#THE ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS PARALLEL

[amuseoffyre]

Have had a couple of days and a rewatch and some mulling to put together my thoughts:

The good:

the writing - I've talked at length about the use of metaphor, symbolism, allegory and the like to add meat and substance to the narrative

the continuity tied in to S1 and the foreshadowing coming full circle, plus running themes continuing

the music is flawless throughout - both the soundtrack with songs and the original score and the way old motifs are used to add parallels and depth to scenes

the acting across the board has been staggeringly good. Especially for Taika, Rhys and Con. I can see why so many reviews had been raving about it.

the bits of set-up for S3 that have been planted if/when they get it

new characters who are an absolute delight

Family Trauma the TV show - intense to watch but cathartic af

Badass ladies and the soft boys who love them

Auntie.

The bad:

too much story and not enough time to tell it

sacrificing a lot of crew-related stuff - I know this is primarily the Ed and Stede story, but we're told that Olu was always talking about Zheng, but we never even got a single line of it. Buttons' disappearance gets one sus line. We gloss over the probation and why Ed is back in his leathers literally the next day. Again, I know, time constraints, but it does feel weaker for it.

speedrunning so much that it's taken several rewatches to catch everything that's going on - yes, it can work as a narrative device, but not all the time

still not over Zheng falling for Ricky's gift. Do not trust the aristocratic white dude, especially not when you've been blackmailing him. And I know there's some logical sense to her being so used to being able to manipulate desperate people on the fringes with both carrot and stick, but it feels like severe underestimation on her part about how ruthless and cruel and petty Ricky could be. He's not like the pirates - he has the power and privilege and it feels like she ignored that.

whatever that Teal Oranges pivot was so Jim could have a girlfriend, especially since they didn't have time/space to actually develop the Olu/Zheng and Jim/Archie stuff. Archie was barely a scrape of characterisation because of time constraints.

The ... Forbs Boding

Izzy - it falls under the typical archetype of Loss of a Role Model especially given all Ed's dad issues, which I thought we were beyond, but then it also fits with the running motif of the show of change, death and rebirth. We've had confirmation of the existence of a place between life and death plus a character who was beaten to death coming back from it and a seawitch turning up at the grave. I can see why it was done as it has been foreshadowed since "the only retirement we get is death" but after all his growth in S2, having Ricky be the one to get the jump on him is... hm. I feel like they had him and Ricky talking and Ricky causing his death for a reason. Feels like there's set-up for S3 planted and ready. My Forbs, they are A-Boding. ffs, they Obi-Wanned him right after he did a speech about "our spirit will last beyond your whole fucking empire". Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine vibes.

The way trauma is/isn't being dealt with - I feel like there's stuff there that is set up for S3 as well, because we've seen how Stede is still bottling all his stuff and hasn't dealt with any of it, while Ed has done some processing and started to make peace with himself over it. Stede still has his mental lockbox and while he tries to pretend it isn't there, it still informs so many of his decisions.

All the Star Wars vibes - I've always been convinced this was the Empire Strikes Back season and now, they have all the pieces in play for the Return of the Jedi arc: Stede and Ed are together and recovering but will have a role to play, Izzy is in carbonite with a seawitch control panel, their allies are out there getting pieces in place, and the Imperial figurehead villain who showed up in S2 is still out there and convinced he holds all the power. And I just realised that this means that if they use Hornigold, he's the equivalent of Boba Fett - Bounty Hunter for the Empire XD

On the whole, I am content with it and am already having thoughts about the potential for S3, but I find it incredibly frustrating knowing how much more it could have been with the budget/time they wanted and didn't get.

[tackletofset]

I believe people have misunderstood the concept of "Sarcean did Nothing Wrong." It doesn't portray him as a pure saint, Ned Stark-like hero, and honestly, as someone who hate traditional heroes with passion, that would make him unbearably dull to me.

We've witnessed how Sarcean was singled out in the Sun Kingdom, even when he was still a loyal follower and general of the Sun King. People disliked him simply because he was different. Was it due to his appearance or his unique powers? I interpret this as an allegory for racism and queerphobia (a theme similar to what we saw in Captive Prince).

Additionally, both the Sun King and the Lady exploited Sarcean. The Sun King used him to win his dirty battles but later imprisoned him on false charges when he became too powerful to control. Meanwhile, the Lady manipulated his emotions after engaging with him intimately.

Does experiencing racism and queerphobia legitimize destroying a country and overthrowing its rulers? Maybe not. Is it acceptable to murder employers who mistreated you? No. Does this make Sarcean's actions commendable? Absolutely not. However, Sarcean doesn't have to adhere to the strict moral code expected of a hero. He was a villain. He knows what he wants and he go for it.

As someone who loves villains, seeing Sarcean claim the Sun Throne was a triumphant moment. I was actively rooting for him, and I'm sure he relished each step he took as he stepped over the Sun symbol at the feet his throne. Slay! Sarcean, you go girl! 

"Sarcean did Nothing Wrong" doesn’t imply that Sarcean was a pure, misunderstood hero; rather: he was bad and I love it. He was bad, and I wholeheartedly support his crimes. He was bad and I'm siding with him anyway.

I hate self-sacrificing heroes who accept mistreatment, a willing doormat without a single backbone to stand up for themselves.

But I strongly disagree that Sarcean and Anharion's relationship needed to be abusive to be compelling. If we shouldn’t woobify Sarcean, we also shouldn’t woobify Anharion. Let's not portray Anharion as a helpless pawn at Sarcean's beck and call. Because remember, ANHARION’S POWERS WERE GREATER.

He could've fought Sarcean and won. Didn't he say he had "given himself in aching surrender"?

I find it fascinating to imagine Anharion, despite being more powerful than Sarcean, still chose to serve Sarcean, simply because he wanted to. As the most powerful being, he could do as he pleased, right?

If Anharion was owned and Collared, it's because he wanted to be owned and Collared. And my take is, the Collar doesn't take away his free will (and there are evidences for it).

The Sun General Anharion was a reflection of what James might have become had he remained a Steward: the flawless, obedient boy, an exceptional fighter, always seeking to please. Perhaps he grew tired of that persona and desired to be different. Sarcean allowed him that freedom, unleashing a side of him that had long been suppressed during his service to the Sun King.

Especially if we take into account that Sarcean and Anharion were supposedly inspired by Melkor and Sauron.

Plus the parallels drawn between the Old World and the present timeline seem fitting.

That’s why James told Will “you are him”,  and “the only one who ever set me free was you”.

