#why is there no website that has screencaps of every scene like so many other movies have i had to use imdb and they hate saving pics

[micahdotgov]

help me its so dark in here

[kanohivolitakk]

Have you done Krekka for the ask game? I know you're a huge Nidhiki fan, curious if you have any thoughts on his partner?

I haven't gotten Krekka yet actually. So far I only done Toa Ignika and Axonn for the Bionicle ask game (which Im still accepting). That being said great choice. Krekka isn't necessarily a big favorite of mine (partially because I'm not that fond of the "dumb brute" archetype barring a few exceptions), but I have to admit I do have a soft spot for the big guy. Krekka is a relatively simple character when it comes to characterization/backstory/role in the story (especially when compared to Nidhiki), but that doesn't mean I don't have any "deeper" thoughts regarding him or that there isnt stuff worth discussing.

Anyways some thoughts/headcanons/general musings:

This is a weird thing to start with but... Krekka is kinda adorable for me. I think its kinda this ...overgrown puppy (bulldog??) vibe due to his loyalty and dumbness. I admit BOADH is a big reason for me feeling this way since it gave him a few moments that made me go "AWWW he's so cute". Just..love his loyalty so much.

His undying loyalty makes him stand out for me across the other dark hunters. While many dark hunters we ha e are opportunistic and schemy, Krekka is just...very loyal. Maybe too much so. But I love that he is loyal. Feels refreshing tbh.

And now I cant help but feel that TSO is just "guys stupid but at least he wont double cross me and is easy to keep in check" when it comes to him.

Not to go woobifying villains but I genuinely dont think the guys that bad. Hes just really stupid, overly loyal and doing his job. Its kinda like w Lariska being a decent person despite being a knife happy murder girl although to a much lesser extent since guys a literalminded fool and also just smashy boy.

I do like his backstory of being a former guard who lost his job and started wreck havoc until one day a dark hunter found and hired him. It isnt anything too complex but it works well for his character and explains why he is so loyal to Dark Hunters. It also helps bringing a bit more light to his homeland and I love when we get more info of places through character backstories, makes the world feel more real that way.

Also can Gorast please stop hurting charaxters I like. This is the reason shes my least favorite character in the 2001-2008 storyline that isnt just a glorified extra or a plot device.

When it comes to Krekka, one scene I always think of when I think of him is in BOADH where he temporarily forgot to fly and Nidhiki was just "WAIT A MOMENT LARISKA TOLD ME YOU CAN FLY????" and Krekka just goes "whoops I forgot". That was adorable honestly. You dumb idiot, forgot you could fly.

Also, I know he's kinda "the idiot character", and while I am NOT saying he isn't, I do think its worth pointing out that he's basically literal minded. In BOADH (again) when Nidhiki tried to do that training scenario Krekka basically was like "wait I’m here, there’s nothing there why should I move there". This is

Another thing I really like about Krekka is that how, despite being an absolute idiot and tool, he still is willing to sometimes not take Nidhikis bullshit, see preventing him from getting the Zamor launchers (geez BOADH did a lot for this guys characterization lmao)

I sometimes call him truck boy because his name is one letter off my languages word for truck.

Also unless canon/word of Greg says otherwise I don't think every member of his species is as stupid as him. Like possibly on similar level but still.

It is made pretty clear that Nidhiki couldn't stand Krekka at all, but I do genuinely wonder how Krekka feels about Nidhiki. Based on the little we have I'd say he liked him to some extent or at the very least, didn't hate him to the same degree. I also have to wonder how aware he was about Nidhikis haterd towards him.

I also love the idea that when Nidhiki was mutated, Krekka just...wasnt afraid of him at slightest, no fear in this dumb boy. (I also like the idea he didnt recognize him at first and Nidhiki just, had to explain to his thick skull who he was. It took a while but eventually he got it.)

On a related note, I find it interesting how the LOMN website describes him working with Nidhiki because guy knows where to get the good jobs or something rather than being his goverment (read TSO) assigned partner The way the twos relationship were described makes it feel that by this point the staff hadnt figured out what they wanted to do with Dark Hunters , or if it even was an organization or just these two tools.

Its really interesting for me how Krekkas characterization not only varies between the books/comics (where hes more intimidating and him being a simpleton isnt as pronounced) and the movie (where hes more of a dumbass) but also how his characterization evolved. Like, his loyalty wasn't that pronounced trait but now I feel its just as important part of him as him being a dumbass (which is to say, very interesting)

I remember how the aftoermentoined Metru Nui movie website described that Krekka hated toa to the point wouldve hunted them for free if Nidhiki didnt make sure the two would get paid. I feel this is somewhat early installment weirdness as it isnt mentioned anywhere else but at the same time Krekka being willing to fight without payment sounds 1000% in character if you ask me

Something I have been confused over: when exactly was Krekka recruited to the dark hunters??? The timeline is very vague about this and I wish we knew.

