#you can fight me on that by the way it's not necessarily a tragic story but it is a tragedy in that everyone is doomed by the narrative

[plusvanity]

Thanks to your blog — that I discovered randomly — I got sucked into the whole Mayhem lore. 🥲 I got the general order and gist of the things (especially around the whole mythos that people build over the years) but there is one thing that I can't stop thinking and it just bothers me.

So, we all already know that Varg and Øystein start as friends, good ones at that. Varg admires Øystein meanwhile Øystein thinks they share the same vision music wise, they burn churches together, he defends him from the press (and generally TO ME, it seems like it was Ø doing the heavy lifting and all the work in this friendship but whatever) and so on; until Varg's opinion of him shifted all of a sudden: Øystein became full of flaws, or only flaws at that point, and the tension arises. Many people spoke about how they were kind of fighting for dominance of the BM scene, but really, how much is this a factoid? Yeah Varg can brag alllll he wants about how Øystein was jealous because he was becoming more popular, but to me it's more that Ø was just annoyed by his behaviour, he did not feel threatened of being 'dethroned'; it reads like a fantasy of Varg (that besides, came out of nowhere and all of a sudden in the scene meanwhile Øystein was already a well established personality). I also do not really agree on the stance that Øystein was a megalomaniac, but I'll put that aside.

Varg at a certain point says that he 'listened to a call' where Ø was talking about how he wanted (and would) kill him. Is this even true or pulled out from his ass to justify himself? I only found one source that mentions briefly that he THOUGHT about 'getting to him first' but A) he never really wanted that nor was violent and B) it was a private conversation that got out after his death, and I'm referring to Mortiis.

Either way, it does seem that Øystein was a bit preoccupied when it came to Varg. He wanted him out and most importantly, far from himself. There is also what I'll label as a rumor that Ø was agitated after hearing that one clairvoyant (sprinkle of salt). So why would he EVER open the door to him that night? It certainly was weird and he knew that Varg was dangerous, hence why, among other things, he wanted to put him in jail. And even Varg admits that Øystein was clearly uncomfortable seeing him. Would Varg have killed him even if Øystein never opened that damn door (oh, how I wish!), or would his impulsive anger cool down?

Varg and Øystein started as friends because Varg was looking up to Øystein. I have no doubt that Varg was putting up a mark at first to seem more likeable, to get closer to Øystein and eventually become relevant in the Black Metal scene since back then he was a nobody and Øystein was a well-established personality between their friends. As time progressed, Varg's admiration turned into jealousy and envy since he was an undisclosed egomaniac and wanted to have what his 'mentor' had. Their fight for dominance is not a rumor. It is a fact that led to Øystein's tragic end.

No one can blame Øystein for getting sick of Varg's bullshit and giving him the taste of his own medicine by talking badly about Varg's on his back. I believe their animosity was going back and forth because I think I'm one of the few people who believe that Øystein had a bit of an ego too, because after all he was leading a brand new music scene and he was entitled to his position. I don't necessarily think there is something bad about this because after all he was the one (together with Pelle) who built their own, unique style. Whether he really felt threatened by Vikernes or not, we can't tell for sure.

Varg will use everything in his side of the story to make people believe that he was right all along in what he did and not only that, but he even 'did the right thing' by his delusional, egoistic and envious standards, so, my suggestion is to believe anybody else but Varg. You cannot tell what is real and what is fiction, including the call that he pretends he heard. I would say (with indulgence) that 90% of what he states is pulled straight of his ass. He is a nothing but a pathological liar and that's it.

I believe that Øystein was, to a certain extent, having the thought of Varg doing 'something' against, but when all they ever did was throwing empty threats, how could Øystein be sure that this time Varg means business? He wanted Varg out of his life, that's for certain. Vikernes' actions cause him bad publicity and his shop, Helvete, to close.

Why Øystein opened the door that night, I can only speculate the most plausible answer. It was 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning and he woke up from his sleep, too tired to realize how late it must've been, and answering the door came as an automatic reflex. He didn't know who was waiting on the other side and he was surprised to see Varg there. In retrospect, Øystein would've had the chance to put up a better fight if he wasn't taken by surprise like this, but after all, Varg had a knife on him and this was the surprise element that, if you don't have an equalizer, you've already lost the fight unfortunately.

Varg must've been a madman to drive 5-6 hours in the middle of the night from Bergen to Oslo to kill. I don't think that not having that door open, you would just shrug and be like 'Well, that's it, folks. I'm going home'. No, he would've find a way to get in. It's the adrenaline that brought you there that won't allow you to leave even if you would somehow realize that what you do is gonna cost you a lot of trouble. The impulse is too strong, you can't just walk away simply.

I also wish Øystein never opened that door, but I guess we all wish that.

[ay-asterisms]

designing a set for an orv musical would be a challenge, but I have a couple ideas rattling around

[sporesgalaxy]

The way Dungeon Meshi does gender makes me insane. It’s stated over and over that Falin and Laios really are more similar than anyone is looking for- Laios directly states as much at one point, Marcille mentions it when Falin wakes up the first time and starts bemoaning not eating any monsters, the magic mirror story even has fem!Toshiro crushing on Laios- but Laios is so protective of his little sister. Laios leaves home to start making a life he can one day share with her. And she leaves magic school because he has failed, and failed so hard that she’s worried that she might never see him again if she lets him leave without her. He wants to protect her from the way the world treats him, but he does not or does not want to understand the terrible truth- the world will never treat her as harshly as it does him, because she is a pretty ‘quirky’ girl and he is a big autistic man. Falin is happy, doing well in her own sphere, making a single friend (because she is still autistic, and has struggles of her own, even if they’re a different kind), but Laios still feels a need to protect her because his experience of this world has been nothing but cold shoulders and distrust all the way down. This story makes me want to sprint into the river. Laios and Falin are the best characters of all time.

Ouhhhhh I dont have time to reread dungeon meshi to give you good sources but based on my doodoo memory and vibes therein: I have to disagree that Falin was necessarily doing "well," and I especially disagree that the tragedy here is that Laios was doing something unnecessary by trying to make a place in the world for him and Falin.

Falin gets along seemingly ok in the world but it's because she's agreeable to a fault .

What's so interesting to me about the Touden siblings is the different ways they've learned to deal with being The Odd Man Out. Laios set out to try and forcefully carve out a PLACE for him and Falin in the world, where they could both openly and unabashedly be themselves.....Falin stayed behind, and learned how to hide the things that made her stick out too much, and how to appease people on the verge of rejecting her and Laios.

That can be functional, but it isn't good. It isn't happiness. It hurts in a million tiny ways every single day, to hide yourself out of fear of rejection like that.

At school, Falin must have spent a lot of time alone before she befriended Marcille, since Falin was familiar enough with the surrounding wilderness that she knew where that small Dungeon opening was. She sought out what happiness she could by following her unusual passions in more private ways, where no one would judge her for it. Falin didn't expect anyone NOT to judge her for her "weirdness" before she met Marcille, so Falin didn't even try to connect with anyone before Marcille at a level more personal than "classmate." That's not doing well. That's not living.

This kind of self-isolation is a coping mechanism for neurodivergence that functions for a while, but it eats away at you. Falin considered marrying Toshiro despite not loving him, essentially because it seemed like the normal thing to do and she didn't think she'd get another chance to be married at all. What if she had gone through with that, or something similar by the same reasoning? Laios lived in a state of being rejected over and over, which obviously hurts like hell. In contrast, Falin was willing to live a life she never wanted just to avoid total rejection. That can be incredibly painful too, in its own way.

