#the kinds of issues she has i think she really needs an 'equal' to extend that kindness.

[skybristle]

everyone in sparks group is honestly such a fucking loser. like her too but at least she can slay. everyone else is just miserable and slapfighting. get cooler friends /hj

[antianakin]

If you were in charge of the Star Wars Prequels how would you have written Anakin? (assuming the only thing you can't do is erase him from canon :P)

Would you learn into Anakin's evilness or try to make him more sympathetic?

Honestly? I don't have THAT much of an issue with Anakin's general characterization in the Prequel Trilogy. I think for the most part that Anakin is a really interesting character in the Prequels and pretty unique as far as villain origin stories and action heroes of the time tended to be written. The focus on Anakin as FEARFUL, as someone who CRIES a lot and is AWKWARD and honestly not suave or smooth AT ALL (unless he's giving himself over to darkness, generally) is actually a really interestingly novel choice to go for. And that unique aspect of him is, arguably, why Anakin was so despised in the Prequels for being "whiny" and "annoying" and people really did not vibe with this weird awkward dude as proto-Vader. Obi-Wan as the much more competent, smooth, suave character with all of the snarky one-liners comes off looking much better in comparison. Same with Padme, usually.

So I wouldn't actually change the CORE of Anakin, the journey he goes on and the way his vices tend to be shown. TCW has already done that, they've just replaced Anakin's less likable characteristics with Obi-Wan's much more affable personality. They gave him snarky one-liners, he's now suave and smooth and charming, etc. It's annoying and it's boring.

But there are two things that don't work for me that I WOULD change if I were capable of going back in time and influencing Lucas's mind towards certain rewrites.

One is that I would make his romance with Padme more believable. The problem with the romance in AOTC for me is that you can completely believe that Anakin would be into Padme, but it feels a lot more difficult to understand why Padme is into Anakin in return. Especially after he murders an entire village of people down to the last child (we'll come back to this one). So we need to be told more WHY Padme is so into him when he is this weird, awkward, whiny manchild. Like, sure, he's pretty, but being pretty isn't enough to explain why Padme is willing to jeopardize her entire career to marry him by the end of the film.

So Padme either needs to be more corrupt, more angry herself, more connected to this part of Anakin that desires power, or they need to show us a better genuine connection. One of the things from the extended/deleted scenes from AOTC that I think could've helped with this is the bits where Padme mentions she had thought she'd be a wife and a mother by now and we see how close she is to her own family when she takes Anakin there. We know how close Anakin was to his mother and I think it would've been REALLY easy to use that as an easy connection. You could even help along the next movie by having Anakin mention that when he was a kid, he'd always sort-of wanted a big family. He didn't HATE that it was just him and his mom obviously, but it had been a sort of dream of his that one day they'd be free and he'd find a beautiful wife and have a big family for Shmi to dote on later in life. This gives Anakin and Padme a shared dream that neither of them is allowed to pursue due to their chosen careers. They've both sacrificed a desire for a family in favor of duty to the galaxy so when they get together later, you can kind-of understand why. No one else gets it but each other, etc.

The second thing I would change is the Tusken Massacre. I think that going as far as completely massacring the entire village is too far too soon. This is something that works only if you as the viewer don't truly see the Tuskens as equal to humans like Shmi or a people like the Jedi. The Tuskens aren't QUITE animals maybe, but they're also just savages who torture innocent women to death, so their deaths aren't sad for THEIR sake, the massacre is sad because of what it represents for Anakin - it's the beginning of the end. And obviously from a modern viewpoint, this really doesn't work anymore, especially with the way the Tuskens are being written these days. It also feels a little redundant with Order 66. It's not as impactful that he murders Jedi children when we already saw him murder Tusken children in the last movie. Baby murder is baby murder, there's no escalation in the evil he commits aside from sheer numbers I guess.

So I would probably have Anakin either choose to just leave the village quietly without killing anyone, or have him stop at just the guards/men and leave the women/children alive and either way he admits to Padme that he WANTED to kill them all and only just barely stopped himself. This also helps the romance aspect in that now you don't have to figure out why Padme is super chill with marrying a MASS BABY MURDERER and her moral code is a lot less gray. If he only killed the people who attacked him in the village or didn't kill anyone at all but just WANTED to, then you can dismiss it a lot easier. The rage is sympathetic and understandable and relatable, but Anakin is still mostly in control of himself. Padme can say that she's felt the same rage and not acted on it, so Anakin is the same. She can insist he would never murder Jedi younglings to Obi-Wan in the next film without sounding like an idiotic hypocrite.

(There's obviously a LOT of other issues with the Tusken Massacre in terms of how the Tuskens are written and presented in this film that could be rewritten to be a lot better and make the Tuskens more sympathetic, etc etc, but that's not really what you're asking me about and I'm not necessarily the right person to speak to that anyway.)

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Buddy Daddies - A Parallel Between Kazuki and Misaki

We know that Kazuki doesn’t have good luck with women:

Kazuki: “I just have no luck with women.” - Episode 3.

In Episode 3, we also see Miri’s mother saying:

Misaki: Every single one of them...

Misaki: Just go already! - Episode 3

With the “them” being men. This reading of her words here is confirmed in series through the fact that she was shown stuck in an abusive relationship and had previously had an affair with a very dangerous man. Miri’s “Men are a mystery” phrase was something she heard from her mother, and the official website even states that she has 男運が悪く or “bad luck with men.”

I wonder how this is going to play out. Will Misaki continue to have bad luck with men or will things work out for her with Kazuki and Rei, but not in a romantic or sexual sense, simply through a familial one by raising Miri together? That’s an interesting thing to think about. The same with Kazuki in a way, finding “good luck’ with Misaki and Miri in a purely familial sense, not romantic or sexual (for very obvious reasons in regards to Miri, but also to Misaki as well).

This series is about change. A lot of that change talk has been centered on Kazuki and Rei, but I think that should be extended to Misaki as well. After all, back in Episode 1, Rei was straight up okay with shooting through Miri to kill the target. 

Three very lost and traumatized adults trying to change, love, and better themselves for the sake of a little girl. 

Could I be wrong? Yeah, but I’ll give the benefit of the doubt. Especially if Misaki really and truly wants to change. I think it is important to show that not all women are destined to be mothers, but it is equally important to show how sometimes a woman can be, but the burn out can be real and intense (Episode3). And that having actual support is a necessity in order to help ensure that a parent of any kind can parent healthily and happily. 

So maybe things like the koseki system (specifically for Japan) and the way family units are viewed as being appropriately structured and allowed to exist needs to change in order to make it so that people want to have families and can have families. 

Right now, in Japan, the way to fix the aging population and lack of children seems to be “just throw money at it,” but that doesn’t fix the problems found in the social structure that makes it so that very willing individuals, like Kazuki and Rei, have little to no options to care for children, while single women like Misaki with little to no support from the system, are set up to fail. 

Will Buddy Daddies actually be tackling these kinds of issues or will it be something else? What will this parallel between Kazuki having bad luck with women and Misaki having bad luck with men, lead to? I can’t say, but I’m intrigued by the possibilities and what the show will actually end up saying.

[rms10]

Assuming Azula ever manages to work through her issues and get de-Sozinized, do you think Azula is ever capable of reconciling with Zuko, Ursa, Mai, Ty Lee, Ursa, and/or Iroh?

Because it seems pretty clear from her solo comic that she did care for them, or at least wanted them in her life, and was/still is deeply hurt by their "betrayals." So it seems highly likely that once she worked through her issues and indoctrination, she would be willing to do anything to have them back in her life, this time on healthier grounds.

And this is supported, at least in regards to Mai, by the canon cookbook, which happens if I remember correctly around 15 years after the end of the war and has Mai and Azula on such good speaking terms that Mai can tease Azula about her "cherry-pit incident."

But on the other hand, her solo comic strongly suggested that part of the reason why she rejects redemption is because she doesn't want to deal with the pain that would come from acknowledging she hurt her loved ones.

So it is seems equally likely that she would avoid reconciling with them due to a mix of guilt, self-loathing, and, in regards to Mai and Ty Lee, not wanting to force herself upon them again. Especially since, in regards to the latter proposition, is implied that Azula didn't punish the Fire Warriors for leaving her since she didn't want to repeat her mistakes with Mai and Ty Lee.

However, even if she was willing to reconcile with her loved ones, they may not want to reconcile with her, even if she did everything humanly possible to make amends to them, after everything she did to them and/or their loved ones, with Ursa in my opinion being the only one who would have true, unconditional love, and thus forgiveness, for Azula.

In fact, in my opinion, the comics and extended lore have all but said this is be the case for Mai and Ty Lee, and I think Zuko after the events of S&S would feel the same way as well.

So do you think Azula is ever capable of reconciling with Zuko, Ursa, Mai, Ty Lee, Ursa, and/or Iroh, and if so, to what degree?

This is an interesting question, and really feeds back into whether Azula can be redeemed and what any redemption for her will look like. At the end of the show, we see her broken down, severely damaged and traumatized by losing at the only thing she still pictured herself as being superior at. It left her on the edge, where her story could be take anywhere. In fact, in many ways she has the most open-ended future of anyone at that point. Our central protagonists mostly have fairly well defined futures for them, and of course those are largely confirmed in LoK.

The comics really didn't do Azula any favors because of how she was written in S&S. (The comics were fairly poor on staying true to representation of all the characters, so she isn't unique.) However, they weren't wrong in painting Zuko as wanting to reconcile with her, and I think he'd welcome her back with open arms, so long as he's convinced she's not a threat to his family. As you note, Ursa would reconcile at any level she can with Azula. Despite having little choice in all the damage Azula received in her upbringing, Ursa still harbors guilt over it. She'll even take risks for herself if there's any opening for reconciliation.

Really, Mai's acceptance of Azula is going to be largely driven by Zuko's interest, since they'll reconcile at some point in the future. (The comics really made a hash out of maiko, but also made it pretty clear that they'll reconcile.) For Mai, it'd take an actual apology and proof that Azula recognized how horrible she'd been in the past to have any chance of a real reconciliation. Given that Azula was about to kill her, Mai would keep her distance and probably be a bit overprotective of Izumi around Azula, without some kind of full acceptance of her guilt by Azula.

Ty Lee goes off to join the Kyoshi Warriors, so she's in a different position in that she doesn't need to interact with Azula at all, if she doesn't want to. She found her new sisters (where she's part of a chosen matched set, lol) and may not travel back to the Fire Nation that much. She's so happy and bubbly that it's easy to assume she'd just accept Azula back, but I'm not certain that would really happen when she gets away from that toxic "friendship" and finds a real group to interact with. She might be willing to forgive, but at the same time have no real interest in reconnecting.

Thanks for the ask. These Azula asks are interesting in that she's not a character I've ever thought all the deep about post ATLA, so an aspect of those show to go explore a bit more now.

[deanstudies101]

4x13, After School Special

Critical theory: Familial roles and projected personalities. Parallel traumas.

Discussion point/question(s): Dean is four years older than Sam… is that what we see here? 

Key quotes: 1x02, Dean, "Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts."

Discussion: 

Kai was very happy to see his wife (Caroline Vampire Diaries). She is perfect. She is basically the same character here. She put Dean in his place. She always goes after the bad boys huh? And she’s right. 