[saturnalorbit]

okay, maybe this logic is full of holes. maybe i'm totally insane. but isn't it really implied in UNDERTALE that the red soul you see throughout the game isn't Frisk's soul at all, but is actually Chara's soul?

like, okay. i started thinking about this because i really don't like the idea that Chara is just mysteriously with Frisk in a completely unexplained capacity, not physical or anything, just their... ghost? i don't know, but the point is, the more i think about it, the more it seems to make sense that the red soul is Chara's soul throughout the whole game. and i'm frankly surprised i've never seen anyone bring it up.

firstly, the battle interface. this is something i've always wondered - if the one participating in the battle is Frisk, why is the name of the first fallen human just..... inexplicably always present on the battle screen and stat screen? i've just never understood why it would imply that it's showing Chara's HP and not Frisk's, considering Frisk is the one that's actually there.

except, what if it is Chara's HP?

suppose it's not Frisk themself taking damage, it's Chara's soul taking damage. this brings me to another point. why does the soul shatter upon death? they're not supposed to - human souls are supposed to persist after death. all the other human souls did. but consider, chara's soul, assuming it's been around since they died, has been around a hell of a long time. decades, at the very least. this would make the shattering of the soul make significantly more sense. it's been around for a long time, and it took a bunch of damage. of course that would cause it to break.

next. why does Flowey mistake Frisk for Chara? yeah, they dress similarly, but like, come on. Chara was your best friend and you still can't tell them apart from the new kid that just fell down? but if we consider that every fallen human has a different soul, and Flowey saw that Chara's soul was in Frisk, it would give a bit more merit to Flowey believing that it is actually Chara.

granted, this is one of the more significant holes in the theory. if Flowey recognised Chara's soul, why didn't Toriel or Asgore? it's worth noting that Flowey didn't seem to realise that Chara was there straight away, he only notices at the end of the Ruins even if you're doing a genocide run. maybe it did just take him a lot of observation to realise it was indeed Chara.

so let's consider the timeline. Asriel returns from the surface and turns to dust. while the Dreemurrs are mourning, Chara's soul returns to their dead body, not to revive themself somehow, but to lie in wait. their body is stored in the coffin in New Home, until Toriel takes their body with the soul still inside to be properly buried in the Ruins.

so, we're set up now. chara's body is buried underneath the flowers where the humans will fall. now i'm just throwing this out there, but what if Frisk was soulless? this gives us a scenario where Chara may not be able to enter any of the first six humans' bodies because they already had souls. but when Frisk falls, Chara's soul finally has an opportunity to enter their body and take control.

that would make sense to me, at least. but i was pretty quick jumping to the idea of Frisk being soulless, right? well, the reason i find this idea interesting is because not only is it much narratively cleaner having one soul in a human body at a time, it's also a popular fan theory in DELTARUNE that Kris was soulless before the red soul in that game possessed them. now, there are people who believe that Kris has multiple souls, some people even believing they have up to three. but i much prefer the cleaner solution of only one soul being necessary, and i think there's a lot of potential here for an extremely interesting parallel to be drawn between Frisk and Kris' situations.

(i'm aware this reasoning is by absolutely no means flawless, feel free to agree or disagree if you'd like!)

[st0rmyskies]

Which Links can parallel park, and how do they all handle the witnesses? - Oddi 🍄

Time - Flawless execution nearly every time. Has scraped the rear wheel once or twice but doesn't let it ruffle him. Unphased by the presence of witnesses. His finely-honed RBF makes it such that nobody wants to watch him anyway.

Twilight - Our country boy can actually parallel park, believe it or not, although he biffs the curb seven times out of ten. He's actually better at it in his old rusted pick-up than he is in anything else (e.g. if he ever drives Legend's car). Witnesses make him a little nervous, so he might have to adjust an extra time or two, but he can do it.

Wild - N/A. You think that boy can drive? He can barely ride a bike. Hell sometimes he can't even walk in a straight line.

Champion - Drifts that motorcycle into the spot sideways and doesn't look back. When faced with a larger vehicle he might have difficulty, but the worst he's going to do is park too far from the curb rather than risk hitting something.

Legend - Although that beaten old Hondayota bears some battle scars here and there, Legend has spent so much time living out of his car that he can maneuver that thing in and out of a shoebox if he had to. One single back-in and he's done. Might flip off bystanders for sport.

Hyrule - Also N/A. Our little doctor doesn't have his license. If he did, he would be completely incapable of parallel parking in front of witnesses, and he would absolutely back in and out about eight times before giving up and looking for a parking garage.

Sky - You think he'd park his baby near other cars?? On purpose??? He'll park half a mile out of the way and WALK just so his car can be safe from others. And this boy hates his cardio.

Warriors - Also N/A, too gay to drive.

Four - Although it takes him a hair longer than the others, he can do it. It just takes a lot of mental calculus and proper positioning. He's NEVER dinged the curb, not even once, and the presence of witnesses couldn't phase him in the least.

Wind - Would hit the curb, the car in front of him, the car behind him, and nearly sideswipe the car passing him as he's adjusting for the fifteenth time. Only after he gets out would he realize there's a damn hydrant right there. The cursing and gesticulating would make him an interesting one to watch.

Dark - Pulls in forward, jumps up OVER the curb, and very likely leaves it like that. Still takes a moment to turn his mirror in properly although he's easily 6-8 inches further in than those parked near him.

Shadow - Parks around back, doesn't want anyone to know where he's at anyway.

[starks-anthony]

things i absolutely loved about the winchesters pilot and why you should watch it:

it feels like supernatural. i know, i know, there's no TFW, but the writers put together a great little scooby gang throughout the episode and it really feels like supernatural

the lore. this goes back to how it feels like spn but the mythology is there and it’s right and it just makes the show feel so familiar. robbie said they have a continuity tech on set in addition to having himself, jensen, danneel, and drake (who watched the show through season 12 and yes, this got a big laugh from the audience), so they're keeping track and being very careful not to rewrite the past (this was robbie's biggest worry before signing on). drake also understands that john is, in his words, "a controversial character", which i think bodes very well for his portrayal.

the PARALLELS. all the parallels. there’s obvious ones, there’s easter eggs, there’s lines word-for-word that don’t even sound cheesy because they’re done so well. i love it.

carlos. y’all are gonna love carlos if/when you give this show a chance. carlos is a queer character played by a queer actor and he has such an amazing personality - i absolutely adore carlos after just one episode and jojo fleites is just perfectly cast. i can't remember carlos' pronouns (i was slightly distracted by jensen sitting directly in my eyeline during the screening), but jojo's are they/them so keep that in mind!

the CAST. i was honestly not sure about it since we all know and love matt & amy as young john & mary but drake and meg are perfectly cast. their chemistry is off the charts and you can see them growing into these characters. nida khurshid was perfect as lati and, as i already said, jojo fleites is flawless as carlos. also, TOM WELLING as samuel campbell. c'mon. he's not in the pilot but who's not excited for tom welling as samuel campbell?

y'all trust jensen and danneel and robbie, right? they are so passionate about this. they wouldn't do it if they couldn't do it right. i promise it's done right. please watch the pilot, please.

if nothing else, watch the pilot for the glimpse of dean and the promise that danneel will get misha on the show (and the many other characters that may pop up)

[mrghostrat]

Hi babe~ I have a question

What inspired Flawless? It's such a complex moral situation to tackle and a veryyy different vibe to your other fics

you absolutely cannot say Dreamland

xoxox

dreamland

i’m so sorry babe but that’s how my brain worksssss. helium has been a favourite song of mine for ages, and i’ve been listening to it even more since adding it to my general good omens playlist

(i guess i want you more than i thought i did / now that i know that part of you’s not part of this)

i’m always keyed up to think in the form of human AUs, so the thought of using helium as a literal inspiration for a fic about cheating was bound to cross my mind. then when i realised the parallels of a cheating storyline to their relationship in canon it latched on and started snowballing, like aziraphale sneaking around behind gabriel/heaven’s back to spend time with crowley, and his impressive adaptivity to lying

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

HELLO BELOVED CKB!! I have been restraining myself for months (hypothetical since I have no sense of time) on the topic of fictional characters that remind people of Yves. Because Oh Boy do I have a big one.

Have you seen Vil Schoenheit from Twisted Wonderland? There are so many parallels it makes me go absolutely bonkers. I might get his character wrong but oh well.

- Vil is insanely rich & a model/actor. Very influential and worked his way to that spot. His skincare and makeup routine is fucking impertinent to him; he must look flawless at all times. He makes sure that he is in prime condition and pushes to make sure that the people in his dorm are of similar regimens.