Falin and Laios were BOTH tragically fighting doomed battles to find a place for themselves in the world during the time they were separated. Working together, supporting each other, they're able to do a lot more. Cries.

[darkcircles4lyfe]

What are your thoughts on the recent chapter?

This is a pretty vague ask but I’m pretty sure I received it yesterday. If not… oops?

I’m actually so excited for the next—that is, the second to last—chapter as someone who was deeply affected by chapters 391-395 and who just loves Toga Himiko in general, so so much. I’ve really grown to love Ochako’s arc too and I’ve come to trust the process here. I didn’t know about everyone freaking out until after I read 428 officials yesterday, and I’m not worried like that. We’ve been in this type of cliffhanger situation multiple times before.

The news that the end of Himiko’s and Ochako’s fight wasn’t recorded hit me hard, just like it hits Ochako, because the world doesn’t get to know who Himiko really is. There’s nothing Ochako could say on her behalf that would compare to actual footage of her pain, anger, joy, love, sorrow, and sacrifice.

…which is to say, Himiko does not serve as a martyr, a tragic, cautionary example. I’ll remind you that that was what the PLF reporter wanted her to be, and she was controlling and patronizing. Let’s think about this as a choice Horikoshi is making, to discard the only ammunition he had to make Himiko into an example and have it be even remotely compelling and satisfying. Boom, gone. There’s no footage. Why?

On the other hand, this is actually an advantageous turn of events if it turns out Himiko survived, because more calculated actions can be taken to keep her safe. I’m starting to see this as a turning point not necessarily for society as a whole, but for the hero profession and its purpose, wherein under Hawks’ leadership the hero commission could become the exact opposite of what it was. It’s no accident that the first half of this chapter is devoted to showing how the next generation and the public were both ~so inspired~ by class A’s actions in a way that mimics the chain of inspiration that motivated class A to begin with. Only this time, Ochako and Izuku are deeply uncomfortable with it! They don’t want this chain reaction to keep going the same way forever. These people look at them and have no idea what they’re actually going through or what they’ve seen. Future heroes who don’t know the real story. That’s very upsetting. Now they are starting to see firsthand how a pattern of collective forgetting is perpetuated. It won’t change until someone like Himiko is actually saved. No bright future without a place for her in it.

I’m excited because this chapter directly confirms Ochako’s awkward, overly cheerful mask for what it is, as it finally starts to crumble. In hindsight, she’s probably done this a lot in the past as well. It casts her whole character in a new light. She and Himiko are so much alike in this way.

I still have high hopes for this storyline because of how much it resonates with me as a queer allegory. Of course, Himiko is also literally queer, but I mean the symbolic stuff about her quirk and her family’s rejection. As a trans person who spent a long time in the closet convincing everyone around me that I was a normal, happy girl, whose pain and rage only festered and grew stronger, who was perceived as selfish and destructive, who was determined to live for myself but still doubted if I had any future at all… I see Himiko’s story as so perfect, so real, that I can’t imagine it ending poorly. And it doesn’t have shit to do with canonizing that ship, either. I’m not worried.

[boymanmaletheshequel]

One facet of Hellenistic and Roman, /Greco Roman paganism that I’ve always found extremely interesting to me, is how inherently human and relatable it’s gods, and their correlating counterparts are, especially when compared to deities in other ancient religions. They are divine, of course, this is made clear enough, but they all have aspects and traits to them that are inherently human. Rage, lust, joy, love, conflict. They represent, if nothing else, key elements of humanity and the human condition, which is something that no other ancient religion I’ve studied quite compares to in the same way. And not only that, but their relationship to people and humans as gods is clearly very symbiotic. They rely on their subjects for their fulfillment, interact with them directly on a regular basis, and often times even respect and revere them as not necessarily always equals, but as at the very least, creatures worthy of their consideration and respect, sometimes even falling in love with, and baring children with them. This is something that doesn’t really happen in any other ancient religion I’ve seen, sure, there are aspects of it in them, but not nearly are they portrayed as objectively or centrally as they are in Hellenism and Roman paganism. Each god represents some aspect of humanity in ways that are inherently non-Devine, Aphrodite is a lover, sometimes desperate to a vulnerable degree you wouldn’t expect a god to be. Dionysus is regularly consumed by madness as a result of his addiction and mental illness, and falls into spirals of depravity that are hauntingly ungodly. Artemis hunts even though she doesn’t need to, she respects her body as a goddess woman just as much as any human woman would, and fights back just as violently as well. Apollo finds much of his joy and happiness through the humans he falls in love with, and faces much of his suffering and sadness through them as well. Persephone fucking dies. maybe not literally in the sense of human, medical death, but absolutely metaphorically, and the grief her mother Demeter experiences is so inherently human, and so shockingly, gut wrenchingly tragic, that it is pretty obvious that this is what her story is meant to represent: a divine allegory for death and grief, an element that so many religions completely separate from their deities. Even Zeus, the primary deity, is a father figure who’s connection and relativity to fatherhood as seen in human men is almost identical. and if it weren’t for the pre-established lore and status of him as a an extremely powerful deity, there are moments in his Mythos where you might even forget that he’s a god, an all powerful, all divine, objectively non human god to begin with. I think it’s what makes Hellenism so emotional and so drawing to me, and to many other pagans, it’s a relationship that is mutual, and relatable, which is an element that is lacking in so many religions, even the major ones like Christianity and Islam. Yes, there are still elements of this in those religions, but it always feels like the stories constantly hammer in the fact that they are divine, so divine, so utterly unrelatable, so inherently disconnected from their subjects and their plights as a superior enitity, that there’s a limit to how connected one can feel to them. In hellenismos, this limit doesn’t seem to exist, and that’s something that makes it so much more personal and fascinating to me than any other religion I’ve studied. The gods are us, and we are the gods. At the end of the day, I think that’s what all religions should be about, and ultimately, are about, wether we realize it or not.

[gothamite-rambler]

Damian Helps Mr. Freeze

Context: Damian decides this is a good deed he wants to undertake, always intrigued by the man's story. He accepts that this won't necessarily turn Victor into a good guy, but it's an opportunity that could help the man get his wife back.

Mr. Freeze (talking to himself): Would eating spicy food kill me? I never enjoyed it, but now that I can’t have it, it feels different. Thoughts for later.

While Victor debated possible hot foods he could eat cold, Robin!Damian quietly snuck into the frigid former outlet store, now transformed into Victor Fries' icy domain. Fortunately, no one had been frozen, but the young hero wasn’t there for a fight him. He had a proposal to offer the German scientist.

Robin!Damian (calling out): Hi, Victor!

Mr. Freeze (turning around): Um, hi. You're the new Robin?

Robin!Damian: Yes, how could you tell?

Mr. Freeze: You’re shorter and… brown. No offense—I promise, it’s just that the other one is—

Robin!Damian: A skinny white boy who looks like he needs a feeding tube?

Mr. Freeze: Ja, that is insanely accurate. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, I like the hero suit, the hood is a nice touch.

Robin!Damian (pridefully): Thanks, I requested that alteration be added to make it my own.

Mr. Freeze: Understandable. How did you get mixed up with the Bat though?

Robin!Damian (lying with ease): My father and him go way back. Old college friends.

Mr. Freeze (falling for the lie): I can’t say I agree with him getting a new child sidekick like that, but at least he’s not the Joker. No offense, but what are you—number five or four?

Robin!Damian (holding up four fingers): Four, but I’m the best.

Mr. Freeze nodded then sighed, tapping the glass dome that protected his face.