A lot to say, a lot was very on the nose. The parallel cool kid/loser, and how this switches between them by the end. Sam becomes the cool kid, Dean is the loser. Sam fits in with normal people, and can do that very easily, he’s a normie. To fit in in this setting, in high school in media, you dominate the bigger guy and everyone finds you cool. Sam shows his true self—we know he has anger issues, and he was trying to repress them, but when it comes out, people find him cool. Dean was trying so, so hard to fit it, to be cool, and it just… doesn’t work. The mask wasn’t refined. He’s trying to do this hypermasculine, aloof kind of persona. Not even a mask, it’s armour. His “three of the cheerleaders are legal” is this persona—he would not actually go for something like that—but he’s back in a school where he was reduced down to nothing, so he’s relying again on that armour. Sam giving in to his urges to hurt and then fitting in with these bullies can maybe be seen in him giving into his urges and getting closer to the demons that we’re seeing now. It hurts—what is evil? Bullies are bullies because they’re hurt people… does this not apply to demons? They’ve been tortured until they stop being human. They are the most hurt people to exist, so they are evil. 

[Sam kinda pivots here on his quote from literally two episodes ago “I’m sure her life was hell, Dean. It doesn’t mean she gets a free pass for murder.”] And the kids’ lives in that were surely infinitely worse! He struggles with the nuance here. If he can see himself in someone, he sees their struggles, but if he can’t relate to them, he struggles to see them as human. Sam has been a bully in the show (think Ronald). His sense of empathy is there, but he struggles to extend it very far. 

Do feel bad for Sam, his upbringing was horrible. He didn’t want to be a part of it—but neither did Dean! Dean had to lean into it, to protect Sam. Kai, “Their personalities are different coping mechanisms for dealing with trauma.” 

Sam is more hopeful than Dean. Sam believed (believes?) that there can be another life for him. Dean doesn’t believe that. There should be more communication between them, Dean doesn’t see Sam’s perspective on their childhood because he’s repressing it so much himself. And, Dean wasn’t Sam’s brother, he was his parent. They couldn’t connect then because of this, and they can’t connect now. They have such different perspectives on their upbringing, and they still do. They still can’t see the other side, they still need to sit down and talk this through to really understand it. Iga, “All Sam can feel is his own misery, and all Dean can feel is hopelessness.” 

[This episode I genuinely feel so bad for both of them. Equally from both sides just in different ways. It’s rare for an episode to hit both of them.] Iga, “It’s because the kid can act.” [Colin Ford]. Also he really does look like a young Jared. 

Re: age difference. Iga thinks it works, maybe Sam is a late bloomer. Kai agrees, often really tall people have a late growth spurt. [I think Dean looks a bit too old for it to make perfect sense, but I accept it.] Also he doesn’t really look like Jensen? The younger actor in S2 does, but not so much here. 

Notes: Kai would like me to reiterate that Caroline is his wife and they love her. 

[halfbakedspuds]

Thanks to @illarian-rambling for the tag!

OC interaction tag

Katie's OC: Mashal Darezsho is a towering robot man with bronze plating, a human looking face, and baggy clothes. He is incredibly strong and fights with a sword. As a person, he's kind and honorable, even knightly, and enjoys nothing more than helping people in need. He loves listening to folk talk and takes pleasure in the simple beauty of the world, translating this to sketch art. He is quite orderly. His main issue is that he has a strong sense of right and wrong, but he also extends his morality to others, making choices for them whether they asked for it or not. In addition, he tends to be rather naive due to his inclination towards seeing the best in people. Sometimes, this works out and he helps people to become a better version of themselves. Other times, not so much. However, beneath all this is a hidden violent streak. Mashal doesn't remember his past. He doesn't remember how he came to be broken on the side of the road. All he knows is that there is someone out there he must kill, and that anything magic-adjacent causes something deep within him to freeze with horror and rage. He tries not to give in to this dark current, to remain honorable and helpful, but every so often, he slips up.

My OC: Archmagos Lifvinja (Lif) Ravenscar was a Norse Viking in the 11th century CE, during a period known as the sixty years' night that would eventually be wiped from human memory and history. When she ascended to become a hunter, she contracted what is called the puppet's curse, which slowly calcified her muscles and caused organ failure, with her not expected to survive into her 20s. However, she was gifted with the use of draconic runes and began to slowly replace parts of her body as they failed, seeking to just slightly prolong her own life. This had the unintended consequence of making her virtually immortal; a brain preserved in a vat piloting a magitech war chassis. Lif values knowledge and strength in equal capacity, however she does not tolerate incompetence. She's slow to bond with anyone and often needs to be reminded that although everyone is a child from her perspective, she can be trusted to do their jobs unsupervised. With age, she has grown almost unbearably cynical, however there are several entire fields of magical expertise in her mind, and thus the high council keeps her around. She's morally grey, serving her city and the wellbeing of humanity in whatever way she thinks is best, however her main reason for even bothering anymore after a millennium of life is her daughter- a demihuman that she adopted. She fights with a mixture of draconic magic and a body that was engineered from the ground up to kill monsters. However, beneath her tough exterior, she just misses her wife and day after day wishes that she could've just lived a regular life with a body that could grow old or adhere to the passage of time.

How they'd interact: Mashal would probably immediately feel an instinctive drive to kill her because of the amount of magic she performs constantly, and if a fight did break out, I think they would probably be evenly matched in a physical sense. Lif would not trust Mashal's naivete at all, believing he has an ulterior motive. Once she realises that he's genuinely just like that, though, she'd just be disappointed. Mashal might think that her willingly making herself into a machine was a fools errand before realising that she's really as much a victim as he was. Lif would definitely respect his drive and discipline, especially his skill with a blade. Another reason that Mashal might not enjoy meeting her is that she shows evidence of the very real possibility that he'll outlive everything he cares about. Overall, though, I think they'd have a very neutral interaction, and if he asked I think she'd likely try to help him find who he's hunting down. Hunters help people, it's their job after all.

Open tag for whomever wants it

[elliewiltarwyn]

a careful understanding

i have a big WIP about Ellie and Ryne's relationship that is still coming together, but this moment is so clear in my mind @.@; this isn't a perfect resolution of their issues with each other but it's some kind of promise to try and be better.

but the WIP extends long both in front of and beyond this shot lmao 🙃

I've pasted some sections from the scene's rough draft below the cut, about 570~ words in total; they're a little scattershot and skip over bits in between because the scene is really long @.@; but i hope it provides decent enough context.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’ve seen the way both of you look at me — and I don’t even blame you. I’m not her, but I bear her mantle. My presence only reminds you both of your loss. Of how the name of this woman you loved has been… perverted into this martyrlike symbol of hope for our realm, one that ensures the fate of Minfilia is to die over and over again.” She sniffs, deeply, and then: “How couldn’t you hate me?”

“Because you didn’t ask for this!” Ellie explodes. “I know this isn’t your fault!”

Minfilia doesn’t budge an ilm. “Do you?”

[...]

“I— you’re just some girl. An innocent girl who’s been swept up into all this — forced to bear a burden you never asked for. I know that. Thancred has to know that.” Her breath has become ragged, and she suddenly finds herself unable to look at Minfilia for entirely different reasons. “…I’ve… done a shite job actually convincing myself of that. So has he.”

A thick silence presses upon the two of them, broken only by quiet sniffs muffled by Minfilia’s knees. Ellie has never felt lower than she does in this moment.

“…This is on us. Thancred and I have been incredibly shitty to you.” She grits her teeth and feels tears brim in her own eyes. “...On some level, I do know that you’re the one most victimized by all of this. You don’t… deserve our treatment. I’m so sorry.”

[...]

“What if I’m not the Minfilia you need, either? Either you, or Thancred… or this realm. [...] After all, gruesome as it was… every preceding Minfilia died to protect the realm. What am I doing out here if it’s not that? Is there some way to help that doesn’t involve doing that… or am I just running away from that responsibility?”

Ellie’s eyes narrow. “Do you think that’s a goal to strive for? That it’s admirable?” [...] “It’s not; it’s tragedy. It’s unjust, monstrously cruel — to yourself and everyone around you. We’ll figure out something you can do — and I’ll be damned if it’s anything remotely in the same arena as sacrificing yourself.” Her voice cracks. “Enough Minfilias have done so. Including the very first one. I don’t want you to join them.”

[...]

“...Th-thank you, Elli—” Minfilia cuts herself off abruptly. “Elilgeim.”

Ellie blinks, then smirks in ironic amusement. Shocking, how long it’s been since she’s heard that. “My friends call me Ellie, Minfilia. It’s okay.”

Minfilia still looks hesitant, her eyes darting back and forth between the hand on her shoulder and Ellie’s face. But eventually she swallows, hoists a nervous smile onto her face, and says, “Okay—thank you, Ellie.”

“That’s more like it.” Ellie scoots a little closer and hesitates for a moment; she’s really unsure about how much she’s pushing here, but she wants to try. So she extends her arm to her side, holding it open and looking at the younger one somewhat expectantly.

And thank the Twelve, Minfilia takes the invitation and fiercely hugs Ellie’s side.

If Ellie had never felt lower than she had five minutes ago, she has in equal measure never felt more relieved now. She’s full aware this—Minfilia’s trust—is a precious gift, and she’s determined not to squander it. She’s starting from a disadvantaged position, given how awful she’s treated the young Oracle so far… she really needs to get her shite together. This Minfilia deserves better.

[csphire]

Meet Anna

Legal Name: Anna Smith

Nickname / Aliases: My Sweet, My Dear or Button (Astarion), Cuzzyl, Sweetums or Oury (Dammon), Cuddlebug, Oury and Kitten (Karlach), Dear Heart, My Lady and Pixie (Wyll)

Background: Artisan (Jeweler/Enchanter)

Age: Unknown estimated around 30s?

Pronouns: She / Her / They

Race/Subrace: High Half-Elf

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Deities: It's complicated. Tymora, she prays to the most followed by extending respects to Jergal, Lathander, Ilmater, Loviatar, and Corellon Larethian too.

Class / Subclass: Warlock (Archfey) / Cleric (Tymora Light Domain)

Instruments of Choice: Humming? Flute?

(She's not really musically inclined.)

Weapons of Choice: Shortbow, Crossbows, Hand Crossbows, Daggers, Staves, Mace, Trident and Shield

Love Interest(s): (She's Polyamorous Semi-Closed)

No randos on a whim, only good friends, basically. She's all about full discloure if she wants to pursue someone new. But she's at a place where she feels rather settled and happy in the polycule she's a part of now. Spouses and lovers are listed in chronological order.

Spouses:

Astarion (Star & You): Their relationship is a rocky one. Both of them have some serious baggage from past trauma. Their respective experiences both help understand one another's more prickly moods and defensive moments. But it sometimes causes problems between them too as they can rub each other raw. Since Anna is a survivor of domestic abuse by her first lover over a decade ago "bite night" and the idea of Astarion feeding off of her is not something she thinks is sexy or enjoys. The first time she permitted it because he said he needed it. Second time again she was trying to figure out if she could tolerate continuing to help keep him in that way. But afterwards she found the courage to admit it deep down bothered her. They settled upon a compromise of sorts. She has no issue with him literally licking her wounds and taking advantage of other opportunities to enjoy her blood that naturally occur. True they bicker like an old married couple often but do love one another greatly. She gifts him sketches and drawings of him and he often gifts her all kinds of treats to indulge her sweet tooth.

