#also sometimes characters have to make tragic choices that doom everyone else to save the people they love and i think that is fucking

[achingly-shy]

thinking about everyone hating on sabine for giving baylan the map and choosing ezra over the safety of the galaxy....like did we all just forget "EVERYTHING i did was for FAMILY for MANDALORE"

[namelessexistence]

Part 6 of 10 of my top 100 favorite characters

50 - Kozuki Kallen (Code Geass)

She could have embraced the privilege that would come with her brittain lineage. Instead, she chose to give that up in favor of fighting for freedom and equality. Fiercy, brave and skilled. Too bad that CG had this bad habit of adding unnecessary sexualization of it's female characters in the most random moments

49 - Ferris Bueller (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)

I was completly charmed by the chaotic energy he had. He's absurdly smart, but, instead of carefully planning, he would rather go around doing whathever he wants and dealing with problems as they come. Not the wisest way to live real life, but very fun to watch on tv

48 - Allen Avadonia (Evillious Chronicles)

My First contact with the EC was the song Servant of Evil. Probably not an uncommon way of starting. But still made me emotionally attached to the character. I found interesting how, in the song, he explain his actions, but never tries to justify, neither he tries to justify Riliane's actions. He just goes "Yes, that's my sister, the Evil Queen, and would commit atrocities for her". He calls himself "evil", he doesn't try to avoid this. The character never comes up as cruel. He's always acting for someone else's sake. But he's still a villain. If not in nature, at least in the role he (willingly) plays. As the song of his adoptive father Leonhart, A Hero's Armor Is Always Crimson, says

"Even if these are deeds for someone's sake

Can you call that "justice"?"

47 - Guren (Naruto)

One of the best female characters in Naruto. I was really disappointed when I found out that she was Just a filler character that did not exist in the mangá.

46 - A-Qing (Mo Dao Zu Shi)

She was smart, brave, but not reckless, and a godly self control. She deserved better. She was a child who grew in the streets with no family. Xiao Xingchen was the first to show her affection, so she tried to save that person instead of simply saving herself when she had the chance

45 - Belle (Beauty and The Beast)

The Disney movie. Belle loved books and fantasy and daydreamed a lot. I've seen people say that she acted as If she was better than people in her villeage, wich is not true at all. She was sweet and more than once in the song Belle, she tried to talk with other people about the books she was reading, tried to share her passion and her toughts with someone else, but no one was interested. She was judged for being different, even tought she never did anything to them. Judging what Is different is kinda the theme of the movie, but apparently some people missed It

44 - Tatiana Slozhno (Spies Are Forever)

Great musical, I recomend to everyone. Go watch it. Tatiana is great and her song, Prisoner of My Past, is just perfect. So short, but so much emotion.

43 - Asriel Dreemmur/ Flowey (Undertale)

Maybe I Just listened to too much versions of His Theme, but this character always hit me right in the heart. He's very tragic and, even in the happy ending, we cannot save him. It's impossible. We cannot bring back his souls. We cannot bring back Chara. Even after that Nice talking and hug, he's doomed to Go back to being a souless flower.

42 - Nebula (MCU)

I'm sure most of us are tired from MCU by now, but they did some things right. They had a lot of chances, so It makes sense. Nebula should have killed Thanos. If the writers coudn't give up that Iron Man scene, she should at least kill the Thanos from her timeline instead of Thor. Honestly, before Infinity War came out, what I truly wanted was a team formed by her, Tony Stark and Loki defeating Thanos. Not only because they are my favorite MCU characters, but also because they were the ones with personal issues with Thanos, along with Gamora and Drax

41 - Orihara Izaya (Durarara)

Sometimes you just want to see a bastard being the worst in the screen. But we have to agree, he's not the worst person in the story, just the one who was in the role of the antagonist for longer. Let's not forget that Vorona was a killer by choice. Anyway, he's a interesting character. His main motivation is his interest in human behaviour. Also his relationship with death and afterlife is very interesting to me as well

[peepingtoad]

OKAY SO. 

It’s not that often that I talk about what I really think about Jiraiya, and I guess I mean more how I feel about him, since I always try to write my ‘deeper’ headcanons/metas from a more... idk, trying not to get too emotional about it point of view. Basically it’s because I know how controversial he is, and I pretty much ritually avoid a lot of takes because I don’t want to get irritated about something that really doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme, because we’re all entitled to our opinions and I largely get my say through the act of writing and developing him how I see fit.

Which is enough for me, mostly, but for the purpose of reinforcing/building upon how I see my muse’s plight, working through some of my Sannin-feels and also to dip my toes into why I find blindly judgemental/single-faceted takes of him, his priorities and the Sannin’s bond so exasperating, I kinda feel like rambling my thoughts (feelings) anyway! 

Politely sticks this stream-of-consciousness mess under a cut.

So sometimes I do think about the fact that Jiraiya kinda, lmao, forgot about Everything Else in the world because of Orochimaru and his (frankly) obsession with him/them. And the fact that a ridiculously significant portion of bad shit that happened is down to his actions/inaction. And the fact that he really did go and leave the likes of Naruto (and maybe to a degree Kakashi, although there’s zero actual evidence he didn’t get involved given the strong indications of a great rapport in the canon), just because he was so hellbent on pursuing Orochimaru, who was not even shown to be affectionate towards him at the best of times. When I think about it in terms of Jiraiya being gone and the main reason we’re given for it, things suck for a number of people, and quite largely because of potentially unrequited/horribly communicated/obsessive JiraOro pursuits, in essence :’)

(And for all it’s still quite the rarepair, Jiraiya does express on accounts that he was destroyed when Oro left. I mean... this is the guy who rarely acknowledges his sadness so... It’s not my bias at all I sware)

Of course JiraTsu is very real in my eyes too, albeit a very different kinda tragic, as is OroTsu. And the messy poly ship? Ohohoho, even better, but... yeah. Tsunade does at least go her own way for a long time, as messed up as that is in itself, for reasons including the fact she seems to pointedly not heal or move on from her grief. And given the absolute debacle that was her and Jiraiya reuniting... and both her and Oro even discussing a possibility of sacrificing him... and just, them in general for that whole arc :’))) yeah. They are without a doubt messy and troubled, but even despite how fraught things become I genuinely think all the furtive expressions and the undercurrents of longing and the evasion of their past exhibits a history much deeper and full of lost love compared to many other team dynamics we get (otherwise the Three Way Divorce wouldn’t have been quite so horrible on them, would it? That and they’d probably have split up after Team Hiruzen was no more, if they really hated each other/just tolerated each other out of familiarity like I sometimes see speculated).

But yeah, back to our main man. Jiraiya’s intense (and frankly very Scorpio of him) love for our first series Big Bad kinda did ruin him and what he was setting out to do in some ways, to the degree that the actual story of Naruto wouldn’t be very much without him in terms of drama. I mean, he always loved a good story, right? So art imitates life, and innit just pathetic poetic.

And in so many ways it is incredibly tragic and pitiable that he’s Just Like That. Idealistic and warping everything terrible, no matter how bad, into adventure in his mind! As growth! As pain that makes you TOUGH and makes you a stronger man! As something to be pushed aside while you just keep on truckin’! Whatever anyone you love throws at you, it’s Totally Fine!

After so long narrating through his personal lens, I’ve come to realise he truly is so convinced that everything bad that happens, is sort of just... something he has to deal with and feel big and guilty and feelsy for while spinning it in ways that enable him to keep going. He just loads it on himself and sorta holds it. The fact he’s so sad and filled with sickly pining grief that he has to try and exorcise it with impulsive bouts of decadence? Fine. And it’s not abnormal at all, how he approaches things with such broad scope and just kinda... thoughtlessly wrecking-balls his way through everything he thinks is a great idea at the time. He experiences the fallout of these things and simultaneously feels the entire ravages of it acutely while compartmentalising it ever so neatly away. The crazy thing, too, is that he’s exceptionally convincing at making everything he does and how he handles things seem so grand and noble and romantic and tragic... but in a humorously self-deprecating and still ultimately very hopeful way, to the degree that I as a mun get caught up in his relentless optimism and forget he actually is a sad and heartbroken guy wrapped up in all this grandiosity.

Sometimes I do step back and look and I just think yeah, fuck, he really is a total disaster! He’s a walking disaster and he’s been so damaging to himself and others in so many ways, all because of acting on emotions and impulses without really thinking about the impact! He really did kinda give up on those who needed him and for what? A love that will never love him or prioritise him back? 

A wonderfully tragic theme that I do love with him, don’t get me wrong.

But then at the same time, there’s always more nuance to be had than just ‘he is a disaster and made bad choices, as tragic and romantic as it is, he was actually just selfish and kinda sucked in the end, pathetically whipped by his friends and unable to let go of what they had’. There’s more nuance to be had than reducing him to a purely romantically-inclined character, who just snubs everyone else for a doomed love... because in the end, I think a huge part of JiraOro’s demise in particular was that Oro felt immensely snubbed by Jiraiya when he stayed in Ame, when his loyalty to Konoha (as a place and people, not necessarily a system) and of course loyalty to his own ideals was prioritised over Oro.

To an extent, I feel like Tsunade could have been a similar case, were she not preoccupied with already having lost so much, and besides I really do think she and Jiraiya were quite firmly in best friend zone at that point. With Tsunade not being able to get comfortable around Jiraiya or to pursue any underlying affection for him because of the dumbass way he always behaved (understandably of her tbh), probably until she got with Dan, by which point I reckon Jiraiya started to really come through by showing how he valued her for her, where we see by them having each other’s backs so closely in the second war. Not to mention him generally respecting that his feelings for her have no place by the time he gets her back to Konoha.

In terms of that first split in Ame, Jiraiya, I feel, simply didn’t think him leaving was going to be a big deal, because the three were always fiercely headstrong people who had their own shit going on (simultaneously independent while also being, perhaps not to their knowledge, So Very Codependent). Not only that, but his overly affectionate ways and incessant jolliness were probably considered such a joke that he was basically like ‘they’ll be fine without me’. I certainly don’t think he felt needed by them, which I don’t think is their fault or a point of angst and ‘waaah poor blameless Jiraiya’, because quite honestly, the strain on their relationship was something I fully believe even he didn’t realise he needed out of at the time. His one-track mind was just on ‘save kids, teach kids, this is right, must seize opportunity to be the change I was told I’d be, not continue with this godforsaken war’

Selfish? Maybe. Well-intentioned? Certainly. Intended to hurt anyone or imply he stopped caring? No.

In essence, when it comes to why in the end Jiraiya seemed to be so horrendously bad at being around at the worst of times, at being responsible, whatever else (and I’m not even going to go into scenes intended to be comedic because, they are comedic)... I’ve got to look at it from more than just one view. It’s easy to say ‘he’s ridiculous and terrible because he pretty much flaked on what was important based on his whims/a doomed love/his dick’ (which I have seen said lmao) but there are so many other things at play here.

So I’m thinking, while he was shirking duties (godfatherly mainly)... did he actually consider that his most important duty? Was it anyone’s place to tell him it was? Minato didn’t, as I recall, and when he sacrificed himself he specifically left it to the Third because he (presumably) respected what his teacher was about and knew he wasn’t for staying put. Did Jiraiya not consider his primary duty to be to the prophecy, and in a more general sense fixing the big wrongs and trying to foil big dangers to his home? Were these things not pretty much what he existed for (as much as his faith wavered and went off the rails at times)? Was that not the main source of any real purpose he ever had, being a kid who showed practically no ambition before? Did he not pretty much redesign himself as being ‘from Mt. Myōboku’ rather than Konoha after two devastating wars, and thus is it not understandable for him not to focus solely on Konoha—not outright destroying it, still ultimately loyal to his home and not about to let anyone destroy it, but seeing that the world is in fact so much bigger than just his little town? Is that really something that’s so bad and wrong of him, in a story where the main cast’s country has a pretty fucking nasty system and is established to do so very early on? Is he not pretty revolutionary in his own brand of not blindly serving, but not going on a destroy-it-all frenzy either?

Also, was he not the only one who actually bothered to investigate Akatsuki and the forces that would see Naruto dead, in time? For all he did help bring Akatsuki into existence in ways, it was inevitable from before he even met the orphans that they were going to be groomed/moulded into what they became, regardless of whether Jiraiya came onto the scene. Jiraiya leaving them was just a different kind of suffering to what they were inevitably going to suffer anyway, and hell, with his influence at least there was a time where they might’ve stood a chance of going totally against Madara/Obito’s path, especially while Yahiko was still around. Jiraiya didn’t know that the whole thing with the Ame orphans was, by a design out of his control, doomed to end horribly. So while he felt personally responsible not knowing this, and it’s taken as a given that he was... actually, was he, when there was a master manipulator at play? Was it wrong to want to give some kids a chance?

With regards to all those things I see people say he should have stayed and fixed, that he should have been there, he should have done x y z... Is it not the responsibility of everyone not satisfied with their lot to step up to the plate and make where they live better? Jiraiya wasn’t the only adult. Tsunade, and I absolutely love her, does seem overwhelmingly to be absolved of leaving Konoha because... ??? Kicker is that she too is related to Naruto, of course. 

So... was she not also needed for the very material ways she could’ve helped at numerous points? Was she not also placing her grief and lost love before everything else? Are some reasons inherently more ok than others to ditch? As Kakashi’s generation grew up, was it not also then up to them to decide whether they’d change the status quo? Were Minato’s own generation, presumably his own peer group, not complicit in Naruto’s ostracisation? We got a slight taste of rebellion with Asuma, Hiruzen’s own son, but the fact is many Konoha-nin were overwhelmingly complacent with how things were. And yet never get demonised at all for it. Because it’s Jiraiya’s fault for... not staying and giving it all up to be a guardian who could well be depressed and unfit to raise a child... or just being a flaky as hell one that’s never there anyway because he has shit to do? (and in doing the former would let too many things go unchecked by a completely tuned-out Hokage, not gathering all that spicy useful intel, y’know... essentially he wouldn’t have ended up largely doing his job along with the personal shit in between).

Basically when I see claims saying that Jiraiya as an individual should have done pretty much everything better, and somehow been there for everyone that needed him at any given time, and that (mostly Naruto’s) suffering was a failing on Just His part because of his selfish whims... I feel like the point of his tragedy is absolutely missed. That tragedy being that barrelling through things alone is definitely a failing and harmful in numerous ways, as we see with Itachi shouldering everything alone too, and we see them both miss out on Naruto and Sasuke as a result... but at the same time, is just settling down and leaving everything else to chance not also a huge failing, when there are so many other circumstances and enemies acting against you, when you do have the power to change tides, and when so many other people refuse to or can’t seize their own agency? Jiraiya does put his faith in a lot of people too, and a lot of people fail. Don’t fail him, but in a general sense many, like Minato, fail to make the change they wanted to. That’s life in this world, it’s tragic, and after losing a lot of loved ones yeah, he retreats and goes at it alone. 

But how can he win? How does he do what’s right, other than by chasing what he thinks he can do to actually help the world, which happens to be bigger and not centred on individuals, even those he cares about?

(and remember, nobody knows Naruto is special-reincarnation-prophecy-boi, which is why I tend not to blame-game any characters for him being treated like so many orphans were because... while it’s not morally right or nice at all, it’s tone deaf to how the world is, to the fact all characters having different degrees of knowledge and priorities, and it’s insensitive of the fact most the characters had their own struggles and were just doing their best with a bad lot gdi). 

