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star-ocean-peahen · 2 years ago

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Fucking lady Din i hated the Crystalized finale

Not just the finale even the entire second half of the season. I just binge watched it and it SUUUUUUCKED

HORRIBLE pacing. What even was that. None of the plotlines felt aligned or in sync and everything felt like it was moving incredibly slowly. We spent a good quarter of the season in the invasion.

Idk what was up with the cinematography but it looked worse than usual?? Like there were so many shots of up close faces that......weren't doing anything that needed to be zoomed in on?

Garmadon's a hilarious smartass and I genuinely enjoyed his segments but holy moly I did not like his relationship with Lloyd. Garmadon seems to be regaining his humanity but he never remembers himself?? Like he acts WAY more like the Garmadon from the Lego Ninjago Movie than the show Garmadon, who was, may I remind you, literally defined by how he loved his son more than anything else. And then in his "redemption arc" they're all like "he's trying to learn compassion and care so that Lloyd will forgive him" WELL HE'S DOING A DAMN HORRIBLE JOB OF 1. SHOWING IT AND 2. ACTING AT ALL LIKE GARMADON TRYING TO LOVE HIS SON. Seriously the way he treated Lloyd was SO out of character. It makes total sense if he's a broken echo of the real Garmadon and so he treats Lloyd with indifference, but they're presenting Garmadon trying to learn compassion as becoming the same guy he was before he was resurrected, and BOY HOWDY THOSE ARE NOT THE SAME PEOPLE.

Speaking of which: Lloyd why are you being so fucking nice to everybody. He doesn't WANT to forgive his dad. So much of the resurrected Garmadon's character hinges on him being the exact OPPOSITE of the real Garmadon! THAT'S NOT HIS DAD AND HE ACTS LIKE HE KNOWS IT!!! But then he goes and acts like he's kinda getting his dad back even though Garmadon's been a tremendous asshole to him the whole time!! All Garmadon did was not kill a guy (like anyone is allowed to be killed anymore in this show lmao) and Lloyd is suddenly acting like he's made up for what he did?? To be clear I don't think redemption is obtained by doing penance to the people you've hurt, but Lloyd, character-wise, has no reason to treat Garmadon like he's worthy of his trust and love besides his desire to change.

Coming off of that, the show has been so bastardized by misguided "protect the children" principles that it's actively harming the story. Lloyd's the good guy, so he has to forgive and befriend everyone who realizes they're wrong, no matter what they've done to him. Remember, Garmadon disowned him. Harumi made it very clear that she wanted to psychologically torture him and would do ANYTHING to make him hurt. Any love that Lloyd had for these people HAS to be tainted by how much hurt there is in the relationship. But no, he's the protagonist, and protagonists of children's shows have to destroy themselves loving people who hate them and aren't even allowed to feel bad about it.

Also (I think I'll make a separate post about this) the fight scenes have gotten so boring now that they're not allowed to punch. When they're engaged in combat they only ever shoot, dodge, run, and hide. It makes the show feel incredibly pretend and shallow, because they're shying away from actual emotional investment and consequences.

Nya. My love. My darling. Why do you want your powers back. I thought you losing your powers and becoming Samurai X again meant you were rejecting the broken standards and refusing to push yourself to become something that was contrary to your actual character so you could reclaim your symbol of self-determination and independence??? Wtf that arc was literally show long why why why does she have to get her powers back???

UGGHGHGGHGHGHGHGHG HARUMI WHY. We already knew her motivations made no sense but if she's so motivated by vengeance and self-preservation why is she throwing her character aside for a guy that she, oh yeah, hates so much that she revived his dead father to kick his ass?? And if that specific motivation is lessened now because she wants darkness to win the balance or whatever crap that was then why is she so driven to serve the Overlord. Again, if it's self preservation, why the fuck is she so obsessed with Lloyd?? She makes literally no sense.

holy FUCK is the sexism in this show getting obvious. The more I watch the more I see it's literally everywhere. Nya tells the boys to stop using their special thingy so their engines don't overheat. They snark at her and don't listen. Lloyd tells them the same thing. THEY TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY. I am genuinely happy Nya's back in the Samurai X role because that really is where she shines, but NO ONE FUCKING LISTENS TO HER OR RECOGNIZES HER WORK UNLESS THEY THINK THEY NEED HER. Believe me, I love Jaya, but their relationship as it functions is still backwards. No one listens to the girls unless they're doing work for them. UGHGUGHGUGUGHGHGHG

I'm sorry to say it but the Pixane moments felt soulless. I love Pix she's best girl and it was genuinely amazing the way she was carting around Angwy Zane. Her expressions and voice convey so much and it's incredible. But the moment when she woke him up from the coma felt so lackluster compared to the moments they've shared in the past. It's like the writers don't know how to write interesting and healthy romantic relationships after they've gotten together OH WAIT

How dare you show me a four-headed dragon and pretend it's Ultra after you killed them. How fucking dare you show me the ninja reaching up to pet the individual elemental dragon heads and pretend that Ultra never existed.

Lloyd's Oni form FUCKING FSM that was underwhelming. He just looked like a shiny gold Garmadon. He should REALLY have had a dragon/oni hybrid form because that MAKES MORE FUCKING SENSE-

BECAUSE. I hate the angle they went with where the Oni are just pure evil. Yep. They hate everybody and want to destroy everything. Not even human, how gross is that?? Taking things apart, wow, that's so evil for a toy line that depends on that concept. Totally evil, for no reason. I think my idea is SO much better and would have made at least more sense than "you must embrace the inherently evil part of you to defeat evil and darkness personified".

You know what they should have done?? Introduced the idea that Oni aren't inherently evil. That breaking things down is essential to making things better. They keep spouting about the balance and stick yin and yang symbols everywhere but then turn around with the pointedly Western concept of light vs. darkness. Only by accepting the parts of him he's ashamed of and confronting his fears would Lloyd be able to access his dragon and Oni powers. Seriously, cowards, give us dragon/oni hybrid Lloyd. Let him confront his mixed heritage in the way the First Spinjitzu Master and his sons were never able to. HAVE HIM FIND THE FALSITIES OF THE PAST'S LEGACY AND DISMANTLE THEM.

Also the Oni should have bird wings instead of scaly ones because the Dragon Form has dragon wings and the Oni form has.......dragon wings. Fluffy jet-black bird wings. Come on.

THEY DIDN'T EVEN PLAY THE WEEKEND WHIP??? IN ITS FULL VERSION??? INSTEAD WE ENDED ON SALLY'S SONG WHICH IS ADORABLE BUT FELT LIKE THE CREDITS OF A DISNEY PRINCESS MOVIE AND NOT THE GOOD KIND???? i HEARD they had the Weekend Whip in there SOMEWHERE but I certainly didn't see it and I watched all the credits!!

WE HAD A BIG OLE SPEECH ABOUT HOW THE CORE FOUR CARED ABOUT EACH OTHER AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN CALL EACH OTHER BROTHERS??? Like I know they've eased up on that in the newer seasons but COME ON IS FOUND FAMILY TOO DEVIANT FOR KIDS NOW??????

when the dragon ninja are hugging they don't even wrap their wings around each other. lmao.

Okay here are some things I found cool:

THE FUCKING CHICKEN!!!!!! ITS CHICKEN!!!!! ITS THERE!!!!!

why why WHY does clutch powers still have the teapot of tyrahn. why were a bunch of boys planning to jump him for it. why

genuinely the elements of this season are great. i LIKE seeing Harumi and Garmadon and Misako and random crystal generals and corrupted weapons of spinjitzu and dragon transformed ninjas and Nya as Samurai X and the paperkids. I think this season has so many great plotline concepts, but I don't like the way they executed them.

#ninjago #ninjago crystalized #ninjago crystalized spoilers #crystalized spoilers #ninjago spoilers #crystalized salt #ninjago s16 spoilers

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marybeatriceofmodena · 4 years ago

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You know, I’ve been thinking today about how Alina doesn’t even really work as a Reluctant Hero, compared her to Frodo to see the key differences (since Frodo is pretty much the Poster Child for the Reluctant Hero), and then I realized...

You know, I think L/eigh B/ardugo wrote TGT as a very black-and-white fairytale, where Alina is the princess, Mal’s the knight in the shining armor, and the Darkling is basically the dragon, except it doesn’t really work because the worldbuilding requires an approach that’s... a lot more grey?

The thing is, though, I realized... Alina and Mal are basically meant to be Frodo and Sam. Except that, again... it doesn’t really work.

Frodo works as a Reluctant Hero, because he makes it clear multiple times that he doesn’t want to carry the Ring. He asks Gandalf to do it for him, he asks Galadriel, he asks Aragorn, and they all refuse, because they are (or are called to be) in a position of power, and while them being in a position of power is presented as good, the One Ring essentially represents the fast, easy way to get to it, which will ultimately corrupt them rather than have them fight their way towards their goal.

Frodo, meanwhile, is the right person to carry the Ring, because he comes from a humble place and he doesn’t really have any aspirations to become powerful. And while he’s clearly burdened by having to carry the One Ring, and that he makes it clear that he wishes the Ring had never come to him, he still goes on anyway, despite all the hardships he faces, because his ultimate goal is to save the Shire and his friends, and that desire is stronger than any fear or greed he may have.

Now, J.R.R. Tolkien himself said that he didn’t really see Frodo as THE Hero, and that Sam is the real Hero of the story to him. Which makes sense, given how Sam was based off young men from rural England he met while fighting in World War I. But also, the story makes it very clear that without Sam, who’s arguably the most pure-hearted person in all of Middle-Earth, Frodo would have definitely failed in his task. The reason why he resists the temptation to carry the One Ring is LITERALLY because him protecting and helping Frodo is more important to him. Sam doesn’t give two shits about power. Helping Frodo save the Shire and coming back to everything he’s ever loved is more important to him.

Both Alina and Frodo are pure-hearted orphans who are given tremendous power: Alina is the Sun Summoner, and Frodo carries the One Ring. In both cases, power is represented as a corruptive force, that makes people go mad with greed. It works in the context of The Lord of the Rings, given how the rings were given to leaders of Elves, Dwarves and Men, and that Sauron created the One Ring to rule over and control all of them. The Grisha, on the other hand, unlike the Ring-bearers, are not in a position of power, given they are essentially victims of Fantastic Racism in pretty much every country. While Ravka treats them slightly better than in Fjerda or Shu Han, it’s still not ideal and it’s something that could be taken away from them at any moment. It would be an entirely different matter if the Grisha were the ones rulling over Ravka and viewing otkazat’sya as lesser, and in that context, Alina being the Sun Summoner would be a very obvious road to her becoming corrupted.

Frodo refusing to carry the One Ring and asking other people to take that burden from him comes from a place of genuine fear of what the Ring might do to him. In his place, we’d probably all do the same thing. That’s what makes his acceptance of his task all the more admirable. Alina, on the other hand, refuses to be the Sun Summoner and to help her fellow Grisha because that stands in the way of her ending up with Mal. She never gives any sign that she’s truly empathizing with the Grisha’s plight, she tries to run away not once, but twice, and most importantly, she never sees herself as one of them. They are othered, but it matters little to her, because she doesn’t want to be othered herself, because that stands in the way of her running off with a boy. It’s basically the equivalent of Frodo being overcome by fear after seeing the fate of the Shire in Galadriel’s mirror, and just demanding to be sent to the Grey Havens straight away to save his own ass from it all and just leaving the One Ring to whoever wants to deal with it. At that point, it’s not being a Reluctant Hero: it’s being a coward at best, a selfish bastard at worst.

(And that’s why I don’t really buy her when she tells Aleksander that they could have had it all if he had told her all the truth from the start, because... again, she didn’t seem to care about the Grisha that much and Aleks telling her everything would have actually been a sure way of having her run as fast as possible the other way. I know the story is trying to tell me otherwise and that the plot point I’m supposed to see here is that Alina was willing to do something until she felt betrayed by Aleks, which is... not what was shown here, and it’s especially annoying considering how Alina is a deserter in every sense of the word, and that any army would have court-martialed her for running away.)

So if Alina is meant to be a pure, selfless heroine, who loses her powers because she also refuses to be greedy... that just falls completely flat, because if anything, she’s as selfish as Frodo is selfless, because all of this really just boils down to her wanting to run off with Mal.

Now, onto Sam and Mal. Both of them are basically Everymen who are there to help the Hero and keep their feet on the ground. As mentioned earlier, Sam is the one who helps Frodo finish his mission to Mordor, and the story makes it clear Frodo would have failed without him. TGT meanwhile presents Mal as Alina’s “True North”... which could work on paper as Alina’s reminder to temper Aleksander’s efforts and to remind him that in order for Grisha to be viewed as people, it is important for them to also remember that balance and peace between Grisha and otkazat’sya will be essential, so resentment and hatred can be healed between both groups.

The key difference here is that Sam is completely supportive of Frodo at all times. Even when Frodo sends him away in the film, Sam goes back after him the minute he realizes he’s been tricked by Gollum. He never shames Frodo whenever he falls prey to temptation, he simply reminds him of who he is and what he must fight for, and even when he’s climbing Mount Doom, he still carries Frodo on his back despite being probably completely exhausted, because Frodo’s more exhausted than he is. He completely accepts Frodo as both his friend, the Hobbit from the Shire, and the Ring-bearer he needs to help, even if he might die in the process.

Mal (in the books, that is) makes it very clear that he does not accept Alina as both the girl he knew and the Sun Summoner. He only wants the girl, and whenever Alina makes steps towards being the Sun Summoner, he basically sulks and yells at her for not paying attention to him. Despite Alina becoming othered in the eyes of the world, he refuses to see her as othered, mostly because it is inconvenient to him rather than because he loves her for who she is. That’s why in the end, people feel like Alina lost her powers in order to be with Mal, because Mal would never accept her in her entirety. Sam, on the other hand, accepts Frodo as both Ring-bearer and Hobbit, because if he didn’t, Frodo would have failed.

And while they made Mal in the show a lot nicer than his book counterpart, he still doesn’t work as Alina’s “True North”, because he cossets her in her selfishness. He may say he doesn’t care about how Alina is a Grisha in this one, but he also doesn’t consider the implications of it all - which is especially glaring given he’s a soldier himself. Like, look, if you’re going to slap in a racism plotline to make Mal/ina work, you’d think that being half-Shu would give Mal a little awareness that people are going to treat Alina badly for being half-Shu AND a Grisha, and given Alina is the MOTHERFUCKING SUN SUMMONER AND A SAINT, maybe, just maybe he’d tell her: “Heh, it’s kinda lame we’ll just run off and let everyone else in the dust, you know, especially since we could make our lives as well as everyone else’s better?” Seriously, if you’re going to make Mal Alina’s “True North”, have him face her duties and her calling whether she likes it or not, don’t coddle her when she wants to run the other way because she wants to hide under a rock for the rest of her life.

With all that being said, that leaves us with the Darkling, who... I mean, given his whole schtick is that power corrupts and makes you evil and crazy, I guess that makes him Gollum, but sexy.

Gollum, but sexy.

That single expression has been haunting me ever since I started writing the above novel and I fucking hate it. You’re welcome. No one wanted Sexy Gollum. Absolutely no one. Fuck this shyte. See, this is why I want Darkling Redemption. I do not want to live in a world where Gollum is sexy. I need brain bleach.

Even here it doesn’t even fucking work because Gollum hid in a cave with the Ring with a strategically placed cloth because no one wants to see his crusty ass family jewels anyway, while Aleks worked his ass off to give the Grisha a safe place to live and to at the very least ensure they’re useful enough to not be killed like animals. Like, if you’re going to give the world something that’s gonna definitely not make me sleep tonight like Sexy Gollum, at least do it right.

#now i have thoroughly traumatized myself :)#anti grishaverse #anti leigh bardugo #anti mal #anti malina #darklina #alarkling #rants and reviews

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asterekmess · 4 years ago

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S3A-E6

Oh boy, here we go, Motel California is just full of absolute bullshit. *sigh* let’s get started then.

Read More’s are good for the environment (or so i’ve heard)

Before we start, I wanna let you guys know that I’m just not gonna comment on the Jennifer/Derek scenes. I just. I really honestly cannot do it. I don’t care. No. Also as this is well, this episode, please be advised that there will be extensive suicide mentions.

Thoughts:

I know this is random as hell, but that truck looks like mine. Oh, and look at the date, it’s only like nine years older than mine. nice.

why does it look like he’s nursing an arrow wound on his leg? Is it just me? That doesn’t look like a claw mark.

Can...can I just point out (god, i already need the tag) that....that they’re drawing a DIRECT parallel between this ARGENT HUNTER and Scott with the whole “lifting up the shirt to reveal the bite on their side’ thing? Like, it’s a perfect replica of when scott does it in the first episode. And they don’t do that with the others. Jackson’s bite was just Visible when he got out of the water and we never see Isaac, and Erica’s bites. Boyd’s was a whole sitting down thing on the Zamboni with his hoodie. They didn’t even do the same thing with Victoria ARGENT’s bite. OH and he’s wearing the heirloom necklace from season 1.

Wait, hold up. So, he just got bitten that night, but he’s already gonna shift? What? The bite works that fast?

....he’s from MA? Why tf is he in california? Also, he’s 27 apparently, oof.

Finstock...honey...you ran out of keys when you have like 6 students behind you still.

why is Finstock paying for Allison and Lydia’s room as well? He’s just that nice, or did he honestly forget they aren’t on the track team?

Maybe it’s just the Sterek shipper in me talking, but someone wanna explain why the fuck Stiles would put Derek on the suspect list for HUMAN SACRIFICES? Let alone TWICE? He literally just helped Derek get his pack back and has been working with them the whole time? Why???Would??He???Suspect???DEREK??? OR his sister???

I totally forgot that Scott promised Stiles he would watch Star Wars after they got back to Beacon Hills. SCOTT YOU ASSHOLE COME ON.

yeouch. You’re putting a huge damper on my Stydia brotp here Stiles. jeez.

