#we do not need to defend his actions!! it’s fine to understand and empathize but defend???

[duckiemimi]

every time i do a geto analysis touching on how concerning and, for lack of better word, “problematic” his eliminationist ideals and mindset were, i always get a couple comments saying “and i love him for that” or “and i’ll support him,” and i know most are in jest for the sake of self-aware satire, but i think we need to collectively come to the agreement that geto’s ideal was a loser mindset. r u a loser, too?

[transmascpetewentz]

shapiro is too misguided and propagandized to see that despite the fact that he has for years tried to spread the "libertarian" capitalist message of his alt right buddies, he is still not and will never be accepted as one of their in-group. no matter how much of his life he dedicates to allying himself with christofascists, even bringing his family members into the influencer sphere to target demographics other than just cishet white(-passing) men, christofascists do not truly accept jews. they humor jews to get something out of them, especially those who are assimilated, and they readily celebrate the fact that some jews decide, after seeing all the ways the alt right has harmed them, to agree with them on a public platform. for the past few years, arguably before around 2021, the alt right has been able to reconcile with some outspoken jewish voices like shapiro because the alt right manufactured a common enemy of queer people and people of color, especially black people and muslims. but ever since 2021, and especially after october, the alt right has gotten tired of restraining their leopards from eating shapiro and his ilk's faces. the truth is that the alt right, and capitalists more generally, has never had a space for observant jews and judaism.

but here is the thing: the left, although its politics seem to be more consistent with jewish values, has constantly shown the jewish community that it does not want to make space for jews. this was the case for as long as the left has been around but has gotten especially worse since october. i don't want to get into that can of worms, so let me just point out a few problems the left had before october. the non-jewish left has always liked the idea of jews agreeing with it, and it really loves dead jews (read the book by dara horn for more on this). but living jews? the non-jewish left has a few outspoken jewish voices, none of which i will name here because this is first and foremost a post about ben shapiro, but if you know who they are, you know who they are. some of these people have a lot of integrity and express their opinions, but another problem emerges. most are unable to express their jewish values, morals, ethics, and lives, because the space they are in is hostile. not in the same explicit ways the right is, but very much hostile in its own way. the non-jewish leftist space tends to be populated heavily by atheists, which is fine. however, these atheists, more often than not, tend to be culturally christian, and a symptom of that is that many expect everyone to be atheist/secular, or to not be visibly of a different culture. this provides a problem for observant jews who are in the non-jewish leftist space: the non-jewish left is the mainstream political movement which advocates for equality and justice for all, but it often excludes observant jews.

the problem then emerges. if one is to be an observant jew, and they are pushed out of the left, and the right accepts their support as a jew to point to that agrees, what is an observant jew who cares about politics to do? now, i'm not about to defend the actions of these vocal pro-alt-right implicitly-pro-neo-nazi jewish voices. however, i do want to empathize with people like shapiro, because i understand where they are coming from. at the end of the day, there are two options that could be beneficial: either mainstream political movements do some serious self reflection about how they treat jews, especially observant jews (which i really wish would happen, but realistically, i don't expect that to), or some significant change has to happen for jewish voices to be heard and gain exposure without having to stick to non-jewish tribalistic lines and political biases.

the tl;dr and summary for this post is that we really need to unpack the idea that belief equals identity.

ben shapiro is, at some point, going to have his face eaten by the leopards eating faces party he's chosen to align himself with.

[linkspooky]

Tall Buildings Falling Down

It’s especially important that Uraraka was the one to hear this, a hero overhwhelemd by the demands of saving people, deciding to just give up and quit his job. Important because, out of all the characters in class 1-A Uraraka is unique for two reasons. One, Uraraka is perhaps the only student in her class who admitted she’s in the hero business for the money, she joined because it’s a lucrative job. 

Second, despite the fact that Uraraka only wanted to become a hero for the money, she idolizes heroes just as much as the rest of her class does. This has led Uraraka to question herself as times, because she doesn’t believe her motivations for being a hero are as good as the rest of her classmates. 

Uraraka is also attached to the overly idealized image of heroes that was sold to the rest of her classmates, that heroes always save people, that heroes are righteous, heroes are good and everything that gets in the way of heroes is bad. Heroes are here to protect us, heroes make people happy. Uraraka carries this overly idealized image of heroes inside of her.

However, ideals always fall short of the reality. When Uraraka saw Deku struggling with all of his might, that’s when the first cracks began to appear. Because Deku, he was hurting himself even as they fight Chiaki. 

Who protects the heroes when they need protecting? I think Uraraka means this especially in regards to Deku. Being a hero is hurting Deku. Deku pushes himself to such an extent that he breaks his body over and over again. Being a hero is supposed to be a good thing, but under the current system even being a hero causes Deku to suffer because it requires so much out of him, he must continually break his body again and again in order to keep up with the others. All Deku thinks of is saving others, he’s more heroic than most, and yet, the current system isn’t designed to stop this behavior. More than anything else it’s focused on strength, on Deku learning to strengthen his quirk, not learning how to take care of himself. The system values powers over people, but Uraraka is so empathic she sees Deku as a person and notices that he’s suffering because of it. All Deku wants is to be a hero, but what is a hero under the current system? Someone strong enough to win and beat all the bad guys. 

It’s clear that in hero society, heroes are valued much more for winning, rather than saving. When saving is what is needed especially in this chapter. Uraraka sees someone who became a hero for all the wrong reasons, just giving up and quitting. In the same chapter where Uraraka’s thoughts are literally just, there must be more people, there must be more people I can save, just over and over again. 

Uraraka herself has become more and more selfless, as she’s progressed as a character, more focused on saving people especially after watching Deku push himself to such extremes in the name of saving others. However, that’s not necessarily true for the adults around her. Uraraka who began all of this by just seeing heroics as a job, sees an adult who just treats it like a job too, giving up. 

As buildings are falling down all around her, Uraraka’s idea of heroes begin to fall too. To be fair, no one person could ever deal with a disaster of this magnitude all on their own. Society’s expectations of heroes were too high in the first place, no one can be perfectly selfless all the time, the perfect savior that saved everyone that all might tried to create was never going to save everyone. However, at the same time heroes get away with a lot, because people uncritically see heroes as “good” no matter what they do, to the point where the kids rejected any and all criticism of the heroes around them. However, in this chapter after fighting with everything they had to defend those same heroes, they meet the disappointing reality. 

The same adults who brought Kaminari Denki to the battelfield when he wasn’t ready, because they weren’t strong enough to fight the evil on their own, who insisted that they needed to fight the villains in this surprise ambush and start with war. 

The same adults that told them everything would be alright, that the heroes would always win, that they would go home and go back to school after all of this are now lying dead in the ruins of the cities they failed to save. 

ANd, what are we meant to take from this? Heroes can’t save everyone, that’s obvious. Heroes are flawed and make flawed choices. However, the students in looking up to their teachers idealize them a little too much, to the point where it becomes impossible for them to accept any criticism of the heroes. 

However, the kids are starting to see that heroes aren’t perfect. Theymake mistakes. They’re flawed. The problem with the kids isn’t that they liked heroes, it’s that their ideals were completely black and white. Heroes good, villains bad. Heroes always save people. Heroes can’t ever be selfish, self-serving, or flawed as the rest of us, because well they’re heroes. 

If heroes are supposed to save people, then what about the people they don’t save? That’s the question that Himiko brings to Uraraka, however, Uraraka can’t even understand the question. In Uraraka’s idealized reality there is no situation where heroes fail to save someone. Heroes are always well-meaning. Heroes always do their best to save others. There’s nobody who’s been failed, or even hurt by heroes. Uraraka doesn’t understand that people like Himiko have been disappointed and failed by heroes over and over again, and some of them like Dabi have been outright abused. Uraraka cannot understand that the heroes that are helping her, the quirk therapy system that never hurt her, could have harmed someone so thoroughly as it did Himiko that she believes that the only way to survive is to fight back and even kill. Uraraka just hasn’t seen a reality where heroes fail to save people. In Uraraka’s world, heroes are good, heroes are selfless, heroes are kind. Himiko can’t possibly have a reason. If Himiko wants to hurt people, she must have chosen to do that on their own. If Himiko wants to hurt people then she must be a bad person.

Heroes save people, so if Himiko questions heroes, or tries to fight back against them, then Himiko is just getting in the way. Then Himiko is just being selfish. She’s putting her own needs, and her own hurt feelings over all of those innocent people that are in need of saving. See, Uraraka can’t understand that heroes can hurt people too, so she doesn’t understand that someone like Himiko who has been hurt by the heroes, by the people supposed to save her, might be in need of saving. 

Uraraka can’t perceive of a reality where heroes would disappoint, or would hurt others. So, Uraraka’s declaration is partially made in ignorance. She says that Himiko has to live with the consequences of her actions, but Uraraka at the same time isn’t living in the same reality that Himiko is. She’s been protected, sheltered so far, and her point of view comes from that fact. The same system that helped Uraraka, has also hurt Himiko, and Uraraka can’t grasp that. Uraraka first fails to save Himiko, and then this chapter she’s met with the same thing. 

Uraraka learns the harsh truth in this chapter. That not all heroes are invested in saving other people as she is. That not all of them are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. 

If a hero can stare at this wreckage where so many innocent people are screaming for help, and then just give up. Just say, it’s too hard to save all these people. How many kids in this wreckage are going to get helped? How many are the heroes going to take care of? How many are they just going to give up on because it’s too hard? The thing is, every single kid in this broken down city could turn into another Himiko, because people aren’t good or bad. Circumstances are good and bad, they shape people in good and bad way. The same way that the children asking for help in this city are victims of circumstance, Himiko too was just another victim of circumstance, just another child that didn’t get saved. The only difference between her and the others is that she grew up and fought back. 

Heroes don’t save everyone and something needs to be done about that. Heroes aren’t perfect, however, closing your eyes to that reality and pretending they are, pretending that everything just fine means that nothing is going to change and nothing is going to improve. It’s only when the kids see the flaws in the adult heroes around them, that they can see how they as the next generation can be better than them. Go beyond plus ultra, right? If this manga is about becoming the best hero you can be. Then, the kids should be thinking about how they can save, even the ones that the adult heroes have given up on saving. 

[ahkaraii]

"I'm sorry if it hurts Chi-Chi and Gohan, but please don't try and resurrect me. Besides, Gohan's a lot better person than I was..."

I think about this line a lot. It shows a lot of self awareness from Goku, y'know?

I have a lot of Goku feels, not all of them fandom-friendly. Twitter folks either bash him or defend him unto death, very black and white binary split-like, which makes it difficult to talk about in 140 characters or less. “Good” dad or “Bad” dad is subjective. But I think his actions -- and inactions -- had profound effects on his family and the world beyond, for good and for bad.

Lemme word vomit for a while and see if I can get something coherent out xD

I think he’s a fantastic shonen protagonist -- arguably the template!! -- and I love him as a character that steadfastly drives the story inexhaustibly forward, to stronger and stronger opponents, to ever more fantastic plotlines. But I personally Iike to take a magnifying glass to the small moments, the quiet moments; the breaths in between the panels. And in these moments, I think Goku is a fascinating chimera of a character: a patchwork man he stitched together through mimicry and good intentions and animal impulse.

He acts like a doofus and in many cases its genuine -- he practically self-raised himself in the wild after not just accidentally killing his grandpa, but also after suffering an actually plot-significant brain injury -- but he is no idiot. I think Goku knows he’s different and not just because he’s an alien with a regrowing tail.

Goku isn’t a normal human because he doesn’t connect like a normal human. He loves but it’s because he chooses to love. He’s loyal because he chooses to be loyal. It’s not sociopathy, but it is a kind of almost... autistic spectrum like inability? I hesitate to step on toes here, but I’m basically heavily projecting my own father -- who is himself a man with high functioning autism -- so that’s where I’m drawing my main inspiration.

Goku struggles immensely to understand people who are emotionally volatile. He defaults to humour and acting like he doesn’t get it just to defuse the situation, because otherwise it’s time to Fight and Goku never takes fights lightly, and that often doesn’t end well with squishy humans. He has a moral code but he doesn’t Regret like a normal person does upon causing injury, physical or emotional. He doesn’t empathize like an emotionally adept person can. He reads body language better than tone.

On the vein of being on the spectrum, or just surviving a brain injury, or just being a saiyan, or a combination of all three -- Goku’s special interest is Fighting. And that’s one of the sources of his family’s problems.

Before Raditz, Goku was content fighting in the World Tournament and marrying the world’s strongest woman, and raising a family with her. Farming to make money to support Chichi and Gohan was boring but it was a form of training if he squinted, and he was fine conforming to that. He looked forward to Gohan growing up enough to train him (remember him saying Chichi wouldn’t let him until Gohan got older), and there he’d have another sparing partner. How exciting! He can’t wait. Let’s go fishing, Gohan, I’ll show you how to use your tail just like I used to! Can you catch a bigger fish? I know you can! Isn’t this fun? Haha! I wonder if this is what Grandpa Gohan felt. I miss him. But Gohan’s here with me! Gosh, I can’t wait till I can teach him all I know!

But after Raditz, Goku was introduced to Strength Beyond Earth, and I believe that was the start of the death of Goku’s attachment to his humanity. Because humans had a limit, and the stars did not.

