#also meta about how the first act of the time war was an act made out of love

[gallifreyborn]

[ i probably won't get to everything i owe tonight, but im gonna take this time to remind/inform you all that narvin started the time war, and he did it because he thought it was the only way to save romana's life ]

[aspoonofsugar]

do you think the song out for love says something about Camilla and veggie and to veggies character arc

Hi!

Yes, it does. I want to talk about Vaggie in other metas too, so in this analysis I will focus on her relationship with Carmilla, since this is what you are mainly asking about.

Before I start, though, I am gonna link to you this meta by @hamliet, where she talks about the main message of the song:

You're gonna fight without gloves And when that push comes to shove Yeah, you just might rise above Long as you're out for love

If you love, you might rise above. So Vaggie, a fallen angel, regrows her wings by choosing love and protection over hate and revenge. The meaning is crystal clear. Love makes you worthy of Heaven. Just like in the finale Pentious ascends thanks to his selfless sacrifice.

This is the meaning of the song when it comes to theme and to the series as a whole.

At the same time it is not by chance this theme comes out so strongly in relation to Carmilla and Vaggie, as they are both tied to "love".

FAMILIAL LOVE AND ROMANTIC LOVE

Carmilla Carmine: So I, I'll be your keeper Do whatever it takes, I'll make the mistakes I'll keep you safe and keep this secret

Vaggie: So I, I'll be your armor Do whatever it takes, I'll make the mistakes I'll spend my life being your partner

Carmilla and Vaggie are set up as foils in episode 3, when they share the song Whatever It Takes. This ballad is a love song, but Carmilla and Vaggie express two different kinds of love:

Carmilla is singing to her daughters (familial)

Vaggie is singing to Charlie (romantic)

This is a pattern throughout the show:

There are two versions of More Than Anything - the first one is about a familial bond, whereas the second explores a romantic relationship

Sir Pentious gets redeemed after expressing his feelings for Cherri (romantic) and sacrificing himself for the Hotel Crew (familial)

So, Hazbin Hotel goes out of its way to celebrate all kinds of positive bonds: platonic, romantic, familial. All of these relationships are enriching and help people grow. Vaggie and Carmilla are two characters linked to this very concept, as they are ready to fight and suffer for their loved ones:

Both: Whatever we go through I know I~ (Carmilla: I'll be your keeper) (Vaggie: I'll be your armor) Whatever it takes (Carmilla: I'll make the mistakes) (Vaggie: I'll make the mistakes) Whatever it takes

They are both warriors, but fight for love. They are out for love. However, Whatever It Takes also highlights a major difference between them.

TRUST AND SELF-EXPRESSION

Scrambled Eggs is an episode about trust. This is true especially for Carmilla and Vaggie, who have opposite secrets:

Carmilla killed an angel

Vaggie is an angel

Throughout the song the conflict between Heaven and Hell is mentioned by Carmilla and is present in subtext in Vaggie's stanza, as she looks at her old home.

Both are struggling under the pressure of these truths and are confronted by a loved one:

Zestial: Carmilla, what troubles thou? Losing thy composure is unlike thee. Carmilla Carmine: It's nothing, Zestial, really.

Charlie: Vaggie, don't say that! You do so much! It's- Vaggie: I'm sorry. I'd… I'd like to be alone for a minute.

Carmilla chooses to open up to Zestial and tells her daughters how much she loves them. Vaggie instead closes herself off and refuses Charlie's attempt to talk. She is singing to Charlie, but Charlie herself isn't present to hear her out. Even when it comes to their respective secrets...

Carmilla says hers in the song:

Carmilla Carmine: I always thought that I would keep blood off my face But when that thing attacked, I had to act To cross that line and keep them safe But if anyone knew, then all of Hell would rise to war And who's to say who'd survive the fray? I might lose the ones that I was killing for

Vaggie only alludes to hers in the lyrics:

Vaggie: When I saw your face You made me feel like a stranger in a brand new place And it felt so good to be understood But there's so much I wished that I could say

Vaggie meets Charlie and feels like a stranger in a brand new place because at the time she is in fact a stranger in a brand new place:

So, Carmilla is able to express herself, while Vaggie can't. This isn't surprising, as Vaggie is basically a child-soldier:

Adam: Do you really think I wouldn't recognize one of my top girls just cuz you're out of uniform? You were on the front lines, I wouldn't forget a bad bitch like you. It's why I named you after the best thing ever. Vaggie.

She is brought up in Adam's army and is taught that love is conditional. She is one of Adam's best fighters, but the moment she makes a "mistake", she is discarded:

Lute: Sinful filth like you has no place in heaven.

This is why she feels Charlie will love her only if she is useful and never messes up:

Vaggie: I'm supposed to make your dreams a reality. I'm supposed to protect you. I'm supposed to never fail you. (...) If I can't help you, what's the point of me?

This fear of abandonement and rejection is also at the root of Vaggie's inability to tell Charlie about her past:

Adam: I guess I'll just tell little miss butterflies and rainbows that she's been fucking someone who's killed-- thousands of her people. I'm sure your relationship will be fine.

Still, despite her communication issues, Vaggie's heart is in the right place:

Rosie: If there's anything I've learned, it's that words are cheap, but actions, they speak the truth. So, what have her actions said?

Vaggie is a person of few words. This may be why she has less songs than other characters. Still, she lets her actions speak, so she is given a ballet lesson by a very talented ballerina:

DANCING THROUGH LIFE

Carmilla has a ballet motif, as her outfit resembles that of a ballerina and her two daughters are called after protagonists of famous ballets. So, it is only natural that she teaches Vaggie a new way to fight through dancing.

Vaggie was taught to fight with hate and anger. So, her fighting style is aggressive and focused on attack:

Carmilla: You leave yourself open with every swing. You fight like someone unafraid of harm, and this is what you'll take advantage of. Angels wield no shields, little armor and fight with reckless abandon.

Carmilla tells her she should instead dedicate herself to love, protection and defense:

Fuel yourself with the fear of losin' That somebody who's your reason to live Harnеss your heart and you can't help choosin' To fight with all you can give

Vaggie shouldn't just fight. She should dance:

She shouldn't hate:

I see you're driven by your detestation Your every step is stoked with animus You need a different type of motivation Or there's no way that you can handle this

She should love:

Out for love~ Love~ Think of who you care about Protect them and be out For love~ Love~

Vaggie listens to these teachings and applies them in the finale, in two ways.

She sings her love for Charlie in More Than Anything Reprise:

Vaggie: You've already done so much So many lives you've changed So many souls you've touched And in the end, if it's only me you've saved Charlie and Vaggie: There's something that I've been dying to say More than anything, more than anything Need you to know I love you more than anything More than anything

As stated above, Vaggie doesn't sing much in season 1, but in the final episode she gets a short moment to express how she feels to Charlie. This is in contrast to Whatever It Takes, where she sends her girlfriend away before she starts singing. More Than Anything Reprise shows Vaggie's progress when it comes to self-expression.

She follows Carmilla's advices while fighting

On a practical level she covers herself up in a battle suit inspired by Carmilla's outfit, she wears a harness on her heart and ties her hair:

Vaggie: I'm not used to fighting with long hair.

On a thematic level she reveals her wings and defeats Lute, when the exorcist threathens Charlie:

Lute: So, I'll spare you the pain of seeing your demon bitch die.

And Vaggie eventually chooses not to kill the other angel:

Lute: Do it, then. Correct your mistake. Vaggie: Seriously, you're pathetic, you know that? Ready to die rather than accepting mercy? No, live. Live knowing that you only do because I let you, the failure.

Vaggie is asked to choose between her hate for Lute and her love for Charlie and she chooses the latter. This is why the scene ends with Vaggie leaving Lute and flying to help Charlie. She is given the chance to get revenge, but doesn't take it. She is given the chance to hate, but she loves:

I know you're thirstin' for vengeance, Vaggie You're out for blood But you'll only stand a chance if you're out for love

This is important in two ways:

1- The macrochosm - Vaggie refuses Lute's ideals and defies her expectations. For Lute it is normal that Vaggie is going to kill her. After all, Vaggie is discarded because she shows pity to a sinner, which makes her weak. Still, Vaggie bests Lute in a fight, so she is now strong. It is only obvious then that Vaggie has snapped out of her foolery and is ready to kill. She can correct her mistake. She did not kill the cannibal child, but she can kill Lute. This is how Lute understands the world. And yet, Vaggie doesn't finish her off. By doing so, she moves away from the mentality Lute embodies. She is strong precisely because she can show mercy. Adam is wrong. Lute is wrong. Vaggie isn't out for blood. She is out for love.

2- The microchosm - Vaggie sparing Lute isn't just the morally correct choice, but it is Vaggie's first step into healing:

Husk: (To Vaggie) This one. Judges everyone and everything because she hates herself.

Vaggie hates everyone because she deep down hates herself. She despises Heaven and Angels because she can't forgive her involvement in the exterminations. So, Vaggie hurting Lute would be Vaggie hurting her past self. As a matter of fact Lute is Vaggie's dark mirror. She is who Vaggie might become if she gives in to hate.

A person who hurts others:

And herself:

Vaggie instead has to value her life, so that she can protect others. She must save others and heal herself. Only in this way she can be by Charlie's side. She needs to let go of self-hate to embrace a healthy love. Vaggie's arc is her learning self-love through her bond with the Princess of Hell.

Obviously this journey is just at the beginning and our Angel of Love has a long way to go. How will her story contiue? We can make some hypothesis, which once again stem from Vaggie and Carmilla's foiling. This is just a theory, so take it with a grain of salt, but Vaggie may have a secondary personal antagonist in Hell:

Why is that so? It's because Scrambled Eggs sets Vaggie and Velvette up as foils.

RESPECT(LESS)

Velvette and Vaggie are opposites in their interactions with Carmilla. Both girls are younger than the Dancer Overlord and could learn a lot from her. However, Velvette refuses any kind of mentorship and shows no respect:

Velvette: Mad that I acted respectless? Well, it's cause no one could respect this! You're long past trending! Sorry, bae, but I ain't swiping right! You've lost your relevance-

Vaggie instead comes to respect Carmilla and learns from her:

At the same time, both Velvette and Vaggie confront Carmilla about her secret:

Velvette: 'Oops!' Did I strike a nerve? 'Cause when I brought out the angel's head, couldn't help but observe, that your wrinkled face was turning red! And why are you avoiding war? That's what the guns you sell are for! Thanks to my being respectless, one thing I'm starting to suspect is You know why this angel's headless! Do you have a disclosure?

Vaggie: I know what you did on extermination day. We can talk about it inside, or I can yell about it out here.

