interaction. Lovely soundtrack as always, though the random peppy upbeat music overlaid on a race-to-save earth battle is still hilarious. This game was fun and enjoyable to play, a great few evenings' worth of distraction and some nice catharsis for a little current-events-related attitude. The last quarter felt like a meat-grinder slog, but then, it's endgame of an FPS. What else is it going to be?
The writer in me is rolling their eyes.
(there’s an whole essay under the cut) ((I really hope these cuts work on all platforms, if not I am sincerely sorry; it’s like a thousand words long))
Ok, so the first three games were a fairly standard blank-slate FPS protagonist. Play as an armored super-soldier fighting to save Humanity from the Monsters, with a Sexy AI Sidekick and some Battle Buddies. Not what I'd call high art in gaming, but I can understand its popularity and the enduring appeal of a simple, straight-forward "if it moves shoot it" style of play. No escort missions, no puzzles, really no boss battles requiring tricks and analysis. Just "if that didn't kill it, keep shooting or use a bigger gun."
Writing-wise, there's not a lot of characterization but overall Indications that MC is well-recognized, well-liked, has a sense of humor and a camaraderie with his co-workers, is pals with his Sexy AI and is a generally level-headed person-shaped brick. It's an early 2000's Military FPS, it's not about the characters, it's about role-playing as an indestructible military hero who always saves the girl. It's the game equivalent of John Carter of Mars-genre action hero stories (books, not movie.) This does not absolve it of the crime of woman-as-sexy-or-dead, but it is par for the course.
So on to game #4. 
This game was released in late 2012, in a post-Mass Effect gaming market. #4 has a ME2/3 feel to it, which makes sense. They're both very popular flashy scifi action games with similar graphics/design feel (and with Sexy AIs but that's another conversation about the literally unreal 'idealization' of womanhood in a male-dominated creator/created space!)
It opens with the storyline revelation that MC is a brainwashed and conditioned child-soldier, alleges he's got some issues with performing basic human functions and clarifies that Cortana's existence is the "band-aid" applied to that problem. On the MC side, Cortana's expiration date has passed and she's fragging out, giving MC a personal reason to want to get home. This combines to give the player a sense of urgency- if Cortana dies, it's not just "sad," it's "MC will lose his band-aid and all his humanity will bleed out." This is also I think the first time the POV is, narratively-speaking, third-person (we know things MC doesn't or couldn't know) instead of solely first-person (I'm not counting Arbiter’s story as breaking first-person, as it's still limited to player character POV.)
As a Writer, here's my issues: 
- MC is given a traumatic backstory as a brainwashed child-soldier to what? Justify a damaged emotional state, as if emotional wounding and isolation isn't a very common, very human point to reach after having experienced and participated in war at any age? Justify being unable to function without Cortana’s hand-holding? And then the game never goes back and addresses that opening cut-scene. 
- Cortana's existence had a built-in, known expiration, but she was still (retconned?) created to provide MC his primary band-aid. Either this was extremely short-sighted of the Spartan R&D team, or MC likewise was expected to expire on the same timeline. There's no talk of planning ahead for this problem that would render an extremely expensive asset fundamentally useless. (ok there’s Cortana’s “they’ll pair you with someone else but it won’t be me” line, but that isn’t exactly smoothing the transition any.)
- We the audience/player now know Cortana's death will have personal, negative repercussions on the MC's health outside of grief and trauma over loss of a friend and partner. She exists solely for his benefit, and must continue existing for his benefit, and the plot's urgency driven forward by his need to continue benefiting. It's not about saving Cortana, it's about saving MC. This would be fine if her character existence was framed as "computer service program," but it isn't. Prior to this game, narrative and gameplay repeatedly tells the audience she's a character and not just MC's security blanket.
- The above, coupled with her "stock naked lady sexy" design, has Implications of how the writing team figured they could fit a female character into their narrative. So far we have A) woman who fails to complete a heroic sacrifice and is shot in the back and dies pointlessly, B) woman whose visual and intellectual existence is tailored solely to benefit the MC and has no autonomy outside of that existence and C) woman as 'fallen mother/evil crone' who perpetrated the brainwashing on the MC. (Female Spartan in the mammoth got a whole three lines; female scientist with a bag of nukes? She… died pointlessly.)
(I swear I did not intend this to be an analysis of female roles in the Halo main game franchise but hey, my first memorable introduction to the FPS genre was Mysteries of the Sith where, playing as female jedi Mara Jade, you save the guy by making him acknowledge the value of a non-romantic peer relationship! That game was made in 1997.)
For Cortana, in 1 I got the impression she was a shipboard AI like EDI in Mass Effect, not an AI specific to MC. Her characterization feels like it's been shifted each game from a warship AI capable of coordinating fleet-wide maneuvers and going toe-to-toe with Guilty Spark to a cowering captive of Gravemind needing physical rescue to a Pocket Pal for MC to cover for his emotional shortcomings and inability to interact with technology more complex than "a button."
Having an AI programmed to be essentially a therapy dog or social caretaker, and exploring the complexities of that role related to the invisible and unquantifiable damage violence visits on the human body and brain would be a very interesting story. An AI designed for coordinating war on a massive scale who despite "winning" each battle finds its platform systematically reduced until the only "ship and crew" left are just one person would also be an interesting story! Why are we left with "my girlfriend's dying and I'm going to starve because she's the only one who knows how to cook."
tl;dr: the opening cutscene was detrimental to the plot, characterization and world-building. The game would have been fine as a story about a soldier coming to terms with his best friend’s inevitable death while trying to save the planet, and would have preserved Cortana’s game 1 identity as an autonomous AI who lost her ship and partnered up with MC of her own free will. The ending of “we saved each other, if just for a little while, and will grieve but will continue on” would have been stronger IMO than “I’m going to save you-I’m going to save you-NOPE.”
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madou-dilou · 5 years ago
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Why The Dragon Prince Season 3 messed up
SO I pRoMiSed YoU aN EssAY about why the third season of The Dragon Prince disappointed me, and as I'm arrogant enough to assume that you are interested in my opinion, I post it here. ;)
*rolling drums*
King Harrow sums up the conflict as a narrative of endless vengeance, wrongs on both sides, that had to be redeemed whatever the cost.When the Dragang finds the egg, they think about the peace that could come.
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But when Rayla shows it to Runaan, he tries to kill her, then goes to murder Harrow. He learnt nothing from what happened and is just trapped into that eye-for-eye scheme. At this point, Runaan represents not only Xadia's ideology, but also the whole world scheme. The world is blinded by this narrative of revenge, so blinded that they refuse to considerate peace even at the cost of relatives -and yes, I’m including Viren if “the world”. So there's no guarantee that returning that egg will stop the war, especially that, as far as we know, it was the queen of the dragons herself who ordered this assassination mission.
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And Xadians don't stop there. They seem to work actively on kindle the fire. Elves are gathering at the Breach and attack human fortresses. And, just watch the episode where Soren attacks a dragon. Yes, Soren attacked first. But that dragon was flying over the city for days, fully aware of tensions, fully aware that humans were on their nerves after the kingslaying. If he just meant to afraid the people, he could just have left after dodging Soren's arrow; or simply destroy the tower, then leave. But he doesn't. Instead, he destroys the tower, then almost reduces the city to ashes, with the people still inside. When Callum finds out about it, he first doesn't understand why Rayla wants to save this dragon; but she explains him about the narrative of vengeance, that someone has to do something to break the cycle, even if she has to die for it. But she doesn't totally succeed and humans try to kill her, and the dragon gravely hurts a few of them before finally leaving. Even if, unlike Runaan, that dragon finally understood the hope the Dragon Prince was representing for the world (or perhaps he just flew away to warn Queen Zubeia), this doesn't erase the fact that he burnt down a whole city for no reason.
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And Viren knows about that. Elves and dragons have exiled humans because they found a way to stop being considered as lesser beings who deserved nothing more than starvation. A quite unethical way, yes, but Elves could just give humans a bunch of Primal Stones if they wanted them to stop Dark Magic. No, instead, the Elves and Dragons exiled a whole people on sterile lands, Trade of Tears/Grapes of Wrath style, then ruthlessly killed all those who dare to pass nearby the border. Maybe the elves see it as a guarantee, a shield which prevent humans from doing unethical things. But to humans, that's just a knife over their throat. When they manage to get rid of that knife, elves and dragons just declare war on them, fully aware that they won't be able to defend. 
Viren sees himself as the Jon Snow of the story, he wants to prevent a genocide, but no one is listening to him because they don't feel directly threatened. And the elves, in my opinion, had no intention of attacking the four other kingdoms, since their kings took no action against them (not even Duren). But if we set in Viren's shoes (Viren who saw his friends dying right before his powerlessness because of those damned critches), his point of view makes sense. He is also trapped into an eye-for-an-eye mindset -after all he is the one who murdered Thunder to avenge Sarai, and he is also trapped in a "protect my people whatever it takes." Just as the elves.
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“That’s horrible, Viren.” “We have no choice.” “Story of your life in two sentences bro”
The heroes' job is to stop this, to break the wheel. To save lives from both sides -but more from the human side, given how Harrow qualifies this conflict "unwinnable war".**The thing is, in season three, the heroes didn't stop the war.**Well, effectively they did, but because they chose a side over the other. That was quite an easy choice to them, for their enemies were no more humans but soulless monsters. But that's exactly where the problem is. 
The narrative brutally decided to caricature the conflict into a good VS bad framing :
Magic creatures are actually super friendly with humans!  
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“Team Daenerys 4ever”
"Trees to meet you Callum! Yes I know, I was fully OK with my husband and daughter going into a suicide-squad to murder your father and brother, but no, I don't hate you, I think you are a wonderful person and that the world needs to hear a message of peace!" And the human army meets absolutely no resistance from the Xadians, that’s a proof Xadians were absolutely not hostile and humans are mean, racist, awful warmongers invading a land of peaceful rainbowed creatures! And the Dragon Queen is super happy about her baby's return and peace's arrival, so happy that she completely forgets -and so as the characters, that SHE sent those assassins over Harrow, and that her husband spent his whole life killing humans. And of course, the cast, including Soren, totally forgot about that dragon who burnt a whole city down, because dragons are, I guess, way more badass and cool than mere humans...
Viren stops thinking and being sorry about his actions. 
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“No son, I don’t, I was too busy looking like a random bad-guy and admiring a sexy starry butt”
You might say, it's because he now acts instead of just talking. But just look his attitude when Amaya confronts him back in season 1. He's mad about her insinuating he murdered Harrow and even proposes the throne to her because she is the only one apart from himself, who cares about the elves and dragons. When Claudia asks him about Soren's life, he takes a while before responding, and doing so, his face is definitely not some Ozai's one. Or when he steals the king's stamp. He hears the screaming from the fight -he is traumatized by the elves and dragons. He looks at the family portrait, the family that was destroyed partly because of him, and definitely, has deeply sorrowful features on his face, while no one can see him, so there's no one in front of whom to pretend anything. And this isn't the only example of th- What? Season three? hahaha! no, he's definitely not sorry about imprisoning Ezran and shouting to Soren that his life didn't matter the slightest! 