Hell though, Jiraiya even does put Oro, his big obsessive wild goose chase that whisks him away into selfish pining hopelessly devoted land, on the back burner at points. Maybe not in a lasting way, particularly by the last databook where he’s inspired anew by Naruto, but he does prioritise other shit on numerous occasions. And there’s a lot of shit to try and prioritise.

What I’m trying to say is, Jiraiya can’t solely be held responsible for people. Sure, he’s a character whose decisions were pivotal to events, but what of every other character in the story? Why are they not held to the same crazy high standard of doing and protecting and preventing and somehow doing everything ‘right’ that would have also meant him fitting neatly into the Konoha mould? Would other characters really have been that much better in the position of The Big Guide/Martyr/Tragic Hero/Force For Change character? And also is having a tragic Chaotic Good bastard of a hero not a sign of a damn good and interesting character, that at the very least tried where so many others didn’t? Would Naruto not have been a boring as hell story, whose main protag didn’t really have much conflict to make him compelling, without Jiraiya (among others) being a mess with the best intentions? Without so many other characters having failed him, for him to overcome it and still be able to love and inspire change (albeit through sometimes-clumsy talk-no-jutsu)? Was I missing the point of the story?

............. Hmm!

No longer sure where else I’m going with this now, so.... here, I guess, ends my ode to why character hate (especially that reduces them to One Thing) is dumb, why demonising truly well-meaning characters doesn’t feel particularly woke to me in a cast full of flawed characters and horrible circumstance, and why I’ll defend this poor bastard with far too damn much hinging on him to the end I guess :’)

TL;DR HE’S A DUMBASS AND HE TRIED, OKAY?!

[megashadowdragon]

ironwoods tragic fall from grace

comments on youtube

When a hero becomes the villain, all hell breaks loose. Especially when the fallen hero is general of the Atlesian army.

The only thing that I noticed was that Ironwood has constantly grown a Beard as time passes. He's slowly decending towards from Hero to Villain as a "Fallen Hero" Catagory. James Ironwood WAS a good man, utterly dedicated to protecting his people. It was with the best of intentions that he charged down the path he’s taken... but you know what they say about good intentions.

I didn’t think his semblance was much of a factor into his decisions before Vol 7 but now as he’s become more unhinged every chapter, it’s becoming even more strikingly obvious that he’s become a slave to it. The fact that his semblance increases his resolve to go through with bargaining with Watts, willing to blow up Mantle just to save Atlas.

He's like the antithesis of Leonardo Lionheart

You know, this is a really good counter for all those people saying Ironwood is suffering character assassination. He's not. He's giving in to fear and letting his worst aspects take command.

I’m personally asking again why would the writers talk about something like Ironwood’s semblance outside the show when for the most part the majority of people only watches the show, that’s like how the Russo brothers (the writers and directors of Avengers Infinity War and Endgame) choose to answer the hows and why on Twitter when the majority of people are only watching the movies I personally love those movies but it also would’ve been nice to see those things get explained or talked about in the movies just like how it would be nice to at least mention Ironwood’s semblance in the show

Honestly, I love what they're doing with Ironwood. His slow, inexorable descent into extremism is a wonderful exploration of how an idealistic person who believes themself to be the hero can tumble into villainy without trusting others to keep them grounded. It's the very real problem of the philosophy of "The ends justify these particular means;" if you can justify one morally gray decision to achieve a good goal, it gets easier to justify the next, darker gray decision. Without someone outside to call you on your bullshit, you're eventually justifying genocide because it will be for the "greater good."

Ironwood is literally the Darth Vader of RWBY. He starts of as a respectable character, commanding his own army for the good of all. But he gives in to all of his fears, looses a limb or 2, and slowly turns misguidedly evil, willing to kill ANYONE who stands in his way.

I've said before that Team Rwby is a foil to the Headmasters. Ruby keeping secrets like Oz, Leo/Blake, the faunus who ran away when things got hard, and Ironwood's parallel is Yang.

Not just obvious stuff, like both having metal arms. But both of their semblances are double edged sword. Yang get stronger taking damage, but if she leans on it too much, an enemy that takes one hit just destroys her since she can't fight back. Volume 4 has her training with Taiyang to correct this flaw in her thinking, leading to her overcoming Adam in her rematch in V6.

Ironwood's semblance can be incredibly powerful. Just off the top of my head, he basically no sells the Apathy, which is an incredibly dangerous Grimm in a group with other, stronger Grimm. But it has downsides, and we're seeing it. The correct way to use it is after you've made a choice, to focus on the task at hand. But making large choices while under the semblance is not smart. He's too focused on one action to see others that have opened. Atlas has to be raised, because that's what he's already decided to do. The idea that they've made contact with the world and reinforcements might be coming never entered his mind. Similarly, he's so focused on forcing Penny to heel that he's not seeing he has a chance to have her come willingly by aiding in Mantle's rescue.

He's so focused on winning this one battle (Having Penny raise the city to escape Salem immediately) that's he's making choices to doom the larger war (defending the kingdom's people, defeating Salem, reuniting the world).

He clearly knows that it isn't smart to rely on it this way, since he's shown the ability to take criticism and adjust his thinking in Volume 7 (Nora would've been Slate'd if he couldn't). But the combination of Yang/Blake going behind his back to tell Robyn, Ruby/Oscar not telling him the truth, Qrow seemingly killing Clover, and, right when he thought that he'd saved everyone, the idea that every single thing he's done might've been exactly what Salem wanted has fairly understandably shaken his faith in the others around him. He can't rely on them to rein him in, he has to do that... which is exactly the problem with his semblance. If the only person who can stop you is yourself, and you're convinced you're always right, you've doomed yourself.

I'm assuming that he could probably be talked down by Glynda or potentially Oz or Qrow (fat chance of that one) if they can break his aura, but as it stands, unless someone beats him down, he's not going to be able to stop himself.

With Ironwood I am reminded of a very profound quote from CS Lewis, that I feel summarizes him very well: "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be “cured” against one’s will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals."Show less

Dude Ironwood didn't have a problem with trusting people and didn't have a mentality of not being able to trust people. He trusted to much and trusted people who both betrayed his trust (Yang/Blake) and didn't reciprocate the trust he gave them (Ruby and the rest of the main cast). Honestly, he would have been perfectly right to have immediately put the relic of knowledge into the vault at the start of v7 and then send the students on their way and have nothing more to do with them.

Ironwood saw Atlas and his fleet as a way to inspire hope. It's ironic that his plan was one of lifting them up so high that nobody would ever be able to see them anymore.

My only criticism with Ironwood is that I really really wish his semblance was brought up in the show. Are they ever going to bring it up? I absolutely LOVE how he has been written and watching his tragic descent into becoming a villain but having his semblance mentioned in show would be great. Is someone going to have to break his aura or something before he or someone else mentions it?

In a way he is. His semblance is a double edge sword, as someone in Ironwood's position is all about making calls. Ironwood was able to climb through the ranks because his semblance allowed him to follow through with his actions to save people (I also still wonder what happend to halve of his body as he already had a metal leg and arm in volume 2, we can asume the paladin project, but some confirmation would be wonderfull). Now he's following through on his words agains Salem, that Ironwood isn't going to let Salem take the relic of creation. Ironwood essentially only has this thought he is focused on and is disregarding everything else. Right now Salem is piecing herself together again and Penny is going to the vault, if Ironwood semblance of Mettle wasn't interfering he would be able to see the bigger picture of let Penny open the vault, take out the staff of cration and chuck whatever goop Salem is right now with the bit of land she is piecing herself on right now and throw that into the vault and close it for good by blocking off the entrance with concrete. Voila. Ironwood doesn't notice at this point his actions as he even thought councilman Slate, who was asking Ironwood to explain his action got put down by Ironwood himself. Same for Marrow later on, but Winter was able to step in. Ironwood needs to be saved from this mindset and I think the team up of Qrow and Robyn (also who ever was on the elevator, I think it was Winter and Marrow as Winter was taking him away to be put in jail) could save Ironwood to the point of breaking his aura that way the influence of Mettle will loosen.

Gonna be honest, I dislike the whole concept of his semblance and it being what's driving him to this is just dumb to me. I loved him as a character and this entire volume feels like every bit that made him an interesting character has been ripped away. It's likely just me, but prior to Oscar using the built-up magic to beat Salem it felt like they had painted themselves into a corner. Either Ironwood was proven right that some sacrifices had to be made for the good of the people, or Salem was going to be beaten and even if she can come back, she no longer feels like a huge threat to me. I loved Ironwood in volume seven and many of team RWBY's choices have infuriated me for how contrived and stupid they manage to be while also contradicting themselves so easily. To be frank, I feel like his semblance was just an excuse for this utterly stupid character assassination they're trying to justify.Show less

I kind of feel like the writers 'forced' Ironwood to become a villain. Some of his decisions just don't make sense.

[blogger360ncislarules]

For the first and last time simultaneously, The 100 actually gave its main characters a (sort of) happy ending.

By the end of the series finale, "The Last War," Clarke (Eliza Taylor), Raven (Lindsey Morgan), Murphy (Richard Harmon), and the rest of the (few) remaining juvenile delinquents who were sent down to Earth in the very first episode finally found themselves together, alive, and with no more wars to fight. As the music swelled in the background, everyone hugged and smiled. But since this is The 100, that "happy ending" also included the rest of the human race basically ceasing to exist. This show still has to stay on brand!

So how did we get here? Clarke killed Cadogan (John Pyper-Ferguson) while he was taking the "test" to see if the human race was ready for transcendence (aka the next step of evolution/joining a higher state of consciousness), and the test couldn't be stopped once it started. So the judge of the test, who was in the form of Cadogan's daughter Callie (Iola Evans, reprising her role from the prequel episode), changed into the person Clarke loved the most: Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey). Clarke was then forced to finish the test on behalf of the human race to save them from extinction, but since she murdered someone during the test, the Lexa avatar told her that she failed.

With the human race on the verge of being wiped out as a result, Raven stepped in to appeal the decision as the judge changed into who she loved the most: Abby (Paige Turco). And with Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) giving an inspirational speech to the warring Grounders and Disciples, stopping the battle before it ended in massive losses, the judge decided the human race was ready, and reversed its decision and all humans transcended, meaning everyone became golden beams of light and found peace. Only the living could transcend, and so that meant even Madi (Lola Flannery) could get her happy ending despite what Cadogan did to her in the previous episode. In a cruel twist of fate, it also meant that Bellamy (Bob Morley), the only member of the 100 who actually believed in transcendence and who died at Clarke's hands just a few episodes ago, did not get to transcend.

The other person who couldn't transcend? Clarke. Because she had failed the test, and to show that her actions have consequences, she was left behind on an abandoned planet. All alone, facing the rest of her life without any other human beings to keep her company, she used the stones to travel back to Earth to make a new, lonely life for herself. But the Lexa avatar returned to explain that people have the choice of whether or not they transcend, and all her friends chose to stay behind on Earth with her so she wouldn't be alone. It meant they wouldn't be able to have any kids (because they're the last of the human race) and they would only have each other for the rest of their lives and they couldn't transcend after they die, but they were alive, together, and finally able to live in peace. They all decided that exchange was worth it for Clarke.

So before trading the last "may we meet again" now that the show is over, let The 100 creator Jason Rothenberg (who made his directorial debut with the series finale) breaks down what that ending means, why he wanted to end the show that way, all those shocking character returns, and more below.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What were you trying to say with that ending, as all our favorite characters choose to stay on Earth with Clarke instead of transcending?

JASON ROTHENBERG: We wanted the moral of the story to be, simply stated, "Until we stop fighting, we're doomed." Until we stop killing each other in the name of country or tribe or even family, we're doomed to keep repeating that cycle of violence. And once we do and we link arms and we realize we're all in this together, then we can get to whatever comes next. In this case, it's transcendence. That was the moral of the story. Clarke doesn't get the gift of transcendence because of her actions; her actions have a cost, as the Lexa avatar said to her on the beach. Like Moses not getting to go into the promised land, she's going to be alone – until she sees her friends. We thought that it was the most beautiful way to say found family is important. They know that Clarke sacrificed so much for them, gave up so much of herself for them, that they were not going to let her be by herself. They are foregoing whatever transcendence is, they're giving that up to be together. As dark as the show has been at times, I feel like the ending – and I always say I was not trying to make people feel good most of the time and the show is not a show that was supposed to bring you joy, it's supposed to move you and make you feel sad or angry even – but here we were definitely aiming for people walking away feeling uplifted.

Why have all the main characters make that choice except for Clarke's daughter Madi?

Lexa on the beach, she says that Madi knew that Clarke would not want her to come back and be the only child. They're not going to have children, this is the last generation, they can't have offspring. And so, as a mother, Clarke would have obviously preferred for her daughter to transcend and go to whatever the next journey/adventure/whatever it is, it's obviously something special and unique and beautiful, as opposed to staying on the ground with her. That choice was made easier for Madi by the fact that Clarke wasn't going to be alone.

Was this always your original idea for how to end the show?

I can't really remember that we ever had the details of an ending. I always wanted to have it have the moral of the story be told, which is what I just told you. So however that was going to manifest, that was going to be the takeaway. And of course, as the world expanded and we went to another planet and we met other characters and we started exploring the universe via the interstellar subway system of the stones, the details of how we got there obviously changed. But the point was always going to be that.

Now let’s talk about some of the returning faces we saw in the finale – Lexa, Abby, and Callie. Did you always know you were going to have them come back for cameos?

It happened organically, for sure. Once we settled on what the rules of the test were, the idea that the judge takes the form of a person's greatest love, greatest teacher, or greatest enemy, then it became clear that it was going to be Callie for Cadogan, Lexa was my first choice for Clarke, and fortunately, Alycia agreed to come back and do it, and Abby obviously would've been for Clarke as well if Alycia hadn't agreed to come back. But it also made perfect sense that when we knew Raven was going to be the one to come in and appeal the verdict once Clarke failed, that relationship was so important to Raven that there was a beauty to that being her person too. The decisions were dictated by who was going to face the judges and what the rules of the test are.

Were there any other characters you wanted back for the finale as well but it didn’t work out because of scheduling or other issues?

When we landed on what the rules were, it was about who those special people would be. We'd already played Dad [Chris Browning], we already had Monty [Christopher Larkin] come back in a really special way, we'd already played a few of those cards in a previous season. So no, there was never anybody that we wanted to come back and didn't come back.

What about Bellamy? After his shocking death a few episodes back, did you ever consider having him back in the finale as well?

For me, it was Lexa all the way. When that idea came up in the room, it was one of those moments where, it doesn't happen very often, there was unanimity of excitement. Then it was about getting her to agree to come back. And we couldn't have Bellamy return in the end, because the rules of transcendence were only the living shall transcend. And so, unfortunately, he died short of that finish line, so he couldn't be there in the end, which is another tragic realization for Octavia certainly in the finale.

So why did you want to kill Bellamy in the way that you did when the show was so close to giving all the characters some kind of a happy ending?

Bellamy's storyline changed hugely this season as a result of needing to give Bob time at the beginning of the season. Everything kind of downhill was affected by that, including the ending. You want the decisions to always be driven creatively, and certainly when it comes to character deaths. Sometimes unfortunately though we have to react to situations outside of the writing, outside of the creative. That's not necessarily the case for him, but definitely, over the course of seven years, lots of characters died, and sometimes it was out of our control and we made the best of it.