They call Carmilla out on killing an angel and keeping this knowledge to herself. Not only that, but both argue that it is necessary to fight back to stop the exterminations:

Velvette: We found it during Extermination day. If these Holy Rollers can be killed, the game has changed. We can take the fight to them. The boys and I have come up with a full assault plan!

Vaggie: Miss Carmine, I'm here on appointment from the princess to enlist your aid in the defense of hell from the angelic extermination. We know an angel fell at your hands and we need to know how.

Still, Velvette fails to get through to Carmilla because she uses war rhetoric:

Velvette: Oh, I get it. So Grandpa is too pussy to fight, so I guess there's no point, right? Oh, what's the matter, Fossil? Too senile to make a real power grab...

She speaks of violence, strength and power.

Vaggie instead convinces Carmilla to help because she mentions the necessity to fight for loved ones:

Vaggie: We didn't pick this fight, but it's here now. And they aren't going to stop with us. You didn't see the look on their leader's face. With us out of the way, it's only a matter of time before they come for the rest of you. They won't stop until all of hell is wiped out, so you can help us make a stand here together, or you can stand alone tomorrow.

She speaks of protection, love and comraderie.

In short, Vaggie succeeds where Velvette fails. Of course, this is true for Charlie's group in general when it comes to the Vees:

Vox: My dear people! We at VoxTek Enterprises have always been at the forefront of innovation. And now, with this new oncoming threat, we are shifting our focus, to your protection. We are pleased to announce VoxTek Angelic Security is coming soon! Trust us, with YOUR safety.

Katie Killjoy: Breaking news - Extermination day is cancelled! Charlie Morningstar managed to fend off the angelic attack with more than just nice words.

The Vees make big declarations of how they are gonna protect the people of Hell, but in the end it is Charlie and her friends who fight for the sinners.

When it comes to Vaggie and Velvette specifically, it is going to be interesting if their foiling is expanded. If so, then I guess Velvette is gonna help Vaggie mature a little bit more, so that when our ex exorcist faces Lute (her nemesis) again, she is gonna be ready for it.

[nonbinaryspy]

Meta: Elincia's Trolley Problems

Elincia's arc comes into sharpest relief when you consider both PoR and RD together. From living a sheltered life as a secret princess, to watching her parents get killed as her country is invaded, to eventually rising to the challenge of her unexpected role as queen, she has to deal with important decisions at every turn. Every action she takes is out of love for Crimea's people and a desire to secure them safe and happy lives. But what happens when she has to choose between the life of a loved one and the future of the overall populace? Both PoR and RD test this with narrative beats that form a perfect mirror, ultimately reflecting Elincia's development.

Path of Radiance

Throughout PoR, Elincia has been separated from her usual support network, particularly her retainers. After returning to Crimea, she finally finds them—however, in chapter 24, before she is able to reunite with Geoffrey, he is left behind to fend off Daein troupes so that Elincia can escape. Elincia is naturally horrified.

Bastian: Geoffrey's acting as a decoy. You must continue on this road to the southwest. Lucia: So the enemy's found us, eh? Lucia: Nothing to do about it but change course. I'll lead you to another hiding place. Elincia: Wh-what are you saying, Lucia? We must help Geoffrey! Bastian? Lucia: Luck was not with us, Princess. We have no choice. We'll have to abandon our companions in Castle Delbray. Elincia: No!! We will not!! Geoffrey and the others have survived so much already... I will not abandon them! Lucia: Princess, please understand. If we could do so without danger to you, we would gladly risk our lives to go back. Elincia: We cannot do this! Please, Lucia! We must go to the castle! ...Bastian! You must not do this thing! Bastian: Geoffrey is a knight. In the name of our friend's honor, Princess, you must escape. Elincia: No... No! They've survived this long! They're alive! NO!!!

When Ike gives her the chance to instead save Geoffrey, she affirms that this is what she wants.

Elincia: Yes. I don't want... I don't want anyone else to be sacrificed.

Lucia and Bastian respect her wishes and agree to help Geoffrey, at which point she is able to get her feelings across.

Elincia: Because the two of you think to put me above all else, you say you will sacrifice your lives for me. Yet... Even if I'm able to borrow of Ike's strength and win back Crimea... If the cost of that victory is the lives of the two of you, I shall never smile again. And joy? Never again would that emotion fill my heart...

Elincia is a leader, but she's also a person—one who never asked for this role. Until recently, she has not had to make decisions that would affect the future of a whole country, as opposed to only living within her personal sphere. In fact, the main political decision made re: her life—the decision to keep her birth secret—was made for her. She has already lost her parents and, as far as she knows, her beloved uncle.

Since then, her choices have all been for the sake of Crimea. In reality, she has had little choice in how to go about that goal, considering she has been fleeing for her life while at the whims of Begnion politics. Being able to return to Crimea and reunite with her retainers is the first time she has been running toward, rather than away, from something, and still part of that goal is being held from her reach. Nothing will stop her from working hard for Crimea, but individual losses will still give her permanent grief. So here, she finally takes a stand against the choices other people try to make for her, and insists on protecting her loved ones and regaining some of what she lost.

What happens next depends on the player, but considering her retainers are alive in RD, the duology's canon here is that they all survive this fight. Due to Elincia getting her feelings across, her loved ones are saved, and the campaign continues.

After this experience, the cost of individual lives in war is hammered home, and Elincia decides it's not enough to order others to keep her retainers safe. Regaining her inherited pegasus and sword, she takes to the field despite the mixed feelings of her retainers.

Elincia: Even though I'm dressed like this, I have no experience, and do not expect to fight as well as the rest of you. But…this constant waiting behind and doing nothing…it sets my heart beating with such unease I fear it may burst. Even if I cannot fight, I could use a staff to heal the wounded. If I could save just one soldier, it would mean so much to me.

This quote shows her resolve and compassion, but it also shows that she still lacks experience and confidence, especially when it comes to conflict. Despite being trained in swordplay, she instead emphasizes her ability to heal, and sets a fairly low bar for what her contribution will mean. Although, given that this plot demonstrates the importance of saving an individual life, maybe I shouldn't call it a low bar. Either way, at this point, there is still plenty of room for her to grow and change, and RD will challenge her to due so.

Radiant Dawn

Part two of Radiant Dawn focuses on Ludveck attempting to usurp Elincia's throne by stirring up reactionary attitudes toward her policies, specifically with regards to her alliance with Gallia, to threaten civil war and pressure her into giving up her throne. Because she fears the conflict that could come out of taking direct action against a noble, and because his followers are also citizens of Crimea for whom she feels responsible, she approaches the situation carefully. Ludveck takes advantage of this hesitance to eventually kidnap Lucia.

Once again, one of the Delbray siblings is in peril, and this time, as Crimea's queen, Elincia does not need to convince anyone to save her. Instead, she takes to the field herself. As with PoR, she had not immediately done so—in this case, because of the delicacy the situation called for. But with Lucia's life at risk and Ludveck's forces at Elincia's door, she decides the time for delicacy is past.

Elincia: “Lucia… Lucia, I’m sorry. Somehow, I promise you… I will save you!” ... Elincia: “…Very well. I must prepare as well. I had hoped this day would never come… Amiti, the treasured blade of House Crimea, will awaken from its long slumber.”

Unlike in PoR, rather than focusing on her healing ability, she mentions Amiti. She no longer needs to make disclaimers or doubt the importance of her role commanding the field. The wording of "I had hoped this day would never come" and "awaken from its long slumber" emphasize that she has already been through the horrors of war once, and never wanted to again. She despises violence, but she is resigned to doing what she must.

Despite holding out against Ludveck's forces and throwing him in the dungeon, she is not able to do anything about his trump card. With Lucia as hostage, he tries to use her life as a bargaining chip for his release, as well as the country. After the incident in PoR, where her retainers saw their own lives as disposable, she convinced them to realize how valuable they were to her. So with the Delbray siblings' situations reversed, Geoffrey now asks Elincia to save Lucia.

Geoffrey: “…Your Majesty, you can’t… You have to let me do something about this.” Elincia: “…” Geoffrey: “Lucia would willingly die fighting for her country, I know… But you have to help her, Elincia. If you were in her position, she would surely do the same. Please, just give the word.”

Again, Elincia is at the point where she is taking action herself instead of entreating others. Rather than order him to do anything, Elincia visits Ludveck in what is one of the most defining scenes of her arc. The non-extended version is below as I think it gets the point across quite well, but there are more dialogue beats in the extended version.

Ludveck: “Queen Elincia, you’re so naive. Cold and callous decisions are sometimes required of a nation’s ruler. …I was testing you. We all wanted to know if our queen would have the power to stop a civil war.” Ludveck: “But, no, you were too hesitant and too concerned about harming the people… Now look what has happened. The rule of Crimea cannot be kept in your hands! Please, Your Majesty! You must abdicate and cede the crown to me!” Ludveck: “And considering Lady Lucia’s life is on the line, you haven’t much choice. Now, let’s have you free me from this prison cell, and then we can discuss any further details…” Elincia: “I don’t think so.” Ludveck: “What?! Are you truly willing to sacrifice Lady Lucia?!” Elincia: “…Lord Ludveck, all your dissatisfaction and misgivings about me are well founded. However, do you realize how many lives you’ve simply thrown away?! Strength without compassion does not a ruler make. You care nothing for the people, sir. You cloak your desire to rule with pretty speeches, but it is petty avarice nonetheless!” Ludveck: “…So this is how it shall be? Very well… But Lady Lucia cannot be spared without my order.” Elincia: “Allowing you to plant the seeds of rebellion and play havoc with the lives of my people is a failure for which I must answer. But I will see Crimea through this trial. I will give my people the future they deserve, no matter the cost.”

Ludveck patronizes Elincia for her compassion while pretending he has the citizens' best interests at heart, but Elincia doesn't bow to his demands. She maintains her compassion along with her resolve. However, no matter how caring someone is, the fact of the matter is that decisions that help even a great deal of people still come with consequences. Elincia realizes this, and is prepared to make that sacrifice while taking responsibility—even though, as she said in PoR, she "shall never smile again."

In the beginning of PoR, Elincia lost almost everything in one fell swoop. When she was finally reunited with her retainers, the thought of sacrificing even one of them was unbearable, even if it could potentially have derailed her goal to retake her country from an invading tyrant. Now, though, she is in a position of greater power, and she is fully aware of the responsibility that comes with it. Compared to PoR, where she was so often at the mercy of others, the only thing tying her hands now is the threat to Lucia. Of course, Lucia is immensely important to her, but after spending three years working to rebuild Crimea, nothing can convince her to let it again fall to ruin under another power-hungry leader.