Goku’s not a bad person. He’s not a terrible father. But like a good shonen protagonist, he’s addicted to chasing strength, and the strength beyond even life itself ultimately called him to abandon his mortal coil (which we see culminate in GT’s ending).

It began by wanting to stay dead. He doesn’t want to hurt his family -- he genuinely doesn’t! -- so after surviving Namek’s destruction he preferred to keep them ignorant as he trained on Planet Yardrat, since what good would it do for them to know he lived if he didn’t plan on coming back yet? Then he mastered Instant Transmission!! How amazing! Now he can travel to and from any reaches of the vast universe; he can come home whenever he wants to. Now he doesn’t have to hurt his family AND he can fight whenever and wherever he wants! Wahoo!!

So he comes back to life. Aaaand life’s not the same. Chichi’s not the same -- she mourned his death and she’s still angry he lost her Gohan for a year, and then took him to space, and then he nearly died for it, too -- and Gohan’s not the same. He’s not four years old anymore. He’s not the wide-eyed kid who looked like his father had all the answers. Krillin’s gotten older.  Everyone has changed, even if just a little. Everyone but Goku.

(Except Goku HAS changed. There’s a whole universe to discover. There’s so much strength he can defeat, still. He looks up at the stars at night and feels for Yardrat’s ki. He feels so much ki everywhere up there. He wants to chase it all down. Is it because I’m a Saiyan? Or is it because I’m a bad person? Goku don’t know...but Goku longs for it. He longs for the peace he finds in letting go).

Future Trunk’s message that a heart illness will kill him politely confuses him. Goku doesn’t fear death -- he knows what’s beyond it, now. And there’s fighters there. Even if he dies, there will be people to fight. No worries. But he does worry about this nebulous future where all his loved ones are dead, too, all except Gohan. It sounds like his boy’s gonna have it rough if these android fellas win. Time to beat some androids! :D And hey, this is finally a good excuse to train with Gohan!! So he does that for a couple of years, teaming up with Piccolo. Gohan’s gotten so strong! How exciting!

Chichi’s slowly come ‘round to him again, so that’s nice, too. He doesn’t really get why she’s still so mad but he rolls with it. He responds to violence he can’t fight against with a smile. Her emotions are too hard to follow, and it can get a little tiresome. But he loves her -- he chose to love her, so he does, and he always will. In his own way.

Then the androids come, and then Cell comes, and Goku steals Gohan away for a day and a year inside the Chamber, and he finally, finally realizes -- gosh, Gohan’s not like him at all. Gohan’s what a Real Human should be. What a Real Hero should be. The hero the Earth needs. Because Goku can’t be that hero anymore -- he never could be. He’s not human.

And there’s so many people to fight beyond the stars....

So when Goku choses to die alongside Cell, it was a choice, too. Gohan’s a better person than him, anyway. He’ll make Chichi happy, and he’ll protect the earth, and maybe one day Goku’ll meet him again and they can spar to see their strengths :) He’s so proud of his boy....

So........ is Goku a good father? A bad father? A good person? A bad person?

I think Goku is Goku. So I’ll let you decide :)

(Here’s the canon Goku dialogue from the end of Cell saga: )

[bookofmirth]

Hello! This is a bit different from your usual gwynriel/elucien asks, so I hope you don’t mind, but it’s something that’s been bothering me lately and I wonder if anyone else has noticed.

I’m not sure if it’s because if the upsurge in popularity of acotar on tiktok/twitter with a younger audience reading it, or if I’ve just been lucky and not noticed it before, but I’ve seen so many Tamlin stans coming out of the woodwork and it honestly bothers me.

I definitely do agree that Tamlin is a complex character and of course, it’s fine that people are interested in him (I really don’t care about him, but to each their own)! But lately there have been so many people in the fandom arguing that he’s a victim of PTSD who deserves better, often villainizing Feyre/Lucien because of this.

I‘ve seen takes that Feyre was gaslighting Tamlin when she told him she was happy with Rhys because Rhys still had the whole night court persona going on?? And that Lucien and Feyre were a horrible support system because they wouldn’t stand up to him (completely ignoring that when they did Tamlin … ya know … physically hurt both of them)? And that somehow Feyre spying in the Spring Court in ACOWAR was also abusive and manipulative towards Tamlin?

I just genuinely don’t understand where all of this is coming from. I try to be critical of SJM’s writing because I understand that it can be flawed, especially since I have problems with how Feysand was written after ACOWAR, Azriel’s issues with women, the IC’s treatment of Nesta, etc. But I just can’t seem to get behind these interpretations and I’m not sure if I’m just missing something (or ‘biased’ by Feyre’s POV as some claim).

Wooooooo boy, so I didn't know that this was a thing happening but lemme break down how wrong these people are with some of these arguments! This is going to get long.

(I definitely don't mind, I appreciate any ask that's not just about ship wars!)

So I'm going to lay out the claims people are making and talk about them one at a time.

Tamlin has PTSD:

Probably yes. In the beginning of acomaf, Feyre mentions that he has trouble sleeping, just like she does, and I believe he gets up at night, and this is when their relationship really deteriorates. I can't say for sure what he was experiencing, but it seems like he had a lot of anxiety and fears left over from Amarantha and watching Feyre die. The things he was experiencing emotionally are 1000% understandable and valid, even if it wasn't diagnosable PTSD.

But you know who else likely has PTSD? Lucien and Feyre.

Say it with me everyone: emotions do not always justify behaviors.

Feyre is gaslighting Tamlin:

Hell fucking no.

People need to learn what gaslighting is. Gaslighting is not just "lying". Gaslighting is not "disagreeing". Gaslighting is a very specific tactic used to make someone question their memory, their reality, to twist the truth.

Rhys definitely had a persona. That was a calculated decision. But when Feyre tells Tamlin that she is happy, she is not lying at all. Her telling Tamlin that she is happy has nothing to do with whatever lies or manipulations that Rhys did in the past. Why? Because even if Rhys was a super asshole dark dude, Feyre saying she is happy with him is still the truth. Feyre isn't lying, let alone gaslighting Tamlin, that idea is completely laughable.

The only way that people could say that Feyre is gaslighting Tamlin is to say that she is responsible for Rhysand's Dark persona, that she is the one who created it with the intention of making people question what they thought was true. Which she isn't. That isn't even the reason that Rhys created the persona. He created it to obscure the truth in the first place.

And even his persona isn't gaslighting? He isn't trying to make people question their reality. He isn't trying to make people question themselves. He is trying to make himself look scary. And so when he drops that persona, he is telling the truth. He isn't gaslighting people, he is saying "hey I wasn't being honest before but now I am".

And i think that's a big, big difference that people are failing to understand. Gaslighting is about trying to change other people's reality. Rhys's persona was about him. Feyre saying she was happy was about her. Neither of those things were about trying to make people feel like they were crazy.

So there has to be this reality. Let's say Rhys was spotted being menacing. Person A is like "hey, you look scary!" And he's like "noice, my evil plan is working." Then later on Rhys is like "hey you know what, I wasn't being honest before, I'm actually a Super Cool Dude." Person A might be confused for a minute because what they thought was true wasn't true, but they'll get there.

If it were gaslighting, on the other hand, it would go more like: Rhys: *is nice*. Person A: "hey, I thought you were scary though?" Rhys: "nah, that was my good twin, Rhysnaldo. I've never been nice a day in my life. You must be confused." Person A: *questioning everything they thought they just witnessed".

So yeah anyway, people gotta stop using that term if they don't know what it means.

Feyre manipulating Tamlin:

Personally, I agree with the argument that she manipulated Tamlin in the beginning of acowar. I don't think that's even a matter of interpretation, she went to Spring with the intention of burning shit down.

Feyre was not abusive towards Tamlin. She knew his weaknesses and exploited them. I don't care that she did that to him, I think that she deserved a bit of vengeance. However, personally I cannot stand the fact that in doing so she caused a lot of collateral damage and did not gaf. Deal with your abusive ex however you need to, Feyre. Don't knowingly, intentionally bring harm to other people in doing so.

Feyre and Lucien failing as a support system:

NO.

Feyre literally saved Tamlin's life by killing and dying for him. Lucien was also tortured by Amarantha because of Tamlin. Neither of them broke and betrayed him. They were incredibly loyal to him throughout acotar. Even now, when Lucien is being emotionally and physically abused by Tamlin, Lucien is still trying to work with him, make sure he is fed, make sure he doesn't completely lose his humanity fae-ness. Lucien is the only reason that the Spring Court hasn't completely collapsed while Tamlin wallows in his beasty feelings.

Any time that either Feyre or Lucien try to stand up to Tamlin, he gets manipulative and abusive. He emotionally manipulates Feyre into feeling guilty for wanting to be able to defend herself. He emotionally abuses Feyre by making her afraid of his anger and afraid of how he will react to anything that she says or does. He glares or shouts down anything the Lucien says.

Also, Tamlin is a High Lord! They can only do so much when it comes to standing up to him.

For real, Feyre and Lucien did literally everything that they possibly could in order to try to support Tamlin, and much of that was to their own detriment. In trying to support Tamlin, they got emotional and physical abuse in return. So no, fuck that. Being supportive does not mean we have to put up with abuse.

Being biased in Feyre's favor:

We are not biased by Feyre's POV in the sense that she is trying to mislead the reader, but we are limited by her POV because she doesn't know everything. She tells us the truth as she knows it. That is very different from a narrator who is intentionally trying to hide things or lie or mislead.

But even if we were biased by Feyre's POV, so fucking what??? Is it so wrong to take the side of a victim of abuse? Why do we need to try so hard to understand Tamlin's side? People can do that, of course, I have myself, especially later on in the story. In acofas I started to feel sorry for him. I've been mad at how Rhys treated him in acofas. But the idea of being biased in Feyre's favor means that we would have to question her, in some way, when she recounts the story of her abuse. That's disgusting, to me. What reason do we have to think she isn't telling her story truthfully?

We might naturally have more empathy towards Feyre because we heard the story from her POV, but again - why is that a bad thing? To hear a story from the victim of abuse and feel empathy for them??? Call me crazy but that's not a problem. I'm going to empathize with Feyre, and I'm going to believe Mor (and Rhys, and Lucien). The end.

A final word

Just something you said in the last paragraph struck me, in regards to Azriel's view of women and how the IC treats Nesta: those are not thing to criticize in sjm's writing, I think. Just because Tamlin is abusive doesn't mean that sjm shouldn't have written him that way, ya know? If there are inconsistencies in characterization or a lack of understanding of abusive dynamics or alcohol abuse or something like that, those are things we can criticize in her writing. But characters do uncomfy things, that's supposed to happen.

What I'm trying to say is that there is a difference between criticizing a character's actions, and criticizing the way they have been written. Pretty much everything above falls under the realm of "analyzing a character or story", not criticizing the author.

[adiwriting]

FYI thanks for mocking me on discord that was fun to see my heightened emotions of the day mocked by my fav writer. I wasn't planning on saying anything but I figured if it stops you guys taking the piss out of other asks you said you weren't even going to publish in the first place then perhaps I should. Be aware some of us don't have tumblr accounts. This is not the friendly fandom I was led to believe if you enjoy doing that with friends on discord in the public chats. Thanks for educating me

First of all, I’m not even sure how this ask got through except to say that Tumblr is buggy AF and I’m angry about it. Most people that have anon off, have it off for a reason, so that fact that Tumblr can just up and ignore that to let anons through is pretty shitty and @staff should look into that. 

But since this is not the first time that somebody has accused me of trigging them over the entire Tyler Blackburn situation, I’m going to write up a response and hopefully everyone that’s been triggered by me and my words can all read this and perhaps have an ounce of self-awareness and empathy for others. 

12 days ago, I wrote a post about fandom racism that also apparently was the first time most of fandom was learning about the fact that Tyler Blackburn was not an indigenous person. I expected about 10 people to read it and for it to anger about 1-2 people. Those were my expectations. To get an angry anon or two. To have somebody pop into my replies to argue DNA testing. So when the post blew up and I became the subject of fandom rage, with new people vague blogging me by the hour, my DMs and my inbox filled with hate, and this became “the topic” of fandom on multiple platforms... I wasn’t mentally ready for it. 

Despite all of that, I still stand by the spirit of that original post. I still stand by the fact that I posted asking people to stop calling Tyler a POC and using that as a defense of their own racist behavior. I DON’T stand by my argument of using percentages or DNA testing to “prove” Tyler wasn’t NA. I’ve learned better over the last 12 days. I don’t stand by my statement that we shouldn’t cancel Tyler. As a white woman, that isn’t my call and I don’t get to decide how the indigenous fans respond to this hurtful news. But the things I regret revolve around not being a good ally. They don’t revolve around regret posting about Tyler’s actions and they certainly don’t revolve around any regret for calling out fandom racism. 

Back to my response and my “mocking” behavior. 

I want anyone who says that I triggered them (because it’s been a handful of people by now, either directly or through vague blogging about me) to understand something.