Now that The 100 is over, do you have any updates on the potential prequel series?

All I can really say about the prequel is that conversations are ongoing. I'm hoping to be able to continue this universe because I feel like it's so rich and there is so much story to tell. But the discussions are far, far above my pay grade at the moment. The same day you find out is when I’ll find out.

Where do you see Clarke and co. going in the future now that they’ve all reunited on Earth and are starting a new life for themselves?

We're leaving them together, making that choice to stay together and live out their days peacefully. There's no one left to fight with. Jokingly, I suppose I could see like 70-year-old Murphy and 70-year-old Clarke are in like a blood feud and everybody else is lined up one one side or the other, except they're too old to really do any damage to each other. [Laughs] But truthfully the ending is supposed to imply that it's not happily ever after, but it's certainly peacefully ever after.

What are you most proud of, looking back on the entire series?

The legacy of the show, that we were bold, we pulled no punches, we told big stories, we had kickass female characters, and one of the most diverse casts on television. I'm proud that the show will exist and that people can discover it now in streaming. Hopefully, when it's consumed in a binge all at once, some of the things that perhaps didn't work for people will work better for the audience as they're coming to it consuming the entire series in two weeks rather than over seven years. It's bittersweet to come to the ending of something that has occupied such a huge part of my life for as long as the show has. It's been a long ride, we rode it to the end, and that's great but it's sad at the same time.

[mozartwasajungkookstan]

An Analysis of @markswoman’s ‘Touch’ - The art of blameless tragedy

Spoilers ahead for ‘Touch’ by @markswoman (the first couple paragraphs are just a explanation into why angst exists and the problems with it but you should still read ‘Touch’ all the same)

In order for any piece of fiction to be entertaining, something has to go wrong. Conflict between characters, tragic accidents, misunderstandings, anything where characters are forced into unpleasant situations will do. Writers are sometimes reluctant to write unenjoyable events for characters that they’ve grown attached to, but without them their work simply won’t be interesting. Why is that?

It’s not because audiences enjoy fictional suffering - quite the opposite really. Many people read things with the knowledge that it will probably make them cry, only stopping because their tears are damaging the pages source: me reading the last Harry Potter book. Miss you, Dobby. Our curiosity really gets the better of us despite all the negative emotions we feel because we want to see things get better for our beloved characters, so we read on.

So writers decide to throw in this thing called “angst”. Shake things up a bit. Pull in the audience. Throw the characters of their rhythm. Character A thinks Character B has feelings for Character C, so Character A becomes distant. However, Character B actually has feelings for Character A and is hurt and confused that Character A cold and distant now. This is a common trope that when done right provides a satisfying moment when the characters finally get together. However, when done not-so-right, there can be many problems, with the main one being the audience constantly screaming at the screen/book saying “Jesus Christ just communicate like normal people!”. The writer is trying to create conflict so the story is interesting, but the way that it develops is too unrealistic - the audience has already thought of 5 different solutions to the “problem”, so watching the characters struggle can become irritating. It’s as if the whole “he’s behind you!” thing that they do in theatres was the entire show. Just 2 whole hours of “Where is he?” and getting an increasingly angry audience to shout “Right behind you!”. Not fun.

The solution seems pretty simple: don’t create angst from misunderstandings that can be cleared up in a single conversation... Easier said than done. Using car accidents and terminal illness is almost cliché and conflict between characters is difficult to create. Hell, even Shakespeare had a difficult time solving this because the characters in pretty much any of his plays could have just talked to each other to solve their problems (he found a little loophole because he made ‘Much ado About Nothing’ so frustrating it turned into commentary on society on how many problems could be solved by talking it out instead of acting impulsively). But a way I found was to have no characters at fault, so the audience sympathises with them. That’s where ‘Touch’ comes in.

FINALLY. I’ve gotten to the main subject at hand: a god tier fic. Now, you might be wondering why I just spent a few paragraphs babbling on about plot devices and common problems people have with them. But it’s important; it wasn’t just an excuse to complain, I swear. Markswoman does an incredible job of handling conflict and angst in ‘Touch’ - in all their work, in fact. But ‘Touch’ in particular deals with a source of angst that is normally irritating: miscommunication and a misunderstanding between characters. But this time one is mad at Jaemin or the main character for it.

Markswoman does this by showing the reader that this miscommunication can’t be solved by a simple conversation. Jaemin’s thought process right before the main character touches him for the first time makes it clear that Jaemin has so many doubts about telling our character about his seemingly cursed hands that a simple conversation that normally would’ve solved any problems is now a risky move on Jaemin’s part and we understand why he’s so reluctant to reveal anything. It also makes us sympathise with the poor guy. Is this the first time he’s had these thoughts? Our character isn’t at fault either. Logic and reasoning would’ve never brought her to the conclusion that Jaemin is basically modern day King Midas, so her reaching out to him is perfectly understandable. The idea that neither character is to blame makes the ending so much more tragic because there’s none of what I’ve coined as “The Friar Lawrence Feeling” - Friar Lawrence being the only character in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ who could’ve saved everyone by sitting them down and having a little chat. The characters in ‘Touch’ couldn’t have been saved by a little chat, so the Friar Lawrence Feeling isn’t there and all that is left is undiluted sorrow. The reader knows that the characters took what would have normally been rational and more importantly, the correct decisions. Jaemin tried his best to protect the girl he loved and the girl he loved tried her best to help and understand him, but it still ended in Jaemin’s ‘murder’ streak going back down to 0 days. There’s nothing more heartbreaking than doing everything you can for the one you love but it all being futile in the end anyways.

But of course, ‘Touch’ is so much more than just a fic that isn’t irritating. It’s so much better than “not bad”. For one, it really gets the audience on Jaemin’s side (although Jaemin’s adorable personality in real life definitely helps). At the beginning, the descriptions of the unlucky people that Jaemin accidently touches almost have a sense of innocence, as if it’s from child Jaemin’s perspective because he doesn’t quite understand what’s happening. The focus is on something else - the teacher’s smile, the chocolate bars and daisy chains - and the narration almost sounds hopefuI, like when the narrator suggests that “maybe she’s making more daisy chains”. The idea that he’s the one unintentionally causing these deaths doesn’t cross his mind at his point, so he doesn’t focus on it too much. He’s still hopeful and naive, but as a reader, we already know what’s happening and the fact that it starts off with Jaemin being young and oblivious makes us feel terrible for him because he’s just a child. We just want to give this poor boy a hug and tell him it’s gonna be alright. But we can’t. Mainly because we’d be lying and also because... well...

What this shows is Jaemin’s childhood being tainted by this ability. Moments of joy in a normal life have been ruined. Making friends as a young child, celebrating with people he loves and his first love now all have bad connotations with Jaemin and when he finally realises why, it’s particularly heartbreaking. He’s absolutely disgusted with himself, to the point of being physically sick, despite the fact that he didn’t even know about his strange ability himself. This, coupled with the language choices - his hands are “bloodstained” and he sees it as “murder” - makes it clear how disgusted Jaemin is. He views himself as a murderer even though he has so little control over these deaths. It’s not really his fault but he has no one else to blame.

Then he meets our character. The chemistry between the 2 is there almost instantly but with the knowledge of Jaemin’s past, you can’t help but feeling a sense of impending doom. For good reason as well, because unfortunately, you’d be right. He tries to be cautious, he really does, but our character gets too close. He wonders what would happen if he just told you and he asks himself rhetorical questions that have answers he doesn’t have or necessarily want. He’s torn between telling you and keeping a safe distance from you. For good reason as well, because he desperately wants for there to be an exception to this rule and for there to be a happy ending. We do too and some of Jaemin’s thoughts have a tinge of hope to them, but the sentence “he’s so scared” after it’s too late to go back fill us with fear too. For good reason as well, because unfortunately, there is no happy ending.

But who’s to blame? No one, that’s who. For such an unhappy ending, there is no villain. No one rubbing their hands together nefariously in the background, no one plotting the downfall of the pair, no one to truly blame for the tragic ending and Jaemin’s aftermath. Except for the writer, I suppose.

‘Touch’ is many things, but a happy, feel-good fic is definitely not one of them. I love it for that. “All’s well ends well” is a perfect description for it. Nothing is well from the very beginning, so it makes perfect sense for it to not end well. I suppose I got what I was expecting, but goddamn, I’ve never wanted to be wrong more in my life. Thanks for destroying my heart.

10 leather gloves out of 10 (go read ‘Touch’. Your heart WILL be in pieces by the ending, but you won’t regret it.)

- [redacted]

[sometimesrosy]

Crazy Crack Countdown Theory for 100 Series Finale

Y’all, this just popped up in my head. I do not know if this is what is happening, because there are a few more steps I’d need to see happening before I could say it was being set up, but only like, another five steps, some of which already seem on the table.

Okay it’s based on the Return To Earth theory I made about them going from Sanctum, back to Earth in order to be responsible for their monster and fix what humanity did to the planet. 

Since s6 and the anomaly, I’ve begun to think that they’ll use the anomaly’s time abilities to possibly travel back in time and stop the original apocalypse in Diyoza/Russel/Becca’s time line. 

And then I saw a gifset about Murphy, when Josephine threatens his life and for some reason, the two concepts got connected. So, under the jump I’m just going to post the convo I had with a friend as it occurred to me. 

R oh. gosh i hope murphy lives. sorry he just went up on my deathwatch because i saw a gifset with josie threatening him at the field

S Say what now? No it’s fine I need a change of subject Why did he go up on your deathwatch list?

R j offered them two choices. stay friends or lose murphy in a doomed attempt to save clarke and start a war with russell. i’m like but those aren’t their choices. they can save clarke and beat the primes… and then i realized that WAS her choice. save clarke lose murphy start a war. i mean we can want to save murphy, but if they’re picking impossible choices… thats the one they’re going with. D:

they can change it. but…. S I see what you mean Sighs I mean Murphy tried to point out to Emori what Clarke has done but Emori knows that’s not a justification She isn’t just a lone survivor anymore And it’s not just survival they’re fighting for now They want to live Survival is in their blood now But the drive to live really live not the way Josephine and the primes knows it is far more powerful than anything to be with the people you care about and love because they don’t have immortality It’s why I know Josephine will ultimately lose She’s up against two people who love each other down to their bones R well josephine is losing but will murphy grow enough? that’s the question? will he turn to LIVING instead of surviving? It looks like he’s trying to. S I think after seeing Emori do what she did opened his eyes enough Enough to see what he’s losing trying to chase immortality R and clarke being alive. i do think he cares you know my theory that maybe they return to earth and fix the apocalypse? and someone said that means they could die to do it? that could work. especially if they slowly lose all their people to do it. until in the end it’s just them, the two, saving humanity, after losing their whole world and their family. POOF. reboot. this could start JR’s spinoff, as they try to AVOID an apocalypse in the future. S Who Bellamy and Clarke? R tragic, epic love story. about two heroes who saved the universe and lost their world. no they die when they fix the universe. if murphy dies, then i say we’re starting to get a countdown with ALL the delinquents dying. leaving bellarke the last ones alive S Sighs I really hope the show doesn’t end with bellarke dead Or everyone dead R to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of the universe. I actually would be okay if it happened that way. the story is satisfying no happy ever after, but happy until they die, like emori said S Oh you mean they just live in the past losing everyone but living to save the universe? Okay that I can get on board with R no i mean they sacrifice themselves after the delinquents have sacrificed THEMselves and in the end, the original apocalypse is averted. which leads to a spinoff where different characters try to stop the apocalypse. that hasn’t happened and may never happen. because of clarke and bellamy. who are mythic heroes. idk maybe they become a constellation. “the head and the heart.” lol. i don’t know if this is where he’s going but it could bittersweet victory, as always. S I’m kinda just hoping for an ending where at least some people live I don’t really have any other wishes outside that R sure. but that’s not really epic is it? or tragic? idk. what if they GET happiness, in season 7. and then sacrifice themselves to save humanity. i don’t know if they will go there, but things i’m watching out for: murphy dying, time travel anomaly, bellarke canon and established relationship, return to earth. S If they could get happiness before then I could get on board I just need a bit of happiness R that’s what i’m saying. canon established happy soulmate romantic bellarke in season 7 would lead to them sacrificing themselves TOGETHER to save humanity from the apocalypse and all that trauma happening to everyone. bittersweet, epic soulmates love story, victorious, and tragic at once. S That’s a story id go with R devastating but satisfying. he would totally do that S He so would R it would be EPIC. fandom would FLIP OUT. I WOULD LOVE IT ugh now i want it. i mean maybe they go back and save the universe without dying, but i wouldn’t want their story to fade out. UNLESS they got to live as hermits in a peaceful non apocalypse world like marper (which could also happen.) marper offers the foreshadowing. but alone… so everyone else dying??? ugh S I think they’d retire from saving the world if they lived R yes omg i want them to return to earth and stop the apocalypse S Bellamy and Clarke in modern earth Ha they wouldn’t know what to do with it R this would fit with JR’s original idea to end the series with hope, but not sure if hope for everyone else but not our heroes. Either/or ending. save humanity and live out alone and unkown happily ever after, or save humanity and die in the sacrifice. if they take marpers lessons, they should get a HEA. But dying would be more epic. there’s only 4 delnquents left after bellamy and clarke. we may have already started the countdown. derp. we did. from the pilot. shit. it’s a countdown. the 100. last episode. Zero. S Oh lord the next 5 episodes are gonna tell us if you’re on the mark or not I know it R oh my god i’m scared S It’s okay we will experience this together R the last episode. the 100th episode. oh shit

S WE ARE NOT ALONE

R you get my theories first because sometimes they just come to me. oh shit. they are not safe. none of them. they are fated to die. everyone can die? no. everyone WILL die. oh shit WAIT. if it is a countdown. THey have 102. that DOES leave bellamy and clarke alive

S I DONT KNOW R or not S, ITS A COUNTDOWN!!!! i feel like jeff goldblum in independence day. ITS A COUNTDOWN!!! S Bloody hell R am i wrong? am i going crazy? S I need to think they started with 102 R up in the air. S They are down to 5 Octavia Bellamy raven Murphy and Clarke R 100 minus clarke and bellamy MILLER S OH SHIT MILLEE Miller

R why spend so much time on murphy’s story and not raven’s in s5 and 6? because murphy is dying and raven will be around for the final season. i predict raven and octavia. the head, the heart, the soul and the hands. CRAP S WE ARE GOING TO DIE It makes sense shit

[alexsfictionaddiction]

12 of the best feel-good books

I think we could all do with a pick-me-up right now. We’ve been in some level of isolation for over a month and we’re perhaps being forced to accept a new normal. However, we’re still seeing frightening and tragic headlines all day every day (ration your news time, if you’re not doing so already), so of course, fear and hopelessness is going to set in. If you’re not used to spending time alone, loneliness is also a huge possibility but we know that books are a great source of solace in times like this. 

Maybe you want to do your own research and discover how far into the realms of science-fiction we’ve got. For you, I have compiled a list of the best books that pandemic fiction has to offer but if you’re looking for something more light-hearted, I’ve got the perfect tonic. Whether you need a laugh, to be comforted or to simply remember what life used to be like, here are some books that will help you escape the current face of reality. Above all, remember that it’s perfectly natural for your mental health to be suffering at the moment. Do whatever you can to look after yourself and stay safe.

