#*in the closing arc that i thought was too interested in the action rather than driving home the stakes

[michyeosseo]

I am determined to take Shen Li home.

[pennyblossom-meta]

L Lawliet: a deep dive into the expanded universe pt.01

EDIT (07/04/2024): Added some imgs.

Apologies for being so late to give this a follow up to @maevearcher's meta which can be found here and here. As usual, she’s made excellent points and I'll try to answer the ones which caught my eye.

Since this post ended up gaining a life of its own and becoming a bit too long, I’m splitting it in 2 or 3 parts. The core of the content for part 01 starts after under the button to Read More.

Here we talk about L's humanity.

I'll start with a disclaimer of my own: while I consider the manga as the base for the story, I'm very much open to the expanded DN universe as a complementary study of the characters and their motivations — sometimes even filling in the blanks for some of the background mysteries, such as the dynamics of Wammy's House and how L's successors view him.

To further clarify: by canon I mean the manga and any works by Tsugumi Ohba as the base material. I think @maevearcher and I are more or less in agreement on that, from what she mentioned in her own posts. As she said, the written word is indeed the baseline truth.

The expansion of the DN universe also has its own very special set of problems; for example, in many ways, L:CtW (L: Change the WorLd) commits the sin of overindulgence by throwing in considerations that, arguably, go against canon. Besides the ending where L lives for a final 23 days and Watari dies, the portrayal of Near in the movie (though in the novel he's also walking a fine line between becoming partially and very much OOC) is also a point of contention. I confess that I really wasn't fond of the way they portrayed Misa as a potential crush of L given canon insights on his opinion about Light whether in the role of Kira or as a person (pg.64 of Vol 13: How to Read, henceforth referred to as V13:HTR), but aligning L to become more humane and forgiving was at least interesting.

The same happens with the live action movies, the 2015 series, and the musical. At least the game Spiraling Trap isn't clashing with canon elements — that I could tell. The main plot is separate from the events of DN and the dating sim is a little slice of heaven into L's thoughts and emotions which I dearly love.

However, while L:CtW does indeed overindulge, the novel AN:LABB (Another Note: LA BB Murder Cases) gives us a singular glimpse into L through the eyes of Mello while keeping the events mostly accurate to the main plot, even with its slight deviations. It's certainly an optional perspective to the core of DN, but one that I always found very insightful. In V13:HTR, Obha mentions how he would’ve liked that there were more novels about L and how he solved previous cases, in a similar fashion to how Nisio Isin approaches AN:LABB. Here’s what Ohba says in pg.61 of V13:HTR:

(...) I didn’t think up much for [L’s] past. For him to be in such an influential position, he must have solved an amazing amount of cases, but I have no idea what kind of cases they were or how he solved them. But I would love for NISIOISIN, who wrote the Death Note novel, to write more stories about that (...)

This means that, to some extent, even the original author, Ohba, accepts AN:LABB as close to canon — or rather, as canon as it can get given the creative liberties allowed to a third party writer. To that point, Nisio Isin took L’s capoeira demonstration during the Yotsuba arc and made it a whole thing in the novel, with L taking inspiration from Naomi Misora’s skills. However, given the importance of that event, in the main story, L takes a while to even remember Misora so we can infer that either the stress of the case is getting to him OR learning capoeira and subsequently Misora’s role in it didn’t leave that much of an imprint on him because true canon didn’t really put that much emphasis into it. Either way, it’s an extrapolation that works. The technicalities can be overlooked given how ambiguous the scene is, as there is more than room to deduce a different past.

At the same time, I am an apologist that there are shared characteristics to L throughout the different mediums. My own interpretation of L's character has the manga as a baseline, but the expanded universe has taught me that there are sides to him that might not be so easy to perceive in dialogue bubbles or illustrations alone. Little things like L's addictive personality or the way he represses feelings are visible in the manga but caught beautifully in the novels, for example.

Going from the written word into the screen also represents a loss of the purity achievable only within the narrative in-book, where you can extrapolate and reach your own conclusions without being subject to the bias of sound and movement — though manga aggregates the visual to words and with it an altogether different dimension of meaning. That's one of the many things I enjoy about elements of fiction introduced through books; the stillness of the images and the narrative are more complex. Every time the baseline gets adapted, it loses something or that something shifts to fit into the perception of others. It ceases being pure and its essence is fundamentally shattered. Like the concept of a musical score on paper that gets played by an orchestra, there will never be an adaptation as good as the source material because it breaks the illusion.

While I can certainly extrapolate and accept the loss, I find that the written word from the novels, the tone of a VA's voice and the body movements in a live action still complement the manga well, despite narrative clashes.

About L’s humanity

Recently I've been re-watching the anime and it's incredible how Alessandro Juliani's understanding of the character resulted in such a well-rounded voice for L. I actually prefer the EN version to the JP because of the voice acting. It's superbly brilliant, even if L becomes less listless. He's certainly still aloof, but his aggressiveness is portrayed more vividly; in contrast, L in the manga feels a bit more dangerous and scary to me due to the range of expressions that the anime didn't manage to add in due to time and budget constraints. If anything L tones down how dangerous he can be. He does this on purpose so that he can trick and trip his adversary, as can be seen during his earlier interactions with Light. At times, L makes a mockery of himself, apparently placing himself in the position of a more demure individual while sharply observing the world around him and forming conclusions.

As to @maevearcher ‘s first point:

(...) An image of this lonely autistic genius, locked inside the confines of his ways, waiting for the right person to come along and save him from the banes of his solitary existence…until he meets Light and realises there’s someone out there who he can relate to, for understanding and stuff. I personally don’t buy too much into that.

The depth to which L relates to Light can be overestimated, but not without reason. Theirs is mostly an adversarial relationship with varying deviations throughout the expanded universe, but if we solely consider the manga then we get this comment from Ohba regarding whether L has any friends on pg.64 of V13: HTR:

Nope. And when he says that Light is his first friend that’s a big lie. He never considers him a friend. He probably secretly thinks really negative things about him.

During the Yotsuba arc, L is at a disadvantage. Light has turned the tables, tricked him into what Beyond Birthday could not do and thus gained a solid position into rendering L almost powerless to charge him. To elaborate on the latter point: BB wanted to create the perfect, unsolvable crime to humiliate L, making him lose, and thus “spend the rest of his life trembling in fear of B’s shadow” (pg.163, AA:LABB); L would know who the guilty party was but wouldn’t be able to prove it or bring that person to justice. As such, L would not be able to solve the mystery. At the end of the novel BB fails due to Misora’s quick thinking and that’s that. However, Light has several advantages that BB lacked, starting with his own social position, charm and the impeccable reputation of a model student and the prized son of a police chief who helps solve cases every now and then.

We can argue that, what truly happens in manga canon, is L and Light showing how much they respect each other for their detective skills, forming a sort of strange kinship within the cat and mouse game, especially when Light loses his memories of the Death Note. The game thrills them and they enjoy pushing each other’s buttons. No one else has ever challenged them like this. That being said, the first time they meet up for coffee after the tennis match, L is observing Light like a hawk, keeps testing him for a reaction and seems somewhat irritated at how much Light talks. I would venture a guess that L doesn’t actually like Light that much, even when he loses his memories. He might even find Light a nuisance when he waves the flag of morality — though this is a common problem L is confronted with when dealing with the Task Force, in particular Chief Yagami and Aizawa. This also places him at another gruesome disadvantage, as he’s surrounded by people who openly dislike and criticise his methods. The Task Force is also extremely wary of the way L pursues Light and think he’s being stubborn without proof to substantiate his reasoning. Ironically, it’s Aizawa, one of L’s most critical subordinates, who initiates Light’s downfall years later once he starts to consider L’s suspicions in light of Near and Mello’s tactics. 

Both L and Light respect the game, no matter where it takes them. I would further make an educated guess that Light even preyed on L’s vulnerabilities during the Yotsuba arc, predicting how L might fall into depression for failing at the game. Light was more than capable of understanding that L’s competitive and childish side would make him a sore loser, especially given that he had already “lost” the first round of battles just by showing his face. Even if there is a sliver of friendship between both during Light’s months of amnesia, it’s dead and buried the moment he becomes Kira again. 

My conclusion here would be that, while what happened with Light was extreme, it was also somewhat similar to Beyond Birthday’s eternal enmity towards L: the challenge, the need to humiliate and take down the greatest detective, one of the most brilliant minds to ever walk the Earth. There are some notable quotes from AA:LABB that reference what it is to be L, surrounded by future challengers and individuals who both look up to L and want to prove they’re better than him:

Pg.69

By simple arithmetic, L's ability in 2002 was the equivalent of five ordinary investigative bureaus, and seven intelligence agencies (and by the time he faced off against Kira, those numbers had leapt upward several more notches). This is easy to think of as a reason to respect and admire someone, but let me say this as clearly as possible: that much ability in one human is extremely dangerous. Modern danger management techniques rely heavily on diffusing the risk, but his very existence was the exact opposite. In other words, if someone was planning to commit a crime, they could greatly increase their chances of getting away with it by simply killing L before they began. That was why L hid his identity Not because he was shy or because he never left the house. To ensure his own safety For a detective of L's ability, self-preservation and the preservation of world peace were one and the same, and it would not be correct to describe his actions as cowardly or self-centered.

Pg. 117

L was the goal of everyone in Wammy's House. Everyone of us wanted to surpass him. To step over him. To step on him. M did, N did, and B did. M as a challenger, N as a successor. B as a criminal.

Pg. 160:

B approached Naomi Misora, calling himself Rue Ryuzaki. Rue Ryuzaki - L.L.  For anyone from Wammy's House, there could be no higher goal than identifying yourself with that letter - and Beyond Birthday seized this case as his chance.

One of the biggest problems with these quotes is that they paint a very complicated — and, ultimately, suffocating — picture of what it is like to be L. Ohba himself mentions Watari’s predisposition towards collecting geniuses from all over the world and what Wammy’s House has turned into, under the snippet for Watari’s character (pg.60 V13:HTR):

He’s a guy who cultivates detectives for fun. That’s kind of terrible, isn’t it?

Everyone profits from L. Watari becomes richer than ever. Wammy's House becomes breeding ground for geniuses who end up dreaming of a life where they enjoy constant thrill and challenge. However, in order to do so, the dream cannot be complete until the successor crushes the original; until M, N, B and A defeat L. At least one of L’s successors couldn’t handle the pressure and committed suicide. B, known as Backup, runs away from the orphanage and goes on a murder rampage. Having never met L in person, he deduces several personality quirks that the “original” demonstrates, going as far as exacerbating them in order to be creepy and repulsive. Mello, who boasts of having met L in person and being privy to stories about how he defeated several other detectives (then taking their aliases as a trophy) both fervently admires L and wants to step on him. 

Step on him. That’s quite the turn of phrase. It does sound scary, doesn’t it? To be surrounded by people who would take the opportunity to pull you down, no matter how much they admire you. They want to be you, to prove that they’re better than you. It’s game and ego. Life and death. Winner and loser. 

And that’s perhaps the most blatant summary in approved canon of what it is like to be L that we’ll ever get. We can, of course, argue that Watari cares about L. He’s not only his handler, but also the one who brought him into Wammy’s House. It’s fairly clear that he nurtured (and even enabled) some of L’s most distressing character traits, though I wouldn’t necessarily say it was with a purely utilitarian agenda. It’s perfectly acceptable to extrapolate how Watari might’ve wanted to keep L, a child of great intellectual genius, happy by allowing him to be challenged and properly educated. In fact, AN:LABB (pg. 145-46) even gives us L’s perspective on the kindness that justice can achieve, which is confirmed within the expanded universe to be similar to Watari’s teachings as L confronts Kujo in L:CtW. 

"I have nothing to do with him," L said. "To be completely accurate, I do not even know B. He is simply someone I am aware of. But none of this affects my judgment. Certainly I was interested in this case, and began to investigate it because I knew who the killer was. But that did not alter the way I investigated it, or the manner in which my investigation proceeded. Naomi Misora, I cannot overlook evil. I cannot forgive it. It does not matter if I know the person who commits evil or not. I am only interested in justice." "Only... in justice... " Misora gasped. "Then ... nothing else matters?" "I wouldn't say that, but it is not a priority." “You won't forgive any evil, no matter what the evil is?" "I wouldn't say that, but it is not a priority." "'But..." Like a thirteen-year-old victim. "There are people who justice cannot save." Like a thirteen-year-old criminal. “And there are people who evil can save." "There are. But even so," L said, his tone not changing at all. As if gently admonishing Naomi Misora. “Justice has more power than anything else." "Power? By power ... you mean strength?" "No. I mean kindness." He said it so easily. Misora almost dropped the phone. L The century's greatest detective, L. The detective of justice, L. Who solved every case, no matter how difficult... " ...I misunderstood you, L." "Did you? Well, I'm glad we cleared that up."

I would, once again, venture another educated guess that, while Watari’s primary reasons for starting a program of successors to L was noble, it ultimately backfired on an individual level. Society wise, the letters, as L calls them in L:CtW, are a force for good. They solve crimes, help law forces around the world to keep peace. Some of them even become scientists like Dr Kujo — though she becomes the main antagonist in the spin-off novel. However, the pressure this kind of lifestyle fostered creates a group of individuals who are highly competitive and manipulative. Some, like A, can’t handle it. Even L has his own troubles, being called a reclusive sociopath, possibly by the police forces who treat him as a utility rather than a person. He’s someone they admire and resent, who is tolerated given how effective he is at cracking down cases. 