Even if he was quite desperate when he was in jail, because he thought humanity was just doomed, this just doesn’t fit...
Oh, and he lost his brain when he gained the crown, and that was totally ridiculous and out-of-character. I mean, given the little we see from Harrow's reign, it was Viren who just handled the whole kingdom for ten years. The cunning king's shadow, who always had a back-up plan to fix Harrow's stupidity thanks to his knowledge, inventiveness, eloquence; the guy who raised Claudia; this guy is now unable to utter a single idea of his own because of a sexy elf’s butt and voice who gives him some validation? Haha. I don't believe it for a second.
And not to mention how kiling him just solved the entire conflict, like he was the one who caused it in the first place. He murdered Thunder and Azymondias and gathered an army to make his crusade, yes. But he acts this way because there already were massive thousands-years-long tensions before. Viren was a product of those tensions, not the direct cause.
But then I suppose it was so much simpler to have a random Iago/Claudius/Richard III/Scar/Jafar/Rasputin/Melissandre...
Oh, speaking of questionable using of fire.
The Cinder-heart soldiers.
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“DRACARYS !!”
When people talk about Dark Magic, they describe it as a shortcut, an easy way, a magic problem-solver that gives a far too proper way to determine what's right and wrong, who has the right to live and who hasn't. Well, with the Cinder heart soldiers, writers do exactly the same. They don't use Dark Magic to address ethic issues as in season 1 and 2, here they use Dark Magic to give the viewer something to thrill about, to draw a neat, clear, proper, defined line between what's right and what's wrong. With those humans turned into soulless monsters, you can say that the elves are right to defend themselves because those monsters are stronger than they are; but you can also say that killing them isn’t such a big deal since they have no soul. Of course, that can be used as a tool to point Viren’s fucked up morality, to point that the greater-good mentality can lead to atrocities. But that just doesn’t work. If they wanted to sum up the absurdity of war, writers could have left the soldiers as they were: humans who think they’re doing the right thing but only lead to disaster. 
By making these monsters of those soldiers, by making them Viren’s puppets, by making them extensions of Viren’s will and power, writers frame Viren as the big bad guy who’s fault is everything and who’s death will resolve all the conflict (pretty much how killing the Night King solved the ten-years awaited winter in two seconds). 
And if I remember quite well, as illogical, rushed, nonsense, stupid, badly explained and outrageous king Ezran’s abdication was (GOD, that was SO STUPID. Ezran is Harrow's son, no doubts), his goal was to save lives. But at the final battle, he happily jumps over a dragon’s back to burn those exactly same lives down -even far more numerous than the ones he pretended to save  His sorrowful look on a single frame is clearly not enough to make me believe he’s sorry. He never addresses or criticizes or points the fact that those creatures were humans, while he is supposed to be the main character of a show about ethics, and while Viren shows doubts several times and justifies his actions which he knows are awful. Kantian Queen Sarai did a whole vegan argument about how killing apparently soulless creatures wasn’t a way to solve problems, and she was presented as right in the long term. Kantian-Rawlian King Harrow rathered die that letting one soldier take his place (but he was bad at math so he didn’t realize how putting 200 guards between himself and invincible assassins threw his calculation down, but that’s another matter.) 
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“DRACARYS YEEPEEEEE”
Then their son, the main character, the one who gave up his crown to save a few lives, the one who is supposed to carry the whole breaking-the-infernal-wheel thing, this character doesn’t even blink at the thought of lighting a giant pyre out of those people, Daenerys style. And who could blame him? How could anyone blame him? Those weren’t humans anymore. Those were a bunch of soulless monsters who were running at him to slaughter his friends and family. I don't blame Ezran for killing those. I blame the series for making those and not pulling a question out of it. Do you understand what I mean? The Dragon Prince was about ending an absurd conflict where both sides were wrong but had reasons to fight. But turning a whole side into mindless monsters (including Viren and Claudia, one being blinded by power and a sexy elf’s butt, and the other blinded by her love for her father) just threw that speech away. And not to mentions how their deaths are treated on a comic and cheerful mode (I definitely hate this baker).
Did I say “A whole side ?” Oh, sorry. My bad. I kind of forgot about someone.
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“A Mary-Sue is never late. Nor early. She only arrives when she was meant to.”
How everyone who ever sided against Viren for whatever reason is automatically a good-guy. Callum, Ezran, Soren, Opeli, Amaya, Aanya, Corvus, Gren, the baker (this DAMNED BAKER !!!) … I mean. When Viren came at the other royals asking them for help to avoid bloodshed, queen Aanya said “I won't send my army to face an unknown danger basing myself on a two-minutes speech!”. Very well, she doesn’t want to risk her people’s life because just one single kingdom messed up. That’s not her problem. I fully understand her choice here (even if she could at least enforce defences because Viren’s arguments were pretty valid). But when Opeli comes at her with pretty similar arguments “We need your army to avoid bloodshed”, she just accepts. Of course, we could explain her choice by strategic issues about how taking down three human armies all at once alongside with the magic army just makes her the most powerful human queen ever, even if that outcome was very unlikely given how unbalanced was the scale (I maintain it, how can mere arrows kill a magma berserk ? and even if she was relying on surprise, Viren's army clearly outnumbers gOoD gUyS's, as it was said several times)... But the season doesn’t address those strategic issues. Instead, queen Aanya just seems like Mary-Sue, like some low-cost Gandalf who has no other reason for being here except helping the good-guys against the oh-so-bad Viren. And as you know, good guys are, by essence, not interested in power (tHeY dOn’T wAnT iT)… So she goes to war right when the narrative is okay and when it helps the heroes. And of course, she arrives right when she is needed, even if, to quote Kronk, “by all accounts, it doesn’t make any sense”. (Kronk, who has the same French voice actor as Viren btw). 
And about Ezran... even the series says that Viren was right on this point : having a world-war resting on a eight years old king's shoulders is the worst idea ever. Even if this kid has best intentions ever, no one can take him seriously. Not Kaseef, who's father was just slain. Not Saleem. Not even Opeli -whom "you should have someone you can trust to rule this kingdom, someone capable, strong, dignified, loyal, lawful" scene seemed like the most unsubtle manipulation ever, and should have foreshadowed some nuance or lust for power into her. 
And about General Amaya…
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“I don’t know why I hate him, but he is so dangerous, so evil, and I hate him so much than I’ll side with the people who murdered my sister and drink my nephew’s blood !!”
Of course, there is only one single guy in the whole human realm who deserves to be called arrogant and rotten to the core. Of course, he is so dangerous, evil and bad-intentioned that she just gets alongside the army she’s been fighting her whole life along, the army whom she believes drink human blood and the army who killed her sister. I mean, even if she distrusts Viren because of how her sister died and how Harrow’s assassination benefits him, don’t forget that she is a human and that Viren is working to defeat elves, just as herself. I’m not saying she’s some awful traitor to her blood or anything, but just that she took her decision far too quickly, and that this decision was far too brutal, too defined, for to be credible for the viewer. But, guess what? She opposed to Viren once! That means she is a good girl, and that everything she does is the right thing, even if she has no reason to do so. And don't make me launched about Opeli...
So, the result of it: it gives the impression that the Sunfire Ordeal of Light was right. Elves aren’t wrong, elves are never wrong because they just have an unmistakable detector for right and wrong. The proof is, it found Amaya to be good and Viren being bad! Because Dark Magic is so bad, you know (sorry to the 100 000 of lives who Viren saved with that magic).
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“You thought you were allowed to be a morally grey antagonist in a kids show? Haha, how bold of you, you fool !”
And of course, no important character dies amongst the “good-guys” side. Also on the bad side actually apart from Kaseef (whom treatment by the narrative was just disgusting), but Viren died before being brought back and Claudia was traumatized for life. The good guys? Oh, thanks for asking. All of them are well and safe because they brought peace by crushing that oh-so-bad Viren and his oh-so-evil-and-soulless army. Ezran and Aanya butchered hundreds of thousands of people by fire and arrows, and Viren died without Callum trying anything to save him, but I guess that was the right thing to do to prove the narrative of love and forgiveness. <3
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“Bye-bye oncle Scar”
And, on the top of that, the icing on the cake, the cherry on the top, "la cerise sur le gâteau" : getting Azymondias back to his mom just solved the entire conflict in one second.
I know the purpose was about stopping the war. But there, the series didn’t stop the war. The series chose a side and forgets about everything that was established in the first two seasons about the complexity and absurdity of war. The series just threw its whole own speech away by ridiculizing Viren, depicting elves and dragons as nothing but kind and gentle, defining a straight line between magic goodies and soulless baddies, and having a thousand years-long conflict resolved in a few seconds.
Do you remember when Harrow described this conflict as “not so simple”, as a thousand years-long conflict where both sides were so filled with hatred to each other that peace was nothing but a naive child dream? Do you remember when Runaan tried to murder his adoptive daughter when she tried to explain that peace was possible? Do you remember when that red dragon burnt down a whole city for no reason? That's a shame because the series doesn’t <3
And that can be explained very simply: NOT ENOUGH EPISODES. If only Netflix agreed to change the format, this series could have obliterated Avatar The Last Airbender or the Alabasta Arc from One Piece (which has a similar plot, but with some bad guys into it from the very start, and in spite of this succeeds into outstandingly depicting the absurdity of war). If only the TDP series has had more time to breathe, to explain and develop characters, motives, depths, events, (especially Ezran's downfall which didn't make any sense) it could have been LEGENDARY
.But instead, The Dragon Prince just ran straight into the trap it was so brilliantly avoiding in season one and two: Manicheism, black-and-white, goodies VS baddies, Simple narrative.
And I don’t even think a fourth season can fix this.
The final picture was too rainbowed, too happy-ending, too simple to be fixed. Yes, there are still “OH SO SOOOO BAD GUYS” and under-plots to explore (Aaravos’s final plan, Viren and Claudia’s trauma, Rayla’s parents including Runaan, Pip, cohabitation between critches and humans), but the series was about the absurdity of war and how characters dealt with it. Once this war is not only over, but also oh-so-happy-ended, I really wonder what’s left to explore. Even Dark Magic ethic, one of the most interesting part of the show to me, is ridiculed. By rushing, they handled their speech in a very clumsy way, and even worse: hypocritical.
The third season threw the series's speech to the trash by a too fast narrative… And I don’t know if I can forgive this.
Reminds me of GoT season eight, actually. But that’s another problem ^^
Thank you for coming to my TED-Talk.
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incorrecteragonquotes · 5 years ago
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Eragon Movie Recap Part 7: Raiding Party
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Prepare yourself for something shaped vaguely like a daring tale of adventure, rescue, and camaraderie.
We pick up where Part 6 left off. Eragon knows a nonzero number of things about magic. The Ra’zac are dead. Brom was a Dragon Rider back in the day. It seems that our team is finally making some good progress.
We begin back at Durza’s fort. He’s sitting at his desk, casually reading a nice, big book. We aren’t told what it is, but we do get to see a couple of pages, and there’s definitely at least one pentagram in there.
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A party of Urgals enters the room, lead by that one guy whose foot Durza stabbed before putting him in charge of the operation. Presumably, they’re here to report on the failed ambush at Daret, but Durza speaks first - he already knows what happened. He is just that spooky. And he is not pleased.