*Movie trailer voice* He’s a hunter whose family has been torn apart by a human/werewolf war, who refuses to give up the fight against a species his clan has persecuted for centuries. He does weird detective work that makes no sense and looks like a Dark Souls ghost repeat of someone’s death. He insists on ‘staying out of things’ but then follows people around getting mad when things go wrong. Coming this summer, Chris Argent must actually learn.....to get off his ass and help.

WHY DO THEY ALL DO THE CLAW THING??? Yes, they are obviously claw marks. Why the fuck do you need to put your fingers on it?

Honestly, it makes me so sad because STiles is trying okay? Like, Boyd was pissed that Stiles acted like his friend when they never hung out, and STiles is trying to do the chill smalltalk thing, trying to point out things they have in common. He’s trying to MAKE FRIENDS and Boyd is just....uh...possessed? And still getting candy?? Huh?

Honestly, I’d do the same thing Stiles. Get that candy.

Allison, why’d you get in the shower if Lydia wasn’t back with the towels yet? How’re you planning on getting to them? You expect Lydia to come into the bathroom while you’re showering to put one there? #allydia confirmed.

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS? I ALWAYS FORGET THIS HAPPENED. WHAT THE FUCK?

Okay, okay, look at that adaptation we got going on here. Remember, okay, the last time Allison was harassed sexually (which, holy shit I can’t believe this has happened twice) it was by Jackson, who was possessed by Matt. So when Scott gets super fucking creepy, instead of freaking out, her FIRST instinct is to check if he’s still himself, if he’s okay. She jumps to ‘possessed’ and tries to take care of him WHILE SHE”S NAKED IN THE SHOWER AND BEING CREEPED ON. Which, while absolutely horrendously terrifying, is also an interesting character growth. We get to see how Allison responds to the same situation, but a season later.

Really not a fan of the weird-ass focus they put on this woman’s stoma ( think that’s the word) like...are you seriously trying to make that a part of the ‘horror’ aspect of this episode? For real? what is wrong with you?

So I did the research, and actually, hotels aren’t required to tell anyone about deaths in their rooms. But they also renovate the entire room basically to clean that kind of thing up. Replacing walls and anything that can absorb liquid and even electronics. Oh, the things I google for this research. *sigh*

So, she says “since opening.” So...why does it even matter that an Argent was here? ALSO...why does the wolfsbane whistle matter? Clearly the whistle wasn’t the cause of the last howevermany (apparently 40) years of deaths, so why would it be the cause of these ones?? They gave like fifty different answers to the question of why the wolves (and only the wolves) tried to kill themselves and none of them make sense?

Hey, so...what the fuck even is this possession thing going on? What is it actually doing to these wolves? Why are they getting affected at different times? or did they all get affected at the same time, and the scene with Ethan and Danny is supposed to have been happening at the same time as the bit with Scott and Stiles? Is it supposed to like, make them more impulsive, or just drive them to do what they want to do? Boyd wants some candy, and he will get some candy. Isaac wants to watch tv so he just sits there and clicks through static endlessly. Scott wants to......fuck Allison?

Honestly? Good dad moment here. Chris. Good Dad Moment. I just, feel so bad for Allison. That when it comes down to it, she will always end up lying to her family to save Scott’s ass. Either when they’re dating and her dad wants to kill him for it, or when Scott shows up in her bathroom and grabs her and she can’t possibly tell her dad about it without Scott getting shot.

WHY do they treat that moment like it’s a big shocker that Allison was there? She TOLD her dad she would be going to help them. This shouldn’t be a surprise to him???

....wait how was allison on the phone with her dad, fully dressed and outside, but now she’s in her bra and drying her hair in the bathroom? TIMELINES. TW doesn’t HAVE them.

OKay, so Lydia says it’s only been 40 years, which would mean that the motel was only 6 years old when Alexander Argent died in it. Plus...Lydia literally says that approx. 4 deaths a year is a reasonable number? So...either this place has a lot of suicides, or it doesn’t. WHich one? Also, just because you have the warning at the beginning of the episode doesn’t mean you need to go into such callous detail about the different kinds of suicides that took place. God, that’s so tasteless.

As horrific as this moment is, I feel like I should point out that the behavior/conversation that Lydia hears...it’s nothing like what happened with the wolves. They’re talking about it, clearly nervous. But the wolves are stoic and silent. What? WHAT IS THIS PLOTLINE? IS THE MOTEL causing these suicides somehow, or are the werewolves poisoned by wolfsbane?? THESE ARE TWO DIFFERENT PLOTS. WHICH ONE IS IT?

god, I just..I can’t not point out the contrast here! Lydia is saying she heard two people die in a room across the hall, and after leading Allison there they find an empty room going through renovation. All she has to say is “they were here” and Allison believes her. No hesitation. Stiles’ childhood best friend literally shows up dead and Scott refused to believe a word he said about human sacrifice until Deaton confirmed it. Yet Lydia and Allison have known each other less than a year, and Scott and Stiles are supposed to have been friends for ages.

I just...I hate fisheye lenses. they don’t give me any horror vibes at all, they just look stupid. Personal preference.

Boyd, honey, those things are supposed to have bags in them so they can be reused.

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THIS SCENE? WHAT THE FUCK? WHY WOULD THEY EVER BRING THIS UP JUST TO KILL BOYD OFF LATER? WHY?

Lydia is actually very correct, remember what I said about the renovating?

God, this episode has so much...just horrible shit. I’m gonna fucking ignore it for my own sanity and just focus on how wolfy it is that Isaac wouldn’t want to sleep under the covers at a hotel because it would probably smell. Plus, bare feets. Also, why’d he go to bed so early? Did Boyd go get the ice for him, since he’s sweating so much?

I love that they are roommates.

Okay, I don’t understand. Three more suicides are about to happen. Boyd, Ethan, and I guesss...Scott? So what the fuck was up with Isaac? I just...they’re supposed to like. give into their their worst thoughts or something? Boyd’s guilt about his sister. Ethan’s....something. Scott’s...uh...self-hatred? Or, I think it’s more his lack of self-confidence? He doesn’t hate himself, he just doesn’t think he can keep going. And Isaac’s ingrained guilt of doing the wrong thing? His fear of being useless...I guess? So is it supposed to make them suicidal and Isaac’s a weird case, or does it only do that sometimes, and the rest of the time it just leaves you paralyzed with fear? This makes literally no sense.

Where has Stiles been this entire time?

Uh...that’s not how Alphas work? Just because Derek died, it wouldn’t make Scott an Alpha. Scott didn’t kill him. Even if Derek Was dead, it would’ve been from impact or from the wounds Ennis gave him. In no universe would Scott become an alpha. If it was the impact, Cora would become Alpha, as the next blood relation. If it was Ennis, the Hale Alpha spark would be gone/soaked up by Ennis.

Okay...so, Stiles was in the bathroom brushing his teeth, and he didn’t hear Scott talking to the phone?

*snort* Stiles has a Nokia phone. How much do you wanna bet his dad bought that for him after the Pool Scene because he was trying to make sure Stiles didn’t break another phone?

Did...did Stiles just leave the room with the toothbrush in his mouth?

Okay, I get that this is a teen drama...but why does it have to be so obsessed with 16 and 17 year olds having sex? Seriously? It’s not the common occurrence people think it is? Now, if these were college age people...or, hell, even then it wouldn’t be this fucking common. Seriously. I don’t want eye-candy from someone who’s supposed to be 17 at MOST. Teenagers watching this might like the eye candy, but when I watched this at 17 I STILL was sick of the sexy scenes. Knock it off.

Also. Ethan IS STILL A FUCKING MURDERER.

.....uh....Ethan...do you not understand human anatomy? Giving Danny the bite wouldn’t remove the metal bars in his chest. It might heal the cartilage or whatever, but it wouldn’t REmove the BARS. Oh see that’s just creepy. Wait. OKay, are you telling me that Ethan’s thing that he wants, with this possession thing, is to bite Danny? AND HOW DOES DANNY NOT RESPOND TO THAT? HE’s supposed to know about werewolves, which means he HAS to be getting what Ethan’s going for. WTF?

...what the FUCk kind of voldemort “love and monsters” kinda bullshit was that? What does that have to do with Ethan’s deepest fear/insecurity?

I am...so confused. FIrst off, I love having Allison, Lydia, and Stiles all chillin’ trying to figure things out. THat’s amazing. But how do they know something’s up with Isaac? Also, it contradicts what I was theorizing before when Allison says the last time she saw Scott like that it was a full moon. Now I’m even more creeped out? WHy would they have her fully believe that it’s Scott, and just...let him be a fucking creep? Why would they openly admit that he’s been that terrifying with her before and then just...be chill about it? Also, when did she actually see Scott act like that? When he did it on his second moon Allison never saw him bc Derek tackled him into the woods. When did Scott go all creeper on her? Is this a REgular OCCUrREncE?

I know it was wasn’t intentional, but it’s such an adhd mood for Stiles to see the paper sticking out of the bible and just snatch at it. most people would call that ‘attention to detail’ but like...I just see it as ‘wtf is this, gotta know gotta know” mooood.

Why does Stiles go running to the next room like it’s an emergency, and what is the relevance of these articles in the bibles? LIke, yeah, you knew there were a ton of suicides. How does this help?? God, it’s like they were trying to make it a mini-horror film, but they just suck at understanding what the right order is to put things. FInding those articles should’ve been something that happened at the beginningin order to create a sense of unease, not in the middle of figuring things out!

how exactly did Stiles get the damn door open if it was locked? For that matter, how did Ethan know the handsaw was there? Was he on his way to talk to Lydia and Allison, or was he heading for Scott and Stiles’ room to get help? WHat’s going on???

Thank you Allison for not just Standing There. And Lydia for having a BRAIN. <3

HOW DID STILES HOLD BACK ETHAN? Ethan IS AN ALPHA? HOW?

OKay. I know I said I wouldn’t comment on these scenes with Jennifer, but this is just a general observation. DEREK. YOU HAVE A CELL PHONE. YOU ARE PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF CALLING PEOPLE FROM THE BED.

What...what does that mean Ethan? “You probably shouldn’t have.” WHat?

I know it’s supposed to be for the Allison/Scott angle, but I just love Lydia and Stiles heading to save the pack. *sigh*

I gotta say, I actually really respect Stiles for straight up telling Lydia about the parallels he’s seeing. Rather than hide it from her, he’s trying to get to the root of the problem, point blank and he’s being honest with her about his worries that she might be involved without even knowing it. And she listens and doesn’t get immediately defensive. This communication is SO GOOD. Stydia BROTP.

I’m fucking on the verge of tears. Sinqua, your acting is just...like, you barely speak in this scene and yet your face is just??So pained?

Bare feets. I know I point it out a lot, but like, compared to kali, who keeps her claws out all the time even in like a fucking hospital. It’s so cute to see Boyd and Isaac wandering barefoot in their hotel room. Just, the level of calm it implies, despite the situation. They feel so safe with each other.

ALSO did Boyd go through all of that while Isaac was under the bed?

WAIT WHAT? WHy is Lydia suddenly all pissed off? WHAT? That makes no sense! But then when she says his name, she doesn’t sound upset at all?? WHAT?

ALSO, I thought this was supposed to be about suicides? Why did they add this totally random (and horrific) thing? It has nothing to do with BoYD! JUST BECAUSE YOU PUT A TRIGGER WARNING DOESN”T MEAN YOU NEED TO MUSH AS MUCH FUCKED UP SHIT AS POSSIBLE INTO ONE EPISODE. GOD. It’s like those people who assume just because they’re allowed to do R rated shit, they have to have random sex scenes in their tv show.

where did Scott get gasoline? Like...where?

God fucking damn it, how fucking demonizing can you get, fucking juxtapositioning Scott’s suicidal monologue about Derek suffering and being dead, then jumping to Derek fucking someone instead of telling anyone he’s alive? What the fuck is wrong with these people? Why is it literally ANY TIME Stiles or Derek are in some way happy (NOT that I’m considering Derek at that moment in time Happy or in any way okay) they always make it out to be the most horrible thing ever? It’s like I said before, Stiles smiling on the field because he actually gets to play lacrosse? Jackson’s about to die. Stiles happy because he’s going to play a game in class? His best friend is missing. Derek....I’m not even going to give what’s going on a name. But then they just layer that over Scott...what even is he doing? Everyone else actually tried to kill themselves. Why is he just...standing there? Are they seriously trying to make the claim that his strength of will is so strong he’s the only one could can hold out against the...whatever the fuck is causing this? Jesus fucking christ do you have to turn him into Jesus every time? SERIOUSLY?

YOU DIDN”T THOUGH. SCOTT YOU LITERALLY REFUSED TO FIGHT BACK. YOU PLANNED A RENDEVOUS WITH DEUCALION BEHIND EVERYONE’S BACK BECAUSE YOU INSISTED FIGHTING BACK WAS WRONG. YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD IF DEREK AND THE OTHERS HADN”T COME TO FIND YOU.

...I get that this is supposed to be an emotional moment, but why the fuck does Scott’s monologue about how much he sucks have to drag Stiles down with him? Stiles was literally always good at lacrosse. He never got ‘better’ before being put on the field. You saying that the both of you were ‘nothing’ is a terrible, horrible thing to say because you’re implying that because Stiles didn’t get the bite like you did, the only thing that makes him more than nothing is being your friend. How does Scott manage to be a total asshole even when he’s in the middle of explaining why he wants to die?

AGAIN WITH THE RANDOM PLOTLINES. DAVIS WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? IS THE HOTEL HAUNTED, OR IS THE WHISTLE FULL OF WOLFSBANE OR IS THE DARACH ACTIVELY MAKING THEM KILL THEMSELVES? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON? ANd why would the Darach be making them kill themselves?? THey don’t match any of her sacrifice requirements! This makes no sense with the plotline you follow for the rest of the season!

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SCENE? Scott was NOWHERE NEAR Ethan? WHY THE FUCK DID HE GIVE SCOTT THE CREDIT FOR SAVING HIS LIFE? And why would he thank him for it, when he told Stiles he shouldn’t have been saved? WHAT IS GOING ON?

Also, why does Ethan have like, a bruise thing on his cheek? Is that...is that a skin thing, or like, a show thing?

This doesn’t solve the problem of Allison’s car being stuck with an empty tank at the side of the road halfway to Beacon Hills.

dude. you realize that was literally 34 years ago? Deucalion would have to be like 50. and even then he would’ve been a fucking 16 year old Alpha. So that makes Deucalion more likely in his 60s. Also, why the fuck do you care Chris? This is such a random fucking thing. It makes no sense. What the fuck does it matter now?

Last Thoughts: What the fuck even is this episode? It’s like this steaming dumpster fire of half-assed ideas and loose ends to plots we’ll never see and really shitty horror movie vibes. We’re talking D List or maybe E list horror movies. I’m honestly disgusted? I can’t remember the last time I had to watch something so tasteless and cruel and insensitive in every single way?

.....on to the next episode, I guess. God, I need to change all of this in the rewrite, and I don’t know if I can actually make it good?

#personal #anti-scott mccall #TeenWolf-Rewatch

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letterstothemidnightsociety · 4 years ago

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Another day of quarantine, another attempt to decipher the secret to one show’s mind-boggling longevity - Are they casting spells on every airdate? Do they have some kind of talisman? Did they make an actual deal with a literal devil to stay on the air this long?? The fact that Jensen Ackles has barely aged a day sure suggests they might have. It’s Supernatural!

I think one of my favorite things so far has been the trailer that plays at the end of “Crossroad Blues” to really make sure you tune into the next episode which...did not play for two weeks. Looking at air dates, “Crossroad Blues” plays on Nov 16, 2006, so that’s right around the Thanksgiving break. Then they come back for ONE episode on Dec 7 and that is their midseason finale. TV programming is wild.

I was like, really into this Bobby Johnson, like...I was into that.

It’s very possible that at this point in the season, SPN is trying real hard to keep their audience. Looking at the numbers for all the episodes leading up to “Croatoan”, they’re only averaging between 3 and 4 million viewers, roughly 1 - 2 million less than where they were at this time in season 1, so it’s easy to see why SPN was on the hook for renewal in season 2. Looking over its ratings for the rest of the season, the audience numbers just keep going down. The show is the number 8 highest rated show on the CW in 2006/07, so technically in the top 10, but it’s tied with Reba and One Tree Hill and the CW only had (16) original programs that year, so it’s not boasting much. These numbers supposedly include Live + 7 day DVR watches, so those numbers really are not good, BUT: starting in January of 2007, the CW started releasing episodes online the day after they aired, so I’m willing to bet that large portions of their audience were still tuning in, just not tuning in in a way that could be tabulated by Neilsen at the time.

It’s also interesting to note that for both season 1 and season 2, the real mythos/lore/arc episodes don’t really start until the midseason. In season 1, it’s not until episode 10, “Scarecrow,” where we’re introduced to Meg and the bigger stakes at hand for the Winchesters. Their search for their father starts ramping up and the show starts subtly shifting away from Finding Dad to Fighting The Boss Fight.

Season 2 is pretty similar. Up until “Croatoan” (episode 9), the show has been about the fallout from John’s death. Finding the yellow-eyed-demon is certainly a driving factor, but it’s very much on the backburner. The show even makes a point to say, hey! Our guys don’t really have any leads, so it’s gonna take a while before we get back to this.

I actually really appreciate that the show takes this much time to let the Winchester process their grief. Kripke and Co. have said numerous times that they realized the episodes that work best are the ones that really dig into the emotional journeys of the characters, so they just went ahead and made that the primary focus of the first half of the season. It gives weight to their loss at the beginning of the season - John’s death is not some throwaway plot point, it’s a real gut punch that our characters aren’t going to get over in a hurry. It also lends weight to the danger the brothers face in the future - John died immediately, who’s to say that won’t happen to Sam or Dean?

I mean, sure buddy, but also...no one here is okay.

Not to mention, John’s deal with the yellow-eyed-demon (+ the events in “Crossroad Blues”) give us a subtle/not-so-subtle hint as to what’s waiting for us at the end of season 2. But we’re not there yet.