This passage from L:CtW paints a grim picture of the way L suppresses his own feelings as he breaks down for not being able to prevent Maki from being kidnapped (pg. 150-51):

"Light...it hurts. My heart--" It was a hurt that L Lawliet had suppressed, that he had to suppress in order to continue his existence as the peerless Detective L. How had the world's top detective been described in regard to facets of his personality rather than his ability as a detective? He had been called a kinky detective who relished bizarre murders, a human computer capable only of measuring mass murders in terms of cold numbers, a reclusive sociopath. What L thought of such estimations of his personality only L could know. But no one could truly understand L. How L did not and could not forget the faces of thousands of victims. Who could comprehend the man who had lived his life, and had to live confronting all the lives that ended prematurely, the tears of grief-stricken survivors, the devaluing of life as a daily reality. How was it possible to measure the pain of such a man? Was it a strain so heavy that L's back curved under all its weight? Was it an agony so terribly to leave the indelible dark circles around his eyes? Was it a feeling so bitter that every bite he took needed to be coated in sugar? The chronically rounded shoulders, the inevitable dark circles, the eccentric tastes--L suppressed the pain of being a champion of justice, but the evidence of the pain was moulded into his very body.”

Even within the clear disparity from the official canon, this passage slaps. It humanises L further, making the detective become a person and not just a machine who is content with his lifestyle. I know there’s a tendency for those who prefer the manga to see L as someone who is unabashedly himself and perfectly alright with the life he lives. I would argue that the Kira case was not only the most difficult challenge L ever faced, but also a series of moments where he had to be at his best — and at his worst. He had to do everything within his power to solve the case, not only because of his pride but because of what he considers to be his sense of justice. Saying with such confidence ‘I am justice’ is a rather cheesy and childish thing to say out loud, though I read it as both what started as a child’s stubbornness and what L became, as he positioned himself as a barrier to prevent crimes. 

L suppresses himself, represses his emotions; he tries to control them, as Fu Takashi says in an interview, he is “dependent on games or battles of the mind”. Perhaps this is a consequence of the foundations of his personality. Despite L’s innate stubbornness, it could be argued that this is as much his fault as it is Watari’s, who didn’t nurture L’s social skills as he should have when he was a child. By not having an outlet outside of his hobby, L is trapped in a prison of his own making. Superficially, L is a “smart guy who hates losing”, but what about the rest? What about the things that make him human, the connections with others? In the same interview, it is mentioned how L feels lonely and needs affection. But what affection can you get when you isolate yourself from the world and keep everyone at arm’s length? He’s not a machine. Even machines become obsolete with time, and need outside help to keep functioning.

As for the latter point, if everyone around L is trying to step on him, humiliate him and surpass him, then it’s only natural that his emotional defences would be up. Aside from Watari, whose loyalty he can count on, he’s alone. L has no one else. And everyone around him will have a dangerous, significant probability to betray him.

Next in part 02: About romance, having someone close and intimate, the meaning of the Monster speech.

Tagging @rinneroraito and @sharkiethrts who might be interested in this meta.

[larothoughts]

fem!jiggy thoughts (part 2: the war)

part 1: qinghe nie

hmmm so this part of the au I've been thinking of is a lot less coherent. some of these are just events i imagine happen with lots of holes in-between. i'll have to think of the logic between them all later when i'm smarter lol.

lan xichen arrives

meng yao, after being publicly accepted as a daughter to save face with the nie sect, is shuffled away to the edge of the jin estate and 'forgotten.' no maids, servants, etc. she has to do everything herself. no one is willing to acknowledge her and incite the wrath of madam jin. she isn't allowed to train with the jin disciples. she isn't even allowed in koi tower. she had to give jin guangshan a thinly-veiled threat that her starving to death would likely give nmj incentive to kick down the jin's door just to receive a stipend that allowed her to eat.

it's soul-crushing, but meng yao has already built herself up from nothing once. rather than despair at everything she's lost, meng yao takes this transitional time to analyze the lanling situation.

it's a mess.

madam jin is a tyrant whose hold over the servants is near-absolute. her ignoring meng yao is actually the best case scenario, since madam jin definitely has the power to making meng yao's life a living hell if she wants. jin zixuan is... spoiled and naive in a bad way, the kind of way that infuriates meng yao because he is allowed to be naive. he doesn't care that he's excluded from most sect matters other than in swords/bow training and night hunts. as lanling jin's power is almost entirely political/monetary, this means he has no real power at all.

jin guangshan is more of a mixed bag. on one hand, meng yao is an illegitimate child guaranteed to piss off madam jin. on the other hand, at least she's a girl illegitimate child, perfect for use as a political pawn and no real threat to jin zixuan's claim to sect leadership. on a third hand, the fact that nmj essentially forced jgs to acknowledge her hurts his pride, because who does this upstart brat think he is? thinking he could get one over on him???

on the final hand, meng yao is a pretty girl just like her mother, and jgs always loves being surrounded... by pretty girls.

(meng yao is so so grateful sisi convinced her to eschew going to the jin sect after her mother's death. the way jgs looks at her makes her skin crawl, even if she sometimes uses his disgusting interest to her advantage when trying to keep madam jin from arranging an 'accident'.)

a few possible subplots during this arc: interacting with mianmian (she pities meng yao and understands her struggles as a woman in lanling jin, but she isn't in a good position to help even herself, much less meng yao;) sending letters to nie huaisang (who is VERY upset at nmj's actions but is powerless to change his mind;) and maybe even sending letters to lan xichen who one day stops replying.

so when meng yao, still living on the outskirts and having to venture out into lanling herself to run errands, finds an injured lxc in town-- she immediately sneaks him into her living quarters.

three-zun

now meng yao is familiar with lan xichen, and their relationship is complicated by their relationship(s) with nmj. the first layer is nmj and lxc's relationship, being close friends from childhood whose status as clan heirs/sect leaders prevented things from developing into anything more. even when meng yao was nmj's lover, she knew a part of his heart would always belong with xichen; hell, after getting to know him, part of her heart may belong to him too.

because the second layer is lxc and meng yao's relationship. during the cloud recesses lectures, lxc treated her as a fellow cultivator and not as someone barely above a servant. he knew how much nmj cherished her and so he showed her care because she meant so much to nmj. how could meng yao not love his earnest affection for the man she also loved?

it's different than her feelings for nmj, because nmj and lxc are incredibly different men.

nmj is a pragmatic man who loves honesty and honestly. while his love his unconditional, his acceptance relies on what he considers right and wrong. lxc's acceptance relies on whom he loves, whom he also loves unconditionally. this often results in a situation where nmj is viewed as judgmental/callous by refusing to fully accept the ones he loves (see nie huaisang as a good example of this); and lxc is viewed as passive and an enabler by refusing to condemn the actions of those he loves (see him not interfering with lan qiren unreasonably punishing lwj for him loving wwx)

all of this to say: in this awful situation where meng yao's actions resulted in her expulsion from the nie sect (despite knowing nmj still loves her, the fact that he rejected her stings like her parents abandoning her all over again,) lxc's appearance in lanling is like a beacon of hope.

a cynical reading would say meng yao cozies up to lxc just to secure her position in the gentry now that she's lost nmj. a kinder reading would say meng yao, appreciating lxc's unconditional love in the wake of her expulsion, finds herself incredibly motivated to live up to xichen's expectations of being a good person. knowing he forgives her transgressions makes her ironically more honest than she was with nmj, whom she actively hid things from because she knew he wouldn't approve.

so meng yao takes lxc in and nurses him back to health. her quarters are perfect because the servants won't ever stop by (scared of madam jin,) the jin cultivators won't care (mixture of being scared of madam jin, scared of 'ruining' jgs's political pawn, and looking down on her for being a woman,) and the townspeople won't tattle. the one group meng yao has managed to endear herself to are the lanling townsfolk. they've been suffering under pompous lanling jin cultivators who only help the wealthy for decades, this nice young lady who goes out of her way to help them is baby and they won't turn her in no matter what.

(i imagine at this point meng yao, being ignored, acts the way she did in qinghe aka like a young man, not caring a bit that she's alone with a man in her personal quarters. this part needs more fleshing out, tbd later when my brain comes back online.)

the wens

eventually, the wens give up scouring the town and storm koi tower. they demand lanling jin reveal any intel on lxc's location, knowing from reports he likely passed by. madam jin, knowing meng yao and lxc were familiar, can't resist the chance to get rid of her husband's embarrassing mistake by dragging her before them.

but of course meng yao has already smuggled lxc back into town at that point, and the wens find nothing in her chambers.

even more embarrassing, the wen see the poor conditions jgs's 'beloved daughter' is living in. little comments about how lanling jin couldn't even afford to provide for their family, how quaint, loses so much face for jgs he finally intervenes and moves meng yao into living quarters closer to the main family. while this definitely raises meng yao's position within lanling jin, it also means she can no longer hide lxc (she can't rely on the townsfolk's good will to keep him hidden forever.)

so she uses her move from one courtyard to another to slip lxc away, taking advantage of the hustle and bustle to disguise any carriages being rented out and horses used. she keys him into the butterfly talisman she managed to reverse engineer from watching jin disciples send each other messages across the estate-- so she can send him messages no matter where he is.

(now the exact state of xiyao at this point is something a smarter me needs to work on... mostly lxc's point of view.

when meng yao was a disciple of qinghe nie, lxc found himself charmed by her intelligence and sharp wit. if he had to give nmj to anyone, a-yao would certainly be his pick. in their male-dominated society where men can have multiple wives but women can't have multiple husbands, it was always going to end in only one of them marrying a-yao.

being a nie disciple, it made sense for that to be nmj. but what nmj cannot forgive, lxc can; and if nmj will not find a wife in a-yao... then perhaps lxc can do so instead.)

the indoctrination camp happens. jin zixuan and the other clan heirs are sent away, lxc is hopefully able to use the busy roads to hide his path back to the cloud recesses, and meng yao becomes very aware of how much jgs wants to suck up to wen ruohan. even before they find out wen chao had left jin zixuan for dead, meng yao could already see jin guanshan planning ahead.

(that's what she would do. the most disconcerting thing about spending time with her father in such close quarters is realizing how many traits she had in common with him.)

when jin zixuan returns, jgs makes a big show of welcoming him home. he 'shudders to think' how the future of lanling jin would be like if they had to rely on meng yao to continue their lineage. the implication infuriates madam jin (did he really suggest his illegitimate daughter may inherit the sect if jzx dies?) but raises alarm bells for meng yao. there is no way jgs would ever allow her to inherit, so making a bit show of it here can only mean one thing: he's talking her up like a product he's going to sell.

so meng yao isn't surprised at all when he announces that he is negotiating a marriage between his illegitimate but still blood-related "only" daughter to wen rouhan's heir, wen xu.

off to nightless city

madam jin is quickly on board. no one else in the sect protests or even cares. she's being thrown into the lion's den like a sacrificial lamb and meng yao refuses to let the wen take her life.

war is coming. everyone knows it, including jgs. marrying her to the wens is genius: if the wens win, then lanling jin has a connection to the wens' inner circle. if they lose, jgs can denounce meng yao is illegitimate (he was forced to accept her because of those darn nies) and let her be executed for 'being a wen.'

it's lose-lose for her the moment they take their bows, and so the path forward is simple: until the war is over, meng yao must not marry wen xu. she can't stop jgs from betrothing her to him, so what meng yao needs to do is keep them in the betrothal period for as long as humanly possible.

eventually everyone agrees to meng yao moving to the wen sect and living there for a trial period, because despite being jgs' daughter, she was only recently recognized. this is to make sure meng yao is an 'appropriate' bride for wen xu, at least according to wrh and jgs.

while jgs probably doesn't care at all if she's taken to nightless city and assaulted/killed etc. right away, meng yao obviously does not want that to happen. using xue yang's words after his escape, she rightfully deduces that wrh accepted the betrothal not because she is a jin, but because she was nmj's former right-hand woman. she has intel he wants, and all she has to do is convince him she's amenable to betraying the nies of her own volition. let him think he can convince her to switch sides with sugar instead of the stick, because getting her on his side would help him destroy the biggest threat to the wens in this upcoming war.

the night before she leaves for qishan, meng yao sends a messenger butterfly to lxc. she will use the opportunity within nightless city to give him information to help the war effort. it is the most a political pawn like her can do. she does not send a butterfly to nmj, who she was also able to key in out of sheer familiarity with his spiritual signature. because nmj is so honest, he needs to think she betrayed him. if he even catches a whiff of her possible double-agenting, he won't react properly, and wrh is a terrifying ruler for a reason.

lxc, on the other hand, is very unlikely to come face-to-face with wrh. he is also more passive and harder to read. more importantly, lxc still has a good opinion of meng yao for saving him. he'll believe her without question, and in a tumultuous time when even meng yao isn't sure where her loyalties lie other than towards "i have to survive," she finds his faith in her addicting. he is a steady rock in a sea of uncertainty, and she knows she won't ever have to worry about him doubting her if she sends him reports instead of to nmj.

the sunshot campaign

this portion roughly follows canon, with meng yao endearing herself to wrh once the war begins as the perfect, ruthless daughter-in-law. there's probably some subplot with wen qing as well: both women are considered important to wrh's cause, both are at his side for dubious reasons and with questionable survival odds. ultimately, they loathe each other; they both get in each other's way in their game to withstand wrh's moods.

canon progresses. when wen ruohan loses patience with the long betrothal (it's war time, marriages have been conducted in even shorter time,) meng yao arranges for wen xu's death at nmj's hand.

she would have preferred lxc to do the honors as revenge for the cloud recesses' burning, but for the sake of her plan it has to be nmj. it gives wrh incentive to capture nmj, to set up the scene meng yao's been waiting for. because betraying nmj is the final act that will solidify wrh's trust in her. meng yao is a great actor, but wrh is far too shrewd. the only way to make her lashing out believable... is to lash out for real.