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Durza expresses his displeasure by poking the lead Urgal with a fingernail and waiting for him to drop dead. I would like to take a moment to observe that Durza’s fingernails bear a very strong resemblance to Galbatorix’s. Maybe they share a manicurist, or they taught each other their favourite nail care techniques over a long weekend? It seems that Durza likes to use his fingernails as an offensive magical weapon, though whether he does this to use magical fingernail properties or simply for the aesthetic is unclear.
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After a few moments, the lead Urgal does indeed drop dead from the fingernail poke. Not one to waste time, Durza promotes another Urgal to team lead. The Urgal accepts this change, but is clearly nervous about being addressed directly by the spooky man. Ultimately, the Urgal just stands there looking tired.
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Durza is also tired. He is tired of waiting for Eragon to die. He is tired of other people’s failure to force this event. So Durza takes matters into his own hands. Or rather, his own fingernails. He visits Arya on her table and gives her a Magic Poke Of Doom.
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Meanwhile, far away, Eragon is sleeping. Suddenly, he experiences a vision of Arya unlike any he’s seen before. She’s meandering oddly around a misty, green-tinged, dream-like forest. Then, cementing this vision as different from all that came before it, Arya addresses Eragon directly. She asks him for his name and he answers, entranced. She takes a moment to inform Eragon of her plight and adds some additional infodump details for good measure. But wait! Unbeknownst to Eragon, Arya’s entire appearance was staged by Durza. With his intel planted and trap set, Durza ends the transmission.
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Eragon wakes up from his info session and immediately begins preparing to leave on his new quest to rescue Arya. Brom, holding his trusty sleep knife, wakes up at the commotion. Eragon knows more now than what Brom has told him, and Brom recognizes this straight away. He questions Eragon, and tries to hold Eragon accountable for his dodging of the question, but is met with predictably poor results.
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Brom tries to explain the gravity of the situation and the magnitude of the decision Eragon is making. They’ve nearly reached the Varden, but Arya is being held in Durza’s fort in Gil’ead, which is in the opposite direction. Eragon is worried that Arya will be killed if he doesn’t rescue her, but Brom reminds him that as a military operative she is prepared to die for her cause. He makes a compelling argument - all of the Varden’s sacrifices up to this point have been for Eragon’s sake, so Eragon’s plan to walk into Durza’s fort jeopardizes everything the Varden has worked for.
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Eragon, naturally, fails to listen to Brom’s concerns in any meaningful capacity. Saphira tries to vouch for Brom, but is met with no more success. Eragon throws a few scathing remarks at Brom, including a claim that Brom has forgotten what it means to be Dragon Rider, before departing with Saphira, leaving Brom behind as they fly towards Gil’ead.
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After soaring speedily over the countryside, our dynamic duo touch down on a rocky hill with a good view of Gil’ead. It’s unclear how long the flight took, but from the editing I’m willing to guess it was one long day of flying, which isn’t actually all too bad. What is bad is the fact that Eragon and Saphira are still disagreeing. Eragon has done some scheming, and he figures that he has to do the infiltration at night, alone. Saphira protests - after all, they can’t be much of a team if they aren’t both there - but Eragon spouts some nonsense about strength and ends the discussion.
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Under the cover of night, Eragon disguises himself in a very loosely-fitting cloak and tries to blend in. Perhaps one does indeed simply walk into the enemy base. Things are going pretty smoothly, but Eragon is semi-subtly being stalked by another dude in a loosely-fitting cloak. But wait! We’ve seen him before. This is the mysterious stranger from Daret! What’s he doing? His presence here can’t be a coincidence, but does it really matter what Cloak Man is doing if Eragon consistently fails to notice him?
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Before we move on, I would just like to take a moment to appreciate that Eragon’s walk into the fortress is one of the best atmospheric moments in this movie. The fort is this looming, menacing entity filled with mystery and danger. As our hero passes the point of no return, he comes to understand the meaning of this place - the lines of chained prisoners drudging their way through the corridors, the cloaked figures staring and whispering behind their masks, the torchlit hallways filled with the echoing commands of the prison wardens. It’s a very intriguing setup, and it would be amazing if only it had a little payoff.
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Walking through the fortress, Eragon finds a big, circular hallway-room. He’s alone in here, so he decides that disguises are for chumps and takes off his hood. He wanders around for a bit before activating dragon-o-vision to locate Arya. What a pleasant surprise! They actually did use it more than once! Eragon draws his sword, uses magic to open to open the cell door, and is immediately greeted by Arya telling him that he really messed up.
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Durza walks in and confirms Arya’s warning. He insults Eragon for a bit, talking about how underwhelming the new Dragon Rider is, and then he and Eragon begin to fight. It is immediately clear that Eragon is thoroughly outmatched.
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Eragon fights with both sword and magic, but Durza fights with smoky Shade teleportation, magically flying weapons, and magically flying weapon racks. Understandably, Eragon can’t keep up. When Eragon begins to show signs of magic fatigue, Durza mocks him before dramatically launching a spear at the now-defenseless adversary.
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Before the spear makes contact, however, Brom dives out of a hallway and into the spear’s path, saving Eragon by taking the blow himself. This raises a few questions. If Gil’ead was so problematically far out of the way, how did Brom get here on horseback nearly as quickly as Eragon and Saphira? They had a ludicrous speed advantage because of their flight. And surely a resourceful, experienced fighter like Brom would have a better method than this for deflecting a single spear. Why was this his first choice? This action made sense in the book because the lack of alternate options was justifiable, but this isn’t the case here. As such, Brom’s injury here strikes me as very contrived.
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Eragon tries to salvage the situation by throwing Brom’s sword, Zar’roc, at Durza. Durza deflects the projectile easily and quips about Eragon’s incompetence, but wouldn’t you know it! Eragon did something smart! Eragon uses the quip time as a distraction, readying his bow and shooting Durza in the face. Defeated for now, Durza dissipates, smiling. This impressive maneuver wasn’t performed by Eragon in the book, but I guess the guy has to look useful somehow.
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With Durza no longer a threat, Arya is free to move from her rock. She and Eragon support Brom as they struggle towards an exit. Soldiers are coming from every direction now, and there’s no use in attacking them. But just when things are starting to look dire, Saphira saves the day by weaponizing the ceiling. Most of the soldiers are taken out by the falling rubble, and Saphira deals with the remaining few herself.
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As Arya and Brom get ready for flight, Eragon looks up to see Cloak Man on a balcony, aiming an arrow in his direction. But don’t worry! He was only aiming for a stray soldier immediately behind Eragon, not Eragon himself.
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At Cloak Man’s suggestion, Saphira leaves with Eragon, Brom, and Arya. Cloak Man stays behind, but he seems to have the situation under control. Guards fire arrows at Saphira & friends as they leave. Eragon makes a big deal out of how they need to climb higher, Saphira makes a big deal out of how she can’t carry this much weight, and none of the arrows hit anyway. And so, our heroes fly out into the night, hearts heavy with their bittersweet victory.
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That’s it for Part 7! This part covered about 9 minutes of screentime. So much happened this time! We got to see our first Shade Showdown, Arya got to do something new, and more exciting changes are on the horizon. As always, thank you for reading, and in particular I would like to thank you for your patience - it’s been a while, but I’m thrilled to finally be able to share this latest part with you all. And in case the sparse update schedule has you worried, I want to make it clear that the Recap will eventually be completed - I have no intention of abandoning the project early, life just gets in the way of things sometimes.
Remember to tune in next week when we visit such questions as “are evil fingernails part of the standard villain kit?”, “does Cloak Man know the secret to teleportation?”, and “who’s responsible for replacing the weapon racks in Gil’ead?”. See you then!
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snkpolls · 5 years ago
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SnK S3E18 Poll Results (Anime Only Viewer Version)
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The poll closed with 128 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!
Please note this is the anime only viewer version of the poll. Manga readers, please click here for the results of the manga reader poll!
RATE THE EPISODE 110 Responses
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As has been the trend for most of this half of the season, the episode is ranking high among respondents, with 82.7% giving it a 5/5 rating.
Best. Episode. Ever. Hands down.
Brutal
Crippling depression
Great episode - I usually rewatch new episodes within a day, but I haven't with this episode because it's so good and I know I'll end up going through a roller coaster of emotions again
10/10 again. Probably the best anime in terms of character development
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE EPISODE? 113 Responses
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There were many emotional and impactful moments throughout this episode, leaving a relatively close call across the board on what stood out as a favorite moment for respondents. 12.4% were most touched with Levi and Hange’s farewell to Erwin, 11.5% were impacted by Bertolt’s death, while another 11.5% simply couldn’t pick a favorite moment at all. 10.6% enjoyed watching as the 104th held onto a newly revived Armin.
WHICH SEIYUU WAS THE MVP THIS EPISODE? 113 Responses
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Credit is given where credit is due, and 34.5% of respondents felt that all of the cast deserve kudos for their amazing performances in this episode! Yuki Kaji (Eren) and Yui Ishikawa (Mikasa) both tied at 18.6% on their individual performances, while Hiroshi Kamiya (Levi) came out with 13.3% of the vote. 8% were most pleased with Romi Park (Hange).
The seiyuu made the episode what it is. If they weren't so powerful in their performances then I don't think I would have been as upset as I was. Though I understand the creation of the episode was a lot of people's hard work.
THIS EPISODE HAD A PROFOUND LACK OF BACKGROUND MUSIC. DO YOU THINK THIS WAS THE CORRECT DECISION ON THE PART OF THE ANIME TEAM? 112 Responses
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A whopping 64.3% of respondents were thrilled with the omission of music from this episode, which allowed the raw voice acting to really shine through. 25% were content and felt that it enhanced the episode overall. 8% either didn’t care or notice. A small amount didn’t feel it was the best choice.
I loved Armin's OST
I was too anxious to notice!
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT HANGE’S SPEECH? 115 Responses
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39.1% of respondents were most affected by the flashback to Moblit’s death during Hange’s speech, 31.3% were moved by everything she had to say, and 20.9% felt most touched by Hange embracing Mikasa as she was grieving.
WHO DO YOU FEEL WAS OBJECTIVELY THE BETTER PERSON TO REVIVE? 115 Responses
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More than half of respondents agreed with Eren in this debate and feel that Armin was objectively the better choice to revive for the sake of humanity. 39.1% feel that Erwin was the better option. A small amount didn’t feel either were a good choice.
I didn't really like how the story backpedaled away from Armin's death. The way he sacrificed himself would've been the perfect end to his character arc, I feel.
OBJECTIVENESS ASIDE, WHO WOULD YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO REVIVE? 115 Responses
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We asked you guys who you would have chosen based on a more emotional attachment, rather than an objective one. 63.5% of respondents felt that they would have chosen to revive Armin in this situation, while 31.3% would have preferred Erwin survive.
It was really hard choosing between Armin and Erwin
HOW DO YOU THINK ERWIN WOULD FEEL IF HE HAD BEEN PICKED INSTEAD OF ARMIN? 115 Responses
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Nearly half of respondents agree that Erwin would have felt guilty had he been chosen over Armin. 25.2% think that he simply would have been understanding, and 20% believe he would have been disappointed in the decision to revive him over Armin. A small amount feel he would have been relieved.