It's been AGES since I watched my home countrys dub of LOMN but what I recall I really liked Krekka's voice in that dub. He sounded more badass and I loved it, the VA had a pretty unique sound. Sadly dont think there is any clips of the LOMN dub, which is a shame. UPDATE: I rewatched the dub and I love the voice itself but felt the voice direction made him sound kinda inconsistent

This is more a "Nidhiki and Krekka related thought" rather than just Krekka related but one thing I really like about Krekka and Nidhiki is that how they are like a more serious and competent take of "those two evil henchmen with contrasting personalities" trope. Often these types of villains are rather goofy, but these two could be rather dangerous as well and I really like that. I also like their dynamic of just doing Nidhiki being done with Krekkas bullshit. One of the main reasons I wish LOMN was a miniseries rather than a movie is because I really wanted more screentime with the two.

On a related note can I JUST SAY I LOVE the way the two compliment/pararell each other. From design (Krekka being bulky mostly blue colored, Nidhiki being slender and monstrous, mostly green colored) to personality (Krekka being foolish and simpleminded but loyal Nidhiki being cunning and ambitious but treacherous) to powersets (Krekka being strong physical attacker, Nidhiki being weaker(??) but faster and more special attacker).Heck, even their backstories have similarities as they both lost their orginal purpose in one way or another and didnt have anywhere to go but Dark Hunters (the main difference being that Nidhiki inflicted his fate upon himself by betraying the toa while Krekka didnt really do anything iirc)

Now for something crossovery, Krekkas and Nidhikis dynamic reminds me a lot of Kronk and Yzma from Emperors New Groove. Yes I have drawn a parody of the "pull the lever kronk" meme, yes I intend to make more screencap redraws. They also remind me a lot of Mummymon and Archenemon from Digimon 02, partially due to the dynamic (smug spider that tries to be cunning and intimidating but gets outclassed by most other villains in that + loyal blue dumb boy) partially due to their ultimate fate being rather similar.

I don't know how familiar you are with the franchise, but Krekka reminds me a fair bit of Gamel, one of the four villain generals in Kamen Rider OOOs, mainly because "the dumb brute major villain that's kinda cuteish and loyal a f while everyone else is an asshole".

I remember reading a p good oneshot fic that was just him accidentally killing a civilian when all he wanted was a hug and...honestly that is p much what I imagine him being like. Guy may be strong, reckless and a fool but like I said I dont think hes all that bad and just a puppy. An overgrown, moronic puppy but a puppy nontheless

For AUs, I remember I have thought once of "What if Krekka survived but Nidhiki died" and just ...guy wouldve been very lost and confused and unsure what to do tbh. He would most likely returned to Dark Hunters but Mata Nui knows how say TSO wouldve felt about that. Its not too complex au yet but I am thinking of developing it further one day.

Thank you for asking.

Sorry this took longer than expected. I had too many thoughts and half of them were deleted so. I hope its worth the wait tho. I do have a lot of Krekka thoughts and tbh wasnt sure if I was even able to get them all here.

(I am still doing the ask game so if anyone wants to send me a bonkle I will try to give thoughts, meta and headcanons on them)

[sailorfailures]

ColourPop is dropping a Sailor Moon collab on Feb 20th and I have some Opinions

It’s the moment Sailor Moon makeup geeks have been waiting for - ColourPop cosmetics, noted for their affordable and colourful official pop culture makeup collaborations, has announced a Sailor Moon collaboration containing an eyeshadow palette, two liquid lipsticks, two lip glosses, two blushes, and two body glitters. Most likely this collab is being timed with the 25th Anniversary of Sailor Moon’s debut in North America to contrast with Japanese cosmetics from brands like Creer Beaute and Shiseido, which were released for the Japanese 25th anniversary.

Source: ColourPopCo on Twitter

After my initial excitement about the long-awaited collaboration died down, I was left with a somewhat disappointing realisation... this entire collab, over a total of nine products, was not about Sailor Moon: The Show... it was about Sailor Moon, the character.

When I imagine a makeup collection for Sailor Moon I immediately picture the rainbow of colours represented across the whole Sailor squad, or at least the OG Sailor Team five. But almost everything in the collab is quite warm, and either pink or neutral/natural. Exceedingly neutral/natural, in fact. One look at the names for all the product colours - “Shining Moon”, “Twilight Flash”, “Bun Head”, “Usagi” - make it clear that the products are intended to reflect Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon only.