losing her standing with the nies had hurt meng yao to the core; it was the first time she was cast aside after she'd gotten used to being accepted (which hurts worse than being cast out by a stranger.) while she puts on a brave face in lanling and knows intellectually that nmj set her up for success by limiting the rumors and forcing jgs to acknowledge her as a daughter... that doesn't change the fact that he cast her away. the same way her father did by not once coming back for her.

nmj thought handing her over to lanling was righteous, that jgs would take good care of his daughter. he probably even thought meng yao would be grateful, being able to take up the role she'd wanted as a child. he couldn't fathom a world where lanling was a cesspit more dangerous to her than even the worst misogynistic pigs of qinghe nie. he couldn't fathom a world where meng yao no longer yearned for her father's acknowledgement, not as long as she had nmj's.

now she doesn't even have that. so yes, she killed her former sect members without a shred of guilt. she beat nmj with all the viciousness she'd kept bottled up. she enjoyed it,

that's what made the act real enough to trick wrh, because it was real. loving and hating nmj are not exclusive. in fact, she's certain he feels the same way about her. if any other nie cultivator had been caught murdering their brethren, nmj may have very well demanded their execution. but he sent meng yao off to lanling with honors. he still loved her even as he condemned her, and that makes the bitter part of herself hate him even more.

especially when she finally kills wrh and reveals herself to be working alongside lxc the entire time. lxc is ecstatic and so, so relieved meng yao managed to make it out the other side of the war alive. nmj instead sees the dead nie cultivators on the floor and condemns her further. that he doesn't seem to realize the true danger she'd put herself in to get to this point, because naivety is the privilege of the powerful.

regardless of his feelings, it doesn't change the fact that the war is over-- and meng yao was the one to deal the killing blow.

after the war

the landscape after the war is a mess. wwx used demonic cultivation to turn the tide in their favor. meng yao slaughtered her old sect mates in a cold bid to get wrh to lower his guard. jgs barely contributed to the war effort and used the after-party as the opportunity to seize political power, and actually succeeded.

with wen xu dead, meng yao's betrothal is obviously annulled. her return to lanling jin is unbearably awkward; no one had expected her to live after being shipped off to nightless city, much less come back as a war hero.

meng yao doesn't care. the only reason she came back to lanling jin was to receive actual, legitimate recognition of her place in the jin sect: legitimacy worthy of a sect leader's future wife.

when jin guangshan attempts to rename her jin guangyao, lan xichen innocently asks why his future wife, the great lianfang-zun, would be denied her generational character. one would think the jin were insulting the lans instead of forming an alliance with them, if he so clearly viewed meng yao as lesser even than her twit of a cousin jin zixun. so begrudgingly, meng yao becomes jin ziyao, shortly to become the future lan furen.

it's a fairy tale ending, one that meng yao has literally sacrificed blood, sweat and tears for. except it's not. and it's all wei wuxian's fault.

[mognamon]

hangry

Tsunami didn't get her mcfries

Au things below

Nami is such a fun character

Righteously angry and impulsive to the point of aggression. Potently exuding and reflecting my impulsive desires, I relate to her a lot. She's quick to bite and too stubborn to regret.

Exploring how that personality would translate to a very different Tsunami, someone who had a traitor for a father and a list of detentions ripe to bite her in the back. This Tsunami is a penal soldier, someone who spent time in the electric eel prison (depicted in the image) and found freedom in war. She's still impulsive and raging but it's more prickly and rather passionate.

Here's a compilation of ideas:

She's loyal and believes fully in the propaganda. Prideful and will do anything to prove it. Maybe it's stubbornness or some hopeful part of her thinks being a perfect soldier will give her a lighter sentence.

Tsunami before getting detained lived life quite normally as normal as you can get in war. She wasn't allowed to be a soldier due to her father so she took to craftsmanship, repairing dented armor and such to support the war effort.

She's imprisoned for no particular reason or mb the queen felt like putting the traitor's kid in jail finally.

Still friends with Riptide but ykno he has a personality (he's a lil secretive guy with a liking for radical thoughts)

Her hatred for fate is still a thing as well, she wants to avoid going back to her fate, to prison where she belongs bc her father's crimes and his fate became hers. She hates destiny bc its thrust upon someone who never asked for it, she didn't ask to have to live a harsh horrible but that's what she got for being born to the wrong father.

Nami's too far down the class to ever have met or seen the royals up close so all her thoughts and opinions on them are rather influenced by what she's read or heard. Coming from the eel eating masses so her education of things that happen above is scarce at best, Riptide is her source of info since he got into the army.

The idea that the Queens and royals are so alienated from the common dragons that not even our pov characters would meet them or only see them from afar would be funny (sorry i fucking hate how like nearly every mc is related to royalty in the pyrrhian books like plssss plsss can we not).

Nami's arc of thinking before acting and being more calm is pretty alright, it's one of the most simplistic character arcs in this series. Her guilt though is the most interesting thing about her. Since she's a soldier rather than tackling the guilt of killing her father it's killing other soldiers and kind of moral quandary of war. Nami never really let herself think about her actions, always ends justify the means even if she has to throw away her morality for a chance at freedom its selfish but understandable. She has to fight to survive bc what else is there, if she stops being a soldier she'll just get killed or thrown in jail, at least if she keeps fighting for another day she'll still be alive. The overwhelming guilt of it all would probably mess her up really bad in the angry self hatred way turned intense gung ho redemption mayhaps

lots of unconnected thoughts this time around

Thanks for readin my ramble!

[echosoftheflower]

I rewatched YHS purely because I had fallen into Grian's newer stuff (Traffic Life) and out of nostalgia from when I watched it as a kid. This whole weird analysis/character study thing was written in one go in a moment of thoughts and only applies to the characters.

That being said, Something, something, the terror that is YHS Sam being a product of his environment and mental health.

Nearly the entirety of YHS can be reflected in how no one tries to stop him or talk to him when he starts getting bad or violent. Some characters even go as far as to encourage his various behaviors (i,e, at the start of the crossdressing arc some girls offered Sam their outfits to try which in other contexts could be them being nice but he was VERY open about it being for getting with a lesbian woman). It takes about 20 episodes through the series for Sam to start really losing it and in that time we see him do various things to try and handle each situation he is in. He leaves the room when he's overwhelmed, he keeps his bear that brings him comfort with him, calls/checks in with his parents everyday, and he sticks close to his friend to have constant support. While these behaviors can be interpreted as him being sheltered or sensitive it could as be possible he is aware he has issues and knows to take these steps. However everyone around him (even Taurtis) just keeps pushing him, tearing these things away from him and mocking him for these behaviors.

This blatant uncaring nature is further shown in how when Taurtis' girlfriend is killed, there is no investigation, just a cover-up by the police. And no one offers him any kind of comfort or support, especially the adults. The way Taurtis never seems to expect any real comfort or even offers any to Sam when he loses his comfort stuffed bear reflects how, unlike Sam who (ignoring Yandere as it's non canon) was implied to have moved here, he lived here for his whole life. We never see him call his parents, he never seems to have trouble accepting everything around him, and we don't see much obvious changes in his character. All that changes is him growing more weary of Sam as time goes on, but he never says anything, never discourages or checks in. He, like everyone else in the town, just accepts that this is who his friend is now.

The reason Grian was so much more clearly distressed by all this is BECAUSE he was new, it's why we see him get so much shit for it. Why he's talked down to for not just accepting it. The issue is, he is thrown straight into the deep end with Sam who is by now at his wits end, and mind you, EVERYONE GOING ALONG WITH HIM. No one ever tells Sam to knock it off, tells him off for what he did to Taurtis, or even puts any form of blame on Yuki. It's not until gym class, the last class of the day, when Sam really seems like he's fully fallen into the delusion and Grian really couldn't fight him off that Rowan and Rowan alone (who was their single most creepy teacher) starts trying to get Grian away quietly, but at that point it was way too late.

Only when Grian is at full-on KNIFE POINT and being forced to eat plastic in a shed is when the adults take any real action. And that action is pulling a gun on a student. It is after this point with all of Grian's resistance and people FINALLY telling Sam he's wrong, that Sam starts to have a breakdown questioning himself and his sanity implying that even as far in as he is, IT COULD STILL BE POSSIBLE TO GET THROUGH TO HIM. However, it seems no one is interested in taking that step, rather ending the situation as quickly as possible and moving on without even bothering to help Grian or talk to Sam more than they have to.

Later we see that Grian somehow ended up right back in the same situation he started in, This implies that either Sam managed to threaten the people with guns into sending Grian back over to him or after he burnt himself out they just handed him back over, no supervision, no “maybe we should separate them” or “we should call the police” just “whelp that's over with, send them home.”

Nothing has changed but Grian reluctantly going along with Sam’s continued delusions to protect himself.

Throughout YHS we see Grian truly start to accept this as his reality and change himself to fit in and survive, in a pretty similar way we saw Sam change. We watch both Sam and Grian grow violent and cold. Sam is quick to anger and uses threats to get his way without question while Grian grows cold, compliant, and ruthless, doing what he needs to do to get from point A to point B and survive another day. He is detached and still a bit stubborn but in all reality he has adapted to survive all the same.

We can see Taurtis become more and more nervous with his friends especially when most of these developments happen when the two are alone without him to ground them. Still, he can't figure out why this happened or what happened to the people he once knew because he grew up here, this is all he knows, and as far as he can understand, there's no reason for them to have changed so drastically when he's not there.

It also becomes more obvious for these reasons WHY they only seem to change so much when he is gone. They lose the sense of familiarity that he provides with his jokes and attitude. Instead forced to cope in the only ways they know how, Sam falls into his anger and delusions to make up for him being gone. And Grian grows detached, falling into the mindset of "live to see another day by any means necessary" leading him to become as deadly as he is when the mafia/police arc begins.

We can actually see how they both have learned to adapt to situations like this in TS during the time in which Taurtis is missing. They try to get a job like normal teenagers but when the weirdness of it all starts to show itself and no matter how hard they fight to do it the way that they believe is right (i.e. getting sales with customers by being genuinely good workers) they just keep getting knocked down. So, they fall back on those unhealthy coping mechanisms and behaviors. Grian suggests making their coworker look bad and Sam suggests murder. Later when they go through their arc of trying to save Taurtis from the mafia, they resort to theft, focusing all their anger on the one person who, by all means, is probably the most normal guy they have met, Jason. They are mad and jealous of him because he can have what they can't, a stable job, stable money, people who like them, and entirely non-violent. They rob the place because they believe that the police would never help them against the mafia. They eventually do get arrested and offered a deal to go to help with the mafia. They kill many in their way, but upon finding out it was Jerry instead of Taurtis they respond by saying "we should have just left him to die". It is after this incident they both start carrying guns on them, something that seems to confuse Taurtis when he comes back. We watch as they change for the worse in this situation, now on equal footing and displaying how their unhealthy ways of coping worsen the other's with Sam unpredictability kick-starting that cold detached need to survive in Grian's mind, and Grian complying with and feeding into Sam's violent solutions.

The end result of all of these changes is put on full display at the end of TS where they are nearly unrecognizable as the people they started out as in YHS. The other-world Sam, who is treated as he was at the start of YHS, goes entirely ignored by Sam and is only being acknowledged to say he's annoying and needs to die when he finds out he likes Invader (a constant state for Sam to hate her is also likely a comfort) and is following her around as he had once done with Suki. Grian has a much stronger reaction to his alternative, He says he's weak and pathetic, wanting nothing to do with him and taking joy in killing this more innocent version of himself. This is once again that sense of jealousy for what they can't have, a stable life, stable friends, and alright mental health. They destroy the world with no regard for anyone, not even Taurtis' pleas can get through to them.

And so they destroyed the world that had destroyed them, giving in to the calls of a powerful, manipulative, evil book because, in the end, it was all they knew. And really, they had very little to lose. All they ever wanted was their house, their friend, and to finally leave that city.