Then we’re in “Croatoan” and reminded in full force what our guys are supposed to be fighting this season - not their crippling grief but rather a very present threat to their physical and spiritual well-being. That’s not to say we haven’t had a taste of the Sam-centric plotline that appears in “Croatoan”. BUT I’d argue that even though “Simon Said” deals with the Psychic Children, it’s still only a tease for what those children are capable of. “Croatoan” really drives home the threat from the yellow-eyed-demon, not just from his Psychic Children but also whatever nefarious plans that he’s been cooking for however-long. And it puts this threat front and center as a main quest for the back 13 of the season.

Because of COURSE demon viruses come with their own dusting of sulfur.

Doing the math on this, it looks like SPN had a Front 9/Back 13 split? As in, they got picked up for the first 9 episodes of season 2 but weren’t sure they were going to get those final 13 episodes and that is...crazy? I have not seen any proof this is the case, but it is something to consider for a show that was on the edge of cancellation for this season and last season. It’s possible that the CW was treating all of its programming like they were pilot seasons since this was, essentially, CW’s pilot season, but again - I have no evidence other than this 9/13 split to prove it.

Back to the show. Let me just say: I LOVE “Croatoan.” Any time anyone wants to make up a supernatural reason for an obscure historical mystery, I am ON. BOARD. And the Lost Colony of Roanoke is definitely one of my favorites. I STILL love this episode even though I can hear my friend whispering through the decades, ”The colonists just intermarried with the local native tribe, the Croatoans…” which is apparently actually the answer in real life. But demon viruses are fine, and particularly relevant in The Year of Our Troubles 2020.

CROATOAAAAAAAAA!!!

What also works in “Croatoan” is the dynamics between the brothers that will play out for the rest of the season/series. The groundwork for their big fight at the end of this episode has already been laid in the beginning of the season. On the one hand, you have Dean, who’s lost so much at the hands of the yellow-eyed-demon he can’t stand to lose anymore, especially not his brother. On the other hand, Sam is becoming more like his father - ready and willing to sacrifice whatever needs to be sacrificed to defeat this thing, even if that means giving up his own life. Sam has the same motivation that Dean has but coming from a completely different direction. If his death will save his brother, then he’ll do it, no questions asked, just like John died to save Dean. Neither of the brothers are willing to lose the other and they will go on to make increasingly stupid, selfish decisions to make sure they won’t have to. Yes, I love this show, and I love Sam and Dean, but man they are DUMB BABIES.

OOF.

So we get “Croatoan,” where we see the stakes at hand - the yellow-eyed-demon is out for World Destruction, not just Winchester Destruction. He may have plans for the Psychic Children, but his plans reach far beyond a bunch of 20YO with wacky powers. And when Sam gets infected with the demon virus (LOL, sulfur in the blood?????), he knows he’s a danger to others and is immediately ready to sacrifice his life to keep those around him safe. Dean goes on to prove that this is a line too far - he’ll keep others safe but if the choice is between killing his brother and anything else, he will literally choose anything else. Sam turns out to be fine in a mysterious kind of way, although the town clearly is not, and the boys ride off into the sunset. Then we get the cliffhanger - John told Dean something important that we will not find out until January.

These dolly shots crack me right up.

If you’re watching this in real time, you wait a month for that cliff hanger to resolve itself in “Hunted”. If you are living in the era of streaming, you just skip the closing credits to find out what John said - “He said that I [Dean] had to save you...and that if I couldn't, I'd . . .That I'd have to kill you.”

Are you ever just like, What the actual F*CK, John Winchester?

This is literally Dean’s worst nightmare - having to choose between duty and family. Sam understandably doesn’t take this well to start with, but like in “Croatoan”, he ultimately settles into the idea, which is...deeply upsetting???

“Hunted” does a lot of fun things -

Number 1: We get more of the Psychic Children (because I REFUSE to call them the Special Children, sorrynotsorry). We see that there’s a range of Types, from Scott who definitely looks like a serial killer to Ava, who ultimately goes on to be the headmistress at a secret magic university (OMG, DO watch The Order cuz that shiz is GOLD.)

Seriously, if you liked Supernatural, you will like this show.

Number 2: We get the return of Gordon, this time as a head-on antagonist. Do I like Gordon? No, I find him frustrating at best. But do I LOVE Gordon as an antagonist? Absolutely! He is smart, capable, and (at this point) wholly non-supernatural, Natural, if you will. He’s such a good foil to Sam and Dean and he’s the perfect villain for this moment. He sees the world in only black and white. To him, there’s no moral dilemma as to whether or not the Psychic Children are good or bad - they’re definitely bad and he’s here to stop/kill them. I think he’s an important catalyst for Dean too, since in both of Gordon’s episodes, Dean sees what he could be if it wasn’t for Sam’s influence. He doesn’t want to be like Gordon, so he needs to keep Sam around.

Number 3: Alright, this one isn’t so fun just cuz the final scene is a little sloppy, but Ava turns out to be a good catalyst for Sam. When Ava shows up on screen, she is clearly on Team Cool Kid. She’s totally normal, very Apple Pie, but she shows up to try and save Sam’s life simply because it’s a life that she can (hypothetically) save. She knows nothing about demons or curses or Chosen Ones, she just had a weird dream that gave her a weird feeling and then she acted on out of the goodness of her heart. It’s exactly what Sam does when his dreams kick it into high gear in season 1 (with mixed results). Sam hangs out with Ava, gets to know her, gives her the whole Truth is Out There speech and when she leaves, I actually really appreciate this character. She’s had a wild ride of a day and she is just taking this whole thing totally in stride. Good on you, Ava!

Except, when we get to the end of the episode and Sam tries to check in on her, we find her fiancé with his throat cut, sulfur on the window sill, and Ava nowhere to be seen. Now I don’t remember what I thought the first time I saw this episode, but I don’t believe that Ava killedher fiancé. The show really seems to want me to believe that she killed her fiancé, though, indicating that no matter how cool she was at the beginning of the episode, it’s only a matter of time before all the Psychic Children “go darkside”, as Sam so strangely puts it.

Anyone else this this was a weird line? I thought this was a weird line.

And this is what pushes Sam’s arc through the rest of the season. Our next episode is “Playthings,” which feels like a monster-of-the-week episode where they squeeze in some unrelated emotional drama. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun episode, but SPN is usually better about tying their MotW eps into the emotional character arcs and this one is not as finessed. There’s a little more disconnect here. The important takeaway from “Playthings” is this: seeing Ava “kill” her fiancé convinces Sam that his father was right. Sam may need to be put down, and if that happens, he wants Dean to be the one to do it. Dean agrees, but we all know that he’s doing that just to appease Sam and that he’s still gonna do whatever it takes to save Sam, no matter the cost. Nothing gets resolved and this will definitely come back later.

I mean, yeah that’s probably true.

Some things -

First off: Sam seems to be perfectly OK with this and that...is not OK.

Secondly, SAM?!? WHY would you put that on your brother??

Thirdly, DEAN! Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep.

FINALLY, and maybe most importantly, this is the best example I can think of to showcase a character’s greatest strength also being their greatest weakness. The Winchesters are about two things - fighting evil and taking care of family. Done in equal measure, these strengths make them heroic tropes. Taken to extreme situations? Well, now you have two humans wide open to failing at one of these things so bad that the apocalypse literally starts.

What these three episodes remind us, honestly what this whole season so far reminds us, is that Supernatural works because of relationships. The monsters and the mythology and the classic rock are there as a fun framework to get us interested in the show, but it’s the characters that keep us. That’s what viewers connect to. I really appreciate the arguments that Sam and Dean have with each other, starting at the end of season one and up until now in season 2. They feel very deeply rooted in character, not contrived for the sake of Drama. Neither of them is wrong, per se, but then neither of them is right, either. Their emotional backgrounds feel complex and grounded, foundations for real characters, not just the caricatures that you’d expect from a show about ghosts on a network aimed at the 18 - 24 demographic.

See, THIS is the sort of fight you’d expect, not a fight where one brother is begging the other to literally kill him.

And this is gonna be the hill that I’ll die on - characters and relationships are always the heart of any successful franchise. I mean, why else are there so many shipping wars out there? Why write fic if it isn’t to explore relationships and aspects of a character that the show doesn’t present? Sure it’s not the only reason to write fic, but I’d argue it’s a BIG reason.

Because it’s not just the characters building relationships with each other, it's the audience building relationships with those characters (and to a lesser extent, with the world of the story). This is the core of any show that hopes to make it past season one and beyond, no matter the decade, the network, or the platform it airs on. We like stories about people with problems we can relate to. Dysfunctional family trouble? Check. Drama at work? Been there. Feeling like the world’s about to end any second? Oh yes. You can feel those problems deep down in your gut, even if the specifics are different. It doesn’t matter if those people are working in an office or a hospital or hunting down demons in the dead of night. If you can show us people, real people with something we can relate to on a gut level, that’s how you stay on the air for 15 seasons.

#SPN #Supernatural #Supernatural season 2 #Supernatural rewatch #Sam Winchester #Dean Winchester #Crossroad Blues #Croatoan #Hunted #Playthings #CW #TV #TV History #TV Structure #Are you ever just like #What the Actual F*ck John Winchester

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zmairinarurik · 5 years ago

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JENNA LOUISE COLEMAN, THIRTY, IRINA RURIK. ❝ ⤚⟶ EUROPE, 1458. thanks is given by the GRAND DUCHESS, IRINA RURIK, from RUSSIA. they are at best DEDICATED, and at their worst ENVIOUS. whilst abroad, their ambition is to BE INDISPENSABLE TO HER BROTHERS & FAMILY AND TO MAKE RUSSIA STRONGER. SHE seem/s to remind everyone of JENNA LOUISE COLEMAN & AN ARROW RIPPING THROUGH THE COLD WINTER BREEZE, STRING OF PEARLS, SOFT HUMMING OF LULLABY . ❞

FULL NAME : Maria Irina Zinovia Rurik TITLES : ( FROM BIRTH UNTIL PRESENT )

Grand duchess of Russia (by birth) Princess of Sweden, Dowager duchess of Värmland (by marriage)

BIRTHPLACE : Russian Kremlin, Moscow AGE : 30 years old LANGUAGES : Russian, Swedish, French, Latin, Spanish, English DYNASTY / HOUSE:

Rurik (by birth) Valdemarsson (by marriage)

MOTHER & FATHER : Dmitri Rurik & Vasilia Palaiologina SPOUSE : ( IF ANY ) Prince Magnus of Sweden, duke of Värmland ISSUE :

Sveinn Kristoff Magnusson ( 6 years old ) Astrid ekaterina Magnusdottir ( 4 years old ) Kjell Olaf Nikolai Magnusson ( 3 year old )

SIBLINGS :

Ivan, Tsar of Russia Konstantin, Crown prince of Russia Nikita, Grand duke of Russia Katrinka katherine, Grand duchess of Russia, Princess of Wales Youngest Grand duchess of Russia

OTHER : ( NIECES / NEPHEWS, BETROTHALS, ETC )

Vasilia, ( niece ) daughter of Ivan & Adalsinda Mary, ( niece ) daughter of Katrinka/Katherine & Harry of Wales Eudoxia, Crown princess of Russia ( in-law ) Adalisnda d’Anjou, Tsarina of Russia ( in-law ) Harry Plantagenet, Prince of Wales ( in-law )

ZODIAC : Gemina ( May 19, 1428 ) RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION :

Orthodox ( my birth ) Roman Catholic ( after marriage )

ORIENTATION : Heterosexual with very slight biromantic tendencies but she loves dick too much im sorry VICES : envious, impatient, scheming, cynical, mistrusting VIRTUES : dedicated, loyal, eloquent, independent FACECLAIM : Jenna Louise Coleman HEIGHT : 5′2″ ft / 157 cm RECOGNISABLE FEATURES : dark brown hair, high nose, big round brown eyes. REPUTATION :

she is not a force to be reckoned with. in russia, she is known for her assertiveness and sharp wit. She often makes appearances in her brothers councils and serves as an advisor. She has eyes and ears all over russian court and is known to be a spitting image of her mother, always by her side. Irina will do whatever it takes ensure the safety of her brother’s rule.

WANTED CONNECTIONS :

spies in english court - shes sus about it over there and wants to ensure her sister’s position

lovers - she’s basically a free woman now. irina knows she has done her duties to her family and to her husband so she’s chilling and living her best life

enemies - those who oppose russia

friends - shes doesnt have very many lol but id like for her to have some in lisbon

coughs husband number 2 maybe?

⇢TIMELINE

1428 - birth of the 3rd rurik child, Ma. Irina Zinovia Rurik, Grand duchess of Russia 1450 - Marriage to Prince Magnus of Sweden 1452 - Birth of eldest son Sveinn 1454 - Birth of daughter Astrid 1455 - Birth of Kjell 1456 - Death of Prince Magnus of Sweden & return to Russian court 1458 - Lisbon Summit

What current conflicts does your character face?

As a young girl, Irina didn’t understand why her brothers were always put first other than the fact that they were older. She was just as smart, just as strong, and just as intuitive as they were. They were siblings were they not? Then why does she often get told to sit down and watch or embroider some flowers? How was this fair? These were beneath her, the grand duchess wailed, refusing to be treated as such and would not stop her cries until she got what she wanted which was to have the same education as her brothers. She truly was her mother’s daughter people whispered seeing how ambitious and assertive the grand duchess was. Her chin was always held high and knew exactly what she wanted which people saw as intimidating. Irina felt like she needed to put this façade up to be taken seriously even with in her family. It becomes a conflict because at one point it gets tiring. It’s exhausting to put such a cold and hard front but she knows she has to in order for her to survive her in brother’s court— or anywhere for that matter. She had to be strong in Swedish court, establish that she is more than just the youngest prince’s wife. Now that he has passed, Irina continues to fight for her place but now back in Russian court, proving herself to be important but because she’s female and a woman, it makes it a little a harder. She has dreams for herself and for her beloved Russia, which her family has helped build and fortify. Sometimes she wonders is it all worth it? This is what she asks herself continuously.

What are some potential plotlines you are interested in pursuing?

It was always about family for Irina. The things she does, the things she wants to achieve is all for the Rurik family name. Despite her pride, she knew that a marriage outside of Russia was her destiny to which she gracefully accepted to keep Russia’s neighbor, Sweden, as an ally. It pained her greatly to be away from her family but she did it with no complains. Now a widow, she knows that her place is to be a mother to her children and guardian to her eldest son who will inherit his father’s lands however there is still that itch, a desire to more than that, a desire for power. Which was only soothed when her mother called her back to Russian court shortly after his death. She aides her brothers as a councilor, representative, and as a mediator— heavens know what they’ll do to each other. The grand duchess knows that the tsarina is still getting to know the Russian court and by the order of her mother, she helps the French woman assimilate into Russian customs despite of her not so subtle ways. She helps the queen mother oversee and run the court and household. Now in Lisbon, her one goal is to see her youngest sister married. Irina wants to help oversee her betrothal and make sure it’s as powerful as hers to both make Russia stronger but to toughen up her sister as well. In short, Irina finds ways to become indispensible to her brothers, make them see that they need her. She cannot be their equal; She can never be tsarina, no, but she vows to see to it that a Rurik will always be on the Russian throne no matter what.

three bullet-points.

Nobody needed to tell Irina that the Russian court was initially mildly disappointed that the 3rd Rurik child was female. She could see it in their eyes that they had hoped she was a boy. The grand duchess was just as disappointed as they were too. Why must she have to wail and fight for her right to be as educated and skilled as her older brothers? It was not becoming of a grand duchess to learn such masculine activities such riding and archery, they said. But Irina simply did not take no for an answer. She learned these skills, along with languages, politics, and literature, wanting only to be taught the same things as her brothers. Why was she not allowed to have the same education? She was never going to be tsarina anyway, a young Irina argued. Although her brothers were still prioritized, she made sure she excelled to prove to everyone that she was just as capable as them. Deep down the eldest grand duchess envied her brothers; she envied how everything was much easier for them whilst she had to throw a tantrum before being heard.

Assertive and astute, these were attributes she learned from her mother that, to this day, has been engraved into her psyche. Her pride is her strength but it can easily be turned into hubris, which will one day either be the cause of her success or her ruination. If she wants something, she must fight for it. That’s what she has been doing all her life, fighting for what she thinks she deserves. This, in turn, has somehow made her as cold as the snow that falls on Russia, her personality forming around the ideology of being a fighter. She hides the fact that she grows tired of it and wishes things were different. It was a heavy burden to bear and there was no one to blame for it but herself.

Prince Magnus of Sweden, duke of värmland was the youngest brother of the-then King of Sweden. His marriage to Irina kept the Swedish at bay from invading Russia’s territories. The grand duchess wouldn’t say she was exactly thrilled with the match but she didn’t oppose it either. It was commanded and she simply had to comply; she didn’t have much of a choice anyway. She was prepared for her new life away from Russia and performed her duties as a wife, bearing the prince 3 children namely: Sveinn, Astrid, and Kjell. However, the prince died in battle shortly after the birth of their 3rd child. They were only married for 6 years. His death devastated Irina greatly. Though since she bore him children, they get to keep their father’s lands. The 1st year she spent in Sweden after her husband’s passing was very difficult. When her mother called her back to Russia, she hesitated at first but later came home, bringing her children with her. She found strength being in her homeland, and oddly enough, renewed vigour and a newfound purpose.

#crhs.intro #♔‘ﾟ‣ { headcanons } — sad birds still sing #AYE AYE I FINALLY FINISHED OMG #krp #krp ad #skeleton krp #lsrpg #krpg

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onwardintolight · 5 years ago

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In which Onward rereads the Thrawn Trilogy and writes a massive review (and some other related stuff)

Alright, so I know I said that the characterization vs. plot thing in new canon vs. Legends was a rant for another time, but I’ve been thinking about it nonstop since and I really need to get a few thoughts out, so I guess this is that time, lol.

I’ve recently been diving into some of the Legends books for the first time in years. Partly because I’ve started listening to audiobooks and can get a whole lot more reading done in a day than I was able to before, and partly... well, I’m just curious to revisit it. I read a number of books from the old EU as a kid, and I definitely had mixed feelings back then. On the one hand, I was delighted—more Star Wars! Yay! On the other hand are the mixed feelings, which have so faded from memory over time that all I can remember anymore is that I didn’t like how the books portrayed Leia.