- Vil is based off of the evil queen (he’s not related to her in any sense btw.) He, by nature, is very nitpicky and motherly towards the people that he cares about even though it can be seen by them as smothering and overwhelming sometimes.

- He specializes in making potions and specifically poisons.

- Oh My God he is so mother and honestly one of my favorite characters and so is Yves which honestly says a lot about me. I need help. Canonically calls his right hand man “dear/darling.”

If I had to relate Yves to another TWST character it would be Malleus Draconia but only looks and obsessiveness and the whole “I want to be with you for eternity” thing.

- 🌷

Oh hell yeah i know Twisted wonderland, I follow a couple of blogs who specialized in making Yandere Fics about them, my favourite is Malleus Fuckin Draconia my man. Im pretty sure you can see my type (Long black hair, green eyes, calm, lithe and vampiric types)

I didn't know shit about twisted wonderland at first, I fr thought it was a yandere dating sim, but I had to learn everything bit by bit from the bits and bobs of canon those authors would sometimes post about, so it was like learning a language from scratch.

I was partially interested in Vil Schoenheit, but I guess most of the fics wrote him as mainly focused on his fanbase and not the reader- like he needs the world to have their eyes on him or he will throw up and die. So that kinda killed my yearning boner off for him because reader's attention is not enough and he requires love from the masses too.

Like fr i appreciate the maternalness of Vil, but it just feels... surface level since I doubt he would be interested in personally wiping reader's ass when they're incapable or cleaning up your puke on himself with a straight face without making a big deal out of it.

and IMO i think he's a little too loud, a little too naggy and his nitpicky comes from a place of self service, not really in the reader's best interest. Like Yves would listen to you and observe 100%, whereas its the other way round for Vil, where you gotta drink the yappuchino he serves. Dont come for me Vil simps i think he is swell despite this </3 I just don't think he would be the parallel of Yves </333

but for MALLEUS tho,,, mans a quiet, antisocial loner from what I saw, only yearning for the attention of the reader (or "yuu"), he's super calm, a recluse, and has like 4 friends. I have read fics that painted him in a maternal light that tickled my heartussy, and I guess thas why i like him more. Because to me, I headcannon he would take care of you himself as if you're paralyzed from the head neck down without complaints or feeling icky when he gotta handle with human bodily fluids. He would mostly listen and observe, maybe infodump about gargoyles but I think he would be a closer match to Yves than Vil in vibes and looks.

Though might wanna consider Jamil Viper from Scarabia, he hates standing out and mans was always depicted as the caretaker to Kalim. And I would like always have the biggest crush on him because,,, hehe caretaker

But he does so begrudgingly and like has a deep hatred for Kalim, I was like damn what if he loves caretaking for me,,, that isn't gonna happen because Jamil comes from a background of injustice and he isn't going to like being subjected to the role forced upon him since birth,,, aha ... unless...

and he's hella smart, but he's moving in silence just like Yves, gritting his teeth but keep on trucking no matter how angery he is. He is calm and quiet, and he listens because he need that information to succeed in his goals, but my delulu ass would be like omg he is so attentive

but theres that spite in Jamil that do be present in Yves though, ironically I would say that Yves is closer in character to Malleus and Jamil than Vil, but i could be just biased and say that because of both appearances are similar to that of Yves rn (Malleus and Jamil has like long, straightish dark hair and them sharp eyes)

[padme-amidala]

CREATOR TAG GAME

thank you for tagging me char @bixcaleen! <3

pick your 5 favorite gif sets of 2023 that got less than 1k notes and then pick 10 gifsets of someone else's that got less than 1k notes.

mine:

this anakin skywalker set is probably one of my favorite gifsets i've made in general. i absolutely love this quote from the rots novelization (matthew stover i'm in your walls) and the parallels are so satisfying to me

i had so much fun making this obi-wan kenobi set! i love when people make sets like this and wanted to give it a go myself, pretty happy with how it turned out!

this shadow and bone set took literal years out of my life. wouldn't do it again but it was fun lmao

i'm really happy with the coloring on this alicent hightower set. my best girl <3

this katherine pierce set which is pretty simple compared to the other sets on this list but i love my evil girlie and loved giffing her!

others:

this yennefer set by @bixcaleen is SO spectacular i'm never getting over it. everything from the lilac coloring and the absolutely mindblowing triple blends to the typography are flawless and i'm so in love!

this daenerys set by @zoya-nazyalenskys lives in my head rent free!! ana always uses the most beautiful shades of blue in her sets and that combined with the red accents and incredible blending are the most stunning thing i've ever seen.

i literally gasp every single time i see this yellowjackets set by @cardvngreenbriar!! this set is what really sold the casting for me, the scenes chosen and the way the gifs are blended are pure magic. i will never ever stop gushing about this one, it's a masterpiece.

i'm never not thinking about this alicent set by @azoraahai. the most beautiful muted green coloring combined with black & white and flawless blending AND the lyrics that hit so incredibly hard?? yeah it's perfect. and i'm enamored.

this anakin skywalker set by @hayden-christensen is literally everything to me. the absolutely perfect song and scene combinations and the flow of colors make my brain buzz. truly a masterpiece!!

this jake peralta set by @jakeyp is pure genius (as is literally everything ives makes, i'm constantly blown away by her creativity) and i'm in love! it's beyond gorgeous. it's so funny. it's everything to me. i need to physically consume it.

i'm not sure i have the words to describe how this anidala set by @lady-arryn makes me feel. the gutwrenching quote with the b&w coloring that compliments it perfectly has me on the floor. not to mention the insane triple blends that i could stare at forever. i will cherish this set forever.

i'm so obsessed with this alicent hightower set by @saws2004!! literal perfection from the coloring and the blending to the layout. i love outfit sets and this one is so creative. all the details. the quote in the last gif?? the most perfect addition.

this kaz set by @cal-kestis is one of the prettiest things ever and a masterful display of typography, blending and coloring. nik's ability to pair fonts so flawlessly always blows my mind. the rich colors blend together so beautifully i'm in awe!!

forever sobbing about this rogue one set by @starfighters!! in addition to the most heartbreaking lyrics (NIALL MY LOVE) this set also has one of the prettiest color combinations ever. the scenes, the blending... i'm in heaven.

no pressure tagging all the people above!

[bibibbon]

Thanks for answering my ask....If you don't mind me asking (again), can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....

My top 7 favourite media in general actually ends up fluctuating a lot considering that I tend to hyperfixate on one thing and then kinda get a bit lazy and go and try and find something else to hyperfixate on. 

It will be really hard to rank this so Iam just gonna tell you my top 10 in no particular order (again) sorry about that. 

Currently Iam hyperfixating on Jujutsu kaisen I really love the premise of the story and how it's built in this way where the story just repeats itself in different ways. It kinda sends the message of history always repeats itself and if it doesn't it will rhyme in a twisted way. I also love the way gege handles the themes of the story. However, I do think the story has a lot of wasted potential especially centering around themes of misogyny and just female characters in general. 

There is also MHA. I think it has a whole lot of wasted potential as seen when I talk about in my blog I have kinda became a hater on what the manga contains because I feel like it could of been better and we could of had so much more in general but we just don't it's a big let down for me but I love seeing peoples view on the manga and how people would rewrite the series or different aspects in general. 