Thankfully, Lucia's life and Elincia's smiles are saved, thanks to Bastian secretly calling in the Greil Mercenaries. Despite her resolve, Elincia's conflicting priorities are still apparent, as in the extended version (translation on Serenes Forest provided below) she expresses wonder at her decision. As for her retainers, though their feelings on how she should handle such situations have shifted over time, they don't begrudge her decision.

Elincia: “…When Lucia was captured… It was as if I lost my other half. Even now, seeing her by my side, I feel so strange… Wondering how, at that time, I could make the decision to abandon her…” Lucia: “Lady Elincia…” Elincia: “Still… If the same scenario occurred… I believe I would make the same decision. Lucia’s life is important, but it’s not on the same scale as protecting the country. As the Queen of Crimea, I must accomplish my duty to the country foremost.” Lucia: “Of course. Seeing Lady Elincia being able to make this decision, it truly makes me happy. As if I would hate you.” Geoffrey: “My thoughts exactly.” Elincia: “Lucia, Geoffrey… I value your lives more than even my own. But it’s my duty to protect this country, even if that means losing you. I’ve learned a lot from all of this. I hope to keep them out of harm’s way, and I’ll never make the same mistakes again.”

By the end of this section, the bulk of Elincia's arc is complete. She has decided what matters to her and what she will do as queen when put into high-pressure situations. She resolves the situation by deciding to be openly harsh in punishing Ludveck's followers despite the fact that it will gain ire toward her, as refusing to do so before gave him the opening he needed. She has decided to be uncompromising in the face of reactionary politics. Not everyone in Crimea will agree with her decisions, but those closest to her will never waver in their loyalty, to the extent that they are both willing to live and die for her. It's no wonder that, as her epilogue says, "Her reign was remembered as a golden age."

Conclusion

Because I touched on the topic of Elincia's agency and how she maneuvers within the limits of it, I want to give a brief shout-out to her actions in part three. She is Gallia's ally and does not want any more bloodshed in her lands. However, due to Begnion exercising its imperial power, she cannot fully stop its army from entering her lands in pursuit of the laguz alliance. The action she ultimately takes, dropping her weapon in between the opposing armies and essentially daring them to murder a queen of a country with whom they're both allied, all without betraying her own nonviolent ideals, is an unparalleled power move.

Getting back to Elincia's trolley problems, what I find interesting is that though Elincia's decisions are different in PoR and RD, neither game condemns her for her choices. She cares for both the mass of strangers that comprise her kingdom and the loved ones who she's spent her life beside. Her situation in each game is different, so she handles each situation differently in ways that make sense given her roles, pressures, and motivations.

FE in general, and Tellius in particular, asks the characters and players to care about the fates of individual lives as well as whole worlds. Both PoR and RD present the question of what someone would or should do when these personal and political goals conflict, without giving one black-and-white answer. Elincia's arc is just one impactful example of this.

As for me, I'm not gonna lie—though Elincia doesn't have the option to reset the game whenever someone dies, I probably always will.

[thyandrawrites]

how would you feel about a canon divergence last arc where Enji is killed entirely anticlimactically by a horde of Twice clones, Shigafo or even kills himself by overheating?

none of the Todorokis would be happy about it, but his absence in the ending and in Touya's final arc leaves a lot of space for the family members drama/bonding without Enji's atonement arc hogging away all the spotlight.

/thanks for the answer in advance! >o</

hi!

I feel like I should preface this by saying that I hate the guy, so my reply will be biased and not to be taken as objective meta! 

I’ve come full circle about how I feel about Enji dying before the end of the manga. I used to think that him dying in battle before he could make it up to his family would just make him a martyr. But after seeing how Horikoshi made him a martyr anyway while also keeping him alive, I think his death would’ve actually improved things. For one, because as you said, he would be removed from the Todofam plotline, giving the story more room to explore all the povs he overshadows in canon by robbing them of screentime. And this is just my opinion, but I feel like him dying while on the job would’ve given his arc a much more thematically coherent ending too tbh. 

The thing is, until the very end, Enji never delivered on the challenge that the narrative set out for him through Shouto. That is, demonstrating that he can be a father. To do that, the story repeatedly calls attention to how he should stop showing off as a hero and hoping that’s enough for his victims. But that’s a lesson he never accepts. 

You can trace this back in every single one of his pov chapters / introspections. Every time he thinks about how he should be doing right by his family, he always, ALWAYS, refers to himself as Endeavor or mentions his duty as a hero. Up until the end, where his way of owning up to Touya is to almost commit murder-suicide with him so that he can keep… protecting the greater good, I guess. And then when his family shows up and kicks his ass for it, he still doesn’t learn from it. When he visits Touya in the tube, guess what the first thing he mentions is?

as usual, ¾ of his monologue is about how he failed his own vision of how he should’ve acted as a hero, followed by a spiel about the shame he feels over his own shortcomings. None of that ever meant anything to his victims, 

but he always mentions it first. His self-image is always at the forefront of his mind, and it is important to him to always lead with it. That’s cause Endeavor is the persona he created to deal with his guilt as a father. It’s not just his job, it’s a mask he always donned to justify his actions in his head. It is important to him that he atones as Endeavor to his family because he wants to forgive himself for the actions he committed in the name of that hero persona. That’s why he never actually steps up as “just” Enji. 

It’s for that reason, though, that I think a death on the job would’ve been thematically appropriate for his arc. 

Remember how in the lead up to the second war arc, Enji made it a point to ignore not only Touya, but refuse to face Shouto as well until Shouto lured him out with an excuse and confronted him? That shows us how Enji ranks his priorities. Family? Negligible, hard to face. Work? The only thing he’s willing to put any active effort into. The only thing that keeps him functioning, in fact. His only source of escapism from the consequences of his actions. 

Now, if Horikoshi had any backbone as a writer, he could’ve written that to its natural end. If Enji keeps turning down any chance to own up to his shit and give priority to work instead… If he actively chooses to push himself close to death every time in a misguided effort to redeem himself… then that should be his fatal flaw. 

If growth isn’t possible with his unwillingness to face the past, then he should’ve died a tragic death. And by tragic I mean in the sense of greek tragedies. His hubris and inability to change his ways should lead to an eventual downfall caused by his flaws. He wants to prove himself as a hero, even when times and times again he was told and shown that won’t be enough to his family? Good, then let him attempt to fistfight his way to redemption and die pointlessly in that struggle. Imo that would’ve been better than what canon did by letting him have the cake and eat it too. It would’ve also sent a better message, by showing that it was his choices that led to a preventable death. He could’ve done better by his family and gotten to live. Instead, he chooses to persist in his old ways, and the narrative doesn’t give him a free pass for it. This would’ve also tied in very nicely to Shouto’s narrative because Shouto firmly believes in personal responsibility over fate and predestination. If his father had actually suffered any consequences for making the wrong calls in the war arc, then it would’ve brought the story full circle from the question Shouto asked him several arcs prior. 

Endeavor is strong, but how will you atone as a father? 

and the answer would be “he won’t”, because Enji chose not to be a father, but a hero instead. 

Also, Enji dying as a consequence of his choices and not as the outcome of Touya’s actions as a villain wouldn’t have impacted Touya’s own arc, or Touya’s own redeemability in the eyes of both the audience and his family. 

So. I’m not opposed to it. It would’ve been a win win situation honestly. Enji surviving against any logic and staying stagnant until the end for shit and giggles actively makes the story worse. Letting him die a thematically coherent death would’ve been better for all the Todorokis arcs, but it also would’ve made a much more poignant argument about how choices matter. Which, you know. would’ve been a nice way to end a subplot about how a single man’s choices almost led to the downfall of a country.

[sokkastyles]

Hi,

Hope you are doing well. Thank you for the response on the previous query regarding Aang's lie on mastering the Avatar State. I have two things to ask on TSR.

Before I read your metas on TSR, I cam across the quote by Bryke on how Aang acts as a guide for Katara during her trip. After reading them I cannot take that quote seriously. Because one thing that got me thinking is this, when Aang tells Katara that she did the right thing by forgiving Yon Rah, Katara makes it clear that she did not forgive him and she never would. Its the delivery of the line that made me realize its said with clear certainty that she will not forgive Yon Rah ever. I know some think that Aang's advice helped her, but the fact that she does not say his advice helped her make her decision, makes it clear that the advice was ignored. I feel there should be a line stating whether his advice was of any use.

Secondly, there was this quote from Katara in "The Painted Lady" that she would never turn her back on those who required help. I can't help but wonder if this quote also explains why she decided to go after Yon Rah. If we use this quote, then going after the Southern Raiders was not pointless, it could prove to be crucial during the final part of the war. So why does Aang act like its pointless?

I would like your thoughts on this.

Yeah Bryke's comments directly contradict the dialogue at the end of the episode, which is not ambiguous.

As an aside, I would LOVE to have been a fly on the wall when Zuko told Aang what Katara did before the start of this conversation. What, exactly, did Zuko tell Aang that happened?

We know he must have told Aang that Katara did not kill Yon Rah, but then there's a deliberate choice to have Aang misunderstand what that choice meant. The dialogue did not have to be written this way, and the rest of the episode and series kind of ignores it, but it's still a choice to have Aang not only wrongly assume that Katara sparing Yon Rah means she forgave him, but to have him directly tell her that how he interpreted her actions was the right choice and he's "proud of her."

Aang could have asked her about what happened first, before assuming. Because the effect of having him say he's proud of her before really hearing from her about what happened implies that he is only proud of his version of events, and not hers. Because Katara then directly contradicts his version.

The way the dialogue is written also implies that Aang thinks forgiveness is a necessary step towards healing, so Katara might leave this conversation thinking Aang does not think she has truly healed or taken steps towards healing. Aang makes a lot of assumptions that don't make him look good, especially when Katara is admitting vulnerability to him about what happened. No wonder she chooses to ignore his comments and get her closure with Zuko instead.

It's actually kind of hilarious that the show does this and then acts like it never happened in terms of Aang and Katara's relationship, but then, we still have to remind ourselves that it was a narrative choice. The episode could have been written to affirm Bryke's vision of Aang as the angel on Katara's shoulder, but it wasn't. And it's also hilarious how Zuko comes out looking like the actual guardian angel on Katara's shoulder, the one that is by her side throughout the episode, the one who tells Aang about what she did, the one she actually finds closure with at the end of the episode.

As for the second part of your ask, it's one of the flaws of the way the show frames Katara going after Yon Rah as an unnecessary revenge quest. Imagine if it hadn't actually been framed that way, and instead the episode was written as one of the "monster of the week" episodes that the gaang has been through many times. Imagine the gaang coming across something in a village about the Southern Raiders, and Zuko saying "oh, yeah, I know those guys, they're still active," and the gaang deciding as a group that they need to be stopped.

It's because Katara has personal feelings about Yon Rah and wants to go after him herself that the show frames her actions as out of control and immoral, and I have a problem with that.