Crushed by survivors guilt
I think Erwin was ready and relieved to die and would not have been a very functional person or leader after that point.
Pissed
Sad because he lost a good element, but determined to fulfill his dream
WHY DO YOU THINK LEVI INJECTED ARMIN INSTEAD OF ERWIN? 113 Responses
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56.6% of viewers believe that Levi’s reasoning for letting Erwin go was so that he wouldn’t have to live through any more hell. 33.6% believe it was a mixture of any or all of the given options.
After Erwin asked a question to his “teacher” Levi realized how long Erwin’s mind had been corrupted. Seeing him pure again for the first time made Levi realize it would be unjust to bring him back to this world.
I believe Erwin would have come back a changed man. He already has a huge amount of survivors guilt, so if he was revived after leading dozens of men to their deaths i don't think he could have lived with himself. I feel this change would make him a worse leader and strategist, and it would just be difficult for him to move on. I think Levi ultimately saw this and understood that this was the correct move for both Erwin and humanity. I also believe armins dream is larger in scope, so he has more motivation to push humanity farther beyond the wall, where erwin would have been satisfied after reaching the basement.
I felt sorry for Levi. He just wanted Erwin to live but knew that they already had had their final speech. He had already come to terms in a way that Erwin would die on that day. No need to prolong his suffering
WHICH CHARACTER DO YOU FIND YOURSELF MOURNING THE MOST? 114 Responses
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Overall the fandom is most affected by Erwin’s death, with 69.3% mourning him more than the others. 14.9% feel themselves feeling the saddest for Bertolt. 10.5% are sad to see Moblit go.
RIP Erwin
Rest In Peace Erwin you can rest easy now :(
WHICH PART OF THE EPISODE GOT YOU CHOKED UP, IF AT ALL? 113 Responses
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Mikasa’s panicked crying as Levi started to ready the serum for Erwin is the moment that started getting the largest amount of viewers emotional, with 15% picking that moment. To the pollsters’ shock, 14.2% of respondents didn’t feel an emotional twinge at all. 11.5% started getting emotional when Eren made a final desperate plea to save his friend.
Why can we only choose one moment that got me choked up? I cried like 4 times
Perhaps I'm still crying while answering this poll
EREN SEEMS TO HAVE NOTICED A SIMILARITY IN ZEKE’S APPEARANCE AND HIS FATHER’S. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS ZEKE’S RELATION TO GRISHA? 111 Responses
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When it comes to the likeness between Zeke and Grisha that Eren detected, 53.2% of respondents believe it’s likely that the two of them are brothers. 27% are more inclined to believe that Grisha and Zeke are father/son, while 9.9% think it’s not a close relation if there is one. A small amount think there’s no actual relation at all.
DO YOU THINK THAT EREN WAS BRAINWASHED BY GRISHA? 113 Responses
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41.6% of respondents are confident that Eren didn’t undergo any brainwashing from his father, while 38.9% simply just don’t know. 19.5% are considering Zeke’s claim that Eren is a victim of his dad (well, aside from being injected with titan serum against his will or knowledge).
ZEKE SAYS HE WILL COME BACK TO “SAVE” EREN. WHAT DO YOU THINK HE MEANS? 114 Responses
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A vague statement with many possibilities. 34.2% believe that Zeke intends to save Eren from his father’s brainwashing (regardless if Eren is actually brainwashed or not). 28.1% believe that he wants to save Eren from the walls. 15.8% aren’t really sure what he could have meant.
A mixture of a lot of the above. I.E. he wants to save him from the evils humanity which includes the brainwashing, himself, etc.
He’s lying and probably just gonna get someone to eat Eren
I feel that Eren is somewhat being influenced by his father because he ate him, similar to how the Reiss family is controlled by the founding titan if they obtain its power but to a lesser extent. Also it seems clear that zeke thinks he's doing the right thing and humanity in the walls is evil
IT’S REVEALED THAT REINER HAD A LETTER FROM YMIR IN HIS POCKET. WHERE DO YOU THINK YMIR IS NOW? 114 Responses
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Ymir’s fate has still been a mystery for anime watchers. 43% have gotten the sinking feeling that she may already be dead. 21.1% are a little more hopeful, feeling that she may just be imprisoned in the warrior hometown. 13.2% don’t wanna say either way.
DO YOU THINK JEAN HESITATED ABOUT LETTING REINER DIE OR DID HE SIMPLY WANT THE ARMORED TITAN’S POWER? 114 Responses
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Nearly half of respondents are certain that Jean’s feelings are a complicated combination of both of the given options. 36.8% are more confident that it’s based on his personal feelings about Reiner, rather than the strategic objective of taking his armor.
WERE EREN AND MIKASA JUSTIFIED IN OPPOSING LEVI? 114 Responses
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With the majority vote at 71.1%, most respondents feel that Eren and Mikasa’s sorrow and opposition to Levi were completely understandable and aren’t holding their actions against them. 16.7% are a bit more appalled by their behavior, believing they should have stepped down and let their superior make the final call without interference. 8.8% feel there’s a little more grey area and don’t want to say either way.
Both option one and two, it's understandable but not justified going against both the commander and the captain's orders.
Yes and no. They just witness their childhood friend almost die with a way to revive him. There’s no way they’d do anything different than what they did, so it was right in the sense that they’re trying to save their friend. Defying Levi’s orders is never a good idea though even if it did end up saving Armin.
Yes, Armin would indeed be a good bet because of his strategies
yes but not literally not pin him to the ground with a sword to his throat
WHAT DID FLOCH MEAN BY ERWIN BEING THE “DEVIL” AND WHY DID THE SC NEED A “DEVIL”? 113 Responses
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64.4% of viewers feel that Floch likening Erwin to a devil was due to his ability to make the hard decisions that most normal people would be unable to make due to their ruthlessness. 17.7% feel that he’s clinging onto a sense of purpose after surviving the suicide charge. 8% think that he’s simply just gone off the deep end.
Combination of all options
Combination of thinking Erwin was able to make "tough choices" and looking for a sense of purpose.
His mind, while tactical and smart, was corrupted to the point where almost all his thoughts were about killing the titans like a Devil.
HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT BERTOLT'S DEATH? 114 Responses
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44.7% of viewers feel that they can’t look past Bertolt’s actions and think that his death was a long time coming. 33.3% felt very unnerved by his death and found his cries for help to be tragic. 8.8% are genuinely distressed about Bertolt dying.
I wish we got to know more about the dude... he'll be missed
Never felt this good
Bertholdt is such a tragic villain. Sad to see him go crying for his best friend and girl he loves
Berthold’s death was the worst thing and I’m still very sad about it
Finally Bertolt his dead. Reiner and Annie next please
Poor Bertholdt, treated as a sack of meat for the winner of the serum lottery…
I got choked up the most for Bertholdt's death. Like full on crying
HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN BERTOLT SMILED AS HE SPOTTED HIS FORMER COMRADES? 113 Responses
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41.6% felt sorry for Bertolt when he saw his former comrades and hoped they would help him. 20.4% feel that his smile heightened the tragedy of his death and felt it made it more painful. 16.8% felt angry that Bertolt had any hope that the people he tried to kill would try to help him live.
He Deserved the Marco treatment
Honestly this made me so happy to see. After all  Bertolt has done to his friends and all the people he’s killed, this scene made his death so much better since he could taste a small sample of the pain he’s caused.
It felt ironic
It fucking ended my sad ass
Sad
The first watch made his death feel satisfying, but after going back to it i feel bad for the guy
HOW HAVE YOUR OPINIONS ON THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS CHANGED?
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Many characters got a huge boost this episode with Hange getting the highest boost of all. Levi gained a lot of favorability just behind them, followed by Mikasa, Eren and then Jean. Opinions on Reiner, Bertolt and Zeke mostly remain unchanged, with a little more favorability toward Zeke and Bertolt. Floch is the character who moved most into the negative direction, although many appreciated the few moments of screen time he got in this episode.
WE'RE HEADED TO THE BASEMENT NEXT EPISODE! THOUGHTS ON WHAT THEY'LL FIND DOWN THERE? 109 Responses
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While we definitely asked a serious question, we couldn’t help but add in some joke answers. We’re glad to see you guys had enough sense of humor to play along with our silly whims.
But in all seriousness, 58.7% of viewers believe that in the basement will be information about the outside world. 39.4% feel there will be a lot of books, 36.7% believe it will be information about the warriors, or perhaps many believe it will be a combination of all three (and more).
For the fun answers, 20.2% believe it will be “the friends we made along the way,” 16.5% voted for the series’ creator, Isayama Hajime, and 11.9% think the pollsters will be waiting down there to surprise them! We’d love to be partying it up with Isayama down there! :P
I really hope they find a lot of useful info in the basement cuz this would’ve been all for nothing
Pretty sure cart titan has the contents of the basement on its back
The voice actors are inside the basement lol
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?
I'm sad
Why do people keep taking the time out to think or speak to their enemy?? Levi literally had the beast Titan in his hands, Hange had Reiner, and now look at them. Upsetting
It's unlikely, but I still think there's a chance that the colossal titan is a modification and not an inheritable ability, meaning Armin will just become a regular shifter. Nobody knows for sure that the power is inherited the same way as the coordinate
Still though, the whole ""Serumbowl"" thing was an interesting moral conundrum, even though it was obvious as to who would be getting the injection (Doesn't help that the OP to this season spoiled it too)
The weird titan with a backpack sneaking up and saving both Zeke and Reiner felt a bit forced for the story, it doesn't make sense to me that no one spots him coming in and saving the day for them
Waiting for Shikishima to show Eren his AppleTV next episode!
WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 104 Responses
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Thank you again to everyone who participated. We’ll see you again in a few days!
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nyxulansis · 6 years ago
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Types of Badass Characters
So, you want to write a badass character.  Where do you start?  What makes a character a Badass? 
This will serve as a decent foundation to start building a strong character that your readers can admire.  From there you’ll want to develop their personality - the particular ‘flavor’ that makes them a joy to watch.
The key trait to keep in mind is their strength of will, they should never be easy to push around. 
The Optimistic Badass
1. Idealistic - This is a character who sees the good in others, even when that person has a hard time seeing it in themselves.  The cynical among us will  mock them for their optimism, but these badasses know that the world isn’t as corrupt as some believe it to be.  Even if the world is corrupt, the Optimistic Badass won’t let it stay that way for long.
2. Forgiving - Forgiving those who have wronged you can be difficult.  You cling to the pain they’ve caused you and may think revenge is the only way to find peace of mind.  Instead of seeking revenge, the Optimistic Badass seeks to understand you and how your actions are just the result of being in pain as well.
3. Defiant - The world is full of pain and hardships.  It can feel, at times, that you are being punished for doing the right thing.  Sometimes it’s easier to give in to temptation and be selfish for once.  The Optimistic Badass is a character who, no matter how painful life gets, refuses to break their principles.
Example of an Optimistic Badass: Po from Kung Fu Panda.
The Pessimistic Badass
1. Prepared - It would take a miracle to pull one over on these characters.  They expect the worst out of everyone and everything, so they’ll rarely find themselves at a disadvantage.