I also like attack on titan. Yes I do like the ending of attack on titan (controversial but yeah 🤷‍♀️) I think isayama made a great choice in ending the series the way he did. I think the seires follows the idea of history repeats itself especially if people forget history and I love the way he depicted erens character how Eren is both a selfish and selfless fool at the same time. The interactions between the younger and older generation of characters for example Armin and Erwin parallels/contrasts are really interesting. I also love how both Keith and magath were just two sides of the same coin fighting something bigger then them both and both dying together back in the ship felt like a decent conclusion to both their characters. 

Violet evergarden is a great series where the main protagonist has to learn love, the different types of love and how to love. I loved how each episode had its own story that made it very unique and the animation style is flawless. I do have my own problems with the ending especially with violet and Gilbert's relationship (the way they met and the 9year age gap isn't doing it for me) I think the series should of simply ended with violet learning self love and acceptance. 

Avatar the last airbender is a masterpiece of a kids show. The themes it tackles like survivors guilt, imperialism and genocide I think it handles them very well. However, I do have a problem with the way they handled aangs character in book 3 and how they tried and failed to handle the theme of sexaul assault. Katara's character was also done very dirty I wish she accepted bloodbending but understood how it can be helpful and dangerous at the same time. Considering I watched with my sister it does have a special place in my heart and I love the content the fandom creates. 

Percy Jackson was like one of the first books that got me into reading and greek mythology. I love the series from what I remember reading I absolutely love the parallels the series has, how it actually battled certain issues, how it has a perfect balance with humour and seriousness in the books and so much more. I also love the irony that rick puts latter in the hero of Olympus books how every child of the big 3 ends up being scared of their own element is a great touch or the focus on fatal flaws is very interesting how one thing can be your downfall even if it's something good like loyalty. To be honest I always found annabeth and Luke's relationship in the books to be very weird especially with how Luke is 21 and annabeth was like 12 so Iam glad that rick chose to change it when it came to writing the live action. 

Purple hyacinth. Oh if I had to recommend anyone to read a webtoon this is the one that I would recommend. I absolutely love all of the characters and the character development there is. The series concept is amazing ( I don't wanna spoil it so I won't say much) and I love how there is music that goes with the chapters you read, it's just amazing. I hope we get a new chapter soon considering that the author is still on hiatus due to some health issues. 

[hyenahunt]

Obbligato: Epilogue - 1

Writer: Akira

Season: Winter

Characters: HiMERU, Tatsumi

Proofreading: Remi (JP) & honeyspades (ENG)

Translation: Peace

HiMERU: (I believed every one without question, priding myself in having such a wonderful little brother — in Kaname — without a second thought.)

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Time: Present day.

Location: On the stage for the filming of COMP's promotional video performance

HiMERU: ( — My warning came too late.)

(We vastly underestimated the resentment of the Non-Special Students, who had been persecuted at the time.)

HiMERU: (I wish I could rationalize why, say that I wasn't able to read the air as well as I should've been able to due to being unable to do much from my base abroad...)

(But if I had truly wished to protect my brother, protect Kaname, then I would have been there for him.)

(He is my family — I should have dropped everything to be at his side. Sooner, before everything came to an end.)

(I will always regret not doing so.)

HiMERU: (I believed every word of my brother's reports, even though we hadn't interacted before then.)

(I vainly assumed that, because he was my brother, that he would be just as brilliant as myself.)

(However, Kaname was the opposite. Every step was a misstep and, not wanting to be scolded, he covered each one well.)

(Everything he said to me was nonsense, merely dressed up to appear otherwise.)

HiMERU: ("This job was a huge success!" "I'm flawless, without parallel." "Nothing's wrong." — He'd repeat these claims over and over again, but every one was a lie.)

(A lie a desperate child might make so that his guardian wouldn't abandon him.)

(I couldn't see through those lies. I believed every one without question, priding myself in having such a wonderful little brother — in Kaname — without a second thought.)

(I will always regret not doing so.)

(I was an idiot.)

Tatsumi: In thinking over the memories we're to speak on for COMP once more—

There's hardly anything we can record, isn't there?

HiMERU: You knew that from the start, Tatsumi.

An unbelievably cruel social disparity. Rampant discrimination, bullying rife with violence — a thriving cult-like group who called the catacombs home.

And at the end of everything, a riotous fight broke out.

There is not a single thing in those memories we could boast about to society. No, not a single person would want to enroll in Reimei Academy if they heard of it.

Tatsumi: There were happy, fun moments as well, as few as they were.

Certainly, those days were my youth.

HiMERU: Prettying it up with cathartic words like "youth" won't change the fact it was Hell.

Additionally, that incident that ended your youth — it absolutely can't be publicized.

It has already been dismissed as a simple scandal, a story long forgotten.

There is no one who'd like to dig it up now.

Tatsumi: You know, I always wondered about what happened at the end. I still don't quite understand it to this day.

— "Do you remember that Akehoshi?"

The day that HiMERU-san and I formed our unit, a video with that mysterious line began to play in the auditorium.

HiMERU: It reminds HiMERU of the past SS. No, perhaps they used that video once more as it proved successful in destroying your rebellion.

Even in death, “that Akehoshi” keeps on causing problems for the industry. No wonder he’s a taboo subject.

Tatsumi: You mustn't speak ill of the dead. There are no religious connections to that, it's simply human decency.

Tatsumi: In any case, once that video began to play, the Non-Special Students who had gathered climbed the stage in a frenzy.

Then, before we could stop them, they cursed HiMERU-san and began to assault him.

The teachers turned a blind eye. The Special Students, who were obliged to HiMERU-san and held him high as their representative, didn't help him either.

I thought such violence was wrong, and I went to stop them—

But I failed, and before I knew it they had struck me off the stage.

HiMERU: Mm. And the Special Students, who had thought you such an eyesore, took advantage of the situation and assaulted you as well.

It truly was a nightmare. A scene straight out of Hell.

Tatsumi: Yes. Naturally, I don’t like to recall what happened back then.

You and I were hospitalized, seemingly without any hope of recovery... It's a miracle we are able to stand here as we do today.

You especially, HiMERU-san, as I got off quite lightly compared to you.

HiMERU: Hmph. HiMERU is resilient, that's all.

HiMERU: (What a joke. Truthfully, the damage that was done to Kaname cannot be undone — he's still in the hospital to this day.)

(He remains in a near-comatose state, waking only to scream incoherently.)

HiMERU: (My little brother was destroyed, torn to shreds by hatred and brute force.)

(Trampled by idiots, he's still suffering in agony at rock bottom.)

(Even though he hadn't done anything wrong.)