It also kind of reeks of a mindset that is actually very American. I've talked before about how this show was written in a post-911 America and how that influenced the writing. Another way is the idea of Aang as the world police. Katara going after Yon Rah herself feels very "don't let the brown victims of violence get justice, let the world police do it." There's this idea that Katara will be corrupted if she gets justice, whereas Aang is an impartial judge of how all peoples should get justice by virtue of being the Avatar. Which is whatever, because it's a fantasy show, but when people act like this line of thinking is above criticism, I do have to give pause.

[backjustforberena]

What do you think about the last episode? In my opinion Rhaenys deserved better, if it wasn't for Baela and Corlys's scene, they barely mourned her. I hope this decision was made because they will address her death also in the next episode (and in spite of what many said, i really liked the "I wonder if they knew it was all for her", especially for Corlys's reaction to Baela saying so).

I think... it depends entirely on what you were wanting and expecting, as to whether or not you felt the bar was met. I wasn't keen on the episode overall. I acknowledge that it had some interesting things, some conversations and themes that I enjoyed and definitely some acting, but we lost quite a bit of immediacy by not having characters react to news, and only seeing them in the middle of something: whether that's meeting Jeyne Arryn, bartering with the Freys, seeing Aegon's fate or mourning Rhaenys. By starting in the middle of a scene, it feels sanitised: we only see the result, rather than the inception point of motivation.

I also think the concept of time is a bit hazy (no clue how many days went by in that last episode), and we don't know what precise information other people know or how, and they also really played down Rhaenys's actions and the damage on the Greens' side so that Alicent could be instantly suspicious of Aemond. Which was a bit annoying but I get it, I guess.

I was appreciative of what we did get. I had hoped we'd get more Corlys than three scenes (two of which are silent and solo). Hopefully we get more next week as Corlys tries to find his path and a way to honour his wife. We know that he says, at one point, "What I do now, I do for her". I definitely think he could benefit from interacting with more people. But, saying that, his isolation was useful and profound. It hammered in the fact that he is an outsider, still, to the war effort and that Rhaenys was his linchpin. The hole she's left is massive. I really felt that.

And, of course, we had the scene with Rhaenyra and Baela. And a small moment of grief for Rhaena, as well. Jace, whilst less sentimental, is urged to act by Rhaenys's death. So they're all working from places of grief.

I do think that, not only is Rhaenys mourned and her loss is felt throughout Team Black (even if if only manifests, in some areas, as the loss of an asset or of counsel - which can be a little dry) and throughout the episode... but I also don't want to put it in the past tense. She's not been mourned, rather, they are mourning.

It is my belief that we'll feel that in episodes to come, especially with Corlys's storyline. I don't think it's over and I don't think it's cut and dry - Corlys has yet to interact with Rhaenyra, for example, or accept the position of Hand (even though we all know he will).

Rhaenys's death was always going to be different from Luke, Jaehaerys and then, also, Erryk and Arryk. It was always going to be tonally different and done differently.

Not only does the episode have to balance multiple things (so, for example, the Greens can't really react to Rhaenys's death outside of parading Meleys because they have their own losses and power struggles to worry about - but they did reel from Luke's death and the Blacks had a lot of fallout from B&C), Rhaenys was also a valuable political player and fighter (so her loss has to be felt in more methodical spaces as well), she wasn't the first casualty or symbolic one, and we don't have a body or the ability/time to search for one. So there's no screentime for a funeral or any rites. Not to mention, the family is so scattered at this point.

I also really liked "I wonder if they knew it was all for her". I thought it was a really interesting, smart, romantic and poignant line that sort of confirms a lot of my headcanons and meta and theories about Corlys. I think it makes a lot of sense. I was moved by it. And, as Steve says, the Hall of Nine means nothing to Corlys now - because she's gone.

[dcafpaperback]

what's a meta or headcannon that you find most baffling? like, you genuinely cannot understand where it's coming from. you try to listen/read the explanation for why they think that way but it's just totally incommensurate with your view.

wow this is a good question. ok so what i'll proceed to write might be a tad bit controversial so i would like to let people know that this is just my interpretation and that i respect any other contradictory opinions.

as a harry james potter stan, i think it's really sweet how so many of his other stans wants him to be at peace and quiet after the war. and it's a completely justified headcanon because god bless that poor traumatized guy he really needs that serene, slow life after all he has been through. but somehow, from what i have collected from his traits and personality overall, i physically can't wrap my head around the hc that he would become a professor at Hogwarts. i'll explain.

the first reason that is usually proposed by the people who believes in this headcanon is that he did teach his peers during the 5th year, and significantly excelled at it. true. but we also read in the books that initially when he was asked to teach, he was hesitant, skeptical, almost like he didn't want to do it. so we observe here that teaching is not really his first preference and certainly not a job he prioritizes as a purpose to fulfill. he taught his peers that year because he witnessed the return of the wizarding world's biggest threat and understood the danger that awaited them if they were not trained well enough in defending themselves, given to the fact they had a fascist, incompetent teacher. it was a necessary obligation to make sure he and his friends were educated enough for the upcoming war and it also was an act of rebellion against umbridge. but it was not a choice he willingly made, as i said, it was a circumstantial obligation.

another thing we know about harry is his distrust in adults, specially in authoritative figures. growing up, he never had any trusted adult to rely onto. his narcissistic guardians always blamed him for anything that went wrong. so due to this upbringing, harry had a natural, instinctive urge to insert himself in any dangerous situation that threatened the lives of his loved ones, because he had that default mindset that it his responsibility to stand in the forefront of the situation in question and deal with it. a severe trauma response which this fandom so often label as 'hero complex'. anyways, we also know how restless and tensed harry was throughout his summer break when he was completely cut off from the wizarding world and was having information denied from him even though he sensed and to some extent knew that bad things were happening. he insisted to be included in the order meetings, refusing to be left in the shadows. but even with all the limited knowledge that he had regarding the prophecy thing, what does he do ? jumps into action, every single time a threat ensued, even though this time dumbledore wanted him to not be involved, to the point where he avoided interactions with harry.

now what does this have to do with him being a professor ? everything. being a professor does not only include teaching. it includes living in hogwarts, staying within the four walls of an office, grading papers, preparing questions, sorting out the syllabus, preparing and distributing homework, making timetables, and most importantly maintaining discipline. if you've properly read the books, you'll know harry is not the type of guy who would be willing, driven or diligent enough to do all the above mentioned stuff. given how reckless he himself was and how effortlessly and unintentionally he dragged everyone around him into his reckless moves, he just wouldn't be able to restrain himself and fit himself into this rigid monotonous lifestyle. harry is anything but the kind of guy who would come across a news about how common folk were in danger because of dark magic and shit and just nonchalantly go back to the teacher's staff room to discuss syllabus. he just isn't. fighting, rebelling, challenging an orthodox system is a huge part of his personality and it's his calling. not to mention he had shit experience with DADA professors and his potions professor was a bully so i don't think he will be keen to become a part of that cycle.

however, given to how much he was hurt, betrayed and manipulated by the corrupt government, he would like to bring in significant changes to that and would continue to do what he has always been good at doing, which is protecting people in person. not from a distance, not indirectly, not through someone else, in person because his brain is hardwired to do exactly that due to past experiences. and also let's not forget that being an auror was his only ambition, its what he desired to do and envisioned himself as. so yes i would say him becoming an auror makes perfect sense, and the professor headcanon doesn't sit right with me.

[purpleajisai]

Madara Week Day 2 - Christ/Antichrist

The Saviour of this World and the Christ: A comparative analysis of Madara Uchiha and Jesus Christ

It’s Christmas time. Christians all over the world are preparing themselves for what they consider one of the most joyful holidays in the year: the birth of the Messiah, He who came to redeem the world. Meanwhile, the Madara enthusiasts are making a countdown for the birthday of the man who tried to save the ninja world by sacrificing his very self. In this meta, I intend to explain the connections, similarities and differences between Madara Uchiha and Jesus Christ that I’ve found over the years. I would also recommend to read “Is Madara our Lord and Saviour?” by @al-hekima-madara-blog for another very interesting meta on the topic. This is my contribution to day 2 of Madara Week, hosted by @uchiha-event.

A quick note before I start my rambling: I will be using the Douay-Rheims translation of the Bible (Roman Catholic translation), but there shouldn’t be any problem for readers of Protestant background as the difference between the Bibles used by both denominations are in the Old Testament and our focus will be the New Testament.

“I am here to save the world”

Naruto Shippuden, chapter 677

For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him.

John 3:17

What is the purpose of Madara in this story? One would be tempted to say “because every shonen needs a villain”, but I think his purpose as a character was to expose the flaws within the shinobi system that ultimately corrupted a man who desired peace into someone whose sense of reality became so warped by the situations in his life that he started a war to achieve said peace. Madara didn’t make the Eye of the Moon plan to be evil and act dramatic, he made it with the final objective of launching an eternal dream that would guarantee no more conflict and the ideal life for anyone within it. He’s already been past judging the world, he wants to save it at the expense of himself. This is similar to how God is presented in the Old Testament compared to the New Testament: we first see a God who insists that his law is followed and that chastises those who trespass and disobey in several ocassions. But once we reach the New Testament, he becomes a loving figure that intends to save people from eternal doom in hell (”reality is hell”, anyone?). The point is that we have a man whose purpose in the world is to cleanse all forms of evil thorugh his being and who wants to bring salvation to anyone, regardless if the world agrees or not.

“I come here to bring you light and joy in a life that’s beyond this reality”

Naruto Shippuden, chapter 626

Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live.

John 11:25

What does Madara mean when he says that “you can’t see it”? After following the storyline we conclude that he’s talking about the Eye of the Moon plan. Let’s add some tangents here, the people who were directly involved in the plan and helped Madara one way or another. They had no clue about what would happen exactly but they were convinced by the prospect of a peaceful life free of their struggles. In a certain way, they believed in Madara. The exact same thing can be seen with Jesus, who promises eternal life beyond the death of the physical body. Nobody knows how Heaven looks like but the believers trust him on that promise.

“I bring peace”

Naruto Shippuden, chapter 661

These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you shall have distress: but have confidence, I have overcome the world

John 16:33

Notice how Madara refers to the current state of the shinobi world as “Hashirama’s world”? In Christianity and the Bible, it is a common practice to separate “the world” and “the believers” as entities with entirely different mindsets and values. Madara sees the world as direct consequence of his nemesis, Hashirama, just as Christians see the evil in the world as the direct consequence of the sins of Lucifer. To “overcome the world”, when applied to Madara, refers to how he intends to use a power whose source is unknown (the power of the Sage of Six Paths) in order to end the paradox of Hashirama’s world. He is going to achieve peace to overwrite the current world and install his own world where the paradox is solved.