Most of us have been in the situation where you post something and you get 1-2 hate anons. You bitch about it, you complain to your friends, then you move on. Few of us have likely ever woken up day after day to 25+ messages calling you an awful person for having the audacity to share news about an actor who shared the news about himself first. It, understandably, gets to you. And yet, I’m not out here blaming those hate anons and DMs for being the reason I couldn’t sleep for a week, the reason I had full blown panic attacks, or the reason I couldn’t eat more than a bite of food each meal. Because at the end of the day, this fandom wasn’t the SOLE reason for my mental health issues and I refuse to blame other people for my own mental health issues. I refuse to say that anyone else “triggered” me, because the fact remains that anyone who triggered me only did so because I gave them the power to do so. Just like I would argue, I don’t have the power to trigger anyone else, you’ve all given me that power and you can take it away. You can unfollow me. You can block me. You can chose not to read my thoughts on things and let it affect your day. I’m not remotely worth anyone’s stress. 

Did I publish anons after I said I wasn’t going to? Yes. Though, I’m 99% sure every anon I published were ones I received BEFORE I said I wouldn’t answer anons, and thus I’m not sure anyone sent me anything under the guise it wouldn’t be published. I’m pretty sure fandom etiquette is that you don’t send anon asks you don’t expect to be answered publicly. You can ask anyone who DM’d me their hate, I didn’t respond to any of THOSE things publicly. It isn’t the proper etiquette. But yes, I published the handful of anons that I found funny in a sea of ones that were truly disgusting. So disgusting that i had to delete them the moment they came into my inbox. But I kept a few that I found entertaining because I honestly, needed a laugh. And in the middle of a panic attack, I snapped, and responded to a handful of the funnier asks. Do I regret it? Sometimes. I don’t think it helped make the situation any better... but I also don’t think I said anything that I don’t stand behind either. 

Did I talk to my friends on Discord about the asks I received? Yes. My friends were, understandably, worried about me and trying to show support. They asked me if I was getting a lot of hate about my post and I answered them honestly. And yes, the discussion did lean towards making fun of the more ridiculous defenses of Tyler’s actions. Because most of my friends on there still struggle to understand why we are defending Tyler’s actions. And most of my friends, I think, were trying to help me make light of a truly awful week for me. 

I apologize if you felt we were mocking you. But considering any ask I got was sent in an effort to silence me and make me feel bad for calling out racism, I question why I should be apologizing to you and why there’s no expectation that anyone apologize to ME for the hazing I just went through. I ask why one specific group of fandom continues to use emotional manipulation to try and silence me for simply stating facts: Tyler is NOT a POC. Why is it okay that one group of fandom can continually attack others but when those blogs say anything, then we are suddenly told that we don’t respect anyone’s mental health. I have NEVER in my life bullied anyone. Even the Tyler Stan blogs that have come to me personally, off anon, to talk about their problems with me can hopefully have enough self awareness to let you know that I was apologetic for snapping and sympathetic to their mental health issues but also stood by my opinions that racism is real and I won’t apologize for posting about it. 

I don’t care if people like Tyler. I don’t care if people’s favorite character is Alex. That is all fine with me. If you want to keep stanning Tyler and loving Alex, do so. Just know that I’m going to stand by my fans of color on this issue with Tyler and continue to post about racism. If that is something that people cannot get behind, they should 100% unfollow me and block my name. 

If you want to read my writing but disengage with my opinions, I suggest you subscribe to me on AO3 and block me on Tumblr. But also, you can just stop reading my fic too. I promise you that nothing I write is remotely special enough for people to continue risking their mental health if the things I’m doing trigger you in any way. 

Finally, I can empathize with you not having a Tumblr account to come at me with. But it sounds like you have a Discord account that you could have DM’d me on. And if you had come to me off of anon, I can 100% promise you that our interactions would have been respectful even if we disagreed. They also would have been private. But what I won’t apologize for is the fact that YOU came to ME on anon expecting some level of respect when the asks being sent to me weren’t respectful. I was accused of being the reason for Tyler’s anxiety. I was accused of being unsympathetic to a man who didn’t know his dad because his dad COULD have been native american and how did I feel about that? I was accused of trying to get Tyler fired. I was accused of a lot of awful things. 

And yet... all I did was make a post about fandom racism. And anyone getting triggered by that should perhaps ask themselves this: 

If you’ve never been racist in this fandom, why did my post feel like an attack against you? 

[jeffywittek2020]

Ah, so it was painful to watch. But at the same time I'm kinda proud of him, he had the courage to go on there and he took all the shit that came his way and owned up to stuff. I have to be honest and say, he was trying to talk his way out or around some stuff, which I don't like, but I feel like he's doing that to not incriminate his friends. And that's going to be his downfall, if he doesn't stop. He has to just say his last word, like Ethan said. He needs to read the article fully and make another video about this with the new perspective that he gained there, own up to it, say sorry, and he'll be good. Because to me, it was clear, when he was starting to trip over his words, it was because he was trying to explain himself and tell the truth without throwing his friends under the bus, which, sadly in this case, doesn't seem to be possible and in the end it made it worse for himself.

And that brings me to my next point, which is... Fuck Todd and David. They are watching this from the sidelines as Jeff is being chewed up online, called a rapist and pedophile and they don't even seem to care. He is still being loyal and trying to not throw them under the bus, but his "friends" are not returning the same energy. Especially Todd... Hope he enjoyed his fucking vacation.

And even bigger point - how do they (David and Todd) not feel guilty about what happened that night and think it's okay to ignore this kind of stuff. Especially when at the end of the article the girl who was assaulted said that all she really wants is for them to acknowledge and apologize for this. (not a direct quote, but what I remember from reading it few days ago, so correct me, please, if I was wrong) Where is their respect and compassion for this girl???

About the interview again... I think Jeff was just very nervous and flustered, and also scared about how this all affects his future. And I completely uderstand, I would be shitting my pants if I were in his position and would probably start crying after being grilled like that.

I'm supportive about Trisha and Ethan correcting and checking him on few things, but I don't really feel good about the fact that they wanted him to speak on his friends. Like he said himself, they have to speak for themselves. But in the end it all got better. Also, I was glad to see that Jeff and Trisha have come to terms with whatever kind of beef they had. It feels like this thing is coming to closure with Jeff and I'm content with still supporting him, because it is visible that he cares and he's learning from this.

At the end of the day, I'm sad that the focus has been taken away from the main problem here, which is Dom and getting justice for the girl. Instead this has become this whole "he said - she said" thing. I really hope something is coming for Dom, legally talking. Because otherwise he's not gonna come online and it won't affect him that much. He doesn't have an online career anyway, so nothing to lose, and if there's not any action taken legally, he can still get a job at McDonald's or something, so he would be fine. But I hope he won't be.

I'm so so sorry this is so long but I wanted to gather all my thoughts together (and they're still all over the place lmao) and also hear your opinion if you're up for it. Because I respect the way that you can look at things from different perspectives instead of blindly defending or hating on someone.

I hope you're doing well and are resting after your exams, even with all this going on. This is mentally exhausting, so if you need to step back, please do! Wishing you the best! <3

Okay and I just want to re- empathized something you said right away. A girl was SA and she deserves peace and justice.

I may be a fan of Jeff, but at the of the day this girl’s story deserves to be heard and I’m glad it is. What happened that night was not okay and I am disappointed Jeff played a role by being there , even a minor one at that.

I agree that I think Jeff should make one last statement. He should own up to his missteps and then as much as I don’t think it’s gonna be fun for anyone; he just has to ride the wave of hate. Like Ethan expressed, I think Jeff can come out on the other side of this and I really am rooting for him

As for Jeff seemingly protecting people I really don’t know what to think. I was talking to my friend about it and I think I truly don’t understand his position. Because I said to my friend is you pulled some BS ima call you out. Doesn’t mean that I don’t love you anymore. However, I would never have to publicly call out my friend for 100,000s of people to hear/see. And maybe people would argue Jeff choose that life by being “an influencer” but I’m not gonna act like I completely understand what position he is in.

Todd and David not speaking out this and frankly anyone else who was there but obviously some people are involved then other is just disrespectful. I haven’t read the article since it came out so I also really can’t remember but I think asking them for apology and them not even acknowledging the situation? Not okay

And again I will repeat if there is a reason your not commenting on it now; say that.

And l am def skipping around but I am glad Jeff went on the podcast. I don’t know if Jeff was watching the whole stream but the things they were saying, whether you agree with them or not, they were tearing him apart and frankly I was like holy shit and the fact that he was still willing to go on after all it says something about his character that he willing to be criticized and actually listen to it and hopefully he will take away some of the points they made to him.

I know it’s not time to be jovial but what fucking time line did we land ourselves in where Jeff and Trisha had a mostly civil conversation over zoom ? Never thought I would see the day.

Dom deserves jail.

I been trying so hard to form my opinion about all this from the day the article came out until now, but I really can’t. My brain is all over the place

And I’m not ready to stop supporting Jeff. I don’t think I will be posting on here like the way I was before for a bit, but at the end of the day I really do have so much love for him. I just want to see him learn and grow from this and I really think he can.

Thank you anon 💕 right back at you or anyone else reading this: you are not obligated to stay here or read these things if they are making you feel some type of way. Besides the fact I had exams, I was truly upset by all this and being on here or any other social media platform would have made it worst.

Wishing the best to you anon :) I hope you are having a great end of the weekend

[unordinaryquotes]

UnOrdinary Chapter 173 Review

Get ready for a lot of rants

-First thing we start off with is John being a dumbass. When will this man ever learn to read social cues.

-Then he keeps denying it even after Sera’s clearly done with this bullshit. Get over your good guy act when you keep acting like a child.

-You’re literally doing it right now. You are screaming at her at the top of your lungs while she’s trying to have an intervention with you. Only narcissistic people or children would act like this. John can not handle a single flaw of his being pointed out

-Then we get the first forceful grab, and this one’s by the shoulders which makes it harder for Sera to escape and easier for John to hurt her. He acts innocent but his actions prove just what a piece of shit he is

-Now I’d maybe understand John’s outbursts if Seraphina was being cryptic or if her words could be taken in a negative way, but they can’t. She wants to help him, work through it with him. This is all astounding because he was the one who hurt her by lying. She didn’t need to do this, but she wants too.

-Then the scary John panel shows up and I was screaming. This is a “in the right” guy, right John stans. That man definitely knows what’s best for the school. If he can’t control his temper in a conversation, how is this man ever gonna bring about a “cripple revolution”

-And just like what Sera says in the next panel, THERE ARE NO SIDES. I’m so tired of John and everyone else talking about sides in this damn series. There are times where a person is right, and sometimes when they’re wrong. Arlo was wrong in the past, and John is wrong now. The whole side talk is irrelevant anyway because it’s not just a few people in this confrontation, THE ENTIRE SCHOOL IS PART OF IT. The moment you start dragging in bystanders is when sides break down.

-Also this man keeps preaching about trust, but like?? You’re the one who lied first dumbass. This man is literally too stupid to function.

-Also John is such a selfish asshole. He’s proven what a shitty world they live in (but everyone knew that already so really he did nothing). So why keep it going? Just because? Is your petty revenge that important to you that you’ll let low tiers be hunted down, allow Sera to be hurt by her own peers. But then turn around and say you’re helping her because you have a watchdog on her? Textbook levels on abuse right here folks.

-Again, proving that John never really cared about them. He’s not helping them or giving them a voice, he’s destroying them not just from above, but also from inside. No kid should be terrified of having to go to school. No kid should have to think “Man, I sure hope I don’t get beat up in the halls today. Possibly by someone I know”

-And another unwanted grab, this time by the hand. All so Sera can’t escape. Also you can tell he’s putting force into these grabs. Y’all ever get grabbed like that? I have, and it fucking hurts, but it’s also one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever experienced.

-New Bostin was how long ago? Quit feeling sorry for yourself

-Arlo beat you up how long ago? Quit feeling sorry for yourself

-Shut the fuck up John. You spent almost a fourth of the panel time in this chapter for your triggered flashbacks. Yes, what happened at New Bostin was traumatizing (I’d say more to Claire than you but eh). But you’re just gonna sit there and say that when Sera got tracked, jumped, stabbed, lost her ability, and was ALMOST KIDNAPPED that she should just get over it and that all her problems are in her head? You are a hypocrite John.

-This panel fucking hurts. She’s crying, one thing a friend shouldn’t do is make another one cry and then not apologize. Also, she is the one defending herself? You aren’t doing anything, in fact, she had to teach herself to fight. You didn’t teach her anything at the start. Elaine was more supportive in that front than you were.

-Also Sera does have a right to say these things. SHES BEEN THROUGH THIS BEFORE. She still remembers when she was an arrogant god tier who bullied others and ignored those in need. She remembers learning to humble herself and become a better person and rehabilitate. She’s not exactly like you, but she does have a say in the matter.

-2nd best panel in the chapter. John isn’t here right now. John is living in the past and in his head. He doesn’t care what happens to Sera, to low tiers, to anyone. If it doesn’t affect him, it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t realize just how much he’s hurting others (unless he takes time to bask in beating there skull in) because he can’t empathize with others.

-And this is the third strike. He refuses to let her go, clearly holding on with force. And the whole “You’re not going anywhere until I’m done talking” is a way for abusers to continue to emotionally damage their victims. If you make them feel like shit enough then maybe they’ll stop challenging you. Maybe if you tell them how everything is there fault, they’ll stop blaming you. John is an abuser, and deserves to burn in a hole.