2. Learners - Anytime you do catch them off guard they’ll simply learn from their mistakes.  These are the types of people who grow stronger with time.  Your only hope of beating them is the first time you encounter them; after that it’s a guarantee they’ve learned your weaknesses and will use them against you.
3. Survivalist - More of a side effect of being both prepared for the worst and learning from each failure.  They’ll quickly acquire the skills and tools to overcome any and all obstacles.
Example of the Pessimistic Badass: Joel from The Last of Us
The Feminine Badass
Note: Any gender can be a feminine badass, femininity is not limited to female characters.
1. Empathy - With a Feminine Badass you will never suffer alone.  Not only will they see the pain you try to hide, but they will also share in it with you.  They empower those around them through unconditional acceptance.  They seen the worst side of you, and they still love you.
2. Nurturing - Feminine Badasses are intuitive, they can see your potential and help you cultivate it.  They understand that everyone learns differently than others and will find the method that works best for you.  This is a common trait for mentors to have since it involves developing the strengths of others.
3. Creative - The strengths of femininity don’t come from brute strength or intimidation.  Instead, they come from subtlety and misdirection.  Through their social skills they motivate their allies to take action.  Through emotional intelligence they are able to connect with their enemies and help them heal from their pain.  You won’t even know they’ve back you into a corner until it’s too late.
Example of the Feminine Badass: Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Masculine Badass
Note: Just like femininity, masculinity is not gender specific.
1. Assertive - They have a healthy respect for their own boundaries and will not budge if you try to push them around.  They stand up against corruption and refuse to back down when they, or those they care about, are being treated unfairly.
2. Proactive - Not one to sit back and watch as life passes them by, the Masculine Badass goes out into the world to experience all it has to offer.  They are not the types to sit around and wait for permission to take action.  If they see something they want, they’ll go and get it.
3. Protector - They will ensure that no harm will come to those they care about.  This protective instinct is strongest where their loved ones are concerned, but they can also apply it to the innocent bystanders who are being abused.  They are the ones who will fight for those who can’t fight for themselves.
Example of the Masculine Badass: Ryuko Matoi from Kill la Kill.
The Comedic Badass
1. Humorous - Life may be filled to the brim with tragedies, but these characters won’t let their pain weigh them down.  If anything, they’ve learned how to see the humor in their suffering and uses it to lighten the mood. 
2. Spirited - You can beat them down and destroy what they love, but you will never break them.  No matter what you throw at them they’ll find a way to joke about it, making you feel like the idiot.  If anything, the Comedic Badass will be the one to break you than the other way around.   
3. Friendly - These are people who, typically, have hit rock bottom in their life and knows what it feels like to be helpless.  This is why they’re able to make jokes about everything, it’s how they cope with their pain.  When they see someone else just as lost as they once were, they reach out to them and help them find resolution with their trauma.
Example of a Comedic Badass: Deadpool/Wade Wilson.
The Serious Badass
1. Realistic - Concepts like good and evil don’t concern them since they know it’s all subjective.  You can label anything you don’t like as evil to justify your hatred of them.  Rather than labeling you as right or wrong based on their own biases, the Serious Badass will look at your actions with the intention of understanding your point of view.
2. Neutral - They tend not to take sides or get involved in the affairs of other people.  All they care about are the things that directly affect their them and their goals.  Unless you threaten their loved ones, they won’t likely get involved in your affairs.
3. Patient - A lot of times, people create their own problems by acting on their strong emotions before they have all of the facts.  The Serious Badass has a strong enough control over their emotions that, even if something upsets them, they’ll first observe their surroundings before they take action.
Example of a Serious Badass: Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke.
The Humble Badass
1. Unassuming - These are the types of badasses that you wouldn’t notice at first.  Their strengths are not of the flashy sort, like a masculine or comedic type, but of the quite and persistent type.  It may take you years before you realize their constant friendship and stability is the only reason your still sane. 
2. Dedicated - They’ll stay loyal to their friends, or their goals, even if it means suffering for it.  Why?  Because they know their hard work will make life better for other people.  It doesn’t matter to them if they never receive the credit for their actions, they just want to help others.
3. Giving - What little they have they will gladly share with others.  Whether it be there food, their home, or just their time these characters love to share it with those who need it.  These are the types of people who have an abundance mindset, a belief that you have more than enough resources to share with others.
Example of the Humble Badass: Amaterasu from Ōkami.
The Egotistic Badass
1. Self-worth - Most egotists are annoying due to their false and over inflated sense of their self-worth - they claim to be better than their actions can prove.  The Egotistic Badass, on the other hand, are as awesome as they claim to be if not more so.  We never get tired of listening to their boasting because we get to see how awesome they are in their actions.
2. Compassion - An odd trait for most egotists to have, but surprisingly appropriate for the Egotistic Badass.  If you told them that love makes you weak, they’ll completely agree with you; which is why they can afford to love someone.  Unlike most people, who reject love out of fear that their love will be used against them, the Egotistic Badass is confident in their ability to protect those they love.
3. Thrill-Seekers - What else are they supposed to do with all of their awesomeness?  The mundane life style is not, and will never be, enough for them.  They need to seek out new challenges to keep their skills sharp and expand their minds.
Example of the Egotistic Badass: Vino from Baccano.
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kyojuuros · 6 years ago
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Thoughts on Eren after 106
Chapter 106 was a really amazing chapter to me and while I wouldn't mind gushing about my feelings about all of it, my views mainly parrot those of others; the lighthearted moments made me smile, EMA separation makes me depressed, Zevi banter is life and Yelena is bae.
However, Eren’s one of my main areas of focus and I just have a lot of thoughts and feelings about him... well, all the time, really. I’ve had a lot of interesting discussions about him since the chapter dropped, and I feel ready to air out my thoughts here now. Please keep in mind this is purely all interpretation and opinion.
I don’t want to be too quick to jump on how Eren is behaving and thinking during the time skip and slap that onto the Eren of the present time who’s gained a little more perspective since then. Only time will really tell, but I see Eren during the flashbacks as being more “buildup and backtrack” character development to give us more insight on how Eren got where he is today, and why. Until we see more from present-day Eren, I’m still going to cling stubbornly onto what he had to say to Falco in the basement (and my hope for his overall character arc): 
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But regarding Eren during the time skip...
It is safe to say that Eren started to distance himself. It is apparent in the way he disagrees with his best friends, his withholding of information (no matter how justified), his very noticeable lack of presence in every scene that involved Yelena/Onyankopon/etc. teaching the Survey Corps about the world beyond the ocean and how he's constantly drawn at a distance from the other characters.
Eren saw some really horrifying things in his father’s memories. One of the last things we saw from him at 15 was telling Armin there is freedom beyond the walls, only to be haunted by the mangled corpse of his dead aunt - an innocent little girl who did nothing wrong. She died senselessly and violently because of her blood. He inherited memories of her murderer justifying what he did by saying she wasn’t human, that it was entertaining to watch Eldians eat each other alive. 
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These things have only served to fuel Eren’s cynicism. This is why he asked Armin if he saw anything in Bertolt’s memories. Because surely if Armin actually saw the way Eldians were treated beyond the walls, he would understand that diplomacy is not an option for them, right? That making friends is a pointless endeavor? He reminds his friends that the Marleyans they are holding in prison cells are still glaring at them. He reminds them that there is no convincing them that they’re not scary. The world sees them as monsters that can turn into titans. There’s no misunderstanding in that, and people’s minds aren’t changed so easily. Armin and Mikasa state they need more time and Eren agrees with them... So let’s get Zeke here so we can use the Wall Titans to stall for more time. 
While he certainly is aware that using the titans to rumble the planet is an option, that doesn’t seem to be the route he wants to take, at least not the way I see it. Is it an option? Quite possibly. Is it what Eren wants? I don’t think so. The only thing I gathered from this chapter was that Eren hopes to be able to use them as a deterrent - an intimidation tool so the world will leave them alone.
The Wall Titans are their last line of defense - their only hope of maintaining any kind of security in a world that wants them erased. They have to have access to those titans if there is any hope of surviving what the world has in store for them. It’s just as Yelena told Hange and Levi: the titans were, ironically, the only thing protecting Paradis from outside attackers. 
Eren was able to figure out the key to activating the coordinate on his own. But he knew that bringing it up could pose a big risk to Historia, and it was a risk he was unwilling to make... until his theory was proven correct and there was a living alternative seemingly willing to hand himself over to take on the role. He informs his superiors that activating the coordinate is possible through these conditions through his own experience, and admits that it was a hasty decision for him to keep that information to himself for Historia’s sake. He seems willing enough to trust Zeke right from the get-go that he’s willing to divulge this information. He sees it as their last hope. 
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Eren wants freedom for his people. Zeke claims that is also his ultimate goal. Zeke is willing to hand this power to Paradis, to help them make connections with other countries, to help them learn about the technology outside of the walls and provide them with weapons. It seems like a pretty good package deal, right? Zeke must obviously care about this a lot. So Eren is willing to trust his brother on this. At least, this is how it seems for now.
Ultimately, a big influence in how Eren’s story is going to end will depend on what Zeke does and whether we as the audience are seeing his true colors or not. And even more so how Eren responds to it. We have a few possible scenarios:
A) Zeke betrays Paradis and Eren doesn’t accept that and opposes him B) Zeke betrays Paradis and Eren goes along with him, believing in him more than the SC.  C) Zeke is genuine and his plan truly saves Eldia. There’s nothing for Eren to oppose. D) Zeke is genuine but wants to go forward with a plan that Eren disagrees with.
And so on... At this point, any of these could happen depending on where Eren’s mindset is at and what Isayama wants the theme for his story to be in the end. Personally, my bets are on options 1 and 3, depending on Zeke and based on what I know and understand about the core of Eren’s character so far. And good things to remember about Eren are:
He cares fiercely for his friends and has gone to extreme measures to protect them and save them - Jumping into the mouth of a titan, desperately punching a titan in the hand, withholding critical information, disobeying orders and pushing back against his superior officer... 
He’s learned through experience that the only person he can rely on is himself - When he believed in Levi’s Squad they were killed, when he trusted Armin not to get himself killed he would have died if not for the titan serum, when he trusted Levi to give him said serum, Levi hesitated. But the one time Eren believed in himself was the one time a plan went right for once and everyone was saved.
He is self-focused and at times can be self-righteous - He believed his cause to kill the titans and free humanity was the only cause worthwhile, that people who sought out comfort instead of being willing to fight were cowards, he even believed himself to be humanity’s salvation for a time. He was humbled and realized he’s just an average person given too big of a power and he stopped believing he was worth anything. He finally reconciled and accepted his role as an average person with a great power that only he possesses, and he carries on with that burden. He believes his choice to back Armin was the correct one despite the majority of people disagreeing with him. He believes that the way he views his world is the most realistic. He is ready to take on the burdens he chose becuase he believes these are the steps necessary to achieve the goal of freeing Eldia from their oppression.
He has a strong determination to bring about change and save his people - Fight titans and kill them to pave a path toward humanity’s freedom, a willingness to be nothing more than a military weapon, a willingness to sacrifice himself if that’s what it took to change things, taking matters into his own hands when he feels like the others are taking too long, being willing to play the part of the bad guy to get results. 