“I intend for you to acquire new identity within me”

Naruto Shippuden, chapter 665

If then any be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away, behold all things are made new.

2 Corinthians 5:17

And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me. And that I live now in the flesh: I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

I picked two of the letters in the New Testament in purpose, you may have noticed that the previous quotes come from the Gospel of John. Because the Gospel of John is a retelling of what Jesus did and said, whereas the letters (mostly from the apostle Paul) are reflections of the lives of the apostles after Jesus was gone. Similarly, Obito becomes Madara once Madara dies in the cave and walks in his shoes. Yesterday, I wrote a bit more about how Madara decomposed his humanity for the sake of his dream of peace. Here, we have Madara giving up his identity to anyone who embraces his goal, similarly to how Jesus signifies a brotherhood of believers. Madara also never writes down his autobiography or gets a space to present his POV, just as how all of what we know from Jesus is from the people close to him, not by his own word. In a sense, both become an entity for like-minded people to work towards a certain goal.

Thank you for reading this far, if you have any questions please use the ask box. It’s always a pleasure to have discussions and to talk about my favourite anime emo man.

[beemovieerotica]

How do you think Davy Jones and Calypso met? What do you think about their relationship ?

HWOAGGHH okay so let's get right into it

Supplemental POTC sources talk about Davy Jones basically being this incredibly skilled sailor likely from wealth and means who was able to impress Calypso and gain her favor through his seafaring abilities

It's a cool origin story and I've played around with it in fic, but I've always wondered what SPECIFICALLY about him caught her eye, because he wasn't the only great sailor of his time---like, he'd have to have done something absolutely bonkers in order for the goddess of the sea to take notice

I love hearing headcanons about this, but the flavor of origin story I've ascribed to him in most of my fics is "humble beginnings" / tragic war history / desertion / escape to sea

In my stories, what Davy Jones brings to seafaring and captaining his own ship that is interesting to Calypso is both a humility about his place in life and an obsessive devotion to the sea as the one thing worth living for / keeping him alive

He's not in it for profit, he's in it for survival and ends up aiding others---I have the Flying Dutchman (visually of Dutch design, 16th century, built like a slave trading ship) taken from Dutch slave traders at the height of their operations and the captives freed, both as a practicality on Jones' end (incredibly useful type of ship that balances speed and firepower) but more importantly as a compassionate act. There has to be a reason why Calypso chose him for the most compassionate role in the world, the most essential job in easing the dead into the next life.

I don't think that it's a coincidence that Calypso appears in the mortal form that she does, I think that witnessing men's greed as the soul of the sea has made her particularly sympathetic to the atrocities of the stealing and transport of West Africans to other parts of the world, countless of whom drowned and chose to throw themselves into the sea rather than face a life of subjugation. THIS resonates with her, this makes sense to her, her entire story is about having her freedom taken from her, and for that I deeply appreciate the casting and characterization choices they went with canonically, because it lends itself to such rich meta analysis. A lot of fan characterizations of Calypso paint her as completely discompassionate, uninvolved, and uncaring about the world of men, but I do not agree with this, I see her interest in humanity being much more complex, with hate, reverence, love, and disdain all mingled together

And that's ultimately why Jones stands out to her first, because he is one of the few/only people at sea not for profit, his freedom is wrapped up in the sea, and he has enough of a broken past that makes any kind of devotion he displays deeply and overwhelmingly all-or-nothing

It's this that lends itself to the imbalance of power and lack of compromise between them, which then leads to the betrayal, etc etc. But they are at the core of their relationship the two people who understand each other more than anyone else in the world could, but they are still mired in misunderstandings because they are a human and a god, because those relationships are doomed by nature of what they are, because you can never fully understand someone whose concepts of time, devotion, and reality are so fundamentally different to your own.

I love thinking about how terrible they are for each other and how no one else in the world fits better together than them. Their story is the most pivotal and interesting piece of lore to the trilogy, and ultimately the reason why I think P4 and P5 fell flat---because the writers kept scrabbling for something mystical and fantastical to try and replicate this, but nothing came anywhere close to reproducing that same love and meaning of the Jones/Calypso Elizabeth/Will contrast. Which I could also go on and on about but I'll stop here!

[freedom-in-the-dark]

A Fight Taken To Heart: How Edward Teach Became a Queer Ally in Honor of Charles Vane

This piece was originally written for the fantastic @blacksailszine, which unfathomably came out over a year ago (and you should check it out if you haven't!). Somehow, I managed to procrastinate posting this here for that long, which is asinine. Especially because I'm actually very proud of it!!!

The news about Ray Stevenson today has me emotional (of course) and thinking again about how his performance as Blackbeard had a great impact on me. In his honor, it feels like a fitting day to finally share my tribute to his character on this blog.

Without further ado... please enjoy my meta below 🖤

--------------

The first time we see Edward Teach’s eyes, they’re framed in a mirror with a heart carved above it. Within the context of a scene designed to convey that Teach is a figure who commands fear and respect, this seems to be a curious choice for an introductory shot. Yet, much like many details placed throughout Black Sails’ meticulous narrative, the mirror’s design is poetic in hindsight because Teach’s heart was his ultimate motivation.

Over the course of multiple scenes, the first half of season 3 introduces us to both the pillars of who Teach is as a character and the primary characteristics of his relationship with Charles Vane. Taken as a whole, the picture painted of Teach’s presence in the story is that he acts as a metaphor for heterosexuality, toxic masculinity, and tradition. We learn that Teach had nine wives over the course of eight years, at least partially because he is motivated by the desire for a son. He glorifies strength above weakness, and he defines strength as superior physicality, independence, and sufficient leadership. He reminisces about the original state of Nassau in his youth, in which the standard was an enforced masculinity, powered by the notion that “one had to prove his worth.” And as he says to Vane and Jack in 3x02, in his view,

“You have taken away the one thing that made Nassau what it was. You have given her prosperity. Strife is good. Strife makes a man strong.”

Upon his introduction, Teach sees only the small picture of Nassau, not its place in the bigger picture of the world. He looks upon a Nassau rich in monetary plunder, preparing to come to its own defense or go to war, and he sees the ease in which men can typically join any crew as a marker of a lack of conflict. What he fails to take into account is that the primary strife now originates externally rather than internally because it is the strife of oppression, and that the solidarity that results from that strife creates its own version of strength.

”Why are you so determined to defend Nassau?” he asks Vane in 3x02, because the island is no longer anything special to him. “A lion keeps no den,” he tells Vane in 3x05, “Because the savanna, all the space within it. . . belongs to him.” Teach is not beholden to Nassau for haven or home, because he was able to assimilate into civilization whenever he had cause or desire. He married multiple women, flew under the British flag, and even spoke their “language” of flag codes (3x10). While Teach is certainly a pirate, it is by choice rather than survival.

As a result, he cannot understand the importance of true solidarity amongst the oppressed–and thus, Nassau’s defense–because he’s never needed it, as a straight white man who’s never been limited by oppression. And because this is a narrative where piracy is arguably a metaphor for queerness, filled with characters who do not have the luxury or desire to play by civilization’s rules, Teach sticks out upon his entrance. It’s also partially why he’s initially framed in an antagonistic light; he is not “with them,” and therefore, he is “against them” by default in some capacity.

The exception, of course, is his bond with Vane. Teach is one of many characters motivated by the desire to leave a legacy; as he says in 3x03, “There is an instinct to leave behind something made in one’s own image.” In his case, this manifests as his desire for a son–but he saw parenthood as an opportunity to mold and form another man to be his reflection. Teach wanted Vane to be a copy of him, but Vane never was, and it’s the primary source of the conflicts between them.

Teach had no love lost for Nassau, and so he calls it a “burden” on Vane, while Vane insists that he is “committed to it” and Jack by extension (3x03). Teach scoffs at the idea of such loyalty, deriding and discounting Vane and Jack’s relationship, casting aspersions on Jack’s character in the process–even as Teach demands to receive such loyalty from Vane himself. It’s evident that Teach doesn’t understand core aspects of Vane’s personality and motivations, but Vane is unequipped to explain himself to him.

This is partially because Vane initially doesn’t understand his own motivations either, especially in the face of his father figure’s disapproval. His inner struggle is exemplified in how he’s torn between allegiance to Teach, or allegiance to the rebellion for Nassau’s independence and his people caught in the fight. Flint summarizes Vane’s internal conflict by bringing it to light for him in 3x06:

“They took my home. I can’t walk away from that. Can you? Forget me, forget Teach, forget loyalty, compacts, honor, debts, all of it. The only question that matters is this: Who are you?”

It is not insignificant that a gay man says this to Vane. The struggle of finding oneself is inherently queer as a framing device, especially in the context of a narrative where piracy and freedom are pursued by the marginalized. The fact that wrestling with identity is the defining point in Vane’s arc implies that the answer exists beyond the bounds of what others would ascribe to him. Straight people–particularly in regards to Black Sails’ main cast of characters–are not faced with this question.

And various players do try to ascribe an identity to him. Teach tells Vane that he’s a lion, while the Spanish soldier calls Vane a fellow sheep (3x05); Eleanor lists Vane as the antithesis to civilization (3x01) and calls him an “animal” to his face (3x09). Yet even up to his end, though civilization and history would paint him differently, Vane’s motivations were always painfully human. Vane was driven by emotions on a deeper level than most recognized, and by desire for two primary things: freedom and honest loyalty.

Vane felt empathy for the unfree, and he was defined by wanting to avoid living in chains again at all costs–literally or metaphorically. He explicitly compared the fear that slaves face to the wider struggle of the pirates on Nassau (3x01), and the fear they feel as they sit on “Spain’s gold on England’s island,” expecting a retaliatory response. Vane feared subjugation or submission at the hands of any person or power, considering it a fate worse than death; to him, “no measure of comfort [was] worth that price” (3x08). His manifesto was “side with me. . . and we’ll keep our freedom,” and he said he was “[a man] who would die before being another man’s slave again” (2x06), which became his ultimate fate.

Pursuing freedom defined both Vane’s life and death, but it was not an abstract concept. It was freedom to a purpose: freedom from expectation; to make his own choices; to define home as he saw fit; and, crucially, to surround himself with honest people who provided mutual loyalty and respect without subterfuge or manipulation. This is why Jack, who knew him best and cared for him most, called Vane a ���good man” and summarized him this way in 4x07:

“He was the bravest man I ever knew. Not without fear, just unwilling to let it diminish him. And loyal to a fault. And in a world where honesty is so regularly and casually disregarded…”

Vane exhibited and sought both honesty and loyalty. It was also how he expressed his love, and the way he wanted love to be expressed to him in return. That is partially why Eleanor so effectively acted as his downfall: he repeatedly trusted her, but she could not or would not be loyal to him. By contrast, as he told Teach in 3x02, Vane found loyalty and commitment in Jack–and in Anne by extension.