The packaging itself is... interesting. I can appreciate that they were trying something new with the eyeshadow and blush cases, as they are all topped with different holographic pictures - not (just) the shiny kind of holo, but the old school kind that flips between two different images, all exclusively featuring Usagi and sometimes Luna. You can see the effect in action in this video review by TrendMood. Good concept but slightly awkward execution. I think they would’ve benefited from some kind of static frame around the images so that it didn’t look like I’d just hot glued a pog to my pencil case. The rest of the packaging features the same old redrawn clipart from every other piece of anniversary merch, so, yawn, though the prismatic elements are nice. The body glitter pots are cute, featuring Usagi’s first transformation brooch to mirror the round shape of the pots, but ColourPop’s “gliterally obsessed” branding seems out of place. I know that’s the name of their glitter gel series but maybe it could’ve been swapped out just this once.

(Screencap from above video by TrendMood)

The lip sticks/glosses are by far the most disappointing. Apart from the cardboard boxes they come in, the only branding visible on the tubes themselves is the series logo and a nondescript crescent moon pattern on the caps. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of subtle packaging. I don’t really want Sailor Moon’s face plastered all over a lipstick either; but I’ve also never been a fan of using random moons/hearts/stars as a stand-in for something more relevant to the show when that imagery is so generic and disconnected from the series. Why not little graphics of the Silver Crystal? If they’d thrown some rabbits, bows, and/or roses into the pattern then the combination would read more as “Sailor Moon” than moons on their own. (That said, splitting them into “Moonlight” for the liquid lips and “Daylight” for the lighter glosses with transformed vs. non-transformed? Brilliant. Genius. The perfect blend of nostalgic and practical.)

(Screencap from above video by TrendMood)

Here’s a photo of the palette taken from Temptalia’s website with everything but the shadows desaturated, so you can read the colours more clearly without being influenced by the packaging:

At first I wasn’t sure what this colour story was trying to tell me. I definitely understand going for a more neutral/“everyday” palette over something more glam, since the characters themselves are generally fresh-faced, but the AMOUNT of neutral shades here seem out of place for such a bright series. Tuxedo Rose and Love (the two pinks in the middle of the bottom row) are so similar for such a limited palette. Twilight Flash (top, second from the left) feels out of place; oddly saturated and just a bit too warm to play nicely with many of the other colours. Mare Serenitatis (the coppery-looking one) stood out as unusual but is actually more of a wine/plum under all the glitter, which is much more appropriate and reminds me of Sailor Moon’s transformation.

The more I looked at this palette, and the more I saw of reviewer's looks using it, the more I slowly realised that this palette wasn’t really evoking the character of Usagi herself, but rather the nostalgic, hazy, pink-washed aesthetic of the entire 90s Sailor Moon animation.

The dreamy not-quite-pastel quality of the 90s anime (half conscious design choice, half convention of the time) has received a lot of modern attention and praise. It makes sense that the palette feels like it’s being viewed through a rose-tinted filter when the entire show felt that way, or is at least remembered that way. It wouldn’t surprise me if ColourPop literally based some swatches on recurring colours picked from screenshots.

That being said... Does that make it a good choice for a makeup collab? Is this what Sailor Moon fans want and will buy? Is it versatile enough to warrant a purchase for non-diehard fans? Is it actually what casual fans, who might buy something like this out of pure nostalgia, are actually nostalgic for? Just because I see what ColourPop was going for, does it automatically translate to the most appropriate choice?

Ultimately, my judgement on that comes down to whether this is ColourPop’s only Sailor Moon collab. If this is them testing the waters to see if they can branch out into releasing products focused on the other girls, like a blue/silver mini palette for Sailor Mercury, a green/pink mini palette for Sailor Jupiter, etc. then I’m all for it. When perceived as a palette that represents the show itself, and not any specific character - not even Usagi, despite what all of the swatch names suggest - it really shines. But that’s not really ColourPop’s MO. Most of their pop culture collections are released in one big shining burst of products and then... nothing. And there are quite a few different products here.

I’d also be remiss not to point out that there are lots of indie Sailor Moon-inspired makeup collections already on the market, which makes sense for an almost-30-year-old series that literally repeats the words “make-up!” nearly every episode. Maybe ColourPop felt like they would be stepping on fandom toes or running the risk of copycat accusations if they strayed too close to any of the 2,348 red Sailor Mars-inspired eyeshadows online, though I assume they’d have the legal upper hand. In that respect, I do appreciate that this is a unique approach to a concept that has been nearly driven into the ground.

But ColourPop is not an indie brand and there are some benefits that come with that. They are generally more accessible, sometimes more affordable, can usually ship to more places in less time at a lower cost to the buyer, and can afford much larger runs that will sell out less quickly (though don’t be fooled, this collab will almost certainly start to sell out shortly after its launch). For many fans, especially younger fans, this is probably their only feasible option for Sailor Moon makeup. And some fans prefer the stamp of authenticity from an “official” collaboration, even if indie collections are often, well, better. So I think there’s an impetus for ColourPop to release a less specialised collection that’s reminiscent of more characters.