Mr. Freeze (concerned): I know why you’re here, kid. You want to take me down. Just run along—I’m not in the mood to freeze a child. Crow brought this up when we were in Arkham, and I hate that he made some valid points.

Robin!Damian (bitter tone): Let’s not bring up Scarecrow.

Robin!Damian tightened his fist, suppressing his remaining anger from the time Scarecrow refused to fight a child.

Robin!Damian (continuing): I have a proposal for you, Victor. I’ve read your file multiple times, and your story is truly tragic. I’m sorry about your wife’s illness and the suit you’re trapped in.

Mr. Freeze (melancholic): It’s quite all right. I continue to search for a cure while committing crimes. Honestly, the crime part is just an enjoyable hobby... a means to an end. I don’t want to burden you with my life story.

Robin!Damian (reassuringly): No, no, no, you’re fine. It’s admirable that you haven’t stopped trying to save her. Although the life of crime is definitely a negative, your love for her remains strong. And if it helps, your suit is impressive.

Victor's eyes softened with appreciation.

Mr. Freeze: I need it to live, but thank you. I upgrade it frequently. You’re making a good impression. Would you like to help me?

Robin!Damian (nodding eagerly): Yes.

Mr. Freeze (pleased): Always wanted a young apprentice.

Robin!Damian (raising his hand and shaking his head): Working with Batman is something I’m committed to. I meant I can help heal your wife. I know a guy—Ra's—

Mr. Freeze (aiming his freeze gun at Robin): Oh no, not that crazy dictator and his pit of green goop. I’ve heard the effects it has on that formerly dead man. How is he, by the way?

Robin!Damian (unfazed): Batman pays to keep people from dying, and he’s an awesome hero.

Mr. Freeze (surprised but understanding): Really? Good for him. As for you and Ra's, I have to pass. I’m a man of science… mostly. I don’t trust that hocus-pocus.

Robin!Damian: Let me finish, sir. I convinced him not to use the pit and insisted he help find a cure for your wife. Ra's recently updated me; he’s gathered his best scientists, and they’ve made progress on a cure for the fourth stage that Nora is in.

Mr. Freeze (taken aback): They’ve... already started working on a cure?

Robin!Damian: Mm-hm. And Batman’s okay with Ra's helping you.

Mr. Freeze lowered his freeze gun, hesitation evident on his face.

Mr. Freeze: Wirklich? (For real?)

Robin!Damian (nodding): For real. Batman and Ra's have a... rocky relationship, but he said that if it helps cure Nora, he’ll allow me to contact him. Just so you know, there’s no guarantee a cure will be found quickly, but they do have one for the third stage.

Mr. Freeze (hopeful): A cure has been found for the third stage? That’s… wunderbar!

Damian nodded with a smile.

Damian: I had to negotiate a lot with Ra's, and I definitely owe him for this, but he’s willing to help you—no strings attached.

Mr. Freeze (shocked): No… strings… attached?

Damian had agreed to travel to an island to fight ninjas for his grandfather to secure this deal—a secret he had to keep from his parents. But if he could help someone he felt warranted aid, it would have to be done.

Robin!Damian (tight smile): The toughest part was getting him to agree. Heroes like me put our lives on the line for people like you. Here’s his business card.

Damian held out a laminated red-on-black business card for Victor to take.

Robin!Damian: Give him a call and set up a meeting. I want to help you with this, Victor. I really do, so please take the offer.

Victor took the card, a half-smile breaking through his usually solemn demeanor.

Victor: Hm, you are a good kid.

Robin!Damian (nonchalantly): More of a good hero, actually.

Victor nodded, patting the young boy on the head. His hand was cold, but Damian felt a warmth inside, satisfied to have helped a tragic villain.

Victor: I swear if this works, Nora and I are going to be the best villain couple ever. I have a suit for her and a cool freeze gun and—oh, Scheiße, I shouldn’t have said that out loud.

Damian, having disconnected his communication device before entering the lair, waved away those concerns.

Robin!Damian: I factored that in, and I support your teaming up when Nora awakens. Batman won’t be around for long, but I will, and I think you both would make great foes.

Victor (jovial tone): Kid, now I really like you. Honestly, count yourself crossed off my list. I won’t ever freeze you.

Robin!Damian: I’m going to brag about that to the others. Bad news for now, though—I have to take you in, but the cops won’t hurt you or anything.

Victor (resigned to his arrest): Ja, factored that. But I will honor my promise and not freeze you. I’ll call this dastardly man after they lock me up. I did miss my old cell; it gives me time alone with my thoughts.

Damian nodded in agreement as he and Victor walked out of the warehouse.

Robin!Damian: Oh, and I heard you’ve been having temperature issues in your cell. I can talk to someone about that as well.

Victor: Danke, it's as if they don’t understand I require cold to live! Young hero, your father would be proud of how well you handled a villain of my caliber.

Robin!Damian (smiling): Making sure to tell my entire family that too. You're very welcome, Victor.

[vigilskeep]

oh shadow dragon elf warrior?? 👀👀 say more, if you would like....

i love roman military history, i’ve been passing the time until veilguard by watching chinese period dramas full of dashing generals as male romantic leads, and the shadow dragon backstory says you were adopted into a military family. all this has been combining into some kind of murky soup in my brain for the past few weeks, and out of that soup we have eventually gotten xarius mercar, the shadow dragon elf warrior who has decided to take up residence in my mind

now i’ve been dead set on dwarf for my rook, but for shadow dragon specifically, i want to play an elf. it would feel strange to me to have two of tevinter’s anti-slavery rebels in the party and neither of them be elven, plus it gives us a city elf to contrast with our dalish companions! it adds some interest to the adoption backstory too; what kind of presumably patriotic military family from the tevinter imperium adopts an elven foundling? which (to me) is even more interesting as a non-mage, because magic might be an easy explanation for why you’d want to add someone to your family. so if you take that away, what’s left? and i do really want to play a warrior, so that works out with that and with the background of being part of a military tradition. i mentioned earlier that i think there are really exciting ways to flavour veilguard’s take on warrior for someone once trained to serve in tevinter magic-centric armies!!

i want to play xarius as a contrast to neve... she has a core of idealism and truly loves her city. he might have been raised to believe in such things, but as an elven non-mage, he’s long since been bitterly disillusioned. (tragic backstory pending, but, well, i mean, being those things in minrathous basically is a tragic backstory.) it’s dependent on if i can actually play my rook that way, of course, but i hope so. i think an elf who’s quite jaded about the current state of the world, and has seen the worst it has to offer for his people, is a fun character to have mirror and interact with solas, in that you’re kind of his exact target audience

otherwise, in terms of what i have in mind for personality, he’s definitely more of a fighter than a talker, not a diplomat at all. which may cause me problems. but he’s fiercely intelligent too, with a keen eye for strategy, so not necessarily someone who just blindly thinks with his fists either. it makes him sharply funny and quick-witted. it can also make him a little cold in his decisions, risking things others couldn’t bring themselves to risk, not giving people a second chance, very capable of thinking about the bigger picture rather than being emotionally swayed by what’s right in front of him. but at the same time, he’s super protective of the people he fights beside, because, hey, what’s even the point of playing a sword and board warrior if not. he takes being comrades-in-arms and the duty you have to each other very seriously. since he’s leading the party, they’re his responsibility. on the battlefield, but also off it he can be surprisingly gentle with them, i think

i think that’s all i have... the mercar backstory is fairly vague and i haven’t seen any in-game content that explains further so i don’t want to settle on anything much else. which means he kind of has to be more of a build-as-i-go, wait and see what the game gives me type character. but that might be the best experience for the first game where i don’t know everything abt the story in advance lmao

[maul-of-shame]

Elrondriel/Galrond Theory time Again:

Okay hear me out-

*Puts on Clown wig and makeup*

I'm kinda sure they won't bring back Celeborn and Celebrian. Sure this pseud meta may be far-fetched, like Mordor level of far-fetched but hey-

Nothing in LOTR is accidental.