-People might say Sera’s in the wrong for this, but I commend her. She was stuck in a room, alone, with John grabbing onto her forcefully and yelling at her. John has hurt her a total of three times in this chapter (three times more than should be allowed) he deserves it.

-Also notice how it parallels the John slapping Claire moment. Back when John did it, he was holding on to a Claire who couldn’t fight back, and he slapped her. Now the formerly defenseless girl he projects onto Sera finally fought back and refused to take his abuse anymore. This time, she’s the one slapping him, and it’s not to hurt, but to escape.

-THE FUCKING AUDACITY OF THIS MAN!!!!!

-“dID yOU JuSt HiT mE???” He says while he earlier he forcefully grabbed onto her twice and yelled right in her face.

-John needs to be expelled at best and jailed at worse. He’s a danger to everyone. This fucking dickbag can’t seem to understand that rules apply to him. It’s fine when the Royals get a taste of their own medicine but the moment he does it’s unfair and an outrage.

-Also I’m terrified for next chapter. Sera’s a decent fighter, but she can’t match him in a real battle right now. Not to mention how ruthless he is.

I want John to burn in a fiery hellscape. Only then will I finally know true peace. Also I want Arlo and Remi back, #letarlosmile

[hillnerd]

Hello hillnerd! I've read more than one of your interesting analysis, so I was wondering, if/when you'll have the time could you explain why/how Ron's character was mistreated by the movies? We all know what a terrible portrait of Ginny they've done, but I've always felt like they did a worst job with Harry than with Ron. Thank you very much, and if you've already spoken more deeply about, don't you worry about it ^^

Aw thanks so much! I’m glad you find my extra long rants interesting! ;)

So! Ron Weasley is my favorite character in the HP series. I found myself continually getting more and more disappointed with his portrayal as the movie series progressed, and have had lots to say on it over the years, but don’t believe I’ve ever had one semi-cohesive long post about it. Here we go, kids!

I have explored this when I went into classism and how it plays into Ron, and the Weasleys, portrayal in the films. This, I feel, is key to understanding how perverse the changes ended up being in the films. To me it’s not just about the character of Ron not being portrayed accurately, but rather an all-around disdain for poverty/working class people.

I won’t repeat what I said in my other essay- but please do read it to get a fuller picture of my issues with Ron’s portrayal. To sum it up, classist tropes of poor people being stupid, lazy, unloyal, and fearful is what Steve Kloves reduced the Weasleys to. 

I also am not a huge fan of the movies, so have not given many of them a lot of rewatches- nor will I for this- so it might get hard for me to remember all issues, and I’m sure I’ll miss a lot of them.

HOW RON WEASLEY WAS RUINED IN THE MOVIES:

When people watch the films they come away from them having some understanding of who the characters are in the books. Harry might come across as more serious in the movies- but his bravery, his dedication, his self-sacrifice, and even at times his sarcasm- are still there. Hermione and her whip-smart intelligence are not just present- they are upped to the point of ridiculous at times- they also went on to make her even more empathetic, friendly and kind than she was in the books (she’s more of a prickly little thing- but they portray her as this sensitive empathic character who never puts a step wrong in the movies… ) and made her more physically capable than in the books too. (punching malfoy, able to physically lift Harry into the air when being swung around on the whomping willow, dueling capabilities etc)

Then there is Ron. Most people come away thinking Ron is a coward, or stupid- at best they find him amusing. The movies seemed to go out of their way to wipe away all of Ron’s positive attributes and replace them with problematic behaviors that were completely antithetical to who Ron was, and even change scenes so that he did the exact opposite actions as well. They robbed him of almost every act of intelligence, kindness, wit, heart and bravery from the books. I’m fine with changes from the book as far as scenes- but I am not ok with them completely altering his character to make him selfish, unkind, cowardly, stupid etc. The movies didn’t just ruin Ron Weasley in them- they created a legacy of suck. I mean, that’s why  there are video essays titled ‘is Ron useless’ on youtube where they have to do a breakdown of the character, in the newest HP phone game Ron isn’t featured like Harry and Hermione and is worth less points, in the play he’s portrayed as a dingus who can’t point a wand in the right direction… People fundamentally don’t know Ron, and that’s due to the movies (and their influence - even on how people interpret his character when they read the books, imo.)

Let’s get into it though!

This started with the first film:

the one film that was truest to who Ron was in the books.

The Devil’s Snare

Let’s compare the scenes:

Now, they had to cut one of Hermione’s feats in order to streamline the journey to the stone. The riddle with the potions would be a lot harder to make interesting in film, so having her shining moment be the Devil’s Snare makes absolute sense. 

As it was her one moment of glory, it also made sense for her to get to stay calm. I can’t begrudge that change.

What I DO have issue is, Kloves decided to sacrifice Ron’s character in order to bolster Hermione. He made Ron become completely irrational and panicky, while cool calm Harry and Hermione looked on with amusement and derision. 

He could have easily had both the boys unable to keep from wiggling- or had Hermione just crawl off in time like in the book- but no. 

This was the beginning of a pattern we continue to see throughout the movies.

They kept feeding the notion that in order to make Harry and Hermione looks cool’/brave- they needed to have Ron cowering beside them- when that is the exact opposite of who he is as a character. 

We also have another moment earlier in the book/film that undercuts Ron in order to bolster Harry.

_________________________________________________

Their first quidditch lesson:

BOOK

MOVIE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ix0BhYSZBg

Ron’s been flying a broom since he was a kid. Yet he’s struggling to get the broom to go up while most of the class succeeds, and then it strikes him in the face? Really? Neville is already about to have an accident with the broom and made a lot more sense for this piece of physical comedy- but they did it to Ron… 

In this film it’s not that big of a deal- after all he has loads of great moments- but it goes to show that Kloves doesn’t understand Ron’s role in the series for Harry- beyond being his best friend, he’s also a knowledgeable guide to the wizarding world. They almost completely remove this from Ron, and give almost all exposition to Hermione or Hagrid. Ron’s essential function is removed. This is just a tiny example. It gets worse as the films continue.

   ————————————————————————————————

THE TROLL

In the book he is very capable and is able to do Wingardium Leviosa to save Hermione WITHOUT her coaching him in the bathroom. But he can’t have his moment without Hermione teaching him in the movie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbxMy9T49fM

    ————————————————————————————————

Chamber of Secrets

This is it. The film where Ron is firmly established as a coward.

He is moaning, squeeking, shaking, crying, and all around acting a total miserable coward in scene after scene. Again this is the exact opposite of who Ron is as person. In the books he’s this fiery tempered guy who is ready to first fight/duel any ahole who crosses his path- but in the movies, he’s this:

FOLLOW THE SPIDERS

In the books he never is falling apart like that, even when facing the spiders- his biggest fear. (He is literally phobic of them, but this is now shown in the films.) Harry is stoic, to the point of ridiculously stoic, during these moments- while Ron practically crying. Now I’m fine with Ron being show afraid in this particular scene- my issue is how it’s played for comedy, how they add in moments of ‘now can we panic,’ and have Harry show about as much emotion as a door knob the whole scene.  

If this were the one scene where Ron acts like this, hey I’d let it pass.

Nope. It’s become his entire personality. He is in the same state CONSTANTLY in this film. Dignity? Ron does’t get to have a moment of that. He’s constantly making this face:

When in the car, when near his mum, when being yelled at by the howler, when being yelled at by moaning myrtle, when Harry is injured etc.

If his excessive fear weren’t the only big problem that’d be one thing- but no.

He is also striped of his purpose in being a guide to the wIzarding world.

—————————————-

MUDBLOOD AND SLUGS

When Hermione is called a Mudblood in the books she has no clue what that means. Ron is the one who, rather eloquently, explains it.

This is instead given to Hagrid and Hermione. While Ron pitifully barfs int he corner only able to add a feeble ‘it’s sickening’ for laughs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpj3krxJtNU

——————————————————————-

PRISONER OF AZKABAN

They continue to make Ron a coward, but also erode his friendship with Harry and Hermione, and make him ‘irresponsible’ on top of it.

INSUFFERABLE KNOW-IT-ALL

Ron gets detention from Snape for defending Hermione against him.

In the films he agrees with Snape’s bullying comment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjxZyljxrxE

——-

SCABBERS

Ron’s concern about Scabber’s health is made into a one-off sort of joke in the films, and for some reason a narrative of ‘Ron keeps losing Scabbers and is an irresponsible pet owner’ is established in the films. 

Molly has to chase him with Scabbers and shouts ‘DON’T LOSE HIM!’ and then later the cat/rat fight is reduced to a ‘Ron’s lost Scabbers’ instead of it being a clear case of ‘the rat is dead, most liekyl because of her cat.’

Again we see Ron being shown as inferior (dumb ron unable to keep up with pets), while Hermione is built up ad able to talk down to Ron. (Ronald has lost him again!) (Also, anyone else HATE that they did this with the Ronald bit with Hermione and Ron?) Even Hagrid condescends to Ron when he finds the rat (and Hagrid is shown as quite clueless, but apparently not as clueless as Ron now….)

——-

There’s a moment added to the films where Harry goes to return the crystal ball to Trelawney and asks if Ron wants to come with him— Ron, a bit rudely, says no. This was used as a way to get Harry alone with Trelawney for the professor to give her prophecy- but why did they have to do it at the expense of Ron?

—————

THE SHRIEKING SHACK

Ron on multiple occassions in the book goes out of his way to attempt to save Harry. ALL of these are cut.

Ron literally put himself between Harry and danger. Instead in the films he’s stupidly sitting beside the whomping willow,

 then he’s  just screaming, terrified, as he’s dragged away.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhi1bOuIj0E

Then Ron, with a severely broken leg, stands on it to confront a murderer while Hermione scaredly whispering.

Instead they give this line to HERMIONE, while Ron incoherently whimpers on the ground like a coward. 

They knew Hermione had a TON of ‘moments’ in this film already- why did they need to give one of Ron’s ONLY moments to her???????? She had just punched Malfoy (instead of slapped him), literally had the strength of a grown weight lifter to lift Harry by the shirt into the air as they fought the whomping willow and will go on to the have the time adventure… yet, here we are- She has this line as well.

Ron is robbed of every ounce of dignity and gumption and self-actualization he HAS.

————————

Then at the end of the time adventure they have Harry and Hermione laughing at Ron as he, again, incoherently babbles and makes this face.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OavYqCjM45k

Oh ahahah! It’s DUMB OLD RON! XD

Everything valuable he brings to his friendship with Harry and Hermione is cut- and replaced with this garbage.

—————————————————————————————————-

GOBLET OF FIRE

Again all nuance for Ron’s character is lost- and he’s demonized while Harry and Hermione are lifted up. They also, throughout the movies, have done a pretty crap job of showing Ron’s place in the wizarding world when it comes to wealth and when it comes to how he’s treated and what he goes through. His lack of money is treated as a joke with his robes, and in general is not taken seriously beyond a a few Lucius is a bad guy scenes and the first movie.

HARRY AND RON’S FIGHT

In the books Ron and Harry’s fight leaves Harry devastated- and Ron’s behavior doesn’t come out of nowhere either. They establish that Harry and He had an agreement to go into the tourney  together if they could- but it looks like Harry did it without him. [the post by @owlpostagain does a brilliant analysis of it]

Ron does not come into their fight angry- in fact he’s trying (And failing) to be positive for Harry.

Ron brings NO ANGER to this exchange. HARRY DOES, though:

In the books Harry isn’t reasonable when he tries to explain this to Ron- he’s angry and insults Ron. Of course in the films, they make Harry ever so reasonable and Ron just a moody whiny asshole who is purely angry and spiteful in this exchange.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an7WWOY94Qs

The utter misery Harry experiences while he and Ron are on the outs is cut (I mean, at this point, why would he be miserable? Ron is a pretty awful friend in the films.) Best explored in a post I can’t find now- just go and reread how miserable Harry is. (eta: FOUND THE POST!!! Thanks @vivithefolle​!)

[This post] by @purpleklimt​  PERFECTLY sums up all the part in GOF where Harry is desperately missing Ron

He then goes on to attack Ron a SECOND time in the books

They leave out Harry’s part in this fight- and make it solely Ron’s fault in the films.

When they make up in the books Harry is SO relieved he won’t even let Ron apologize. He starts off cold- but immediately turns it around with relief.

But in the movie he’s angry and condescending to Ron (after having a SUPER out of character ‘everyone look at me, who wants me to open the egg!!!’ scene) and continues acting so AFTER they’ve ‘made up’? It’s not a happy reunion. And Ron is acting… really stupid :P For no reason

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s_dukNgLPg

————-

TRAINING

Ron goes on to help Harry train for the next task in the books, letting him practice hexes on him. Ron does nothing at all to help Harry in the films. Literally nothing.

———

YULE BRAWL

Again Ron is shown as angry- but they have to up the ante don’t they- where he literally makes Hermione have a breakdown in tears saying he’s ‘ruined everything’- when she had a great time at the ball in the books :P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bynhxDUqqgU

Where as in the books they are having a fight of equals:

————-

They also add in a lot of scenes where Hermione is like, a rock for Harry emotionally (which she has never been in the books at all. The closest was in book 7 at the graveyard at xmas.)

————————————————————————————

ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

This is the ONLY movie after the 1st one to show Ron’s true friendship for Harry.