[ ☆ ]

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[captainsupernoodle]

it's been a number of years since i was last watching dr who but i have been

* momentarily cut to me lying on the floor, wailing *

enjoying the 60th anniversary special!

the star beast - ten and donna had a great dynamic and i have season three on order at the library to recall just how good it is but hhhhhhhhhhooooooh boy. oh wow. the way they handled fourteen missing her. his expressions when they're in the bisected dagger drive. you can have as many rubber suit grasshopper men as you want if you have david tennet screaming about losing a friend all over again. aaaaaaaaaaah. a;lsjdlfs. hELP. the way tate delivers some of her lines just hits me perfectly. poking the meep in the eye and the absolute full-chested "WHAT the HELL." mad paddington. "i wanted to be kind, i wanted to be nice," THE WAY SHE USES HER VOICE. unparalleled. also the bit where the key thing she remembers about him - that she subconsciously tried to imitate - is his empathy and sincere desire to help. out of all the manifold elements and depths of him it's just. his sincere desire to help someone who's hurting. that sticks with her. WAH.

wild blue yonder - it's a war song but "it's jolly" and this has no parallels to a funny man in a suit swallowing thousands of years of trauma so he can laugh with people he only gets to keep for a year or two.

augh

haaaahhh

okay i need to stop thinking about that for a sec

the doctor/donna chemistry was FLAWLESS their one thirty-second exchange with isaac newton packed YEARS worth of comfort and joy into them bantering like that lskdjflskdj and then when they get out and he refuses to blame her for EXPLODING his NEW TARDIS and the way they have a spat that touches on real underlying pain and fear but then stop themselves and apologize.......both of them refolding their sweater/vest and crossing their arms as a comfort movement...i need to lie down. i know that's literally just the beginning of the episode but laksjdlfnslfljldsnvlksjdlfjiw

all of this is trying to distract me from the bit where HE WENT IN! FOR A HUG!!!!!! BECAUSE HE WAS JUST! HURTING! AND WANTED COMFORT FROM HIS FRIEND! AND SHE DOESN'T REMEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM GOING TO SCREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[queerestqueertoeverqueer]

an attempt to summarise my TPOTD thoughts

YAZ/MANDIP:

mandip gill, i love you forever. her acting in the scene where thirteen's hand starts glowing? i will be haunted by that forever, congratulations. girl knows how to cry.

yasmin fucking khan, best companion. BEST companion. she saved the doctor, she got everyone together, she took the lead when she needed to, she piloted the TARDIS when it counted (the fact that she still had her post-it notes 🥺) she really became the doctor when the doctor was gone. loml.

yaz carrying the doctor will never ever stop being so amazing. ever. i'm convinced she kisses thirteen on the cheek also. fight me.

THASMIN:

SPEAKING OF KISSING. there was a noticeable lack of it. to be fair, it wasn't NECESSARY. i do think we, and they, deserved it though. also see this parallel? rude.

i can get over the no-kiss, eventually. i cannot get over the no hug!!!!!

and i ABSOLUTELY CAN NEVER GET OVER the fact that yaz wasn't allowed a proper reason to leave the TARDIS. you know how we've all been saying 'i can't see any reason for yaz to leave the TARDIS willingly', guess what, NEITHER CAN CHIBS!!!! 😭

but seriously, it didn't need much. all it needed was an extra 2 minutes of just thasmin and i'd have nothing bad to say about this episode.

if they'd just added a couple of minutes at the end of yaz explaining to the doctor how much she loves her (onto that in a minute) but how she doesn't feel like she can stay when she'll look at 'MY doctor' and see someone else, especially after the master thing.

MORE THASMIN:

so, i'm actually quite pleased with what thirteen said to yaz. the 'my hearts are so full of love of all of you' was a bit like,,,, yes i know the fam need a shout-out but don't be scared BBC, she's allowed to just love yaz too. same with 'and she is loved', like always it has to be from the fam, not just from yaz.

however, the next line, 'i have loved being with you, yaz' was BRILLIANT. that's the closest we're gonna get for a while to the doctor actually saying 'i love you' and i think yaz understands that too.

what i DIDN'T like was the fact that it didn't go 'i have loved being with you, yaz' 'i love you too, bighead' or something similar. because yaz never got to tell the doctor her feelings. dan did a great job, sure, but she never got to vocalise them, and i wish she did.

sure, she spent the whole episode DEMONSTRATING that she loves the doctor, arguably the whole last 3 seasons. but i wish she'd got to say the words. the opportunity was right there.

REGEN:

the regeneration was beautiful. again, same as with thasmin. what we were given was 10/10, BUT we should have been given a bit more!!! thirteen deserved a slightly longer speech, i don't think it necessarily had to be super long, but maybe a little more than what she got.

her last line was perfect though. i wouldn't change a thing. 'doctor whoever-i-am-next. tag, you're it.' PERFECT thirteen.

her regeneration's tone kept in-line with the past too. the doctor growing up. from ten's 'i don't want to go' to eleven accepting it but being very very sad, to twelve using it as an opportunity to shape his next self, to thirteen not only accepting it, bu embracing it. seeing one last sunrise. taking it as something beautiful. because it was.

CLASSIC STUFF:

THE RETURNING DOCTORS WERE PERFECT. i was worried they wouldn't be able to find a natural way to put returning characters in and it would feel clunky, but it was flawless.

i'd heard rumours about five, six, and seven, but one and eight were totally unexpected. paul mcgann, national treasure. plus jo martin!!!!! she wasn't there for long but it was very her, very badass, plus i loved the fact that it was yaz's idea (more on that later too)

returning companions also, damn. i was not expecting that at all. when i saw graham i was like 'ahhh so this is their big surprise, i'll pretend to be shocked, ahhhhh' BUT THEN. i loved it.

CATBOY RASPUTIN:

ok, it's been long enough. it is time to talk about the master.

flawless. perfect. i genuinely would not change a thing about it. (for now at least, maybe i will when i think about it more)

the rasputin dance break was iconic. there was no need for it. but it was there. it was glorious. i can never listen to rasputin again.

i almost don't care that we didn't get the next doctor in thirteen's outfit, because sacha dhawan in that outfit, earring and all, was spectacular. honestly, brilliant. i didn't think they'd go there but they did.

the concept of the master regenerating into the doctor. o o f . there's some very clever things to be said and meta to be written about that, but i don't have the brainpower rn, so hopefully someone else will.

i will admit, when sacha regenerated into the doctor, my brain immediately went 'fuck, no, we're gonna have a lot less jodie screentime now', but honestly it was okay. the scenes of her with classic doctors plus the hologram stuff made sure she was still around enough.

CATBOY MASTER. ENOUGH SAID.

MISCELLANEOUS OTHER THOUGHTS:

ace and seven getting closure!!!!! yay!!!!!!

the adric mention and 'brave heart, tegan' was lovely

the fact that yaz said to ruth 'the last time i saw you, you were a tour guide in gloucester' was funny. but, it means something quite sad really. the doctor never told her about the timeless child stuff, or division. or if she did, she left out some major details. the end of the vanquishers is one of my favourite scenes, and it's sad that they didn't give her the chance to follow through with 'i want to tell you everything'. but who knows, if big finish wants to give us that one day, i'll be happy.

the hands in the 'you saved my life' scene. stunning. there was no need for the glass though. let them touch BBC it's okay.

yaz carrying the doctor. yeah, i've said it already, but that scene was genuinely stunning.

the doctor seeing yaz's face, smiling, and closing her eyes. she should have said 'my yaz', paralleling the 'my fam' at the end of S12, but sure. in my head, she said it.

thirteen being trapped in the dalek!!!!!!! the clara parallels!!!!!!!!!!!!! when they said 'open the casing' a good 78% of me was going 'cLARA CLARA CLARA CLARA CLARA' but yeah. i liked that.

i realise i haven't said much about jodie (that's a first) and honestly i have nothing more to say that i haven't already said. how can anyone feel anything but love for her. she and mandip are brilliant. easily my favourite actors ever. easily.

they should have kissed man, chibnall you fucking coward.

to summarise: what we got was perfect. i mean, genuinely. like, every scene of that episode, i adored. but there was a 2 minute scene missing. a two minute scene, my version of which i will probably write at some point as i'm sure lots of us will, where yaz explains why she can't stay. they hug, they kiss, they reminisce, and they part.

i liked that they ended on 'let's not say goodbye' though. leaves it open for a yaz return, plus, VERY doctor of her to hate endings, to hate goodbyes. yaz's doctorification came full-circle and it was magnificent.

once again, mandip gill, WHERE did you learn to cry like that.

overall? solid 8.7/10. i can't forgive yaz not getting her proper exit. but i did enjoy what we got. and i miss them and i want them back. she's yaz's doctor, but she's our doctor too.