1. The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

Remember when you could just move in with a stranger without worrying about keeping two metres apart at all times? Tiffy and Leon share a flat and even a bed but due to entirely opposite work schedules, they manage to not even meet for months after Tiffy moves in, only communicating via texts and notes left on the fridge. But Tiffy’s controlling ex-boyfriend and Leon’s innocent prisoner brother ignite a connection that is fuelled by basic human kindness and a touch of romantic attraction, of course! This quirky rom-com has been a bestseller for over a year now and it’s not hard to see why. It’s a celebration of love, friendship and the unexpected happiness that can come from taking calculated risks. Beth O’Leary’s second novel The Switch has also just been released, so there has never been a better time to read her debut!

2. Wonder by R. J. Palacio

A beautiful story of empathy, kindness and acceptance, Wonder has fast become one of the most popular and widely read contemporary middle-grade novels. Auggie Pullman was born with a facial deformity and he’s attending mainstream school for the first time but of course, kids can be staggeringly cruel to those who are different. Wonder kickstarted a global kindness campaign and spawned a film adaptation, which is one of the best and most faithful I’ve ever seen. It has already given so much to the world and I know you’ll get a lot of joy out of it too.

3. The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Of course, not all sci-fi is doom and gloom. This is the first instalment in Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers series and it’s laugh-out-loud funny. It follows a misfit crew of space travellers and their wonderful smile-inducing relationships. Celebrating the coming together of a variety of races, sexualities and personalities, it features a lot of loveable memorable characters who begin to read like dear loyal friends. If you’re looking for quirky, light-hearted sci-fi in a similar vein to Star Trek and Firefly, you’d be wise to start here.

4. Less by Andrew Sean Greer

Arthur Less is a struggling writer about to turn 50 and the love of his life is engaged to someone else. To say that he’s not feeling too hot right now would be an understatement but he has been invited to a range of literary events around the world, so he does the logical thing and accepts them all. We can’t travel right now but with Arthur, you’ll visit Paris, Berlin, southern India, the Moroccan desert and Japan. You’ll also go on a journey of self-acceptance, learn how to love the life that you have and appreciate the time you have left. 

5. Hot Mess by Lucy Vine

It’s rare that a book makes me guffaw out loud in public but Hot Mess did exactly that, when I read it a couple of years ago. Ellie is a single woman who hates her office job and is absolutely nowhere near having her life together. However, she does have some great friends and a lovely relationship with her dad Alan, whose drafts of a romance novel are truly side-splittingly hilarious. We see Ellie through terrible dates, trauma confrontation and a quest for true happiness that is hugely satisfying. It has been described as a modern-day Bridget Jones but I found it much more relatable and actually quite a lot funnier!

6. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

It’s the first in a trilogy of novels that explore the trials and tribulations of finding romance when you’re genetics professor Don Tillman. Don likes facts, logic and reason and he applies all of these things to his latest endeavour, The Wife Project. He knows exactly the kind of woman he wants to marry but then he meets Rosie, who ticks none of his boxes and he’s forced to accept that perhaps true love doesn’t always follow the rules. Don and Rosie’s relationship is such a heartwarming, mutually beneficial one that will make you laugh and leave you with a big bag of warm fuzzy feels. 

7. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

There is a huge chance that you will have read The Hobbit but what better time to revisit a funny, charming favourite? Re-embark on the quest to retrieve Smaug’s treasure, take back the Lonely Mountain and make a plethora of fantastic friends along the way. As well as relating to Bilbo’s personal growth throughout the novel, I think the idea of facing epic threat and mortal peril in unknown environments and yet still returning safely home to a quiet comfortable life is the reassurance we need that this too shall pass. Of course, it will also be an intoxicating nostalgia trip, so there’s really no reason to not pick it up again!

8. The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

I read this over the Valentine’s Day period and was so enchanted by it. Gavin is a top baseball player for the Nashville Legends and he has recently discovered that he has never given his wife Thea a genuine orgasm and it’s threatening the relationship. So he does the logical thing and turns to his team mates, who actually double as a secret romance book club. They suggest taking a leaf out of a smutty Regency paperback to save his marriage -what could possibly go wrong? Funny, heart-warming and touching, it’s a great choice if you’re looking for a rom-com with a difference.

9. My Pear-Shaped Life by Carmel Harrington

If you’ve spent a lot of self-isolation being wholly unproductive and perhaps not looking after yourself too well, you may be feeling that you’re simply not good enough. Especially if your social media is full of happy healthy people doing just about EVERYTHING. Meet Greta, a struggling actress who is used to playing the role of the funny, overweight girl in all areas of her life. That’s ok as long as she laughs with everyone else, right? But things have been pretty rough lately and it’s only when she hits rock bottom that she begins to realise that maybe things need to go a little bit pear-shaped sometimes. With joy and despair in equal measure, this new novel, populated with an array of wonderful characters, will teach you that true happiness comes from simply being you.

10. A Boy Made Of Blocks by Keith Stuart 

Eight-year-old Sam is autistic and struggles to make sense of the world. His dad Alex has also lost himself somewhere along the way and needs to change. Minecraft offers a place where father and son can rediscover their bond and put the family back together, block by block. I reviewed this incredibly moving, uplifting story when it was first released a few years ago. It’s actually inspired by Keith Stuart’s real-life experiences, which I think give it an extra dollop of heart-warmth! 

11. The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

The entire focus of this fantastically written YA novel is on embracing your own personal uniqueness and on not being afraid to let it out. Michael is a mixed-race gay teen who has grappled with his identity for his entire life. On arriving at university, the idea of becoming a drag artist causes everything to begin to slot into place. Told in verse, The Black Flamingo will show you how your boldest brightest colours can shine through the darkest of times. Highlighting the power of words and challenging all forms of homophobia, whether it be external or internal, this is a book that I’m sure will become a staple of LGBT+ literature in years to come. As for now, it will simply inspire you to live your very best life, regardless of who tries to prevent it.

12. Reasons To Be Cheerful by Nina Stibbe

As the title may suggest, there is plenty to smile about in Reasons To Be Cheerful. It’s chiefly a coming-of-age novel about a young woman called Lizzie living in 1970s Leicestershire. She has just got a job as an assistant to a work-shy, racist dentist who is desperate to join the freemasons. Navigating this new position alongside a relationship with her alcoholic writer mother, a boyfriend who doesn’t seem terribly interested in her and a few unlikely friends, Lizzie’s life makes for some pretty amusing anecdotes. Whether it’s the simple retro setting or small cast of eccentric caricatures, there is something quite other-worldly yet familiar about it. There is a lot of detail that is relevant to the period it’s set in, including the blatant social prejudices that were so rife at the time. I am too young to have experienced 1970s Britain but it certainly feels authentic to what I know. I have no doubt that those that were there will get even more enjoyment and nostalgia from Lizzie’s life than I did. 

[breeeliss]

On Shiro and Adam...

So in light of the mixed reception of Season 7, I wanted to make a longer post about Shiro and Adam -- specifically what kind of role Adam played in Shiro’s life both as his partner and after his death. I think people are understandably hurt at the news of Adam dying, and I think that’s leading to a lot of misplaced anger and hatred. At its extreme, I’m seeing a lot of accusations about queerbaiting and perpetuating the “Bury Your Gays” trope. I want to speak on all of this, but as a quick prologue to this post, I want to say this: 

Queer representation does not always equal having a queer relationship on screen. Sometimes the best queer representation can be seeing yourself in a single character and connecting not just to their sexuality, but also to their journey as a queer character. This is what Shiro is for us. Our queer rep -- our gay, asian, disabled, mentally ill representation that overcame all of the trials he suffered and thrived as a character this season. 

Adam was a part of Shiro’s past, and their relationship helped define Shiro’s experiences in the present. Adam’s death is a huge blow, but to call it a “Bury Your Gays” trope suggests that his death was a useless, pointless plot point that accomplished nothing other than to make Shiro miserable. 

I don’t think that could be further from the truth. Adam’s death held purpose, and I also believe Adam’s death served as a sobering moment for Shiro that allowed him to reflect on their time together and come through with a greater understanding of what love and family truly means. 

(wc: 2.0k words) 

The Significance of a Failing Relationship 

I think it’s important to remember that Adam and Shiro’s relationship was one that was doomed to fail -- Adam and Shiro had conflicting priorities that led to more than just the one fight we were privy to in Shiro’s flashback. The reason we got a look at their relationship wasn’t just to show us that Shiro was gay and in a relationship. It was to give us a look at Shiro’s motivations and shortcomings, something that we never really had a clear sense of before this moment. 

It’s alluded that Shiro has some sort of chronic degenerative disease that is  causing his muscles to atrophy and is set to severely shorten his life. Going out into space, which puts a strain on the body even if you’re a healthy person, is a definite death sentence for Shiro -- at the very least, it’s going to cut short the good years that Shiro has left. The good years that Adam was hoping to spend with Shiro. 

Adam very clearly wants to take advantage of Shiro’s healthy years and spend it with the man that he loves. Shiro would rather risk his health and his life going into space and doing what he loves rather than spend it on Earth with Adam. Both very valid perspectives, just ones that aren’t compatible. Shiro cared more about being a pilot and exploring space than maintaining his relationship. It was more worth it to die in the line of duty rather than play it safe.

Shiro’s disease gave him a very one-track state of mind -- you have a limited amount of time left, so you better haul ass and accomplish everything you wanted to before that end comes. Everything else comes second, including your relationships. It might even mean your death. It might mean you’ll never see the people you care about again. But it’s worth the risk. 

Adam told Shiro that things were over if Shiro went on that Kerberos mission, and he went anyway. He ended a very good, very long relationship because he cared more about accomplishing his personal goals over maintaining that. It’s not a bad or a wrong decision, Shiro has a right to live his life the way he wants to. But the ramifications of this decision end up coming back full circle when Shiro comes home and realizes that it was Adam who died in the line of duty and left his partner too soon. 

What Adam’s Death Meant 

Never forget: Adam was a soldier. He was a fighter pilot. Part of being a fighter pilot was accepting that his job was inherently dangerous. Going on missions always left the possibility of death and Adam knew this. He decided to devote his life to training to become a fighter pilot anyway. 

Adam didn’t believe in dying uselessly. Shiro risking his life on the Kerberos mission was upsetting to Adam because it was entirely preventable. But Adam isn’t a stranger to risking his life for a cause that matters. And that’s essentially how Adam died -- fighting for a very clear purpose, one that he accepted the moment he enlisted in the Garrison. He doesn’t even hesitate when he’s told to go in for the attack, and neither do any of his teammates. It’s an immediate acceptance of duty. 

His death is hard to watch. We as the viewers know that they’re not going to make it. Their weapons aren’t strong enough and there are too many Galra. It was a bad call made by his CO, but Adam was part of the first wave of Garrison fighters not just because he was one of the best. It’s because he was willing to risk his life for a greater cause. In this case, it was protecting his planet. He died nobly and he died heroically along with hundreds of other brave Garrison soldiers. 

The battle that took place on Earth created innumerable casualties. So many people aside from Adam died fighting -- queer soldiers, soldiers of color, disabled soldiers, mentally ill soldiers, so many demographics of people that didn’t and never deserve to die. But that was a large theme in this season: sacrifice and loss. Even though Earth lost a lot of good soldiers during this face off, their sacrifices weren’t meaningless. They all contributed towards Earth’s liberation. Adam was a part of that. 

The “Bury Your Gays” trope is based on the useless, pointless deaths of LGBTQ+ characters in order to meaninglessly deprive queer characters of happy endings. Adam’s death wasn’t torture porn. It was tragic, but it was meaningful. He died for a purpose, a purpose that he understood and fully accepted. Nothing about that is meaningless. In fact, part of the point of the last few episodes of the season was to understand that everyone who lost their life died for a reason and would continue to live on in the hearts of those who continue to endure. 

And, lo and behold, Shiro is the one who delivers a speech saying exactly that. 

The Story of Shiro’s Endurance 

There are a lot of people who are frustrated that, as the one gay man in our main cast, Shiro is the character who has suffered the most. I don’t mean to take validity away from that complaint. But I do think the fact that Shiro being queer and enduring in spite of this suffering is very meaningful. 

As queer folks, we are often forced to survive in spite of outside forces that continuously attempt to oppress us and threaten our lives. We endure through impossibly bleak situations -- oppression, ignorance, prejudice, and violence. Many of us lose our lives because of this suffering. Many more of us depend on the strength we find in ourselves and the support of those around us to live in spite of all of that. Shiro represents that survival. 

Shiro was abducted, imprisoned, controlled, killed, cloned, scarred, and tortured all throughout these seven seasons. But he’s still here! He’s alive! As of this season, he’s no longer dying of a degenerative disease, he has control over his body, he got a new arm, and he was the Captain of the man made ship that battled the Galra and saved Earth. He’s come such a long way in spite of his struggles. Part of that was because of his own strength and his own perseverance, but he also needed those he loved and cared for in order to succeed. Without the support of Keith and the rest of the paladins, Shiro would’ve succumbed to his circumstances. 

I think Shiro learned something very valuable over the course of the series. Teamwork is important, but it’s also important to hold those you care about close. Value those you love and those you care about. Don’t let them go. Don’t forget them. You need them in your weakest moments. These are the people who will help you go on. Voltron’s emphasis on found families, on love, and on support are all things that we as queer people depend on in order to survive. That’s not a coincidence especially because it’s these same forces that keep Shiro alive. 

Adam’s death was a very sobering moment for Shiro. Because suddenly, he was the one that had to feel the pain of losing someone he loved too soon without getting the chance to say goodbye. Shiro was the one who had to say, “I wish we could’ve had more time.” I don’t think Shiro regrets his choices, but I do think he regrets the way he left things with Adam. I think he regrets making Adam think that he cared more about himself than his relationship with Adam. I think Shiro from this moment on is never going to forget how important his found family and friends are. 

That’s why it’s so poetic that Shiro was the one who delivered the eulogy at the end of the season. 

“Today is a solemn day. Today we look back at the lives that have been lost, and the sacrifices that have been made here on Earth and across the universe. There isn’t one of us here today who hasn’t experienced the tragedy of losing someone close. It truly feels like a light has gone out in our lives, and the sun itself couldn’t reignite it. But that light, that fire, has not gone out completely. It is fueled within each of us by the memories and the love of those we lost. And now we most move forward in their names and shine that light onto a new path for future generations. Today is a solemn day, but it is also a day of hope. Earth is now stronger than ever, and it stands as a beacon of light to help guide those fighting against tyranny and oppression. From here we will spread peace, and together we will hold strong as the defenders of the universe.” 

The fact that a queer, mentally ill, disabled person of color who has suffered immensely gave that speech to a crowd full of people who have also suffered and experienced loss is so inspiring. Because Shiro, by all calculations, shouldn’t have survived this long. He had so many cards stacked against him. But he’s alive. And he’s a beacon of hope for so many. Despite his loss, he’s here and he’s going to continue surviving. 

Adam didn’t die for no reason. Adam was one of those brave soldiers whose brave sacrifice has served as a beacon of light to keep everyone going. Adam’s death inspires Shiro to keep enduring. In the macro sense, Shiro is an inspiration to all queer folk watching this show and tells us all that despite our struggles, despite our circumstances, and despite our loss and suffering, we have the ability to solider on. 