Dammon (Sunshine & Hun): Is the one she cuddles with and is the most fiercely protective over, which is warranted given he's only got 8 hp. She does her best to not have favorites and love all her spouses equally but... Dammon she gets along and has the most in common with compared to all the others. They rarely argue and at most lightly tease one another. It's never been bumpy with him only smooth sailing since they realized and acted on their feelings for one another. Their flirting is more honest and sincere. They are very gentle with one another. Both artisans, after the defeat of the Elder brain, they end up spending the most time at home together working side by side while the others all work outside of the home. He with his weapons and armor and her creating and enchanting jewelry as well as some of his stock. Although Dammon can get distracted in a project he's usually the first if not the second to notice if something is bothering her that she's in denial of or is trying to shrug off. Also out of all of her spouses, he's the one who knows how to get her to calm down and check her temper the quickest. Astarion, much to his vexation, still doesn't know how Dammon does this.

Karlach (Beautiful & Wifey): These two can wind one another up and get rather excitable and loud quick. Together they can turn into absolute cussing goofballs much to Dammon, Wyll, and Astarion's woe but usual delight. Even though she's out most of the day when she comes home Karlach has a knack for making up for it and brightening up any evening. I think the only things she and Anna only really quarrel about now are Karlach being a touch messy and Anna "getting too much of a stick up her ass." Do they help one another with their hair, yes. Hair and horn care they all help one another with, it's a bonding thing for all of them. Right behind Dammon, Karlach usually ends up with most cuddles from Anna than anyone.

Lovers:

Wyll (Handsome & Honey): Wyll is honestly more Karlach's main spouse than Anna's or the others. Karlach and he share a deep bond after all the trials they faced in Avernus together. Although Anna and him don't spend much time together they get along well, flirt, and cuddle with one another when they can. Anna has two left feet but with Karlach and Wyll's help, she's getting better at dancing. With Astarion and Karlach, Wyll is often away from home. The trio are deeply engaged in the politics of the city and trying to help manage it. Often this leaves Anna and him only able to write some rather romantic and risqué letters to one another.

Halsin & Shadowheart: We all know Halsin likes to roam and he's not one for the city. So his visits are rare but delightful all the same. It's usually Astarion and Anna who pounce him first to give him a big warm welcome to the city together.

With Shadowheart, she visits a little more often than Halsin does. But usually, Halsin will join her. They're sorta an item as after everything has settled down in Baldur's Gate Shadowheart and her parents decide to follow Halsin to the former shadowcursed lands and work to continue to heal them. Rolan: To put it simply Dammon and her usually do their best to team up to help prevent the wizard from working too hard. All three of them share a business and personal relationship. Both Dammon and Anna sell a majority of their work to Rolan to help keep Sorcerous Sundries stocked with quality enchanted goods. He's in the running to become a fourth spouse for Anna and Dammon.

Please note: that the sex in this polycule is not as wild or as frequent as one thinks. It's more swapping bedmates on occasion than anything. Wyll and Karlach tend to sleep together. Anna and Dammon tend to pair up too when it comes to resting and having sex. Astarion likes to split his time between his spouses and will occasionally go off to visit Sebastian. Shadowheart and Halsin again visit rarely and are warmly welcomed by most. Threesomes and foursomes might happen once every few months. Orgies, more than four participants, are never really planned and might only occur once a year if that.

Did she really screw the Dream Guardian? Technically... um yes. I did not save it, but it still counts according to Steam. Best Friends: Gale, Lae'zel, Jaheira, Alfira and Lakrissa. Personality: Anna can cuss and be blunt as a sailor and get just as loud and excitable as Karlach, but most of the time she's demure and prefers to keep a low profile about strangers. She seems to be kind, polite, and a quiet type of person. One you'd least expect to draw in close, slip a blade into one's ribs, and twist with perfectly calm and collected look. Although she was usually her companion's defacto leader most who met them were unable to tell who was in charge until she stepped forward and started the talking. The kind of intimidation she pulls is all in the eyes and calm actions rather than size or muscles. She rarely uses that method and prefers deception and more charismatic approaches. If there is a problem she tends to grin, bear it, and will try to tackle it herself. Her greatest flaw? She's an expert in bottling up some of her emotions. She struggles with vulnerability and asking for help. But it's something she's working on with the help of her spouses and friends. It also sometimes takes her a while to process her feelings. If she gets upset, angry, or frustrated, she tends to retreat when overwhelmed to sort or cry them out. However, she rarely now spurns any of her spouses or friends who follow to offer comfort or a sympathetic ear to help her resolve an internal or external turmoil.

Bio: There are around two versions of Anna actually. One born on Toril and just your average half-elf artisan warlock. The other is a former human from Earth who woke up in a pod, realized she wasn't in her bed or human anymore, had a tiny freak out but proceeded to suck it up and use her meta knowledge of the game to keep herself and her companions alive. A whole MGIT (Modern Girl In Toril) because I'm a sucker for that troupe and I want to have fun.

Now Earth Anna is a little admittedly self insert-ish. I can't afford to travel and I'm currently not well enough for it so... vacationing in my fan fics. Some things about Anna are based on me and others are not depending on the fic.

Simply put both start off being an artisan warlock half-elf with some emotional baggage that pales in comparison to Astarion's. But it’s enough to help them understand one another better than those who have not been so deeply hurt and controlled.

Before she was abducted Toril Anna was a jeweler in Baldur’s Gate who years earlier secured a pact with an archfey of the Seelie court. Her last name is a pretty common one for humans. Although her human father came from a long line of blacksmiths for decades he served as a Flaming Fist. Anna learned her trade of jewelry-making from her elven mother. What's become of them both is unknown at this time. Anna hopes they fled the city to relatives in Neverwinter.

Her Patron: The assumption they’re from the Seelie court is based on some in-game dialogue we can get when trying to get into the circus. Between you and me I lowkey loath how a Tav or Durge’s patron is barely acknowledged, and we get crumbs of information about them, absolute crumbs.

Toril Anna entered into a pact shortly after fleeing an abusive lover. It was not the best of plans, to just leave him and Baldur’s Gate as fast as possible for another city where she could start over but she feared for her life. How she met her patron one could say was a whole lucky meet-cute story. She literally stumbled over them and profusely apologized. Charmed by her sweet nature, good manners and also finding out why she was in such a hurry, the fey extended to her a bargain to give her power and also taught her how to give her goods a stronger enchantment with a small cost. Now all of Anna’s enchantments always turn out to have a tiny bit of chaos to them but nothing her customers will ever notice… usually.

Unlike Wyll, Anna and her patron have a mostly respectful, sometimes chaotic, very protective, and loving relationship. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Anna is well aware fey can be fickle, easily offended, and therefore dangerous. For starters, she suspects her patron is behind her abusive lover’s untimely and grisly demise. Something she found out years later after her patron coaxed her into returning to Baldur’s Gate with assurances that with her new powers, she would not need to leave and she could disappear easily enough in the large city.

Currently, her patron on occasion only asks her to do some odd and seemingly harmless things to set off a little chaos in the world. What seems like a few setups for pranks or displacing a stone from a circle of them in some forest. Some of these things lead to disastrous results but nothing fatal for anyone… usually. Her patron loves chaos like most fey and was tickled pink when she stole the Blood of Lathander mace. Anna is also obligated to help other fey in need from the Seelie court like the pixie in the lamp. Killing fey from the Unseelie court such as hags and redcaps also delights her patron as well.

Thanks for reading this far and bear in mind this is a work in progress. I may or may not edit this a bit more in the future.

[twotangledsisters]

The Tangled Characters in my Fanfic - What's changed?

So, I write an AU where Cassandra and Rapunzel were raised as sisters. And obviously this kind of drastic change to the environment they were raised for makes for a few interesting changed to their characters.

However!

They aren't the only characters experience some changed in this AU. Partly because I tend to write the series a tad more serious than the show (not by too much, but nobody breaks into song or randomly acts extremely stupid for the sake of a joke). The other thing is interpretation.

TTS is written by several writers and I'm sure not all of them saw the characters as exactly the same, the same goes for us fic writers, we all have our little headcanons, we each latch onto different parts of a character's personality, and that's part of the fun.

So, here's a quick run down of some of the more predominant characters and how I think they change in my fic in contrast to the show!

CASSANDRA:

Probably goes through the biggest change. In this AU she was raised in the tower with Rapunzel. She has the four years alone with Gothel followed by eighteen alone with Rapunzel and Gothel just popping in.

She's more open about her emotions, especially with Rapunzel. As anybody who succeeded in surviving quarantine with roommates knows, communication is key! These two are great at addressing each other's emotions. Often with direct questions and answers. And this extends past Rapunzel, we see her opening up throughout the series to Arianna, Frederic, Eugene, Captain and others.

She's more fearful. Casandra in the series was never fearless, but there weren't many incidents where she'd be visibly scared. But this Cassandra was raised on stories meant to scare her away from the world outside the tower. That kind of upbringing doesn't disappear. Although usually the things she's scared of aren't the real dangers of life, she gets scared of holidays, of certain expressions, but a bunch of guards coming at her with swords, BRING IT ON!

She's more innocent and naive. Rapunzel was always very innocent, bought up on fairytales isolated from the world, well Cassandra is a bit more cynical than her little sister but she isn't exempt from this either. They don't know what booing is, or what the holidays really mean, but they want to learn.

She's more responsible? Maybe? Cassandra was taking care of Rapunzel from the age of four, she's very much used to having the weight of the world on her shoulders. And she deals with it pretty well. She sees a problem and she goes for it. For example she realizes Corona Law could be improved upon so she works towards that, whenever Rapunzel has an issue she's quick to start searching for a solution... She's a big sister, with all that comes the title.

RAPUNZEL:

Second most obvious. Instead of growing up in isolation, she had a big sister that's been there for her since day one.

She's more fight fewer hugs and rainbows. Rapunzel watched Gothel make Cassandra feel bad through words and actions, and did not like that. Rapunzel may be the little sister, but love equals protectiveness and that protectiveness grew into disdain for their mother. She still manages to see the best in people, but she's not past telling someone to go away when they're being mean or hurtful.

She's more emotionally intelligent. She didn't grow up with only a single narcissist as her only social interaction. So she's a bit more prepared for society... just a bit though.

Also... both girls probably have some attachment issues I'll have to deal with eventually... eventually. 18 in the same tiny space together, in Rapunzel's case literally since she was born pretty much... yeah.

EUGENE:

So, I love Eugene both in the movie and the series. But when I saw the movie in cinemas I definitely took Eugene to be a fair bit smarter than the series makes him out to be.

The amount of times in the series Cassandra insults him and he takes a moment to realize it's an insult like, Eugene is a fast thinking master thief. No need to turn him into a punchline.

Now he gets plenty of amazing moments in the series, don't get me wrong. But I think Cassandra (who I obviously love) ended up taking on a part of what was his role, like what was a dynamic duo became a dynamic trio.

So Eugene in my fic is the retired master thief. He's smart, he's talented in a very specific set of skills, and he's not always fully onboard with the rules.

Most of the time he's having fun, he teases Cassandra a lot just like the series but it's far clearer they are both having fun, both in how quick they drop it when talking about serious topics or small gestures of affection in between their bickering (for example Eugene helping Cassandra with her hair before dinner while they talk). As well as both of them laughing at the jokes the other makes and so on...

But also he will drop all fun and games when things get serious. How far he is willing to go to protect the love of his life and sister-in-law is probably further than Rapunzel would be comfortable with. But he grew up on the street, he was involved with crime lords and fleeing guards for his life, like, this guy is not someone you mess with.