[raayllum]

Plot, Theme, and Pacing :: 4x01 Re-Birthday

So a little over two weeks out past S4′s release date and a few days before S3′s three year anniversary, I was reflecting on the mixed reactions to S4′s pacing, why it feels unique in some ways to previous seasons as well as what it borrows from structural and pacing standpoints, as well as a potential thesis statement for the season, or at least, episode one.

Which is to say my guided research question is: What is the Point of each episode? and my current thesis statement is S4 Writes to Establish Theme Instead of Plot, specifically, and we’re just gonna see how it goes.

None of this means the pacing has to / did work for you, not saying this writing approach is flawless, or that I’m even right in positing this theory but as always, I’m interested in figuring out what canon gives us and why and what I can yield / analyze from it by engaging with, rather than critiquing the material by focusing on what’s not there, so this is undoubtedly going to be the former rather than the later.

So without further ado, let’s get into the season premiere, 4x01: Re-Birthday. 

Now, in actuality, this is one of the most jam packed episodes of the show in terms of the amount of information given, outside 1x01, and definitely one of the most jam packed premieres. 2x01 was heavily predicated on Ezran teaching Zym how to fly and more than that, establishing a deeper basis for how primal magic works in order to set up Callum’s season long arc. 3x01 is intensely plot > worldbuilding or theme focused, even if again, only about three happens (Amaya getting captured, Rayllum making it past Sol Regem, and Ezran showing up in Katolis in the last few seconds), similarly to how Claudia and Soren do at the Moon Nexus at the very end of 2x01

In contrast, 4x01 establishes

Ezran’s fortified council and plans to bring Zubeia to Katolis, as well as Opeli’s reservations

Callum’s paranoia, his research, and lingering discomfort around being High Mage

The secret plot

That Viren’s resurrection is temporary and Claudia’s means to make it permanent

Janai and Amaya’s relationship and proposal

For casual audiences, that Rayla has left and her status / state of her well-being is currently unknown

So 4x01 is mostly about catch up as well as showcasing change, centralizing on two main characters. So let’s talk about it

It’s All About Claudia and Callum (+ Viren)

Claudia and Callum are by far the most developed characters in the first episode, as they have in a lot of ways been through the biggest changes and most explicit trauma (Rayla might be a contender later, but she’s not here yet). They are also the characters most notably tied to stakes.

Both are aware of the passage of time in a way that is absolutely painful. Both have lived and were forced to live for two years with someone they desperately love (in fact, because of the same person and same trait, of Rayla’s sacrificial nature and willingness to die for a cause). Callum has been in limbo with no direction other than magic as a crutch, while Claudia has been also relentlessly using magic to try to revive her father, concentrating on very little else.

Furthermore, through dark magic, Claudia is able to achieve the one thing Callum cannot: bringing the person she loves back to her. 

This establishes Claudia as being Active on a narrative level with Callum being comparatively more Passive, as well as being an inversion of their original S1 roles in some ways. While Claudia’s early S1-S2 arc was dominated by chasing after the princes to stop them from returning Zym and trying to make up for losing the egg, we will see the trio’s mid S4 and onwards arc be about trying to stop her from unleashing Aaravos. 

[ If you are interested in learning more about narrative passivity, I’d suggest checking out this meta I wrote contrasting and comparing Claudia and Ezran as foils in S2-S3. I also have one planned examining Rayla and Viren’s parallel passivity in S4 ] 

Then, of course, you have the more overt parallels drawn between Callum and Viren in a few key ways. Examining the mirror with parallel framing, meeting Soren on the battlements, waving to kids as they walk on by, their shared position as High Mage.

Callum can’t say Viren’s name either, which feels purposeful precisely because the man is Callum’s political and narrative predecessor, but also because of the emphasis the series puts on routinely calling things what they are. It also sets up how unstable Callum’s identity as a mage will, in some ways, become later this season when Aaravos is brought directly into the fray. 

Of course, while Viren and Callum have always had a plethora of parallels, the biggest one in some ways is that now, they share a birthday — or re-birthday. Callum is attempting to move on in some capacity (which given the Rayla drawing in his study, he’s not trying that hard to let go — yet, anyway) while Viren is playing catchup. 

I’ve talked about Callum’s mental / emotional state in S4 and the way he, to a degree, acts like he’s already dead because Rayla leaving metaphorically killed him, in a way. We can see parts of this already in 4x01; whenever Callum isn’t with or doing things for his brother, he is alone (unless he’s trying to get answers out of Soren because he hates secrets now, or Corvus and Soren are stumbling through stalling him) and typically in his study with the mirror and maybe Bait as company. 

But we see Callum carry this weight with him, stuck in the same kind of grief Rayla was in TTM.

E: Why aren’t you celebrating? C: It’s not really my birthday anymore. Not to me. It’ll never be the same.

His birthday has been permanently changed, even if everyone else has tried to breathe new life into the day. He has been permanently changed; he’ll never be the same, either. We also see a similar sentiment for Viren. He’s not particularly joyful at being back alive, even if his stance on it swings between happiness to reluctance even over this first episode and the rest of the season.

Claudia will never be the same because of what she’s done to bring her father back, shown by her hair. Viren will never be the same because of the trauma of death, shown by his battered garments and changed attitude. Callum will never be the same because he’s had spent two years mourning and missing Rayla, and like Claudia and Rayla’s TTM cloak, is decidedly split down the middle. 

Claudia has a second chance to save Viren. Rayla took a second chance to kill Viren. Viren now has a second chance at life. What does Callum have a second chance at? It’s certainly not the mirror and it’s not magic. So, she’ll show up in an episode or two, but we’ll get to that when we get there.

The main point is that for Callum, a lot of his characterization and framing this episode is to get us caught up to who he is after two years, the way he’s been hurt, and how tethered he is to Claudia in terms of motivation and Viren in terms of theme. Just as Viren is going through a kind of rebirth, Callum is gearing up for one too, even as the episode goes on, we see just how different a place he is in, narratively, as well.

Secret Keeping and Subversion 

Now onto what tethers our arguable A and C Plot together most obviously, which is to say: Amaya and Callum both have secrets kept from them that turn out to be happy, celebration occasions. While both believe for most of the episode that the secret can’t be anything good, both are proven wrong. Amaya is overjoyed by Janai’s proposal even if it initially went awry, and Callum is touched by Ezran’s attempts to give him a happy birthday, even if it doesn’t work. 

So Amaya and Callum are drawn together into disliking secrets being kept from them. There’s the obvious layer here, of course, of Janai paralleling Rayla and her secret-keeping in TTM, leading to Callum’s behaviour and responses in this episode. Amaya states, “You shouldn’t keep a secret from me,” even if Janai posits, “It’s safer for you to not know yet,” Amaya still doesn’t like it.

However, there is perhaps the less obvious parallel between Amaya and Rayla, and an inability to believe you are safe even when your partner assures you otherwise. Amaya never entirely lets her guard down until Janai re-emerges and Rayla was unable to let her guard down in TTM, torn between angrily holding on and questioning if anyone was right to try to move on, let alone her. 

This also speaks to how Rayla’s paranoia has, in some ways, gravitated to Callum instead, too. Now he’s the one who fears the worst. Now he’s the one who can’t believe that everything is fine. It’s an awful way to live. 