[jesskasb]

Ok but which drv3 fic are you reading. And is it good so far

it's "amalgamate" by doctorhaifisch !! and it is good so far yeah! really elaborate answer under the cut, i went on about this for longer than i shouldve. sorry. ill take any opportunity to ramble about v3. :']

based on the hits and the amount of fanart ive seen of it, it seems everyone and their mother has read it... however ive been purposely living under a 2 bedroom rock for like 4 years so ive only gotten around to it now after seeing an artist i follow say it made them reconsider a few things about ouma and it made them like kaito and realize how intelligent he is and how fascinating his role in chapter 5 was— and i was like wow, that must be a based fucking fic! it took me years to see kaito more than just a loud guy with a savior complex, and now that im a huge fan of him, i wanted to see what kind of fic could open someone's eyes to his awesomeness.

i check it out *really* skeptically, mainly cause i dont trust most people's depiction of ouma. they either make him genuinely not give a shit about things and just be a terrible person for no reason, or they make him too emo in a way he simply isnt. the main reason i even gave it a shot despite never having read a v3 fic in the 6 yrs ive been a fan, is that it said that the tags say the whole fic could be interpreted platonically (#AROWIN) (god knows im not against oumota but i prefer them as friends by a really substantial amount) and the amount of research the author seemed to have poured into strike 9 poison and its real world pesticide counterpart. the art they attached to chapter 1 was really good, too, so that made me curious.

now im in chapter 10/20 and i can say with confidence ive been having a great time. its plenty obvious the author has a lot of love for all of the characters, and even though i thought i could gain no new opinions since i already love ouma and kaito's potential dynamic and everything to do with chapter 5, i ended up being very pleasantly suprised by himiko's depiction here! i cant say im too big of a fan of her, not due to any actual fault in her character but rather kodaka's failings to do anything actually interesting with her. in chapter 9, this author used her untapped potential in a really heartwarming way that i loved. similarly, i have enjoyed seeing their portrayal of kaito and ouma, and it seems there's going to be an arc for ouma to begin seeing his classmates not only as people whose lives are worth saving as much as any other, but to see them as friends and letting them become close with him. ive always been a firm believer that in a non-kg setting ouma could become super close friends with a small handful of people, but this fic is making me reconsider that— maybe its more! another thing im really enjoying are all the fascinating possibilities that the author is exploring for a world in which ouma lives to see chapter 6 and the consequences of his actions. him being there while people investigate his room? most amusing. its all stuff that happens in chapter 5 and 6 until a certain point— just enough to get these two chumps to live, and then... well, i guess ill see how chapter 6 turns out, but as of right now ive been super intrigued and entretained.

i do also have a couple of complaints, but theyre mostly pet peeves and no deal breakers so far: there have been a loooot of pop culture referenced but they all feel in line with stuff kodaka would write so whatever, the author uses italics way more than id like... in the chapters up until 9 there were constant descriptions of kaito seeing ouma as a Kid, and while that in an of itself is true (he is a 17 yr old) the context began feeling a little infantalizing and like kaito himself wasnt 17 as well. theres noticeably less of this in chapter 9 and what ive read of 10, or when theres references to them being kids it includes everyone and theres even a moment where kaito tells ouma theyre the same damn age lol. theres also been a bunch of moments that are clearly very indulgent of ship dynamics and inclinations im not too fond of (particularly between ouma and shuichi) but like i said, nothings been too much of a dealbreaker since the positives far outweigh the negatives!

im currently on a trip where i dont have signal most of the time so i got the epub of the fic to read on the downtime. im def gonna keep reading it, and im excited to see where its going despite some of the cheesy lines such as

(honestly i cant even complain. i dont care its a reference to the title of the game. he Would say that....)

i mean, really, it's such a good depiction of ouma. all his masks, his paranoia, his insecurities, his determination to stop the killing game, the way hes been helping the group while simultaneously remaining isolated, and the way his lies are an extension of his genius but also a constant tool to test his peers. i feel like i dont get to see all of these elements of him expanded upon so extensively like this fic does, and that alone makes me really respect what the author is doing! the word count may be scary but i think youd get something from the fic even if you only read like 5-6 chapters. so yeah in conclusion id recommend it if you give a shit about v3 and are interested in chapter 5 fix it fics LOL

[highfantasy-soul]

NATLA Episode 6 - Masks (5/5)

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

An explanation of what I'm doing here and my history with ATLA.

Of course, full spoilers ahead.

<previous/next>

After Zuko's painful flashback, we get the animated series' convo between Aang and Zuko from the Blue Spirit episode - I like closing with this bit as it has built naturally from the conversation earlier. Instead of Aang just randomly telling Zuko he thinks they could have been friends out of the blue, he's built a connection with Zuko - they've humanized themselves to each other, so the comment about friendship actually makes sense.

I think the live-action did a really good job taking great concepts from the animated series and fleshing them out to make them more organic rather than a blunt 'here's the lesson, kids' thesis statement that comes out of the blue and you just need to take on faith because it's a kid's show and you just accept the leap of logic for the sake of the story (Katara claiming she's Aang's 'family' in episode 3 of the animated series vs her telling him that at the end of the live-action season after they've, you know, actually built a familial foundation with each other).

And just like the animated series, Zuko can't take the compassion, the kindness, the nudging toward a softer future, and just blasts with his firebending, pushing Aang away. He knows it won't really hurt Aang, it's not actually a strike to incapacitate, it's a blow to ward off any sign of weakness or 'humanity'.

The follow-up flashback with Ozai talking to Zuko as he's 'recovering' was such a good addition. Ozai GENUINELY believes he's doing a good thing for his son. He GENUINELY thinks he's helping. Again, I love the complexity they're giving Ozai and Zuko's relationship where there actually IS a chance that Zuko could get in his father's good graces - honestly, that makes his turn to join Team Avatar that much more impactful. It's not a 'well I was never going to get the approval from my father anyways' decision, it truly was a 'I could have had it all, but it wasn't right'.

To me, that's what made the OG redemption arc so good: Zuko DID choose to 'get everything he ever wanted' and turned away after he was secure in that - but there was still that little lingering knowledge that Ozai really never would actually accept him - it was all a ploy. The live-action strengthened that thread with making it so that Ozai really could accept him - it's a real thing Zuko would be giving up rather than a shallow imitation of 'acceptance' the animation gave Ozai and Zuko.

Ozai insisting that Zuko needs to be able to give up the weak in order to preserve the strong is such an interesting beat to keep hammering home with Ozai and his world view. He's obsessed with his own version of 'strength' and I honestly think there's a lot of trauma for him around that idea. When Zuko argues that the weak can become strong, I think that it actually shakes Ozai, that's why he lashes out in anger at that comment - just like Zuko does when Aang tells him that he can be better than what the fire nation is right now. Ozai mentions Zuko's mom and I think it terrifies him, the idea that the 'weak' can become strong - I think Ozai has been taught that either you're strong or you're weak, it's innate and unchangeable. He can't imagine he's created a weak child, so Zuko MUST be naturally strong, he's just been too sheltered so it hasn't been able to come out yet.

The idea that what Ozai thought was fundamental could actually change I think shifts Ozai's entire world view. If he accepts that, then it would mean all his 'sacrificing of the weak' would have been incorrect even by his own logic - and I think it could tie back to Ursa, his wife, as well. I hope we get more on her and Ozai's actual dynamic in season 2 as it was something I felt was lacking from the OG show. Ozai, I believe is struggling as to where, actually, to place Ursa on his 'weak' or 'strong' hierarchy and it's destabilizing to him. He has to keep up the idea that the strong are strong the weak are weak and it's just the natural order of the world that the fire nation is on top - because it means they're inherently strong and that cannot change.

AAAHHHHHHH the 41st reveal!!!!!!!!! Just, the genius of that move - the layers, the angst, the connection Zuko and the crew now naturally have - it's just so good. Zuko is surrounded by evidence reminding him of the biggest failure in his father's eyes - the reason he was punished right before him. Of course he's going to harbor resentment, then extra anger when they don't treat him with respect due to his resenting them. Of course he's going to have so many conflicting feelings about being surrounded by the people whose lives he saved - at the cost of his home, his dignity, and his father's love.

He didn't intentionally set out to sacrifice all that to save their lives, but his actions led to that outcome anyways and I think that's such an interesting take to have on a 'sacrifice to save lives' story. Zuko was just doing what he thought was right. He was trying to save people, and he took his actions not having a clue what it would cost him. It's not a cut and dry - I saw something bad happening and willingly took the consequence to save them, it's much more complex than that - a complex story where the one who unwittingly gave the sacrifice learns that it truly was a sacrifice and not a punishment. Someone who was forced into a 'hero' position who has to grow and change in order to fit into that hero mold their actions have already put them in. It's just a really fascinating angle to show a heroic act.

I've seen some issues about the 41st being Zuko's assigned crew, so I wanted to address that: I assumed that all Fire Nation military was the navy. They're an island nation and every single Fire Nation military group we see are on or from ships - and we see presumably the same soldiers operating the ship as we do on the war rhinos when they come ashore. So I didn't think it was odd at all that the battalion that was about to be sacrificed in a land assault was also the one running the ship. I also don't think it 'cheapens' Zuko's sacrifice or makes it so that it was a…idk, story choice that said 'see, it's justified what all happened'. Definitely didn't see Ozai's convo with Zuko after being burned as the writers saying 'see, all this is justified and we should see good logic in Ozai's choice here' - it was very clearly still framed as bad? Yeah, Ozai thinks he's doing the right thing, but like, media literacy y'all.

Ugh, Lieutenant Jee and the rest of the crew showing Zuko the respect a crown prince would usually get right after one of Zuko's greatest 'failures' of a mission. Zuko is confused at Aang's compassion toward him, angry that he's poking holes in his world view, and crawling back on board after having lost the Avatar once again - and being greeted with love and care and respect. "Our prince has returned" - It's not the home Zuko thinks he needs to return to, but it IS the home he and the crew have made for themselves over the past 3 years. It's a place he's being welcomed back to while he's still thinking the goal is to get back to the fire nation. Such a good message that unfortunately, Zuko doesn't see quite yet, but each little step in the right direction counts.

Again, linking the ending monologue back to EVERY character in the show - this time the narrative having drawn so many parallels to how Zuko retains his mask and then showing how his father reacts the same way - showing that Ozai is wearing a mask too, just one that's been welded onto him through many more years. This was truly Zuko's episode - and it's his mask that needs to slip the most - or rather, for him to realize that the Blue Spirit that saved Aang and connected with him wasn't the mask at all, but rather what could be his true face.

I really, really liked the alterations from the animated series they did in this episode. Yes, having Zuko fight his father in the Agni Kai was a HUGE change, having his father be more than a cold and distant disapproving figure was VERY different, but I think this is what the showrunners meant when they said they were taking a more 'mature' and 'GOT' tone with this adaptation: they were adding depth and nuance to the 'villains' and making them more grounded in reality than the heightened villainy of the animated series. Older kids (and adults) can handle seeing a villain have complex interactions - they can understand that even though Ozai BELIEVES he's doing the right thing by Zuko, that he ISN'T ACTUALLY (ok, some of us can see that, others seem to think the show was saying Ozai is good, actually but that's an issue with them and their media literacy, not with the writing of the show that expects the audience to have critical thinking skills).

Anyways, it was a fantastic episode and has provided much content for my essay about live-action Ozai that I'm writing.

[kiarabanetmi]

Chloe’s Arc vs Felix’s Arc

Chloe and Felix share many similarities as characters and yet their stories have completely different outcomes and I want to try and analyze why. I think both of them share similar stories with different outcomes to show how different actions taken by similar people can have drastically different results

On a surface level it may seem like Felix and Chloe aren’t similar, and yes they do have many differences between them that make them different people entirely, but they both have many of the same types of background and suffered similar kinds of abuse and developed negative mindsets about the world because of it

They are both rich children both to influential families that shaped their lives. Each of them had an abusive parent but in different ways: Chloe’s mother abandoned her and her father indulged her bad behavior to avoid being abused himself. Felix’s father abused Felix mentally and emotionally and even Physically since he would use Felix’s miraculous to control what he what physically couldn’t and couldn’t do. We don’t know about how his mother raised him, but I saw an interesting post on Twitter analyzing a moment from the play Felix and Kagami did (it’s linked somewhere on Twitter but I’m having trouble finding it so I can’t give credit where it’s due). The bunny that Felix holds at one point is supposed to represent Felix’s mother (there’s a screenshot somewhere of Amelie wearing a rabbit mask) and the moment where the arm is torn represents that his father abused her as well. This may have caused her to be indulgent of her son to try and make him happy, especially after her husband died, since they were both finally free of his abuse and cruelty

They both have incredible power and financial means as well as a warped view of the world due to their upbringing. Chloe sees everyone as beneath her cause that’s how she feels better about herself and how her mother acted and encouraged Chloe to act when she was actually around. Felix suffered abuse from someone who had power over him, developing a cold and closed off personality, putting others down as well, unwilling to allow himself to open himself up to be used and abused again, causing him to look down on others cause he was trying to protect himself (and his mother).

They also both tried to Sabotage Adrien’s relationship’s at some point too. Chloe tried so she could have Adrien, her “prince,” all to herself and could torture Marinette; Felix did this for unknown reasons but I hypothesize it was a combination of trying to get HawkMoth’s attention by making Adrien’s friends angry enough to be akumatized and out of jealousy that Adrien seemed to have loving friends. Or maybe in his head he also thought he was protecting Adrien from people who were just out to use him rather than actually cared about him, since he never really had any friends of his own and couldn’t believe they were genuine (but that’s my own headcannon, there’s no proof of it).

Adrien also both gave them second chances. In Chloe’s case, it started in Season 2 in Despair Bear. Then later in Derision after he learned the Hell she put Marinette through the years before in school (we’ll come back to that one in a bit). In Felix’s debut episode, Adrien did confront him on what he did, and forgave Felix when he apologized, but only after he made it clear that what Felix did was NOT OK and would not forgive him if he did it again.

Here’s where their story lines start to divulge: what they do after Adrien calls each of them out. They both take different routes. Chloe still bullied Marinette’s and the others and tries to keep Adrien to herself (which really only actively starts up again after the Season 3 finale). In the season 4 episode Gabriel Agreste, she plans to reveal to Gabriel the classes attempts to help Adrien escape his home (and by extension reveal Marinette’s feelings) so he’ll take Adrien of school and make sure only she can visit him. In that very same episode Felix comes back.

Now, on the surface, it seems like Felix hasn’t changed. He’s cold and closed off, gives Gabriel a fake ring back, makes fun of Chloe and avoids interacting with everyone else, including Kagami. But here’s the thing no one notices: he’s not actively trying to sabotage Adrien’s relationships this episode. When he and Kagami are alone in the room, he doesn’t say anything to try and manipulate her, not try to make Adrien look bad. Granted, he probably had more important things on his mind, investigating Gabriel, but it’s still a small improvement. Then there’s the BIG moment in the episode where Gabriel tries to trick Felix and akumatize him: Felix flat out REJECTS it.