It’s not a coincidence that it’s the only film NOT written by Kloves. Here he is defending Harry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktfsgXyRbuc

Ron is a bit of a non-entity in this movie in general, but he’s a good supportive friend, and even has his cleverness pointed out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_p6j28GC3A

I guess they had to when they cut out him being prefect :P

They do a minor bit of Hermione getting Ron’s lines when Harry meets up with them at Grimauld place:

Ron: We told Dumbledore we wanted to tell you what was going on. We did, mate. But he’s really busy now, we’ve only seen him twice since we came here and he didn’t have much time, he just made us swear not to tell you important stuff when we wrote, he said the owls might be intercepted.

Movie:

Harry: You couldn’t have put this in a letter, I suppose. I’ve gone all summer without a scrap of news.Ron: We wanted to tell you, mate. Really, we did. Only –Hermione: Only Dumbledore made us swear that we wouldn’t tell you anything.

But it’s not the worst infraction. It does cut into Ron and Harry’s bond though in order to bolster Harry and Hermione’s. :P

————————————————————-

HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

Steve Kloves is back- and he seems determined to undermine Harry and Ron’s friendship, bolster Harry and Hermione’s, and generally cut out anything but buffoonery from Ron’s stories.

He has Ron kissing Lavender for seemingly no reason, has Ron looking like a moron as he does quidditch (The helmet… ) and just in general doesn’t give Ron any dignity.

When Ron is poisoned- a VERY SERIOUS incident- Ron immediately goes from dying to sitting up to make a joke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK3K8XmZX3Q

The MOST EGREGIOUS one, though, is THE ENDING OF THE MOVIE

First let’s look at what we find in the books

They are a TRIO- Ron and Hermione are equally supporting him- but as usual Ron has the most lines of verbal support in the book- because that’s his role as Harry’s BEST FRIEND.

In the film… I mean… LOOK AT IT! 

Ron is COMPLETELY SILENT. And seated about 20 feet away from them as the ‘grownups’ talk and Hermione pledges her ever loving support to Harry, while Ron, again, IS SILENT! FOR THREE MINUTES!

WTF

I JUST…. WHAT?! WHAT?! WHAT?! WHAT?!!!?!?

—————————————————————————-

DEATHLY HALLOWS

Ron is actually portrayed ok at times here- They are ALL OVER the place with Ron’s characterization though, and do LITTLE to show the sacrifices he’s making leading up to their journey (and don’t support that narrative much later either.)

At times a bumblerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiTgShhO-JM

But is finally allowed to hold his own when things get serious- but shows a weird sort of serial killer-esque darkness as he confronts the frozen deatheater.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk5I27gTOj0

Again they make him an idiot at the ministryhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxgGMs3tezw

But Ron’s injury for once is treated seriously. :) (no sitting up to make a joke!)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvpgvg_0neQ

The locket scene they do NOT honor Ron’s character, and have him become incredibly cruel compared to how he was in the bookhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZi_9E3ULwI

Again they do what they’ve done with ALL the fights based around Ron  (note how they CUT all of Harry&Hermione’s fall-outs?) they make Ron completely randomly unreasonable- and bolster Harry’s perspective as just misunderstood and not at all out of control angry

Don’t get me wrong, Ron was horrid when he was essentially possessed by the locket- but he NEVER went to the low blows Ron of the films did.

They go on in the film to show that without Ron, Harry and Hermione are fine. They are dancing and having a good time without him. And why wouldn’t they? He’s never been the rock of support and common sense he was in the books.

In the books they are hopeless without Ron. Miserable without him. that’s why when he’s back it’s a BIG deal                      _________________________________________________

♪REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD♪  meh

When reunited, Harry and Ron don’t have a particularly close bond- They destroy theh horcrux- and Ron’s emotional reaction of sobbing after his worst fears are out is cut- because of course all Ron-humanity is cut- and then his bond with Harry where they embrace and Harry comforts him is also cut- because only Harry & Hermione are actually close in these movies….

Movie version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1XUfFnmflU

The clip cuts off but after

All that, and all they say is:

‘Just think, there are only three to go.’

Oh ok! No Ron explaining things, no Harry and Ron bonding- Ron’s not a good friend anyways, right?

Augh.

Where Ron comes in saving the day and bringing them tons of knowledge (the taboo, snatchers, potter watch) film Ron comes back bringing nothing (because Ron in the films NEVER is smart or bringing anything to the table. The TWO TIMES in the WHOLE FILM SERIES he does, it’s commented on like ‘wtf?!’ from Hermione….), and his presence doesn’t seem to particularly change anything for Harry and Hermione either. They were fine without him and Hermione is laughing and smiling LESS with Ron around, so is Harry.

Anyways! Then there is Hermione’s torture. Ron in the books is going mad with grief for her- He on MULTIPLE OCCASSIONS defends her and even says for them to take him instead. in the movies he reacts with a worried look and silence, then when he’s down in the basement seems less worried about Hermione than he was about anything in all those other movies he was freaking out in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twHLFlqZ8T8

Look at how sedate he is. Jesus.

In the books he’s shouting her name and desperate for her.

But in the movies… BLECH

At least they still let him save her. (I’m surprised they let that stay.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2zNRrOXbPY

————————————————-

I only saw Deathly Hallows part 2 when it first came out- and haven’t seen it since because i really didn’t like it. The final fight sequence sucks so hard :P

But anyways- what I remember- Ron essentially does nothing and contributes nothing until he gets him and Hermione into the chamber of secrets and they randomly kiss.

ROOM OF REQUIREMENT

He is portrayed as plain old SILLY in the Room of Requirement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZiGbypAnFU

————————————————-

MY FRIEND IS ABOUT TO GO DIE.

He gives a lame ‘what? Are you mad’ then as Harry goes off to die, Hermione gives Harry a big old hug- (neither character would let Harry do this- but Ron just STANDING there??? THE FUCK?) and Ron just stand there silently. Again, why is kloves so afraid of having these boys touch? Show affection????? (honestly I think all the times Ron shows anything like friendship in the films it’s usually silent moments that are improvised by Rupert.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg1LLVWZyg8

Like you’re telling me THIS BOY

Is gonna just stand there while Harry goes to die???

——————————

And then hermione almost seems embarrassed to be interested in him

——————————

19 YEARS LATER

Then in the final scene of the book, where Ron had tons of lines (the most besides Harry and Albus) he’s just this potbellied silent dude.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEKA6rmVfW8

Like…. I can’t.

I HATE what the movies did to Ron. (don’t get me STARTED on Ginny.)

At every place they could they silenced him, took away his moments, made him a buffoon, made him a coward, made him a rotten friend, removed all his best traits- and left him to be mostly… THIS

He’s a selfish cowardly lump who is just around to keep the AUDIENCE entertained. Honestly you could cut Ron from the movie series and almost nothing would have to be changed- that’s how little they let him inform the narrative.

[collecting-stories]

Across a Lifetime - Magneto

“I’ve been in love with you my entire life, since the day I met you.” With Magneto please? Thanks!

Across a Lifetime - Magneto x reader

“Max!” The young boy turned his head to the sound of someone calling for him. Running down the street toward him was a young girl, the yellow star bright against her black coat. She stopped short of colliding with him. “Max, thank god you are alright, I was so worried.”  

“I’m fine.” He looked back to where you had come down the road, “where is your father?”

You were not so much younger than him that you needed a parent with you to go outside but he worried none the less when he saw no one accompanying you. He put his hands on your face, holding you steady while he looked into your eyes. He had awoken last night to the sounds of screaming and the unmistakable sight of the streets below his parent’s apartment in flames. His mother had urged him to stay inside, away from the windows and doors.  

“No lights my love,” she had insisted, brushing his hair back and kissing the top of his head as she held him against her. She was still in her nightgown and robe as she held onto him and he realized his father was no longer in the house. Even in that moment, when he knew his first thought should be of his father, he thought only of you.  

Max knew that your family often stayed late at the shop below your apartment, a quaint little deli that had happily served the city of Berlin for over fifteen years, since long before you were born. But things had begun to change, things even you were aware of. Max had come home from school with a bloodied lip just last week when some boys in the courtyard had begun to call you names and throw rocks at you. His mother and father had argued in quiet voices about what to do and he remembered the terrified look in his mother’s eyes the entire time. As if his actions defending you were the same as someone killing a man.  

The whole night he stayed awake, afraid to close his eyes or to leave his mother. When morning came and the fires died out he crept to the window. His mother had fallen asleep on the settee and he peered out the front window, looking down at the destruction of the night prior. He had taken his coat and gone down amongst the rubble to find you. But you had found him instead.  

“Where is your father?” He asked again, inspecting the bruises on your face delicately. You looked as if someone had stomped on you and in fact they had.  

You had been exactly where Max feared you would be. In the store front with your father and grandmother when someone had thrown a brick through the front window. It shattered the glass and hit your grandmother, sending her back onto the floor. Her head collided with the ground in a sound you’d never heard before and you had shrieked when men came into the shop, Your father was in the back room and two of them went to find him while the other three stayed in the front with you.  

“They shot him.” You cried, tears pooling and running down your cheeks as you remembered the events of earlier. “Grandma is gone too.”

“Who was it?”

“I don’t know, Max I had never seen them before.”  

“Have they hurt you worse than this?” His hand ghosted over the bruise. You cried and nodded your head. Max held you to him the same way his mother had held him.  

“Max, Max!” Both of you turned to see his father coming down the street, a limp in his gait as he attempted to run to his son. When he reached Max he fell to his knees and hugged the young boy, pushing you away unintentionally, "where is your mother?”

“She’s at home.”  

“Come on, we must get inside.” He urged, standing to his feet as a couple of SS walked passed, eyeing the three of you suspiciously.

Max held your hand and dragged you along with them to his home. You were still crying as they entered the house and Max’s mother ran to embrace him and his father, frantic over their absence. “You cannot leave like that Maxie!” She tutted, holding him close and kissing his head over and over.  

-

Max sat inside the train car, huddled on the floor pressed against his mother, he could hardly breathe, he was packed so tightly. Just hours earlier he had been playing outside in the street with you, laughing as you tried unsuccessfully to climb the tree outside the small house the family had been staying at. His mother said you were doing better. That you looked happier these days, even smiling again.  

After the Kristallnacht his family had taken you with them when they fled to Poland. You had only your father and grandmother and since both of them were dead there was no one left for you in Germany. There was nothing left for anyone in Germany. So you travelled to Poland with Max and his parents, his father going so far as to get false documentation claiming you as their second child.  

But you were not with Max in the train car. He sat between the wall and his mother, her arm around his shoulder as she pressed her lips to his head. He wasn’t sure if she was soothing him or herself. Beside her his father sat mimicking her, his arm around his wife’s shoulders as he kissed her head every so often, promising it would be okay. You were missing though.  

You and Max had been playing outside the house, climbing the tree and laughing with each other, when men, soldiers, arrived. One pulled you from the tree while another grabbed hold of Max as he thrashed against them.  

“No, let me go! Let me go!” You screamed, kicking against the man who held you.  

Max’s parents ran from the house, shouting and everything was a blur after that. He could only watch as you where hauled away from them. Max and his parents ended up on a train, packed with others like them. Others who had fled their homeland just to be dragged back, knowing that when they returned to Germany there would be nothing there but death. Max looked for you at the train station and again in the train car but you were nowhere in sight. A million possibilities ran through his head but his mother just kept mumbling that it would be okay, even though he knew it wouldn’t be.

-

Your feet pressed over stones on the ground as you walked along the road. You weren’t alone. Hundreds marched, their feet bare like yours. None of you felt the roughness under your skin or the cuts that embedded themselves onto your feet as you walked. Instead all you felt was numb. Your body was tired, you could feel all the weight of your bones heavy as you dragged yourself along. You could not die here on the street.  

You imagined yourself back in Berlin with Max, before the war began. If that is what this was. People who walked with you, who had been out in the world longer said the banned radios were calling it a war. It didn’t feel like a war, not when it had stripped so much of your life from you. The only solace you found was in your memories of Max. Images of playing with him in the street outside your father’s deli, going to his house for Sabbath and holy days, and walking to school with him. You couldn’t even remember if the memories were as pleasant as you thought they were or if you had imagined them that way because you wanted to. All you knew as you walked was that Max was the only thing keeping you going. You didn’t know if he was out there but you hoped he was, prayed that Max was alive and that someday you might see him again.  

-

You were not a mutant though you had a fairly good understanding of what they were. Or, you’d read enough in newspapers to form an opinion on the human anomalies and decide where you stood in the ‘good’ or ‘destructive’ argument. The degree you had in psychology provided you with a job and access to Charles Xavier’s team of mutants, or school as he so carefully put it. He wanted to build a school for those that were different to find solace, it was a nice idea but not one you were sure would ever truly take hold. His interest in you was as a member of his imagined school, a counsellor for his students.  

“I don’t know if I can truly counsel them.” You remarked, touring the grounds with him.  

“You can’t possibly have every lived experience that your patients have.”

“Of course not, but most are...easier to empathize with. What can I say to someone who can read other people’s minds Charles?” You asked.  

“You may not be able to relate fully but it’s my belief that even we have things we need to expel. You don’t have to understand what we’re going through but all of our problems are not in line with our condition. You’d be surprised how human most of us are.”