So while “a lion keeps no den,” as Teach said, what a lion does keep is a pride. A lion may be free to roam, but it does so with a family. Teach did not begin to understand the significance of that to Vane until after Vane gave his life not only in the name of freedom, but also in defense of his family and home.

This turns Teach’s earlier question of “Why are you determined to defend Nassau?” into the unspoken question of Why did Charles Vane willingly die to defend Nassau and those who are fighting for it?

When Teach called Nassau–and, to some extent, Vane’s partnership with Jack–a “burden,” Vane tried to explain to him that wasn’t the case. At the time, Teach didn’t listen. He gave Vane an ultimatum: I’ll help protect these people, but you have to leave them, their cause, and your “commitment” behind.

Teach thought leaving all of that behind was freedom, and it was a definition of freedom he thought that he and Vane shared, referring to the two of them as being “of the same mind” (3x05). But Vane was unable to leave his people or their fight behind, because that’s not what freedom meant to him. For Teach, freedom meant solitary independence; for Vane, freedom came to mean solidarity (3x09):

“Because they know that my voice, a voice that refuses to be enslaved, once lived in you. And may yet still. They brought me here today to show you death and use it to frighten you into ignoring that voice. But know this. We are many. They are few. To fear death is a choice. And they can't hang us all.”

After Vane’s death, Teach listens. In the absence of being able to listen to Vane directly, he does the next best thing: he goes to the people Vane valued most and died to protect. In the name of the mutual interest of revenge, he listens to Vane’s family.

At first, Teach obviously thinks Jack and Anne are both weird–to use a different word, he thinks they’re both queer–and he makes that clear in underhanded comments. Neither Jack nor Anne fit into the boxes of “man” or “woman” in the traditional senses that Teach is most accustomed to valuing. He doesn’t understand why Vane would align with them and their cause above all else, or why Vane would be loyal to them and value their unconditional loyalty in return. But Teach seemingly knows that if he can get to know them, then perhaps he can understand what Vane saw in them, and–in turn–learn more about Vane as well. Vane lives on in pieces of them, and so it is upon listening to them that Teach ends up indirectly listening to Vane one last time.

In a discussion spurred by Anne’s concerns, Jack and Teach debate the merits of murdering Eleanor Guthrie or chasing Woodes Rogers, and they bond over their shared understanding and memory of Vane’s “distrust of sentimentality” (4x02). They can chase an empty version of revenge in the name of justice, fueled by emotion... or they can fight to win the war of resistance that Vane gave his life to incite. Between the two of them and their shared grief, and in an echo of Vane’s internalized arc, they find that the only question that matters is this: Who was Vane, and what mattered to him most? They both discover they already know the answer.

For Teach, acknowledging that answer involves fully accepting that Jack and Anne were the family that Vane chose, that the rebellion for Nassau’s freedom was personal enough to Vane that he died for it, and that this is a fight which holds value and necessity that Teach initially misunderstood.

Teach is straight, and his views on masculinity are not fully incompatible with the ones civilization enforces. Oppressive powers hold no true threat for him, because he is capable of assimilation; he could leave Nassau and thus the rebellion for its freedom behind. He always planned to. But after the sacrifice of the man he considered a son, he chooses to become an ally in the fight against white supremacy, and an explicit supporter of Jack and Anne–the queer found family that Vane prioritized, and died to protect.

Teach always thought he was molding Vane into his own image, but the reverse became oddly true instead: Teach allies with the cause, gives his life for it, and indirectly protects Jack and Anne with his final moments, echoing and honoring Vane’s sacrifice.

Woodes Rogers expected to keelhaul Teach into submission by default, through torture no man should have been able to repeatedly survive. But to fear death–to submit to death on anything other than one’s own terms–is a choice. A pirate’s fear is an opponent’s victory; Vane and Teach both knew that, and embodied it. Teach’s unwillingness to let fear diminish him or to be broken by Rogers was largely the result of his own principles and hard-won defiance, but it was also the only reason Jack and Anne narrowly avoided the same fate.

It aligns poetically: in the final months of his life, Teach’s actions were motivated by old shifting shrapnel lodged in his chest and the beating of his heart, which he referred to as “a grim little timepiece” (3x06). And “the louder that clock [ticked]”–the more the shrapnel moved, and the closer his end became–the more inclined he was to pursue happiness and purpose (3x01).

Ultimately, he was keelhauled 3 times, and then he was shot.

For Charles–tick.

For Jack–tick.

For Anne–tick.

And for Nassau–

Boom.

How fitting.

After all, Edward Teach always expected that his heart would bring about his end.

--------------

If you'd like to read more of my meta about this show, here are the other pieces I've written:

• Black Sails, Queer Representation, and the Valid Canonicity of Subtext

(I should crosspost that to tumblr at some point ^)

• The Flinthamilton Reunion Is Definitely Real

• James Flint Is Gay

And my pinned post on Twitter @/gaypiracy has a collection of the shorter posts / writing I inadvisably did on there.

Don't forget to check out the Black Sails Zine for a variety of incredible work :)

[independent-variables]

Hi! I found you through the post-chain of clones and torture (I appreciated the possibilities it means and how it made me stop and reflect) and I would love to hear more about the nuances in Clone/Jedi ships, if you have the time one of these days!!

I would think the field mine that is the power imbalance alone between a general and their commander is loads, without taking into account freedom/who is considered a person/who has the power to say no. What else would you flag? *ready to take notes*

Feel free to keep this private, as you mentioned the distinction between Public/Private -- and if you're not comfortable feel free to not reply! I understand and I will keep on thinking about this on my own! :D

Hello!!! I want you to know this is the absolute dream ask to get, you are a gem and I am so glad my meta has got you thinking. If I have to be thinking about this at least I don’t have to be thinking about it alone, lol. I’m gonna go ahead and post this publicly because it’s not targeted to any particular ship it’s more about my understanding of the Jedi.

Alright, clone/Jedi ships, where to start… First of all I do read and write for various clone/Jedi ships, I don’t have any kind of moral “you’re a bad person for shipping this” agenda here. I just find the trends of what issues fandom chooses to address within these ships and what issues fandom tends to ignore to be personally frustrating.

You are 100% correct the power imbalance is massive, and the age gaps are nothing to sneeze at either. Depending on when the couple gets together there is also the slavery to contend with. But usually these are addressed in more serious fic. When a writer takes the characters and the ship seriously and wants to do the story justice, the slavery/power imbalance/age gap trifecta tend to be portrayed as Serious Things the couple needs to navigate. This is good! This is wonderful! These are indeed Serious Things a Jedi and clone couple will need to navigate if they want to make a go of it; everything surrounding consent and life experience and what they both want out of the relationship. These are hard conversations to have and difficult differences in life experience to navigate, but not impossible.

What makes it impossible for me to completely suspend my disbelief with any and every clone/Jedi ship is not anything to do with the power and consent issues inherent to the ship. It’s the fact that my own understanding of the Jedi and their no attachment policies gives me a kneejerk NO reaction whenever a Jedi gets into a committed romantic/sexual relationship and the writer portrays this as a good thing. The NO feeling increases when the partner is a clone and the relationship starts during the war.

I know in my heart various clones and Jedi developed intense feelings for each other during the war that could definitely be called attraction, or love, or develop farther into love. I know this. I know there was much drooling and many heart eyes. What I absolutely do not believe for a second is that any self respecting Jedi would even consider for a moment acting on those feelings. That is kinda the point of being Jedi. Entering into a romantic/sexual relationship with a person who is not legally recognized as a person and therefore has no rights or protections? A person whom YOU (Jedi you) holds literal power of life and death over? Absolutely the fuck not. NO. It does not matter if this person is perfect and wonderful and your soulmate and would gladly fuck you silly every night over the desk you two do paperwork on, There Are Standards! There Are Morals! There Are Codes!

If a Jedi and a clone start any kind of Anything during the war, that is a sign something has gone very very very wrong with the Jedi. There would be consequences from within the Jedi Order if this was discovered. Doesn’t matter if the perfect clone soulmate consents absolutely, this is about what it means to be a Jedi and what it means to hold power responsibly and what it means to follow a code of conduct and what it means to be a member of an organized religion. And that toxic “something is wrong but I don’t care because this feels so good” dynamic in and of itself would be interesting to explore, I have found a few fics that explore it, but more often than not a Jedi being in a committed relationship is hand-waved as long as it’s not marriage.

And that’s it. That’s my issue. When nothing starts until after the war and when it is made explicit that Jedi-- by the their own Order’s standards and expectations-- cannot and should not be in any kind of committed romantic/sexual relationship, then I have no problem suspending my disbelief and grinning as the dashing clone Commander and the noble Jedi Knight kiss passionately in the sunset. Good for them. Let them have their moment.

Because, Anakin and Padme are kind of a big deal. Like. The problem was not that they got married, the problem was they made a commitment to each other. Marriage represented and defined that commitment but the wedding was not the start of the toxic obsession and death was not the end of it. Anakin loved Padme with everything in him and loving people is good! Loving people and serving people with compassion is part of the point of being a Jedi! But committing all of your (Jedi your) love to a specific person is very much The Opposite Of Being A Jedi. This is a long and roundabout way of saying I think monogamy is against the Jedi religion actually.

This is also why Obi-Wan and Satine are kind of a big deal. I know what fandom thinks of that particular interlude but I really enjoyed it because it reinforces the whole-- monogamy is not a Jedi Thing. If you (Jedi you) want a committed sexual/romantic relationship, that’s cool, that’s fine, but you can’t have that and also be a Jedi. Jedi cannot have both. There are no handy loopholes for that rule. Because it’s not “Jedi cannot get married” it’s “Jedi cannot be committed to someone or something outside the Order.” And that is a good and logical and reasonable rule to have for an organization of space wizard monks. And it bothers me that a lot of fans who write the Jedi in romantic relationships and especially who write the Jedi in romantic relationships with clones don’t want to engage with that aspect of Being A Jedi and would rather handwave it or find a loophole, because we had three movies already on why there is no loophole and why Jedi cannot have both.