This is significant for two reasons: at this point in the timeline, this is only the third time we’ve seen a character actually reject an akumatization based on will alone. The first, funnily enough, was Chloe back in season 3, Miraculer. She refused to be Akumatized and manipulated to try and be better per Ladybug’s advice. The second person to do it was Alya in Gang of Secrets earlier in season 4. Felix (at this point) is only the third character to do this. That’s huge

The second reason is he outright refused to be akumatized at all, rejecting any power offer. In his debut episode, it seemed like he wanted to work with HawkMoth, but here he’s not. Outright refused powers from someone who can literally give them. (Side note, Gabriel is also threatening Felix’s life here by threatening to make him disappear, since he had the peacock miraculous repaired now, and I have a theory as to why it broke in the first place). In the previous episode Queen Banana, Chloe even had a conversation with HawkMoth and readily accepted; showing she was no longer just being manipulated when the butterfly came into contact with her. She could have rejected it (and later did in Penalteam), but still accepted the power. Felix didn’t at all. So we start to think, maybe Felix isn’t that bad? Maybe he’s better than Chloe right?

Then he went and betrayed Ladybug and gave Gabriel all the miraculous in exchange for the Peacock. He didn’t care about the people he hurt or betrayed or doomed in pursuit of his own goals, getting his hand on the Peacock miraculous. Chloe, in similar fashion, wanted the Bee Miraculous back, and allied with HawkMoth when he offered it to her in the season 3 finale. And even in his small scene in season 5 episode 2, when he shows up and his mom is shown to have lies to Ladybug and Cat Noir to protect (or enable) her son, our suspicions about his motives and allegiances are confirmed true.

So far, his story is like Chloe’s: a rich, spoiled kid with an abusive parent (father) and the other parent as an enabler, looking down on everyone not at his level, acting cruel for the sake of it,, working with Hawkmoth to get their hands on a miraculous, and not regretting any of his bad choices and acting in his own self interest without caring about how it impacts others around him.

Let’s head back to Chloe for a second since we’ve focused on Felix and there’s a gap between his appearances in season 5. In the episode Derision, Adrien finally learns the true extent of the torture she put a Marinette through. He may not have heard about the smaller stuff from Kim, like leaving bugs in her locker and paint on her seats, but he learned of the horrendous “prank” she and Kim pulled on Marinette and immediately was furious. I mean, he tried to Cataclysm Kim’s face a few minutes later (I don’t blame him).

Adrien finally learned the true extent of Chloe’s cruelty and evil. So he decides to give her one last chance. He tells her to apologize cause he believes she can change. And she’s shown she’s capable of it. But this time, instead of trying to plead his forgiveness, she just laughs in his face now. She refuses to try being good anymore and outright tells Adrien, her “Prince”, the boy she always called her friend and seemed to care for one some real level, wrong and tries to convince him that she is better. She’s completely given up on any semblance of trying to good, or even just acting like she’s doing it to lease Adrien anymore. She’s done. She’s revealed her true colors to him. And Adrien is done with her. She’s not even sad about it anymore, just angry and annoyed that he betrayed her.

We see here that even though it seemed like she did care about Adrien enough to try and change or be better, she no longer does. Maybe she never did. She still sees him as some sort of prop or tool or prize that she deserves. Now let’s head back to Felix and the episode Emotion and how it displays both Felix’s growth and Chloe’s regression

***note, I have a full post on Felix and his actions in the episode Emption as well if you want to read it

Emotion happens and we see the true differences between the characters, and we learn more about Felix here too. Until now it seems like Felix has his own sinister reasons for allying with HawkMoth and is nothing but a male version of Chloe. But we see the differences here now. He tries to talk to Kagami (posing as Adrien) and doesn’t try to ruin their relationship, in fact apologizing when Kagami tells him that since they’re no longer dating the hand kiss was too far (learning about consent is good young man, but you still have to apologize to Ldybug!). He even tries to bond with her. Meanwhile Chloe had unwittingly “befriended” Marinette at the party and insists on showing her around, bragging about servants and robots and money and the like. Then the King and Queen are supposed to dance.

When Marinette reveals herself to them, you can see the differences in their characters in the ways they react. Marinette gives “Adrien” a heartfelt speech, saying she loves him, how she understands why he didn’t tell her about the dance and isn’t mad or betrayed, how she understands his father is forcing hot to do this and doesn’t blame him, and that she trusts him and loves him no matter what. Chloe is obsessed with the fact the baker girl broke into the dance, wanting her kicked out immediately. Felix by contrast is shocked, and then smiles and dances with her. He’s still acting as Adrien so it could be a cover, but I think he was genuinely loved by her words. Until now he’s never interacted with someone who honest, even if it would get them in trouble or hurt them. When Marinette starts getting self conscious and saying they think she’s a monster, he gets angry and says that they are the monsters.

Then Chloe gets so mad that she outright attacks Marinette and Felix then reveals himself. He starts snapping everyone away, but doesn’t do so with Marinette. He takes her away and hides her rather than just snapping her away for later. He doesn’t want to hurt someone who genuinely cares for his cousin. Then after he snaps the rest of the world away except for himself and Kagami (and be believed Marinette) he brings Adrien back and is overjoyed! He is happy cause he thinks he freed them and wants to have them all live together and be free and happy, (like he never was with his father)

Now we see there’s more to him that a cruel Chloe copy: he wants to help those he cares but is INCREDIBLY misguided, he thinks the only way he can think to help is to take the extreme and completely cut off anyone else who they don’t know or could possibly hurt them in the future, that there’s no one else good in the world except for Adrien and his mother (then later Kagami and Marinette). And we also see him regret his actions when he hurt the people he cared about. When he couldn’t bring back Marinette, he panicked and brought back everyone cause he didn’t want to hurt Adrien.

This is another Major difference between Chloe and Felix. Felix’s actions are also undoubtedly selfish and cruel (snapping away the entire world? Damn), but beneath that there’s a twisted and warped sense of protection and care behind it. He did it to save his loved ones. He was incredibly wrong in his approach and actions, but he seemed to genuinely want to help. And when Adrien called him out on it and how he was out of control and actually hurting people and him with his powers, Felix immediately stopped. He could have ignored it and snapped him and Kagami away, living alone in his free world, but he didn’t. By contrast, in the episode Revolution, Chloe gets similar powers to send people away, and when Adrien calls her on it she just sends him away too, without a second thought. Lila didn’t even need to say anything to convince Chloe to do it, that’s how little she cares about Adrien.

And their differences don’t stop at Emotion and how they use similar powers. They continue for the rest of their individual appearances in Season 5.

After the Diamond Dance and Felix snaps away Red Moon, he could have stopped there. After this failure and hearing his mother agree with his sentiments about how cruel everyone else in the world is (his mother being someone he loves and looks up, who is now validating his original beliefs), he could have just stopped right there. Instead, after that, he took an interest in Kagami, and also still tried to look out for/after Adrien. Remember, in the Season 3 finale, ladybug also tried to reach out to Chloe again after she made that mistake, and Chloe outright refused to apologize and turned against Ladybug fully. Felix ended up listening to Ladybug in the end, when she told him winning isn’t always what you want, or something like that. He did end up taking her advice.

Then when he saw Kagami being abused emotionally and verbally by her mother (one step forward, one step back; STALKING IS NOT OK YOUNG MAN), he noted how horrible it was and immediately acted to stop it. He kidnapped her and took her away (bad reaction, make that two steps back), but here he’s genuinely trying to do good. He’s actively trying to change. Kagami even calls him out on his stalking and kidnapping, and he apologizes and explains he didn’t know what else to do cause he knows what it’s like to be abused. Chloe would’ve just laughed at Kagami’s plight: Adrien’s “perfect” friend and ex girlfriend isn’t so perfect and her mother thinks she’s ridiculous too? She would find that utterly amazing and laughable.

Throughout the rest of the episode, Felix’s only plan is to protect Kagami, and even Ladybug and Chat Noir realize this when Kagami tells them so. He doesn’t try to fight them anymore and leaves.

Then through Lila’s manipulations and schemes, Chloe becomes mayor of Paris, and again ally’s with Monarch to gain powers for herself. She’s back to her old tricks, and this time is completely unrestrained by her former attachments to Adrien. One last time, she could have turned him down, but in the end she didn’t. This final choice is the metaphorical nail in Chloe’s coffin.

**I have another link where I try to analyze Chloe’s fall from grace and the reason her story ended the way it did

That’s a fundamental difference between these two characters which such similar backgrounds: it’s how they react to what they did and react to their mistakes and other people calling them out on their actions

Chloe never truly cared that she hurt Adrien despite him being “precious” to her, she never truly accepted responsibility except for that one time with Maledictator, and in the end didn’t see how her mother treated her as wrong. And when being good wasn’t as easy or rewarding as she wanted it to be, she stopped trying.

She found that being cruel and mean was easier for her and more immediately rewarding, so she took the easy way. It’s not that difficult to expect, especially the way she was raised: with a snobby, absentee mother, a weak willed father, and all the power of the city at her beck and call. It takes a lot of strength, will, and determination to try and break that cycle, especially as a kid. We see she’s capable but it’s hard for her to stay the course of good. All we can hope for is one day she’ll see the error of her ways AND get the help she desperately needs to get her out of abusive home and able to learn healthier and kinder ways to live

By contrast, Felix did realize the error of his ways and actively began to try changing, even though it was really hard. No one trusted him, especially not ladybug or Kagami or Adrien, but he still wanted to try. And he did. When confronted by Ladybug and Car Noir again, he didn’t try to fight them, only intending to protect Kagami. When Kagami told him off and what he was doing wrong he apologized and explained himself and what he was trying to do. He also worked to give her freedom again. Being good is not easy for him either, especially with how often he was hurt and abused when he was young, but he’s trying to be better here, and sees that even though it’s hard work, he’s willing to do it. Hopefully he stays on this path.

[azure-firecracker]

ATLA Live Action Stream of Consciousness (Episode 7, Part 1).

Did Ozai try to try Zuko in the original? Did I just forget that? EDITING PHOEBE: It was Zhao but yes that did happen I just have a shit memory.

Does Zhao have enough pull for that?

They definitely didn’t know that he was the Blue Spirit (in the OG)

Nice moment between Zuko and the lieutenant though.

Yeah this is new but I like it. Makes Zhao scarier (editing me: No it’s not)

Aang: Zuko seemed so… Me: Sad.

Okay Northern water tribe is like the only thing that looked significantly better animated. The CGI detail usually looks good but here it drains some of the color (especially the purple)

Arnook…lowkey can’t act.

Why did they do that to Yue’s hair lmao? I have a specific reference I’m thinking of that I’ll link here. (There’s multiple photos in this article. It’s the one with the big hair).

Zhao is a better liar than I remember. But like if he’s this competent now will that diminish Azula’s effect if they get a book 2? Part of why she worked so well was that Zhao was not the best villain.

On the “below average” stuff with Azula: I think it works for this iteration of the character but it’s not in keeping with the original. I wish they’d kept it closer to the original since it’s important to show different kinds of abuse, and I think OG Ozai would only say those things to Azula behind closed doors, but I think it works in isolation.

LIZZY YU IS ACTING HER ASS OFF.

“That I’m the one” who what? Interesting writing choice there. They feel the need to overexplain everything else but they can’t finish this line.

Sokka’s humor is coming through.

Aaw this is a cute Aang and Katara moment.

I liked Pakku as a straight up sexist asshole in the original but I’m not sure that that would have translated so well so I’m glad they gave him some half decent moments.

IS YUE DOING MAGIC?

Aaw Yue’s getting some more cute moments that’s sweet. I love original Yue but I like her candid, grounded moments here. She feels more fleshed out. She and Sokka are cute too.

I like Sokka’s arc but give Katara some of that characterization.

Wait was Yue the fox spirit? Why did they make that choice? How does it serve the narrative?

Hahn doesn’t suck now! Not sure how I feel about that since Yue’s tragedy was not about who she was marrying in the first place, rather about the fact that she had to get married.

“My friends helped me” Aang tbf it was mostly you.

I like that we’re getting some more exploration into healing.

Are they finally gonna let Katara be angry? PLEASE do!

My dad asked why Sokka is wearing so much lipstick.

OH Yue broke off her engagement that’s NEW. Where are they gonna go with this?

Kuruk development that’s cool!

Gordon who tf wrote your dialogue in this scene (and how many times have I written that question in some form or another?)

Why are we into LOK spirit world stuff? This remake can’t handle the material it has.

Can we have one character without an angsty backstory please?

They need to stop harping in this “the hero needs to do everything alone” idea it’s overdone.

They should have given Yue white eyebrows.

This is new and I don’t mind it (with Yue)-confirms my theory that she was supposed to be the avatar.

See Sokka does have a good heart but you can’t make that the center of his character it’s also the center of everyone else’s character. Why does the whole main trio seem the same?

I hate this Aang/Kuruk scene it’s so generic.

More on the way (Y’all KNOW I have thoughts on part 2).

[cicidarkarts]

So is idrees like— the victim or do you think he’s a villian(your opinion)

Before I start, I just want to say that I am NOT in agreement with religious extremist dogma, I do NOT sympathize with people who perpetuate these things and victimize ordinary people. I am only speaking about fictional characters in a fictional setting that is based on real life events. I would never wish to defend a radical of any kind, be they religious, political, etc. I would hope that people have the intelligence and nuance to understand the difference. This is not directed at you specifically, either. This is just a general CYA; don't come for my jugular because of my opinions on fictional characters.

That said… There is a difference between being a villain and doing villainous things. Idrees is intelligent and knows how to get what he wants; however, he lacks the emotional intelligence to see the bigger picture.