He also isn't past going against orders or behind Rapunzel's back if he thinks it's for her safety.

GOTHEL:

Almost identical, bit more neglectful, bit more abusive.

With Cassandra to take care of her flower, she is free to disappear for days and days, returning only to bring the bare minimum supplies and restore her youth.

We are going to eventually deep dive into her history a bit.

CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD:

Mostly similar, Eugene earns his respect a bit earlier on which makes their dynamic a little different. I try to not treat the guards with the level of uselessness the series does. Although Eugene does make several comments about them not being the best.

Obviously Captain isn't Cassandra's dad in this. He is fond of her, mostly because she goes to him to learn the way of the sword.

The best way to describe their dynamic is probably that of a mentor and student, she looks up to him and wants to be like him, and he is proud and impressed by her abilities.

That dynamic gets a bit more complicated later on though as Cassandra is a figure of authority who can give the captain orders, can and does when the needs arises.

The captain can't just do what he thinks is best for her, he has to convince her it's the right choice as he can't go against a direct order of the royal family.

KING FREDERIC:

I don't think he changed that much... we do however, get to see a lot more of him! Here's the thing, I get that Frederic made mistakes in the show, BIG mistakes. But flawed characters are the best characters and all his mistakes came from a place of love and protectiveness.

I think the issue is the show did not spend enough time showing us that love. There were moments but not enough moments to justify his actions on an emotional level to the audience. Which is why a lot of the fandom still dislikes him.

Saying that he does say the most harmful words Cassandra hears throughout much of the series, though he didn't intend for her to hear them and works hard to make up for them.

The main differences is he is shown to have a lot more trust in Eugene.

We also spent a fair bit more time on politics so we see more of what he does and how that affects his treatment of the girls.

QUEEN ARIANNA:

Again, she gets a lot more time to shine. She's perhaps a bit less formal. When they used the personality swap potion, the opposite to Arianna's personality was literally rude.

Which I guess would imply the main aspect to Arianna's personality is politeness? Etiquette? Anyway, on several occasions she purposefully throws protocols out the window to make a more comfortable and welcoming environment for the girls because I believe Arianna would be a mother BEFORE a queen. Although she is obviously both.

Also, the series told us she was an adventurer before settling down, we see her adventurous heart but... it never really explored this and I can tell you now this will get more attention eventually in this series.

Which is all I can say on that matter without going into spoiler territory.

She also talks up to Frederic more than the show, not allowing her husband to push their daughters away like in the show.

Anyway, I hope this was fun, I liked doing this because it gave me a chance to sit back and think about this. These kind of exercises are great as a fic writer, I recommend.

Any characters you can think of that have already shown up in the series? (Might reblog later with characters such as Varian, Zhan Tiri, Adira, etc).

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.156 thoughts

[Negator Times in Space]

WOW am I late to this one! Guess that’s what happens if I do Cipher Academy first. Sorry about that

Though it also doesn’t help that I don’t feel like I have a lot to say about this chapter. Not that there’s nothing worth talking about, it’s just not as dense a chapter as we’ve been getting lately

I really appreciate that Fuuko didn’t just forgive Gina and Sean; she’s legitimately upset that they disobeyed her, and she has so many reasons to be! Not only was coming along like this extremely dangerous for them as they hadn’t been properly trained, it also jeopardizes the entire crew, as even the slightest change in weight, cargo space, oxygen expenditure, etc. can drastically change a manned mission’s requirements, and not being able to account for two extra people ahead of time when the plan is already to bring aboard two more people whose weight they can only estimate is extremely unsafe

It also sets a bad precedent; Fuuko didn’t make the decision of who to bring along lightly, she put a lot of thought into it and even sought outside opinions, so to have her leadership disregarded like that by Gina, her number two, could also damage her reputation as the leader. Of course she moves on from it quickly as Gina’s presence does in fact resolve an unforeseen issue, but much like in the battle with Stain in early Hero Academy, just because it worked out doesn’t make it alright. As I said, there were any number of ways this could have gone wrong and still could going forward, so while now isn’t a good time to punish Gina and Sean (they’re stuck in space for the moment after all), they will need to face some kind of repercussions later

We get a nice little bit of further development for Sean; the fact that he’s calling Gina one of his “brothers” suggests that he’s not just following Fuuko, he actually does identify as a member of the Union as a whole, and I hope to see that this level of camaraderie extends to the rest of the group as well. Here’s hoping we get a scene between Sean and Creed, especially when you consider that Creed’s short stint as an antagonist last arc was what allowed Sean to grow so much in the first place. Perhaps an apology for calling him miscast?

Fuuko noting that this is her second time in space was a subtle moment, but I think it’s going to be a significant one in the grand scheme of things, even if only thematically. She says that space is beautiful and desolate, leading her thoughts towards Phil who has only ever known this void for his entire life, to illustrate to us that he’s likely led a lonely life up to this point. The thing is, this line doesn’t only apply to Phil, there are two other characters who have experienced exactly the same kind of lonesome existence for much, much longer: Luna and Sun

I’ve actually been meaning to make a post dedicated to this for a while, but now seems like a good opportunity. When Fuuko first met Gina on the bank of Lake Baikal, she painted the moon to be surrounded by stars, as she figured that the sun and moon would be lonely in space with only each other and no friends. Undead Unluck is a series all about relationships, whether they’re familial, platonic, romantic, etc., so for Fuuko to suggest that the sun and moon, our main antagonists, are lonely most likely implies that her conjecture was perfectly accurate. Sol and Luna have been in competition for hundreds of billions of years, with minimal contact with their creations. The UMA have no memories of Sun except to cause humanity to suffer, leading some like Burn to pine for Sun’s attention. Luna only talks to whoever has the most points for but a few minutes at a time at most, suggesting that she spends the rest of her time just sitting alone on the moon sipping tea. She can see what’s happening on Earth, and she can take delight in it, but she’s isolated, not even able to communicate with her only equal in the universe

The void of space is the perfect visual representation of the sort of loneliness we could expect to have explored for Luna and/or Sun; even surrounded by stars, even looking upon each other from either side of the Earth, the two are in actuality completely alone. Therefore, defeating them will likely not be as simple as killing or destroying them, but rather finding some way to alleviate the loneliness in their hearts. “Humans can love UMA” after all, so it’s not hard to imagine Fuuko managing to befriend the two of them or bridge whatever gap exists between them

I could also probably make some parallel between Fuuko/Andy and Luna/Sun, but I’m going to hold off on that analysis for now since we don’t know much about Sun and Luna’s relationship yet. Once we know more, I imagine I’ll be able to make a huge write-up about it, but for now, it’s all conjecture

The final major note for the chapter is Phil’s sudden and terrifying appearance aboard the space station. Seeing him standing in the middle of a dark hallway, surrounded by floating debris and completely devoid of oxygen, is a chilling image. It raises a ton of questions, though

Fuuko told us that Phil couldn’t talk because of Unfeel in the previous loop; is this because he hasn’t developed his interpretation of Unfeel yet, or has he developed beyond Phil 100′s interpretation?

Why doesn’t he need to breathe? Is this actually Phil and his current interpretation makes him immune to oxygen deprivation somehow, or is this something like an astral projection, and the real body is elsewhere?

If he’s Unfeel, why does he care what happens to his mother? I’m glad he does, as having him discard his mother would be exceptionally cruel, but it doesn’t seem congruent with what we know so far. For now, I’m going to assume that he has a unique interpretation of Unfeel that allows him to at least care about his priorities

Was Phil somehow related to the thing that hacked  the ship and helped it to navigate and dock on the space station, and if so, was that also because of Unfeel? It doesn’t seem like something a UMA would do, but I don’t see any clear relationship between hacking and being unfeeling

I’m sure Tozuka will answer all of these questions satisfyingly, but unfortunately, we won’t know for at least another week, as Golden Week is coming up, and that always means all of Jump goes on break. Hooray....I feel like i might as well have waited until the next chapter was going to come out to write this review, but I didn’t want anyone to think I’d forgotten about this week’s UU

Like I said, it’s a good, solid chapter, it just doesn’t quite live up to the level of hype that a lot of the more recent chapters have had. It’s always good to have a breather, and while there was still a threat to the crew in this chapter, it was ultimately set up for something much bigger and scarier to come. Place your bets now on if it’s a UMA, Galaxy’s Juniors the Acks, straight up aliens, or somehow another Negator that made their way to space. Personally I’m going with a UMA, so obviously it’s going to be a Negator

Only one more week till we find out, though, so I guess in a way it’s good that I accidentally put it off, as now we don’t have to wait as long!

See y’all next week!

[mangom1lk]

ideal sonic voice cast

(disclaimer: i have not seen prime so i will not be considering those voices)

sonic: this is the only one i really have to think about for an extended period of time. it really comes down to how you write the character. sonic is pretty flexible outside of some core traits. i like max mittelman and i also like ryan drummond. jason griffith eventually became great imo but i would probably not ask for him back (not as sonic, anyway...)

tails: colleen o'shaughnessy. every tails voice actor has improved on the last imo, colleen is great

knuckles: dan green. i get the scott drier love but he plays knux a bit too flatly for my tastes. dan green is quintessential knuckles to me. travis willingham was always perfectly fine though not quite to dan green's standard for me, and while i do really respect dave b. mitchell's attempt i just don't think he sounds quite right. he'd be a good pick for boom knuckles though... they really need to merge the boom stuff that worked into the mainline series

shadow: jason griffith. again, respect to david humphrey, but he's not for me. my issue is that his line reads just sound kinda weird a lot of the time? he has a pretty good shadow voice, but jason's always been pretty great as shadow even back in ShTH. kirk thornton is... fine, but you can tell he's an older guy and he speaks a little slowly for my liking. (though if we're fancasting, mr. chongoblog doesn't do too bad a job either... 😳)

rouge: kathleen delaney, hands down. lani manella was alright but i feel like her rouge voice is a bit basic? karen strassman just sounds awful, I'm sorry. she's the embodiment of post-Gens rouge where they made her sex appeal her only trait and cut out everything else. and that's basically the voice strassman does. if they restored her character in future titles she would not be a good pick.

omega: i have no idea? i feel like almost anyone could do a good omega voice given good direction and a proper voice filter. even maddie blaustien's 06 performance sounds pretty good after being sped up and filtered like in p-06. john st. john is my favorite but i could go with anyone here

amy: i like the performances of jennifer duliard and lisa ortiz in the games about equal. lisa ortiz seems to have lost the voice however? she came back for sonic and tails r and she sounds pretty different in that, in a worse way. cindy robinson is another miscast like roger craig smith, though a good pick for boom amy. modern amy has very little character because i guess they figured the sonic crush wouldn't go over well these days?

cream: 🤷‍♀️

big: please can we get john st john back 😭 whoever voices him in frontiers just does not do a good job

eggman: i love mike pollock just as much as the rest of you but... god, i miss deem bristow. that dude had RANGE. and i LOVE his eggman performances. they're so good. he sounds so threatening in one breath and maniacal in the next, i love it. eggman doesn't really have that kind of writing lately which isn't a problem but it is something i miss

silver: pete capella. quinton flynn sounds perfectly okay, though a bit softer which i don't feel really fits silver. whoever the current voice is, bryce... something? i've heard clips of him and i REALLY do not like those. capella is peak silver imo.

blaze: bella hudson. her modern actress doesn't sound quite right

[heroesofchroma]

Ch.4 - Rampart

(PREV / ALL \ NEXT)

Every time Gwen stood in front of Chroma, it never seemed to get less imposing. The trio of towers, arranged in a triangular pattern, the tallest facing her, connected across each other by glass bridges and massive concrete halls, seemed like an impossibility of engineering. Yet, here it stood. Reminding the city who was protecting them. A single beacon out of four in the country, trying to assure the people they were safe. The pit in Gwen’s stomach was less fear that she might be working for the bad guys, and far more that she might screw up working with the good guys.