You don't have to read my post to see that some baby steps (and giant ones) towards the Elrond/Galadriel storyline/ship (proposal shots, the white dress, the kiss, everything) have been made but I found something interesting.

Elrond gets his scar following a fight, because of who, generally speaking? Sauron's mess.

I give you the dad:

Gal gets her scar following what? Fight with Sauron again. I give you the mom:

Arwen gets her scars how? Bringing Frodo to her dad and escaping Nazgûls aka Sauron's forces. And I give you the daughter:

I have this theory about Rings of Power and the absence of Celeborn and Celebrian that’s been brewing in my head for a while, and it’s not something I think is a random choice.

In fact, I think it’s a deliberate creative decision by the showrunners that legit shows the direction they’re taking with the series.

I mean come on, have you watched the series????

And those are just a FRACTION of what happens in the series.

For one, the timeline has been so heavily built on in the show that it would be a huge stretch to change or introduce Celeborn and Celebrian in a way that would feel natural. TROP showrunners could’ve easily included these characters, but instead, they chose to introduce original characters in place of them.

And honestly, that says everything to me.

They could have stayed strictly faithful to the established timeline, but instead, they’ve taken a more fluid approach—one where certain details from the books, like Celeborn’s involvement or Celebrian’s story, can be set aside or reimagined.

Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I actually think it’s a smart move.

By not including Celeborn and Celebrian, the show has the chance to give Galadriel and Elrond more space to evolve as characters.

I genuinely thing, they could become parents to Arwen. There’s something about the bond between Galadriel and Elrond that just makes more sense at the center of this narrative. They’re both so tied to the ancient history of Middle-earth, but by not introducing Celeborn, the focus can remain squarely on them. Their relationship, their shared history, their struggles—they can be explored in a way that feels organic without getting bogged down by a third, potentially distracting character.

We know how important Celeborn and Celebrian are in Tolkien’s canon, especially with the tragic story of Celebrian’s capture and her eventual departure. But in Rings of Power, it feels like the timeline has already been set up in a way where they can’t be fully integrated without changing so much. The show is choosing to prioritize Galadriel and Elrond’s relationship instead of trying to fit them in, and I think that makes total sense. It’s not that they won’t ever be mentioned or referenced, but bringing them in as major players would complicate things. And if you ask me, that would take away from the deeper exploration of Galadriel’s fierce independence and Elrond’s more reserved wisdom.

This isn’t just a random decision—ROP has crafted a version of Middle-earth where the focus shifts to these two characters. They’ve clearly built the story around their dynamic, and I think it's intentional that the show has chosen to lean into that rather than risk complicating it with other characters.

Plus, by making this choice, they give themselves more creative freedom to explore the themes and relationships in their own way, without having to tie everything strictly to the old timeline.

In the end, I don’t think Celeborn and Celebrian’s absence in the story is a missed opportunity or an oversight—it’s part of the larger plan. The timeline’s already been altered, and the show is taking that as a chance to dive deeper into the complexities of Galadriel and Elrond, leaving a lot of space for new stories to emerge.

So while it may seem like a bold move, I believe it’s one that makes perfect sense for the world they’re building.

Galadriel and Elrond just make sense.

Now onto the "Galadriel + Elrond = Arwen":

Imagine, for a moment, the beauty of Rings of Power choosing to make Arwen the daughter of both Galadriel and Elrond.

At first glance, it might seem like a bold move, a break from the established canon of LOTR, but when you really think about it, the possibilities here are deeply poetic and rich with layers of meaning.

We know that Arwen, in the books/movies, is a powerful and tragic figure—torn between her immortal elven heritage and her love for Aragorn, a mortal man. Her choice to give up her immortality for love is one of the defining moments in Tolkien's work. But what if her story is shaped not just by the love of Aragorn, but by the very essence of both her parents—Galadriel and Elrond?

In many ways, these two characters embody the full spectrum of Elven experience. Galadriel represents the fierce independence, the history, the wisdom of a queen who’s seen the rise and fall of ages. Elrond, on the other hand, represents the more measured, diplomatic, and deeply compassionate side of Elvenkind—he is a steward, a guide, a father. Together, they bring a balance of strength, grace, and wisdom, each with their own scars and stories.

Now, if Arwen were their daughter, it would be the ultimate blend of these traits.

From Galadriel, Arwen would inherit that unyielding strength—the drive to protect what she loves, the resilience forged in centuries of hardship. Galadriel’s scars—her battles, her moments of weakness, her journey—would echo in Arwen, giving her a wisdom that stretches far beyond her years, an understanding of the world and the sacrifices it demands. But more than that, Arwen would also inherit Galadriel’s haunting beauty, her ethereal presence, that glimmer of starlight that draws others in. Galadriel’s magic, her connection to the light of the Two Trees, could pass to Arwen as well—imbuing her with a quiet, serene power that could light up even the darkest of places.

Elrond, as her father, would provide her with a different kind of inheritance. He is a figure of compassion and wisdom, a man who has witnessed loss and war, but who chooses the path of healing. His scars—both physical and emotional— brought a depth of understanding that comes only through great sacrifice. Arwen’s relationship with Elrond could be one of profound tenderness, where she sees in him a kindred spirit: someone who understands the burden of responsibility, the weight of having to choose between duty and love but also that both can be linked without having it be a "bad thing".

It would then be no surprise that Arwen’s love for Aragorn mirrors, in some ways, her parents’ own sacrifices and choices, her parents' love.

But it would also show us a more grounded Arwen, one who has inherited not just beauty, but an understanding of the deeper, quieter moments of life.

But beyond their individual traits, think of the dynamic between Galadriel and Elrond as parents—what it would mean for Arwen to be raised by these two. Galadriel, for all her power, is still a figure of mystery and distance in the movies but TROP brought a new version of her. Fierce, protective and compassionate. While Elrond is the steady hand, the one who keeps things together, the fighter, the one who doesn't hide when choices have to be made and so much more.

Together, they would raise a daughter who is both fierce and compassionate, wise and empathetic, someone who carries the weight of two worlds on her shoulders.

There’s a beauty in this new interpretation of Arwen that is more than just a daughter caught between two powerful legacies. Arwen as the daughter of both Galadriel and Elrond could be the perfect synthesis of their traits. She would carry the fire of Galadriel’s unyielding spirit, but also the quiet wisdom of Elrond’s patient heart.

This Arwen would be someone who embodies both strength and vulnerability, a child of two worlds that are changing, just as she is.

And I think that’s what makes the idea so compelling—because in Rings of Power, the showrunners have this unique opportunity to reshape Arwen’s story too, giving her a deeper connection to the lore and the characters we already love, while still honoring what she represents in Tolkien’s world. By making her the daughter of Galadriel and Elrond, they can give Arwen a more profound and intimate backstory, showing us not just the "princess" of Rivendell, but a daughter forged from the union of two of the most important Elves in Middle-earth.

This would make Arwen’s eventual choice to be with Aragorn not just a personal sacrifice, but a truly heroic act—a continuation of the legacy of her parents, who, in their own ways, also had to choose love over duty, kindness and compassion over rage and vengeance. It would be a nod to the greater themes of Lord of the Rings: love, sacrifice, and the passing of time.