So anyway, I’ve been curious to give some of them a shot again, and see what I think now (all except COPL. I’m never going back to that one). I started with two that have come on my radar through the Han x Leia fandom, Tatooine Ghost and Razor’s Edge. They were wonderful! I absolutely loved Tatooine Ghost, especially. Razor’s Edge was super fun and had some truly fantastic moments (including some unforgettable shippy ones), but it felt more plot-driven than I tend to prefer (give me ALL the deep character stuff!). Despite that, I still loved it. I already own Tatooine Ghost and I plan to get my own copy of Razor’s Edge, too.

Then I decided to revisit the Thrawn trilogy.

Oh boy.

Before I dive into that, though, I first want to say that I have many friends on here for whom the old EU is their Star Wars. I have the utmost admiration for you all, and I mean no disrespect. I support you in this being your Star Wars 100%. I’m not seeking to get into any big arguments or flame wars. In fact, I will put most of my ranting about Heir to the Empire et al under a cut, so please feel free not to engage if that sort of thing bothers you.

Honestly, I’m a big fan of focusing on positivity in fandom, of focusing on what I love and not harassing others who enjoy things I don’t. That being said, I do support a good critique. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m not trying to force my views on anyone, but I can certainly express them in my own space and support other people’s right to express theirs in their space. What better space to do so than on my tumblr?

Before I go under the cut, I have one last question for my old EU stans. Based on my enjoyment of Tatooine Ghost and Razor’s Edge, and knowing I’m a particular sucker for character-driven stories, especially if they involve Leia and Han (and/or their ship), are there any other Legends books you’d recommend? Please let me know because I would love to discover more of that goodness!

Now, onto the Thrawn trilogy....

(It probably goes without saying, but major spoilers ahead)

Disclaimer: I’m sorry if I get some of the details wrong; I listened to the audiobooks and don’t have access to the books themselves right now so i’m writing out all these thoughts from memory

About Leia

So, it turns out that little me was right. Older me had the exact same reaction upon reading the Thrawn trilogy. What the heck did Zahn do to Leia? She seemed so diminished, shrinking. Hardly like Leia at all. If I had been reading a physical book, I would have been tempted to throw it numerous times.

First of all, she was set aside almost entirely for the first book. Despite the fact that the Empire was looking for Luke too, Luke got to be free and keep roaming the galaxy, doing his thing, and Leia was forced into hiding. If I remember right, it wasn’t really her choice (I believe it was Han who refused to take her no for an answer), nor did she argue it much. She just kind of followed the men in her life and let them do all the leading and galaxy-saving. Sounds a lot like Leia, right? *rolls eyes* Overall, she didn’t do much, and she didn’t have any part in the big climactic battle.

(On another note this reminds me a little of one of Zahn’s new canon books, Thrawn Alliances. SPOILER ALERT: at a key moment, Thrawn pleads with Padme to talk with Anakin and try to convince him not to do something really terrible and disastrous that probably will result in people dying, and Padme basically just sighs, throws up her hands and says something like “It’s no use. When he gets this way no one can convince him of anything” and I just want to SCREAM BECAUSE NO THAT’S NOT THE FREAKING PADME I KNOW AND SERIOUSLY???)

Anyway. *calms down*

In Dark Force Rising, Leia had a much more interesting plotline as she wins the allegience of the Noghri. I liked her better here, and she seemed a tiny bit more like the Leia I know. But it still just felt... lackluster.

In The Last Command, she’s once again pushed to the side thanks to the men in her life making the decisions in the name of protecting her. True, I understand that for the majority of these books, she’s been pregnant, and so it’s not just about protecting her, but about protecting the twins. But that didn’t stop her from doing what she felt she needed to in Dark Force Rising. And in this book, she’s already given birth. Winter’s there; she can take care of the twins (as she eventually does). When the heroes assemble and go to Wayland for the big climax of the trilogy, she’s convinced by the men to stay behind (*cue me throwing imaginary book across the room*). Honestly, it felt contrived for the sake of the plot (she has to be there for what happens next) and more than a little bit sexist.

She does eventually go, however, which made me want to cheer. I would have hated it way more if she hadn’t gotten to participate in the big last battle with C’baoth, particularly in light of the way the books had set her up as a Jedi-in-training (not very far along, but still). I was excited because surely this must mean she plays a big part in that, right?

...She does not. She basically shows up and then gets trapped, doing hardly anything. Plot-wise, she’s pretty much there to provide an extra lightsaber and moral support of the Force-user variety. I’m glad she got to be there, but... yeah, overall, I’m really not happy with how these books treated my favorite character, and one of the actual main characters of the OT. It kind of felt like she was replaced by Mara, tbh. Which leads me to...

About Mara

Mara, like Leia used to be, is a very angry person, and for good reason. But her anger came off in these books as rather petulant and irrational. Once again, it felt a bit sexist. I hope I’m wrong, but the trajectory seems to be a trope that Leia has already been subject to (in ROTJ, as much as I love that movie, and with the job finished in this trilogy): Soften the angry woman. Make her pleasant and pliable and a little bit subservient. Legends fans, PLEASE tell me this doesn’t happen to Mara. I hope she continues to be a sarcastic, independent woman who takes no sh*t. I hope she loses none of her power, even as she loves and marries Luke.

Mara had probably the biggest character arc of this entire trilogy. Unfortunately, that isn’t saying much. I really felt like her story had a lot of potential and could have been really compelling, but Zahn just doesn’t seem to know how to write characters with depth. In the end, her big moment of throwing off the Emperor’s power over her honestly just felt kind of contrived and shallow. Oh look, here’s a clone of Luke she can kill instead. That will magically make it all go away. Convenient.

I wanted to love her. I think I probably could love her, if I read good fanfic. The problem is that the source material leaves all depth to the imagination.

About Everything Else

I mentioned that Mara seems to have the biggest character arc, but that wasn’t saying much. I had a lot of trouble distinguishing any other character arcs at all. The characters all seemed to be caught up in this big plot, carried along with it and deposited victorious at the end, without any obvious growth or change (except, again, for Mara).

I suppose you could say that Luke learned to stand on his feet without the help of Ben’s Force ghost. But that was given such minor emphasis that I didn’t even think of it until this moment, weeks after finishing the book.

Aside from my rage at the misogyny, I think this gets to the heart of why I disliked these books. The motivations and emotional/personal journeys of the characters are of utmost importance to me. To me, they’re the whole point. When a book is all plot and little character, I just... don’t care. It doesn’t feel real or relevant. It doesn’t show me that I can slay dragons, too.

I know that theoretically, I could imagine those character journeys. I could fill in the blanks in my mind, or through fic. I have a big imagination; I’m really pretty good at such things.

But tbh, when it comes to these books, I don’t even want to. To me, the plot itself felt pretty lackluster. I keep using the word “contrived” but it fits so well. Things happened and decisions were made that didn’t make much sense, just so the plot could go the way Zahn wanted it to. Now of course the same argument could be made for new canon (particularly, imho, the ST movies), but at least with new canon, there’s a deliberate and largely persistent focus on character. (And less sexism.)

Other complaints:

- I got sick of C’baoth in the first book. His villainy was not the least bit fearful or intimidating. His nearly prevailing over the heroes at Wayland felt more accidental than anything.

- Don’t get me started on stupid Bel Iblis and his stupid hurt manly pride that the women in power have to coddle and bow down to before he will lift a finger to help during a genuine EMERGENCY when he was desperately NEEDED (*cue me throwing the imaginary book across the room yet again*) (I think Leia would have had a few more choice words for him than she did in this book. They instantly presented themselves to my mind, at least)

- I can understand why Thrawn was such a big deal when these books first came out, but I think Thrawn is kind of oversaturated these days, and tbh I’m kind of sick of him (I’m going to blame the more recent canon Thrawn trilogy for that). While I like a good Sherlock Holmes mystery, I’m not too big on admiring that sort of “man as a machine” type character. Rationality is not everything, not by a long shot. It is empty and, frankly, shortsighted on its own. The best part about Thrawn’s story in these books for me was seeing him make mistakes (actual mistakes! yay!) and meet his end, perhaps in part due to that over-reliance on rationality and arrogance in his own abilities.

A few things I did like:

- another main female character, yay! Two if you count Winter

- I thought Talon Karrde was an enjoyable character and I’d love to see more of him

- I remember loving the vornskrs as a kid and a little bit of that adoration returned when I read this, bringing with it all sorts of happy nostalgia

- some parts of the plot were fun and exciting, and I could understand why they might feel iconic and Star Wars-y to others

Overall, however, I think Thrawn as a character kind of represents these books as a whole. It’s all very cerebral and practical. There’s art but it only serves the purpose of the rational. To me, these books felt like they were all mind, no soul.

I know that those of you who hold these books dear may disagree, and that’s fine. Honestly, despite my serious problems with them, I don’t hate these books. I might even read them again someday, maybe. I may be convinced to appreciate them more once I read people’s headcanons and hear what people love about it. So with that said, what DO you love about it? Where do you see these books’ soul?

#I was going to tag this with the appropriate tags #but then I decided I'd rather not open myself up to the toxic variety of Legends fans #(of which I know you all are not but which do obviously exist out there)#anyway #it feels good to get all that off my chest #thoughts #Star Wars

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shattered-catalyst · 5 years ago

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So this isnt for anything other than just to say what happened just so I feel heard and I can explain why I cant be as energetic and socially active on here. Its not a callout post or to be reblogged/shared by people. Its not to get anyone in trouble or to cause any reaction. It’s just for me to let it out and reclaim this space again. Its been a year since it happened and I guess I’m just still noticing how badly it has impacted my PTSD. How much its changed me as a person both online and off, and this isnt a woe as me thing either this is just me feeling a need to be heard and explain my own behavior over the year and also to make one simple request of you guys: no matter what you do, always treat your rp partners as people first and writers second.

Because I feel myself becoming bitter and that isnt who I am and I dont want to be someone like that. Or like this. I want to be me again

The person who did this wont be named mainly because they dont deserve it and yall dont need to know. Their behavior when I confronted them more than cements the impression that they dont see any harm in what they said and how they reacted. And again this isnt about them though In A Way I suppose it is? it takes two to tango but it takes one to encourage someone to kill themselves.

This is going to be long because I need to inform on the activity that lead up to this because it didnt just happen over night- though in a way it did. But you need a better picture of this person because apparently they present a really great face that only a few of us see the manipulative and toxic side of.

This person was always very judgemental and hyper critical. I witnessed a lot of very negative and toxic behavior from them but I was naive and just hoped they would mature as they grew older and gained more independence. I thought it was just a toxic friend group and that perhaps she would recognize her self destructive and immature behavior and grow from it.

My first red flag should have been when they accused me of being their ex girlfriend SOLELY because I was living in PA. I hate to break it to yall, but PA is a big ass state and has a lot of comic book loving ladies. Thankfully I have never met this person IRL and I hope I never do.

They tried to pull me into making fun of other muns on discord, including mocking sensitive pictures from a mun’s personal blog. I blatantly said it wasnt okay and made me uncomfortable and she continued laughing and making jokes about it with her friend group on discord. She kept trying to pull me into it no matter how often I tried to change the subject.

Her group of friends also did this thing where one of them would go interact with a mun an they would take screenshots of the convo and share it with the group and mock the mun they were interacting with. Whether it be their presentation of character/grahics/writing style/ etc.

The other red flags I ignored? How much she complained and mocked other muns and compared them to me; if anyone did anything or said anything she disagreed with it was an instant blow up. She took EVERYTHING personally including other people writing the same characters she did, having differing headcanons, not knowng obscure details about canon, etc.

She once tried to make fun of a new writing partner I had who was writing the same character, and I had to break it to her that this new person could write in her first language if she wanted to; im being very vague but let me just say if you and your character have the same first language and you want to write in it then its completely WRONG for a white mun to try and make fun of you for it.

She once suggested I had stolen pictures off her pinterest when she sent me a moodboard request for my character. Jokes on her I didnt even know she HAD a pinterest and I had gotten all my pictures from the ‘green aesthetic’ tag on tumblr. Which I told her but she kept pushing the idea on me I had stolen them. I of course dismissed this and put it on the back burner despite the alarm bells going off.

This hyper critical and paranoid behavior continues with everything from other canon blogs making similar head canons/ vaguely similar graphics/ to fanfiction authors having similar head canons/plot ideas.

My penname Citrus? I didnt want one. I didnt want it. She demanded I have a pen name and if not she was going to call me Cat. Now as yall know I dont like being enmeshed with my muse so I keep myself separate from them. I didnt like being called Cat and I told her that explicitly. She kept doing it. So I had to make a pen name because she refused to respect my boundaries.

When the Deadpool movie came out she DEMANDED I change my FC to reflect the movie Despite Not Changing Hers to reflect her own characters new look - which might i add is fat erasure. It was clear then that the rules and standards she held other people to didnt apply to herself. I was labeled problematic for not giving into her demands to change FCs (which I have a literal logical reason for not changing and im not explaining that here)

So I shouldve left. Long story short I didnt because every friendship I’d been in until around this time had been abusive and toxic. I thought this was all normal behavior for people to have and I was convinced I was just being critical of someone elses opinions/ insensitive etc. Thanks to my colleagues in graduate school and to several of you on here I learned that ‘hey dumbass friends dont treat your ass like this’.

Im leaving a lot out about the shit she did/said to me but those snippets give you an idea of things.

Leading up she decided to leave fandom and asked we didnt talk about marvel I said cool okay and didnt talk about marvel with her. If I did I would ask first if she was okay if we talked about one small aspect I thought might excite her/ she would like to know about but it wasnt often that happened because she began ghosting me. Hard. She stopped replying to me at all over discord when I would try and talk to her how we used to about our lives. She didnt answer any asks for munday or character development, in fact she blatantly ignored me.

I checked in a couple times with her to make sure I hadnt done anything to make her uncomfortable and she said no. May I emphasize she said no here. Im emphasizing it right now. She said no. She said everything was fine. So when I was like hey dude this is super triggering for me can you send me like a hi every once in awhile just so I can know we’re okay because its super triggering for me. Yall know what she did? She ‘lmao’-ed. she thought that was hecka funny. Yeah triggering ‘Citrus’ is hilarious isnt it? No it isnt and I shouldve cut her ass off right then and there.

Heres where shit gets confusing: she kept fucking talking about marvel to me. Id get messages at random times about marvel and then silence for weeks. I vividly remember during this period I was cleaning the museum vault and she kept messaging me about her marvel fc’s and how she wouldnt get a plotline and how characters were wrong etc.

I remember being REALLY confused because she had said NO MARVEL. But here she was bitching at me about marvel. In fact thats all she did when she did talk to me. Which was only like three or four times during the ghosting time period. She’d bitch about marvel and then vanish.

Shed make claims about not watching her dash and thats why she never responded to me/ interacted with me. She’d say she wasnt talkng to anyone while I see her on the dash TALKING TO PEOPLE and Id like to point out Ive told her I would be fine ending anything as long as she let me know.

but she followed me on every blog and throughout this time period she made and followed me on numerous ones. She kept reaching out sporadically to bitch about her fcs/how horrible marvel was/ and thats it.

It was extremely confusing because if someone doesnt want to talk to me I assume they will; 1. unfollow 2. block 3. say goodbye 4. ghost and stay ghosted.

Not cycle through behavior rapidly. I asked her a few times if we were good and that I was confused and I got another ‘lmao’ reaction so I assumed we were good. At this point I still have no idea what was going on/ what message I was supposed to be receiving other than confusion.

So following this is heavily suicide tw and I encourage you not to read this part and to scroll down until the suicide tw is over which is highlighted in bold- if you’re triggered by that because I care about those who follow my blog.

So thats when this shit happened. I had tried reaching out to her on a different fandom platform to try and maintain the friendship. Because she said numerous times that we were friends. So like I reached out thinking maybe she just didnt want a marvel blog period. It wasnt too long after that that she suicide baited me.

I was in a really bad place and had been for awhile and when I posted about how the only thing holding me on was the new comic coming out and specifically said “im seriously suicidal and this comic is the only thing giving me hope #idk what to do anymore ”. I was surprised when she liked the post.

I was three steps into a four step plan. I had everything but the method planned out and was just waffling along with that. Because yknow its complicated and you do it you make it count amiright. Right. I was in a fucked up place. I had just realized I was gay, I was horrendously depressed, I was in considerable physical pain, I was working 70 hours a week, my OCD was at an all time high and the only thing that kept me on this earth was a fucking comic book. You hold onto what you need to yknow?

WELL APPARENTLY NOT

Because this person who doesnt read her dash? This person who doesnt want to talk about anything? Liked that post where I specifically stated I was suicidal and sent me a discord message saying “dont have hope”.

Thats all it said “dont have hope”

Now I know what youre thinking but hold on because it gets worse.

I said something about being confused I dont really remember because I was pretty out of it. I do remember she kept going on about how horrible the comic would be and that it would be a piece of trash. I remember telling her I was really numb and in a bad place and couldnt feel anything. I remember her sending me screencaps and continuing to go ON AND ON about how it wasn’t worth reading.

I remember with gross intensity how someone who said they were my friend was taking away the only thing that was keeping me alive.

I dont remember how the conversation ends. I called out of work for the next three days. I was catatonically depressed and unable to really move. I didnt eat either. I went to internship, work, and school in a state of dissociation.

I took screencaps of everything and set them aside for later. IDK what I was going to use them for but I set them in a folder on my desktop, looking back I regret what I did next; because I deleted them. I deleted them because I thought maybe she had been manic or drunk and hadn’t realized the scope of what was happening. I wanted to talk to her about it and clear things up because I believed in her. I believed there was no way she would be so callous as to do that on purpose. No way would someone try and get someone they called a friend to kill themselves. So I deleted the screencaps and my post on tumblr. I deleted all evidence to protect her and I encourage you all never to fucking do that even if you think that person misunderstood the gravity of your situation. Because if you’re wrong no ones going to believe you.