If this really is the only Sailor Moon collab ColourPop is planning to release, then the packaging, in my opinion, is an odd choice. I don’t know why they decided to focus exclusively on Usagi herself; if the colour story is meant to represent the entire series, then why not either have all the girls on the front in a rosey colour scheme, OR have none of them and focus on one of the cityscapes that clearly inspired the palette? I feel like there are lots of fans who aren’t necessarily fond of Usagi herself who may be put off by the overwhelming focus on her.

Overall: The lip sticks are nice but not super exciting, but I like what I can see of the lipglosses. The subtle glitter is very Sailor Moon. I love the Moonlight/Daylight concept but wish it were reflected on the actual tubes. The body glitters (Moonlight Legend, Moon Prism Power) are exciting and interesting, by far the most experimental part of the collab. The shape and colour choices for the glitters are very “Sailor Moon” and I can see them getting some use on the festival scene. The blushes also seem cute but a tad overpowering for the otherwise understated vibe of the rest of the collab, like the liquid lipsticks, and I love the Luna stamp in the blushes but would be sad to actually use them and see it get worn away. And while I like the gauzy backdrop-inspired looks people are making out of the palette, I feel like it’s extremely limited in the number of unique looks you could actually pull off.

So, in the end... am I going to be buying any of these? Hell, probably, if they’re not totally sold out by the time I get to them. My initial roller coaster of OMG COLOURPOP SAILOR MOON!!!! excitement dropped into “that’s it?” disappointment but has now leveled out at a respectable buzz of interest. I could see myself wearing most of these products, and the collector in me wants at least a piece of the collab for posterity. I just really hope that this isn’t the end of ColourPop’s involvement in Sailor Moon and that we might see some future products tailored specifically to the other girls, so that my collection isn’t just Usagi’s face staring back at me.

[sage-nebula]

One thing I’ve noticed about fandoms over the years is that, although there are often ships that are favored by large swathes of the fandom as a whole, fandoms still tend to prioritize one character over the other despite both characters comprising the favorite ship. Whether this means that one character receives more solo fanart, or only one characters’ side of the relationship is examined, or both, fandoms almost always favor one half of the ship even when they’re discussing the ship as a whole.

In the case of Steven Universe, it’s very often Peridot who gets favored over Lapis Lazuli.

In one of the most recent episodes, Peridot expresses to Steven that she bites back certain thoughts or feelings she has because she doesn’t want to upset Lapis. She even, in her own words, “bends over backwards” to keep Lapis distracted when Steven is trapped on Homeworld. Many have taken this to mean that Lapis forces Peridot to keep her feelings and thoughts at bay. I have seen some twist and warp Lapis’ character so far that they call her a “control freak” and insinuate that she intentionally crushes Peridot under her thumb (a notion which is completely ridiculous and has no basis in canon whatsoever), but even those who seem to want to at least attempt understanding of her character say that she has pushed Peridot into controlling her feelings somehow.

However, I feel that if you watch and listen to Lapis in her scenes---really, truly pay attention to her---you’ll see a different story.

In the scene where Peridot finally reveals that she doesn’t wish to leave Earth, Lapis is confused, shocked, and---as the conversation continues---outraged. But it should be noted that her outrage does not come from the news that Peridot doesn’t want to leave. Her outrage comes from the fact that Peridot has lied about her feelings when Lapis had previously believed that Peridot was being open and honest with her. As a recap (and I’ll post a transcript under the screencap since the subs are sort of hard to read):

(LAPIS: “Peridot, what are you trying to say?”

PERIDOT: “It’s just, if something happens on Earth, I want to be here for it!”

LAPIS: “But---no! Why are you telling me this now?!”

PERIDOT: “Because we’re about to leave!”

LAPIS: “Isn’t that the worst time?”

PERIDOT: “. . . Yes!”

LAPIS: “Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?”)

Up until this point, Lapis is expressing clear confusion and shock over what Peridot is just now revealing to her. While it seems as if she’s a bit frustrated when she says no, it’s clear from her “but---” that she’s more confused than anything else. It’s also clear by looking at her. At no point in the above screencaps does her facial expression or body language express anger toward Peridot. She draws back, shocked dismayed, in the first screencap. She facepalms in her second, but she’s frowning with wide, terrified eyes in her third, as she asks why Peridot has just decided to drop this bombshell on her now. She similarly looks dismayed as she spreads her arms (vulnerability) when asking Peridot if this isn’t the worst time to tell her this news . . . and finally, when she asks why Peridot didn’t tell her sooner, she’s grasping one arm with her other hand. Body language like this shows defensiveness, unease, and fear. According to this website, in fact:

“The higher the hand grips the arm, the more defensive a person is feeling. It looks as if the person is hugging himself.  When we were kids our parents used to hug us when we were sad or tense. As adults, we attempt to recreate those comfort feelings when we find ourselves in stressful situations.”