It’s not just about the power of Arwen’s love for Aragorn, but about her understanding that sometimes, you must give up the light of immortality/risk your life to protect what you love, just as her parents have done in their own lives.

Oh, and I know I'm just over here joking around like, “Oh, Elrond, Galadriel, and Arwen all have the same scars? They’re definitely related, right?”XD I mean, it’s a funny thought, but also—nothing in Rings of Power is done by pure accident, and I can’t help but think that these details are purposeful. It’s probably just me reading too much into things, but I can’t shake the feeling that the showrunners are laying some groundwork here.

So yeah, just my theory, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more to it than meets the eye.

[locke-esque-monster]

For all that "Criss Angel is a Douche Bag" is not the best episode of Supernatural, it is an interesting one. The bleak moral implications of the ending aside, the juxtaposition between Sam's and Dean's views is so worth digging into.

Because first you have Sam, who now that he's embraced he's a hunter now, doesn't necessarily want to do this forever. And he's got sort of a idealized version of it, that if he can get the worst of the evil taken out (Lilith) maybe he could go back to a more normal life. It's so John-coded. That they both only enter the life because of a tragedy and revenge, when they were perfectly happy living a regular life prior to that. And once their version of the mission is over, they have this dream they could just settle down and be normal. They're either intensely in the life (no friends, no settling anywhere too long like how John passed onto Sam and Sam onto Goul!Adam in 4x19), or intensely not in the life (Stanford!Sam) and there's literally no middle ground. No flexibility. For all that Sam has shades of gray when it comes to people/monsters, it shows how much he's like John with how how he structures his hunting life. And to a degree, how sheltered he is to think in way compared to Dean.

Because Dean isn't so idealized to think that hunting is something you can stop. He's watched revenge tear John and Sam apart. And while he wants revenge, he internalized that if there's evil to fight and people he could save, then they should be out there, more than John or Sam did. (Maybe because of the hurt he experienced as losing Mary and losing OG John, and he never wants anyone else to go through that.) That it's a fairy tale to think that taking out the big bad means that hunting is over. It's unclear if Sam thinks that taking Lilith down will be such a big blow that hunting won't be as necessary (because they'll be few enough monsters per remaining hunters that they could hunt little to not at all). Or if his personal responsibility to hunting will be over, and other hunters are out there to save people, but that's no longer his problem. But Dean is not so naïve to think that he could fully settle down knowing there's people dying that he could save. Or that he is he stays in the life he's not going to be hands on and reckless (or at least with low enough value of his own life over others) that it won't eventually get him killed (again). It's such disconnect between Sam's optimism and Dean's pessimism towards hunting. And it's interesting in the context of how the rest of the series goes with that mindset in mind, even chipping away at it slightly at times. That Dean tries to settle with a woman that knows about hunting so he can keep her safe openly. While Sam does settle down again with Amelia and treats hunting as an old part of his life he'll never address again, like Jess all over again, but goes back when Dean returns without a tragic revenge story. That Dean is willing to settle down in the bunker, because if you're going to hunt you take the joys in life where you can, nice kitchen, having a room full of creature comforts (also not surprising when Dean had to take his joys where he could get them when he never had the childhood Sam had). And Sam does settle in the bunker, but because his dial is stuck on either a hunting/not hunting setting, he never decorates his room, like he can't quite settle in and accept this is home and permanent.

Now a good ending to SPN would have fully contradicted Dean's statement in this episode about expecting to die young because there's no happy future growing old. And contradicted Sam's dread at ending up old and alone like Jay if he stayed in the life (because you can't tell me blurry wife and Dean jr is all the companionship Sam needs). But that's a whole different "tripping at the finish line" kind of conversation about the finale.

[ihaveforgortoomany]

Did you notice how Sophia said “Crush me to dust.” even though shouldn’t be any way she should know about the dusting happening from the incomplete ritual?

Tbh for Book 5 and Aperion I am out of my depth here, notice I don't generally post on Aperion but thats just because the math isnt mathing for me.

Yeah this line did stick out to me in that confrontation and I can only speculate was she means here.

The main EP of the patch is "Dust to Dust" so maybe we should analyse the EP songs for better context to these patches? (Like The Salvation generally references the Storm or in Druvis' "Take Me Back To You" kinda follows her resolve back in Book 4). I will make a post looking at the lyrics later at some point.

Heres my two cents:

I don't necessarily think Sophia in the literal sense might be referring to dusting as the result of the Storm ritual but maybe instead the complete erasure or destruction of herself at 37's hands. Once something becomes 'dust' usually this is irreversible, an end point or no point of return.

Maybe we can take the line as "prove me wrong, prove that everything happening can be stopped, prove that maybe things could go back to before". Maybe dust can be interpreted as Sophia asking 37 to prove to her Arcana's theory in a sense (by extension Manus) are wrong, metaphorically speaking she wants 37 to disapprove Arcana's "theory" by defeating her in battle but ofc Sophia after the stage says "these hands were never meant to fight" or something along those lines. She knows nothing good will come out of this conflict and promptly leaves, she cant bring herself to actually see this through because she deeply cares for 37.

Going back to the EP the line "can you free my from this part?" Repeats for Kakania, Lucy, Vertin and I think Sophia - for her maybe this is the role of being an irrational number, maybe she believes 37 is the only one to "free her from this part" by "crushing her to dust", even though we know 37 probably already knew Sophia's number long before and accepted her nonetheless. Again characters in R1999 (at the very least the main ppl we follow) possess tragic flaws - maybe Sophia's devount nature to the teachings and inability to see 37 accept her as she is, irrational number and all, to ultimately 'fall' and join the Manus.

Sophia could believe that only being "crushed to dust" (almost being killed by 37, but this is in an extreme sense) can she be freed from the role of the "irrational number".

Then again Sophia has joined Manus and will appear in the 2.0 story (not spoilers since this is a given fact) so maybe we might be given more context to the line later on.

(I wonder if we might see a parallel scene between Vertin and Sonetto maybe? Maybe at some critical point Sonetto stuck between the Foundation and Vertin may choose the Foundation first before finally resolving to stand by Vertin's side as a true test loyalty. Again speculation)

[fandom-madness69]

I'm a day late and a dollar short but what's new?!

We have GOT to talk about the REST of the Thrill Ride O' Love scene. Especially the animatics along the walls telling Hephaestus's story. Because as jarring of a song as What Is Love? was in that scene if fucking fit so well!

First we get the Shadow Hera! Larger than life. Big regal gown, tall adorning crown, Mother of the Gods of Olympus, Goddess of Marriage.

And we get her getting pregnant with Hephaestus! All the way down to his little baby blacksmithing tools :3

And then we see her throw Hephaestus off Mount. Olympus. As is told in his story.

But there's a thing that really caught my attention here. Because in the rest of the story we see him leave out not a single important character to his story! So where is his father? The big guy himself Zeus?

Unless! They're going with the versions of Hephaestus's story where Hera miraculously convinced Hephaestus. Because we've seen Rick switch up the Medusa story. And wow do we love him for it!

But that's not my only point! Circling back to the song and then later on to the story about how Hephaestus trapped Hera, his own fucking mother btw in case that flew over anyone's head like it did mine the first few times I watched ep. 5, and so the gods offered him Aphrodite's hand in marriage in exchange for Hera's freedom.

The whole rest of the time Hephaestus has painted himself the tragic dude in the story. Not necessarily the hero but definitely the victim. We see him get rejected by his mother. By Aphrodite for Ares, from the fucking BEGINGING, and then so on.