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All of these things can be seen as flaws or good traits, depending on the situation. But these are the things that make up the core of Eren’s character. Things that have been true throughout the entirety of the story. 
“If we win, we live. If we lose, we die. If you don't fight, you can't win!” 
This isn't a quote about aggression or showing how much bigger and stronger you are than the other guy. It's a quote about survival. It's about holding your ground and standing strong in a world that wants to eat you alive. It's about pushing back against those who want to weaken your presence or eliminate you completely. It's about taking control of your life when others want to rip it away from you. This is what Eren lives by. It is what he has lived by since he was a little boy. It is what he will live by until the day he dies.
He doesn't just fight others for the thrill or the bloodshed. He does it because that's the only way he can guarantee he has a shot at living. And he teaches this to others so they can do the same thing. He believes deeply in this and wants his people to fend for themselves and survive. They're at risk of being wiped out for no reason other than their blood. Over crimes their ancestors committed that they have nothing to do with. It's wrong and Eren won't have it. They must survive, and they can only do that if they fight.
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My hunch is that Eren was reciting his motto to himself in the mirror to remind himself of everything that’s gotten him to this point. Of why he attacked Liberio to retrieve Zeke and steal the power of the War Hammer Titan. He lost the trust and faith of his friends and comrades. One of them even got killed. He betrayed a young boy who’d only ever showed him kindness and respected him a great deal. The world sees him as public enemy #1. He chose to take on the role of the bad guy and he openly declared as much. 
To Eren, Zeke is the key to Eldia’s salvation. They are both ticking time bombs, and he could no longer sit around and wait to make nice with the rest of the world. He needed to take action and he needed to do it before Zeke’s thirteen years claim his life. Without Zeke, for Eren, all hope is lost. All of the above were things he was willing to risk because he felt that it was the only way. 
With the knowledge we currently have, we can safely conclude that the attack on Liberio was set up and orchestrated solely by Zeke. Eren is no strategist. He simply went along with it, playing the role of the villain, in order to successfully get Zeke to Paradis while also crippling Marley and giving them more time. The plan was deliberate and with purpose. It wasn't revenge, it wasn't warmongering, it wasn't senseless bloodshed. Eren saw it as a necessary evil, a means to an end. 
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But that doesn’t mean his time in Marley couldn’t have changed the way he perceived the world beyond the ocean. He opened up to Falco, trusted and respected him, genuinely liked him and wished him to live a long life. He learned to understand Reiner’s position. He reconciled and felt pity for him rather than anger. He no longer wants to kill him, but instead wants to understand him. He realizes that they are two sides of the same coin and accepts it. After spending some weeks in Marley, Eren wants Falco to listen to him and hear him out. They are all the same. Behind the walls, beyond the ocean, everywhere is filled with good and bad people. To me, it feels like Eren wants the next generation to understand this fact so that the cycle of history and violence doesn’t have to continue on like this forever. Paradis aren’t devils, Eldians aren’t evil. People are just people.
Whether he expected Falco and Reiner to die in that basement is still up for debate, but I’m hopeful that Eren simply trusted Reiner to step in and protect Falco from the blast. He knows that Reiner, like him, will go to great lengths to protect the people he cares about. He saw it firsthand with Bertolt when he was kidnapped by them.
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But the understanding he gives to Reiner and the commentary he gives to Falco are different than his unwavering position when he talks with Armin and Mikasa two years prior. Back then he was certain that Marleyans can’t be befriended, the entire world sees them as monsters, there’s no way out of this without the coordinate. But Eren in the present time? He sees that everyone is the same. It doesn’t matter where you are. The damage he’s about to inflict on Liberio will be the same as what was inflicted on him and he understands that. And he shows remorse at his actions in the way he softens his expression to Mikasa when she sorrowfully tells him he’ll never be able to take it back. He shows it in the way he has a complete mental breakdown when he learns of Sasha’s death.
Seeing Eren in the flashbacks and what pushed him to leave and attack Liberio is certainly interesting and adds to his overall character development. But it’s good to remember to look forward and see how Eren reconciles with what he did in Liberio and what his actions will be moving forward. Is he spiraling down the hole of dark morality? Do his actions truly require redemption? If so, will he redeem himself? Will he really become the bad guy by the end? Will all of this be worth it in the end or will his efforts be completely fruitless? 
Eren has become a very complex character and what he brings to the narrative has become far more interesting than that of your average shonen protagonist. He’s become controversial, morally questionable, unpredictable. But rather than condemn him without fully knowing all of the context, I’ve found him to become such a fascinating character to read and I’m all the more curious about what road he’s going to take. I’m very eager to see what Isayama’s plans are for him!
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jcmorgenstern · 6 years ago
Note
please rant about the second half of COLS and COHF
this ask opened pandora’s box, consume at your own peril
Basically…my biggest problems with the second half of COLS and COHF as a whole is really just…Jonathan as a character really, truly, utterly, and absolutely makes no sense on a very fundamental level. Like I really don’t say this lightly, I spent almost all of last summer trying to piece together a coherent characterization and eventually came to the conclusion that…there wasn’t one, at least that I could see.
(Readmore for length, heavy criticism of the work (obviously), and mention of canonical attempted rape).
So before I jump right in to providing evidence for that uhh slightly bold claim, I do want to acknowledge that Jonathan in COG totally makes sense, even if certain uhh incestuous aspects of his character do make my eyes roll back into my skull. To me, it always seemed a bit evident that the series was meant to end at COG, and the second half of the trilogy was sort of an ad hoc thing that happened after the series kept building popularity and there was demand from the fandom (and the publisher) for content. If taken alone, Jonathan’s character in COG is relatively self-consistent, and I’ve posted before (also at length….lol) about how Jonathan’s character in COG alone is actually a bit tragic, and it’s not until COLS that he truly makes a villainous turn off a cliff. Though the incest is, from the start, #a bit much, we all know that that’s just how CC novels go and, to some extent, ya just gotta roll with it.
The first half of COLS continues to be pretty exciting from a Sebastian Enthusiast perspective–in fact, for me, it’s really what made me fall in love/hate with the character and his portrayal to begin with. And some of the character work in the first half of COLS is actually pretty good!! We have the moral ambiguity of the Jace/Seb bond, Clary being unable to tell to what degree Sebastian in lying, the slightly random, wild, and jumbled snips of his character coming through (vampire threesome, vampire fetish, wearing Jace’s cologne??, fashion whore, messy bitch, shitty poetry writer?? it’s all free real estate) and then he lays out what could have been such an interesting plot!!
All the mentions of the increasing number of demons coming through to Earth is finally being used after being mentioned ad nausea for three whole books!! We’re set up for an interesting, shades of grey antagonist who thinks the ends justify the means and that sometimes a Wee Murder is needed to end an unjust regime (the Clave) without realizing that removing the Clave violently without any real and just alternative will create a power vacuum that invites even worse outcomes!! And the protagonists have to navigate slightly more complex moral issues than “genocide is bad, really!!”
And then…er, no. Like, really no. The entire book does a complete 180 and says no, all that (questionable) character development was a complete lie, all the human motivations you could possibly ascribe to the villain are bunk, he just wants to destroy the world. And not only that, he tries to rape Clary and….yeah no. (I’ll talk more about that later…I have a lot to say).
And for me that was really a massive disappointment. Like, to be clear: it wasn’t that I wanted Jonathan to be a pure uwu soft boi who did nothing wrong ™, or that he would be anything other than an antagonist. But like….a) rape. no. and b) I did sort of want his motivations OR his goal to sort of make sense and follow any sort of reason but honestly…they don’t.
The rationale CC tries to offer is that Jonathan doesn’t understand the meaning of love and wants to bend the world to his will so that it will love him instead. And like….that works to an extent, but then she also very clumsily attempts to make him a psychopath and…
Look.
If you’ve followed my blog for a while you know my feelings on poorly-written psychopath characters but…I’m gonna be real honest with ya here….a true psychopath is, with a very few fine exceptions like the entire population of high-security prisons, super fucking boring. They’re emotionally shallow, both internally and externally, and are usually driven by very grounded and unemotional goals. Winning a promotion. Attaining a position of power. Becoming a neurosurgeon. Having the best lawn in the zip code. “The psychopath next door” isn’t Hannibal Lecter, it’s your shitty boss or that one prick who calls the HOA on you for having your lawn one (1) millimeter over regulation.
And you know what? I’d take a story about Hannibal Lecter, lawn fascist. I’d maybe even take a story about Jonathan Morgenstern, shitty CEO, though honestly that sounds dangerously close to 50SOG so maybe not. Because if written well, the sensational serial-killer psychopath can be genuinely thrilling in fiction.
But honestly in this case?? It doesn’t work. Not even getting into the issue of “are signs and symptoms of psychopathy diagnostic in a child soldier” issue (pro tip: almost definitely not), why does he want to burn down the world? Why does he want to kill downworlders if he is basically one? How does he react to his father’s ideology? Does he even have a consistent ideology? Why doesn’t he stay at home playing Mario Kart?? If you can’t answer any of these questions, psychopath or no, anything he does is literally just not convincing and falls flat.
And now I’m going to segue into my “demon blood as a metaphor for child abuse” rant, which will hopefully segue into my “the demon army and ending of COHF is bullshit” rant, and maybe round it all up with my “you don’t have to have your villain graphically try to rape his sister to convince your audience of teenagers he’s a Bad Dude” rant.
So! Demon blood. So full disclosure, the scene in question is probably my actual favorite scene in COLS and the series at large, god knows why really, but it was actually pretty well-written as a hook for a thread that was totally dropped and never ever ever mentioned again. I’m talking about the scene where Jonathan asks Clary for a strength rune, and he tells her Valentine whipped him as a child with demon metal. His wounds will never heal, and serve as a reminder of the “perils of obedience” which is, quite possibly, the most chilling and interesting turn of phrase in the entire series.
And if you think about it, “wounds that will never heal but hurt constantly” are a pretty canny metaphor for the emotional abuse that shapes Jonathan and his ability (or lack thereof) to relate to others. Valentine never particularly loved or even cared for Jonathan, and used him as a child solider (drop me another ask if you want to know the rationale behind that one, kind of not a lot of space for that here) in his genocidal crusade, complete with brainwashing and pretty obvious physical and emotional abuse. That stays with him, twists the way he views love and truth, and leaves him with a permanently negative view of self and worldview that he doesn’t seem to put much effort into overcoming. To be clear: being abused doesn’t make you evil. But in the absence of love and support and positive role models to help you unlearn things, anger and pain can twist even good motives into bad actions, and lbr, Jonathan doesn’t have an over-abundance of good motives. The real peril of obedience is never questioning what you’re told.
But of course it’s never mentioned again, so like, fuck me or whatever.
The show does a better job of it, and almost directly links Jonathan being Like That to what Valentine, Jocelyn, and Lilith did to him and…does a pretty good job of not woobifying him or dismissing his pain. Him having demon blood is almost completely uncoupled from him being “evil” (or, more accurately, doing evil or cruel things) and is instead his responsibility. What makes him “incapable of love” is that he was never shown love, and what makes him violent and cruel is that he was only ever taught violence and cruelty.