I remember shifting between intense depression and total denial.

I spent the rest of that month in and out of intense dissociative states when I wasnt in class or working with my clients. During the middle of October my sister sent me pictures of a litter of puppies and I was like ‘well, i really need to either kill myself or make sure i dont’. I spent a few days continuing to waffle with that decision but then i remembered my mom cosigned my loans and I cant leave her with that debt because fuck we cant even afford my funeral to begin with. So I adopted a dog, I named him Julio to remind me to keep living and he finally came to me on halloween.

He was the only reason I left bed on my days off. I tried not to think about it but I did.

I continued to spiral with heavier dissociative episodes and vivid nightmares about it.

SUICIDE TW OVER

I waited until Christmas to ask her to clarify the situation and let her know I no longer felt comfortable writing with her. I reminded her what happened and told her to check her discord if she wanted to see for herself etc.

She sent two long asks of combative, emotionally abusive, and gaslighting accusations. The first thing she did was say I needed to provide evidence if I went around making accusations like that. Then she cascaded into how I always talked about marvel *points up to where i explained what happened earlier*. She tried gaslighting me like a champion and tried turning me into a horrible person the only problem is everything she was accusing me of doing was the shit she was doing to me. Everything.

Even if I was bad at any time I had given her numerous chances to tell me I was overstepping a boundary- she always said no. I gave her numerous times to unfollow me if she wasnt interested in interacting with me- she never did. In fact I had unfollowed her that month because of her behavior towards me and she hadnt even noticed.

I let her know I could tell she was angry, and that I didnt take receipts of private conversations because I believed in settling things like adults, and that if she ever wanted any proof it was all in her discord anyway. I let her know she could contact me to apologize but otherwise I didnt want her on any of my blogs and I told her the first thing she should have done wasnt demand receipts but she should have asked if I was okay. Its a real reflection of where her priorities were when she demands evidence rather than checks to see if a writing partner is okay.

Even if I did something horrible it doesnt warrant someone trying to get me to end my life.

I was notified she put a post on her blog apologizing to her followers for being a bad friend and that she was a horrible person and ofc everyone was like ‘noooo youre perfect’ and its like ya thats not for me who hasnt followed her in months- thats to save face.

Her friends blogs kept visiting my profile and going through the month where this happened.

Everything she did and said was to save face. Her blog and her reputation are the only thing she cared about. She has never approached me to apologize or anything of the sort and I doubt she ever will. I would hope she would never do this again and I hope she has grown as a person since. That her life is better and her mother is okay, that shes happy and learning.

I know by posting this I will never receive an apology- then again i never expected one to begin with. I could go through all the trouble of restoring the deleted files but to be honest it isnt worth it because theres no room in my life for that type of toxicity.

Since this happened I:

I have stronger episodes of depression and dissociation since.

My PTSD has increased and I have week long spikes in anxiety attacks, depression and decreased self worth if I even see her around the rpc despite being blocked, blacklisted on xkit etc.

Have more difficulty completing basic self care tasks due to an increase in depression and a decrease in self worth.

I have nightmares about this event and her to this day a year later.

I cannot interact with the RPC how I once did as I fear seeing her on my dash or any sort of information getting back to her about me.

It took me half a year to see the character she wrote as as safe again and for awhile I couldnt even look at him without experiencing an anxiety attack.

I keep having nightmares. Its been a year and I still have nightmares about this.

I find myself having more difficulties connecting with people online especially on this blog. I’m constantly on edge when interacting with people and I feel spikes of anxiety at the merest thought of someone talking about me to her.

I find myself unable to have confidence as a writer or creator online because I have been reminder of the cement wall between oc characters and their canon counterparts.

I cannot go out and just follow anyone and be friendly and trusting with them anymore, even with people I already know. In the back of my mind is a constant reminder of how she and her friends used to check up on people and pretend to write with them/ interact with them just to take screenshots of conversations to share with the group. I have become a paranoid little bitch in the past year is what Im saying. like theres 0 need for that shit.

I blocked most of the people she interacted with simply to save myself from being triggered by her blogs/ mentions of her and that isnt fair to those people.

I remember the photo incident and how people derived such joy from mocking someones body. I can think of so many incidents of them making fun of others and I remember how that could be happening about me rn, and I wonder if anyone would stick up for me like I did for the other mun.

I hope by posting this I can try and return to the person I was before this happened. I can try and not be so bitter and reach out again to others. That somehow I can continue working on making tumblr a safe place for me again and not a PTSD laced minefield.

I would like to remind this isnt a callout and I request if you know who this is about you dont say anything to them. This isnt for them. They have NEVER reached out to apologize for their actions. They have NEVER checked to see if I was okay after that. They have NEVER shown any remorse for encouraging me to kill myself and while I hope they’ve grown from the situation and will never do it again I doubt I will ever get closure from such an event. But i DO hope by writing this I can take this place back.

Consider this my first step towards bringing this up to a therapist.

Consider this another step to me taking this blog back and feeling safer here; and maybe just maybe Ill make up a cool pen name for myself and own that shit.

If you’ve read this far thank you for your patience with me, and I request you always treat your writing partners like the people that they are.

This post is not intended or written to leave this blog and therefore I request you not reblog it or share segments of it with ANYONE. If I find you have shared anything on here without my explicit permission I will block you.

‘Citrus’

#suicide tw #gaslighting tw #emotional abuse tw

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calliecat93 · 5 years ago

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Top 5 Things I Liked About RWBY Volume 4

(Top 5 Dislikes)

This is going out later than I was hoping, but hey better now that never. Anyways, I honestly think that V4 is a pretty underrated Volume. There’s a lot that I really enjoy about it and after the insanity of V3, I’m glad that we got a more lowkey season that let everyone begin to heal. I’m hoping that RvB18 will follow that path tbh, but that’s not important here. There’s a lot to like, so let’s talk about the Top 5 Things I Liked About RWBY Volume 4!

#5. The Switch to Maya/Improved Animation

For Volumes 1-3, animaiton was primarily done in a program called Poser. This was mainly because it was what Monty liked to use, especially for fight animation. Poer isn’t an animation program, it is a modeling program that Monty was able to work for what he needed, but again it is not a proper animation program. V3 looks amazing, but I think that it was clear that they had reached their limit on how much they could push it. Add that with now having a larger animation staff, and it was time for a change. As such, they shifted to Maya, a common animaiton program in the field, and I am going to say it… it was 100% the right choice.

The animaiton in the Poser Era wasn’t bad, but… there were plenty of times where it felt like expressions and casual movements were very stiff. V4 changed that massively. There is so much more facial expression, but not just that. Take Blake’s cat ears for example. They are SO expressive in every scene that she’s in. Sure it might be because she threw out the bow, but still! I really don’t think that they could have done that in Poser. Animaiton models improved, like Sun’s abs no longer being glued to him for example and his little necklace sometimes daggling about. Environments look more vibrant. Environments have improved. Things like shading look better. And while the fight scenes aren’t Monty-like anymore, they are still really good! Seriously, Qrow vs Tyrian is still awesome~

I know that the shift wasn’t something liked by everyone, though I think that the vast majority have come around since V4. The animaiton has only kept improving after this, and it’s crazy going back to V1 and seeing the difference. But they sold me the second that they released the Ruby Trailer in the lead-up to the volume. Maya has allowed for a lot of improvement and new opportunities, and I believe that RT made the right choice in transitioning over to it. V4 looked so good, especially with how many new locations that it introduced us to, and I freakin’ love it~

#4. Expansion On The World

Volume 4, above all, is a world-building volume. We spent all of our time in the first three volumes primarily in Beacon and the city fo Vale. The only locations that we got a substantial amount of time in otherwise were Mountain Glenn and the Amity Arena for the Vytal Festival. Otherwise, we’ve been stuck in one place despite knowing that there is a much larger world out there. Thankfully though, this volume takes us outside the Kingdom of Vale and finally allowed us to explore the rest of Remnant… well, parts of it. Still, more than the other volumes had.

This was an advantage of using the multiple plotlines.. We got a really good amount of new locations. RNJR was in Anima, which had a lot of Asian-inspired scenery and naming. Yeah, we mostly spend the time on trails and villages, but you can still see the difference between the villages and Vale. Which we got to see what it’s like outside of Vale. Some villages like Higanbana are nice, while others like Shion or Kuroyuri… well… it emphasizes just how bleak the world truly is. Vale was an overall safe place, and even that wasn’t safe. If you don’t live within a kingdom though? Hope that luck is on your side.

We also get to see Menagerie for the first time. Sadly we don’t get to see as much here or in V5, but we do get to see how cramped it is and it overall looks nice. You can see that, as Blake said, they tried to make it a welcoming place for Faunus. We get to see Weiss’ home, which is as empty and cold as you would have imagined it being. It looks grand, but it’s just… empty and quiet with Weiss, more or less, alone aside from Klein. Patch is nice, you can certainly see why Tai would raise his kids there and in contrast to Weiss’ home, it’s small but the peaceful and comforting environment that Yang needed. Salem’s realm is eerie. Oscar’s farm is… a farm. And Mistral? Amazing.

What I’m getting at here is that we learn so much more about the world. Even outside exploring new locations, we learn about the Relics and the God Brothers. We start to get an understanding of the war between Oz and Salem, though of course, we learn the true scale in V6. The volume does a lot to make Remnant feel more like an actual world full of stories, problems, and history. It took us out of the hub that we were used to with Volumes 1-3, and I think that they did so very well. Very much appreciate it~

#3. Yang Plotline

While Yang got the least amount of focus, I… don’t view that as a bad thing. A story can’t be dictated by screentime alone. You have to look at how well they executed what they needed to do in the amount of time that they had. For example, they didn’t do very well with Ruby in V5 with the time that they had, but we’ll save that for the V5 posts. For V4, as I said, Oscar didn’t get the proper development and they didn’t utilize the amount fo time that they had for him well. But Yang though? I thought that they did her very well here.

Yang’s plot is, of course, recovering after losing her arm and getting back into fighting condition so that she can go after Ruby. We see that she has PTSD, having flashbacks and nightmares and her emotional state is… not in the bright place that we’re used to. Chapter 4, the chapter mainly focused on her, shows how concerned she is about taking the first steps of recovery, though we do see her start to laugh and joke around again. With Tai’s encouragement and support, Yang ut son the new arm, trains again and Tai helps her see the disadvantages of her fighting style/Semblance reliance, and opens up to her about Raven. In the end, Yang’s ready to go after her sister. She’s not 100% healed, but she’s got her drive back and is ready to move ahead.

Now again, Yang gets the least amount of focus. She only gets one chapter dedicated to her, and otherwise, her’s appears the least out of the four RWBY girls. But they utilized that time very well. They don’t drag it out or rush through it. They set up Yang’s mental state, show us signs of her PTSD, have Tai give her the proper encouragement, and have her start to get back on her feet. I’m glad that they were just straightforward with it, there was no need to drag it out especially since V5 and 6 show that there are still things that she has to work through. The point for this volume though was to get Yang well enough mentally for her to get back out onto the field, and they did that very well. She was in a positive environment as well, and that probably helped her.

So yeah, when I look back at the Yang plot, I have no issues with it. I think that it was given the amount of attention that it needed. It wasn’t rushed, but it wasn’t dragged out either. Yang didn’t fully recover, but she got well enough to move forward. That was the ultimate goal for everyone’s plotline, and they achieved it here. But I’m gonna leave it at 3 since it is a bit of a bummer that she got limited screentime. But for what it’s worth, they used that time properly and I am happy with the final result.

#2. Weiss Plotline

Out of all the plots, Weiss’ is my favorite and imo, the best one done. This is because this is the conclusion to her three volumes worth of character development. As I said n the V3 Likes post, her plot had her decide to finally cut herself away from her father for good and move ahead with the life that she wanted. Sadly, due to the Fall, Jaques had the perfect excuse to got o Vale and force her to return to Atlas with him. So just as quickly a she was able to embrace her freedom and the choice to never turn back, fate dealt her a bad hand and she was her father’s prisoner once more. Which she literally becomes a prisoner after her outburst at the charity event and gets stripped of her title. It’s just… horrible to watch that scene. Really, any scene with her and Jaques is uncomfortable, especially when he slaps her.

This is when we truly get to see Jaques abuse first hand, and it is as horrible as the previous hints indicated. He’s condescending and passive-aggressive to Weiss. He treats her like she’s a child and an employee more than as a parent. Compare it to Tai or Ghira with Yang and Blake, where they are nothing but caring and supportive to their daughters. Ghira especially welcomed Blake back with open arms despite how she called them cowards in the past and was just glad that she found her way again and was safe. Jaques only cares about Weiss for his image and to use her when it suits his needs, whether Weiss is willing to do it or not. He makes her sing rather than ask her. He refuses to let her out fo his sight during the charity gala. He talks down to her. He tries to gaslight her into everything being her fault and like her outburst was wrong.

Weiss did NOTHING wrong. She, and maybe Ironwood, were the only ones at that charity who gave a damn about Vale. Seeing her in that environment, where people were snobby, argumentative, and only cared about their own petty problems makes you really, really appreciate how much she had grown. She had broken out of that mindset after V1 and when the Trophy Wife claims that Vale deserved what it got, she rightfully calls her and everyone else out on their bullshit and refuses to let Jaques shut her up. Yeah, it ends badly with Weiss losing her title and Whitley rubbing it in. Weiss had no one aside form Klein, who is an actual good person who showed Weiss kindness and care moreso than her own family ever did. When Weiss breaks down, ti just… hurts. But luckily, at her lowest point, Weiss decides that enough is enough. She gets back out Myrtenaster, perfects her Summoning Glyph, and decides to break free once and for all. Klein helps her escape, and she manages to get onto a plane heading for Mistral. Which leads to… more problems, but that’s for the next volume.

Weiss’ plotline was very well done. It gets you to see how far that she’s come since Volume 1. She wanted to break free and become better, and she did. Jaques tries to lock her away again, but he failed. Weiss had gotten a taste of freedom, and she was going to reclaim it. She was going to redeem her family name her way by being a Huntress and no one was going to stop her. As This Life is Mine stated, “I won’t be possessed/burdened by your royal test/I will not surrender, this life is mine.” Yes Weiss, it is indeed.

Weiss was great, but there is one character whose focus I appreciated not just because it was good, but because it saved that character in my eyes.

#1. Ren Becoming a Character

I haven’t talked much about Ren and Nora, and that was because up until now… there wasn’t much to talk about. While I liked them fine enough, in V1-3 they’re just… there. It felt like they existed just because Jaune and Pyrrha had to be part of a four-man team because they’re nothing more than supporting characters there. Nora at least was funny and bubbly so she was at least fun, but Ren? He was just… quiet and the straight-man to Nora’s antics. That was it. He didn’t feel like a character, he just felt like a necessity needed to fill in a spot. My biggest hope with V4 was, now with JNR traveling with RWBYt hey would do something, anything to flesh out Ren and Nora. At least for one of them.

Fortunately, I got my wish.

To be fair, RWBY Chibi had gotten me to warm up to Ren since they got a lot out of him in several of the skits. More than I thought that they could. But I also like Chibi!Neo FAR more than I like Canon!Neo, so that wasn’t saying much. But fortunately, Volume 4 came around! Ren was really great in this volume! He’s still the quiet one, though he gets more here than any other volume. Which is something to note real quick. Neath has done a fantastic job as Ren. I can’t imagine how it had to have felt since he was taking over Monty’s spot. His brother’s spot. But he has done a perfect job since Day One, and I can’t imagine anyone else int he role at this point. He especially shows his range in this volume, and for a guy who had never voice acted until he started doing Ren, he pulls it off perfectly. I love Neath.

Ren is from Anima, but outside Mistral, so he’s of course the most knowledgeable of the area. We get to see more of his tracking and fighting skills, which is as fun to see as it was in Volume 1 which was the last time he got to showcase his fighting style. We get to see him interact with not only Nora, which was really nice especially with Jaune. But most of all, we get to see how Ren’s past affected him. His reaction to the destruction fo Shion perfectly fits due to what happened to Kuroyuri. His refusal to go back there makes sense since… well, no one likes to revisit the source of their trauma. He tells us about Oniyuri, and through him we see just how difficult it is to live outside the Kingdoms. We saw that with what happened to Shion, but Ren is a character that we’ve known for years and we get to see and hear about it through him. Which makes it hit us harder because it affects a character that we’ve known for so long. And when we get to the flashback and see how happy Ren’s life was and how it all went to Hell in just one night? It breaks your heart. We also finally learn his Semblance, which fits him perfectly so that was also appreciated.

But most of all, we get to Kuroyuri, and it’s the first time that we see Ren lose it. He’s always been a very calm, very tranquil person but when the Nucklavee attacks, he is understandably terrified… and then just lose it. We’ve NEVER seen him get angry before, but seeing the monster that ruined his life, killed his family, and destroyed his home? Yeah, that’ll make anyone snap. But thankfully, Nora snaps him out of it and this is when we see just how strong their relationship is. When Ren lost everything, he found Nora who had absolutely no one, and befriended her. They fought together. They survived together. They went through everything together, both good and bad. So fo course Nora could see that Ren was losing it, and she was the only one who could pull him back and stop him before he lost himself I’d still like them to be more clear on if Renora is canon or not cause I still really don’t know. But at least we get to see that their dynamic isn’t just the ‘hyper girl, calm guy’ dynamic. There is a true bond there, and it’s just beautiful.

It ends with Ren suing his father’s knife, the only thing of his family that he still has, to kill the Nuclavee. For his parents. For all the lives stolen. And, of course, for himself. This was him confronting his trauma, and finally putting it to rest and moving forward. That’s the biggest theme of this volume honestly, taking what brought you down, and moving forward. Yang began to stand up again after her trauma. Blake decided to quit running and to rise up against the White Fang once and for all. Weiss broke free of her father despite him trying to pull her back. Ruby saw just how bad the world truly was along with the Fall of Beacon still haunting her, but took ti and strengthened her resolve to be a Huntress and make things better as much as possible. And Ren? He chose to go back to Kurroyuri to save his friends and destroyed the monster that made so many suffer but without giving in to his sorrow.