“I’m not accusing you of not being.”  

“Charles,” both of you stopped along the garden path to acknowledge whoever had come looking for your companion. The man walked over and, though he had called for Charles, he kept his gaze on you. He looked distressed as he stared at you and you couldn’t help but recognize something in his eyes, something you had been looking for since you came to America in the 1950’s.

“Ah, this is my collegue-”

“Max?” You asked.

Charles looked confused, he was about to correct you but the other man beat him to it. “I’m afraid I go by Erik now. What are you doing here?”

“I was asked to come here as a counsellor.” You explained, trying to maintain professionalism for the sake of Charles when all you wanted was to collapse into tears the same way you had that night in Berlin.  

You had been alone since Poland, shuffled from hiding places to camps. You had survived but barely and finally, toward the end, you were smuggled out of the country to South America with a German man and his wife. From there you crossed the border into America and you’d been living as someone else too, a nice catholic girl who was going to school to be a counsellor. It was at a seminar that Charles had met you and invited you to meet the people at his school.

“I’m sorry,” Erik shook his head, seeming distracted as he turned to Charles, “Can I speak with her alone please?”  

“Certainly, we’ll talk soon.” Charles said before turning and leaving.  

You kept your eyes on his trailing chair, trying to breath and calm yourself. You had always hoped. When they pulled you from the tree in Poland, when you were taken from a train car to a camp in the middle of the night, marched across Germany in nothing but a nightgown and bare feet. You had hoped the whole time that somewhere Max was alive. But as you cross the border into America and learned to adapt, to hide yourself from your past, you began to think that you would never find him again. That maybe he was dead. Like your father and your grandmother.  

“Max.” You cried, just like that night. And just like that night he pulled you against him, kissing the top of your head. “Max, you’re alive.”

“Shh, it’s alright, I’m here.” Erik promised, more tender than he had been in recent years. More tender than he could remember.  

“I missed you, I love you so much, I-” you confessed.  

“I’ve been in love with you my entire life,” Erik said, holding your face in his hands and inspecting you, kissing your forehead. “Since the day I met you.”

I wanted to write this around Erik’s backstory. Let me know what you think!

[wallofweird]

This Is Us Q&A

Thanks @madsdefencesquad for tagging me. :)

1. The first character I first fell in love with:

Dr. Nathan Katowski. He just seemed to be such a charismatic, generous, wise and kind person and the way he comforted those two nervous young people (Jack and Rebecca) who were entering parenthood for the very first time was simply beautiful. Specially because nowadays some doctors are so arrogant and cold that make you feel so bad to the point of almost apologizing for needing their care (not most though, we have real life heroes out there on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic and I’m forever thankful for them!). Anyway, it was pleasant to see a character with so much heart. Now the first regular character I fell in love with was Randall. He was just so relatable and Sterling and the writers really managed to show all the affliction he kept inside from early on. All the things he had accumulated through the years, with the questions about his biological parents, his identity, finding out that William was dying the same day he met him and everything... Even before we got to dive into that story, you could see it in his eyes. And I empathized with him immediately.

2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:

Kevin. I used to find him very annoying and self-centered and now I’m eating my words, but I guess that’s always been the writers intention: to show a character that came off as really shallow and immature and slowly change our minds about him. It definitely worked. My opinion about him started to change on the ‘Number One’ episode. It broke my heart to see what he was going through, specially when he lost the only thing he had left from Jack. That was hard to watch. And now that I’m rewatching the show, I can get his actions a lot better now and see that a lot of the stuff I used to hate came from his insecurities. So I’ve changed my mind about his behavior on the first episodes and I’m enjoying seeing him back then as well. I can see the bigger picture now.

3. The character everyone else loves that I don’t:

Cassidy. I don’t really believe there’s a consensus about her, it looks like the opinions are pretty balanced, but I’m not a fan of her. I wouldn’t say I hate Cassidy, but I don’t really like her. Like, the other characters can get me to laugh and cry so easily, but she doesn’t make me feel anything? She looks kind of cold to me, which I can understand it probably has something to with being in the military and the things she had to experience and do, but even with the whole drama with her son and husband... It's just never given me the same emotion I use to get from the other characters. Also, I really wanted the first half of the season to be only about Kevin and his uncle, but they threw a stranger in it and played with the idea of putting Kevin and Cassidy together the whole time. I just wanted to see their dynamic without anybody’s interference, specially because I haven’t got the point of her presence yet. I believe Kevin and Nicky would’ve done just fine in their journey to sobriety without her and I don’t really think the woman will marry any of them. I hope there’s something bigger planned for her that will explain her addition to the show, because I don’t really get it. So far it just looks like she’s there to mislead us with the whole “who is Kevin’s wife?” mystery.

4. The character I love that everyone else hates:

Madison. I wouldn’t say everybody hates her, for me the public has mixed opinions about her? I’ve seen people who hate her, who are indifferent, who like her and think she’s funny and people who love her. However, I do believe she deserves more praise. I think she’s kind of in the same situation Kevin used to be a few years ago. A lot of people have a pre-fabricated idea of Madison and see her as someone shallow and immature. Madison has always been there for Kate, even when she was nothing but rude to her. When Kate hit her car (I know it was accidentally, but still), Madison got over it the second she learned Kate was pregnant. She immediately forgot about her car and was filled with nothing but joy after hearing the news. Madison also helped Kate to enjoy the process of finding her wedding dress, staying positive with her second pregnancy after the previous miscarriage... She’s been there through thick and thin. And she is so loving, selfless and strong that was willing to raise her twins and go through all of that by herself to avoid getting in the way of Kevin finding his great love story. How can somebody not admire that? Even if you don’t like her, because that’s understandable and sometimes a character just doesn’t resonate with us, there’s absolutely no reason to hate or criticize her personality and actions. Madison is very underrated, but she is an amazing person. I just don’t understand why people have changed their minds about Kevin after seeing his struggles and evolution, but won’t do the same with her. The only difference here is the amount of screentime they have and the gender, because they’re both great people. I really don’t get it.

5. The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

One of the great things about this show is that I’ve never stopped loving any of the characters. There are characters I don’t really like, there are characters that have grown on me, but the opposite has never happen. However, I am a little angry with Randall and Kevin after that fight. I won’t defend any of them. They were both terrible to each other. 

I get where they’re both coming from when it comes to how they deal with Rebecca’s health. It’s understandable wanting to save your mother. It’s understandable wanting her to enjoy the time she has left. There is no right or wrong decision in these situations. And a lot of how they deal with it comes from their personalities and traumas. They both have this hole in their lives because of losing Jack. Randall blames himself and thinks about what life would’ve been if he hadn’t died every single day. His anxiety also plays a role in how he process everything. It’s consuming. On the other hand, Kevin regrets not having spent as much time with his father as he could’ve had. He’s also already gone through therapy, is a year sober and attending the AA meetings regularly... He can see things more clearly than Randall right now. So I don’t judge either of them for how they approach to the situation. Still, Randall should’ve respected Rebecca’s decision. Period. He was selfish and I can’t defend what he did. I can understand why he did it and I didn’t really see it as him manipulating his mother, for me it was more of a desperate moment, when he was telling Rebecca he cannot handle losing her. Not that Kevin and Kate can handle losing their mother, but he’s clearly overwhelmed with the whole situation, while Kevin and Kate are at a better mental state and looking at things with more serenity.

However, regarding their fight, Kevin’s got some fault too. I’m sure they didn’t mean anything they said to one another, they just happened to know each other’s deepest wounds and wanted to rub them. It was painful to watch. Kevin knows Randall feels guilty for letting Jack walk back into the house. Randall knows Kevin feels guilty for not being there. Kevin knows Randall have never felt liked he completely fitted in, because he was abandoned by his biological father and adopted only after Rebecca and Jack lost a child. He’s always felt a little lost or as a replacement to Kyle. And Randall knows Kevin is self-conscious and feels like people don’t take him seriously or believe he can be responsible. It was heartbreaking and cruel. And I’m rewatching season 1 and recently saw the episode where they finally begin to grow closer and there is this scene where Randall says:

“[Mom] showered me with attention. Took my side more often than not. And I ate every bit of her love up. Ate it up like Pac-Man. You know why? Because the one person I wanted it from the mo..

[...]

You know, back there with those people, it's the first time in 36 years you've said the words, ‘he's my brother’, [as] claiming me.”

I’ve also just finished the episode where it shows young Randall having a nervous breakdown and Kevin ignoring him. Kevin and Randall did have some good moments growing up, but for most of it they weren’t close and Randall was the one who tried the harder to change that. It took them over 30 years to get to a place where they finally acted like brothers on a regular basis and now they have both ruined all of that progress. So I can’t really pick sides and blame one of them when it comes to that fight. They were both terrible. However, I’m just a little more disappointed with Randall because he interfered in Rebecca’s decision.

6. The character I would totally smooch:

Kevin. Justin Hartley just happens to be on my Male Celebrity Crush Top 2, so...

7. The character I’d want to be like:

Beth. She’s smart, successful, funny, wise and beautiful, I’d like to have at least 30% of that awesomeness. 

8. The character I’d slap:

Marc.

9. A pairing that I love:

Jack and Rebecca. Their love story, even with its ups and downs, remains epic. One for the ages, indeed. 

Still, I really miss a slowburn ship. We’ve had Jack and Rebecca, Kate and Toby, Randall and Beth since the very beginning. They were all love at first sight. They got together pretty quickly. I miss a ship that I can see go through all of those basic stages, like meeting, becoming friends and falling in love. I miss seeing a character pining for another and being a little bit jealous of them. I miss watching the scenes with the lingering looks, deep breaths, both staring at each other when the other isn’t noticing... All this tension building up until the moment it just explodes. Like, give me angst scenes! Give me a scene where they are hugging so tight and not wanting to let go and Character A can’t resist it anymore and kisses character B as if their his/her depended on it. Give me rain kisses. Give me character A pining for character B, but doubting that B feels the same way. Give me B being just as insanely in love as A and feeling frustrated whenever they’re around someone else. Give me character B being unconsciously jealous and fighting with character A. Give me A blurting out that he/she is in love with B and a passionate kiss. I know it’s cliché, but there is a reason why everyone loves scenes like these: they work. And This Is Us needs stuff like that. Hopefully Kevin and Madison can fill this gap, since I’m already in love with their potential. ;)

10. A pairing that I despise:

Kevin and Sophie. I genuinely have nothing against Sophie, she is a good person and she deserves happiness. If anything, Kevin was the one who wronged her. However, I can’t help sighing and rolling my eyes whenever she shows up or her name is mentioned on the show. I’m just tired at this point. I’ve never saw the appeal of it. I’m usually a slowburn kind of shipper, but I still have my ‘love at first sight’ otps. This one, however, never really convinced me. First, I don’t see the chemistry at all (in any timeline). Second, he’s cheated on her twice. Plus, the second time they were together, Kevin had fallen back into drinking and she didn’t even realize the seriousness of the situation. I’m not saying it was her fault or responsibility, because that’s a real problem and what Kevin needed was professional help. Also, he lied to her and broke Sophie’s heart again in the process, so I can empathize with her. Still, the fact that Sophie couldn’t see what was going on and they were never able to go through it together, whether it was his treatment, or the long distance or any real obstacle just proves to me they don’t work. They simply couldn’t work together. And Kevin has moved on. He moved on from her and genuinely fell in love with Zoe. They broke up because they wanted different things, but their relationship was real. So, the way I see it, the fact that he suddenly wants another ‘crack at it’ with Sophie, it’s just a result of his frustration. Kevin is so desperate to have his own great love story and children, that he is trying to get it from strangers on coffee shops or any ex-girlfriend that will reach out to him. He’s not thinking things through, but hopefully he will let life takes it course and find find them naturally, without forcing anything or insisting on relationships that have proved multiple times that weren’t the right fit for him. I also don’t really like when characters appear with the solely purpose to be someone’s love interest, I like seeing them in their own element and their dynamic with other characters. Like, even though each Pearson has their immediate family, we’ve seen bits of Beth and Rebecca, Toby and Kevin, Beth and Zoe, Kate and Madison (who at this point I’m pretty sure is Kevin’s fiancée)... Sophie wasn’t fully integrated into the family during their second attempt at a relationship, so that’s another reason for me not to like this ship.

I don’t wanna tag anyone specifically because I’m afraid I might forget someone, so anyone who wants to do this thing, just go for it. I’d love to see your answers. :)

[baoshan-sanren]

hi there, a little confused on the wording for your xy and jgy post. does that mean you don’t like people who like jgy? not necessarily the type who defend his actions (if there even are any) but the people who appreciate him as the well written villain that he is.

oh honey, the fact that you gotta ask this question is a perfect example of how the state of fandom has changed in the last decade. people who like jgy are fine. people who defend jgy are fine. he’s a fictional character.