Gwen walked through the main lobby up to the main desk. She flashed her ID and said, “In for RnD and turning in an application.”

The receptionist, a kindly looking middle-aged woman smiled. “Another recruit from Sister herself, alright…” she muttered, taking the ID for a moment before nodding and quickly handing Gwen the card back along with a Contractor-level security badge. “First elevator, fourteenth floor for your Research escort. I’ll take the application and get it to the proper channels.”

Gwen nodded and handed over the application. “Tell ‘em to call me if anything needs clarifying. He doesn’t have a phone right now.”

Without skipping another beat, she followed the instructions to the letter, finding the elevator, flashing her badge to unlock it, and meeting with the escort on the fourteenth floor. She followed the security officer through stark, sterile halls until they reached a lab that… Was considerably grungier. Concrete and tread steel made up the majority of the room, testing chambers of glass and a multitude of miscellaneous wires decorated the room, thankfully devoid of dust. At least, as clean as it can be despite the weapons testing.

Greeting Gwen was a man built like a pickup truck, sporting the mechanic jumpsuit to match. He dressed sensibly, though his nature was betrayed by the harness of electrically motorized arms  hanging from his back. He smiled bright at the entrance of the prodigy. “Well, hello there! Took your sweet time getting in!” he exclaimed, his deep, husky voice rattling her bones, his Indian cheeks flushing with an amount of pride and joy in equal measure from behind a short beard.

“It isn’t my fault I still gotta go through bureaucracy just to get in,” Gwen joked, extending her hand for a shake. “What’s on the agenda, Ishaan?”

Ishaan nodded. “Business, right. I’ve managed to integrate your tech into the armor, but it’s bulky…” he explains, leading Gwen to the main project in the room, at least for the moment. He taps the bolted on vents on either shoulder blade. “The issue becomes I’m not sure how to really get them wired in such a way that they’ll both give enough output to be useful AND give reasonable flexibility to the pilot.”

Taking in the armor, Gwen looked over the oversized mass of cobalt and steel colored plating. It was obvious half-complete, only having a full skeleton while much of the suit remained uninstalled. “Boot her up, let’s see what we’re working with in practice so far.”

“She’s not quite attached to any mechanisms at the moment, I’m still in the assembly phase. I don’t even have a basic wire setup as every one I seem to come up with has some kind of pinch threat that’d block the particle throw in practice,” Ishaan explains. “The best I have come with is…”

Ishaan pulls up a touchpad and taps a command into it. Over the armor shines a hologram projected from overhead lamps. Microtubing from the vent structures on either side of the armor show in bright green contrast to the darker blues and greys of the main plating.

Gwen thinks for a moment. She gauntlets didn’t have this issue, the vents only needing to travel from the forearm to the palms. But they also gathered fewer particles for fewer throwable projectiles. The scale-up of the collectors didn’t really allow them to be placed anywhere else reasonably… Unless…

“Maybe instead of trying to wire them from the back…” Gwen moves closer to Ishaan, motioning her explanation. “There’s some way to get them situated on the shoulders?”

Ishaan nods along. “I thought so as well, but the issue becomes weight.”

“Is there no way to augment the frame to carry it for the pilot?” Gwen asks.

Ishaan thinks along for a moment. He taps away at the pad, one of this motor arms handing his normal one a stylus as he quickly draws up an idea. The hologram overlay shits, adding in one of the condensers onto the shoulder, shifting the design and frame of the power armor to accommodate. “I… Suppose it’s possible? I’m not sure how well it will all still function… The particle output may still not be enough.”

Gwen nods, thinking along. “Maybe instead of moving condensers, then… Maybe we make them tanks.”

Ishaan tilts his head. “Tanks? You mean some kind of particle battery system?”

Gwen shrugged. “We’re two genius idiots, I’m sure we can figure something out. Something like an auto-filling magazine to hold ammo while not firing. That way, while in travel, the armor can generate shots and give the armor more consistent fire-time.”

Ishaan thought hard about the suggestion. His face contorted over and over again, mulling over ideas on how to make it happen moreso than other solutions. “I… Hmm… I think that could work, yes.”

Gwen nodded. “Then I’ll get started figuring that out, you can work out the tubing from there, yeah?”

Ishaan nodded firmly. “I’ll meet you at the bench when I’ve got it!” he assured with a hearty thumbs up.

The two worked diligently for about an hour before a presence in the lab interrupted them. A clear, smooth voice echoed against the concrete walls. “What’s the news, doc.” The voice had no ideas of nonsense or hesitation in the simple words.

Attached to the voice, a tightly-suited form walked in, a helmet masking their face. The coloration of their suit mimicked the armor the scientists were working on, the curved T-visor showing a faint orange tint to it. The suit was simple, and came with anchor points that locked into the armor.

“Rampart! Good to see you, we’re working on modifying the armor a bit still, we aren’t quite in a functioning state just yet,” Ishaan explained. Starting, he moved next to Gwen. “Ah, this is Gwen. She is the one who is going to make ballistics irrelevant in your new armor!”

Gwen chuckled a little nervously. “Dang, Ishaan, you’re really setting a high bar for me, here,” she joked, reaching out a hand. “It’s good to meet the pilot, though.”

“Rampart. Ram is acceptable,” the soldier replied, clasping Gwen’s hand in a firm shake. “What exactly do you two plan on strapping me with, then, if ballistics are out of the question?”

Gwen took over the conversation, heading towards the workbench she’d been on. “The easy answer is the closest thing to a laser blaster that we can make practical. You’ll be gathering particles from the atmosphere, condensing them with a dense electromagnetic array,” Gwen pauses, looking to Rampart almost expecting to get cut off. Taking the hand of the armor and showing off the palm, or where the palm of the armor WILL be when it’s installed properly, at least, she continues, “As they run through the tubing, they’ll be condensed and heated further. From there, it’s a matter of building the launcher that’ll fire them, which, Ishaan?”

Passing the conversation, Ishaan takes over with enthusiasm. “The launcher, for now, will act more or less like your average air-gun,” Ishaan heads over to a so-far untended workbench and picks up a gauntlet that looks large enough to fit onto the bulking frame centerpieced in the lab. Showing it off, he starts with the undercarriage of the gauntlet. “You’ll have one on each hand, and here is where your propulsion of the projectile comes from. I still need to calibrate it so you aren’t using too much weight behind each shot to be fired properly, but the weapon will be nonlethal as long as you are avoiding headshots-”

Rampart finally seemed to have something to see. “NON-lethal or LESS THAN lethal?” they asked, emphasizing the need for clarification.

Ishaan stammered a bit. “W-Well, the projectiles would likely be classed as ‘less than’ no matter what I do, but I already have a calibration setting that SHOULD keep the only threat of being a lethal shot to a particularly bad headshot. The only damage we’re aiming for is akin to, as I mentioned before, what would be called an airsoft gun.”

Rampart nodded, folding their arms and thinking things over. “When’s a field test likely going to happen?” they asked, skepticism still thick in their voice.

“As soon as we confirm the calibrations I’ve set the gauntlets to are correct,” Ishaan assured with a bright, beaming smile. “We’re expecting full installation of all systems within just 3 days.”

Rampart nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. “And what are the other systems going into this thing?”

Gwen chimed in with an answer of, “Total of 3 weapons systems, including the new particle launchers. A small-battery rocket system, standard issue for non-lethal crowd control, low impact, as well as your emergency option; A set of kinetic knuckles. You’ll have 3 settings, off, low, and high, low being your standard knock-back, and high able to crack any low-grade wall you come across.”

Rampart kept nodding along, putting their fingers to the chin of their helmet, almost like it were a second skin to them. “And I take it normal operating systems?”

Ishaan nodded. “For travel, you’ll be equipped with standard motor-boots for the time being. Otherwise, all Chroma standard systems. Don’t want to overload with too many experimentals, after all!” he assured again, seemingly trying to make Rampart more comfortable.

The enigmatic pilot nodded again, turning to leave for now it seemed. “Keep me up to date,” they said before turning. “Oh, and… Gwen? Right? We gotta talk more about those particle launchers. Sound fascinating.”

Gwen seemed to perk up a little at that, beaming a little with pride at the interest. Once the pilot was gone, she turned back to Ishaan. “Well? Let’s get this done.”

Rampart marched down the halls towards the hangar bay, intent on taking a patrol flight, mostly to clear their nerves. This was cut off when they heard on the intercom chime a short tune overhead, saying, “Pilot ER-37, callsign Rampart. Please report to Conference Room 7. Rampart, please report to conference 7.”

Once the intercom chimed to sign off, Rampart sighed, catching their helmet fog for a moment. Without hesitation, they diverted their course towards the nearest elevator, hitting the 2nd floor button and heading down.

It took them only about 5 minutes to reach the conference room, expecting to see their immediate superior… And instead seeing a doctor, a distressed looking man, and one of the magi. “Well this is an interesting line-up,” they commented from the doorway before entering. “I’m starting to wonder why I got brought in.”

The doctor spoke up first, his older tone serious. “Rampart, this is Mr. Kierson. He’s in a bit of a bind, as he’s only in-country for another couple of days. His daughter, however, has to stay for medical reasons.”

Rampart nodded to Mr. Kierson, offering a hand to shake which the father took tentatively. “And I’m guessing there’s somewhere I fit into this plan of helping him out, right?”

“Please, miss, I-” Mr. Kierson began before Rampart cut them off.

“Sir, please. And if I can help, I’m going to,” they explained comfortingly.

Mr. Kierson nodded, falling silent for the moment.

The magi spoke up next, her fingers drumming the table. “It will be temporary arrangements, but we noticed you were currently labeled as living alone. Is this true?” she asked in a thick Bostonian accent.

Rampart nodded. “Not exactly, but I do have spare space regardless. I take it I’ll essentially be a sponsor until better living’s available?”

The magi nodded. “That will be the long and short of it. Though, there is one thing you should know, which is why I am involved.” Extending her hand, the magi explained, “My name is Scholar Elise Lecroux, mystic division, 3rd class, ambassador to the Astral Light organization. The Astral Light has agreed to take on the job of getting the young Ms. Kierson free of a curse plaguing her. The important part is that the curse is possession, which we’ve managed to stave off with a counter-possession.”

Rampart blinked under their helmet. “So… There’s essentially three mouths I’d be feeding? That’s… A little more than my budget can handle…” they mused, suddenly a little more tentative about shaking any more hands.

Elise shook her head. “Not quite the situation. There are three souls you’re takin’ in, but you only need to concern yourself with Ms. Kierson’s needs. The two possessions won’t need any support beyond what the Astral Light is giving.”

Rampart nodded, clearly not fully understanding and being out of their depth massively, but the hand running up and down her own bicep gave away that their heart bled for this kid they just now learned existed. After a moment of silent contemplation, the only question left on their mind was, “Anything else I should prepare for?”