But what really fucking gets me is not only did he do this ride exactly like this as a trap for his wife and her lover BUT that he had no fucking clue they were there! He was willing to force Ares to sacrifice Aphrodite, his OWN FUCKING WIFE, over a shield and not think twice of it. He wouldn't have fucking known they were there because as we can clearly see by this counter

He clearly wasn't alerted to the presence of his wife and her love affair! Meaning they just fucking materialized in his amusement park, like gods do.

And the words of the song. Oh the words. "Baby don't hurt me no more?" How about you're the only one who has caused any harm since your mother tossed you off Olympus? And NO I AM NOT EXCUSING WHAT HERA DID! Don't even go there. That's for another time.

You repeatedly got rejected and bro I get it. That shit hurts. As a fellow Black Sheep of the Family™️ I fucking understand my dude. And I also completely understand how much gods don't fucking understand humans. And so it wasn't even a concept in his mind to do anything other than what his family had already done to him. Backstab, betray and barter.

But to have the audacity to beg the woman who didn't want anything to do with you, still doesn't, and was forced to wed you to save her mother, YOUR MOTHER, not to hurt YOU anymore! Sickening.

But he gets it. Now anyway. Or he's starting to. Because of Annabeth. Because she found a friend who is giving her unconditional love. Who isn't making her earn it despite having told her he would earn hers! And she's doing the same. She's falling apart and building herself back up all with this one (1) boy's help. And neither of them know it yet. But ohohohohoho they will soon.

And these few moments Hephaestus spent with Annabeth gave him the biggest vibe check of his fucking immortal life. "Maybe some of us don't want to be that way anymore either?"

Like Sir are you realizing that you TOO took things too far? Not even this time like you said Athena did, which btw she's always taken it too far just throwing this in here, but really? Are you getting it now? Did the twelve year olds fighting to sacrifice themselves despite everything fucking shake your world? Rock you to your very atoms? GOOD! You victim mentality, hero complex asshole.

[hauntingofhouses]

Hiii, I've got an ask for you 🫣

What is the most interesting end for Mizu in your opinion and if you could guess, what do you think the writers will do?

1. Doomed by the narrative all the way (her story starts sad and ends in a even bigger inevitable tragedy)

2.She gets what she wants but will never find true happiness (maybe lose someone she loves in the way)

3.Gets what she wants and finds contentment and even happiness.

Secret fourth opition?

Hope you are well😁

Hiiiii <3 <3

OOOH this is an interesting one, and right out the gate I would 100% immediately choose Option 3 here, which is that Mizu gets what she wants and finds happiness and contentment.

Now I am a SUCKER for tragedy and bittersweet endings, they are soooo juicy like don't get me wrong (the novel manuscript I'm working on is literally a doomed-by-the-narrative type story!) but in my opinion, though all stories can be tragedies, not all stories necessarily should be.

This is because a story's ending, and what makes an ending satisfactory, is heavily reliant on the promise that it sets at the very beginning.

A narrative promise is essentially what the story is telling us to expect when we start the first episode or read the first chapter or click the start button on a game. As such, the promise is usually given to us in two primary ways.

First is the story's tone. What sort of language does it use? What sort of art direction does it employ? Its music, its camera angles?

In BES, the story starts off with some dynamic long shots of Mizu walking with her back turned to the camera through the snow, the wind whooshing and dramatic music in the background, while words fade in and out on the screen:

In 1633, Japan closed its borders to the outside world. Citizens would never see a white face, nor any face that was not Japanese. A child born mixed race would be considered less than human. Pitiable. Monstrous. From these times rose a legend. Of a swordsman. Of a sword. Of revenge.

The music ends in an epic crescendo. Cue title screen.

From the above line, we can already see that the tone is that of a dramatic, epic, action-filled story about revenge. From that first scene, we see Mizu's confrontation with Hachi, and from this we already see the promise that this is a heavily-stylised action martial arts series that will be violent and gritty.

On that note, its fight sequences also follow video game logic a lot of times, and overallm a lot of things are not very realistic or necessarily 100% historically-accurate. This, together with a lot of casual dialogue and humour littered throughout, makes it a story that doesn't take itself too seriously. It's rather blockbuster-ish in that sense, and while very well written and rife with beautiful imagery, symbolism, and nuanced characters and themes, it is not intended to be high literary work by any means.

And while Mizu's backstory is indeed very tragic, the story we see in the present is very tonally different, chock-full of one liners and silly lines (thank you, Ringo and Taigen, my silly boys, for that) as well as flashy action scenes and montages set to rock music. The tonal shift between the past and present stories is also in part what makes The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride stand out so prominently among the 8 episodes.

Besides the tone, a story also delivers its the promise through its character arc, which is presented to the audience by showing us a variety of things related to the protagonist, such as:

what the character is missing in their life: for Mizu, it is love and acceptance;

their desires: revenge, because as we see from her backstory, she has been unable to obtain love/acceptance;

what's preventing them from achieving it: Mizu adamantly believes that she is a monster who is not capable of loving or being loved, and this is why she pushes Ringo and Taigen away in present day;

and their flaws: Mizu is stubborn, narrow-minded, and is driven purely by hate and anger. Taigen tells the viewers this very clearly in Ep7 when he says she's killing Fowler "Not for honour. For hate." And also in Ep8 when he says to Ringo, "Mizu doesn't care about anyone but himself and his revenge." Mizu's "ember" is her anger and desire for vengeance.

Thus, from all this, we can come to a conclusion that the show's promise is something along the lines of

Mizu gets her revenge +

Mizu unlearns her self-hatred and stops letting her anger be the only thing guiding her +

Mizu stops running from people who care about her so she can finally get the love and acceptance she's always craved.

IMO, only by fulfilling all three of these promises would the story have a satisfying payoff.

Whether the revenge will be directed to the white men, though, is up for debate, as there are a lot of theories going around that maybe the white men aren't as evil as she thought and none of them are even her fathers, that Mizu's true enemy is Lady Itoh and the shogunate, etc. The third point, regarding love and acceptance, is also a point of discourse, because we don't know who she'll end up with, or if she'll end up with anyone romantically at all, whereby the story opts to make it an open ending focusing on platonic/found-family bonds rather than any romantic one.

Whatever the case, it doesn't necessarily matter, and I'm open to pretty much all directions the writers may take us as long as SOME revenge is achieved, blood is spilled, colonisers get their dues, AND Mizu gets to be loved and happy.

BUT if you ask me for my ideal version of that payoff... I think it's no surprise to anyone when I say I want Mizu to live a nice peaceful and secluded life, in which all her past adventures fade into myth and legend (as implied in the opening text).

Because while I'm almost certain Mizu is related to some royal or important bloodline, I don't think Mizu would find happiness in a life in the palace. She has never wanted greatness, has never even hinted at wanting power or anything like it. She craves belonging and the freedom to be herself, and to be loved for all her flaws and dualities. These are things she needs to grow and be a better person as well. A life of politics and intrigue inherent in being a royal heir, or in being a samurai loyal to the shogunate (even if it is under Akemi's future administration) would offer no such freedom or sense of peace for Mizu.

So yeah! Peace and quiet and happiness, maybe living on a farm like she did with Mikio. But of course that life wouldn't mean anything if she were to live it alone, because remember she wants and needs love and belonging. As such, I think the one most suited to give her that would be Taigen (for a variety of reasons).

This life could be with or without their bestie Ringo, depending on if Ringo decides to travel and find his own greatness, and it is implied that Ringo does leave Mizu's side to go on his own adventures, as hinted by the creators wanting a spin-off centered around him.