However, where Amaya and Janai end their plot line happily, the ending scenes of the episode all emphasize what other characters have that Callum does not, which is

Partnership 

Callum’s lack of partnership shows up in many ways throughout the episode, both big and small. The person he always used to discuss magic with is gone, and he notes that nobody else really entertains him. He has his drawing of Rayla from 2x07, also from when he was worried about losing her, up in his study. He demands answers from Soren and doesn’t ask for reassurance; in fact, despite spending most of the episode worried, he doesn’t get any reassurance until the very end. He’s so focused on magic that even when he thinks Ezran may be in active danger, it’s enough to distract him. And of course, there’s the way he tries to pretend to be fine when his brother asks.

As I’ve noted before, Callum actually confides very little in anyone in season four, at least not without prompting. This is a big change from prior seasons for numerous reasons, which I’ll expand on more in the next and final section of the meta. For now, I’m just going to let the screencaps of each plotline’s final scene (or close to) in the episode speak for itself.

As previously discussed, Claudia has been able to do what Callum could not, and brings her loved one back to her. She’s reunited with her father after two long years of worrying. She then also joyfully introduces her boyfriend, Terry, to her father, who in spite of Viren’s lukewarm to cold reception, the two are happily unfazed by: “I think that went well.” Janai and Amaya’s engagement is reaffirmed by Janai stating Amaya’s fierce battle prowess is one of the things she “loves about her.” 

(Meanwhile Viren is without his partner in his ex-wife, Lissa, likewise leaving him.)

Callum ends his birthday on the balcony initially alone, then with his brother, crying under the light of the moon, and unable to even admit he loves Rayla out loud anymore because it hurts too much. He worries and mourns his best friend and girlfriend, Ezran able to provide only minimal (if any) comfort by the time the episode closes out. Again, we see Love tethered to this idea of Death per Viren and Claudia, as Ezran’s “She’s alive. And wherever she is, she love you too” makes Rayla loving Callum synonymous with her being alive. 

All of this compounds the fact, though, that Callum is fundamentally without his partner or one of the two people he loves the most in contrast to the rest of the main cast, even the ‘villains.’ Even with Ezran, who can understand this heart break the most, Callum is alienated in his grief. To Ezran and everyone else, his birthday is still a day worth celebrating. To Callum, it’s not. It never will be.

In his own words, it will always just be the anniversary of the day she left. Of the day he lost her, while he lay sleeping. And, speaking of isolation, let’s talk about

When Does Callum Self Isolate?

Callum doesn’t self isolate often in previous seasons. He definitely does so sometimes, and will often catch a quiet moment for himself just to draw on purpose. Callum doesn’t mind being alone (and indeed I think he’s more introverted than extraverted at his core) but he typically isn’t alone when dealing with his emotions, except for a few exceptions.

In 1x01 when hearing about Harrow, Callum doesn’t want to worry his little brother, so he goes to Soren and insists on helping. We can see parallels to this in 4x01 as well, with Callum believing there’s another plot to kill the king that Soren has accidentally ‘spilled the beans’ over. (The king and high mage standing on the same balcony talking about Moonshadow assassins. The same cycle that just keeps on restarting, but again, more on that next episode.) 

The main times Callum isolates for emotional reasons in S1-S3 is

1) He can’t sleep (2x07 before Rayla joins him and he was still chatting with Bait, so he wasn’t wholly alone and this one probably makes the most sense)

2) Lingering out in the storm in 2x04, using magic to help take his mind off Soren and Claudia’s betrayal. Again, until Rayla joins him, and even when he goes into the storm, he happily takes Zym with him

3) Perhaps the one true time in 2x05, where he goes below deck on the Ruthless to try to read Harrow’s letter and bursts, angrily, when he thinks he’s being interrupted/intruded upon (even if he softens and asks Bait to stay). 

The last one is notable since we know that Callum’s instinct with grief is to isolate and then seek out companionship. After Claudia tells him the truth about Harrow, he walks back to the dwelling alone and in tears in 2x02 before Rayla finds him. When he brushes her off, it’s with the intent of telling Ezran the truth, before he spends the night sitting up alone (while Rayla does the same outside the garden). Then, after he tries and fails to tell Ezran, he seeks out Rayla and fully lets himself start grieving. 

By S4, we see this has radically changed, as again, 90% of his scenes where he’s around people centres back to doing something for Ezran (the council meeting) or worrying about his brother. The one main exception is Callum seeking the Crowmaster out to ask about the Tome of Translation, and that was more of a happenstance passing in the halls than Callum going to the rookery, perhaps. The one main exception is him finding Soren on the battlements and even that is related to him dealing with leftover trauma from Rayla’s departure. In spite of being the king’s brother, Callum actually sits farthest away from Ezran and indeed from any other council member as he can possibly get.

We also see that how Callum grieves has changed, or at least, the way he grieves Rayla is notably different. He’s still actively grieving, yet shuts himself from everyone else, including his own party. He has been outside for “a while” (as Ez says) completely on his own before Ezran notices and then goes after him. There’s no attempt to get him back to the party, either. 

His temper is fast and loose, he’s more paranoid, patient, worried, slightly more of a workaholic and prone to spending a lot more time by himself. He doesn’t have his confidant. He doesn’t have his counter-balance. And it goes a long way to making him feel off-kilter, even before the season really kicks off. 

Conclusion

To wrap things up, 4x01 introduces some of its primary themes of the season: stagnated grief, separation and reunion, partnership (or lack thereof), and life-death symbolism being brought heavily to the forefront. 

A lot of the characterization and parallels between Callum, Viren, and Claudia are subtext that provide a picture, meaning that while the episode’s primary job is to catch us up, it’s also laying the ground work for the bigger thematic questions the season interrogates later (largely beginning in episode two and three), as well as leaving room for future seasons. 

If you enjoyed this post, I hope to make one like it for every episode in season four in order to chart out the thematic waters I can see and understand at this time. All posts in this little mini theme series will be specifically filed under my “Establish Theme Series” tag as well as my more general “analysis series” tag. I do have some metas I plan to upload concurrently with this mini series

If you made it this far, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! I’ll see you in the next one!

[lnkedmyheart]

To be honest, I feel like Oda is more of a mentor type of figure to Dazai. He is someone he looks up to and respects a lot (and even loves because surprise surprise we can love more than one person that too in different ways). It is like having a senior in college. He is someone Dazai cares a lot about and wants to keep safe and sound.

The only reason we don't see him being like that with Chuuya (people actually pointed out him not caring about Chuuya getting hurt) is because he knows of Chuuyas strength. We know that Dazai is flawless. For some reason there is a deep belief in him that Chuuya can overcome whatever is thrown at him. He believes in Chuuyas' physical and mental strength as much as he believes in his humanity. For him I feel like Chuuya is someone indestructible especially physically.

Why do people compare them I have absolutely no idea.

On that note thought normally as a curiosity what do you think about Odazai ship like would they work (if Oda was alive)?

I sort or struggle to fully put Oda in a mentor position for Dazai. Still for me they do fit several mentor parallels. They fit the Fukuzawa and Ranpo parallel cause of the intensity with which Dazai latched onto Oda is similar.

They fit the Adam and Chuuya parallels in that there is obvious affection there. And their final words and opinions on Chuuya/Dazai matter to them a lot. The difference being that Adam reaffirmed that he was gladly willing to die for someone like Chuuya and Oda reaffirming Dazai's belief of never being worthy of being happy.