What Shiro and Adam Mean As Queer Representation 

I want everyone to know that it’s okay to be upset that Shiro suffered. It’s okay to be upset that Adam died. But I also want everyone to know that this doesn’t make Voltron a homophobic or problematic show. I think the narrative they created around Shiro’s character -- his past, his struggles, his relationships, his loss -- is a truly beautiful message to send to everyone who is queer and seeing themselves in Shiro. 

Voltron doesn’t shy away from dark themes like death, war, and suffering. Voltron understands that these are unfortunate realities in all of our lives, even in the lives of the dorky, fun-loving paladins we have followed up until now. These same paladins understand sacrifice -- they understand the value of their lives and are willing to sacrifice them for a noble cause. They understand danger, accept death, and continue to soldier on anyway. That’s the lesson we are meant to walk away with, and that’s the lesson we are meant to draw strength from. 

Adam was a beautiful gay character who understood the value of life and nobly sacrificed it for the sake of saving millions of lives. Shiro is also a beautifully constructed character and a wonderful example of a gay man who is able to inspire hope in the hearts of all the other queer fans of this show who hold him in such high regard. 

None of this is useless or pointless. None of this is malicious. Everything about this is meant to send us a positive message. This is the result of impeccable writing and storytelling and I think that both of these men are able to serve as inspirations for all of us. Voltron did a wonderful job with them. Their story is one to be remembered. 

[rirururu]

Danganronpa V3 Thoughts + Chapter 5 Rant

Okay so I’m super late seeing as the game released two years ago but after the disaster that was the DR3 anime, it took a while for me to build up the motivation to play DRV3. I just finished it recently. And what do I think of it?

It was... not as bad as the anime. Actually, it’s not bad at all. Far from it.

But there were still so many nonsensical and dumb decisions made. Just like in DR3. I know for most people, it was chapter 6 and the ending that broke the game and made it horrible for them. But those didn’t particularly bug me. It was actually chapter 5.

(Warning: spoilers for the entire DRV3 game below cut)

(Warning: here’s to be to the return of my salty Hajime rants)

Before you ask, no. It’s not because Kaito and Kokichi died.

We can get that whole “who is best boi/gurl” stuff out of here right off the bat. That has nothing to do with it. If it fits the characters’ arcs and gives the game a proper conclusion or progression, then it’s perfectly fine to kill characters off no matter how much you like them.

That being said, I think it’s safe to conclude that most of the running theme of DRV3 is the idea of “lies versus truth” and “belief versus distrust” as opposed to “hope versus despair.” I have no complaints about that. Actually, it’s a much more impactful and relevant conflict to use in a game where finding the truth and being suspicious of friends is such a paramount part of class trials in the first place.

I can see where the writers were going with Kokichi and Kaito’s characters. Kokichi was meant to be the embodiment of lies and distrust, Kaito was the embodiment of belief, while Shuichi himself was the pursuer of truth. Seeing these three characters in particular be able to play off of each other was one of the highlights of V3, possibly one of the most well-written dynamics in the entire Danganronpa franchise. Why?

It’s because despite Shuich being the seeker of truth, we’ve seen him lie in trials before (a nifty and sometimes necessary new mechanic). Despite Kokichi being a perpetual liar, we’ve seen him tell the truth with how he some times encourages the others in previous cases. Despite Kaito yelling poetry about believing in his friends all the time, we’ve seen Kaito lose belief in Shuichi after what happened in chapter 4. We’ve seen how Kokichi’s distrust in Maki backfired in chapter 2′s trial and led to him being incorrect while Kaito’s belief in Gonta backfired in chapter 4′s trial and led to him being incorrect. The whole message here is that people are multi-layered and can never live with only one or the other. There is no wrong side; you need all four. It was honestly a really good narrative theme.

That is, until chapter 5. The dreaded chapter that officially broke the game for me.

The lesson I got out of chapter 5 after the two most narratively driven characters were killed off was simply “lying is bad.” Really, game? You’re taking such a complex and morally ambiguous conflict as finding the truth and lying to oversimplify it so much? I'm baffled to see the game use such a strong topic just to flub it up so spectacularly for no reason. It put a metaphorical coffin on what was four and a half chapters of buildup. If the whole overlap of  “truth versus lies” and “belief versus logic” weren’t going to go anywhere, then why introduce them in the first place?

Let me explain a bit more. Chapter 5 portrayed Shuichi’s pursuit of the truth and unwavering borderline psychotic focus on finding the truth due to what Kaede said (which also led to him helping Monokuma in chapter 5 like wtf) as the right thing to do all along. Screw Kokichi. Shuichi will help Monokuma as long as the black-and-white terrorist is trying to find the truth too. ‘Because truth good and lies bad.’ While we’re at it, screw Kaito and Maki and everyone else who ever challenged Shuichi and questioned whether sometimes lying is the better choice. Screw all the previous trials where Shuichi was shown acknowledging that lying was sometimes necessary. Shuichi’s always right, baby. And he gets absolutely zero repercussion for it. He’s canonically portrayed as having done the right thing even though his pursuit of the truth actually led to the killing game ending in chapter 6 instead of chapter 5 like the super-big-baddy-evil-villain-just-because-he-lies Kokichi was trying to do.

While we’re at, I guess the second morale of the story was that Kokichi could never learn to accept the importance of belief and truth until the very end. Kaito continued believing in people and could never learn to accept the importance of distrust and logic until the very end. “Whoever lies stays a liar.” “Whoever has belief in people don’t ever have to be suspicious.” Really, game? You’re taking the idea of humans being multi-layered and growing from that and turning them into one-dimensional personifications of the themes who can’t change?

Chapter 5′s outcome is a direct contradiction to where Kokichi, Kaito, and Shuichi as well as the entire game’s themes of truth, lies, belief, and distrust were foreshadowed as heading for over four chapters. I feel like 50% of the reason people think Kokichi is a well-written character is based off of Kodaka purposely making him ambiguous rather than actually giving him a proper character arc. I mean, yeah, why give him a proper character arc if the fans can do it for us? The only hint of a change I’d seen from him was in that he trusted his plan to Kaito, and even then that wasn’t real belief because he blackmailed Kaito into it. Then of course, he died a death that no one in the game seemed to care about because he’s the super-big-baddy-evil-villain-just-because-he-lies and Kodaka seemed so gungho about making him into another tragic Komaeda troupe.

Let’s not forget the other dumbass decisions made by the writers that contradict earlier events or conveniently plot convenient but actually totally impossible but let’s forget that because it’s convenient twists made in the murder itself. Sure, I totally believe that the Exisals had a voice changer that Kaito magically knew how to use. I totally believe that Kokichi would take off his shirt instead of just pulling his sleeve up while he was in the crusher just to give evidence for Shuichi to find. I totally believe that Kaito and Maki could drive an Exisal when it was clearly stated several times that only the Monokubs and Kokichi could do it to prevent anyone from hijacking one. I totally believe Kaito magically transformed into the Ultimate Imposter to impersonate Kokichi and Kokichi wasted his time writing an encyclopedia of a script that would’ve taken weeks to do when the entire DRV3 took place over a few days. I totally believe that Kokichi stupidly kept the remote control for the Exisals on him when he was crushed by the machine instead of giving it to Kaito just to make chapter 6 more unnecessarily difficult.

I totally believe that Maki was actually dumb enough to think that killing the supposed mastermind was the best way to end the killing game when Kaede already proved it wouldn’t. I totally believe that Kokichi would go on a suicide mission that was doomed to fail when nothing about his character before indicated that he wanted anything but to live. I totally believe that the class thought the best course of action at Kokichi actually trying to stop the killing game is to team up with Monokuma to stop Kokichi from stopping the killing game. I totally believe that Kokichi, already established as arguably the most intelligent character in the entire verse bar Junko or Izuru, would make an unsolvable case just to hand over the exact evidence that let Shuichi solve the case. I totally believe that something as trivial as a one-second pause in a video was enough for Shuichi to change the victim’s identity simply based off a combination of something almost resembling circumstantial evidence and his imagination and with no proof at all.

But I guess at the end of the day, plot holes are abundant in Danganronpa. That’s never been the game-changer for me. Normally, I can overlook logical and emotional plot holes if they serve a purpose. What shouldn’t be abundant is throwing away entire themes and character arcs built up for over four chapters just for the sake of making a case as dramatic and mind-fucking as possible.

What would’ve been a more consistent outcome and a better payoff? Let me go over each character.

I think it would’ve been better if Shuichi’s entire final argument segment in the fifth trial was actually an intentional lie on his part to trick Monokuma and the player. It would’ve been a nice extension to the new Lying during Non Stop Debate mechanic. Kaito should have been the victim and the pause in the video should have been a trap set up by Kokichi for Monokuma and one that Shuichi purposely used. Kokichi being the one in the Exisal makes more sense no matter how you dice it since the game wouldn’t have to try to explain all the bullshit with the script and imposter act that made no sense. This would cause a mis-trial because Monokuma was wrong, and subsequently lose the rights to hold anymore trials. The pursuer of truth, Shuichi, would learn to lie in order to save his friends.

I think it would’ve been better if Kokichi’s entire plan depended on (correctly) believing that Shuichi would catch on to the lies within the murder and analyze the meaning of the pause in the video. Kokichi has no control over what Shuichi does in the trial since he doesn’t want to give the impression of wanting Shuichi to analyze the pause for fear of being discovered by Monokuma. It would be true belief in someone, not the blackmail shit he pulled with Kaito in the canon trial. The real blackened should have been Maki, who ends up not being executed because Monokuma has no idea that she’s the blackened due to not knowing what killed Kaito first. The trial should’ve been deemed invalid after Kokichi was proven to be alive in the Exisal after the verdict is already declared and everyone voted for Kaito because not even Monokuma knows if it was Kaito, Kokichi, or Maki who killed Kaito. The whole setup he did wouldn’t have been a waste. The embodiment of lies and distrust, Kokichi, would learn to believe in someone in order to stop the killing game.

I think it would’ve been better if Kaito sacrificed himself since he knew that he was ill and was going to die anyway. While we’re at this topic, can I just point towards the stupidity behind Kaito jumping in front of Maki’s arrow to save Kokichi’s life just to turn around and agree to kill him like 5 minutes later? And for what? Because Maki’s life is somehow more valuable than Kokichi’s? Oh go off, Kaito. It makes him come off as a jackass who can’t act on what he’s been preaching about for over 4 chapters. To me, Kaito choosing to not trust in Kokichi’s plan out of desperation to save Maki's life is way more in character than Kaito choosing to kill Kokichi out of desperation to save Maki's life. Him not trusting Kokichi would be a direct result of what happened in trial 4 where his belief made him mess up. The subversion of what his character was capable of would've been less out-of-nowhere and more related to the narrative theme. Kaito forcing the antidote on Kokichi, convincing him not to commit suicide, then killing himself before the poison did to prevent as many deaths as possible all while using his life to end the killing game would’ve made much more sense. Because Kaito knew he was going to die from his disease anyway and would want to save both Maki and Kokichi. Having him be so selfish and only value Maki's life, once again, makes him come off as a jackass in my eyes. He’s right for not trusting Kokichi since in the end, it convinces Kokichi to continue living rather than committing suicide. This would’ve been a way better “fuck you” to Monokuma than relying on luck to use his disease to kill him before the execution did. The symbol of belief, Kaito, would decide not to trust someone in his last moment of living in exchange for sparing Maki’s life and helping Kokichi grow.

All three characters and their continual struggle with truth, lies, belief, and distrust would’ve actually gotten the closure that they deserve. They would’ve all grown past their troupes to learn that all four are necessary in order to become better people. And there’s no way you can convince me that this is a worse lesson than “lying is bad.” And I say it one more time: really, game?

This also fixes a lot of continuity problems I had with the other chapters as well. What Kokichi said in chapter 4 about Shuichi being useful to him would’ve actually made sense. What Kokichi did in chapter 4 with purposely encouraging everyone to blindly trust Shuichi despite Shuichi’s lies during the trial would’ve actually made sense. What Monokuma proceeded to do in chapter 6 by allowing Shuichi to lead a class trial would’ve actually made sense if Monokuma himself was no longer allowed to because Shuichi, Kaito, and Kokichi outsmarted him in chapter 5 rather than just being another Junko brain fart moment of “okay! I'll agree to your conditions because it's interesting!” Shuichi, Kaito, and Kokichi wouldn’t have come off as dumbasses in chapter 5. What Shuichi kept repeating over and over in chapter 6 about wanting to end the killing game wouldn’t have made me roll my eyes so hard when he’s the one who sabotaged Kaito and Kokichi from ending it sooner. Maki would’ve actually had a chance to show remorse for her major fuck-up in chapter 5 and reflect back on what it means to have the skills of an assassin instead of brushing it off because “it wasn’t actually her who directly killed Kaito” even though it was totally her fault that it happened.

The rest of the class (minus Kokichi) being reluctant to trust Shuichi in the sixth chapter due to his lying in the fifth chapter would’ve made that entire segment in chapter 6 with Shuichi gradually reforming bonds and gaining back their trust one-by-one actually make sense instead of being a mindless mini-game. Kokichi would’ve actually obtained his own unique character arc with a proper payoff in chapter 6 by carrying on Kaito’s wish to trust/believe in Shuichi. Shuichi himself growing out of what Kaede told him in order to become a better person who embodies truth, lying, belief, and distrust would’ve made for a well-rounded ending. The trial and whoever’s death happened in chapter 5 wouldn’t have felt like such a waste of time that purposely went out of its way to bend over backwards in being as inconsequential and illogical as possible.

Why didn’t that happen? Well, I can only guess that the writers were so focused on making Kokichi into another tragic Komaeda troupe and Kaito into another tragic Chiaki troupe that they completely forgot that Kaito and Kokichi are their own characters with different values and actual flaws. Kodaka wanted his standard suicidal tragic bad guy unsolvable murder that would mindfuck the audience. And guess what? He got it in exchange for ruining the three most narratively strong characters in the game. Heaven forbid Kokichi not commit some grand suicide scheme, because he’s not Komaeda and because he’s never shown a single indication that he wanted anything but to live, wouldn’t make him popular enough. Heaven forbid Kaito not become the tragic waifu who was “forced” into killing someone, because he’s not Chiaki and because he was never actually forced into killing Kokichi and has too high of a moral code to do it, wouldn’t make him popular enough. Heaven forbid Shuichi lying in a trial instead of finding the truth behind the chapter 5 murder, because he’s not Hinata and because unlike Hinata he had no good reason to, wouldn’t make him popular enough.

I think what really proves that the writers just got tired of the “truth versus lies” and “belief versus distrust” theme and gave it a lackluster borderline infuriatingly awful conclusion is how the DRV3 game abruptly switches back to “hope versus despair” as its main conflict soon after in chapter 6.

And before you tell me that the end of chapter 6 did in fact tackle the concept of truth and lies by saying neither matter as long as it induces the right feelings, I don’t buy it for one second. It was incredibly tacked on in the last minute of game-play and relied so much on telling rather than showing us. As a player, I don’t believe Shuichi has come to appreciate both because he never did anything in the game to prove it. In fact, his actions in chapter 5 directly contradict that he believes there’s any good in lying. There’s no proof that the whole truth versus lies and belief versus distrust theme actually had any merit aside from lies = bad and hence Kokichi = worse than Monokuma. It’s messy. It’s all over the place. It felt like a waste of time.