In this situation, Lapis has not only been confronted with the very sudden announcement that Peridot wishes to remain on Earth (which, to Lapis, means that Peridot wants to get caught up in another war with Homeworld), but also with the sudden realization that the person she has grown closest to has been keeping things from her for reasons she does not understand. This has left her feeling scared, vulnerable, and in need of comfort, hence why she self-soothes in this scene using body language that is markedly defensive (while her facial expression looks obviously scared).

And that’s when Peridot drops this on her:

(PERIDOT: “Well, there are many things I should say, but they would upset you, so in general, I don’t say those things.”)

And that’s when Lapis gets angry.

(LAPIS: “Peridot, that’s lying!”)

Her body language is no longer defensive, her expression is no longer fearful. Everything about her in this moment is angry. But it’s important to pay attention to why she’s angry. She isn’t angry that Peridot wants to stay. She isn’t angry that Peridot waited until just now to tell her. Those things left her shocked, confused, dismay, anxious. What makes her angry is the fact that Peridot has been refusing to tell her things for fear of upsetting her. What makes her angry is the fact that Peridot has been lying to her. What makes her angry is the fact that Peridot decided she knew what was best for Lapis without consulting Lapis herself about it. 

One of Lapis’ character flaws that the fandom loves to talk about until the topic is nigh exhausted is the fact that she tends to repress her emotions until they explode later. When she is troubled, she bottles everything and withdraws, retreating to a place where she can continue to dwell on how she feels in private. Other characters generally have to prod at her to get her to tell them things, and even then, they tend to burst forth (like water from dam, so fitting) rather than being expressed in a calm, healthy way. All of this is a result of the trauma she is wrangling with after being imprisoned for 1,000 years, among many, many, many other things. It doesn’t mean this is a healthy way to deal with the situation, but it does mean that this flaw of hers does have a very good explanation.

However, something that isn’t often discussed when talking about this relationshpi is one of Peridot’s most prominent character flaws, which is that she is a (mostly) self-assured little know-it-all who believes, unless smacked in the face with evidence to the contrary, that she knows more and better than those around her (and sometimes she believes that even after being smacked in the face with the contrary). While Peridot does have anxieties related to some things, her knowledge about everything and everyone around her is something she prides herself in. Her knowledge is everything to her. This means that she not only likes to school people on technical know-how, but also that she tends to make decisions regarding the situations around her without consulting others. If she already knows what the right answer is, why bother to consult others about it? Clearly she is making the right decision. She has accounted for every variable. She knows what to do . . .

. . . even when the situation concerns someone else’s well-being . . .

. . . and even when it might not be what is actually best for them.

Enter: Lapis Lazuli coming to stay at the barn.

Peridot and Lapis did not get off on the right foot. Lapis was, understandably, extremely averse to spending time around Peridot, given that she regarded Peridot as one of her captors during the fiasco that led to her being imprisoned with Jasper beneath the sea. Peridot tried everything she could think of in order to get Lapis on her side, but nothing seemed to work until Lapis, having broken Peridot’s comfort item, was gently scolded by Steven for it. Feeling badly about this, Lapis protected Peridot from the Rubies, and Peridot felt that she had finally won Lapis over. The two stayed in the barn together after that.

Now, we don’t see the two again (iirc) until “Beta”, at which point we see that they’ve been busy creating “meep morps” together, and that they seem to be enjoying one another’s company. However, we also learn something interesting about their dynamic in that episode:

(PERIDOT: “Uh, Amethyst, I---uh---try not to use the . . . ‘J’ word so loosely around here.”)

When Amethyst explodes about Jasper still being at large, Peridot panics, and hastily informs her that she refrains from mentioning Jasper around Lapis to avoid triggering her trauma. However, look at Lapis as Peridot explains this. While she at first does stare at Amethyst in open shock, when Peridot explains that she tries not to use Jasper’s name around Lapis, Lapis’ response is to give her a very deadpan look and raised eyebrow. This is not an expression of gratitude, or one of love; this is one of exasperation, of Lapis thinking, ‘Seriously?’ It’s very clear from Lapis’ reaction---from the way she turns her surprise to Peridot, and then from the way she looks exasperated and like she’s a second away from rolling her eyes---that she never asked Peridot to do this, but that Peridot simply decided to on her own. 