The volume just made me love Ren and see him more as a character than I had before. He’s one of my absolute favorites no. I’m hoping that V7 is going to do the same with Nora since at this point, I feel that she’s the most under-developed of the main cast. But we’ll just have to wait and see. Regardless, V4 changed my opinion of Ren completely and his story was done very well. As such, it my favorite thing about RWBY Volume 4.

And another volume done! So… next we get to Volume 5. Ho boy, I haven’t revisited it since it ended and not for the reasons that you think. But we’ll talk more on those posts. For now, thanks for reading everyone~!

#rwby #rwby reviews #top likes/dislikes

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morfinwen · 6 years ago

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Could you do the BrOTP ask for Lauren & Ian? And then I'm not sure what other sets of your characters qualifies as BrOTPs, but how about #3, 6, 13, 15, and 18 for any you want to answer for? Thank you! :)

Ian and Lauren

1. What in-jokes do they have with each other?

- Referring to ‘Frere Jacques’ as “the French National anthem”

- Calling all birds “penguins”

- Pointing to a bell or candle and yelling “CHRISTMAS!” (Ian’s the only one who does this one in public)

2. Are they the “I’ll pay this time if you pay next time”-type friends, or the “I’ll pay for my food and you’ll pay for yours”-type friends?

Usually they pay for their own food. Sometimes Ian forgets his wallet and Lauren covers for him, and there are days when Lauren is super out of sorts and Ian takes her out and insists on paying. It seems to even out.

3. Who’s more prone to pranking, or otherwise messing with, the other?

Lauren doesn’t prank or mess with Ian because that’s not the kind of person she is. Ian doesn’t prank or mess with Lauren because that’s just asking for trouble.

4. How do they text/message each other? Proper punctuation and capital letters, egregious overuse of emojis, mostly in meme format…?

Ian mostly uses correct spelling, but can’t be bothered with capitalization or most forms of punctuation (he’ll use the occasional ? or ! for clarity or emphasis, apostrophes are a toss-up). Sometimes he’ll use a single emoji as a response.

For Lauren, it’s all about speed. She abbreviates liberally, uses more acronyms than most people know exist, only uses punctuation for emphasis (!!! or ???), and hates emojis. She tolerates them from Ian because he uses them as an efficient replacement for a multiple word response, but even then it sometimes ticks her off to see one on her phone.

5. Do they exchange jokey birthday presents, or deeply thought-out and meaningful presents? Or both?

Lauren’s parents could never afford to get their children more than one or two gifts a year, and it was common for the presents to be homemade or secondhand. Ian’s parents preferred to do something for him on his birthday, like go see a movie or visit the museum, and give him one or two big presents plus a few smaller ones at Christmas. Both of them learned to manage their expectations regarding presents. Getting or giving a gift that indicates a great deal of thought and consideration from the giver would require either a change in perspective, or result in potential miscommunication.

They occasionally get each other gifts, closer to thoughtful than jokey, but putting a lot of thought into it might make things awkward. Mostly it’s gift certificates or music CDs they think the other might like.

6. They go on a road trip together. Who drives, who picks the music, who’s in charge of snacks?

Ian puts together a CD.

They both buy the kind of snacks they want.

Ian starts driving.

Lauren hears one too many songs she’s not in the mood for on his CD, and switches to the radio.

This trip, Ian promises himself, he will ration his Twinkies. One hour in, he’s eaten the whole box. It’s fine, they need to stop for directions anyway.

Lauren buys a new soda. She doesn’t want the one she has.

Ian starts driving again, but Lauren insists he’s misreading the directions they got, so she drives.

Lauren gets sick of the radio, so Ian puts his CD back on.

Ian runs out of Twinkies again. Lauren lets him have one of her snacks - one that she can’t believe she brought, she doesn’t even like that kind.

They’re lost. Lauren only admits it 45-60 minutes after she first starts wondering if she missed the right turn.

Ian tries using the GPS to figure out which way to go, but either he’s using it wrong or it’s confused about where they are.

They stop for directions. Ian has to ask, because Lauren is too angry to be civil.

It’s time for lunch, so they stop.

Lauren is still too worked up over having gotten lost to drive, so Ian starts driving. He puts on his CD for only a few minutes before Lauren switches to the radio.

Twenty minutes later, he realizes he got on the wrong highway, and they’re backtracking. He tries to get off to turn around, but instead winds up on another highway headed in a totally different direction.

They get off, and Lauren insists on driving. She gets turned around, and now they’re heading in the opposite of that totally different direction.

They pull over and argue over the map/GPS for several minutes. It’s about a half hour before Lauren calms down enough to get back in the car.

Ian drives with the radio off. Lauren sulks in the passenger seat. They finally get on the correct highway.

Forty minutes later, Ian misses his turn-off, but because they’re on a rural highway in the middle of nowhere, he doesn’t realize it.

Two hours later, they both start wondering, weren’t they supposed to reach a city by now? After arguing with the GPS again, they decide to ask for directions once they stop for dinner.

There’s nowhere to stop. Lauren thinks they should turn around, Ian insists it’s better to keep going.

Thirty to forty minutes later, still nowhere. Ian starts to think they should turn around, Lauren argues that they already know there’s nothing back there, there’s got to be something closer ahead. Ian can’t really argue with this.

The first place they see to eat is Lauren’s least favorite dining chain, so they keep going.

They have to stop for gas, and while Lauren doesn’t like any of the places she sees, she’s too hungry and tired to argue. Ian is less hungry, having eaten all of the snacks, but still ready for dinner.

It’s dark now. When they get directions, Lauren is furious when she finds out this happened because Ian missed the turn-off hours ago. Ian lets her rant – he was driving, after all.

They stop for the night in a hotel that is at least half a state away from where they were supposed to stop for the night.

The next day, they turn around and go home, because this whole road trip idea was a terrible one to begin with, and things are only going to get worse.

On the way back, they get turned around three times.

7. What do they think of each other’s family?

Ian gets along with some of Lauren’s siblings, and is civil to but avoids interaction with the others. He finds her parents intimidating, her mother moreso than her father, and is instinctively on his best behavior around them. Overall he likes them, or at least doesn’t dislike them, but frankly he finds spending time around them kind of exhausting.

Lauren sometimes wishes her parents were more like Ian’s parents.

8. Do they have any nicknames for each other?

Nope.

9. Who’d be the first to try and patch things up if they had a fight?

Ian. It’s always Ian, even when it wasn’t really a fight, just Lauren blowing up over something.

10. One of their phones goes off in the middle of the night. Who’s calling whom, and why?

The only time either of them would call the other in the middle of the night is in an emergency. Lauren is very good at having a regular, sensible bedtime that gives her a solid eight hours of sleep. Ian is less good at it, but doesn’t generally feel like making calls at midnight, and definitely knows better than to bother Lauren if he did.

11. What’s their favorite funny story about something that happened to the two of them?

Probably something Ian did in grade school to poke fun at someone who was harassing Lauren.

12. Would they do a joint cosplay? If so, who would they dress up as?

By coincidence, Ian went as Link for Halloween one year and Lauren went as Princess Zelda. They deliberately did it again in college.

13. Do they have any TV shows that they watch together? Are there any shows they have wildly different opinions on?

Lauren actually likes reality tv – ironically it’s easier to treat the drama less seriously because it’s pretending to be reality. She likes the occasional sitcom, as long as the characters are equally jerks and/or stupid. Ian can’t stand either of those. He likes dramas and speculative fiction (he grew up watching all the Star Trek shows with his dad).

I’ve never seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer myself, but it seems like the kind of show they would be able to watch together: fantasy drama for Ian, funny/tongue-in-cheek enough for Lauren, though they definitely had different opinions on the characters and plotlines.

14. Which one is the “fight me” friend and which one is the one who tries to keep the peace and prevent their friend from punching a total stranger?

This question pretty much answers itself.

15. One of them comes up with an ill-advised but mostly harmless idea. Does the other one egg them on because they think it’ll be funny, or try and talk them out of it?

Ian comes up with the occasional crazy-but-harmless idea. Lauren won’t egg him on, but if her half-hearted attempt to talk him out of it fails, she might stick around to see the outcome – as long as she’s far enough away no one mistakes her for being involved.

16. Who would win if they arm-wrestled?

Growing up in the family she did, Lauren learned a lot of dirty tricks for arm-wrestling. Ian absolutely refuses to compete with her anymore, even if she insists she won’t use any of them.

17. Who’s better at what type of video games, and how competitive are they when they play together?

Ian is good with platformers and rhythm games. Lauren doesn’t really play video games. The only one they play together is Mario Kart, and Lauren is so nightmarishly competitive Ian just stays out of her way.

18. One of them ends up in hospital for something serious but not life-threatening. What does the other bring along when they visit in order to cheer them up?

Ian would bring Lauren a soft ball or something else she could throw or otherwise express her frustration physically upon, a CD of calm, meditative music, a kaleidoscope or glitter wand, and/or a coloring book of shapes or nature.

Lauren would bring Ian a DVD set of a sci-fi show, most likely cheesy or low-quality because most sci-fi shows are and she doesn’t have the least idea how to judge them, a complete comic series, and/or a historical documentary.

19. How huggy are they?

Ian isn’t a touchy kind of guy, and Lauren does not like being touched without permission, so not very.

20. What was the moment when they first realized that they’d become friends?

Ian pretty much decided they were friends from the first day he started harass – i mean following Lauren around in kindergarten. For Lauren, it was probably when Ian invited her to his birthday party and was clearly happy when she came – up until that point, she’d kind of assumed his parents made him invite her.

------

The situations in which the Quartet – Chris, Angie, Neal, and Reagan – interact are not numerous, but i’m going to answer this for them as a group anyway.

3. Who’s more prone to pranking, or otherwise messing with, the other?

Chris. He’s never intentionally mean or over-the-top, and never does anything that could hurt or get someone in trouble.

On rare occasions, Reagan might pull something small, especially if she can keep her involvement secret.

6. They go on a road trip together. Who drives, who picks the music, who’s in charge of snacks?

Chris drives. He also has the map, the bathroom and meal breaks planned (both location and time), and the address of any hotels they’ll be staying at, as well as their room numbers. He has control issues, which he is open and honest about, but he’s still driving. If for some reason they’ve been driving long enough that it’s not safe anymore for him to drive, he will reluctantly hand it over; most likely to Reagan, since she’s got the next-highest tolerance for it.

Neal and Reagan put together CDs with different music. Neal because he’s good at balancing their tastes and is the most invested in what they’ll be listening to, Reagan because she’s usually got new music to introduce, and because she’s stronger-willed than Neal when it comes to telling Chris no, they are not including the entire soundtrack to every hit Broadway musical. No, not even most of them.

Everyone is responsible for bringing their own snacks, but Angie will always have extras in her bag – weirdly enough, usually ones that others meant to bring but forgot. She also has a good balance of healthy and sweet, in case one of the others (or rather, all of the others) were not as good at balancing and just brought candy -- or in Chris’ case, possibly just jalapeño-flavored chips.

13. Do they have any TV shows that they watch together? Are there any shows they have wildly different opinions on?

In the right moods, they can all watch the same show of any type – discuss it seriously if it’s good, mock it if it’s bad. Otherwise, their tastes are way too disparate.

15. One of them comes up with an ill-advised but mostly harmless idea. Does the other one egg them on because they think it’ll be funny, or try and talk them out of it?

Chris sometimes comes up with ideas like that. He doesn’t need anyone to egg him on, but Reagan is the most likely to encourage him.

18. One of them ends up in hospital for something serious but not life-threatening. What does the other bring along when they visit in order to cheer them up?

Chris: Any length of time in bed would be so distracting as to nearly make him go mad, so even though he tries to hold himself back, he usually ends up overdoing it – an entire TV series on DVD (7+ seasons), plus some kind of handheld game, plus some kind of project (arts and crafts, mechanical, anything at all) that can be done while in bed, plus an ambient noise generator.

Reagan: Music, or an audiobook for Angie. For Chris, covers of classic or Broadway songs by new or obscure artists, with a few pop songs mixed in to keep him on his toes – if possible, she’ll find covers of those pop songs in a very different style, see how long it takes him to figure out he’s listening to a Latin choral version of “Call Me Maybe”. For Neal, long choral or classical pieces, and/or new age-style music.

Neal: …. A balloon and a card, with a stuffed animal if it’s Angie or Reagan. He’s not very good at this.

Angie: Books. For Chris, either an action story or an exciting non-fiction book that reads like fiction, plus some Sudoku books or some other kind of puzzle book – the harder the better. For Reagan, either a fully-dramatized audiobook or something with more pictures than text – maybe a graphic novel, more likely something with pretty nature vistas or interesting architecture. For Neal, a book of poetry, plus a journal for getting his thoughts down.

Thanks for asking!

#ask #answer #OCs #lauren winston #ian grayson #christopher hardie #angie mckendrick #reagan travers #neal fairchild #valiantarcher

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han100894 · 6 years ago

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Some of My Frustration with NNT

So this is probably going to be a controversial take, but as much as I like NNT, there are things about it that have been bothering me.

One big one is, despite attempting at least lip service, the girls often vastly get overshadowed by the guys.

(Note, this is me airing my frustrations, I still like NNT, I like all of theses ships to some extent, I don’t mean to rain on anyone’s parade. It would be awesome to know if anyone else agrees, but mostly I’m just trying to make myself feel better and honestly it may not be the best written and I’m probably forgetting points that made me feel this way and I’m sure I’ve forgotten things in the Manga itself.)

Just look at the three biggest ships: Kaine, Banlaine, and Melizabeth.

I like Kaine, it was my first favorite ship but… it’s ultimately King’s story. The majority of the focus is on King’s POV and feelings. Even Daine’s memory loss is played more about how he feels than her—she doesn’t even get a chance to get mad at Gowther for it, or for that matter angry at King—no instead King gets mad on her behaft. She gets pulled around by the plot, and the memory loss in particular to give King extra angst. Even her confused feeling for Meliodas are mostly played as comic relief, drama fodder early on with Elizabeth, and to King more angst. We get very little from her POV.

And whenever Diane tries to protect King (In my memory at least) it always backfires on her, leading to King to Angst and “power up” and come to the rescue.

She has no real major victories to her name. Generally in any fight from the second half of arc 1 and moving forward she’s either coached by King (The Vytle festival, he saves Diane and defeats his enemy alone, but Diane needs couching), or King takes the spotlight (fighting Helbram, fighting Mael)

The only plot point she gets on her own is the brief time with Matrona after she loses her memory once again. Otherwise her plotlines are heavily tangled with King’s and again we usually see things from King’s point of view. Even when they both went back to the past Diane ends up goofing off but King notices something is wrong. We just—we never get into her head like we do King. We don’t see anywhere near the kind of character development he has.

And King gets several plots unconnected to Diane, Helbram, the fairy forest, Ban and his sister, his inferiority complex…

I just wish she’s get some focus that didn’t revolve around King (or Mel)—and also that she got a chance to protect King without it instantly backfiring on her or making King feel bad about himself again…

(Also, there is no reason for Diane to be “equivalent of 15” none at all. Made even worse once King gets to go through “fairy puberty” in an instant and grow up something she can’t do (Also why the heck would 700=15 when giants only live to like 2000?)

And then Banlaine:

Let’s be honest, Elaine exists almost completely as a prop for Ban’s story, up to and including dying on him (aka being fridged) and causing his manangst and driving his story). She spend half the story dead and the other half deathly ill. She has little to no interaction with anyone else—even her conversations with her own brother is all about Ban.

She doesn’t even really get much of a say about the whole thing, Ban’s quest to save her, it just is.

I do think the Raven’s arc was the best arc, but it was so entirely because of Jericho and her character development and drive, not because of Elaine. She had one moment of cute interactions with Elizabeth as they fought off two people who had no build up and were pretty much fodder, and then she had one moment where she saved Ban and managed to “grow up” something that’s downplayed slightly by being part of the reason Ban gets into his huge angst, and her losing her upgrade literally the next time we really see her just in time for Ban to save her (And turning her back into a child look alike) something that was truly not necessary. Gloxina didn’t lose his wings when he died, and wings are literally something fairies are killed for to sell—she could have stilled died and not lose her upgrade.

Honestly what I want from her is her to get to talk with her god damn brother, and maybe actually work things out on screen how he hurt her, and her understanding how he did so almost entirely unintentionally without Ban being their or brought up would be nice. Off screen does not count at all either. other than that let her be a person and not a prop!

And finally Melizabeth

Technically, or at least some people believe so, Meliodas and Elizabeth are the two main, main characters of the story. Honestly I kinda feel that Meliodas, Ban and King are the one who have gotten the most development and focus throughout the whole story, or at least until recently.

Elizabeth has tried, but in a lot of situation she’s been a plot point (Getting kidnapped, the seed not being in the cup for her test, ect) or had a lot of her agency taken from her to push the story along. Ever since she got her memories back she’s been trying to change that yes, but so far has instead been nearly instantly kidnapped and put into a situation where she could only be saved by others. (And yes, in story context she as in a bad situation for her powerset, but Nakaba still decided to have this happened to her and decided that she could do nothing to help just after she decided she would do something about all of this. It’s not like he didn’t have a choice.)

Meanwhile Meliodas has mostly treated Elizabeth like a child—which is fair considering she is one, she’s only 16 (Seriously, why couldn’t she have been at least 18, what would that have changed other than a tiny bit of the creepy factor)—but even after she regains her memories, he decides what he’s going to do with no input from her (Take the Commandment, break the curse, kidnap her, ect) and yes he has no emotions at the time but it’s still really shitty and only a step more than earlier when he refused to allow her to join the Sins again at the start of arc 2, without even explaining why, and even insulting and hurting her instead.

And it’s not that I want her to be a badass fighter. I’m fine with her being a realistic pacifist and mostly a healer and leader—that’s great. I just want her to have more agency instead of being shoved around to force the plot to do what Nakaba wants and get a chance to actually help Meliodas like she wants.