They fit the Kouyo and Kyoka parallels a LOT because both Kouyo and Oda heavily project their own experiences onto the kids and sort of refuse to accept that they have a future actually doing good or getting out.

They fit the parallels with Dazai and Atsushi as well except that in Atsushi's case he is idealistic like Dazai, sort of puts him on a pedestal but is not above calling out Dazai's bs while Dazai was very blinded by his idealistic view of Oda to the point that he refused to acknowledge Oda's faults.

Oda can be seen as a mentor figure yea, but I think he is more of an ideal that Dazai views as untouchable and perfect.

I personally don't care if people ship Oda and Dazai, it's just not for me. I personally think they lack that spicey toxicity that makes ships work deliciously while also lacking the core understanding that makes skk click for me. I do see it as a one sided crush on Dazai's side but more on the platonic side. Dazai's little shippy jokes about Gide and Oda sort of cement in my head that he wasn't particularly interested in Oda romantically but he did love him, or rather the idea of him. Oda shows absolutely no romantic interest in Dazai whatsoever, often viewing him in a light similar to the kids he took in while simultaneously denying him the benefit of the doubt of being an innocent stuck in a bad place. Like...Oda doesn't view Dazai as a good person, he thinks Dazai is meant for bad things and that he needs to supress that bad side when in actuality Dazai was just a child being influenced by his negative circumstances and failing mental health.

For me personally, oda and dazai would be a ship that sort of starts strong in that both have this flawed idea of each other and then soon after it just fizzles out cause of the realisation that they never actually knew who the other was.

Dazai's feelings on Chuuya are far more complicated than Oda so honestly comparing the two feels pointless cause those two dynamics are not comparable. But I agree that Dazai genuinely sees Chuuya as untouchable too. Atleast until sb when they find out about corruption, the one thing that can take Chuuya out, logically speaking nothing can touch Chuuya. He is smart, agile, strong and insanely powerful and he doesn't need Dazai to get him out of things. That being said, Dazai not caring that Chuuya got hurt is such a weird take cause when did he not care about Chuuya getting hurt? Is it the torture thing? Dazai explicitly says he knows Chuuya won't break but he also is obviously stressed about the torture going on too long. That man never tells the truth when it comes to his fears so obviously he made up some bullshit about deliberately waiting after. As for him claiming that he found Chuuya struggling under corruption entertaining in the lovecraft fight, Dazai said that TO CHUUYA. The entire time he kept talking about how Chuuya didn't have much time left, never took his eyes off the guy and they couldn't really stop corruption till lovecraft was taken care of which was taking a while till Dazai found out about Lovecraft's weakness and set off the bomb inside. And it's not like getting captured and tortured is not SKK strategy 101. Bro has done it multiple time.

[sylvanfreckles]

"I think I've translated another page," Marinette explained. She gestured to the monitor as she explained, indicating one of the pages of the ancient book. "It talks about the guardian meeting with someone who...controls other worlds? I think? Controls the connections between worlds, maybe?"

"You're losing me," Alya replied. "So this book says, what, there are parallel dimensions? And this is the person who controls them?"

"Maybe. His name is a little harder to figure out. Crest-oh-man-see, I think. Chrestomanci."

Alya stared at her eyebrows raised.

"Chrestomanci," Marinette repeated, the syllables strange on her tongue. "I think that's how you--"

Her words were interrupted by a sudden presence in the room. She whirled around, trying to hide the monitor with her body, eyes wide at the sight of a strange man standing in the middle of her floor.

He was dressed in a dark, impeccably tailored suit, and had one hand in the air as though he was reaching for something on a bookcase. His head swiveled to take in the sight of the girls, his eyes glittering like dark beetles in his austere face.

The man said something. Marinette thought he was speaking English, but she hadn't been keeping up with her lessons. "Alya?"

"Who is he?" Alya hissed back.

The man's expression brightened. "Oh, you're French," he said, in flawless French. "Well, with that difficulty out of the way, let us move on to another. You called for me?"

"We...we did?" Marinette stammered. At least he looked kind. The stern set of his features had faded into a sort of bland pleasantness when he caught sight of the two girls.

"Are you a demon?" Alya demanded. She'd grabbed Marinette's hand and was squeezing it hard enough to make her fingers go numb.

"I should hope not," the man replied with a hint of disdain. "I am Chrestomanci, and I am here because you called me."

"I see," Marinette whispered. "And, uh, who is Chrestomanci?"

"Ah. That would be a very long story," Chrestomanci replied. His eyes took on a sudden twinkle as a smile twitched across his stern features. "You could say it's a story that would take nine lifetimes to tell."

----

If you know who Chrestomanci is I will love you forever. This is a crossover idea that started rattling around in my skull (a marble rolled from Miraculous all the way over to Chronicles of Chrestomanci and I haven't been able to separate it).

Picture a younger David Tennant who's kind of an endearing asshole, because even though he's (unfortunately) usually right about everything he's still kind enough to help those in need. And he absolutely refuses to remember the names of people he doesn't like, so he'd constantly be calling Gabriel any other name that popped into his head at that moment.

(Chrestomanci is the title for a specialized enchanter who tries to stop the misuse of magic. For example, traveling to parallel worlds to hunt down sentient creatures for potion ingredients, or using spellcraft to pit two powerful families against each other to leave their province vulnerable for invasion.)

[hatchetation]

Apparently some people are not happy as to why Kate rejected her DIA promotion to be with Lucy when Lucy didn't do the same for Kate. I get that a little but I think their relationship is so much stronger than before and can take the distance (and so much more) whereas in the past it was just fledging and they had a lot of issues to work on. Besides, no one forced Kate to reject the promotion and she doesn't seem to regret it one bit so I don't get what the fuss is. Her relationship with Lucy has changed her priorities. It's not a bad thing to sacrifice something for someone you love once in a while, it's what you do in a relationship.

Also, think of all that "last night together" sex and "I haven't seen you in a long time and I've missed you so much" sex they're gonna have when Lucy gets back 😏

Yooo people are so out of pocket about Lucy sometimes 😂🙄 I'm so glad I just ship kacy in my little corner of tumblr where the #kacy takes I see range from "I don't agree but totally fair" to "Absolutely gorgeous, flawless character analysis."

Entering a relationship doesn't involve signing a Hammurabi's code-inspired "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" contract. Kate rejecting a long distance promotion does not mean that Lucy is then obligated to reject any future long distance promotions. In fact, in most healthy relationships it's two people who want the best for each other.

I actually think it is fair to say that there's a parallel between Kate being offered a promotion and Lucy being offered a promotion. The commonality in the end is not whether they say yes or no to the promotion, but that at the end of the day each character made the best decision for herself. Kate, who has historically felt lonely and isolated, who has a hard time making friends, who has always put the job before anything else, needed to turn that promotion down so that for once she could choose happiness in Hawai'i (I mean, we know that it was a winding path to happiness but still). Even without Lucy in the picture, I think staying and joining the FBI was the right decision for Kate.

On the other hand, Lucy is just starting out in her career. She's ambitious, she's adventurous. She wants to make a name for herself. But, as she said, she also has trust issues and part of her just wants to sit on that hill and look out in the distance with her girlfriend forever. Honestly I think it's so beautiful that Lucy has moved from the stage in her life where she was dreaming of getting out and seeing the world, to the stage in her life where she is actually seeing the world. Her younger self would be so proud of her.

I thought that last scene was beautiful and showed the strength of Kate and Lucy's relationship. It's a shame to me that some people have reduced those moments to something transactional. But...their loss I guess!

Also lolol yes to the sex and may I add--Skype sex 😜