[widowlurker]

rambling about catws!Bucky because time is a flat circle

Lowkey tough being a Bucky stan (hehe) out here bc atp the mcu just doesn’t know what to do with him and it’s absolutely tragic because catws is a great movie and a huge part of that is how beautifully they presented the Winter Soldier. Like he is undeniably (personally don’t @ me) the best part of that whole movie. Last time I went this insane over analyzing actors’ facial expressions was the hunger games and that’s basically the peak of fiction for me. So, here’s me doing exactly that

warning: no beta we die like my vocal chords watching catws for the first time

Something that sits at the forefront in my mind abt Seb’s acting as the Winter Soldier is how good he is at being blank. Normally when I think of blank, no thoughts head empty acting it’s just a completely unmoveable demeanor and from what I see in fics it’s a common interpretation that the Winter Soldier is just an empty husk. And while he’s definitely a lot less sentient than he seems to be in the comics I don’t think he’s as robotic as people like to write about (and how I like to read abt so dw this isn’t me trashing on that).

I read a post on here that was either a meta or rant that I def reblogged but don’t feel like looking for that was either or about or mentioned how the Winter Soldier is def a powerhouse but that’s just a building that was made from the frame of Bucky’s own combat skills from the war.

I think his sentience is somewhat similar to that in how he isn’t so much as an empty bodyguard and more like a tunnel-visioned fighter. His mind isn’t a blank slate in a body that’s blindly committing violence but a constantly calculating fighter (a trait I also think was just built off of Bucky’s own violent skills derived from the war) whose mind is occupied only by whatever violence he’s committing.

Seb’s facial expressions as the winter soldier present this well. Again, when you think of the empty husk the Winter Soldier is you’d expect little personality and emotion to be acted out as that character. The thing is, he’s not an empty husk. Seb does a good job at having existent and moving facial expressions without any real human emotion being shown by them. When the Winter Soldier furrows his brows as he fights or thoughtfully looks offscreen when he pulls off his goggles(?) in the lead up to the reveal he’s only expressing the slightest bit of acknowledgement to whatever is happening. Particularly, usually in fight scenes when people do the former it’s to make the character look mad or determined. When the Winter Soldier does it it’s just there. Sebastian manages to move his face in ways that should indicate fully-felt emotions but still only add up to a blank face.

Perhaps in that way the Winter Soldier is somewhat robotic not in the way of an emotionless android but rather an intelligent algorithm.

so, blah blah blah Sebastian is really good at acting blank. But what about when the Winter Soldier does show emotion. Disclaimer that in my rewatch I only saw the highway fight/reveal and the helicarrier, not when Fury and Steve get attacked in his apartment. With this, the first time I believe we see the Winter Soldier breaking out of the emotionless mask is the cute little bout of panic he has shortly after the mask/muzzle comes off, when his eyes get big and be looks off in a way unlike before where instead of it being the slightest indication of thought and strategy it’s a genuine feeling of panic and confusion. This is very much in contrast to moment before after he asks who the hell Bucky is and shoots at Steve. He says the words, but that’s it. His face doesn’t move to accommodate any sort of emotion any normal person would be feeling when they said that sentence. His mouth simply moves as he asks (though the blankness is still broken by then because I have doubts the 100% Winter Soldier would ever take the time or express the confusion that’d come with asking that question). Immediately after he clicks back into reality and the mission at hand when he shoots at Steve he doesn’t return to his before blankness. His eyebrows furrow and this time it’s not simply an unconscious physical result of being focused or whatever but he’s genuinely confused and desperately trying to follow what he’s being made to do. Up until that point, not once does the Winter Soldier bother to halt anything he’s doing in a fight if not necessary. This is the first time he personally hesitates.

And then the helicarrier scene. Oh lord almighty the blessed helicarrier scene. By here the Winter Soldier is back to Winter Soldier-ing, blank and emotionless no matter what movement his face makes. And he stays like that for the entire pre-fight pleading Steve’s doing in that bridge(?) thing. UNTIL Steve says “please don’t make me do this”

Now I noticed this in my rewatch yesterday and then while I was rewatching the scene on yt to write this I fought for my life trying to figure out which cut to Bucky in that convo in which he does it, so I damn-near thought i hallucinated it. But I swear to god his head tilts down and his eyebrows go up. It’s similar to the facial movements he does before when he’s full Winter Soldier where his face moves but it doesn’t indicate any actual emotion being felt. This time however it just somehow does. He’s pleading, for what I literally cannot think of but his face moves only slightly and it somehow spreads the full feeling throughout his entirety. In the next cut after that he doesn’t have that same emotion, but it was there.

From then on the curtain is ripped. Now Bucky fights and he scrunches up his face and all of the sort and he’s not only expressing emotion but he’s doing it so blatantly. So blatantly in fact that I can tell he seems to feel almost desperate.

Remember earlier when I mentioned that not once does the Winter Soldier bother to halt himself unless necessary to survey the situation or something the sort. Yeah, none of that is here. He’s unbelievably sloppy, not as fast and hit-for-hit with Steve as he was during the highway/reveal. And throughout the fight he only gets slower and slower, his face scrunches and moves more and more., and he wastes more and more time talking and trying to make Steve suffer and feel how he’s getting hit as if to prove to something or someone that he’s not succumbing to the memories bubbling up inside him and straying from his mission.

Until finally Steve says “I’m with you til the end of the line” and fandom was never the same

and neither was Bucky, because despite the fact that his luscious locks are blowing all over the damn place, all over his face, we see down to the atom what he’s feeling. It’s the Winter Soldier’s end of the line, and now Bucky is here to get fucked over by the mcu’s writing.

Again, catws is my favorite mcu movie in terms of acting and writing and the reason why is because they did so well at writing such a horribly tragic victim. I stay saying that Seb is one of the best actors in the mcu and the reason why is because of how agonizing his performance of the winter soldier’s mental turmoil is. So why on God’s green Earth is the mcu so intent on making some bullshit atonement plotline (or a poor attempt at showcasing Bucky’s internal guilt that comes off as an atonement plotline, depends on who you ask) and throwing him in with anti-heroes/villains when it really doesn’t fit what his arc should be AT ALL???

anyway god bless Sebastian for being damn-good at acting out agony

[six-paths-of-jeanmarco]

just read on your meta on jean reiner marco. im sorry but u made it sound like jean has no personality or own morals if it wasnt for marco. marcos death wasnt the only thing that spur him into being good tho. he literally said he doesnt want to lose comrades after trost that includes marco and all the other comrades they lost because he didnt expect himself to care that much about them. i will argue that losing sasha has more of an impact to jean because simply, they know and work with each other longer. jean also acted on his own to lead the charge at trost without marco asking him to because jean already has leadership qualities on his own. marco didnt even respond favorably initially but funnily reiner did. marco was just one part of jeans character development. jean has so many other important moments that led him to become who he is later on. he also sees himself as a killer equivalent to the warriors because one death to jean is too many. plus dont forget he is complicit in bertolt being eaten by titan armin as well. i dont think he doesnt have the capability to not forgive reiner because if he doesn't, that will make him a big hypocrite.

Did you, though? Or were you just looking to confirm what a *certain* someone that has made downplaying Marco and what he meant to Jean an integral part of their *ship* had to say about it?

Even if that's not the case, I never said Marco is the reason Jean became good, what I actually said is that he was the first person that made Jean aware of the skills and qualities he already had at a critical moment in Jean's character arc. And bc of that, we could see the long lasting effects it had over his development. I never said that was the only important moment in his development, I was simply focusing on his relationship with Marco bc, yknow, they're my favorite characters? I even linked another Jean meta that analizes how he always has it in him to make the right, selfless decissions despite his major flaws.

You're not wrong in saying that one death to Jean is too many (that's why I said he'd be ooc if the deaths of his former comrades didn't burden him) but you're only focusing on the character's in-story intent while I was focusing on the author's intent. I'm not going to explain again why comparing Jean (& Connie) to the warriors is a false equivalence and Isayama's own writing doesn't support it; the author's intent is to force this idea to make a "war is bad" (not wrong) "both sides are equally bad" (extremely wrong) argument. This post explains why this is an erroneous idea. Not to mention that this is a fascist talking point that only helps the aggressors by sugarcoating broken, lazy morals with pacifism.

Also, I know that most fans like to pretend that the series started with the Marley arc, but that's not the case. There is a major context that separates Reiner's actions from Jean's actions. What Jean did during the clash with the yeagerists was necessitated by the alliance's haste to save whatever was left of the world. What Reiner did during the pre timeskip siege of the walls was motivated by hatred and genocide. Plain and simple. The difference is that Jean didn't have to commit unspeakable attrocities to realize his morals were broken. No, his morals were influenced by loss. Marco became an integral part of his moral compass bc once he lost him --to a fricking titan and without knowing what were his last moments, mind you, Levi too was traumatized after he's lost someone dear to him to a titan for the first time-- he better understood loss and just how much he wants to protect the lives of others. He chose to join the Scouts bc he understood what was the true meaning of all of that "dedicate your heart" fancy talking: preventing another senseless death, more excruciating pain, and giving hope where there is only despair.

There's also a big context when it comes to what happened before Bert's death, isn't there? You're oversimplifying two completely different situations to make a false equivalence. Personally, I hate oversimplifying things. Jean wouldn't be a hypocrite for being unable to forgive Reiner, he'd be more than justified. And who said Reiner should get over what happened to Bert? Ah right, I forgot that in the lore of a *certain* ship Reibert also gets downplayed.

I'm also having a very hard time understanding how does highlighting Jean's relationship with Marco translates as me saying that Jean didn't have any other meaningful relationships with other characters?

JSC is literally my favorite trio, and I hate the fact that the story didn't give us more insight on how much Sasha's death affected Jean and Connie. We see how much it ravaged the two of them after it happened (Connie's "soulmate" line still gets me) and after they saw her in the smoke, but we don't see any moment similar to Jean's monologue after Pieck got him out of Shiganshina (which was an obvious reference to the pyre scene), or when he saw Marco after Hange tried to convince him to join the alliance (and don't ignore the symbolism of only seeing Marco out of all the comrades he's lost along the way, which also includes Sasha). Her death must've been a major reason as to why Jean and Connie joined the alliance, but the story doesn't even imply it bc Isayama focused more on how much her death affected Eren and other characters instead (when he could and should've done both).

Don't get me wrong tho, I'm not trying to invalidate your opinion, I just don't really see the point in turning whose death had more of an impact on Jean into a competition. And I disagree with saying that more time spent with someone makes them more important (same with the idea that more screen time = a better character). Both Marco and Sasha were Jean's cherished friends, and I'd argue that losing them both affected him in different ways. The story, however, emphasizes more on how losing Marco affected him. Which is why I said Marco is Jean's most significant person and loss, bc Isayama wants us to remember that just as much as he wants us to remember his complicated friendship with Eren, as an example of another of his important relationships.

[biblioflyer]

It was no “All Good Things” but it did what it needed to do.

Discovery is a bit of a metaphor for “NuTrek.” Never quite sure what it is, whether to take itself uber seriously with the razor edged gravitas of nuGalactica or The Expanse, or to lean into joyful camp like Doctor Who. I think the choice to lean into the camp was ultimately a sound one. The edge simply didn’t fit the writing which was all over the place, in true Trek fashion.