"Yes, Idrees, I was your teacher once. You were a good student." -Nurullah

His bio states he would give up this entire life just for a scrap of feeling loved and wanted. Far be it from my fangirl ass to look too deeply into it and make my own headcanons, but that screams no emotional intelligence, doing this for personal gain without realizing the true extent of his actions. Note the look in his eyes, his silence as the realization of it all dawns on him during the climax of his character arc. Before this, he never truly thought about his actions. But he's thinking now.

(My dude said get that gun out of my face you idiot)

The true villain of this story is not Idrees. It's the religious extremism, radicalization, insane dogma of the powers that be. Idrees is their vessel that helps keep people down because they promised him things that he could realistically never gain. It isn't until he almost kills Parvana and Shauzia does he realize that this isn't the life he wants. He's no murderer. He's not heartless.

But it's too late for him. He's carted off to war to be another cog in this rusty machine that would sooner crush him under the weight of its own greed than give him anything he was promised. Rather than freedom, acceptance, and belonging, he gets abuse, coercion, and death.

Is Idrees a villain? No. He's an antagonist. Not all antagonists are villains. And some antagonists, like Idrees, are misguided, hurt individuals doing what they can to survive. If you watch the movie closely, Idrees doesn't engage in any violence by himself. He never gets his hands dirty and gets other people to do the dirty work for him. I believe he's afraid, and is hiding under false bravado to pretend that he isn't. I also wonder sometimes why he didn't come back to harrass Parvana and her family after this. Remorse? Fear? Guilt? Who knows, but it's interesting he never persues her and possibly never interacts with her father again after the arrest.

Is Idrees a victim? Yes. He's been victimized by the very culture surrounding this ideology. Victimized by his family who cared not for him. Victimized by his uncle who didn't care about him, either (watch the brick'd clip again, his uncle is laughing in the background). Victimized by those in power promising this young man unobtainable things because they know they can use him to maintain power.

Does Idrees victimize other people? Yes. He victimizes Parvana by trying to use her to further his own religious beliefs, asking to marry her as he sees her not as a good wife but as a way to get into heaven. He victimizes Nurullah by sending him to the high security and horrific prison of Pul-e-Charkhi where the man is seen emaciated, filthy, and unresponsive. He victimizes Parvana's entire family by ensuring that their only way to survive, their father, is no longer in the picture.

Hurt people will always hurt people without proper introspection and control. Unfortunately, "He does not care whom and how he hurts along the way."

[themirokai]

For my new followers: I’ve been watching Person of Interest really slowly and posting reactions to each episode with gifs. Check out the tag #miro does poi if you’d like to see more. Or, ya know, blacklist it.

POI 03x23: Deus Ex Machina

I thought some parts of this episode worked and some did not. Gonna do some big overarching thoughts, then call out some specific moments.

I generally liked Collier as a villain. Some of that is an affinity for Leslie Odom Jr., but as I said in a prior post I also really like villains who have a point but take it too far. And I thought Odom played him really really well. The guy is crazy charismatic and brought every ounce of that to bear in this role.

So I felt a bit let down by the trial as culmination of his arc. It’s just… kind of dumb? Like did they actually believe that doing this show trial at gun point - of two political operatives and three people no one knew - was going to … what? Convince people to rise up against the government and demand greater privacy rights? Or was it to make themselves feel better about killing the people responsible for Northern Lights? It just seems pretty half-baked for a character who I felt had been previously set up to be intelligent and driven.

And I didn’t really like the reveal that Greer had been pulling the strings the whole time. It made sense for the broader Samaritan plot but it undermined everything about Collier. I think I would have preferred if they just had Decima influence how the trial went rather than have them be responsible for the entire Vigilance movement.

The trial did create the set up for Harold to be self-sacrificing. Again. Still. Some more.

So much of Harold’s actions throughout the series seem to be motivated by guilt. Actually, remorse is probably more accurate. He only thinks he’s important in terms of what he can do for others. BRB my heart is breaking.

Another thing that got my wheels turning was this part with Control where she gives her experience on 9/11 as her motivation for undertaking the surveillance program, and I’m interested in how that reads to younger people and people who aren’t American.

I was 17 on 9/11 and it isn’t much of an exaggeration to say that you could feel the country change in real time. Control’s story of having the rest of her life motivated by that day isn’t at all rare. I know several people who signed up for the military on 9/12 or shortly thereafter.

Probably most of the people using this site weren’t even born on 9/11 and I wonder if Control’s story comes off as contrived or manipulative to you. I know that for me, I do feel the remove of 22 years. I know that 9/11 jokes and memes are pretty common now. But I don’t think that was the case when this aired. I think we were still too close to it then, and Control probably came off as sympathetic or at least doing the wrong thing for the right reason. I’m not sure this part of the show has aged well. But also Camryn Manheim’s performance is fantastic.

I find it super interesting that when I try to use gif search, the majority of gifs that come up, and the first ones, are ALL Shoot. I’m not sure if that’s because there’s just more of them or if Shoot fans tag their stuff differently or what. I didn’t embed any here because this was getting lengthy, but this scene was great, they have excellent chemistry, and I generally love how their dynamic is developing.

Fusco’s arrival was fantastic because I’m always happy when he shows up but also Root … apparently sent a message on??? with??? Bear? We’re not going to interrogate the mechanics of how Root got Bear out of the library while she was going after Samaritan but I was very glad Bear was there too.

Also! Fusco still doesn’t know about the Machine!!! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Oh look, Hersh ends up being great and I’m kind of attached to him now. Of course he’s dead at the end.

Let’s talk about the Rinchiness. As always, we have John’s single-minded determination to get Harold back for the majority of the episode.

But then there is this oh so gentle and affectionate scene that I suspect lives in every Rincher’s heart.

Sigh.

And the ending. Goddamn the ending was gutting. RIP Library.

That’s a wrap on season 3! Thanks for sticking with me, y’all. Reminder that my ask box is open if you want to share your thoughts!

[numericalbridge]

TOH rewatch semi-liveblog. Season 2b part 1

episodes 11-15

Episode 11

- Good episode on itself, especially Raine's part is great on the rewatch. But still i can't let go of how Gus and Willow are treated - and in this case, while the scene between Willow and Amity is ok in isolation, i find it questionable within the context of Willow's treatment and Labirinth Runner's 'follow up'.

And, again, not sure about Luz's plot of desperately trying to help Kikimora as projection. I find it a bit too much, i think because by this point in the show the characters show more grounded/realistic emotions in serious situations, meanwhile this was very stylized, and then Reaching Out did similar concept much better.

- 1 second hint of interactions between Amity and Gus because he gave her a book /eye roll.

- Oh, Raine absolutely was trying to spy/get info out of Kikimora here:

- Kikimora makes it seem like Terra rarely emerges from her Greenhouse, so while it's clear Terra is dangerous, it looks like she is not necessary very 'active'. It doesn't seem like even she is a part of some royal court (And it makes sense that Belos would only let someone pathetic and desperate like Kikimora to be 'close', but would not trust super powerful, power hungry witches like Terra.)

- Hooty as the Belos float is so funny.

- Amity and Willow scene is, like, OK, i like that we see that Willow is not all that happy with the current situation between them... but then the follow up in LR just goes in a different direction? Also i hate that they again - albeit more subtly than with Luz and Gus in Glass Ruins - showed that Amity came to Willow because she needed the relationship advice, and Willow was the one who had to reach out and ask her to braid her hair, and then nothing is done with it. If this was the point of conflict in LR it would have been much better, and if not - just don't bring attention to Willow and Gus being afterthoughts for lumity.

- And, again, nothing in this episode would have prevented Willow and Gus from joining the action.

- Amity's abomination glove(mittens?)-weapon is cool, i guess

- Ok, but why is this episode - where Terra is introduced - is the one where Eda suddenly uses plant glyph magic so extensively? I think it's the first and only time?

(i don't think it means anything, it's just amusing)

- Interesting how Terra says that Kikimora hurting Luz and Amity ("a couple of children") would cause a riot. Obviously it's not the entire truth behind her intervention since Belos needs Luz, but it is something that is considered a reasonable argument by Terra (and we know how she feels about hurting children) and is accepted by Kikimora. So it seems like hurting children is something that would cause a stir in the general population... so it's interesting how it would affect Darius' behavior in ASIAS. I think it fits with my reading of Darius's thought process in this Post.

- So the exact date for DoU was just announced?

- "Utopia free of wild magic" - but how does the Human Realm factors in this, or was this aspect just abandoned by season 2b?

- Also what does "free" mean here? Like, destroying the wild magic as magic or killing the wild witches? I guess, killing isn't likely because of the children. But this would make a much better villain motive for someone like Odalia rather than her knowing that the draining spell would kill most of the population: if for her DoU was about sacrificing a few wild witches for the sake of the paradise, and she just couldn't believe that 'proper' witches like she and her family might be affected and hurt, so she wouldn't trust even her children.

Episode 12

- Love Philip's parts and Eda's part but greatly dislike how Lilith is characterized and where the accents are placed in her arc.

- S2b can be so fast-paced when the plot needs to move forward, lol. It is actually weird because in a lot of ways the writing is much stronger, but then the pacing is like that (which is understandable because of the shortening but still gives an odd impression when watching).

- Conflicting thoughts about the Collector. I thought they were added after the shortening to replace something the writers couldn't fit anymore, and so his plot seemed fine as a replacement plot (except the puppets😡). But apparently Collector and the Archivists were always planned, and idk how i feel about it. I think this is something so big worldbuilding-wise that it would need to be introduced much earlier in some way (even just brief mentions here and there of some legends), like the Titan was. And i really didn't have much feelings about Collector's introduction when i first watched, but if i was watching it without the knowledge of the shortening then introducing a major player like this, out of nowhere, might have weirded me out.

- Oh, no, actually i remembered while editing - i think at first i thought the Collector would be some sort of a Machine.

- Ah, forgot that 'cool aunt Lilith' was Luz's idea. Tbh Lilith trying to be cool to make up for her past behavior and ending up cringey would've been better. But yeah, this episode was the perfect opportunity for some conflict or at least awkwardness between the two to be resolved by the end.

- Like, Lilith trying to find her own path and replicate the feeling of power and control she had in her Coven only to realize that she doesn't need it and can have fun with her nerdy architecture isn't a bad plot, actually it would've been cool, but why is a brown woman presented as a bad, corrupt historian specifically to contrast Lilith? Yes, you can have villains of color, but there is context to some of the roles that makes this iffy. And considering the way Lilith behaved around 'mysterious exotic' ruins in King's episode in s2a?

- And does Flora also have slightly darker skin than the character she is supposed to be parodying?

- Also, Lilith's arc could've been connected better to Oh, Titan. And idk, putting the accent so strongly on her trying to be cool and adventurous, it just makes Lilith seem too immature in a very specific way that i dislike. Yeah, you can say it's the point that she is immature, many characters in toh are, and i even said that if Lilith was acting like that because of the awkwardness between her and Luz i woud've liked it. And i liked when Lilith and Eda acted immature around each other in s1 too.

But her writing in this episode reminds me of the trope i personally dislike (you see it in comics) of a white woman who did some questionable things being softened by the writers into a less interesting character whose whole arc becomes about her own 'uplifting' personal journey in a very hollow manner; and while Lilith's case is not as bad, it sours me to this characterization. For me she would have been interesting if she was very gradually softening up and opening up to her nerdy side, but instead it feels like: "look, she is a huge dork now!!!" It feels manufactured. And in contrast, i think s2a had a good balance for Lilith.

- Ok, Eda started calling Gwen 'mom' between seasons. Also King calls Dell 'granpa'.

- King had never met Dell before.

- Lilith's arc and the focus in this episode is just off. I like that it does touch the false propaganda of Belos's regime about the Savage Ages, but, imo, this should've been a bigger focus in Lilith's arc, compared to other stuff. The episode should've challenged her views more (remember the 'degenerate' comment?).

- And also Lilith in s1 was looking down on the humans more than any other character. Even more than school bullies like Bosha. And that's not Belos's doing. But it just never comes up again. She wasn't just repressing her nerdy, dorky side in the Coven, she had some bad beliefs and unhealthy attitudes, and all that is reduced to an almost throw away line in Oh, Titan.

- Anyway, this episode should have been the start of her arc of challenging her views, to be finalised in Oh, Titan in a serious manner.

- And then her seeing through Philip's lies works mostly fine, but it would fit even better if there was more about challenging the attitudes of the EC and the Emperor's influence and unlearning it.

- Also Lilith being a damsel in distress with the Stone Sleeper? This is another thing that makes me feel like her dorkiness is forced in this episode. Yes, she doesn't have her magic, but she is still an ex Coven Head, why was she pulled by her hand and protected by a 14 years old? When she was initially ambushed and taken by surprise - sure, but why after that? She has her palisman, her physical training. She should be the one protecting Luz to contrast the first season.

- And Luz's "should've listened to you!" doesn't work when they had only 1 single one-sentence scene of Lilith trying to warn her about Philip. Meanwhile it would've worked so much better if there was an actual conflict between them that made Luz not listen to Lilith initially. It would've benefitted both of their characters if there was some edge, some complications.

- Why again anyone thought Philip/Belos would be some misunderstood meow meow after this episode? He is a fun villain, but?

Episode 13

- OK, ASIAS here we go... Actually, there would be 1000 more metas by me about this episode so this would be rather short. A note made while editing this: i lied.

- I always headcanoned that Darius and Eber had stayed behind to snoop around.

- Sorry, but Hunter was also clearly rude when he didn't even greet them, instead straight up demanding answers.