Bonus: Monspeet and Derieri

Their relationship is interesting, as on its outside it’s actually reverses some of the tropes this story has. Derieri is the one who get most of the focus and character development, while Monspeet is somewhat behind her. And in a twist, instead of the girl being fridged for the guy’s character development, the guy is fridged for the girls. Something rare enough that I actually thought that Monspeet’s death was somewhat okay (Up until Derieri’s story faltered right after).

Derieri has the same somewhat realization as Elizabeth—she was always the one being protected by Monspeet, being taken cared of by him, and how she wanted to be the one who did it back.

But then just as she was getting a big moment, finally a chance to somewhat redeem herself and try and help stop this war and save Mael, she is killed just as she’s about to do it, stopping her story cold turkey.

And now with Mael doing the weird reincarnation thing I have to ask why. If she’s almost certainly going to come back at some point (probably in the sequel—Arthur’s story I’d assumed if it actually happens) why couldn’t she have succeeded when she was so close. Why did she have to be worfed to show off Mael and eventually being the catalyst to power up King.

It’s just… frustrating.

I just wish she’s been allowed to succeeded after everything. I wish she’d gotten at least one moment where she protected Monspeet.

Last complaint

And one thing that has bothered me over all is, most notably while Ban and Meliodas were in Purgatory, how “We are going to get out of here and save our girls” which is great I guess, but, both them, and King in his “I have to protect you” say it so often that it almost feels…infantizing. The guys are so obsessed with taking care of and protecting the girls who don’t get the same chance to do it for them, or try and get punished for it, or realize to late and it’s just…

Ban and Mel really do it, King has his huge “I have to save everyone” complex, even Monspeet goes overboard with Derieri a bit (hitting away the rocks anyone). Escanor is similar, though he respects and believes in Merlin as much as he wants to jump to her defense making him a bit of an exception but I have no idea if Escalin is supposed to be a thing or not at this point. Margret got to be political prisoner for ages, and when she went out to find Gil she gets manipulated into becoming Ludo’s host. Veronica gets a whole side plot only for it to suddenly stop with no conclusion.

I just want the girls to get to do cool things, sometimes completely unconnected to the boys, and not have it backfire on them or get overshadowed. I want the relationships to have more equal screen time between each partner, Is that so much?

#seven deadly sins #nanatsu no taizai #me being kinda salty #ignore me if you want

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sunlitroom · 6 years ago

Text

Gotham – s5e03 – Penguin, Our Hero

As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

Previously on Gotham:

Selina can walk again. She’s also part cat, thanks to the whole ‘medication may release the darker angels of your true self’ side-effect. Big-eyed orphans flocked to Jim. Tabitha ran into Oswald’s knife. Lots of gangleaders want to kill Jim. Barbara rescued him because she needs his help killing Oswald, because no-one else in interested, because Tabitha was easily one of the most dislikeable people in town. Seriously, Barbara. Have you noticed that Sirens isn’t exactly swamped in floral tributes? Haven exists in soft focus. Ed and Tank got rough. Some very lazy graffiti implicated Oswald in the killing of several gang members.

As always, long post will be long. There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot might appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)). There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism. Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

Oswald opens what I’m assuming is his bedroom door, or a door to his private rooms. He hears a choir singing a song of praise and smiles beatifically.

(An aside. This is really dumb and I hate it - I'm not wasting wrist strength on it. Also - it's really offensive. Really really offensive)

In summary, Penn gives Oswald good news about production. The writers feel the need to really hammer home that totalitarian regimes are bad, like we may be somehow unaware of this. We also learn that people are ‘defecting’ to Haven, and that people love Jim Gordon. Oswald pitches a hissy fit that’s interrupted when a bunch of bikers break in, looking for revenge for Oswald’s apparent attack. He explains to the leader exactly how and why he’s stupid, and orders him to be interrogated.

In her hospital bed, Selina dreams about being shot by Jeremiah. This will be a recurring theme in this episode – Selina has flashbacks later - and I think it’s a good thing that we get to see someone actually dealing with the aftermath of trauma. I hope they don’t try to attribute this to the nasty seed thing later.

Waking with a start, she gets up and dressed and heads out onto the roof. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she leaps off the side, like she used to do.

At Haven, Harvey is warning about coping with the growth of new arrivals - word spreading like bad case of clap. He also warns that the gangs will come looking for the slave labour they’ve lost.

Jim seems unconcerned. Let 'em

Harvey says they hardly have any ammo or food to deal with either issue– but Jim still refuses to turn people away.

Harvey then eyes Jim, and asks him when he slept – he’s been going full-tilt for months. Jim tells him he’s OK – but does seem a little flat as he says this.

They enter a makeshift canteen, where Bruce is working. They ask him for some good news, and Bruce tells them something about a water purification system that’s small-scale, but still an improvement.

As they’re talking, a fight breaks out over rations. Jim breaks it up, and then realises people are staring expectantly, and delivers a speech. He tells the new arrivals that they’re all welcome, but they need to leave the fighting outside. The government thinks they don’t need help, and they need to prove otherwise. The gangs outside can tear each other apart – but they need to help each other survive.

Harvey is the voice of cynicism – pointing out that Jim’s speech worked now, but that it’s not going to be pretty when they find out that the government has abandoned them.

Bruce tells Jim that he’s holding this place together, and giving everyone hope – but he has more to add to his plate. Will, the big-eyed orphan, is having nightmares and broke his arm falling from his bed. Could Jim talk to him?

(An aside. I get that they’re building up Jim as a more uncomplicated protagonist and father figure. This is also to emphasise how emotionally invested Jim is in Haven, so that the explosion at the end will have added impact. However. It is treacly to the point of becoming sickening. Maybe it’s setting up another of Jim’s dark paths – where he’ll side with his old army pal over tried and tested allies in Gotham, and have a one night stand with Barbara – but even then, it’s just all felt a little heavy-handed)

In the dormitory, Jim sits down next to Will. Bruce tells him that they can’t imagine what he’s been through, but that he’s safe now. Jim underlines this by telling him that he’ll never let anyone hurt him again.

(An aside. Jim, no. You can’t promise that. You can promise to do your best – but you can’t promise to keep someone safe like that. Bruce is young enough to have an excuse. You know better.)

Jim offers the boy a treat before he leaves.

I’ve got something for you: pineapple from my rations. Hang in there – I’ll check on you later

He and Bruce walk away

(An aside – the obvious parallel here is between Jim and Oswald as leaders. Oswald – on an ego-trip, serving himself an elaborate breakfast, literally enjoying hearing his praises sung, slowly leaking followers. Jim – giving his rations away, working himself exhausted for his people, with people endlessly arriving at Haven.

And I suspect that’s how we’re supposed to view it – but, and I know I’m probably overcomplicating, it’s not quite so black and white. It’s not as nakedly motivated by ego as Oswald’s actions, but there’s no way that this isn’t gratifying for Jim)

Selina shows up in the dormitory. An alarmed Bruce tells her she’s supposed to be resting- but a cocky Selina asks him if she looks like she needs it. She’s never felt better, and she wants to find the freak who shot me.

Bruce says he’s been looking for Jeremiah, but never found anything. Selina points out that there’s been an influx of refugees from all over the city – someone must know something.

Bruce says he wants to find him as much as Selina – but he’s had months to fortify, and they need to be careful. Selina looks askance at him, and asks him if he’s scared. Bruce replies that of course he is, Jeremiah

Shot you to get to me

He tells her he can’t lose her

Selina tells him she’s not his to lose. He can’t stop her, but she does want his help. Bruce stares for a moment, and says that if they’re going to take him down, they’ll do it right. They’ll bring him back here and he’ll stand trial

(An aside. Honestly, Bruce? I don’t see any judges hanging around. A makeshift court consisting of you, Jim and Harvey isn’t exactly doing it right. On top of that, do you really want to bring Jeremiah into close proximity with defenceless civilians?)

Selina smiles fondly at Bruce’s naivete. Reaching up, she touches his face and kisses him.

I was hoping I could count on you

Further in the dormitory, a man sitting on a bed says he heard rumours in dark zone – which is apparently a place of chaos - ruled by those who lost their minds when the bridges went down

(An aside. Sigh, Gotham. So the mentally ill are scary again.)

Jeremiah is there, gathering followers. Selina makes to leave immediately, but the man remonstrates, telling her

You can’t go there: you’ll die! Jeremiah is the least of your worries. Everyone there is insane. Look what they did to my friend

He pulls the cover down, and we can see the man in the bed has had stuff carved into his torso.

Oswald opens his bedroom door, in a snit, clad in underwear this time. He’s wearing a tight black top and shorts under his white cotton garment. I’m guessing the white thing was possibly a little too see through, and they decided to just let the black underwear show rather than get a headache trying to hide it.

Penn! Where the f…..

His choir is gone, and there’s only Olga singing alone

(An aside – I know it’s not the biggest point in the world: but if people like Olga and Eyepatch Guy consistently come back to work for Oswald, then he’s not as uniformly loathsome as the show likes to paint him)

Oswald interrupts her – asking where his staff and Mr Penn are. She informs them that they all defected to Haven. He fulminates before panicking, looking for his dog.

He turns to Olga, teary-eyed

They took my dog?

She looks blandly at him

Rumour say pup went willingly

(An aside – I know Oswald’s scenes are more or less comic relief at points, but I still do get irritated when he takes more of a kicking than any other character in terms of sheer humiliation and being told he’s unlovable.)

He screams in rage and grabs the biker chained to the wall

You're in luck. Our interests are now aligned – and you may live

He tells him to contact the other deeply irritating petty gangs, and to gather men, vehicles and petrol. He has bullets. They’re going to pay a visit to Haven.

After he’s dressed, that is.

At GCPD/Haven, Harvey – accompanied by Alvarez - tells Jim Oswald has made it through the barricade with gangs.

Jim tells them to load up. Harvey points out they’re low on ammo. Jim sends him to someone he hopes with be friendly.

(An aside here. How much time has passed since last episode? Barbara made clear to Jim when she saved him that this was essentially conditional on him agreeing to plot Oswald’s death with her. Jim said he’d table that for later. Is she still waiting for this to happen? Has she just assumed he’s not going to do it? When are we, exactly? If he’s really just never got back in touch, why assume that she’s going to be willing to help – other than the fact that he has no other options, and Jim has a track record of expecting help from people – no matter whether he’s recently jerked them around.)

Down the tree-lined street where Ivy and Selina once wandered – and which is now the dark zone. Selina cracks a joke about calling it the dull zone, and Bruce gazes at her – telling her he’s glad she seems herself again

Selina says she’s been here before – it’s the posh part of town. Bruce says people with money got out. She points out that he didn’t, and he tells her seriously that he had a reason to stay.

(An aside. Oh Selina – and it wasn’t staying with you. Bruce wanted Alfred to evacuate with Selina. He was going to stay and hunt Jeremiah down. Does Selina know this?)

A man with a bomb strapped to him runs towards them, frantically asking for help, before the bomb explodes. We hear laughter and gunshot, as a band of God knows what approaches. Actually. There was a version of Phantom of the Opera set in a disco in the 70s - called Phantom of the Paradise. They remind me of this, crossed with the slightly naff cenobites from Hellraiser III

Anyway

They turn to run, and collide with a hulking guy who’s not exactly friendly

Selina says they’re looking for Jeremiah

Kill you. Kill Jeremiah

Selina decides the best course of action is to find the schoolyard’s biggest bully and take him down

They all start fighting.

Haven, where Mr Penn is still conducting the choir - who now do hymns instead. We hear the sound of bikes approaching. Penn nervously asks Jim what’s going on.

It’s Oswald. Jim tells his men to hold their fire

Oswald gets out of his car – lividly angry.

Well. If it isn’t my old friend Mr Penn, and the Gertrud Kapelput Memorial Choir. How nice to see some familiar faces!

Jim tells Oswald that he shouldn’t have come to Haven. Oswald responds angrily that he stole his people and his dog.

Jim says that the people came here of their own free will. Oswald ignores him to call on his dog, who doesn’t respond to him

Jim raises his eyebrows at him triumphantly when the dog refuses to come when called.

Oswald reiterates that Jim is to return his people and his dog – and also apologise.

Jim says no.

Oswald tells him he knows his ammo is used up – he’s bluffing.

On Jim’s signal – some of his men take down some of the bikers. Oswald pulls a face, and Jim says his men need some target practice.

Back with Selina and Bruce. The hulking guy tells her that she looks soft – while she tells him he looks 300lbs of ugly.

Selina gets the man on the ground and starts clawing at his face with her new metal claws – demanding that he tell her where Jeremiah is.

The man protests that they don't mess with him – but then tells her he’s at Hotel North.

Selina’s still going, though, clawing at his face. Bruce tells her he’s had enough. She says it’s enough when she says so, and he restrains her.

He looks at her, troubled, and tells her she won. It’s over.

Selina blithely replies that it was easy, and strolls off. Bruce stares after her unhappily.

Back at Haven, an irate Oswald tells the bikers that Jim is bluffing. The leader asks how he knows.

I know Jim Gordon

Oswald says if they require a demonstration – they should march forward. The biker says they have guns – Oswald retorts that he does too, and his are loaded.

They march. As they approach, Jim tells his men to make ‘em count.

They shoot – but run out of bullets, leaving one man standing.

Oswald gloats that Jim is out of ammo, and points out that he doesn’t want his men to die.

On the count of three, GCPD lower their weapons.

Bruce and Selina head to the church – Selina deftly climbing over cars. Bruce is not happy at how she handled the big guy earlier, but Selina disagrees – asking whose side he’s on?

Yours. Always

As they approach the church, they see a shrine to Jeremiah. Selina says she’ll tear his throat out. They follow some other people up the stairs to the church and enter the building.

A woman in a mask welcomes them to the Church of Jeremiah, where the faithful will become their best selves – after a demonstration of faith.

They’re very oddly dressed. Shirt and tie – and one guy in a kilt (which tends really to be formal wear)

They walk further in. The masked woman stops Selina – and points out she doesn’t look like a worshipper. Selina insincerely says she witnessed his work first hand, and she’ll never forget it.

She is permitted to pass, and follows the adherents upstairs. The masked woman whispers in the ear of another guard before removing her mask. It’s Ecco, in some dilapidated makeup.

Bruce slips away

(An aside - Where are the clean and well-dressed devotees coming from? I thought the Dark Zone was a terrifying bedlam? How did they get there without being attacked? Why are they so clean and well-presented?)

Oswald leads Jim to a cage/cell. Jim tells him he’s going to regret this. Oswald gloats that those are strong words for someone out of options. He’s going to have Jim watch while they destroy Haven, and then shoot him and leave him for dead like did to Oswald

(An aside – Oswald – no you’re not. We both know this. Jim knows this. That one-episode biker leader knows this. Tank knows this. Those weird English peasants at Ivy’s know this. Give. It. Up)

Jim tells him when the government finds out what he’s done, he’ll be at the top of the wanted list. Jim – Jeremiah created this whole crisis. Jonathan is crucifying people. The government will not share your pigtail-pulling fascination with Oswald.

Oswald tells Jim the only law in Gotham is power. Jim tells him they have children and families here. What will happen when the gangs take them back? Oswald blithely says they’ll go back to being slaves. His people will go back to their lives: bellies full of gruel, with him as their protector.

Jim tells him to take revenge on him – but leave the refugees alone. Oswald tells him it’s almost tempting – before leaving

(An aside – and here, again, we have the problem with this storyline. If you can tug on anyone’s heartstrings, it’s Oswald’s. It’s stupid enough that they have him genuinely believing his people enjoy their life. The additional notion that he wouldn’t actually care about children and families is stupid. Let’s not forget – when Oswald was piloting the blimp, the worst outcome he could imagine was the death of thousands of innocent citizens. It was Jim who felt the need to further incentivise him by appealing to his ambition. Seriously, now. It wasn’t that long ago. I’ve said it several times before – but if your plot demands that the characters are ooc in order to facilitate it, your plot isn’t good)

Outside, Penn is being chained up. Oswald’s not happy at this, and steps in

Stop - that one belongs to me

He manages to unchain Mr Penn – who smiles happily - at being rescued, but also maybe at the indication that Oswald actually appreciates him.

One of the annoying bikers grumbles that Oswald sacrificed one of his guys. While Oswald is untying Mr Penn, who’s thanking him all the while – the biker shoots Penn in the gut.

Penn drops to the floor. Oswald tries to stem the bleeding but it’s no good.

You should have stayed with me! Why did you leave?

Penn looks up at him and, without malice, simply tells him

Everyone hated you

Oswald looks down, his face blanched.

One of the bikers tells him they’ll take everything. An enraged Oswald says he’ll pay for this, before the biker wallops him hard in the face.

(An aside – sorry, but no. Oswald is cleverer than this. He’s adept at reading other people’s needs and wants. The notion that he honestly would have no idea of how he was perceived is just silly.

Also – I know there apparently wasn’t time to develop Penn as the Ventriloquist, but I don’t think they had to kill him off. It feels really unnecessary. Given that this ‘revelation’ was only needed because they made Oswald temporarily stupid, it’s particularly bitter. On top of that, if I feel he’s been jettisoned to help make room for the compulsory indigestible lump of Os/Ed interaction we’ve to dutifully swallow later this season, I am going to feel rather cross.)

Oswald is taken to the cage, struggling and protesting.

Let me go, we had a deal!

As he’s shoved in, Jim watches him calmly from the corner.

I take it that didn’t work out like you planned?

Harvey is at Sirens, calling for Barbara. She sneaks up behind him, puts a knife to his throat and tells him there no men in Sirens past midnight – making it surely a very inconvenient brothel.

She adds that perhaps it’s time golden boy learned to save himself. She asks Harvey if he’s tired of playing sidekick.

Harvey tells her he doesn’t see it that way. They’re friends fighting for same thing.

Barbara says she remembers when Jim was the idealistic rookie and Harvey was the cynical veteran. Harvey cuts in that she was sane back then. Barbara snidely says that now Harvey carries Jim’s laundry.

Don’t you wonder what your life would have been like if you never met Jim Gordon?