And also Mizu and Taigen go to visit their mutual ex-girlfriend Akemi sometimes for like special occasions or something.

I hope that answered your question, and thank you so much for the ask!! <3 <3 And on that note, my inbox is open for more if anyone else would like to pick my brain about this show, or anything else for that matter really. I may take a while to answer them considering how in-depth I like to go on these, but I love getting any and all these asks regardless :)

[red-hibiscus]

An imperfect, but still interesting ending to a rather good show

I don't consider the ending to be perfect by any means, but I think I'm far more ok with the ending than some people are. My mind is seeing this with the thought of it being some chaotic tragedy thriller.

I think it's primarily bc most (but not all!) of the things that people are frustrated with don't bother me as much. I'm ok with New and White dying. Am I upset? Oh yeah. Especially with White. That was hard to watch because I could see where it was going and I did not like it. He did not deserve to die.

At the same time, him surviving is the most obvious choice? It's satisfying. The good people live. That's how it should be. But you know who was good and died? Non. So in a way this just parallels the tragedy of Non dying. In a typical story White would live, but I guess they didn't want this to be a typical story and I respect that.

New dying and having Phee, Jin, and Tee "survive" means his revenge failed. Frustrating for the revenge enthusiasts. On that side I was never for or against it. I'm just here for the thrill of the ride, and a thrill it was. So him dying is kind of a "well that's an interesting choice" for me @ the writers. He did take people down with him in the process, so thats a positive. Tragic brothers I guess. Though New is far less innocent.

However, was it all really a failure? The ending directly states there's a strong possibility that they never actually survived for real. They don't remember escaping. So just like Non's script, nobody escapes. So at this point, it doesn't matter who "lives". They're all victims of the narrative here.

Also with the open ending.... Yeah I'm actually 100% fine with having an open ending. It's not the way I saw an open ending be portrayed (and honestly I got scared when I saw the time skip), but ok, I guess I can work with it. It leaves a lot of questions, which... isn't necessarily a bad thing, for me. Some may want closure, but I'm ok with not really knowing what happened to them.

Now for the people who survived... Tee I'm ironically the most ok with cause I predicted he'd live. For the sake of him being haunted by his regret. I originally thought it'd be more Non dying regret since all the emotions would resurface. But him stabbing his own bf to death... yeah that works ig. That's close. Probably still plagued with Non regret too, but I get White would be at the forefront of his mind.

Phee and Jin... So if this was a typical bl they'd be alive purely for shipping sake so they'd have an endgame ship. But DFF is not a typical bl, it's barely a true bl at all. They're questionably survivors. So is it about them being endgame??? I'm not sure. Is it about them bonding over realizing how they both hurt non and so they get to be aware of non haunting them. Maybe idk. Not sure what to think about them living honestly. I kinda put them as a 50/50 on surviving.

I get the frustration though. Half of me is sad my favs died. The other half is happy at seeing chaos. The two sides are fighting and I have decided to choose that enjoyed it more.

[alovelyburn]

Hello, I just wanted to say that I'm a leftist and even I think that

saying Berserk is misogynistic is stupid as hell. If

anything, it's the opposite. The easiest example

would have to be Caska. The story doesn't treat

her as incapable of taking care of herself or being

strong. It shows in great lengths how hard she has

worked to become a warrior, and how she tries

desperately to be respected in a male-dominated

field. Much like women in real-life who work in

male dominated fields. Considering that this story

came out in the late 80's and early 90's, it makes

sense to compare Caska to young women trying

to pursue a career at that time when women

(especially in Japan) had rigid expectations of

what they were expected to be. Then there's her

fight with Adon, and how she kicks his ass after he

poisoned her. He was a misogynistic character,

but he was portrayed as an idiot. The scene when

Griffith told her it was a woman's duty to lie with

men wasn't exactly portrayed in a positive light

either, and I'd argue that Judeau was annoyed by

it. She was clearly respected by the Hawks/

Falcons, with the exception of maybe Griffith. But

she's never portrayed as incapable. And when she

mentally regresses post-Eclipse, yes she loses her

agency, but I'd say it effectively portrays how the

trauma of the Eclipse effected her. A female

character can lose agency and be humiliated in a

story without it being misogynistic. The same way

the same can be done with a male character

without it being misandrist and emasculating.

I'm also a leftist and I don't care about your politics in the context of a media discussion.

I really don't even know what to say to this since it's once again responding to things I didn't say (that Berserk is misogynistic), while also making arguments that make me wince until my eyelids fuse.

Look, I don't think Miura or Berserk is particularly or notably misogynistic, particularly in the context of it being a 30+ year old Japanese story. The fact that you're lecturing me about this just proves you have no idea what you're talking about or what I think about anything because I'm always the one defending Berserk's rough edges because of cultural differences and time period differences.

That said, this doesn't mean it can't be criticized for, say, the way it overuses and eroticizes rape scenes, particularly from the mid-golden age through volumes in the early 20s. Even if I say I understand why it does that - namely that Young Animal is like a stroke book - I can still say it doesn't feel great. In a way the fact that Miura did want to do better than many mangaka in this area and strove to do so (and succeeded to some degree but not the degree to which I assume he wanted to) makes that kind of thing stand out more, at least to me. Because if I'm reading some hentai I expect to see that, but I don't necessarily expect to see it in a story that treats women and certain subjects with degree of gravitas.

The argument that people are saying women shouldn't suffer or fight is an egregious strawman because literally no one ever said that. What they are saying is that Casca's experiences, her abilities, her traumas, are as a generality, not treated with the same respect as the other characters' similar experiences, abilities or traumas are. I have no problem saying yes Casca is said to be extremely competent but that doesn't change the fact that one of her finest moments, defeating Adon, is portrayed as cute and funny instead of epic like Griffith or Guts's great moments are. It doesn't erase the difference between the way Guts' rape is portrayed and the way Casca's MANY SA experiences are portrayed. If you don't see that, that's you problem and there's not much I can do about it.

I wouldn't even be bothered that her mind collapsed if it were treated as tragic instead of kind of kooky and adorable. And before you say it is tragic, I'm not talking about Guts feeling upset about it, I'm talking about Casca herself being portrayed/depicted with gravitas instead of having her like trying to eat elves or follow butterflies around while making cute faces.

Frankly, I'm not even sure how much of this is really misogyny as such, because he didn't really treat Farnese (or Schierke) this way. He is on record as saying that he wrote Casca "not as a woman" but as "a character made up of a collection of (Miura's) own complexes and weaknesses,"so maybe he was just kicking himself around, I have no idea. I personally tend to think he just got better at writing women, but what do I know. (note: that is a link to a translation of a Miura interview snippet. You can find sourcing and explanations and often the original Japanese if you poke around that twitter).

We can criticize the things we love. I am a full on Berserk stan - I think it's a masterpiece, I think Miura was a gd genius, it's literally my favorite story, nevermind my favorite manga, but I'm still aware that it has flaws. As do all things.

[thethiefandtheairbender]

just a disclaimer: i’m queer and nonbinary (afab) as can be, so all of this is from a personally queer perspective? i also know that i don’t tend to really jive with ND stevenson’s work (she-ra didn’t quite work for me) either and if you loved the movie, great. i just gotta drop thoughts somewhere because well

they’re less than positive

like “nimona” wants to be a Queer movie so badly, but the entire humourous basis of the character herself is that she is 1) young looking (despite being immortal) and 2) appears to be AFAB and isn’t it funnily jarring when little girls want to be violent instead of cute and sweet? 