- Darius clutching at his cloak x2

- Like, even at his worst Darius is not nearly as bad as the fandom paints him to be. Even after he is set off by his mentor's sigil he is not as mean as the fandom thinks he is. There are two really mean/bad things he does: 1. grabbing Hunter's cloak to mock Hunter's sewing - and still it won't be out of character for s1 Eda, and 2. taking the cloak 'hostage'. But imo i think he would have returned the cloak eventually regardless of what Hunter did, even if out of mere self-preservation. And then in the episode he does return the cloak as he promised when he collects the kids - and if he was as irrationally hateful as fandom portrays him he wouldn't have done it. It makes more sense if he realized by that point he had fucked up.

(And nothing in the episode indicates, of course, that Darius knows about Belos's abuse - and considering even Terra doesn't seem to be close to the Emperor - none of the Coven Heads are - most likely the Coven Heads barely interracted with Hunter in the first place. And no way Belos himself would even get witches get close or be privy to his personal life or break his benevolent granpa mask in public.)

And if you look at the episode as a whole, if you look at Darius' emotional response and at Hunter's own reactions - to me it looks like this was not Darius' usual behavior. Instead it is an extreme thing he did after he got very upset. And, yes, it was a bad thing and maybe, if not for the events of the episode and the power of Willow (who might have parallels to Darius in his youth) reaching out to Hunter - maybe Darius wouldn't have realized how low he had almost stooped.... and it's still just a common trope when a generally good person nearly becames a worse person, but luckily 'the events of the episode happened.' Nothing so exceptional to warrant the fandom's reaction. And sorry to edgelords, but to me it's more interesting narratively too, if it is an extreme episode that pushed Darius too far and not his usual self.

And going back to him mocking Hunter's sewing - rude, but we dont see how the scene would have ended, maybe Darius would've given him some pointers in a slightly mean way if he did not see his mentor's sigil. And, anyway, if that was some dungeon whiteman the fandom would be cooing how he saw his special interest and had to correct the mistakes and rant about it. And then his PTSD was triggered so actually he did nothing wrong.

- Even Hunter's behavior in the scenes with Darius doesn't fit the supposed constant bullying. He doesn't behave like he does with Belos, and he doesn't behave like he does with the adults who are hostile towards him or his friends like Kikimora, Alador, Graye, even the abomination teacher during the flyer derby match. Hunter isn't agressive, always expects some reasonable response from Darius, doesn't gloat like with Kikimora. Yes, in real life it would be more complicated, but this is a narrative in a story.

- Also, while i don't think Darius has the greatest emotional intelligence (but i read it as him having most trouble interpreting his own emotions), my reading of the opening scene is that he realizes that Hunter is causing unhealthy emotional response, that's why he flips from trying to go away while clutching his cloak - which seems to be his gesture of hiding his upset emotions - to a very agitated response when Hunter keeps bothering him, that to me looks like bottled up emotions spilling out rather than outright intentionally directed anger:

(his body language is different and more erratic compared, for example, to his friendly-annoyed reaction to Raine's team name or his more controlled reaction to the Abomaton in ER)

- And he still doesn't cross some lines - he walks by Hunter, but he doesn't shoulder him for example. And that's when he is the most upset and at his worst. Yet certain fans were writing Darius as physically abusive for a supposedly fun 'dadr*ius' event.

- Bosha's part was funny, but the Azura book plot is even worse on the rewatch. Luz and Amity could have just gone on a date or to do research with Lilith as a follow up from the previous episode, or do something with King and Eda so Amity could bond with them. Instead it just eats the limited time that could've gone to Willow, Gus and Darius, doesn't bring anything meaningful to lumity, and it isn't even dumb fun for younger kids, instead just a pure fanservice for fandom adults from social media. (also Matt is basically exploited by a known scammer?)

- Abomination teacher seems to be made into a over-the-top jerk just for the sake of the plot.

- Darius sending the scouts to collect the kids rather than leaving it to Hunter makes sense considering what Terra said in the previous episode about a riot over hurting children. Like, the best case scenario - Hunter just can't convince anyone, but even then, as far as Darius knows, Hunter might tell Belos about the kids not obeying him and who knows whether Belos would want to punish them and their families, or whether the Golden Guard would hold a grudge. And he might still take their palismen. And if Darius was so pragmatic and unfeeling - for the rebellion it would not be a bad thing if the Golden Guard hurts some kids and causes mistrust from the general public or if his actions cause a rift between the Emperor and his 'right hand man'/potential heir.

- Skara straight up cries, but that's not a problem apparently? Imagine if someone made Hunter cry and it was played for laughs?

- Yes, the palismen have to be with Darius for the plot to work, but in the in-universe headcanon reading, Darius could've left the palismen behind - as a consolidation prize for Hunter, since he didn't know Hunter changed his mind, or even as a threat for the kids or because he just didn't care and couldn't bother to take the palismen with him. And if Belos got his palismen snack he might be in a good mood and not even question why Darius overrode the Golden Guard's decisions!

- Willow's scenes in this episode, especially her scene in the cell are so good, but the way she only gets an episode in s2 when it's for Hunter's development, meanwhile the similarities between her guilt and Luz's are never explored? Or that Gus is shown to be protective when it suits Hunter's plot, yet we still don't see a friendship moment directly between Gus and Willow?

- "Can you?" Literally my favourite Darius scene, and when i first watched it, it made it so clear that he had his own morals and was not 100% on the Emperor's side, because there was no point for him to lie here! And the way he acted so serious in a subdued way? Compare him to Terra - who also 'encourages' rebellion, but she always acts the same, there is no emotional substance behind her encourangement. Meanwhile Darius becomes serious and subdued when he is disappointed, becomes more playful (compare how he carefully lowers the cloak in the Blimp scene vs throwing it at the end) when Hunter saves his friends.

- Steve was really barely there until this episode (i couldn't even remember who this was supposed to be the first time). This is the first real development for him, but he was still better received than Darius and got a proper conclusion to his arc in Oh, Titan☹️

- Yeah, i don't actually like how the episode concludes in regards of Darius and Hunter. Not because i think Darius did anything irredeemable and needed to self-flagelate, but because the episode gives an impression that there will be more development between the two, and this is just the start. But if no development was planned/could be fit into the shortened seasons, then they should have had some narrative conclusion to it right here, like Gwen had in her episode, or Steve would have in Oh, Titan, or Alador has the next episode (and then in the Clouds, but even if Alador never appeared again after Reaching Out there was a still narrative conclusion to his and Amity's plotline).

But then, there is no conclusion to Willow's part of the episode either. There was time for a scene of her team cheering her up, but it seems that once she stopped moving Hunter's development the focus just faded away.

- Gus says Hunter types even worse than Perry.

- Would be a good episode, but Azura book plot is such a waste of limited time, and as usual Willow's and Gus's treatment is dragging everything down.

Episode 14

- I'll be honest the first time i watched this, i've skipped through 90% of it because Amity's family annoys and bores me. Luz's plot is good, though.

- My problem with Alador is less about what happens with his development plot-wise and more about 1. The way in the Clouds Odalia was written in such a cartoonishly evil way to make him seem better (problem is not that Odalia is worse, but how it was written - Belos is written as evil and abusive without being like that) 2. Yes, i am bitter that Alador got 2 episodes for his development and both times he verbalized his thoughts and the lessons he learned, while Darius wasn't allowed even one scene of properly explaining his thoughts and motives. And then, ever since the first season Willow and Gus have been constantly pushed aside while the Blight twins got a lot of attention for tertiary characters + the Blight parents' treatment of Willow is just never brought up after s1. 3. Alador is exactly the type of white character who attracts the fans who infantilize him and treat other characters badly.

(Also I just think Alador would be more interesting if more attention was brought to how he used to buy into the ideology of putting the family first, and how he was oblivious to others - like trying to play with Bump's palisman. And by being called out on the treatment of Willow and getting to know Luz and King he would then become better and would be willing to trust the children, while Odalia would stagnant and refuse to listen to anyone.)

- Ok, i admit, compared to what i've remembered Eda does spend time trying to figure out Belos's plans.

- I like how you can see in this episode that the old hexsquad had become a thing when Eda happily brings up Alador while she never even hinted at knowing the Blight parents before, lol

- Yes, i like the progression of Eda opening up and trying to mentor the kids who she barely even knows, but i still hate that her relationship with Willow and Gus - still somewhat present in s2a - is just dropped completely by this point, and instead she gets to mentor Edric. Meanwhile no one among the main adults ever comforts and encourages Willow or Gus like this.

- Luz's plot is great though, and makes more sense than with Kikimora in episode 11.

- I get what they were doing with Amity in the episode, but her getting upset at Luz was so fast-paced.

- Speaking of infantilization - it is spelled in the episode that Alador loved the Brawl, it was good for him, he was not some helpless nerdy baby. Not only it is racist when the fandom turns Darius into his one-dimensional strong protector, but also it's just another case of the infantilization of neurodivergent characters and the screwed whumpified view of abuse survivors that dictates that only a certain kind of person can be an abuse victim worthy of sympathy, and any character who doesn't fit the mold is either ignored or has to be turned into the same stereotype, stripping them of all nuance.

- Sigh, it's a good episode thanks to Luz's plot, but it should've centered her more and focused less on the Blights other than Amity.

Episode 15.

- And yet again Luz clearly says she misses her mom, and the previous episode made it clear how important to her is visiting her father's grave, but no, the fandom really thought her abandoning the Human Realm for good would be the best scenario.

- Faust and Terra are terrible, but so funny.

- Again, Bump and Eda is such an interesting dynamic. And Bump's negative development between the flashback and present day/start of s1 is also so intriguing.

- Ah, yes, a random Black kid is jealous of Raine and acts adversarial, and Eda has to save them. Idk, seems like a weird choice to paint the white child as more virtous in the context of the on-purpose unfair game of "us vs marginalized them". And i've read that Raine was initially supposed to be white too (possibly even a white woman?) before they casted the voiced actor.

It doesn't even work from the pure plot/character perspective, because Eda is not the one to bend under the peer pressure, there is never a plot line where she is tempted with the 'reward' of getting accepted by others to the point that she might turn on Raine. She doesn't seem to be affected by the 'us vs them' aspect of the game that much. Yes, the episode is trying to show the dividing mentality of us vs them, but since it doesn't factor in Eda's decision that much, she isn't tempted by it, it was ok to leave it as the background, the point was already clear enough. So there is no reason to make those kids into adversaries in this way.

Eda is not even shown to be caught up in the competition and her desire to win and show that she is the best (which would have worked better if they wanted to explore her flaws).

Meanwhile the focus should be on whether she is willing to sacrifice her chance for the ribbon and being with Lilith at school to help Raine, who needs the scholarship. Adding those kids for one minute just messes it up.

- You can see that when Terra 'encourages' rebellion there is no change in her behavior, she is still her same happily cruel self, while Darius either becomes more serious when disappointed or softer and more playful.

- Raine's scene at the end is so iconic, just such a good twist.

- It's Mallow time!

- I like how everything here is so beautifully hand-drawn and neatly written, but then a part of the text is just scribbles:

- Idk how i feel about the episode, the ending scene is great and iconic, there was some nice flashback stuff, but it wasn't that great overall.

----

Conclusion:

Overall these are all pretty strong episodes. There is a shift towards very fast-paced openings / starting points because of the shortening, and sometimes it feels off, but i think most times the show handles it pretty well, sacrificing the opening moments but leaving more breathing room for the middle and serious scenes.

Still i don't like certain characterization choices and where the show's priorities are (for example, the Blight family prioritized over Willow, Gus or Darius); and well, some choices are just baffling like the Azura book subplot eating up the already limited time, and the show continues to be really iffy when it uses minor characters of color as adversaries for the white characters.