The thing about Lapis is that, when she is made upset by something, she flees. She might explode at someone if they’re near and she has already repressing things for a while, but that explosion will be very brief before she flees to somewhere where she can find solitude. We see this in “Barn Mates” when she repeatedly removes herself from Peridot’s presence (to, for instance, go lay on top of the water tower) because being around Peridot upsets her, and we see this again in “Room for Ruby” where, although she tries to teach Eyeball how to live on Earth as Peridot wants, she eventually can’t take it anymore, explodes, feels bad about exploding, and then retreats to the barn where she can sit quietly by herself to deal with how she’s feeling. As I stated above, this tendency to repress her feelings until she potentially explodes, but absolutely withdraw when she’s upset, is a notable flaw of hers. Rather than stay around the person she’s angry with, Lapis removes herself from the situation wholesale so that she doesn’t have to deal with it anymore. The sole exception to this was her toxic relationship with Jasper, and that is because she had to keep Jasper fused with her in order to imprison her at the bottom of the sea. Lapis couldn’t remove herself from that situation---she was trapped---so she dealt with it by lashing out at Jasper, trying to hurt Jasper just as much as Jasper was hurting her. No, it was not healthy, and no, it wasn’t a good way to deal with that situation, but that’s how abusive relationships are. There’s no “good way” to deal, you just get through it any way that you can.

Back to the matter at hand, though: Lapis’ tendency to withdraw and leave when she’s upset means that she would not have forced Peridot to act any sort of way. If Peridot was upsetting her, what is far more believably in character for Lapis is that Lapis would have left for a while until she was ready to be around Peridot again. That’s what Lapis does when she is overwhelmed by her emotions, whether those emotions are triggered by her trauma or otherwise. She leaves. She may verbally snap first (and if she does, with clear and open honesty about why she’s upset, because we’ve also seen blunt honesty from her, as well as, in “Raising the Barn”, clear dislike of lying), but she will always leave and remove herself from the situation. She would not stay there and force Peridot to act a certain way. She would leave first.

Peridot, meanwhile, is no doubt acutely aware of this, particularly given how hard it was to win Lapis over in the first place. It took an entire day’s worth of effort for Lapis to be okay with her, a decision that positively delighted Peridot:

Given how positively thrilled Peridot is at the idea that she has now won Lapis’ favor and that Lapis will be staying in the barn with her, we can reasonably assume that she does not want to do anything that might cause Lapis to lose favor of her and leave again. Particularly given that Peridot seems to be willing to fight against Homeworld should they come to Earth, one could even make the reasonable argument that pushing Lapis away has become Peridot’s greatest fear. Thus, when confronted with the possibility that Lapis could leave (particularly if, at some point between “Barn Mates” and “Beta” Lapis did withdraw and leave the barn for a time after being triggered by something), Peridot did what Peridot always does: She took it upon herself to work out the answer of how best to handle Lapis and keep her happy and therefore at the barn, without consulting Lapis herself.

Now, you may argue that Peridot does check on Lapis to make sure she’s okay in “Beta”, and that’s true. But what she does when she calls up to Lapis before leaving is not consult Lapis about how she wants Peridot to treat her, but rather ask about her emotional state right in that moment. Again, Peridot is trying to keep Lapis happy, and she figures she knows how to do this. She’s running through a checklist based on knowledge she compiled through her own prior knowledge and observations. What she is not doing, however, is directly asking Lapis if there are things she should avoid talking about, subjects she should avoid bringing up, thoughts she shouldn’t voice. Instead, she---as she herself expresses in “Raising the Barn”---has independently decided what she should and shouldn’t voice around Lapis. And as Lapis in turn expresses in “Raising the Barn”, she personally views this as Peridot lying to her, and is therefore angry about it.

In other words, what I’m getting at here is this:

Peridot and Lapis are BOTH to blame for what unfolded in “Raising the Barn”, and their communication difficulties stem from BOTH of their character flaws. 

Lapis is a very internal person. She is, understandably as a result of her trauma, very focused and wrapped up in her own thoughts, so much so that it is sometimes difficult for her to understand the perspective of others. She also tends to withdraw and flee when she’s upset by something, rather than confronting the problem and working it out in a healthy way. While she is very bluntly honest when she’s pushed to express herself, she also tends to simply remove herself from the situation if at all possible. Additionally, Lapis tends to assume that others will be honest with how they feel. The idea that Peridot has kept things from her floors her, because she just assumed that Peridot---perhaps particularly given how vocal Peridot seems to be about everything---would be honest and upfront with her if there were any problems. Her tendency to withdraw into herself (and flee from situations), coupled with her assumption that Peridot would be honest, led to Lapis flat out not realizing that Peridot was keeping anything from her.