I talk a lot about balance of extremes in mdzs because they’re endlessly fascinating to me. the balance between xiao xingchen and song zichen as balance of the universe, the conflict between xiao xingchen and xue yang as the need to establish balance between order and chaos, and so on

in some way, you could even say that a villain like jgy is necessary, especially as a direct opposite to someone like xue yang. some people like to wade through murky waters and pluck up the villain’s good deeds with their bad ones, to try to find some balance. some people, like me, just prefer their villain to be an unapologetic piece of shit like xue yang

now, this preference is some reflection of my own character, but probably not what other people think it is, and making assumptions about people based on what they enjoy in fiction is kind of asinine. we’re all infinitely more complex than our fictional likes and dislikes. as thomas hardy said, “compared to the dullest human being walking on earth, the most brilliantly-drawn character in any novel is nothing more than a bag of bones.”

for me, personally, I have issues over-empathizing with fictional characters. i have issues over-empathizing with inanimate objects. being on the spectrum, it’s just something i’ve had to learn to balance so it doesn’t cause me unnecessary emotional upheaval. and i dislike villains who lie and cheat and smile pretty in your face while they stab you in the back because understanding motivations has always been a challenge for me

if I was so inclined, I could probably allow my empathy strings to pluck up half a dozen reasons why some of jgy’s actions are justified, and if he was a real human being, that emotional investment would be justified. but he’s not, so I get to look at jgy and say “I don’t care about your sad story, I just don’t like you, and here’s a thousand reasons why I don’t want anything to do with you”

just like some people get to look at jgy and say, “I care about you and i like you, and I’m willing to devote a thousand hours justifying every bad thing you’ve ever done”

and neither one of us needs to justify our reasoning to anyone. we might not have a lot to talk about 😂 or a lot in common, but that’s how fandom is supposed to function

[badlydrawndrawnings]

Theory: Takuto Maruki is a Pisces

Until Atlus shoots it down with official information, I theorized Apple Juice Man is born between February 20 (Feb 19 is Futaba’s BD) and March 20 (Excluding March 3 as it’s Yuka Ayase’s BD).  IDK about his age, but I don’t think anyone can be a therapist/counselor at 21 or 22 (unless you’re a genius or faking being a therapist/counselor, unless you’re like an assistant training to become one, which is not the case for him) but I doubt Atlus wants him to be over 30. So amendment: I theorized Takuto Maruki is born on 1988 between February 20 (Feb 19 is Futaba’s BD) and March 20 (Excluding March 3 as it’s Yuka Ayase’s BD). That would make Takuto 28 in 2016, and 29 by the game end. Reasonable realistic age that is the middle ground.

Why the ball park estimate of Takuto being a Pisces? I found this book The Guide to Astrology: Understanding the secrets of the stars and planets. It’s over a decade old, and they got some the birth dates wrong (everything is off by one day. Example: It places Feb 19 as Aquarius). So I had to look up other online sources to see if the book isn’t BS-ing stuff, and it seems the book is accurate, but the printing got birth dates incorrect. Now, from what I can tell from fan translations/summary translations of Royal (by juicedup14′s sub and from the royal spoiler megathread on the persona 5 reddit), Takuto fits the textbook definition of a Pisces. (and Yuka, which I will do my best pointing out things in her case because I had no idea she is a Pisces lol have fun with some p1 comparisons then)

Pisces Basic: 

Pisces seem to have compassionate, sensitive, and intuitive as positive traits (*looks at Yuka who intuition allow to see something was up with Maki). They also the most tolerate of the signs and rather forgiving. To quote The Guide to Astrology, “they are gentle and kind hearted people who will prepare to sublimated their own desires in order to make the lives of others happy and comfortable.”  I had to look up the word sublimation, which means transformation. In psychology, sublimation is like, the transformation of unhelpful emotions or instincts into healthy actions, behaviors, or emotions.

Takuto had to deal with the messed up accidental breakup of him and Rumi, and he had to deal with the fact his research got stolen as well has his funding and potential lab for the research got canned as result. If he’s not channeling his emotions of the two into deciding to become GOD-LIKE and grant others their happiness sublimation, I should look up more definitions to understand it better.

Negative traits are that they lack decisiveness and if you can call this a trait, they desire to escape reality when things get tough (*looks at Yuka running away from her future*). Guide to Astrology has it as “simply walk away leaving other people to clear up the mess.” And like, the PT has to stop Takuto from making his ideal dream world a reality (which is like, a big mess).

Love and Relationship

Speaking of the whole wanting to grant people their happiness, The Guide to Astrology says they want a love affair that sweeps them off their feet and transport them to a place where they can live happily ever after (pretty sure Takuto and Yuka wanted something of a happy ending with Rumi and Yuka’s unknown husband). They would also do anything for their love ones. I don’t think Takuto meant to accidentally retcon himself out of Rumi’s life, but he accepted the fact Rumi needs to be happy and completely heal without him in the picture.

Careers

Everywhere from the book to online sources say Pisces are creative people with great powers of imagination. Lots of their careers are in the Arts (preforming or not), but not always. Pisces also like to work on their own, kind of like a freelancer (they want do things at their own pace). The Guide to Astrology has a paragraph saying Pisces “compassionate people who ability to empathize with the suffering of others often takes them into the healing profession. They make fine doctors, nurses, psychologists, and psychiatrists.” Don’t need to say much for Takuto since we know what profession he’s in.

Money Management

Money is like the last thing on a Pisces mind. It’s not the top of their list. When they do focus on money, they’re a bit stingy with it (*wonders if Yuka complaining about her husband’s salary is her being stingy*) or spend it with little thought. The Guide to Astrology words it as, “they are not financially savvy [...] are easy prey to anyone unscrupulous enough to play on their kindheartedness.” Thanks to juicedup14′s translation of Takuto’s first scene, Takuto pretty much tell the students to not come to him for financial help.

Thanks to one of My Palace Conversation translated from p5cezaria, if we take it as canon, there’s a good reason why. Takuto talks about how he tried to save a cat from a tree and fails. Yoshizawa comments about how Takuto is kindhearted. Goro comments he will get scammed. Takuto tries to defend himself saying how he won’t fall for scams or give out money, but remembers he gave an old man money because he [old man] lost his wallet. Yoshizawa expresses disbelief Takuto fell for an easy scam. Goro smiles and call Takuto an idiot. RIP Takuto’s savings because he doesn’t know how to manage it.

(Body and) Health

This really took me by surprised. Everything I read about Pisces comments they are prone to addictions, with alcohol being a major one. The Guide to Astrology has it as, “when their dreams get shattered, they withdraw into themselves, often seeking comfort in alcohol or other substances.” And we all saw Takuto drank his sorrows until he passed out in his Palace Flashback. As of this posting, there is no 100% context why, but I personally assume it’s right after Takuto’s funding/grant and lab got canned. Given his clothing and appearance, it must have happened within the time period he and Rumi broke up. Not much needs to be added. Well...

There is one more thing. Pisces rule over the body part of the feet. There are other parts they rule over obviously, but feet stood out to me because of the other two Pisces characters. Yuka wears those legwarmers over her lower legs that covers part of her shoes (the ankle part, based of her official artwork). Futaba before she stops being a hermit goes barefooted (iirc). With Takuto, he prefers to wear sandals and show off his feet. If that’s not a weird connection to Pisces, then I don’t know what to call it.

While I am 100% pulling a birth year out of nowhere, I really think theorizing Apple Juice Man as a Pisces has some support based off his actions of Royal from the fan translation available (as of this posting). If Takuto isn’t a Pisces, I actually won’t be too disappointed since I just want a freaking birthday for him.

[yiangchen]

my live reaction thoughts to the 100 6x02 (warning: if you like octvia, probably best if you don’t read...)

—josephine is so cute oh my god. no wonder. she is a griffin after all.

—…welp. and now she’s dead. goddamnit.

—you know, this james guy came out of nowhere, but i appreciate that his only purpose is to hold octagon accountable for her actions

—raven x diyoza is a dynamic i never knew i needed

—MURPHY WHAT THE FUCK CLARKE LITERALLY INJECTED HERSELF WITH NIGHTBLOOD SO THAT THEY COULD TEST HER INSTEAD OF EMORI AND THEN SHE WENT ON TO GIVE HER RADIATION SUIT TO HER

—also clarke didn’t force bellamy’s hand…she begged him not to…and then he did it anyway. like??? i love s1 bellamy, but that was his doing. not clarke’s. she didn’t know that a riot was going to start. and bellamy didn’t have to do what the crowd wanted him to do.

—and oh my fucking god. clarke left bellamy because she thought he didn’t care about her. she knows she was wrong. she has admitted that so many times. how does murphy not understand that her isolation fucked her up and gave her abandonment issues?? especially after he’s had some very similar experiences. his inability to empathize with her is astonishing.

—bellamy defending clarke

—“when i’m in charge, people die. isn’t that what you said?” THAT FUCKING CALLBACK

—“fine, but i’m going with you.” maybe i screamed. all i heard was, “okay, babe, but together.”

—“e.cho, it’s okay. [clarke and i’ve] got this.” just gonna leave this here…

—i love one (1) power couple knocking people out

—ok but why am i enjoying everyone going insane and blarke trying to figure out what the hell they’re gonna do sdkfjsdlkfjls

—clarke trying to help e.cho out?? why am i already warming up to the idea of them having some kind of relationship?? (given that she’s not being fake with clarke now that bellamy is around)

—okay, don’t hate me, but e.cho hasn’t been self-righteous at all this season and that’s why i couldn’t stand her last season…so i’m kinda digging this version of her. and the voices in her head?? oh my god, i’m actually intrigued to find out what made her so cold. her backstory might actually be interesting. (again, given that she’s not being fake)

—clarke instantly knowing that bellamy is losing it too because she knows he wouldn’t talk to echo or herself like that if he was in his right mind

—“maybe you haven’t noticed, clarke, but i don’t need you anymore.” I’M FUCKING DYING LAUGHING. yep…he’s truly gone insane like the rest of them lmao. i love this for some reason. because everything everyone is saying is like the opposite of how they feel and or something they would never say.

—“the difference is that i regret it. you only regret having lost.” i do not stan abby but holy shit. SAY IT FUCKING LOUDER.

—octagon is a fucking idiot. could not be more obviously in the wrong and yet self righteous.

—octagon trying to take credit for saving the world and calling monty a coward…um, how about no??? is she really that jealous that the farmers saved the world and not her???

—i don’t feel sorry for octvia…i just don’t. get her off my screen.

—i’m not okay after the clarke almost killing herself scene. if that doesn’t show you that she’s selfless, i don’t know what will. she was about to kill herself so that madi wouldn’t die some day trying to save her.

—also can we talk about how clarke’s biggest fear is that she’s a danger to her loved ones? and that’s what lxa convinced her of all the way back in s2 with the whole “caring about people puts them in danger” thing. and this season we’re flashing back to mount weather. clarke is literally going to the root of her trauma. back to the season where she started isolating herself to protect her loved ones from her. the season when she first pushed bellamy away! i’m so here for this!

—MADI. WHAT AN ENTRANCE.

—so murphy apparently hates clarke, but then he stopped her from killing herself and trusted her to save him from eclipse!bellamy…so like…interesting…

—also he saved her from eclipse!bellamy before this too…

—oh, look. clarke going after murphy with no regard for her own life. like i said. selfless.

—murphy coming to save clarke! i love this so much. team cockroach for the win.

—CLARKEY G WITH THE FINAL SAVE.

—“saving my brother.” bit late for that, octabuse.

—i’m so excited for more madi x gaia interaction!

—raven finding out shaw is dead. SHE WAS FINALLY HAPPY AND IN LOVE WHAT THE FUCK JASON

—i’m just saying…blarke are linked by the legs and simultaneously not touching murphy for a reason. framing is everything.

—CLARKE INSTANTLY LOOKING TO WHERE SHE STABBED BELLAMY IN THE LEG AND HIM LOOKING AT HER REALIZING THAT HIS ECLIPSE SELF CHOKED AND ALMOST KILLED HER AND HOW SHE REACHES OUT TO TOUCH HIS HAND AND HOW THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER I’M DEAD

—also the leg wound makes me think of 3x02. rip me.

—“the hell is [octvia] doing here?” MOOD

—bellamy leaning on his son jordan

—the little kids oh my god

—and the 100 is my favorite show again. s6 is truly delivering wow. restoring faith and everything. and all because it’s finally character-driven! I’M LIVING

[stantalizing]

In Defense of Klaus Hargreeves

Ok, well I figure there really is no need to defend this man. Everybody who has seen Umbrella Academy has probably fallen in love with him. Oh yeah, spoilers ahead. Thanks.

So I binged all of Umbrella Academy last Monday, and the minute Klaus opened his mouth, the minute he was on the screen, I was hooked. Something in me said, ‘he’s is gonna be your favourite character.’ And surprise, surprise, he was! I don’t really get why and how I latched onto this character, I just did. So, in my first ever blog post, I’m going to try and figure out why. No character analysis videos on YouTube, no theories, no exploration into comic-Klaus (I haven’t read the comics, don’t think I ever will since where I am comics are hard to come by), just my brain, early in the morning, trying to wrap my head around the wonder that is Klaus.

I’ll admit. One of the main reasons I watched Umbrella Academy was for Klaus. I saw him in the trailer; the spunky, flamboyant (not to mention disarmingly handsome) man-child with the eyeliner and quick tongue. Thinking back on it now, it’s hard to put the appeal of this character into words. If I met someone in real life, I already know we wouldn’t gel. See, Klaus, is the type of character that’s best to admire from afar. Don’t get too close, and the appeal is there... Well, we eventually did get closer. More on that later.