[charmixpower]

Okokokok so I wanna talk about the s2 Tecna/Timmy arc bc brain worms, this arc was really interesting and fun and slightly wasted in some places so I get to ramble about it

Tenca thinks the thing she values most is logic but this is blatantly false, and a fun little character thing because she actually doesn't know what the real thing is any substituting it for what people expect her to value most, told her she should value most, or the cultural consensus of what Zenith values most

There's a lot of examples of her ignoring logic for something else and they show a trend

It's stated that Flora and Musa have the best grades, and that Tecna is the smartest out of all of the Winx. This obviously means that Tecna probably skips class, doesn't do homework, half-asses assignments and more because her grades don't reflect how much she knows. It's implied that she spends this time making new technology

When the Trix have Stella captured in Season 1, Tecna is the most firm in refusing to give the Trix the ring. She was resolute in fighting the Trix, despite all previous encounters pointing to the fact that this was a beyond stupid idea. On top of that episode was to show off Bloom's leadership ablities, because she was able to think about this calmly without being able to rely on Tecna to give the facts

You'd think Tecna would be the slowest to act, waiting on the full information of the situation, but she isn't. In season 1 she shoulder bashed doors so she never had to slow down, girl isn't deliberate. Tecna prefers to work and quickly and efficiently as she can to mitigate future harm rather than understand the whole situation. As seen with the Avalon's Secret episode

Tecna realized that the Omega portal could be closed in a perticualr way, but instead of telling anyone, she decided the fastest way to deal with it was to do it herself. A additional note is that when getting their Enchantix's though sacrifice, Tecna is the one I'd argue had the least amount of emotional reason to act rashly. Her sacrifice is the only one that absolutely couldn't be interpreted as a panicked split second decision. Everyone else made they're sacrifice in emotional turmoil, Tecna walked to hers

From this you can see that Tecna clearly cares more about something else more than the logical decision. When someone is in danger, she usually tries to save them quickly. Prioritizing getting them to safety quickly over the best possible course of action. She HATES conceding anything to the enemy, enough that it makes her too angry to think straight. Tecna is ready and willing to give up her life, without any adrenaline making her act more rashly than she nomrally would, to keep people safe

It's not surprising that she'd be upset at Timmy. When given a similar situation, Tecna would pick die before she'd let the Trix walk away. It's clear that she doesn't know or care that it's stupid, she's too tied up in her feelings

And I think that's the thing that actually made Tecna mad. Tecna at this point was just staring to open up, so she really wouldn't have a way to express how she actually felt. I think she was mad because she thought Timmy wasn't committed to their shared principals and would roll over when someone more powerful than him entered the ring instead of still trying despite the odds

This is how Tecna functions, and it's fairly unsurprising that she'd be upset that the person she's in love with doesn't share this commitment to what she sees as their shared principals

Now, I fucking hate how Timmy's writing was handled and this arc. I hate it so fucking much. It's god awful. Just thinking about it makes me wanna grind my teeth

The consequence of Tecna seeing Timmy as uncommitted is that she also sees him as unreliable. So the show tackles this part of her upset. Which is dumb. Timmy's sudden burst of confidence thats completely contrary to how he acts in the ENTIRE rest of the show will get on my fucking nerves for the rest of my life. They just changed his personality for a few episodes so Tecna could realize she was wrong for thinking he was unreliable

The show takes the stance that Tecna was being unreasonable when she got mad at Timmy, and they immediately undercut this by having Timmy prove himself to her. Why? The show acknowledges the fact she's holding everyone around her to the same exact standards she holds herself to is irrational. So why vindicate her original thought by pulling him ooc and making him prove himself? Leave him alone and have her realize that she's expecting too much on her own, or have Timmy show bravery in a way he'd normally would and when Tecna gets snippy have him explain why her expectations are stupid

Timmy has stood up for himself before, like in s1 when he yells at Riven and Brandon to shut up. Her expecting him to attack the lady that nearly murdered one of your squad members who's the best at combat, is worth standing up for himself. Why they did not take this path I'll never understand

This would also make Tecna's arc so much better. Batting the writers hands away from Timmy. Leave him alone, who are you making him prove himself. He doesn't owe Tecna shit rn

In this argument he'd make her realize that her expectations are way too much, and that it's better to live another day than die and still not win. Tecna would argue back, being unable to let go of her world view, revealing that she holds herself to the same expectations. Expecting this fact to win the argument. Then she'd be hit with something along the line that she shouldn't do that to herself, or something to that effect. Which she can't comprehend. Giving her a complete existential crisis, and then Timmy fucks off bc he hates arguments and is stressed tf out

Looking at all of this makes me think that Tecna was raised with a very strong "cog in the machine" mentality, that stifled both her ability to express her emotions and gave her a lack of self preservation. Which could tie into her arc of learning to express herself, bc then it could be both emotionally and her individuality...

I think I've lost the plot a little bit, but I love Tecna's character arc and I think Timmy shouldn't of had to prove himself to her in s2 bc that's dumb lol

Anyways I like this arc a lot. Tecna just being wrong because she's so caught up in her own feelings is such a good character defining moment. I love her, she's so much fun

[anghraine]

Hey Anghraine! How're you keeping up?

I read your post about moral duty, right and wrong and eventually its relation to P&P; it was intriguing!

I wanted to ask: do you think the narrator also holds Elizabeth in as much censure over her misjudgement as she herself does? Since the narrator's voice so closely mirrors that of Elizabeth, it's hard for me to draw this distinction.

Your post helped me articulate this vague thought I had had for years.

Take care and thanks!

I'm pretty good now that I'm through end of semester grading hell! And thanks about the post.

I meant to reply to this earlier, but my wrist was strained somehow or other—so I recorded a vocal response, but that ended up being 17 minutes of rambling. At that point, I figured it wouldn't be terribly interesting and I could hold off until my hands worked again.

So!

With regard to the narrator and Elizabeth, I think ... hmm, firstly, that while Elizabeth's voice is more similar to the narrator's than any other protagonist's, and Austen's use of free indirect style blurs the lines between omniscient narration and character perspective a lot, there are definitely some marked differences as well.

However, the narrator is markedly quiet when it comes to issuing condemnation of the main characters, I think. It might sum up their personalities, but it would be unusual for an Austen narrator to denounce such a character's actions as despicable or petulant. It's one of the reasons her novels seem so much less didactic and more open to interpretation than many at the time.

So I don't think the narrator censures Elizabeth much at all, but rather, tends to allow Elizabeth's thoughts and actions to speak for themselves, with the occasional omniscient-voice interpolation about her motives or personality. For instance, Elizabeth's correct judgment of the Bingley sisters is complicated by the narrative aside that their lack of flattery towards her specifically is influencing her, but she's not explicitly censured in the moment for being affected by flattery (though it will prove to be very important later).

I think it's also worth asking whether the novel as a whole seems to treat Elizabeth's misjudgment of Wickham+advocacy for him after Darcy's proposal as every bit as reproachable as Elizabeth comes to see it. It's less about statements of censure and more about the shape of the narrative in terms of this. I personally think the novel's treatment of it is less severe than Elizabeth's. I don't think most readers (then or now) come away from the novel's treatment of her thinking anything she's done is despicable. But I do think most readers who aren't completely carried away by her charm do realize that she was not just incorrect but is considered by the novel to have erred morally in her misjudgment and again in her use of it against Darcy.

Basically, the novel is very far from giving her a pass, even though she blames herself too harshly. Indeed, I think that dismissing her culpability for both misjudging Wickham and for using his tale against Darcy undercuts the entire structure of the novel, which is more focused on Elizabeth's arc than Darcy's, but which also goes to pains to parallel and balance their characterizations.

This doesn't mean their individual qualities or errors are equivalent. For instance, I recently saw someone arguing that their misjudgments of character are equally bad, while I think Elizabeth's are considerably worse, but that Darcy's greater self-righteousness translates his lesser misjudgments to more harmful external action. There can be particular variances without upsetting the basic sense of balance between them.

And if Elizabeth's misjudgments are not all that significant, then the balance built into their dynamic falls apart, the emphasis given her self-realization at the midpoint of the book is pointless, and arguably the whole book is pointless and should have been about Darcy, anyway.

That structure that places Elizabeth's "I never knew myself" at the middle point and from there propels her to an upswing (in characterization if not always in mood!) clearly indicates to me that a lot of significance is being placed on her epiphany and that while it may be overstated, it's still a big deal. Also, it parallels Darcy's self-blame later, which IMO is similarly rooted in his actual flaws and misdeeds but exaggerated by his guilt—both are harsh on others and harsh on themselves.

Additionally, while the extreme emotion of her reception of the letter intensifies the harshness of her self-judgment, she never stops seeing her misjudgment and misbehavior as worthy of censure. I may have mentioned it in the other post, but months later, she still thinks of her behavior as acrimonious and petulant, and is relieved and grateful that Darcy is choosing to overlook that. Her response to Darcy's self-blame is that they were both reproachable and her reference to only thinking of the past as it gives pleasure is manifestly not what she did.

IMO, the consistency of her self-reproach and its relevance to her character growth does not lend itself to the novel fundamentally dismissing her mistakes as minor in moral weight. She and Darcy are too harsh with themselves, for sure—this shows up again in both blaming themselves for Wickham and Mrs Gardiner's "??????" about that—but I think the novel treats both as fundamentally correct in believing that their errors were moral and significant.

[lastontheboatfics]

hello, if you're still doing director's commentary posts, could i get one on the spirit is willing (the flesh is weak) please? thank you! 🌿

OK SO

The first scene was the first thing I wrote once I gave in to the terribly compelling idea of Bill/Ginny fuck or die.

I remember noodling about the concept with @fluxweeed and saying something like "but what's the scenario? What forces them together?" Because I had the vibes, but I need Believable Motivation for my sibling incest stories, apparently. And as soon as the idea of a curse breaking misadventure and a sex spirit was proposed, my mind ran with it.

When I get excited about a story idea, it usually starts with a strong emotional inspiration. There's a moment that I can sort of see the shape of, and I want to get that feeling right. In this case, it was that moment of Bill trying to protect Ginny by giving in to the spirit's desires, and both of them thinking they need to hide what it means to them.

I have a superstition that if I write this scene before it's had a chance to marinate in my brain then I'll lose some essential, intangible element. What this means is that I start writing significantly earlier in the story, in order to help establish the baseline relationship and character arc starting points and all those other important things that will help reveal its true shape. It's a very "no dessert before your vegetables" attitude to writing. It's very frustrating!

However! Rather than feeling like a slog, starting with the opening scene energized me. It's the third time I've written a sex scene that's interrupted, and I love what it told me about Ginny in this fic—she's horny, adrift, and a bit messy. It made me want to figure out what Bill thought of her, beneath his laid back, amused outer shell.

I jumped around quite a bit after I finished that scene, working on whichever part I was interested in at any given moment. The whole plot element about the binding knives happened by accident—I was fumbling around, trying to figure out how to make the concept of "bill and ginny walk into a tomb" more interesting, when I remembered that I had made Bill toss a backpack onto Ginny in the opening scene. That made me wonder: what was in the backpack? Ginny was my proxy; I had no idea what she would find when she rooted through it.

In the bonus episode for The Bolthole, GallaPlacidia talks about how her plots emerge organically the more specific her writing becomes, because she just starts noticing patterns and connections and themes in the semi-random elements that she's introduced. That's what happened to me—I added a knife to the bag on a whim, because why not? Later, I realized that if Ginny had a knife, then Bill surely did too. Also, his knife could fail, which raised the stakes a bit. I now needed a reason that Ginny's knife wouldn't fail, which led me to the offerings and the stasis spell, and also provided a plausible motivation for Bill to get close to Ginny later when she's naked and vulnerable so he could slip her the knife (hurr hurr). All of that because I wanted something in the backpack that would take Ginny by surprise!

I do think the main setting suffers from Big Empty Room Syndrome. Like, it's this big hill they're inside, with a long tunnel entrance, and it's just... there's an altar? And offerings? And a plaque on the wall? One day I'll figure out how to actually describe environments in ways that make them sound interesting and believable.

The last thing that sticks out to me from the writing process is the scene where the spirit is torturing Ginny. My biggest difficulty there was my fear that I would undermine the mood for subsequent taboo sex. I don't find torture or pain particularly sexy (your mileage may vary), so choosing to tell a story where Bill is forced to take unthinkable action to stop Ginny from getting hurt was ambitious. I liked that she was exposing her desires to try and keep the spirit from hurting him, though; the symmetry makes my math brain happy.

I think that's it for the director's commentary! I am very fond of this fic, and it's the first one that I've recorded that I also wrote. Go ahead and give it a spin!

the spirit is willing (the flesh is weak)

Bill/Ginny, E, 15k

Read it :: Listen to it

[bakerstreetbabble]

Granada TV Series Review: "The Second Stain" (S03, E04)

The Granada adaptation of "The Adventure of the Second Stain," the last case published in the collection entitled The Return of Sherlock Holmes, is a very solid episode in the series. Jeremy Brett is in particularly fine form in the episode, and the supporting cast is excellent as well, most notably (for me, at least) Patricia Hodge as Lady Hilda Trelawney Hope. (Fans of the British comedy Miranda will certainly recognize Ms. Hodge from her role as Penny, Miranda's mother.) 

The adaptation follows the original story quite closely, merely rearranging a few scenes to heighten some of the dramatic tension, but following all the plot points quite closely. The most interesting change comes at the very end, where Holmes is given the chance to indulge in a fine bit of sleight-of-hand to deposit the letter into Trelawney Hope's dispatch box while he is sorting through the letters. In the original, Holmes deduces that Lady Hilda has a duplicate key, and has her place the letter in the box before her husband gets home. In the adaptation there is no second key, and there's a lovely shot where Jeremy Brett walks into the foreground, showing his face in profile as he lights his cigarette, immediately after his little trick.

A couple other little details caught my attention and made me grin with delight. The first is so random that I actually think it may have been a mistake while filming. As Holmes complains about his inability to find the letter over several days, he lights his pipe and flings the match aside. The match is clearly still aflame, and a few seconds later, Watson shouts, "Holmes!" The camera then shows that the pile of newspapers on a nearby chair has burst into flames, and Brett and Hardwicke proceed to put out the flames for a few seconds. There is no mention in the original of anything catching fire, and it has absolutely no impact on the plot, so I wonder if the fire was an accident?

The other detail that made me smile was when Holmes searches for the letter in the hidden compartment in Eduardo Lucas's floor. When he finds it empty, Jeremy Brett utters a snort that sounds exactly like a hog. It made me laugh out loud, but this moment was apparently Brett's interpretation of what the original story calls "a bitter snarl of anger and disappointment." Okay, it was more a snort than a snarl, but entertaining nonetheless!

The episode wraps up with Jeremy Brett jumping into the air in celebration, an action that seems a tiny bit out of character for the detective. However, as I consider Brett's approach to his portrayal of Holmes, I think one of the things that makes it so enjoyable much of the time is how much humor he injects into the role, without it devolving into slapstick. I have to admit that, every once in awhile, he carries it a bit too far, as in the adaptation of "The Musgrave Ritual." (See my previous review for my thoughts on that episode.)

Overall, I found this episode rather enjoyable to watch. I don't know if it would ever end up in, say, my top five favorites, but it did have a dramatic arc that I found rather satisfying. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments after watching the episode linked below.

NOTE: On the YouTube playlist I've been following, "The Second Stain" is listed as S03, E04, while IMDB's entry on this season lists it as episode 3. I apologize for any confusion this discrepancy may cause.