(An aside - Barbara. Yes – you have ample cause to deeply resent Jim. He compartmentalised the bejesus out of his life when he was engaged to you, he moved on indecently fast, and his default facial expression when he’s encountered you since has been a curled lip and a sneer. You turned to him after your release from Arkham and asked for him simply to recognise you as a person, and he wouldn’t do it.

However, laying the blame at everyone else’s door for your current situation has become tedious. You were placed in horrible situations, but you have also had agency. Decisions were made. Paths were taken. For the actual love of God, stop whining. I’m so bored.)

Harvey replies that he’d be dead, or wishing he was.

(Another aside. The spectre of Death has hung over Harvey since day one. I do hope he makes it to the end)

Barbara sneers that he’s delusional – like the saps who expect the government to help.

Harvey tries again – commenting that he knows they’ve had their differences, before mentioning that Oswald has turned up…

Barbara’s tune changes, and she tells him he should have opened with that.

Let’s move

Back in the cell, Jim is trying to cut his bindings. Oswald is ranting. Jim’s taken everything from him. Jim tells him to keep his voice down. Oswald keeps talking. His people should have loved him, he kept them safe. What so special about Haven?

Jim pulls a face at him, and says it’s special because it’s far away from him. Oswald pulls a face of his own

That's rich

People are coming, and Jim hisses at Oswald to be quiet. We see the head biker and a couple of children come in looking for supplies – one of whom is big-eyed orphan boy, who glances quickly at Jim. Jim tells Oswald to just act normal, adding

I know it's a stretch

The boy slides a piece of metal under the cage, which Oswald covers with his foot. The bikers find he booze they were looking for, and leave.

Oswald laughs manically. When they get out – he is going to tear this place to the ground. He starts to rant – but Jim interrupts him. That won’t solve the problem. They need to take the gangs out – right here, right now.

They look down at the piece of metal. Oswald asks how they pick it up.

They eye each other, and – honestly – the fact that they both wordlessly come to the same impractical solution points to how bizarrely close they are.

They turn back to back and – leaning against each other – lower themselves slowly to the floor, with Jim making some of the best facial expressions ever seen.

(An aside. OK. Fair enough, Oswald can’t really pick that up: I don’t think his leg would allow him. But Jim. Jimothy. JimJam. Jimbalaya. I ran a test. It’s easy to lower down to the ground with your hands behind your back, pick something up, and then stand again. You saw a chance for some body contact and you took it. Naughty.)

Bruce creeping about at Jeremiah's lair. He encounters a corridor strewn with the corpses of pilgrims, all with gunshot wounds to the head.

Meanwhile, Selina joins Ecco and the others in an empty swimming pool. Essentially, they play a group game of Russian roulette. Ecco is very theatrical and Harley Quinn-ish about all this. Selina scoffs – but, on Ecco implying she’s a coward, places the bullet in the chamber and spins the barrel.

Ecco counts them down – again, slightly aggravating on the quirky preciousness front. We go quickly back to Bruce, whose head turns sharply when he hears the gunshots.

Ecco strolls round, announcing that she’s disappointed in those who didn’t participate. Selina says she’s

Just not a mindless idiot willing to get shot in the head for nothing

Ecco glares. She comments that Curls is here to judge all of us. She goes on, though, indulging in some wittering about Jeremiah and his methods and how it looks like madness but it’s really liberation, blah blah blah

She then tells them all to leave now – she needs to have a word with Selina. They all got straight ‘As’ and can proceed and be reborn.

Elsewhere, Bruce follows two guards before beating them. He ascends further up the staircase.

Selina faces off with Ecco. Ecco says she doesn’t want to meet Jeremiah, but Selina insists she does – only she’s not willing to play that psychotic game

Ecco does some more quirky stuff

But baby – it’s so fun!

Selina asks why Ecco doesn’t play. Ecco tells her she doesn’t get it. Lifting her hair, she displays a scar at the base of her skull, near her ear.

The bullet’s still inside. I hear it. Ping ping ping. Boy do I feel it when the nights get cold

She pulls the trigger, but there’s no bullet. She seems to be getting off a little on it.

Selina tells her she’s insane – but she’s indignant at this, saying she was willing to look death in the face and allow the old her to die. This is the gift Jerome gave Jeremiah – and now it’s the gift he’s giving them

(An aside – interestingly, Jeremiah seems to have rather retconned his past with Jerome again. The gas wouldn’t have killed Jeremiah – there was no potentially fatal option, as with his gun method)

Ecco smiles

We want you to experience that gift….Selina

Selina’s eyes widen

You know me

Ecco smiles

There’s not a single part of Bruce's life we don’t know about. His joys, his fears, his desires

(An aside. Wow. That sounds a like a fun couple activity.)

She adds that Bruce wasn’t ready for Jeremiah’s gift, and nor was Selina.

Selina grimaces as Ecco points the gun at her face

One thing Jeremiah did teach me. I hate a gun pointed at my face.

She hisses angrily, and they start to fight.

Oh puddin’. Aren't you delicious?

(An aside. I suppose you can’t really blame Ecco for flirting with Selina. It sounds like most of her evenings with Jeremiah are spent working on the big Bruce scrapbook.)

Ecco says she knew she had it in her – all it took was a kick in the pants.

Bruce appears. Ecco sneers that her boyfriend is worried about her.

Selina flashes back to her shooting. She manages to turn the gun on Ecco – but Bruce yells stop, and Ecco escapes, stabbing Selina in the leg as she goes. Selina screams in rage and makes after her – but Bruce stops her, telling her that she’s bleeding.

Selina cuffs him to the gate. Bruce protests, but Selina says they’ve done things his way. Not it’s her turn. Bruce is left yelling after her as Selina drags herself off after Ecco.

Back at Haven, the bikers eyeing up cops and discussing who might be best for fights. Jim strolls up

How about this?

He points his gun

The biker says he’s bluffing

I’m afraid not

Oswald appears at the other end of the room

Neither am I

Oswald shoots the gang members. Jim calls on the cops to come out. Jim and Oswald face each other across the room. We hear a whimper, and Oswald’s dog approaches him. He fusses over him, and reassures him that he killed the bad men.

The crowd behind him overhear this and mutter agreement – he did shoot the bad men. They start to chant his name.

Oswald smiles gleefully. In many ways, he’s the world's simplest creature.

Back at Haven, people are arguing both with and about Jim

You promised safety!

He saved us!

Oh boy. Time for another speech.

It was a hard day - but we won.

He points out that they’ve got Oswald's guns and ammo now, and that they survived. Hope survived too – and he thinks that’s worth fighting for.

So do I

It’s the winsome orphan who rescued him

(An aside. Mercy, Gotham. I can’t take much more of this treacle.)

Jim blinks in response to this support. He goes on. Now there’s work to be done, wounded to be cared for.

Tomorrow's another day

Jim’s Scarlett O'Hara now.

A cop appears to tell Jim that Oswald is outside.

Before he heads out, Jim tells the winsome orphan that he did a brave thing, and that they wouldn’t have escaped if not for him. The boy replies that Jim helped him, so he wanted to reciprocate. He hands the boy his badge, and tells him he needs deputies. He smiles and thanks him – especially since he’s allergic to pineapple.

Jim walks towards Oswald, who is fussing over the dog. He straightens up as Jim approaches, and asks him if the cops are really necessary: after all, he just saved hundreds of people.

Jim adds that he endangered them to start with, so he can be forgiven for wanting to play it safe.

Oswald looks up at him, his face more sincere

Still - I do hope there’s no hard feelings?

Jim steps closer and looks at him like he’s recently been caught stealing apples, as opposed to putting a bounty on his head and then breaking through the barricade with a gang of bikers.

You did the right thing today, Oswald. You’re free to go. Don’t make me regret it.

They stand close and – even with my shipper glasses off, there’s really no other way to describe this – stare at each other fondly, smiles on their faces.

(An aside, before Barbara comes in waving the plot point no-one cares about.

I ship this like crazy. I like writing fic for it. One thing that’s blocked me for ages is how readily Oswald can forgive the worst of behaviour from Jim, and how Jim readily heads back to him for help each time no matter where their relationship has been. But actually seeing this helped me get it. Oswald thinks he’s capable of doing great things for the city and its people. Jim also believes this of himself: Jim Gordon, hero of Gotham. They also both know they are capable of terrible, terrible things.

To have someone who is not only seemingly willing to forgive you anything, but who also has a seemingly endless capacity to believe in you? That’s about as a big a deal as you can get. No wonder they keep gravitating towards each other. Who wouldn’t?)

Harvey hurries in, shouting a Jim in warning. He’s swiftly followed by Barbara.

Hi Pengy. Bye Pengy

Wide-eyed, Oswald holds his hands out in front of him, falling back on what he always falls back on in dire straits

Jim!

Jim hurriedly gets in front of him, and faces Barbara down

Barbara, no

Barbara tells him to get out of her way or he’ll get her first bullet.

Jim insists that he’s not moving

We don’t get to see what Barbara does next, because there’s an explosion that knocks everyone to the ground. Oswald, Barbara and Harvey are unconscious, but Jim stands and looks around to see Haven up in flames. There’s no scream of rage – just resignation, and weariness.

(An aside - So, I’m guessing that the explosion was Jeremiah’s doing – given that it just so happened to coincide with Bruce not being anywhere near the building?)

General Observations

A couple of themes here.

The obvious parallel is between Jim and Oswald as leaders. Jim is the ‘good’ leader, Oswald the ‘bad’ leader. I don’t think we’re supposed to read more into it – but, as I said, I think you can really dig into a little more. Barbara comments offhand that Jim wants to be a hero. They both get emotional gratification from what they’re doing.

Oswald has already been chastened by Mr Penn’s death. How Jim copes with what has happened remains to be seen.

There was a little bit of crossover between storylines, if you squint, in the notion of proving yourself under pressure. Oswald eventually did the right thing. Oswald and Jim came together when it counted. On the darker side, Ecco seemed insistent that Selina could step up to the challenge she posed after a kick in the pants.

Given that it lasted a whole two episodes – the Oswald as dictator thing was dumb. Oswald’s whole thing is his ability to read motivations and needs and exploit those. He can’t just fall back on a family name, or use brawn to succeed. But suddenly he actually hadn’t realised that people hated him? Really? Equally – the bit later about him not understanding why people would resent the situation he offered: safety and stability – Oswald’s whole first season is him rejecting the notion of ‘knowing his place’ in favour of clawing his way up, risking his neck repeatedly.

Sorry – but this storyline has been dependent on both ooc-ness and Flanderizing his character.

Hmmm. See – here’s the thing. I liked Jeremiah last season – pre and post-gas. He was different and had his own quirks and complexities. He simmered icily – a contrast to Jerome’s all-out mayhem. But I find the whole Cult of Joker thing tiresome – with all the witless, biddable acolytes wittering on about how he’ll open your mind. It feels even more marked with Jeremiah, who essentially displays almost total contempt to anyone who isn’t Bruce. I’m guessing part of the reason he stays secluded is that he can barely tolerate them.

I wonder if we’ll ever find out why Ecco was so devoted to Jeremiah. Because she was – back last season – before all the gas stuff. Fiercely devoted. It didn’t feel like a romantic thing – and I was curious to find out what it was. Had he helped her out of a bad situation? Did his working set-up meet her needs and personality in some particular way?

Thoughts?

#gotham commentary #gotham s5e03 #penguin our hero

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official-mermaid · 6 years ago

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So in honor of the Fruits Basket reboot who would you say are your fave Furuba characters and ships (canon) and why? Least fave Furuba characters and canon ships and why?

Ohhhhh my god I love you so much for asking me this. I could talk for hours. OKAY. I’m going to limit myself to 3 per category so that I don’t list literally everyone.

Warning: this will contain spoilers for the manga. It will also be long.

Favorite characters (in no particular order):

- Momiji! I love Momiji so much. He’s a complex character, y’know? Let me tell you, when I first read this series as an angsty preteen, I did not appreciate Momiji nearly enough. All the characters in Fruits Basket have a tragic story, to some extent, and they all handle it in different ways. And Momiji is so unexpected. He’s this sweet, enthusiastic, seemingly naive kid, and you find out that his story is so sad. And he could hate his mom. No one would blame him, he’s still just a kid, and she was cruel. But he chooses to treat her with understanding and kindness, like she didn’t do for him. But it’s more than that. He’s also remarkably strong. He’s one of the only characters to ever really stand up to Akito, which we know from Kureno, from Yuki, from Hiro, is damn near impossible for the members of the Zodiac to do. He gets hurt trying to protect Tohru. When (spoiler) his curse breaks, he doesn’t give in to Akito’s pleading. He’s so brave, and so gentle, and has such surprising depth. It’s easy to not take him seriously, but that’s such a mistake.

- Shigure. Okay, maybe this one is controversial. But listen, this is a list of my favorite characters, not the characters I think are the best people. Shigure is... not a good person. He’s not exactly a bad person either. He’s... interesting. One of the things I love about the series is how it subverts expectations for how certain characters should be, given their animals (see: Kisa and Hiro.) You might expect the dog to be loyal and funny and excitable. Which Shigure is... Kind of? He’s manipulative, and he’s selfish, and he’s morally ambiguous. His motivations are unclear. Does he want the curse broken? Does he just hate Kureno? Does he really care about Yuki, about Tohru, about Kyo? What’s his game here? It’s all hard to say. And I find him so, so compelling as a character.

- Tohru. My girl is amazing. She’s so nice that it’s her main character flaw. That’s incredible. Her character development is so good. The moments where she actually stands up to people are cathartic as hell. She’s selfless to the point of being self destructive, she refuses to ask for help, and she tries so hard to be kind to people, even if they’re straight up assholes to her (see: her trying to befriend Akito). She lets people project all kinds of emotional needs onto her, even when she has no business making herself responsible for their well-being. She’s a remarkable person, and she’s so forgiving, and I love her.

(Other characters I’d love to gush about include but are not limited to: Kureno, Akito, Hatsuharu, Saki, Arisa, Hatori, Yuki, Kyo.)

Favorite canon ships:

- Kyo/Tohru. The progression! The character development! The absolute immense obliviousness that both of them somehow have, right up until the very end!! It’s everything I love in a ship. But honestly, it’s something Yuki points out that really makes this one of my favorites. Kyo was the only one to really see Tohru as like, a person. As a real girl. And Tohru is kind of the only one to see Kyo as a real person, too. Let’s be honest, no one else ever truly had a chance with either one of them. In the end, it was always going to be Kyo and Tohru. It’s hard to explain exactly what makes their relationship so great, because if I tried, I’d just be citing the whole series.

- Yuki/Machi. They’re so good for each other. They’ve got matching emotional baggage. Similar to how Tohru needed someone who saw her as a real person, both Yuki and Machi needed that, too. I was honestly skeptical of anyone with Yuki, but I think that they work. (Though I wouldn’t have complained if he’d ended up with Manabe, either.) And I think that the fact that Yuki was literal seconds away from telling Machi about the curse... Oh, that so makes me want to cry. Yuki was so afraid of rejection. He was so afraid of people knowing the truth. (see: “They’d hate you.” from the original anime) But Machi was that important to him.

- Kureno/Arisa. My boy deserves to be happy, okay? He’s so good. He gave up his life when he was still a teenager because a child begged him not to leave her, and he couldn’t say no. He’s so kind and selfless and sad. And Arisa deserves to be happy, too. She’s had a rough time, and she needs someone like him. They’ve got a good balance.

(Honorable mention: Ritsu and Mitsuru? That’s hilarious.)

Least favorites are going to be harder. I’m not going to do cop-out answers like Kyo’s dad or Yuki’s mom--too easy. Of course I hate those characters, that takes no explanation. So let’s try:

Least favorite (potentially likable) characters:

- Kagura. I’m year of the boar, so I wish I liked Kagura. I tried to. But the way she treats Kyo is upsetting in a number of ways. There are, of course, the obvious ways--she’s pushy, she’s violent, she always plays the victim. But what hurts most about their relationship, to me, is why they were friends in the first place. Kagura pitied him, and she (like other members of the Zodiac) just wanted to have someone to point to that was worse off than her. Kyo is their scapegoat. And he was a lonely kid. It was easy for Kagura to use him like that. She was selfish and she continued to be. And Kyo deserved many apologies (from many people) that he didn’t get.

- Hiro. I can cut him some slack since he’s, y’know, twelve. But god, what an asshole. Yeah, yeah, he’s a kid, but he’s mean. I get he’s jealous, and he has emotions he doesn’t understand, and he just doesn’t know how to deal, but listen, none of that is Tohru’s fault. And frankly, kid, if you really cared about Kisa, you’d want to learn how to be nicer. No one can read your mind, dude.

- Ritsu. I’m sorry. It’s not Ritsu’s fault. I can’t hold him accountable, really. He’s not a bad person, and I understand that he’s trying his best, but, uh. I find him annoying. Mostly that scene where he’s like, on the roof, lamenting about how everyone would be better of without him... Bro, get down from there. I wish he’d learn to calm down. (I also wish he’d been genuinely, canonically a trans woman or nonbinary, but here we are.)

(Obvious ones are: Kyo’s dad, Yuki’s mom, Momiji’s parents, Rin’s parents, Tohru’s relatives, Ren, The Yuki Fan Club Girls.)

Least favorite canon ships:

- Kisa/Hiro. Okay, here’s the thing. They’re kids. More than anything, they both need friends. Not a romantic relationship. In my opinion, I think they should’ve been close friends for that whole plotline. Akito still could’ve gotten possessive and angry and hated how close they were. It wouldn’t have had to change much. I just can’t see them lasting through adolescence. Neither of them are ready for a romantic relationship. (And let’s be real, is Hiro ever going to be ready? Kid needs to chill.)

- Kazuma/Saki. What the fuck, man. S t o p. No. No part of this. I want none of this. Put it back. Get it away from me.

- Ayame/Mine. Bro, Ayame is gay. Let him be gay, alright? Haru is bi, Aya is gay, let us have this. Please.

#there's honestly so much more i could say #fruits basket #fruits basket spoilers #momiji sohma #shigure sohma #tohru honda #maybe i shouldn't tag everyone i mention #anyway i love this series #thank you for giving me a chance to talk about it #people in real life have stopped letting me #Anonymous

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