Elise shook her head. “Not unless there is some special need Mr. Kierson hasn’t told us.”

“N-No, m- Sir! Sir… No, sir. Nothing else,” Mr. Kierson stammered out, a thick Swedish accent making him need to enunciate more than usual, it seemed. He smiled and offered his hand again. “Thank you so much for taking care of my little girl. I know it was a difficult choice…”

Rampart took off their helmet and smiled, taking the father’s hand firmly and giving it a good shake. “No need to worry, Mr. Kierson. If I couldn’t have, we’d have found someone able to take care of your daughter. And you have my total assurance I’ll make sure she’s well taken care of.”

The doctor smiled. “In that case, let’s get information all settled in before we let you go and get you introduced, shall we?” He slid a paper across the table for Rampart to fill out, along with the pen to do so.

It wasn’t until dinner that Gwen managed to break away from the project. In fairness, it was an impressively productive day at least, but she was starving by the time she climbed into the seat with Batu.

“You okay?” he brother asked.

Gwen rubbed her slightly-pulsing headache. “Yeah… Kinda… Not really. I think I worked too hard… But at least we’re already almost done. We’ll probably be ready for a first test pilot by mid-week.”

Batu smiled as he turned on some soft music for his sister. “That’s good, at least. Here,” he said, handing her a water bottle. Not his first rodeo with his sister’s work life.

Gwen took the bottle and drank long and hard as Batu began heading towards the usual seafood restaurant. “I already called the order in, at least…” she growled out through her relieved throat. “You were going with your usual, I hope.”

“I was,” Batu admitted casually. “Haven’t been home, either, so I admit I dunno if the place burned down.”

Gwen shrugged. “It’s probably fine… Doc’s orders were for the big guy to keep it cool, and I doubt the normal tennants did anything terrible.”

Batu shrugged in kind. “Guess we’ll see.”

The rest of the ride was mostly quiet, aside from the music. They picked up food, collected the groceries Batu bought on his way to pick up Gwen, and made it home in one piece…

And almost on queue, as they walked inside, one of their tenants was rushing downstairs. The middle-aged woman who lived right above on the first floor.

“What’s going on, Lettie?” Batu asked, casual but concerned.

“I dunno, I just heard a thud and came to check,” she said. “Sounded REAL heavy which is why I’m worried about the new guy, kinda.”

Gwen and Batu shared a look before they split up, dumping the bags in their hands on the front desk without a second thought. Batu made way for their room, while Gwen ducked into the basement.

Gwen found him first. “Travis!” she screamed as she saw him trying to roll onto his back at the bottom of the basement stairs. “Lettie, call 911!”

(PREV / ALL \ NEXT)

[champagnepodiums]

My personal reason for disliking some of the WAGS (and this is not misogynistic or a criticism on women, I have the same issue with male drivers (e.g Pierre and Daniel pushing EFTs)) is that they’re so obviously trying to make money from social media and the way in which they’re doing it is unethical. Using a race weekend to promote a giveaway which forces people to follow you or having a brand sponsorship every weekend.

I understand and respect that being an influencer is a career in the modern age, that these people are walking advertisements but it’s such a cop out that it comes so easily to them just because they’re walking around an F1 paddock.

(I hate to pick on one, but i’m going to) Charlotte is literally working towards a Masters degree, she’s obviously an intelligent person, why don’t we see anything about that, about her work? It’s always about brands, I don’t even see anything about her own brands anymore, it’s always cash grab sponsorships.

These people don’t need more money, if they want their own money and financial independence (which i’m all for, you go girl), they should have to earn it, not just be handed out brand deals. If these WAGS actually had to grow their own following they wouldn’t have most of the opportunities they do. Just because you date someone (no matter who they are, or who you are) doesn’t mean you get to mooch off what they’ve built away from you.

I don’t particularly love any WAGS, just cause I think it’s kind of creepy the level some people take it, but someone like Isabel is still working, she has her degree and she’s using it. She has a podcast, she’s a journalist and the events she goes to is because she’s earned it through her own hard work and study, not just because she’ll promote something on a race weekend, you feel?

Sorry about the extended response, I just feel like there’s not many safe spaces to have constructive discourse on WAGS and social media, most people just jump straight to “you’re misogynist and a hater, you’re what’s wrong with F1 culture” when that’s so far from the truth - there’s a huge grey area of people who enjoy the sport, enjoy that we’re starting to see more into the lives of drivers but don’t appreciate being used as a money-making device.

(If anything thinks that this is misogynistic, anti-feminist or just plain hatred, you’re wrong. feminism is about equal opportunity, not being handed opportunities)

So yeah, I think WAGS don’t get as much of a following in F1 as other sports as they don’t show/have a life of their own, in most cases they’re just trying to make easy money in the shadow of their significant other who has done all the hard work.

Don't apologize for the extended response -- I really appreciate the critical thought you put into this and I am really glad you see this as a safe space to have constructive discourse because that is 100% my goal here.

Your response reminds me of another anon who mentioned how the WAGs just become public ornaments and I wonder if maybe that is why some (not all though) just do the super aesthetic feeds/don't ever talk about their educational pursuits etc. because they're told/conditioned/what have you, that people just want to see the pretty.

Your response also reminds me of a second anon awhile back who talked about how sometimes the brand deals and stuff feel predatory (I think they used another word but I can't remember exactly) towards the young female fans that tend to follow them, participate in the giveaways etc.

And I think that's also a part of a conversation that should be had too? Like the ethics of it all feel very murky but I think it should be talked about. I wholeheartedly believe in having constructive discourse about everything but especially social media so thank you and I hope I hear from you again, anon!

[beatricethecat2]

"Another day or two?" Helena gruffs.

"Yeah, um, sorry," Myka replies.

"That storm postponing your flight was one thing, but this? You are aware our rental is expiring eminently."

"Maybe we can extend?"

"I already inquired."

"And?"

Helena grimaces, nose wrinkling.

"I-I'll find us a new one."

"No, I shall, since I've clearly been left to my own devices."

"I'm coming soon, I promise!" Myka yelps. "I'll stay wherever you want. Extend the car rental, too."

"If I must swap it at the airport, I shall be cross."

"More cross than now? How is that even possible?" Myka jabs.

"I believe you know the answer," Helena says, deadpan. "What exactly is keeping you there?"

"I'm figuring something out but it's more complicated than I thought."

"And this 'something,' how long am I to remain in the dark?"

"Not long, but..." Myka's shoulders sag. "I might as well tell you."

"If it's such a burden—"

"No! I wanted to iron out the details first." Myka heaves a heavy sigh. "Ok, here it goes...I'm figuring out how to work remotely. Mostly."

Helena perks up. "This is something you truly wish to do?"

"I..." Myka pushes a hand through her hair, stopping halfway, looking off to the side. "I've been thinking about what you said, that the Warehouse needs to evolve, that it's stuck in the nineteenth century."

"Such a travesty; agents sequestered in a boarding house with modern communication and travel as they are."

"It's not so bad, having your friends there when you need them." Myka's hand drops to her side. "I do love my family here, but if I'm honest, it hasn't felt the same since Leena died." 

"May I say again how truly sorry I am for your loss. She was an extraordinary woman."

"She really was." Myka blinks back a tear and looks down. "But it's more than that. What you said about only traveling for work, of never really visiting a place, that stuck with me, too. How you want to take advantage of all this new world has to offer, things I take for granted, because you've been given a second chance." 

"I can be quite persuasive when I wish to," Helena says, lips turning up at the ends.

"And I love you for it." Myka's smile matches Helena's.

"But those are my wishes. What are your own?" Helena asks.

"I think it's worth fighting for change, even if making up rules as we go scares me."

"You are fond of protocol."

"And you're not. So we complement each other. Or cancel each other out," Myka says, lips lifting into a crooked grin.

Helena huffs a short laugh. "And Pete? How is he faring?"

"He's super bummed, but I think he understands." Myka shifts in her seat, sitting up straighter. "You might hear from him. He said he wants to have a chat."

"What about?"

"A 'big brother' kind of thing."

"I'm surprised he's waited this long."

"Me too."

The air quiets, each waiting for the other to continue.

"There is one other thing. An, um, 'condition," Myka says.

"Just the one?"

"Hey..."

"I'd expect nothing less. Go on."

"I can't go on missions alone."

"Nor would I allow you to."

"Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"While you're working, someone will join you."

"Yeah, you."

"But I'm no longer an—"

"They want to reinstate you."

"Myka..."

"I know, I know," Myka says, waving her hands in surrender. "It'd be on your terms. I'll make sure of that. And I'll keep you in check."

"That's a tall order."

"Believe me, I know."

Helena grasps at her locket and works a thumb over its smooth metal case.

"We'd have our autonomy, mostly. Be working part-time. We're already doing it unofficially anyway. And I think we work well together." Myka flashes a smug smile.

"And the distance from the Warehouse? How will you manage?"

"Abigail agreed to be our eyes in the archive. And we already have access to the database."

Helena stares at Myka for a long moment, fingers clutching her locket. "Can this truly be?"

"I think so. I'm hashing out details with Jane, but we need a few more days," Myka says, smiling. "Find us a place to stay for a couple of weeks. We can figure out what happens next from there."

"With pleasure," Helena says.

"So...can I tell them you're Agent Wells again?"

"I've further terms to discuss."

"Send them over. I'll make sure you get what you want."

Smiles grow wider as they hold each other's gazes.

"So...what'd you get up to yesterday?" Myka asks.

"I traveled by cable car up Hyde Street. The views were breathtaking."

"You did that without me?"

"I was tired of waiting."

"Do not go to Twin Peaks or Coit Tower. We're doing those together."

"I shant. Perhaps I'll peruse City Light Books again and linger in Jackson Square."

"That's where those buildings from the 1800's survived the earthquake."

"Indeed."

"Are you feeling a sense of closure, being there?"

"I believe we could have had quite a pleasant life here in my day. But closure, that may only truly begin upon your arrival."

"I can't wait," Myka says, grinning wildly.

-END SCENE-

------------------

Bering and Wells: New Horizons ("Warehouse 13" Season 5 replacement) Season 1: Episode 8 Title: San Francisco: The 415 Blues Summary: A freak storm delays Myka's flight to San Francisco. Helena learns Myka's taken on more while home than just dropping off an artifact. New paths are revealed while working through a difficult retrieval, as well as an ask that may take them to foreign shores.

Previously: Episodes 1-7 (look in my archive as adding links broke my post last time)

------------------

After assessing the scene of a retrieval, Myka and Helena duck into a coffee shop.

"That facade's massive! How would we know which one?" Myka asks.

"'It'll be obvious,' Artie said. Far from it," Helena snips.

"Maybe spray it with neutralizer and see what sparks?"

"It's a landmarked structure, too high-key."

"True," Myka says, frowning. "Artie said it was a chain reaction. One brick radiating into the others. Remove the source and the rest will calm down."

"Once one pinpoints the source."

"At least we know it's in arms reach," Myka says, sipping of her coffee. 

"Do we?"

"Someone almost burned their hand on it."

"Nothing felt even remotely hot to the touch today." Helena screws the cap onto her water bottle. "The brick responsible could be beaming down from the loftiest of places. We'd need scaffolding to check properly."

"And that hill is..." Myka motions with her hand at a forty-five-degree angle.

"Is it truly a risk if it's merely hot to the touch?" Helena says, leaning back in her chair.