And that was officially when chapter 5 broke the entire game for me.

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Volume 6. Argus Limited

This is a re-posting from Oct. 27th, 2018 in an effort to get all my recaps fully on tumblr. Thanks!

Volume Six is here, folks! I am so very, stupidly excited for this season. Heartfelt thanks go out to my friend who was all, “lol yeah sure” when I begged to use their FIRST account to watch. There are heroes in this world and they’re one of them.

A quick note about recaps from here on out: they will (my productivity willing) be uploaded sometime on Thursday or Friday proceeding the new episode. This is partly so that I’m not scrambling to post immediately afterwards—stress and bad writing all around—and partly so that, you know, we can actually recap stuff before the next episode airs. So yeah, that’s the goal.

Let’s do it!

We open on a gorgeous, snowy scene with ROOSTER TEETH PRESENTS smack dab in the middle. You know that feeling you get when you hear the Harry Potter theme at the beginning of a new film and the whole theater loses their shit? Same with Doctor Who and Star Wars? Whatever your preferred fandom, the point is I get the same chills when RWBY comes back and it’s excellent.

The animation really is gorgeous though and I sigh happily whenever I see it, thinking back to the days when cookies disappeared directly into Ruby’s mouth. There’s nostalgia, sure, but it doesn’t beat this detail.

We hear the distant sound of a train and then we’re thrown into exactly what we’ve wanted for literal years now: Team RWBY back together again, fighting not creepy adults but just some good, old fashioned grimm. They’re chimeras and… griffins? Ngl I’m not entirely sure, but they’re big, flying, fire-breathing nasties, so that’s really all we need to know. Luckily everyone falls back into old habits, easily supporting one another and executing perfect attacks (a contrast to the residual tension we’ll see in just a bit). Ruby is so busy posing after a successful kill that she misses the grimm coming at her from behind. Weiss saves her ass with a cheeky, “Thank me later!” At the end of the fight we get a reversal wherein a hit nearly sends Weiss tumbling off the side of the train, though Ruby grabs her at the last second with her own, “Thank me later!” It’s a fun little exchange made better when we think back to the Vytal Tournament. Weiss still “had her back” then too, but was more resistant to Ruby’s proclamation that they’re BFFs. Now the teasing is on both ends.

Notably, Ruby saves Weiss by taking her into her semblance, creating a cloud of rose petals that are half red, half white. Now combined with the old team-ups and some shots in the new opening, this has led a number of fans (myself included) to wonder if a WhiteRose pairing is in our future. Which also means that the ship wars are in full swing. Needless to say I’m not about that nonsense and I’ll only point out here what I said episodes back: if it’s a queer relationship with one of our main girls, and not a random side character who was previously out to murder a whole family? I’m on board.

Back in the fight though. The rest of team RNJR appears with Nora exclaiming, “Why is it always something?” God that’s a mood. Welcome to adulthood, kid. It’s just one crisis after another—except in your case the crises are objectively more dangerous. Sorry about that. We get to see Jaune’s improved reflexes as he fends off all the fireballs with his shield while Ren and Nora team up to knock some of the monsters out.

Honestly, I love this trope in action stories. Where—as Nora does here—a character just shouts out a friend’s name to get their attention and they immediately know what kind of move they’re about to pull off. It’s made more hilarious to me given that RWBY once had attack names and Jaune at least made the attempt with JNPR...but apparently they're not needed anymore. So unrealistic, yet so very cool when used.

So yeah, things are going pretty smoothly… up until Oscar yells out “Tunnel!” Ruby saves Weiss from falling, they manage to get over or between the cars, and in the sudden darkness we transition to what we only realize later is a flashback. At least, I didn’t realize it until later. Totally thought we’d had a time skip and they were just hopping another train…

My stupidity aside, before we hit the train station we actually see a familiar hallway filled with angry voices discussing the disaster at Haven—one of which is Adam’s. I really enjoyed this technique, wherein we slowly pan across the room as the voices grow more frantic and the sounds of fighting break out, the camera revealing bodies scattered across the floor. By the time we reach the throne—and Adam on it— we realize that the fight occurred prior to this moment, something that Adam is now remembering. He goes all skyward scream on us as he howls menacingly. Okay, dude. Compared to Cinder and Salem you’re really not all that.

Now we’re at the train station where Qrow is narrating a letter to Ironwood. Hell yes, please bring back the badass, protective Ironwood who defended the students at Beacon and stood up for Weiss. I’d be very pleased if he joins the RWBY gang by the Volume’s end. Qrow’s optimistic about the trip—they’ve plans to reach Ironwood before the letter does, which says either good things about Remnant’s transportation or bad things about its mail—though of course we as the audience know it’s not going to be nearly that simple. We learn that only two weeks have passed since the battle, but people are still reeling from all the implications. Lionheart tragically lost his life defending the school and oh, some students coincidentally were there and did some stuff. Excellent choice in showing us the mindless crowds while we hear this, the naive masses who, yes, would absolutely believe a story like this.

It’s easy to criticize no one supposedly noticing Salem, magic, the finger Ozpin has in every pie, etc. but ultimately people believe what they’re told—especially when it’s much easier to swallow than the truth.

Enough of the doom and gloom though. Ruby is having the time of her life.

Qrow: “What’s with the running?”

Ruby: “What’s with the standing?!”

I love this girl so very much and it’s wonderful when we get to see her acting like the kid she is. She uses her semblance with abandon because yeah, if I could turn into rose petals I’d be doing that all the time too. Ruby teases Yang with something from the gift shop and I really hope we get to see what that is. Yes, we end the episode with everyone left stranded in the wilderness, but if Yang’s bike can survive then so can Ruby’s souvenirs.

(Seriously though they presumably lost all their luggage that sucks.)

Everyone else is in top, feel-good form too. Nora daydreams about hitting the beach, complete with a thought bubble of topless Ren and a beachball. Weiss quips about how she spent all last Volume getting out of Atlas, thanks, but Ruby reassures her that at least she’s back with the team now. When two jokers arrive boasting about how they’ll be the ones keeping the train safe from grimm, Ruby and Yang act exactly as nieces should when your cool uncle is telling them off. AKA, making fun of them behind his back.

God they must have been terrors as toddlers. I mean we already know Yang carted Ruby off into the woods one day so yeah, I’m pretty confident in expressing my surprise that Tai doesn’t have a full head of gray hair.

The two Nice Guys go on to specify that they’ll provide extra protection for a “generous tip,” which—while essentially a throwaway line—reminds us how most of the world functions outside of our close-knit cast. Money, and more specifically Schnee money, quite literally dictates who lives and who dies. Not everything about RWBY is fantasy oriented…

We learn that everyone is just waiting on Blake— “as usual”—and we cut to her with Ilia as the two of them say their goodbyes. Ilia will be helping Ghira lead the Faunus in a “new movement” and is supposedly 100% on the straight and narrow now. Cool? I guess? To be honest I’m fine with her taking a back seat for this Volume. There’s a moment where we get a shot of Ilia and Blake’s feet, the former’s angled forward in a classic kiss pose, and I was super glad to see that they were just sharing a hug. I really don’t want the first LGBTQIA kiss on RWBY to be iffy on consent, considering that Ilia knows Blake isn’t interested. Hug though? That was super sweet.

Sun and Neptune show up to say their goodbyes too. They’re heading to Vacuo to meet up with the rest of their team because, in Sun’s words, he’s the “worst leader” ever. You kinda are, dude? I loved Sun up until they had him following Blake without her permission and continuing to do so after she asked for space, all in the name of the guy supposedly knowing what the girl really needs. The reminder that Sun abandoned his team to do this just reinforces how much I dislike that plot-line.

Sun gets the kiss—on the cheek—and after leaving Neptune lectures him on “letting [Blake] go.” Except it’s not about you? Blake is off to quite literally save the world and the fact that these guys view that as a threat to any potential relationship is… icky. Ugh. Oh well. They’re presumably gonna be offscreen for a while.

The train finally arrives and everyone piles in. We’re back to bunk beds! And of course Team RWBY is situated exactly as they were in Beacon’s dorms. Weiss gets annoyed with Ruby’s cloak hanging down over the side. Blake has a book in her lap. Ruby challenges Yang to a video game. Cue nostalgia. I fully expect fluffy AU fics where they ride the train all the way to Atlas and treat the trip as one giant, dramatic sleepover. This is non-negotiable.

Tension seeps back in though when Yang moves to pull her luggage from the rack and Blake immediately hops up to help her. In a super guilty “I know I fucked up and now I’m gonna smother you” way. Really excellent voice acting here. Yang ends up reassuring her. No, things aren’t perfect between them yet… but they’re definitely improving.

While short, for me this scene was perfectly balanced between acknowledging the girls’ complicated relationship without totally undermining the happy mood. Nicely done.

Then Qrow shows up with a drink. A drink with a slice of orange on the side. I have never enjoyed a moment more and I was so surprised I didn't take a screenshot of it. Clearly I was too distracted and am I too lazy to go back for one now? You betcha. The point is everything is fine, dandy, and filled with alcohol.

So of course RT goes and ruins it for me. Something hits the train and in a split second everyone is on high alert. A quick peek out the window reveals grimm and Blake mutters darkly that it’s “just my luck.”

Qrow: “Not yours.”

Are they gonna leave the safety of the train to those bozos from before? Hell no. Especially when one guy is grabbed right when the fight starts. I mean, poor dude, but he also kinda sucked as a Huntsmen. He wouldn’t have even made it past Beacon’s initiation, let alone graduated.

…I guess he’s kind of like early Jaune? Useless, wannabe hero who acts more confident than he actually is? Aw, now I really do feel bad.

He’s grimm food though. Gotta move on with our lives.

The other dude isn’t doing too well either, though RWBY and NJR + Oscar quickly show up, coming full circle to where we began the episode. Oscar insists that he’s got this fight under control which tells me (hopefully) that in the past two weeks they’ve had serious conversations about if and when Ozpin gets to have control. That’s super great, though I do wish we could have seen it. Flashbacks, maybe?

As the fight begins Ruby announces that the plan amounts to “don’t let anyone else die.” Uh...Ruby? Buddy. Pal. This is why people die. Because they didn’t have plans! Pyrrha—god rest her reckless soul—went off after a freaking Maiden by herself. Jaune got Amber killed because he didn’t obey the plan of watching the door. Lionheart frantically calls Salem with no real plan for what he’s going to offer her in exchange for his life! Plans are important, Ruby. You’re the team strategist. It was a badass line, I grant you, but please do not.

Luckily, no one (else) dies. That would have been pretty brutal for a premier. +1 point for world building where we see that trains like this have built in defenses to fight off grimm. -2 points for how useless it ends up being. As Qrow quickly points out, the turrets are drawing all the grimm to the front of the train where the passengers are. So, not good. Oscar is charged with telling the surviving goon to knock it off already while Qrow faces off against the super fierce chimera grimm. Not gonna lie though, when its tail first started up I thought Qrow was getting attacked by a dove…

This time when we hit the tunnel everyone makes it back safely inside with the exception of Goon #2 who gets his arm injured in the scramble. He’s literally crying on the ground when, in a pretty harsh move, Qrow drags him up and demands to know what the hell all that was. Civility and benefit of the doubt? Not Qrow’s strong points. It allows Ruby to take control of the situation though. How do you make sure that your cast of kids is continually calling the shots?  A) isolate them and B) when you can’t do that have the adults act like children instead. We see that a fair bit in RWBY.  

Jaune steps in to heal the guy’s arm, which is an unexpected surprise. I honestly thought we'd get a whole Volume’s worth of him figuring out how to access and control his semblance, though I suppose once it manifests you’ve got the basics down. We’ve seen that semblances can be improved upon—Ruby turning other people she carries into petals; Ren dampening the emotions of a whole train—so presumably Jaune will be able to heal more complex and life-threatening things in the future. We also hear in the ensuing conversation that he can amplify someone else’s aura…to be decided what exactly that means, how it connects to healing, and what the limits of the skill is.

During some theorizing about the attack Ozpin brings up that grimm are attracted to the relic they’re carrying and… oh boy. Here we go. Is it tradition that every recap the fandom goes for Ozpin’s throat while I stand here defending him? Might be. Let’s create a (semi) comprehensive list:

This might have been less of a secret and more of a slip. The guy is thousands of years old and the forces they’re dealing with are stupidly complicated. He can’t info dump every detail of a multi-century war in one sitting. So—

He might have thought this was one of those innocuous things that shouldn’t take precedent right now. Not the sort of thing he needs to worry them with. He claims in the promo that he didn't lie to the group and he quite possibly didn't. There's a big difference between lying and not telling someone every single possible thing that might be pertinent. Especially when—

We know that grimm are already attracted to people/negative emotion and they’re sequestered within a whole train full of presumably stressed travelers. There’s no reason to think the artifact would put them in more danger than they already are and therefore isn't at the top of the list of revelations to dole out. Especially with—

Qrow and his bad luck semblance. He literally just implied that the grimm were there because of him. There’s a reason he didn’t want Ruby near him during the fight with Tyrian and now they’re all stuck together in close quarters. The grimm were coming anyway. Even if we didn't have Qrow's semblance and big crowds we can also assume as much because of—

Those turrets. They weren’t there for a fashion statement. The whole train was crazy armored. They’re clearly very used to getting attacked on this route. It's a normal thing.

All of which is to say that the relic is one of MANY reasons why they might have gotten a buttload of grimm on their tail. Ozpin mentions this as one possibility in a very “Here’s something else to consider” way and everyone (characters and fandom alike) jump on him like he’s solely responsible for this predicament. Besides, what would they have done differently? Not carry the relic? That’s not an option. Be more on guard? They’re already constantly on guard. None of their actions would have changed had they known.

Really though, it’s the keeping of secrets that people are mad about, not necessarily what the secret is. So if we ignore the possibility above that Ozpin legit didn’t think this was worth mentioning/even forgot about it, we have a) he withheld the information because it might have made them wary about traveling with others, but they need to get to Atlas as fast as possible and the train is the best way to do that. So yeah, that’s a possible change, though I agree with Ozpin’s theoretical logic here. It was worth the risk.

b) he didn’t tell them because—again—worry is a negative emotion and that might have just doubled their problem. Awful as it is, knowing you're carrying a thing that might attract more grimm is one of the best ways to make sure that you do, in fact, attract them. Knowing what the relic does is dangerous. 

c) he doesn’t trust them with all the information about these super powerful relics that are going to decide the fate of their world. Which honestly? Kind of fair. Yeah, I know he promised them no more secrets, but this is a centuries old, god-like entity making a promise to a child. It’s not even really a matter of trust anymore. We’ve got a core group of nine here and everyone has someone else they’re close to. Ruby isn’t going to keep secrets from Tai. Blake will probably fill Sun in when she sees him again. Weiss is close to her sister. Etc. In short, as soon as this many people know a secret it isn't a secret anymore. Ozpin is no doubt aware that anything he tells to their now massive group is fair game and he has to carefully consider what he wants to risk going public/landing in Salem's hands. A general doesn't tell every lieutenant the details of every plan. That's a good way to lose the war. Fate of the world vs. a promise made to Yang? C’mon. There are priorities here.

d) finally, we’ve seen evidence—particularly after the iconic food fight—that Ozpin desperately wants his students to be kids as long as they can. He might keep information to himself simply because he doesn’t want to burden them. And given all the reasons listed above for why they'd be dealing with grimm anyway, what's the harm in giving them what little peace he can? It's not perfect reasoning and if this is the case the others have a right to be annoyed, but it's understandable. It certainly doesn't make Ozpin the monster I see countless posts painting him as.