It brought out some of the worst in the fandom, which apparently also has a deep legacy. See also the extensive letter writing campaign condemning TNG as a betrayal of TOS back in the day. We have never been as good as our heroes and some of us don’t seem to try very hard.

Discovery has long baffled me because I’ve struggled, more during the early seasons, with how to approach it. The early aesthetic made me feel like I should be taking it as seriously as open heart surgery which meant it could never withstand scrutiny. The choice to lean into camp made me more forgiving.

I still prefer the bridge crew being a more core part of the ensemble but I think that’s my old school Trek training. It makes more sense for the senior staff to be spread around rather than clustered on the bridge every time and there were plenty of Ensigns and Lieutenants whose names we never learned.

Having a defined main character worked better logically when Burnham was XO or even outside the command structure. The way the character was written, I actually found it frustrating when they first had her rejoin Starfleet and then promote to Captain. They eventually wrote her as a more convincing leader but it has always seemed like she was more convincing and more compelling as someone following their conscience outside the formal hierarchy.

For all the griping about its supposed radical politics, NuTrek has felt very safe. I’ve written a lot about this in the context of Picard, but NuTrek’s skepticism of institutional power clashes with the traditional story format. It keeps walking right up to the edge of legitimizing independent actors working outside of formal structures to right wrongs and do good deeds that are harder to do from a position of responsibility where the cost of making a mistake isn’t just losing one’s own life but possibly losing hundreds of lives or starting a war.

But it always chickens out. Burnham, Rios, Raffi, Seven, Jack: all roads lead back to Starfleet. Which is not to say that Starfleet is bad, actually. I’m all for depicting Starfleet as an enlightened institution but there’s a nuanced position where some people don’t work well in that setting and there are legitimate roles for individuals acting outside of Starfleet. It doesn’t have to be a binary where on one side you have all of the honorable, moral, and disciplined people and on the other are only pirates and vigilantes.

I must give a nod of respect to Saru who has probably undergone one of the most interesting and well executed character arcs that has left the character almost unrecognizable from where he started but it all happened very naturally. Which is an achievement given how the show has struggled with pacing in the modern season format. The next closest examples I can think of would be Rom and Nog who had 7 seasons to complete their arcs. 7 much longer seasons.

I’m sorry to see Discovery go. Just on a meta level, it’s been fascinating to scrutinize its artistic decisions and how it has engaged with its critics. Ultimately I think it did an excellent job of sifting through the muck to find the good faith, well formulated criticisms and adapt gently. Given the incandescent nature of the fandom, it would have been tempting to write off the detractors entirely or essentially reboot the entire show, writing out or severely changing unpopular characters and abandoning previous choices.

I’m a big tent fandom guy, so I will always say that a show needs to be a show for both the people who loved it from the start as well as people who only approved of it later. Balancing that is tricky, I think Discovery did it well. It was often confused and janky, but it grew both the competencies of the storytellers and grew the fan base. For that I’m grateful.

[madnessofthespirits]

2, 9 and 17 about Diar and Alter for the character ask game 👀👀👀

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

cu alter: ummmm i'd die for anything. for example:

he's not lancer but he is very much cu chulainn

in EPU (and to a certain extent post-EPU too) he's basically just a guy trying to give himself agency in a situation where he's been robbed of his agency. this makes him act really weird

nothing about him has anything to do with warp spasm cu, even on a meta level

he's got that dissociative ptsd

whenever he's kind or caring i find it moving because he's quite literally been altered to suppress those parts of himself, which goes to show that they're actually too strong to be suppressed completely at all, and that he's fighting extra hard to be that way

(i may be interpreting this question as an opportunity to just share random opinions but hopefully that's okay)

diarmuid: the worst things that ever happened to him were ultimately the fault of awful old men with too much power and if fate would actually notice that and try to do something with what that might mean about him i think that would be a much more interesting thing to explore in regard to his character in fgo (or any other post-f/z media he could potentially be in) than well, most of the other things they've done with him post-f/z instead

also *straight guy voice* he's way stronger than either canon or fans usually treat him as being. urobuchi (or someone else on the f/z staff, i forget who) said he might have won the grail war if it weren't for kayneth being a fuckwad. all of the stuff he's done in his legends is at least as impressive as anything cu has ever done.

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character

cu alter: honestly i think it was during the scene where he fights nero and she's trying to understand his motives and nothing he's saying really makes much sense and she points out that he's not even enjoying what he's doing, which he implicitly agrees with, and then tells her that his only goal is to just keep fighting until he's dead. i remember thinking to myself stuff along the lines of "wow bro that sounds Bad what's your problem" and "oh he's like Fucked Up fucked up i can't not care about him" and really it just made me want to understand him so bad

and then there's the finale scene where he finally admits that he's being forced to do what he's doing because medb used the grail to place him under a geis and it's like sad as fuck because he's been forced to sacrifice the parts of himself that feel joy and love just so he can maintain his honor, and therefore it's also heroic at the same time (this is what i'm talking about when i say that though he may not be lancer he is very much cu chulainn). also the part where's he kind to medb while she's dying in spite of having little reason to be and actually holding clear dislike for her is very touching

diarmuid: i definitely liked him from the start - like he so clearly just wants to do the right thing and have fun at the same time in spite of the fact that he has this horrific past and got saddled with this shitty master - like how could i not care about him? but it's definitely the last couple of scenes he appears in that sealed the deal for me. just seeing him walk away from that shitty encounter with kayneth and turn around and decide he's not gonna let that stop him from enjoying an epic fight with his best friend - and then he experiences one of the most awful fictional deaths i can think of and we learn that this whole time while he's been smiling and taking the high road at every turn he's actually been building up this whole volcano of grief and resentment. the whole thing is just as brief as it is powerful. it's a moment of honesty, it's touching, it's relatable, it's the closest thing to justice he's allowed. it contrasts so starkly with the side of him the audience sees up until then that it comes off as genuinely shocking, and it shows that he is just as glaringly human as he is a perfect knight, and therefore what makes him such an interesting and lovable character. can't imagine how hard your heart has to be to see all that and not care for him at least a little

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them

cu alter: i think you will either get it or not, but out of all the songs i associate with him, of which there are many, i think of this one as being the most "his" of them all

diarmuid: i know i've already brought this one up before but:

"when i choose to see the good side of things, i'm not being naive. it is strategic and necessary. it's how i've learned to survive through everything." -- waymond wang in everything everywhere all at once (excellent film btw if you haven't seen it)

also:

[bikorarey]

Iron Lover (Vivienne Romance meta)

In the same Spirit as "Dalish Sera and how awesome that would be" I've been hit with the inspiration for another 'game changing' meta. I'm completing the romance of Steve Cortez in Mass Effect 3 and I can't help but see shades of what could've been for the Inquisitor and First Enchanter Vivienne, AKA Madame De Fer.

As I said in a thread on twitter The major change is that Bastien dies during the opening as opposed to late game. Vivienne is still met at Val Royeaux although her party isn't just for show. It's a celebration of Bastien's life.

this makes her intro slightly different in that the Inquisitor doesn't choose what happens to the Marquise. She just kills him for starting a fight at what is essentially a funeral. There's no flirt option here but she tells you about Bastien as a member of the council of heralds (which plays into Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts) before ultimately joining the Inquisition.

Everything progresses as usual in the first act. Vivienne approves of the same things and her fetch quest is the same as well.

The first changes is Haven. Vivienne greatly approves of saving all the initial vendors and has 2 convos once you reach Skyhold. the first is about the rescue, praising the Inquisitor for putting their survival over fighting the enemy as it was a trait she adored in Bastien. The second is her main conversation assessing the Inquisitor's attitude after the defeat at Haven.

this is the first flirt option! The Inquisitor can compliment Vivienne on her caring attitude and have some specific lines about her or both of them being mages. She playfully brushes it off but it's the first time she calls the Inquisitor "Darling" as opposed to "My Dear".

This is when Vivienne's companion quest kicks in. The Inquisitor finds Vivienne crying, the mourning for Bastien has finally hit her. She tells you that what she didn't tell you at the salon was that Bastien was killed in the Civil war but not by either side, by the Snowy Wyvern. He was returning to Val Royeaux and it came from its nest and attacked his escort. It's such a rare creature that it's easy enough to find and Vivienne wants it's heart as penance for Bastien's life.

The Inquisitor does this earning approval from Vivienne, greatly approves if she is with you. When you bring it to Vivienne instead of going to Bastien for a potion she takes you to the estate where his son and Sister are and presents it to them as a trophy. They thank you and Vivienne who has finally over her grief over Bastien. She first back with the Inquisitor allowing you on the path to romance.

Vivienne is a required companion for WEWH because the Council of Herald's is evenly split with Gaspard having 3 and Celene having 3. Vivienne gives her advice and greatly approves if Celene is kept in power but will also normal approve if Briala is put in charge of Gaspard as she admires the play for power.

After the Winter Palace Vivienne begins to woo the Inquisitor. She has as scene on her balcony where she gifts you the formari ring (an actual ring accessory like Morrigan's ring that gives bonus magic and constitution) and after this scene there's a book that gives a special Vivienne Schematic for you to craft her a set of armor she was working on before Montsimmard fell to the Circles dissolving.

You craft the armor for Vivienne and she's beside herself with joy and finally confesses her feelings for the Inquisitor to lock in the romance. Mentioning that the ring was the same emotional value of a proposal on her part because Marriage is a business agreement in Orlais, but their love is real because the Inquisitor loves her not for status or convenience, but for herself. She gets a lovely romance scene that's equal part sexy and tender.

If she is made Divine she is understandably distraught about the relationship. She wonders if she could remain away from the Inquisitor or if their relationship could taint her reign on the sunburst throne. Ultimately she sneaks in a clause that allows the Divine to have romance as love is a gift of the maker allowing you two to be together.

In trespasser she counsels you on absorbing the Inquisition into the chantry since that would get both Ferelden and Orlais off your back and she also still treats you to a spa day for just the two of you.

In the Epilogue Vivienne and the Inquisitor marry once the the Inquisition is either her honor guard or disbanded completely. Vivienne allows for Mages to live outside the circle once they become enchanters allowing Mages to integrate with society so that they never see themselves apart from Thedas so there's no repeat of the uprisings and the South no longer fears out of control mages. She and the Inquisitor live happily in Val Royeaux where The Inquisitor provides support on all things to do with the chantry as they look forward to whatever Solas has in store.

And that is how I would've done a Vivienne Romance where she both gets to grieve her lost love and find love once again and be the first Black female Love interest in Bioware history.