"Artie's not sure. He thinks wildfire smoke is 'activating' the bricks, making them think they're in the fires after the 1906 earthquake. So it depends on which way the wind's blowing. Prolonged smoke contact equals hotter bricks, and hotter bricks mean the building might catch fire."

"Because these melted 'clicker bricks' were used in rebuilding after the earthquake?"

"Uh-huh. And Artie thinks they caused a previous fire."

"The one where those girls died trapped in the basement."

"So sad," Myka says, shaking her head. 

"I'd read it was arson, meant to discourage the Mission House staff from rescuing those poor immigrant girls from servitude."

"It probably was. But it might not have spread as fast without the clinkers."

"I see." Helena's hand tightens around her water bottle. "We cannot allow it burn again."

"We won't," Myka says, touching Helena's hand to reassure her. "Maybe we can monitor it with heat sensors. I bet Claudia has a gadget."

"I'm certain she shall," Helena says, looking as if she's combing through a catalog in her mind. "We must set up surveillance in the buildings across the street."

"Maybe we can pose as historians studying Julia Morgan, the architect," Myka says, perking up.

"What a blessing it shall be we're here for an indeterminate amount of time."

"Ooh! Maybe this can be our thing, traveling places and staying awhile, snagging difficult artifacts."

"I adore your ingenuity." Helena leans across the table, planting a kiss on Myka's lips.

"Mmm...thanks," Myka hums as Helena pulls back. She lifts her phone off the table, fingers working the keyboard, texting Claudia. "Maybe this is a good time to, um...tell you, there's a...a, um...something else the Warehouse's asked us to do."

"I knew they wouldn't release you that easily," Helena says, narrowing her eyes.

"This one's about you."

"Aren't they all, somehow?"

"Kinda?"

"Well, out with it then," Helena says, sitting back, crossing her arms over her chest.

"The artifacts you hid, the Warehouse wants them."

"They believe there are more?"

"Oh, come on."

"They've shelved the Trident and Corsican Vest."

"And the Imperceptor."

"That was not an artifact."

"Fine. Artifacts and inventions," Myka snaps. "And they want us to follow up on cold cases you left behind."

Helena shifts in her chair and looks towards the bridge in the distance. "This is punishment for my unwillingness to interact with the Warehouse. You told them of my issues surrounding Christina."

"No. I said separating your body from your mind then sending it out as a lure for Sykes really pissed you off."

"This is not untrue."

"Pisses me off, too," Myka mumbles.

"They may threaten such a thing again should I not bow to their demands."

"We."

"Pardon?"

"Should we not bow. I'm part of this, too."

"Yes, as my 'handler.'"

"Maybe. But our definition of 'handling' can be kind of fun." Myka skims a finger down Helena's forearm, prying her fisted hand apart and threading their fingers together.

Helena lets out a heavy sigh. "I may not recall everything. I'll need my diaries."

"Do you know where they are?"

"At the Warehouse, of course."

"I meant the real ones."

Helena raises a brow.

"You know they know you hid them before you were bronzed."

Helena grimaces. "I once knew where they were. There's no guarantee they're still there."

"You've already looked."

"I may have, briefly."

"And?"

Helena shakes her head in the negative.

"Then let's start with what you remember."

"Or, start with the items I've hidden since?"

"Helena!"

"Punish me later, darling. We've a smoldering building to extinguish." Helena squeezes Myka's hand and brushes a thumb under her jacket cuff. "Did Claudia get back to you?"

"No," says, checking her phone. "Maybe we should get back to the apartment and do some research?"

"'Research' is our best course of action."

Both women smile in agreement, then rise and hastily take their leave.

-END SEASON ONE-

NOTES: NOTES: And this wraps up Season 1! As you can see, it's set up to transition to a second season, one fairly independent from the Warehouse. Who knows if that will ever materialize (but I do have a few ideas). Links broke my post last time, but look up Cameron House (formerly the Mission House) in San Francisco and Donaldina Cameron for more on that organization and the deadly fire. Clinker bricks are regarded as junk bricks - warped from being fired at too high a temperature, or in this case, mangled by building fires after the 1906 earthquake. Many older buildings in Chinatown contain them as the neighborhood scrambled to rebuild after the earthquake, because white real estate developers were poised to swoop in steal their land. In the Cameron House design, clinkers were also used decoratively in an Arts and Crafts style (there are other buildings in SF like this, like 45 Upper Terrace, also designed by a female architect, Ida McCain). I dedicate this episode to @blackfoxreddog !!

[geshertzarmeod]

In Other Lands Character Arcs

(Spoilers Abound)

I’m thinking about how the character arcs of all three main characters from In Other Lands center largely on moving away from what their families expected of them, even as each of them doesn’t necessarily think moving away from that is possible. And how it’s their relationships with each other that help them move in the directions they actually want to move in, and believe in their abilities to forge their own paths and lead fulfilling lives. Even if it’s not what their parents or home communities think a fulfilling life entails. This culminates in their refusal (along with Golden) at the end of the book, to let anyone else influence them when it comes to deciding where to be stationed. They’re ready to choose their own paths, together.

There’s something deeply appealing to me about this as a queer person, even as queerness (as defined by orientation or gender) is not actually a central factor in the shifting of each character’s relationship with their families. Actually, the character who comes closest to that is Serene, who is presumedly straight, but whose pushback against the rigid gendered expectations of her society so challenge her community that she and Golden are essentially banished at least for a time. This is only tangentially queer, I’d say, because she does this not for herself, as she seems to proudly fit & identify with elven womanhood, but recognizes the false limiting of manhood within her society and fights fiercely for Luke, Elliot, and eventually Golden, who I’d say is GNC for sure. For Luke, it’s not his being gay but his being monogamous and waiting longer than they expected (though he’s like, still 17!!! that’s still young!!!) to become sexually or romantically active that is off-putting to his family. For Elliot, his father is shocked not to see him with a man, but to see him happy (cue my tears). 

I was just thinking this after reading Girl, Serpent, Thorn especially, but I really love when queer books parallel queer narratives of shame and struggle and difference and growing pains, with queer characters, but about issues unrelated to their being queer (especially when they’re about magical/fantasy elements). Then we get to relate to queer characters and see them process a lot of the feelings we have experienced, but also get to see them be loved and value and supported unconditionally in their queerness. Anyway, for an individual analysis:

Luke Sunborn

First, because I know a lot of people might not have read it, I’m going to quote Luke’s perspective from Wings In The Morning:

There were reasons Luke hadn’t kissed anybody. The Sunborns, as a family, loved life and loved love, and treated it as a game. It was fine for them: it worked for them.

Luke had always known that a riot of brightness and different loves and leaving someone laughing was beyond him. He wanted kindness and steadiness: he did not want someone who would leave. He wanted love that would last. (location 2527 in my kindle book, I can’t tell what page)

Luke, the Sunborn champion, expected to excel in battle, and love (read: have sex) freely and easily and non-monogamously, becoming an avid reader because of Elliot - something his father is shocked by and a little ashamed of. Learning Elvish because of both of them. Breaking border camp rules, threatening superior officers, to protect Elliot, and to support Serene, even as he continually complains about it and, on paper, would always argue that those choices are Not Okay and Very Bad. Luke, whose bashful shyness around his crushes, whose concern over his first kiss, whose choice of Elliot as a partner, is incomprehensible to his family, snapping, “I don’t want anyone else,” at the elves. He’s chosen Elliot, even as Elliot still doesn’t at all believe it at that point, and he’s happy with that decision. Elliot’s his choice, and only Elliot. Notorious Sunborn sexual voracity be damned.

Luke’s journey is also largely about him working through his external, and later internalized, biases against magical creatures. It’s pretty clearly an analog to xenophobia, and Luke expresses more disgust, disdain, or fear, the more different a culture is from the one he grew up in. This obviously becomes internalized against himself, when he realizes he is half-harpy. He literally represses his wings from coming out, he sees harpies as monsters and includes himself within this. It’s awful, and it’s sad, and it’s a mixture of Elliot’s meticulous research and adamant arguments that harpies are people, and that Luke isn’t a monster at all (and neither are harpies and other non-human creatures), and Serene’s calm acceptance of him, that helps him move through this. 

This xenophobia, although clearly ingrained since childhood, don’t seem to be coming primarily from his family (certainly not from his mother) but from the culture of the borderguard in general. To me, it is implied that his father might at least casually buy into a lot of this, although he would never extend it to his son. It also is an interesting dynamic as related to the other two’s relationships with family, because Luke coming to love and accept himself, and to open his mind about non-human creatures, is actually him coming closer to his mother, rather than moving away. In my view, a part of why he bought in so clearly to this prejudice coming from the general bordercamp culture is because he was pushing away from his parents in the first place - he saw his parents being so wild and free in a way he knew he could never be that he pushed himself into the opposite side, into “reason” and restraint and conservatism. What he needed to learn was how to hold his more “traditional” wants and needs (although like, he’s kind of wrong about that. Elliott Schafer is not the traditional kind quiet love he’s imagining, and he didn’t want that anyway) while still celebrating all of the different approaches and cultures and loves out there, and that’s what he’s learning alongside Elliot and Serene. And he does this partially because Elliot’s love for him as a half-harpy is, according to his previous beliefs, just as wild and out there as his mother’s affair with his biological father, or all of Elliot’s flirting with various magical creatures. And as he accepts Elliot’s love, he accepts that too.

Serene-Heart-In-The-Chaos-of-Battle

From the first moment we meet Serene we know she ran away from home to join the border camp. She’s chosen to join the humans, to fight alongside men, to learn about the borderlands from a human perspective and use that to create an alliance and to create peace. She enters a world where she is looked down on, where she is sexualized and punished for trying to swim shirtless, and has to fight hard to take the classes she wants and have the opportunity to prove herself as she wishes. Instead of deciding her parents and community were right and going back to the elves, she digs her heels in and with Elliot and Luke’s help, fights back, fights to excel at the border camp and make things different and better, and prove her detractors wrong. 

Not only that, but she learns to respect men in a way she was not raised to do, learns to treat men as equals and partners, always defending both Elliot and Luke when her community disrespects them. This prepares her for her relationship with Golden (although Elliot still helps her along a lot, especially with their written correspondence) and ends in her and Golden essentially eloping after Golden ran away to fight alongside her. It’s also important that she accepts Golden fighting alongside her. That was not at all a given, especially as even towards the middle of the book, she seems to be thinking of human men as capable of fighting and strength and other “womanly” qualities, but not necessarily believing the same of elven men. She’s chosen a nontraditional path and a GNC partner in Golden, and for the time being, her closest family is not her blood but her beautiful boyfriend, her swordsister, and her loved and loving best friend Elliot.

Elliot Schafer

Last but the opposite of least is Elliot. What Elliot learned from his family is that he will come to nothing, that he will be forgotten, and that he will not be loved. I am so angry on this child’s behalf, for the ways he was neglected not only by his parents but by everyone before Serene. The ways his father had no interest in him because all he wanted was Elliot’s mother back (and I love Elliot’s observation that even if his mother did come back, his father wouldn’t know what to do, and would not be happy). The way his teacher literally accepted a small bribe to just...... leave him at the entrance to the borderlands, and none of the students cared. The way his mother not only left when he was a child but knew who he was the second she saw or even heard about him at the bordercamp, and never bothered to tell him, or show any interest in him whatsoever.Elliot has been taught, over and over again, that he is unwanted and uncared for. That he has to go it alone, and fill his own needs.