Plus, Yang? I’m not sure you have the right to get indignant about keeping secrets right now. Granted, there’s some ambiguity surrounding whether she’s mentioned Raven as the Spring Maiden, but regardless we haven’t seen any evidence that she’s told the group the details of what happened down in the vault. That’s a pretty big thing to be keeping to yourself.

A lot bigger than, “Oh yeah this relic attracts the thing we’re attracting anyway. My bad.”

Why the relic attracts grimm is another question. Because it’s connected to the original brothers? Just because Salem wants it and she seems to be the grimms’ creator? We’ll have to see.

Ruby interrupts everyone’s fury to point out that they have bigger issues at the moment and Ozpin’s expression kind of kills me? He looks so shocked to have anyone standing up for him, even if it’s a defense of practicality instead of his actions. I wonder if this Volume is going to have the team starting to lose a little faith in Ruby. Given the clear divide here (angry Ren, Nora, Weiss, Yang, and Blake on one side; Ruby, Oscar, Ozpin on the other) this might be a major theme moving forward. It would make a lot of sense too given Ruby's past relationship with Ozpin. To Yang he's just her headmaster; to Ruby he's the headmaster that let her into her dream school early. To Blake he's someone who wanted information from her before she was ready to give it; to Ruby he's the adult who gave her advice at the dance and was emotionally open with her about committing more mistakes "than any man, woman, or child." No matter how far she's come, they'll always be a part of Weiss that sees Ozpin as the teacher who didn't give her the leadership position she thought she deserved; to Ruby he's the man that has put a staggering amount of trust in her: by letting her into his school, giving her a team, sending her to Mountain Glenn, etc.

Now, it might be time for Ruby to put her trust in Ozpin.

Fight temporarily averted, they decide to separate the teams… which felt a little forced to me. I mean I get it. As said, giant group. It’s hard to write and keep track of that many, so let’s knock three offstage for a while. Jaune, Ren, and Nora will see the people to safety while Ruby and the rest of the gang eventually catch up. We get a glimpse of Maria—the old lady with awesome glasses—clearly plotting something and then everyone heads back to the roof to finish the fight with the grimm.

Blake has a quick vision of Adam; the last time she separated a train car. Excellent touch there. Ruby tells Ren to use his semblance through the scroll, but we also get a glimpse of their signals getting weaker. Another nice touch considering how important we know the scrolls are throughout the RWBY universe: how the team keeps in contact during the Volume Four short, the damage that the fall of the CCT tower has caused, etc.

We get a final, epic showdown with a massive grimm where everyone’s teamwork proves to be some top tier stuff. Blake and Yang capture it using Blake’s ribbon. Weiss freezes off its wings. Then—in a fantastic split screen—Ruby and Qrow both use their scythes to cut the creature in two. I’m here for the power family moves.

Only problem is that a final fireball from the grimm hits the train, derailing their section. Weiss keeps them all from dying an awful death, but now they’re kind of stranded.

I mean, they already were stranded before, but I guess the hope was the back of the train would have carried them farther down the tracks before losing momentum?

In the final scene we have an unexpected voice happily proclaiming that they’re still alive but boy, that was a close one! Maria hobbles out, having clearly planned to be with this group when they went their own way.

My personal theory? She knows (and to some extent recognizes) Ozpin. I can’t believe he wasn’t involved in a conflict like the Great War. Hell, he was probably at the center of it and Maria looks very old by RWBY standards. We have no concept of how long people in this world can live so I don’t think it’s a stretch to put her in her 90s or well over 100—old enough to have fought in the War and potentially recognize one of the central figures, even in a new reincarnation depending on her instincts, knowledge, and semblance. Her name lends a bit of credence to her age, if nothing else. As far as I know “Maria” doesn’t mean/isn’t evocative of a color… though I’m far from an expert. Could totally be wrong about that.

Regardless, we’ll see. More info arrives next week!

Other Details of Note

The grimm are at a distance when we first spot them and they actually look a lot like crows. The same motif we’ve seen with Raven and Qrow’s entrances but, you know, bad.

I really liked Qrow’s line to Ironwood about how they’re bringing “more than bad news.” It’s appropriately vague—can’t go admitting that Oz is back with the group—and at the same time quite up-lifting.

I personally take Ozpin’s “I hope they’re not from Beacon” as more of a joke than a true worry. If you’re telling me that this old as balls control freak doesn’t remember every student that’s ever passed through those doors… I don’t believe you.

When Blake is saying goodbye to Ilia and Sun we have lots of animation for her ears, helping to express her emotions. It says a lot about her character development that she hasn’t re-adopted the bow in such a crowded, human packed space.

Neptune is pursuing the “wrong tree” okay lol that was good.

When Neptune and Sun discuss re-uniting the team we briefly hear the soundtrack from their Vytal Festival match. Excellent.

Interestingly, Oscar gives Ozpin control immediately during the conversation about the relic, almost like he already knew what was going to be revealed and understood that it was important… I wonder how much they’re sharing thoughts now, two weeks later.

Here, have a beach Ren and happy birb. Yes, I went back for the screenshots...

[yuananas]

Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson, rightful King of Jotunheim, God of Mischief, Bringer of Chaos, Brother of Thor…

... is so damn tragic, and such an interesting character who is mentally and morally and emotionally challenging, and deserves development... and is killing me. In this essay I will... be fangirling over him, basically...

His main skills:

He’s the God of Mischief. Master of Chaos.

He’s observant, he thinks before acting, strategic but flexible. Very “perceptive about everyone” (except for himself). That enables him to be highly manipulative through words or magic. To hide his true intentions and get people to do what he wants.

But he’s also causing chaos. With whatever he does. It’s a boon and bane. For he always adds just the pinch of chaos and destruction that is needed for development. It’s probably Loki’s “prank” leading Frost Giants into Asgard, that saves them all of a terrible and immature King Thor. It’s Loki who saw Thor’s inability to rule yet, way earlier than Odin realized himself – but of course it’s him to be blamed for Thor’s exile and everything that happens in the first Thor movie. Actually they should be thankful Loki enabled growth…

Also when he’s attacking earth. He’s the one bringing the quarrel to the Avengers but isn’t that the catalyst for them addressing their concerns and teaming up? (Ok, beside Coulson’s “death” but actually that’s also been Loki…) And isn’t it causing them to prepare for even worse (Thanos)?

He’s also a Frost Giant.

 His main motives are to get the appreciation and love of his family. To be accepted and loved for who he is and everything that comes with it – for them (Thor, in the end), to see he is not doing all of this with evil intentions but to also see what good comes from chaos.

He strives to become Thor’s equal. Not for a throne or power (that would come with responsibilities).

He’s also trying to get the best out of everything for himself. And oftentimes he just wants to stay alive.

And he never learned to cope with the consequences of his actions in a functional way – no one ever gave him the chance to, probably. So his answer is mostly to run away, hide and play dead or to overreact and being a Drama Queen. (Calm waters are the deepest, right? And he’s staying calm and hidden so much, sometimes it HAS to break free, right?)

 His development…

So what we have in the first movie is a very clever boy who somehow always felt like he didn’t belong… like sth is wrong with him, somehow inferior to his brother, mistreated by his father – and probably it’s not only his feeling but, to some extent, the result of their actions.

He’s seeing a Thor, unfitting for the Throne but no one else seems to notice and no one will listen to him anyway, but: he knows tricks. He knows secret passageways, he knows how to cause chaos (well everyone just takes him for a party trick and not taking his magic serious) so he wants to show them all! He is to be taken serious and he will prevent Thor from getting on the Throne so easily, while Loki strives so hard and getting nothing. So he tricks a little and he talks Thor into something a little and it’s probably also very satisfying, seeing what he is able to do.

But it somehow gets out of hands… it becomes bigger than he intended, Thor being cast out, Odin asleep. But isn’t that also a chance for him?

But he learns he’s a monster. He learns the reason why all his life he felt so wrong and everything just becomes worse: his frustration, his rage… he’s totally losing himself: everything he believed in turned out to be a lie. (Probably not everything, I guess Frigga’s love for him isn’t, but Loki is seeing it that way)

And he strives again, he’s shooting in every direction, keeping Thor away (not killing him, never killing him, though he had many chances to do so but with killing Thor he would lose the family he wants to belong to, the ones he actually, deep down, loves), showing Asgard (and Odin) how vulnerable they are, at the same time trying to destroy the Frost Giants and Jötunheim (the parts of him he despises so much for making him different) and also getting Odin’s appreciation with doing so.

And when it comes to the worst, when Thor comes back, being the glorious hero and Loki finds himself in the role of the inferior again, the one who has to fear blame and punishment instead of love and appreciation, he is running away. He lets go, let himself float into the universe – he plays dead.

(What other choices does he have, oftentimes, than running away and playing dead? He doesn’t expect to be treated fair or to be forgiven by those people who – he thinks – think so little of him and who he can’t trust, no more…)

 But what does he find? Even more torture, being made an instrument of Thanos. No Thor coming to search for him. No Odin is trying to bring him back… so what else is left for him then to somehow show he is still there by causing trouble. If I don’t get your attention by trying so hard to be good (all my life), then maybe I get your attention by being bad. And btw, he doesn’t stand a chance against Thanos, so he’s gotta do what he’s told. Kind of. He doesn’t really do it in a very successful way, even if he surely would be able to do better. But being successful isn’t really his intent. He probably just wants to be saved from the abuse of Thanos, knowing he can get Thor’s and Odin’s attention and get them to bring him back. And the Tesseract and Scepter are pretty interesting, too.  

But remember what he says to Black Widow? About so much red on the ledger? How will she ever be able to wipe that out? Well… it’s also about him, isn’t it? It’s a question he asks himself: will I ever meet forgiveness for what I’ve done, for what I’m doing here, for who I am? Or am I doomed for the rest of my life cause I messed up? Can I really run from it?

 Well he ends in the dungeons of Asgard. Finally meeting consequences for his actions. He’s at the very bottom there – save from Thanos, yes, but stuck. Stuck in his personal growth, also. So he needs the time there. He needs to be pulled off the track, to be put to a place where he can think about everything, figure it out. At first you just see ongoing hatred against Odin and Thor. He’s still blaming them for everything that went wrong, hiding himself away behind (false) justifications for his actions (like him being born a king). He isn’t really growing but stuck in self-pity and blind hate – it prevents him from really facing what he has done. Which would be very painful… and not bringing him anywhere, cause Thor and Odin are, too, not facing what they have done to him and in which points they are doing him wrong.

He is at the very bottom when Frigga is killed. Cause in his (partly self-chosen) prison of hate he is also unable to be there for the ones he loves. And again: his actions (not only his, but it will be blamed on him) bring pain and destruction…

But he has to think now. He has to reflect now about his shares on all of this. And I guess he’s on a point where he’s so torn between the blame and hate he himself holds for Odin and Thor and the pain of the guilt he feels himself… he’s gotta be such a chaotic mess of self pity, guilt, hatred, still not knowing who exactly he is or wants to be and the traumatic experiences he suffered in the time with Thanos… abandonment even… loss…

And then Thor comes… mighty, glorious Thor finally lowering himself to see him down there at the bottom, needing his help. Help only he can give him: the outcast, the trickster, the sneaking God of Mischief. How relieved he must be, but how bitter, too. Thor only comes when he needs him, not cause he cares about him. But: he finally learns why Loki is to be appreciated for his skills. And then again: he is promised to be facing his cell again, after doing his duty.

So: no real forgiveness in sight. No real appreciation, no Thor seeing it’s not all Loki’s fault, no love and redemption… not yet… but I guess a beginning is made?

Thor also rather gets the help of Loki than obeying Odin. And they already are combining their skills and powers. A beginning of a change for Thor, Loki and Asgard?

 But what other chance does Loki have than to escape, faking his death? (To escape lifelong prison, to make Thor sorry, to show him he will suffer his loss, despite of Thor telling/showing him how little he thinks of him. To sacrifice even to be finally redeemed… alive he would not get that chance, for sure. But now again: he escapes in faking his death, also giving him the chance of inventing himself new. Without having to face consequences. But well, the consequences he’d have to face would not be fair, for Thor and Odin still ignoring their shares on all the catastrophes they blame on Loki.

Also there is a chance to come back at Odin for his ignorance and for what he was doing to him all his life. In parodying him. In mocking him. In playing him as the arrogant, self-righteous, unable ruler he saw in him. And also kind of destroying the power Odin built up – in ways that had been more gruesome than anything Loki has ever done, but that are forgiven – contrary to Loki’s doings.

Now that Frigga is no more, no one will notice. And also no one is there to keep Odin in check. He shows he’s now making terrible decisions, neither Thor nor Loki, not even Heimdall would approve. They are all better off without Odin on the throne but Thor won’t take this responsibility himself. He can’t. At least not without betraying his wish to be a good / wise / worthy man rather than a king. He’d need to fall into the same patterns as Odin, probably, keeping Asgard alive in the old ways. Which also would keep him from giving Loki a fair chance of becoming himself and being appreciated for it.

The old Asgard has to fall.

Thor probably senses that it’s Loki on the throne, not Odin, when he doesn’t take Mjolnir. But probably he doesn’t care or doesn’t want / isn’t able to face it or mutually agrees about Odin not being fit for the throne anymore?

So they stay in a kind of vacuum of uncertainty? Of unsaid and unworked things…

 Then in Ragnarök, Thor falls back at the old patterns again: blaming Loki for everything that happened. Ignoring the shares each one of them has. But Loki doesn’t buy this shit anymore. Thor’s the one at the bottom now, all rules are shut off at Sakaar, also there is someone they have to actually fight (Hela, but it’s superficially just Thor who wants to fight her, not the same situation as against the Dark Elves) and it gives them the chance of evolving. A co-dependent evolving, though: Loki can only grow if Thor is growing to understand and appreciate him. And Thor needs a grown Loki to team up with – cause a suppressed Loki won’t stay with him… and Asgard also needs a king who’s found his own way of reigning…

Odin is dead, the old Asgard and old rules are torn down, giving them chances to reinvent themselves, their roles, Asgard and their relationship, teaming up to be the most powerful couple in the Universe. And imagine how powerful they’d even be if Loki does not only use his powers as God of Mischief to the fullest, but also as a Frost Giant!)

 They are still at the beginning with this developmental process, which would enable Loki to be himself and be loved and appreciated as God of Mischief and the way he deals with things – that’s different from Thor’s – when Infinity War happens.

 Why Loki is taking the Tesseract, we don’t know. It wasn’t actually a bad idea. Who knows what Hela or Surtur would have done with it? Or what it had caused in an exploding Asgard? And who knows what Thor, Loki and Asgard could have used it for?

Maybe it was also Loki not being able to resist the temptation – he still is the God of Mischief and Chaos, he doesn’t have to do “the right” things just for the sake of them being noble and right – there’re great chances in this, as there are in chaos. (But of course this fact is not easy to bear, so all respects to Thor if he really does appreciate and respect Loki for being the God of Mischief and endures causing trouble all the time and learns to see what it’s good for.)