But in the books demon blood is definitely intended a metaphor for psychopathy. “He had the humanity burned out of him because of his demon blood” “he’s incapable of love because of his demon blood”…you get the picture. But considering she honestly doesn’t really hit psychopathy and (to me) pings in more at ASPD (antisocial personality disorder, the DSM-V approved version of psychopathy, with some MAJOR and important differences in diagnostic criteria) or NPD (narcissistic personality disorder), I sort of…don’t like how demon blood is directly used as a metaphor for mental illness. And once the demon blood is gone…poof! so is his “evil” so uhh yall read between the lines with me on that one.
(If you want a rant on why I think book Jonathan fits better with ASPD or NPD than psychopathy, drop me an ask, but god please consider the consequences. Also, I generally don’t feel comfortable “”diagnosing”” villains for the hell of it, but in this case since the canon itself has already Gone There and I’d be operating mostly off the DSM, I’d feel slightly less shitty about it).
Anyway. So what I deeply, passionately, truly hate about COHF is the ending, when the demon blood is burned out of Poor Green-Eyed Jonathan and There Is Not Enough Good In Him So He McFucking Dies. What fucking enrages me about this is like…the ENTIRE series is about how “blood doesn’t equal morality” EXCEPT in the case of this one guy apparently because fuck him and fuck consistency!! Also on a slightly different tack it completely erases all culpability of him as a person and like….what, “the demon blood made me do it” is now a viable excuse?? what the fuck. no. what the fuck. also what does “not enough good in him” even MEAN in the context of someone who LITERALLY DESCENDED HIS MOTHER’S BIRTH CANAL THAT WAY oh my god its??? so fucking stupid and the philosophical implications ENRaGE me especially like.,,,as a geneticist….we kind of had a wee run-in with that kind of thinking….it was called “eugenics” you may have heard of it….G OD !!!
Also that doesn’t even get into the contradictory nature of Jonathan’s actual characterization (I use the term loosely) itself like…sometimes his dialogue reads almost like Jace’s, but by the end of COHF he literally quotes Jesus Christ (render unto Caesar’s what is Caesar’s), says “FOOLS!!11!!1!” like….literally once a page, I think at some point dips into vaguely Shakespearean English while violently whiplashing into whatever “ ‘You’re insane,’ said Simon. ‘You’re dead,’ said Sebastian” is?? and is overall an editor’s literal worst nightmare. There is NOTHING driving this character other than pure, unrestrained literary chaos, and absolutely nothing he does or says seems to make a hell of a lot of sense and is designed purely #4 the evulz. It’s just so painfully cartoonish that it physically pains me to read it and yet, here I am, holding the physical (hardback) copy that I own, reading it, and physically shuddering jesus CHRIST
(You did uh, definitely ask for a rant, right?)
OH yeah uhh and to round it all off…the “you don’t have to have your villain graphically try to rape his sister to convince your audience of teenagers he’s a Bad Dude” rant:
Look my friends there’s nothing wrong with Clebastian but there is definitely something wrong with rape and lbr: there’s a lot of it written into this character and his relationship with his SISTER and fuckign thanks!! I absolutely hate it. Apparently, when asked why she chose to include the graphic attempted rape scene in COLS, CC apparently said she “wanted to make sure the audience knew he was beyond saving.”
Look.
Look.
When a guy builds a demon army to obliterate the world and everyone in it, I generally get bad vibes. Worse vibes, in fact, than from a guy who tried to rape his sister, though that’s pretty fuCKING bad. The point is, there is absolutely no fucking reason to do that. Seriously, there’s not. And when your entire NYT bestselling fanfic series is based on the incest fetish HP fanfiction, it’s?? proBABly not the best idea to like…include an attempted rape scene between two siblings in a work that already has a lot of UST between presumed or actual siblings because people WILL talk and.,,,can u blame them lol
On a more serious note…female protagonists are so often forced to undergo rape or sexual humiliation as part of a narrative (or worse, for titillation of the viewers–looking at you, GOT and also yeah lbr COLS). Even in the show, which has definitely improved on some weaknesses in the original narrative, Clary is nearly raped by a demon in order to awaken her rune powers. That’s disgusting, honestly, and unnecessary, and you know what? Luke Skywalker didn’t have to face a rape threat to get his powers, and neither should a female counterpart. The show didn’t even ADDRESS this later, or even bring it up at all, and that’s even more upsetting, and part of why I don’t have faith in the WR to bring the concept of a Jonathan-Clary bond in 3b to life in a way that doesn’t make me want to curl up into my epidermis like a chrysalis and never emerge again. (See also: Lilith’s unaddressed sexual assault of Jace, and Camille’s equally unaddressed assault of Simon).
And what bothers me almost more than all this is…it’s not like Jonathan’s creepiness is subtle. He constantly invades Clary’s personal space, makes comments she’s uncomfortable with, puts her in situations she doesn’t like. You could leave it there and I guarantee most of your readership (especially your female/female-aligned readers) will INSTANTLY pick up on the fact that this guy is Bad News and you know what?? Clary isn’t subjected to that bs for….the heck of it?? Not that subtlety is ever the strong point of this series but like…that’s a huge glaring issue and one I can never overlook, and why I’ve honestly chosen to basically Ignore Canon And Do Whatever The Fuck I Want.
In summary: Jonathan was basically shoed in as a) a half-assed foil to Jace and b) a plot device/fix and c) fodder for more incest after Jace and Clary were no longer brother and sister and tbh?? Not entirely here for it.
tldr: jonathan morgenstern is a dumb bitch and no one is valid, more at 9.
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kindredconfectionery · 7 years ago
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Part 1 of 2 - Set Tuesday 20 March 2018 (The Vernal Equinox)
It only took 84 years, but I’m finally posting John’s current plot only 13 days after the events here took place. The plot itself is still in progress, but have day 1. (Work kicked my ass for basically 10 of those days.)
There comes a time when you can’t prepare anymore. You’ve trained. And trained. And trained some more to the point your trainers had to take you by the shoulders, look deep into your eyes, and tell you to stop. You’ve not only picked out the perfect outfit, but you actually made it yourself, with just a little help from your friends. Had some of this been a stalling tactic? Perhaps, but some of it was legitimate concern of being ill-prepared. When there’s so much riding on a single shot, it’s hard not to want to be as thorough as possible. But as possible had come, and maybe even gone again. Now it’s just fear holding him back, and he can’t justify waiting any longer.
Goofing off is fun, and he’d rather simply act like everything is perfectly normal and not potentially about to go to hell in a handbasket. John is well aware this plan is idiotic and ill-advised, prone to disaster, with dozens of ways it can fail. Nevertheless, it’s the one he’s going with. Their home is currently untraceable, and if he doesn’t bring anyone with him, they can’t be harmed on his behalf. That’s his primary concern, however soft it may seem to some of them. There’s also the concern at least one might be prone to recklessness for his own completely understandable reasons, and John would rather not risk that occurring when walking into the heart of enemy territory.
He’s said good-bye to everyone, including Moro, even though the baby was fast asleep and Cecilia was giving him a subtle stink eye he not awaken him. He was glad of the presence of something to take her mind off the loss of her husband, even if it was John’s own unasked for child. However mismatched they’d seemed, there were no two people more devoted to one another than Kevin and Cecilia, and John could see it wearing on her each day he wasn’t there, would never be there again. All because he happened to answer the door at the wrong time at John’s behest.
Knowing that there was no way he could have known any of this made it no easier to bear the guilt of everyone’s losses. Once they were safe, a couple of members had deserted, and he’d hardly been about to stop them. They had every right to abandon a leader who couldn’t keep them safe. John had wished them well and given them resources to sustain themselves until they could be properly independent.
If he was lucky, what he was about to do would stop the hemorrhaging of people. If he was unlucky, it probably wouldn’t matter what happened. They would be doomed or they would continue to flee, but he feared the former to be more likely.
Admonishing Streak to take good care of his pineapple for him, which she promises she will, he starts punching in the coordinates on his watch. He’s surprised by a sudden tug on his collar and lips pressed hard and fast to his. He blinks at the culprit, who grins and fingerspells out ‘For luck,’ in their mutual rapid fire style. “
He grins back, agreeing, “For luck.”
Taking a deep breath, he engages the transport mechanism and appears in an area that seems to be both deserted and a place that screams for anyone happening by to go away and not look any closer. There’s absolutely nothing to see there. It would be convincing too, if not for the thrumming of magic in the air.
The place was lousy with it, the high concentrations of it causing the Power contained within John’s body to sing in return. He stands there, arms raising until they’re stretched out from his sides, hands at hip level just letting it wash over him. Damn, but if this didn’t feel magnificent. He couldn’t absorb anything this way, but he wished he could. He’d never be hungry again.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t just stand there all night like someone using up all the hot water standing under the showerhead. He had a mission, and he needed to get started.
John still had very little in the way of finesse with unfamiliar magic, so he simply focuses himself, punching a blast through the illusion and diversion shield. That would have been the opposite of a good idea if he had been looking to maintain any hope of stealth. It wasn’t his plan to be stealthy, however. He wanted them to know he was here. What better way than to stroll right through their front door.
Unfortunately, John’s aim couldn’t be quite that lucky. He strides across the yard of the moderately sized home as if he owns the place and knows exactly where he’s headed. In some ways, he does. His enhanced senses tell him he has set off every alarm bell the witches possess when he damaged their handiwork.
Figures appear as blurs, stopping in front of him in attack mode. He hold his hands up in surrender. “You guys really ought to mark your doors better. It’s such a pain having to walk around the side because it was camouflaged,” he quips, offering them a cheerful smile.
Unfortunately, the cheer is all one-sided. The guards snarl threateningly at him. “Take me to your leader?” John prompts, keeping up the friendly visit facade for the moment. “Please?”
Whether they simply don’t buy the act or the invasion is too surprising, no one finds his joke very amusing. One of them finally seems to relax enough to stand up neutrally, though the other remains ready to strike should John say something he didn’t like. “How did you find us?”
John smiles, replying enigmatically. “Sore wa himitsu desu.”
“Stop trying to be cute. How did you get in?” he barks in return.
“I don’t have to try. I’m naturally adorable.” He shrugs at the growl from the more aggressive of the pair. Everyone’s a critic. “I would think how I got in was fairly obvious. I punched a hole in your shell and hopped through it. I’d suggest patching it up as soon as possible. You never know what might come wandering in.”
“They’re working on it. What is it you want here?” Every word out of this guy’s mouth sounds like he’s supremely put out by having to speak it.
“I already told you. I’m here to see Violet,” he explains patiently.
“Violet? There’s no Violet here. Try again, and make it good this time, because this is the last try you’re getting before I put you back through the hole piece by piece.”
“I really wouldn’t advise that.” John lifts a hand, casually scratching his head in a way that moves his hair to reveal his Mark. He puts the hand back in the surrender pose when the wide eyes of the welcoming wagon make it clear they have both seen and understood what it means. “Silly me. It’s been so long. Of course she’d be going by something else. Sorry. My bad. But it really is important I speak with her, so if you could see fit to take me to your leader, I would be ever so grateful.”