Peridot, however, is very self-assured when it comes to the things she believes she knows, sometimes to the point of arrogance. Peridot assumes that it’s a big no-no to talk about Jasper, even though Lapis’ reaction to this revelation in “Beta” shows that it’s not nearly the massive, world-ending trigger that Peridot seems to regard it as. Peridot decides, independently, that she knows what Lapis’ triggers are, and that she knows what the best methods are to avoid setting them off. Rather than actually talking to Lapis about this and deciding, mutually, what topics should be avoided (if any) or what should be done in order to make Lapis comfortable, Peridot decided all of that on her own and then acted accordingly. While her heart was undoubtedly in the right place (mostly---her desire to keep Lapis there does stem from a form of selfishness no different than Lapis’ focus on her own feelings is a form of selfishness), the fact remains that Peridot made these decisions based on what she thought was best, rather than on what Lapis wanted. She chose to lie to and keep information from Lapis because she felt that it was what was best for Lapis, without ever once asking Lapis if that was the case. This led to her . . . well, lying to Lapis and keeping information from her, and therefore never giving Lapis the opportunity to explain how she felt or what she thought.

Both of these things culminated in the absolute mess that we saw unfold in “Raising the Barn”. Because Lapis is a very internal person who tends to both withdraw from difficult situations and also has difficulty seeing things from others’ perspectives, she never realized that Peridot was keeping things from her, and thus was left feeling very defensive, shocked, dismayed, and ultimately angry. Because Peridot chose to keep things from Lapis “for Lapis’ own good” without consulting her, she was left scrambling to try to explain her own feelings and thoughts when it was far too late to do so, and was also left with the ramifications of having lied to the person closest to her. Even though her intentions were good, a lie is still a lie, after all. Peridot meant well, but that doesn’t change how hurt and upset Lapis felt when she learned that one of the people she trusted most has been lying to her for the entire duration of the time they’ve spent together.

Lapis made mistakes in this relationship, absolutely. She has not learned proper coping techniques to deal with her trauma, and she is not good at expressing herself or dealing with conflict in a healthy way. However, Peridot has made just as many mistakes. She, as a result of her own confidence that she knows best, lied to Lapis and kept things that were about her from her for months, if not a year or more. (It’s hard to tell how much time has passed.) Lapis has every right to feel angry and upset by that. I think anyone would feel hurt and angry after learning that their roommate / best friend / partner / girlfriend has been lying to them for such a long time. Even if the intentions are good, lies are still lies, and Peridot should have been more honest, just as Lapis should have tried expressing herself in healthier ways rather than repressing, exploding, and fleeing. Peridot is just as guilty of what happened as Lapis is.

So while Lapis was wrong to take the barn with her (it was an overreaction), ultimately, the fight they had was a result of miscommunication on the parts of both parties. Lapis has not completely dominated Peridot; it’s clear from her reaction that the idea that Peridot has been bottling so many things and not expressing her feelings was breaking news to Lapis, and news that she was not at all happy to hear. It’s very clear that Lapis would have vastly preferred Peridot to be honest with her from the beginning. The idea that Peridot is an innocent victim who did no wrong is an idea that stems from character bias, and it isn’t fair to either of them. Peridot is just as flawed as Lapis is, and both of them owe each other apologies when they reunite. It’s the only way this mess will get sorted out at last.

[numbernines]

D.Va Not Being a Starcraft Player is Not a Retcon

It’s just a bad miscommunication many of us believed.

So this little tidbit of Overwatch lead writer Michael Chu saying “D.Va wasn't a StarCraft pro before joining MEKA” is still getting the rounds a month later (as of writing) is being used as a scapegoat detail against Overwatch’s lore. “Overwatch is already retconning its own lore”, “the writers don’t know anything about their characters”, “Blizzard is trying to gaslight fans”, etc.

Now, there are a bunch of issues with Overwatch’s lore and definitely valid complaints to be made about its storytelling, but this is not one of them. 

As a quick summation: the idea of “D.Va is a Starcraft pro player” has never been explicitly stated by the writing team, but never really denied either until this tweet. While it’s understandable why many would come to the conclusion of “D.Va is a Starcraft pro player” and go “Oh yeah, that sounds about right”, this little tidbit is not actually supported by the game’s official lore, ergo this is not contradicting anything official, ergo this is is not a retcon, ergo Blizzard isn’t gaslighting anybody, calm down.

Okay, so shortly after this tweet was made, Michael Chu went onto the forums to clarify his explanation (screencapped below in case you can’t access it), and exact wording is extremely important regarding this whole topic, so bear that in mind. Some people have taken Chu’s initial tweet as saying that D.Va is actually not a pro player in general. Those people are wrong, haha

As stated, D.Va is a professional gamer, or at least she was before she joined MEKA, but what Chu was attempting to say in his first tweet is that she wasn’t specifically a Starcraft pro. While the game is in her (and her dad’s) casual repertoire and she is a fan (hence some of her direct Starcraft-related references including this adorable line), she is NOT a professional at it.