So, I jumped into the show thinking that this Klaus character was hilarious. That was my first reason for liking him; not the most important one, but the first. The Luther, if you will.

The first episode hits, and we discover that Klaus, wonderful, funny, Klaus, is a junkie. An addict, a drinker, a stoner. Again, if this were a person I’d meet in real life, I would steer clear. No eye contact with Mr. Crazy Klaus from my scared ass. But the appeal is still there. Why?

Ladies and gentleman, Reason Number Two: complexity. Funny Klaus was just the tip of the iceberg. His addict life brings upon another, small layer to him that leaves the audience reeling with questions. How did he end up like this? And why haven’t his siblings tried helping him more? Etc. It doesn’t help that we see him at what, to many, looks like absolute rock bottom. Fresh out of rehab, already raring to relapse. Desperate. It brings a sadder side to him. An unknown, mysterious side. A complex side. Klaus is a character who walks a fine line between being easily the funniest character and the most tormented. As the show goes on, more and more of these two opposing sides comes to light. It’s jarring.

In Episode 4, Man On the Moon, we see various scenes of Klaus being tortured. Another layer of complexity is brought to the light. We begin to understand the importance of Klaus’ powers and their correlation with his addiction. Every action has a reaction, and Klaus’ addiction and lack of sobriety is a direct reaction to the way Reginald treated Klaus as a child, and the ghosts that have haunted Klaus for ages on end. Klaus saw the drugs, the drinking, the sex as a means of drowning out the voices of the ghosts. He’s stuck in an endless struggle. Klaus goes mad over the course of episode four. He shakes and trembles in withdrawal, he drowns in the voices of ghosts. This episode was heartbreaking to watch. Klaus is a tortured soul. Seeing him go through this, all I wanted to do was scoop him up into my arms and cradle him. I’m not afraid to admit it, my weak ass started bawling.

When I finally collected myself and continued on with the episode, I fully recognized the connection that the show had somehow established between me and Klaus. I could somewhat empathize with what he was going through. I could feel his pain like it was my own. I felt for Klaus.

Now, I felt for the other characters too. I truly did. But with Klaus, seeing him at absolute bottom in this episode, seeing his suffering, seeing him at his wit’s end, I felt for him more. The more he was hurt, the more I wanted to protect him.

And when he was able to use the ghosts to his advantage, to face his powers and stop hiding behind a haze of drugs and alcohol, I felt for him even more. I jumped up, fists pumping, and declared my joy over the triumphs of my son. The episode seemingly picked up from there. Everything was gradually starting to look up Klaus. He escaped, he even got the briefcase. His escape had me reeling with excitement; the flirtatious look he shared with that woman on the bus had me giggling and euphoric, then he opened the briefcase and-

Gone.

Needless to say, I became quite nervous.

When Klaus came back, I rejoiced and thanked God and was just about ready to give up an offering, but my victory was short lived. The utter pain, the sorrow, the misery on his face shook me to my core. What had happened?

“Thanks, Umbrella Academy. I didn’t need my heart anyways,” I whispered, watching my son crumple to the grubby pavement and curl up in a ball, back where he belonged but isolated more than ever.

Vulnerability.

Before the whole Vietnam War situation, we did see vulnerable Klaus. But from Klaus coming back to the present and onwards, Klaus is practically vulnerability’s bitch. It was this Klaus and onwards that truly solidified my love for his character. Klaus bawled. Klaus moped. “I lost someone.” That pitiful admittance of his pain, what he had gone through, had me curling up in a ball on the filthy pavement.

I’d go into depth with the whole vulnerability thing again. I’d break down every single scene of his if I could - there are just so many reasons why I enjoy Klaus so much.

But I won’t. This post is getting too long; and my fingers are getting tired from typing, and after typing out Klaus’ “I’ve lost someone,” line, my heart is just about ready to give. After this declaration of his lost love, the Klaus feels just kept on coming. Frustration, joy, anger, hollowness, triumph.

At the start of the series, there didn’t seem to be much that drove Klaus. Drugs, alcohol, money, that’s it. Everything was so surface level with him. But Klaus has a purpose now. Klaus is growing. And it’s this Klaus, this changing, learning, experiencing Klaus, that will hopefully continue to grow in future seasons of Umbrella Academy.

[philippmichelreichold]

#review #scifi Space Dreadnoughts by Dave Drake, et al

#review #scifi Space Dreadnoughts by Dave Drake, et al

Space Dreadnoughts is a Military Science Fiction anthology by David Drake, Martin H Greenberg and Charles G Waugh. The contents in order of appearance are: •"Introduction: A quick Look at Battle Fleets" by David Drake •"The Only Thing We Learn" by Cyril M. Kornbluth •"C-Chute" by Isaac Asimov •"Allamagoosa" by Eric Frank Russell (won the Hugo Award for best short story in 1955) •"A Question of Courage" by J. F. Bone •"Superiority" by Arthur C. Clarke •"Hindsight" by Jack Williamson •"The Last Battalion" by David Drake •"Shadow on the Stars" by Algis Budrys •"Time Lag" by Poul Anderson

The first Military Sci Fi story I remember is the Star Trek TOS episode "Balance of Terror," in which Enterprise duels with a Romulan interloper. The military conflict was setting to other conflicts between the crew, the story was full of suspense, and actual battle was a small part of the story. And so it is here.

The book's title is a misnomer. The back cover blurb is misleading-- "Massive and arrogant, they patrol the final war zone-- deep space. All great battleships before them-- . . . are mere toys in comparison." It goes on about "bristling artillery" and "battalions of soldiers." I expected fleet actions involving capital ships. Tactics. Maneuvers. Gunplay. While there are fleet actions and even battleships in some of these stories, they are mere backdrops on a stage where people play out the stories. Truly good Science Fiction involves people, and in all these stories, the people overshadow the military settings that serve only to bring out the characters and whatever lessons there are to be learned from them. All of these stories are well worth reading.

"Introduction: A quick Look at Battle Fleets" Mr Drake's introduction is a wonderful retrospective about the history of the Dreadnought battleships with a mention of two 1950's Astounding essays on the armaments of spaceships-- one by Willy Ley, the other by Malcolm Jameson. If one is going to write stories about ship-to-ship combat, the introduction is a good starting point. But only a starting point. One should definitely read Mahan, and consider the lessons of Taranto and Pearl Harbor. And the US Navy's Harpoon's and Tomahawk's are wonderful arguments in favor of missles over guns. One should also consider the time honored techniques of ramming and boarding actions.

Perhaps the question of guns vs missles is mooted today. Todays real world warships employ both-- including the Iowa class heavy battleships brought out of retirement and refurbished for President Reagan's naval buildup of the 1980's. The arms race has continued in Sci-Fi beyond what could be imagined with a knowledge of 1950's physics. The Ley and Jameson essays were written before fighters raked Formoria, before rail guns, and CTD imploders, before GRASER's, X-ray LASER's and phaser banks, before the Moties bombarded Mote Prime with asteroids, and before Captain Sheridan laid a gigaton on Z'ha'dum.

"The Only Thing We Learn" Kornbluth tells a cautionary tale of faded Imperial glory. The barbarians at the gates will one day have descendants that are as decadent and prissy as the effete and ineffectual empire they deposed and replaced. History blurs and magnifies the epic tales of glory. The details are lost. The character is lost. One day a fresh wave of barbarians sweeps aside succcessors that their ancestors would be ashamed to acknowledge. The reader may decide what relationship if any there is between this story and the quote from Friedrich Hegel. A fun story despite the dire consequences for the past and future losers. In  his column, "Rereading Kornbluth", Robert Silverberg calls The Only Thing We Learn, "a subtle, oblique, elliptical, sardonic piece of work."

"C-Chute" Dr. Asimov wrote this story in 1951. It is a psychodrama set aboard a passenger ship taken as a prize by a race of chlorine breathers in Earth's first intersteller war. Each of the passengers is sketched by Asimov to reveal their several flaws of personality, physicality or character. Each has reasons why he should not exit the cabin via the C-chute, EVA, and enter and retake the control room from outside the ship. The reason for the dubious hero to take the heroic action required to retake the ship is one unlikey to appear in the work of any author but Dr. Asimov.

"Allamagoosa" This story won the 1955 Hugo for best short story. It's a farcical look at officious bureaucracy of the greatest gravity. It's sort of a shaggy dog story, wink, wink. This story in and of itself is worth buying the book for. The build up and so obvious in hindsight ending is fresh enough to be as enjoyable today as it was then.

"A Question of Courage" Sometimes flair and heedless risk taking can be mistaken for true personal courage. When the genuine article appears, there's no mistaking it. Bone craftliy deveops his characters and sets the reader up for the old maidish Captain "Cautious Charley" Chase of Lachesis to reveal his true nature. It is available from Project Gutenberg.

"Superiority" Sir Arthur requires no introduction for this story, a reductio ad absurdum about the principle of Illusory Superiority. Technology and bedazzlment with the latest, most theoretically wonderful advances are no substitutes for common sense and sound military doctrine. Perhaps this should serve as a cautionary tale at a time when Iraqi insurgents hack into our drones. According to Wikipedia, this gem was required reading at West Point. The reader easily empathizes with the narrator and his plight, revealed at the end.

"Hindsight" Jack Williamson has won both the Nebula and the Hugo Awards, and had a career that spanned about seventy years. This story involves temporal mechanics and love, oppression and liberation, and meeting engagements. Incidentally, the guns employed by the Astrach's fleet are of 20-inch caliber and fire four salvos per second. It's a tightly written story, though I think the ending is a little drippy.

"The Last Battalion" Imagine that Hitler did not die in a bunker in Berlin, but escaped via U-Boat to a secret Waffen-SS base in New Swabia. There German scientists built flying saucers from which they reached the moon to to mine aluminum and build more flying saucers. Now imagine them getting into a war with aliens. With things not looking so good, they kidnap a US Senator to let him know what is going on, intending to drag the US into the conflict. Before they can get where they're going with the Senator, the aliens lay a nuke on their Antartic base. They drop the Senator off to find his own way home. He asks them what they will do. Their colonel replies, we are SS-- we will fight.

"Shadow on the Stars" Budrys's Farlans are felinoid aliens who at first blush look like humans in cat suits. But they are, on a closer look, "raving paranoid quote." The paranoia is pathological and eventually fatal for Farla-- any military leader with sufficient ability to be effective cannot be trusted by Farla's rulers, and will be killed at the earliest sign of that fatal disease, military competence. The story is a retrospective, the central character telling how he and Farla came to be in their present straits. It is too late for him to convey the warning against trusting Earth, and to late to avoid the inevitable dissolution of Farla.

I have a problem accepting the plot device Budrys uses to set up the narrative, but otherwise the story is interesting and fun to read. The prose is a bit over decourous and affected, but that brings out the effeteness and pretentiousness of the Farlan culture. At the start, the Farlans are hard-pressed by a barabarian culture, the Vilk, and need a strong, capable leader to drive them back. OF course the strong, capable leaders keep their heads down so has not to find themselves assassinated by the Ministry of Preparedness-- and then comes L'Miranid. A previously unknown reservist, he quickly dominates the Fleet and whips them into shape. Victory follows victory until the Vilk host is driven back, their subject planets pounded to rubble, and a Farlan imposed king seated upon their throne.

The real story action is not fleet engatgements and daring raids, though. The story is related by Henlo, one of those capable leaders who has balanced command of a capital ship wtih avoiding notice by the governmental hunters down of competence. He starts the story as having a clear understanding of Farla's problems and the steps necessary to remedy them, but can't afford to be noticed. He becomes L'Mararind's aid, admirer, vice-admiral, intended assasin and successor, and finally, his unwilling co-conspirator and successor. Unwilling to be assasinated himself, he seizes control of the Farlan government. By this time, the sad (for Farla) truth is known to him, but (I love Latin quotes.) "alea jacta est." This is a fine little story with a lovely twist toward the end.

"Time Lag" Poul Anderson has won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Time Lag is a study in contrasts-- evil, greedy invaders against noble, selfless defenders. Chertkoi is a heavily overpopulated industrial planet, drowning in pollution and resource starved. Vaynamo is pristine, with a population sustainable through resource management. Vayanmo is never the less technologically advanced, with the technology's goal as preservation rather than exploitation. Expolitation is the name of Chertkoi's game. It's people conquer other worlds to fuel the industrial fires that smother their world under a cloud of pollution.

The archetype of the Chertoi is the Admiral commanding the invasion fleet. He is matched against the story's view point character, Elva. Elva is the widow of a Vayanmoan noble and prisoner of the Admiral. He is gross, vulgar and uncouth. She is pretty, cultured and well-mannered. He is a love struck boor, hopelessly smitten by her. She subtly endures his presence to manipulate him so that she an return herself and the other captives to Vayanmo in a portrayal that is believable and sympathetic. The invasion is a leveraged takeover in three stages-- a scouting raid, a strategic strike to destroy what little industry the Vayanmo posses, and a full-scale invasion. The title relativistic time lag (fifteen years) gives the Chertkoi time to build their invasion fleet and the Vaynamo time to prepare their reception.

Image cover art under fair use for the review. Contact publisher for reuse.

My text creative commons 4.0

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