The two vampires look at each other, neither sure what to do. They didn’t have a plan for this. No one could have expected John to come waltzing in to their compound alone and looking to chat with their leader.
John sighs in exasperation, rolling his eyes. Clearly he got the Mensa branch of the group. “If I wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead. We all know it. You have my word I am not here to attack anyone tonight unless I absolutely have to. Now I’m going to start walking again, and you’re welcome to join me or stand around with your jaws flapping in the breeze.” As soon as he’s finished speaking, he makes good on his word, continuing around the pair on his way to where the front of the building is likely to be.
It takes them a moment to process what just happened before they’re scurrying to catch up. One of them serves as an escort, the other goes on ahead to advise the clan as to what’s happening.
The door is still open when the pair make it to the porch to enter it, the dim interior dotted with the curious glittering eyes of what would appear to be most of the clan peering out to see John as they enter. He’s wearing a big, cheesy grin, inclining his head or a hand in a friendly wave. “Surprise!”
The ones who aren’t insanely curious as they’ve never seen him before don’t seem thrilled to see John there, but he ignores the animosity. What else would someone deliberately marching themselves into enemy territory expect but to be met with suspicion and loathing?
They lead him to a room no better or worse than any other in the place, which surprises him not at all. It’s Violet’s style to show her power through her actions, not where she happens to live. This place is likely a utilitarian choice anyhow and not meant for comfort or luxury.
She waves a hand dismissively at his escort. “Leave us.”
“M’Lady?” Clearly this was unexpected and it’s not met with pleasure.
“I said leave us. He’s not going to attack if he went to all the trouble of letting you walk him in here.” A bow and an apology later, John’s escort leaves, shutting the door behind him. She shakes her head, muttering about problematic help before turning her attention to her visitor, who has remained patiently waiting in a pose resembling parade rest.
“Donovan.”
“Violet.”
Neither of them go by those names anymore, but as she chose to lead with the name she knew him as, he returns the favor rather than correcting her to his current name he knows she knows.
“I should have expected this from you. You never do things in a way that makes efficient sense. If you could find us, why didn’t you bring your kindred and simply wipe us out?” It’s an honest and reasonable question, presented with genuine curiosity.
He smiles at her, a wistful expression tinged with sadness. “As beautiful and bloodthirsty as ever. You know violence isn’t my way if another solution can be found.”
Violet arches her eyebrow, challenging him with her expression. They wouldn’t be here now if that were entirely true, and they both know it. She continues to hold her silence, but gestures for him to have a seat.
Since he isn’t planning on immediately leaving, John accepts the offer, situating himself on a nearby chair. He tucks both legs up under him until he’s seated cross-legged on the chair. His hands clasp, draping his forearms across his thighs, the picture of a casual teenager hanging out. “My entire life is predicated on the statement ‘Everyone makes mistakes.’”
“Your mistakes bring death. Even now people die because of you.”
His lip curls at her unfortunately factual observation. “Yes. I might have noticed. I might also have noticed I’m sitting across from one.”
Violet sneers back at him. “I am only what you made me to be. As was your brother.”
The only indication she got to him with the comment about Jake is a small eye twitch. “My brother is not germane to this conversation, but I am sorry for the pain I caused you. I was wrong, and I can never make it right. The deaths of my family at the hands of your people don’t change that.”
“Isn’t he?” Her musical laugh is more terrifying than any threat Violet could level against him. Inside, John quails at it, even as his mask is unshaken. If she doesn’t know who she has in her dungeon, she has suspicions, which isn’t good at all. That kind of knowledge is more power than she should have. At the same time, this offers him a glimpse at her cards, so she may not have as much of an advantage over him as she would like to believe. “Maybe they can’t bring him back, but it makes you hurt, and if that’s the best I can do, then I’ll take it. And don’t think just because you found a new hidey-hole, we won’t find you.”
“I have no doubt. Your tenacity is one of the things that most attracted me to you. One of my great regrets in life is causing it to twist into this. But that’s what I do, isn’t it? I take the beautiful and sublime and turn it to rot. No amount of whitewashing can ever fill in the holes left behind.” He hadn’t meant to wax poetic, but every word he said was sincere. He had loved Violet, and he had hurt her greatly. She has every right to hate him, and John is almost glad she isn’t willing to simply forgive him and love him again the way Jake had.
Her eyes flash, a deep violet which the name he had bestowed upon her so many centuries ago was drawn from. “Don’t think you can win me over with pretty words. You ripped open my heart and left it on the ground to bleed. And now you come here, invading my protected sanctuary, to what? Distract us while the rest of your people prepare for an assault?”
“Hardly.” His lips quirk up in the faintest of smiles. “What remains of my people wouldn’t stand a chance against yours, even if they knew where we were or how to get in. I’m here to ask for a truce.”
“And why on Earth would I agree to that?” she retorts incredulously. It’s not a no, which John counts as a point in his favor.
“Because now you have me. I come to you as a trade for peace against my family. They don’t deserve what’s happening. Not a single one of them was even alive at the time, and they don’t deserve to be used as punishment because you can’t strike directly at me without destroying either yourself or whoever you send in your stead.” As vicious as Violet is, he knows she does care for those she’s taken in. It used to be her way, and he believes it still is or she would have allowed a direct strike against him personally.
She laughs again. “And what good does having you do me? You said yourself I can’t end you without consequence.”
“I know,” he concedes, “But it’s the best I can offer.”
“No. The best you can offer is killing yourself and ridding the world of the plague that is John Crocker the third aka Donovan aka Cain son of Adam, the first born of the world, bringer of death to humanity. A fitting fate for his mother’s son who brought us all down out of perfection.” John sits stone faced throughout her litany of his sins and the single, apparently necessary one of Eve’s. There’s no point in objecting to anything Violet says. She’s not wrong. “But you won’t do that, will you? Even now you’re too much of a coward to do the right thing. The thing you should have done way back at the beginning instead of running away.”
“You wouldn’t still be alive if I had done that,” he points out.
Violet shrugs, not really caring about a detail such as that. “As it should have been. You disrupted the natural order of things. By the time I realized I would have been far better off without you, it was too late. You’d charmed me into taking pleasure in watching the world change even as I never would.”
“Another of my many sins I can never atone for if given another thousand lifetimes.”
“Don’t bother.” She waves a hand dismissively. “I absolve you of the guilt for that one. If I’d really wanted to die, I could have done so with ease. If not by my own hand, then perhaps that of your little hunter.”
“I beg your pardon?” Jake isn’t the first hunter John’s ever been on friendly terms with, but he is the only current one, and he was known to this clan in times past, so he is assuming she means him.
“Don’t play coy with me. It doesn’t suit you.”
“I’m not playing anything. I don’t have any hunters. Why would I? Their whole mission is to bring death to us. I’m not going to keep one around where he can pick people off at leisure.”
While his facade of ignorance had been good, it hadn’t been perfect, and Violet catches the slip. “I never said it was a he.”
“So? The vast majority of hunters are male. It’s a safe bet, and a generic pronoun. I could easily have said she and had as much chance of being right, but I played the odds.” Way to contradict yourself there, John.
She doesn’t seem to be buying that explanation either. “Stop lying to me. You’re not very good at it, and the only one going to suffer for it is him.” She lifts her right hand, spreading her fingers. On her pinky is the ring John had given to Jake as their rings of self-proclaimed binding to one another. “It’s quite lovely, if a strange design. What does it mean?”
His eyes flick to the ring, jaw tightening. If he hadn’t been sure he should leave the ring home before, now he was especially glad he had. “How should I know? It’s not my ring.”
“Bullshit. My people saw you wearing one just like it. Only the two of you. No one else.”
“Double bullshit.” He lifts both hands, revealing no jewelry and even pulls his shirt to show nothing on a necklace either. “How could they tell anything of the sort when they were busy slaughtering innocent people?”
She snorts. Innocent people her ass. But debating that will get them nowhere, so she leaves the subject be. “Then you left it home. Smart. But irrelevant. I know what I need to know about him. He’s important enough to you for you to mark him as yours. He has the right look too. I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this...” she trails off, leaving it hanging in the air for John to draw his own conclusions.
“Get a better map. This one has obviously led you down the wrong path.” It’s a warning, one they both know means she’s right, regardless of what John is trying to say otherwise.
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks." It’s all he can do not to punch the smug look off Violet’s face as she quotes Shakespeare at him. The correct version of the quote, no less, and not the inverted one that became popular. Somehow that makes it worse, but he couldn’t say exactly how or why. “What do you think he would think of what you’re doing now? Abandoning your family running away like you always have when things get tough.”
“I’m not running away. I’m running toward something. Toward the threat to them. I can’t protect them from you there, so I came to the source to nip it in the bud.”
“To try to nip it in the bud. And to fail miserably. You couldn’t possibly ever have truly believed this would work? Not if you knew me as well as you claimed to. Or as my little gift should have told you.”
The mention of Streak finally breaks his mask of indifference, drawing a growl from him. “You tortured and turned a little girl. Decorated her and sent her to me like a gift. Why?”
“A reminder. You’d gotten too complacent, and I had been hoping you’d remember there were threats even your little hunter calling a truce couldn’t stop. But you didn’t listen until it was too late. What a shame.” She clucks her tongue, shaking her head.
“Why her? She means nothing.”
The look Violet gives him speaks volumes, basically saying ‘I know something you don’t know,’ but also a bit of surprise he doesn’t know it too. “Doesn’t she?”
“She doesn’t,” he avers. Now he knows he’ll need to figure out who Streak is, regardless of the outcome of this visit.
“Suit yourself then.” It’s of little concern to her whether John cares as to who the gift was. “We don’t have a deal.”
John starts to say something, but closes his mouth again when she holds up a finger, telling him to wait because she has something more to say.
“We don’t have a deal, but we do have a temporary cease fire. I’m willing to admit you finding us and coming here alone to talk and offer yourself as tribute wasn’t something we expected. I promise I won’t attack your family yet, provided you remain here and they make no moves against us, while I consider the options currently at our disposal.”
This doesn’t strike John as a benevolent consideration so much as it makes no difference to promise to wait as she doesn’t know where the safe house is yet, so she can’t do anything anyway. It’s the best offer he’s likely to get at the moment, so he finally nods. “Agreed.”
Violet calls in one of her minions, instructing them to set their guest up in a room of his own. Dipping her head in deference, the girl promises the lady Alys she’ll do it right away before hurrying off to do so, singing quietly to herself. This draws a deep sigh from Violet. She should have expected no less.
John, having stood to go with the girl, smiles and chuckles softly. “Alys is a pretty name. It suits you.”
“I didn’t ask you for your opinion of my name, Donovan,” she snaps back.
Her annoyance draws the smile into a grin. “I know, which is why I gave it anyway.” Before she has a chance to object, John leans in and kisses her, soundly but with genuine affection. A part of him will always love her, regardless of what else happens between them. Drawing back he meet Violet’s eyes during her moment of surprise. “I will be getting that ring back,” he promises in a low voice full of unspoken menace.
Giving a little wave, he turns on his heel to track down the girl who seems more than a few apples short of a barrel.
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