She doesn’t want to be a monster, but clearly genuinely enjoys destroying things (again: basis of the bulk of her character humour, and one of most defining character traits) with no regards to anyone who gets hurt or could get hurt in the process. 

also this is Entirely Personal preference but while the animation was stunning, the contrast in the medieval aesthetic and modern day technology just continually brought me out of the movie. which is too bad, because treasure planet and it’s 70/30 rule and aesthetic blend of old timey and big technology is one of my favourite things ever, but i think Nimona being 50/50 just... didn’t work for me. was also slightly disappointed that i figured out who the actual bad guy was before the queen’s death (and yet another movie with a black queen who Dies Instantly / a movie with literally queer men of colour being technical side characters to a white, allegorically queer main ‘female’ character). 

Ballister is a great protagonist, but due to his opposition of everything Nimona is personality and scheme wise, it feels like they’re almost running around in two separate stories. As well as like - he wanted to enjoy the Elite, Privileged, fighting force? An elite, privileged, entirely based on birthright system ruled by a Black queen before it was called into question, when it’s also a pretty clear allegory for the Police? The fact that this isn’t resolved - what’s going to happen to the Institute, is it going to be reformed or even better yet, disbanded (‘defunded’), is entirely left hanging as a plot thread, which doesn’t happen matters.

Halfway through the movie (specifically Nimona’s “or that sometimes I want to let them [kill me]”) is when I finally started to feel emotionally invested, but like two scenes later when Ambrosius’ stabbing was over dramatic rather than just letting the tone hold, I looked into the camera just... so incredibly unimpressed. The monopoly and shark dancing didn’t help.  

“She’s my friend.” “Aren’t I more than that?” so there were no aspec people in making this film. Got it. And Ballister’s heel face turn into calling Nimona a monster is also very quick, especially when his whole arc this movie is being unfairly demonized himself by the very same thing/people that are demonizing Nimona as well. The sheer harshness and length of the scene is also much longer and given time than him saving her, leaving that feeling kinda lopsided as well.

And Nimona’s issues I think are very evident in the fact the movie lets us see all the damage she’s causing at the end when she loses control, which is sad and tragic for her... but does not excuse or remove the real harm she’s bringing hundreds of other people. This is mitigated when she sacrifices herself to save the city, but given that her problem wasn’t necessarily selfishness so much as recklessness, and given that Ballister had literally just talked her down from suicide, it’s... Muddled to say the least.

And all of this ties back into the murky gender allegory of the movie. At its best, it’s very effective and very emotionally resonant (Nimona’s actual flashbacks and a couple of her conversations with Ballister. I can definitely see why people like it - hell, even I like it. “This monster is a threat to our entire way of life!” “What if we’re wrong?” kinda perfectly encapsulates were it falls flat to me, because queerness Is a threat to our current systems - capitalism, racism, cisheteropatriarchy founded on white gender essentialism. Queerness, particularly of gender, disrupts and should disrupt all those things; it’s a political identity just as much as personal one, both by choice and by societal circumstance.

TLDR; found the second half of the movie, overall, much stronger than the first, but with some bigger structural pitfalls. Animation was gorgeous, sense of humour didn’t overall work for me but that’s a personal thing, queer allegory was good but I would’ve liked some of the implications to be taken farther. I appreciate the movie for what it says about freedom of expression vs demonization by the upper class(es), and I think it’ll really resonant and be important to queer youth in their teens (a stage I am long past) figuring themselves and their place in an increasingly anti-trans political climate out, so I’m very glad it exists. It just wasn’t particularly groundbreaking, and wasn’t particularly up my alley. Which is kind of what I expected, but I am disappointed that I didn’t enjoy it more as a nonbinary person who loves story deconstructions, fantasy, and animation

[lizlives]

Something that's always kinda been a pet peeve to me is how people talk about Archie Sonic Preboot and Postboot. Often in conversations there's this idea that the old world is old hat, and anyone upset about the way it went out is just stuck in the past, with the implication that we really didn't lose much in the transition.

To me this reads as incredibly disingenuous and dismissive. Putting aside the obvious fallacy in claiming not much was lost (two decades worth of original lore, much of which was either good to begin with or seeing redemption in better writers), the transition was so obviously rough.

In the middle of one of the most emotionally harrowing sagas and well-written arcs in the entire series, the Mecha Sally Saga, readers who were keeping up with the behind the scenes drama basically had to watch every month as more cracks started to show. At the start of the Endangered Species mini arc, issue #243's text is obviously altered to remove any references to specific characters and events. Then next issue, in the most lowkey way possible, without so much as any real fanfare, the entire echidna society is erased basically for good. The rest of that saga is one long drawn out fight between Knuckles and Thrash, that they tease could end a number of ways, but again, anyone following the behind the scenes drama knows that the characters are never coming back. The sheer inevitability of the conclusion almost feels chilling reading it now, like a Greek tragedy. There are lines that almost feel like the writers venting their actual feelings, how they feel angry that all of this has to change.

The final shot of Knuckles in the entirety of preboot archie is him punching the floor in rage because his entire species and family, his mother, his baby brother, and the love of his life are all gone forever. A mini arc arc that was originally conceived as a way of bringing Knuckles out of his depression arc was transformed into one where all his worst feelings are completely justified. Jesus Christ.

Then one more issue, and just as Sally is rescued, the world is re-written by a Genesis Wave. What follows is a Megaman crossover arc that would be fun in any other circumstance but following everything else we've seen just feels bizarre. Then it ends with Sonic attempting to restore their reality but just... failing. Again, knowing this moment's repercussions now reads extremely bleak and tragic. If it weren't for the fact that it was all done because of external forces it would be artfully tragic, idk maybe it still is.

The reboot that follows immediately hits the ground running, and very slowly you realize what you should've realize all along. Two decades worth of lore was just wiped with simultaneously too little fanfare, but also in the most tragic and bleak way possible. The reveal is made that the entire multiverse is wiped out as well, great.

No attempt is made to explain the mechanics of the fate of people who didn't find their way into this new reality, because they literally can't legally. Did they become other people somewhere? Did they just die? We don't know, and to make it worse, they even acknowledge that the characters are just losing their memories of the previous reality? The sheer dissonance in how the characters are acting vs how they emotionally should be treating this is kinda insane.

But you know, after all this, the reboot is fine. It's really fun actually. Really, I don't hate it. Any and all of my issues stem not from it itself, but from the fact that it was necessarily marketed as a continuation of the old story, it just isn't. That's not an insult, it just isn't and can never be.

I'm not kidding when I say they should've just canceled the comic, said we're sorry that we couldn't finish it, and just started a brand new comic from issue 1. To me, these are two separate series, that's I think the best way of thinking of them, because trying to think about the reboot in terms of the fact that an entire multiverse was wiped out and we're never implied that some characters weren't just wiped out in every way permanently, is just so bleak. Like the old reality or not, it doesn't change the fact that trying to just move on from something like that with no catharsis or explanation is weird.

So yeah, I kinda got distracted remembering how conflicted the whole situation makes me lol, but to make a long story short, I think that people should stop treating the reboot like it was a natural continuation of the original story, and stop treating people who liked and/or still like the old reality as stupid. It was imperfect, even very imperfect, but it was a lived in world that was allowed to develop and was only going to improve more if it was allowed to.

With the reboot, we basically started from scratch and given Sega's restrictiveness, we probably weren't gonna see as many off the wall concepts like we did previously. Many people might have seen that as a boon, but to me it takes away from what I like the most about Sonic, that being that it's a franchise that isn't afraid to be weird, to be wacky. I think tbh that's what I miss the most about the preboot era.