Elliot learns to respect Commander Woodsinger and to know that while she doesn’t necessarily love him, she knows him, and appreciates who and what he is, and sees value and strength in it. She, unlike his previous teachers and school professionals, understands him, and likes him, and values him. She’s not warm, but she’s a positive presence in his life, and part of him learning to believe he has value just as he is, and not just because he spitefully decided it to go against what everyone else has told him, but because it’s actually true.

He didn’t want his parents and his peers and the adults who have let him down to be right about this, so he does dream of being loved back. But he shows himself fully prepared to be the one who loves more in relationships, especially with Serene. He’s ready, at first, to take all she’ll give him, and revel in each part of it, even if it doesn’t match up to his love for her. It’s not until the moment he turns down Serene’s final advance (when she’s clearly settling for him) that he realizes how much he wants to be chosen first. And he believes that’s possible, and worth waiting for (and that in the meantime, he will help Serene up and help her find what she truly wants too).

Elliot knows Serene loves him. She shows him he deserves love, and in his devotion to her, Elliot begins to excel and challenge himself and learn to see his brand of obnoxiousness as something that might not be everyone’s taste but isn’t inherently bad. He trusts Serene to love him, at least as a friend, but he doesn’t trust that Luke will, because Luke reminds him of all of the kids who hurt him in the past.

And that’s why the slowest arc of this whole book is probably Elliot realizing that Luke.... actually likes him. Actually wants to be around him, and enjoys his presence, and even like-likes him - loves him even. It just can’t compute for him. And so we get basically an unreliable narration for most of the book regarding Luke. Elliot’s “aha” moment about Luke rewrites years of his life, shifting his understanding of so much of their lives together. And it solidifies Elliot’s discovery that he can be loved exactly as he is, obnoxious and annoying and all. He’s found people who love him for it, and they’ve chosen him, and they’re going to stick around.

[yukipri]

Bad Batch end of season thoughts/ramble, bc it's been a week and I just wanna get it all off my chest...

(end of season spoilers and very disorganized rambling)

First off, I do want to say that I enjoyed watching the show. It fulfilled its primary purpose: entertainment. It was nice having something to look forward to every week, and even though it wasn't quite what I was expecting, it was fun. The animation was gorgeous, I liked all the references and tie ins. I will likely watch it again, and will watch season 2. This is by no means meant to be a hate post.

That being said, it is critical so please just skip if you're not into that!

The thing is...it takes very, Very little for me to love a clone. He doesn't need lines, or a face, or even a name, and the default is that I will love him. He can even be a little bastard, like Slick, and it's fine. I always want to know more about them, and wish they had more screen time and time in general to develop their characters. So given that we were getting 16 (20 eps total if we count TCW S7 pilot arc) centered around these guys, I was expecting to absolutely adore them by the end.

And I wanted to love the Bad Batch, I wanted to love them so damn much, and I tried. But I think one of the reasons why they never fully clicked for me was that their thing seems to be "we're unique, we never fit in, we're outsiders in our own home, among the people who are supposed to be our own family, and so we've found our home with each other."

Which! That's usually a wonderful message, and not a particularly rare or unique one either for stories! I usually dig these kinds of stories!

The problem here is the extremely unique situation of the clones. They are literally created to be identical, brain washed to be uniform. They must conform, or are killed off by their creators, and their conformity isn't a choice in the slightest, but one of fear and necessity.

Their uniformity is something that they are also entirely aware of--it's unavoidable, they're clones. Once out in the real galaxy, they all strive to find and establish unique identities for themselves, struggling against a galaxy that just wants them to be faceless products. It's a shared struggle, and all they have are each other, and their brotherhood is sacred as a result. Shunning unique identity is the opposite of who a clone is--it's what they all want.

So on one hand, it's understandable that the Batch stuck out (when all others who would have also stuck out were culled, when individuality isn't allowed). It's understandable that they would have yearned for the brotherhood shared by the other clones, and when they couldn't have it, they stuck closer to each other. It's even understandable that they would feel bitter, having experienced bullying at the hands of the other clones (but isn't it also understandable that the other clones would feel bitter that the Batch gets special treatment, when their own brothers with less-than-beneficial mutations were taken by the Kaminoans to never return?).

And so we have this batch of clones, who the Kaminoans call "mutated," but also specify that their mutations are "desirable" (implying what happens to mutations that are undesirable...). They have their own unique unit, in which they're able to improvise and act freely with seemingly little to no oversight, so long as they complete their mission. No Jedi to obey, no nat-born officers who look down on them. In fact, they look so different from standard clone troopers that most of the galaxy probably don't even know they are clones. They have their own ship (personalized), they have their own possessions (which we don't really see any other clones have), they have their own barracks (probably also very unique), and they even have access to superior weapons and armor (most of the Batch, minus Echo, seem to be wearing modified Katarn-class armor which is supposed to be for Commandos. we KNOW it holds up better than standard trooper armor).

So I'm sure they had some unpleasant experiences growing up, and I do get it. But at least at "present" end of clone wars, they honestly seem to be living infinitely better than all other clones? They still need to follow orders but they have more freedom, and perhaps most importantly, they have clear uniqueness that is denied almost all other clones. And yes, some of the clones on Kamino bully them, but we've seen NONE of the "regular" clones that we know to be particularly nasty to them, and in fact it's Crosshair who starts it by calling them "Regs."

And how does the Batch respond to this situation? By acting superior. It's Crosshair who says and it believes this firmly, and I do feel that the others are likely mostly influenced by this, but it's also true that Hunter, Wrecker, and Tech don't really deny this either. They don't like the "regs," they do act like they're "better." Poor Echo, who they repeatedly seem to forget is in the room, and who they call "machine" and such...yikes yo

So I guess the point is, I just really struggled to feel sympathetic towards them, and was already on a kinda eh about their premise. They're marketed as "the special clone squad"--and yet they're not nice to the clones I love. I thought that wasn't great, but also hoped that the series would work towards them understanding the other clones better, and I love character development so that woulda been fine--but, nothing. A glance from Hunter at Howzer. Extended camaraderie from Gregor, who I feel they mostly just tolerate for the mission, other than Echo who genuinely cares.

And on top of feeling not feeling particularly sympathetic towards what I saw as a pretty privileged group of clones, the Batch seems to place primary blame of their woes on the "regs" themselves, who again, honestly seem far worse off! There isn't blame directed at the people who demanded the conformity from the other clones in the first place, that made it so the Batch couldn't fit in. The Batch was modified due to the Kaminoans (and implied specifically Nala Se). She's the reason why they don't fit in. And the Kaminoans are also why the other clones have to be so uniform, why they must fight to be people and not products.

Bitterness and pettiness can be fine in characters. But it's frustrating to see in a group supposed to be competent and elite, especially when those feelings have consequences. Sure, it sucks when someone throws a food tray at you. You can throw food back. It's not an equal reaction to feel no remorse when you shoot that guy dead in a blaster fight, when for all other clones, having to kill another clone is one of the most horrible, tragic things that one can do (thanks, Umbara).

Fives was the only clone to actually point a blaster at Nala Se.

We know Omega has deeply personal history with Nala Se. She was Nala Se's personal medical assistant. We see her cry when she takes off her head ornament that matches Nala Se. We know that being back in the lab gives Omega complicated, and probably not entirely positive feelings. But we barely learn more about this relationship, other than these glimpses.

And I get the feeling that to Omega at least, Nala Se wasn't all terrible. If Omega grew up with mostly only Nala Se for company, she had to have gotten her sheltered outlook on life, and her willingness to help others from somewhere. Nala Se intentionally let Omega go, to be "safe."

I think Omega's adorable, and I do like her. But I wasn't able to fully love her to the extent I wanted to, because there was always the fear that she was involved in the creation and implantation of the chips. She knows about them, she would have been positioned to do so. I want to think she would never, and I was hoping the show would reassure us of that, but it never did. We don't actually know how Omega feels about Nala Se, or even the chips and their presence in other clones. Instead, all we know is that Omega doesn't like "regs."

And again, "they call me lab scrubber," and "I helped put (or am complicit in putting) mind control devices in their heads," are kinda, unequal. Again I hope it's not the case. But it definitely kept me feeling uneasy throughout the show.

It really boils down to I don't trust or forgive Nala Se, and the Batch's lack of stance against her and the other Kaminoans, and clear distaste for their other clone brothers, really puts them in a situation that makes it difficult for me to take their side entirely.

And then gosh, Hunter. During Crosshair's whole "you never came back for me," spiel, I couldn't help but think he's kinda right. He had 15 episodes. Sure, it's difficult to get Crosshair back. But they could have done something. They could have done research. We could have had scenes of them wondering where Crosshair is, discussions on how best to find him, even if that discussion ended in, "but we can't risk it right now." They could have grilled Omega for information on the chips, which they really shoulda done either way, but especially since that knowledge is important to understanding what (they thought had) happened to Crosshair. Instead, they just ran every time Crosshair showed up. The show could have done better to show that they cared, and were trying, instead of just, y'know, doing chores for Cid. One, "I kinda miss him," doesn't really count as working on getting him back, at least in my books.

The sole exception to all of this, of course, is Echo. Who really, he works with the Batch fine, he's a former ARC and can more than keep up. Skillset-wise, he fits in well enough. But this season really made me wonder why he's with them at all. Crosshair's revelation and true feelings at the end of the season were no surprise to me, as they're consistent with what we've seen of him from TCW S7. But for Echo, a former "reg" to have to work with someone like Crosshair...even if Crosshair thought Echo was "different" enough to accept him, those are his brothers that Crosshair thinks he's so superior to, and has no issue speaking disdainfully about.

The increasing tension between Echo and Hunter, Echo's interest in helping Rex, in helping other clones, in doing something...I do hope they reach a point where Echo demands they go help, or he's leaving.

They gave Crosshair a chance, despite the fact that his choices were willing. I really hope Echo can convince the Batch to help save the other clones who don't have a choice. Because even if the Batch doesn't consider them their brothers, they're certainly Echo's. They matter just as much as Crosshair, and I really hope season 2 shows it narratively.

To conclude, again I'm interested in seeing what happens next, and I want answers about Omega and Nala Se. I find it interesting that they tied the facility where they took Nala Se in with the scientist dude collecting data on Grogu in the Mandalorian and those cloning labs. All of this is interesting, but at the same time I feel like it's trying to build up to Snoke/Palpatine stuff in the sequels which...I don't care nearly as much about, but who knows, could be neat ^ ^;

I'm okay with, and have made peace with the fact that the Bad Batch probably isn't the "clones-centric" show I wanted, and that they'll continue their own story, and probably continue to not care much about other clones in upcoming seasons. That's unfortunate, but alright. I'm interested enough in their story too.

But at the same time...I can't help but think man, if they have the time and budget to do a season 2, after seeing what was (or wasn't) accomplished in season 1...I wish they'd also make a Rex/Cody/Wolffe/"regular clones" show, because in the end, if you're going to do a "clones show"....that's who I want to see most.

If you got to the end, thank you for reading, and being an ear to my ranting ^ ^; Again this is literally just getting this off my chest. If this take isn't one you agree with, please just ignore. For people who did fall in love with the Batch, I'm happy for you, and regret that it just couldn't happen for me. But, I'm hoping that S2 will change my mind, but we'll just have to see! ^ ^;