This might seem hard to verify as “not a retcon” at first because she doesn’t really have any significant lore as of writing (D.Va/Lucio short when?), but if we’re going to take any official canon explanation (this will be important in a bit) of her backstory to compare, she still has her official Bio on the official Overwatch site. 

Lo and behold: "Starcraft” is never mentioned once. She’s only a “professional gamer”, and that’s it. Sure, it never explicitly denies that she’s a Starcraft player, and that definitely and rather understandably added to the confusion, but it also never confirms it either. Canonically, this has always been the case, and so with this revelation, nothing has changed, and Blizzard ain’t gaslighting you, people (and before someone goes the conspiracy-nutter route and says “They just edited that after Chu’s tweet to save face!”, it only says “Pro Gamer” even in cached/archived searches).

Now, there are two big problems here that I believe is the source for a lot of confusion: first is the fact that while this detail is consistently vague, it’s also consistently vague. Again, nothing here has canonically confirmed “D.Va is a Starcraft pro player”, but the wording is wiggly enough to not explicitly deny it either. Combined with the definite associations D.Va has in her in-game character, as well as just fandom osmosis, it’s no surprise why some people latched onto the idea. It’s not technically correct, but it’s not surprising, either, and we shouldn’t hold it against anyone for thinking that.

The second issue is that some of those people, sadly, are also of Blizzard. Some really major people within the game (and some possibly outside it) have occasionally said “D.Va is a Starcraft pro player”, which has consequently been taken as gospel and been cited and used against Chu and the writing team and Overwatch in general as “You're inconsistent with your lore.” Here are some common examples I see a lot:

The Starcraft 2 website advertising D.Va as an in-game announcer, quoted with “her journey began in the StarCraft esports scene, where she became the #1 ranked player in the world at the age of 16.″

Game director Jeff Kaplan stating in an interview with Forbes “D.Va is a StarCraft player. We’ve established that Blizzard exists in the Overwatch canon. We’re safe to do this.”

Assistant art director Arnold Tsang at a panel at Blizzcon 2015 that “D.Va is a pro gamer, she’s a multiple-time world champion at Starcraft.” (Incidentally, when I was first cited this source against Michael Chu, he thought that was Chu contradicting himself. Make of that what you will.)

A now-defunct Starcraft II WCS profile page used to tease D.Va before her official release in the Overwatch beta (it now just directs to the Starcraft II WCS front page). Screencap below:

Okay, so that last one, Chu already addressed in that forum post I linked and screencapped above: it was meant to be read as facetious (her race as “random” and the fact just simply by Overwatch’s chronology, there’s no way she could’ve participated), but it was apparently taken at face value, and in hindsight was probably still a misleading teaser, but whatever, it’s out there.

As for those first three, though, keep in mind that none of them are actually part of Overwatch’s specific writing team. Jeff Kaplan has probably the closest access to the exact knowings-ons and semantic details, and as much as I and others love him, he’s only human, and has gotten equally tiny things wrong in the past. The thing I always point to is how he calls Bastion by “he”/”him pronouns despite multiple clarifications by Chu that Bastion is genderless and referred to by “it”, both on the official bio and in comics.

“But Nines!”, some would say, “Keeping lore straight is Blizzard’s responsibility! Surely Michael Chu or someone at the writing team would have let them know about the lore error!” But come on, devs are only human, and Overwatch is a humongous game with people within the company talking about it all day with discussions all across the internet, and in the grand scheme of things, this is a really minor detail that’s not worth manually screening every relevant article, interview, presentation, etc. and asking for correcting, especially since none of them have any canonical consequence. 

Like sure, this could’ve been clarified sooner before this misunderstanding became a behemoth of a scapegoat tool for Blizzard it’s since become, and maybe Blizzard’s lore team could get a move-on already (or perhaps not; I don’t work at Blizzard and know the exact development going-ons, so maybe there’s a good logistical reason, maybe not). 

But regardless, it feels really unfair to the people at Blizzard -- those working on the game and its accompanying lore for our entertainment -- that they’re getting all these accusations of “You’re lying and disrespectful to your own fans!”, “You’re so careless to your characters!”, “You’re terrible at your job that you can’t keep a detail correct and should be fired!”, etc. especially since none of that is actually true. 

I’m hoping this giant rant/explanation/essay can clear up some of the confusion, but regardless, don’t thrash developers like that, especially if you haven’t gotten your facts straight. You can call them out if they have made a legitimate mistake (and believe me, the Overwatch team seems to like it when they are), but first, take the time to educate yourself and make sure your argument is straight as well, and be open to changing, because sometimes you will be wrong. We’re all only human, and we’re all still learning :)