We maybe see some kind of “fuck… again everything’s getting worse cause Loki could not help himself” and a “I’m so sorry…” in Loki, but I want to assume Thor maybe knew. Or he at least doesn’t blame him. That “You’re really the worst, brother” means he hoped for Loki not giving Thanos the Tesseract. Or is some kind of “you’re so mischievious again, I hope you have a plan for this… / I know you’re that way… I still love you but it’s a heavy burden you put on me.” Like saying to your best friend: “I hate you, you’re the worst” for dragging you into a new fandom but of course you don’t mean it in a really bad way...

Or course none of this would have happened if the Tesseract/Space Stone would have been destroyed? Would it even be possible to destroy it with an exploding Asgard? Of course Thanos would not have gone for the Asgardians if Loki wouldn’t have had the Tesseract. But doing so brings Thor (and Loki) into the game against Thanos and without them, the Avengers wouldn’t stand a chance. And you don’t see Thor blaming Loki even once during the whole movie. (Except for “You’re the worst, brother”…and I want to interpret this differently! Because I’m a sucker for harmony and happy endings and it’s so heartbreaking seeing him suffering and struggling all the time...)

And last but not least: he’s clearly stating who he is. Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson, the rightful King of Jötunheim, f*ing GOD OF MISCHIEF! (Yes, he’s talking to get time and to distract Thanos, but he’s also looking at Thor and he could have told everything, but nope, he’s reciting his whole title, his whole identity.) So this might be a clear message: this is me. I’ve found myself. And my place. Trust me to get us out of this... my way.

I’m still convinced they will defeat Thanos in the end and I still hope Loki will have a role in this. Or he had a plan to stay alive and therefor somehow getting away. Him dying like this is not an option. (And I won’t accept him being oh so sorry or oh so beyond redemption that he has to die.)

What I really hope for him, actually, is having a plan. Taking part in defeating Thanos, in his very own chaotic, mischievous way. Finding a way to accept and use his Frost Giant form. And in the end, on the throne of Jötunheim, reigning the Nine Realms together with Thor, causing just enough chaos to keep everyone busy with evolving^^

[I’ve done this in such a quick and dirty way, sorry if there are parts that are very abridged or don’t make sense...and I will definitely regret this when I rewatch the other movies, too ... I just need... to get over this now and face my own problems...]

[reconditarmonia]

Dear Trick or Treater

Hi! Thank you for writing for me! I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3. I have anon messaging off, but mods can contact me with any questions.

Alternate Universe Works | Assassin's Creed | Far from the Madding Crowd | Fidler Afn Dakh | Simoun | Sleep No More

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink! Trust, affectionate or loving use of titles, gestures of loyalty, replacing one’s situational or ethical judgment with someone else’s, risking oneself (physically or otherwise) for someone else, not doing so on their orders. Can be commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff (possibly while crossdressing).

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

Smut Likes: clothing, uniforms, sexual tension, breasts, manual sex, cunnilingus, grinding, informal d/s elements, intensity; stories whose resolution isn’t the sex scene. DNW "pussy."

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; embarrassment; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes; focus on unrequested canon or non-canon ships; unrequested trans versions of characters.

I am requesting exclusively fic, but open to art treats!

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Fandom: Alternate Universe Works (Treat or Trick)

Character(s): Female Li Shang (Mulan 1998), Female Ishmael (Moby Dick), Female Captain Ahab (Moby Dick), Pokémon Trainer Harrowhark Nonagesimus

Female Shang - I would...just love it so much if you Monstrous Regiment-ed this canon up. Shang also being a woman would give her even more reasons to be a hardass (is she in disguise, and thinks that her regiment failing would invite suspicion on her? is she openly female and needs to prove that she’s as good as her father and the country need her to be? is she paranoid about other women in the army, or does she want to have a female regiment?) If you want to write F!Shang/Mulan, I’d also love to know how falling in love with a woman plays into Mulan’s whole arc - it’s certainly not what her family was preparing her for, but neither was being a soldier and saving China. What does seeing another woman dressed as a man (whether Shang is openly female or not, I imagine she’d wear men’s clothes), or a group of women dressed as men, make her think? What are Yao, Chien Po, and Ling like in an AU where they’re also female, if that’s what you choose to write?

I’d be happy for just about anything in this vein - Shang character study, Mulan/Shang romance/sex (this is a canon that is a Lot about bodies and clothes), gen shenanigans with the rest of the squad, both? During canon or post? I love loyalty kink and butch characters a lot.

Female Ishmael, Female Ahab - I’d love to know more about these female sailor(s) and what drives them. A female Ishmael might still decide to sign on to a ship whenever she gets the blues, but it’d be socially fairly different, mightn’t it? (Worldbuilding-wise, I’d be more interested in a world where sailing and whaling are still typically male things as in our world, even if you make them a little less exclusively male, than an egalitarian or matriarchal world; something that women might do, without necessarily disguising themselves as men, but a GNC thing to do.) Would her already diverging from the “expected” female path in this regard affect her reception of Queequeg as someone who’s an outsider to Nantucket society? And, if Queequeg is also female, the the intimacy she offers? What does she still find outlandish? (If you also write f!Queequeg, is her life a typical female life for her home culture, or not?)

As for Ahab - just imagine this fanatic, tragic, vengeful character as a woman - with the willpower not only to do all the things canonical male Ahab does but also in a society where women aren’t really supposed to sail or kill or lead! Is she the odd one out in an otherwise male crew, or are there more women in the crew by the time she’s captain?

Pokémon Trainer Harrow - It's a great idea!! I think she'd have a Duskull, but I'm very open to any choices you make in Pokemon-ing this universe up. Do different houses tend towards different types or no? What are their different cultures around Pokémon raising, training, and fighting? What is Harrow's relationship with her Pokémon like, singular or plural? (I don't need you to think through the implications of what Lyctorhood entails in this setting if you'd rather just write slice of life, and, you know, I was writing this and realized that that might make Harrow's Pokémon Gideon. Thanks, brain, I hate it. DNW Gideon as a Pokémon.)

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Fandom: Assassin's Creed (Treat only)

Character(s): Aveline de Grandpré

I'm close to finishing AC Liberation and I love Aveline a lot! I really like how she basically makes New Orleans into her own little fiefdom and does what she feels like doing. Not in a #girlpower way, but in the sense where she considers herself to be the best person to judge and decide in any situation and to deal with happenings on any level in her various personas, and where becoming a business magnate is actually a part of her character and plot in a way that it wasn't so much for earlier Assassins? I imagine Assassins from other places talking about New Orleans and going "oh yeah, Aveline de Grandpré runs that whole city from the shadows," and then you go there to talk to her and she pulls a Lexa (as in The 100) where she uses her slave disguise to eavesdrop on you while you wait to meet with this Assassin lady merchant.

I like her friendships with other characters too - Gérald being there as the loyal support guy, Élise and Roussillon being the people she can be at ease with (she seems so happy to see them - "Bonjour, smugglers!"). I'd be happy to see something set in New Orleans as she takes it over or after she takes it over, in the Bayou as she lives there in a very different way (where and how does she sleep when she's there?), or in Chichen Itza if you want to expand on her discovery of all the weird shit. [Edit: I've finished the game now and I also like the aspect of her mission with Connor that's about how sometimes Assassin "brother"s from other locations will show up where you, another Assassin, are because there's something they need to find or do, and you'll work together? I guess that's also the premise of AC Rev, but.]

I do ship her with Élise and would love to read that if you do too! Fighting together, whether in the Bayou or on a mission further afield that's just them; Élise visiting Aveline in New Orleans for some reason (what if they go to a fancy party together with Élise dressed as a man?); downtime fluff?

Fandom-Specific DNW: Aveline/men, even mentioned or out-of-focus.

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Fandom: Far From the Madding Crowd (Treat or Trick)

Character(s): Bathsheba Everdene

One thing that always sticks in my mind about this novel is the way Hardy calls Bathsheba “the young farmer” just as he refers to the men as farmers - which, just saying, is more than most people writing about this story can do - and so, that being the case, what I’m most interested in is something about Bathsheba as farmer. One day in the life or four seasons in the life or five plantings/harvests in the life, or pseudo-academic fic about a case study of a woman farmer in the Victorian era, or a conflict between the farm and nature that Bathsheba has to decide how to solve.

Feel free to bring in other characters if it suits what you’re trying to do, but what I’m really looking for is a focus on Bathsheba’s work, determination, and process of learning. (I like how Bathsheba’s relationship with Gabriel ends up playing out in canon, but I don’t want shipfic.) Other ideas: something like a merchant ship AU (as the first alternate setting that came to mind where it would be not exactly the done thing for her to captain her inherited ship and make commercial decisions herself - although I do have to point out that contrary to popular belief, there were a lot of women on shipboard in the age of sail, may this be useful - but also where nature and luck/fate are as influential as they are in the original setting), or something in which the land, superstition, and ritual are more overtly magical. I LOVE English folk magic and ritual shit.

I’ve requested both tricks and treats for this fandom, but would prefer that the outlook of the fic, including if you decide to incorporate non-canon magical/spooky/occult elements, be ultimately positive rather than the doom and gloom that canon leans toward at times. A seasonal treat would be right up the alley of this request.

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Fandom: Fidler Afn Dakh (Treat or Trick)

Character(s): The Fiddler

I would love to read about the Fiddler from the recent Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof, understanding him/her/them as a real person with a backstory, present and future rather than a symbol. They seem to be female (and their actor describes them as female) but wear men's clothes and are on the men's side at the wedding, and everyone seems cool with that? I'm 100% on board with any gender identity you decide you'd like to write them with. How did he/she/they come to be who they are, and what are their interpersonal relationships (platonic, familial, romantic, any gender) like? What might an encounter between them and the supernatural be or have been like? Have they always lived in Anatevka or do they wander from village to village?

Fandom-Specific DNW: antisemitism as the focus of the story. I've requested both tricks and treats, and I acknowledge that it'd be unreasonable to pretend that antisemitism doesn't exist in the world of the story, but I would prefer for any dark/scary elements to come from supernatural horror (I grew up with Singer and other Jewish folklore horror, give me as many dybbuks and demons and witches as you like) rather than the human capacity for racist violence.

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Fandom: Simoun (Treat only)

Character(s): Neviril

I've just completed a rewatch of this show, and it has reaffirmed for me that I love Neviril. She's a leader in both a military and a religious sense, respected by her squad and by the populace, but figuring out what that means to her is such a personal journey. I still love her scene in the hearing where she speaks aloud what no one has wanted to admit or talk about - that they're soldiers now, this is war, can they still call themselves priestessses? - but I was also struck on this rewatch by how Chor Tempest increasingly becomes a player in itself in the politicking (the bit in Episode 21 where the whole lot of them fly out against orders, because it's what they, with Neviril leading and giving voice to the group, think is what their role is about), and by the scenes of her blessing the people (when iirc she is needed elsewhere by the military governor for flight purposes) and Paraietta (after what Paraietta did to her).

I love the military aspects of this canon in general (and the associated tropes of loyalty and trust and bravery and positive/negative relationship to authority) and that definitely ties in to Neviril figuring out what her role is as the squad leader, but I'm also just here for that very process of figuring it out and defining it for herself.

So...what happens to her post-canon? What is the "new world" and her travel in it like? If she makes it back to the main world when war is brewing again, but her old cohort can't fly anymore, what does she see her role as being - a leader for peace, for war, something else? How do she and Aer interact with Paraietta, Rodoreamon, Floef, and/or Vyuraf?

Ship-wise, Aer/Neviril grew on me a lot! I appreciated Aer more as the determined bit-of-a-loose-cannon type than as the manic pixie this time, and noted Neviril's comments about how she was drawn to Aer's determination. But I'd also be up for a poly situation where she's involved with both Aer and Paraietta, who are friends, or, I guess, one where it's a three-way relationship, although I don't personally know what the Aer/Paraietta side would be like! (I do like how they work together in battle even when they're shown as having personal issues.)

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Fandom: Sleep No More (Treat or Trick)

Character(s): Bald Witch, Sexy Witch

One of my favorite things about Sleep No More was the idea of this world of darkness and magic that’s underlying or intertwined with the social world, rather than in a separate space - I loved seeing the Witches at the ball and, holy shit, Bald Witch pulling off her wig after the ball in her solo ritual thing! (I hadn’t realized it was a wig until that moment.) So -

how do either of these witches interact with the normal world (Paisley/the hotel/etc.) or deliberately carve out other spaces (like the apothecary shop)? For that matter, I love the apothecary shop and Bald Witch's scene in it A LOT, so more about that would be awesome.

How did the Witches find each other - was it before or after they were witches?

Are they immortal, and if so, what’s that like for either or both of them?

How much do they have a day-to-day life vs. witching all the time?

Their card game is super cool and I'd love to know more about the Witches and cards.

I was very struck on my last visit by Sexy Witch's dance for Hecate after the rave. The fan material seems to describe it as her having trouble coming down, but it felt to me like pleading with Hecate for more power, more magic.

If you want to ship them together, and/or with Hecate (or both) I’m very up for that as well. Some sexy prompts if you go in that direction -

ritual sex magic to make something happen or share power?

If they have non-witch personas and sleep together while they’re being normal people, is there still magic?

Sex in one of the play locations - the apothecary, the ballroom, the bar that’s the empty shell of the real bar?

Slow dancing nude, or another inverted version of something in the normal world?

Fandom-Specific DNW: f/m ships with requested characters

[105ttt]

I’m just going to ramble about how we see Shadow’s character develop throughout the Sonic games (mostly the Dreamcast era with some modern era stuff thrown in there) and why I think his character is a lot more than just being an “edgy hedgie with a gun”. Everything is going to be below a readmore, since this is going to be really long.

Yes, it’s an old complaint that Shadow is not just some edgy teenager with a gun who gets angry all the time and solely lives to pick on Sonic, but if you actually take time to sit back and consider all of Shadow’s actions from his first appearance in SA2 onward, he actually seems less evil and edgy than people make him out to be.

Shadow’s character changes a lot in my opinion from SA2 to Heroes, but there are reasons that he acts differently in these games. Starting in SA2, Shadow is depicted as a villain who helps Eggman in trying to destroy the world with the ARK, and of course his tragic backstory combined with his evil actions makes him look like a stereotypical edgy angst magnet. But we need to consider the reason why Shadow helps Eggman in order to make a judgement about how evil he really is.

Shadow wasn’t helping Eggman just because he wanted to see the world burn out of some innate sadistic desire or a desire to have power over everyone else for no reason other than being evil. He helped Eggman because he incorrectly remembered Maria’s wish before dying as her wanting revenge for her death. He was also somehow made to believe he owed Eggman a favor for waking him up from cryostasis (literally calling him “Master” and saying he will grant him one wish).

Speaking of cryostasis, a friend of mine brought up the fact that from Shadow’s point-of-view at that point in time, he had literally just plummeted to Earth after watching his only friend sacrifice herself to send him to safety and then be murdered by people he doesn’t know for reasons he doesn’t understand, was then captured and imprisoned by said people he doesn’t know for reasons he doesn’t understand, and now has been awoken by someone he hardly seems to know and is expected to fulfill that person’s wish of destroying the world. Shadow’s mistaken memory conveniently matches up with Eggman’s desire to destroy the world, and while it’s not justified to kill innocent people just to get revenge for the unjust death of one person, Shadow didn’t necessarily want to murder people out of sadism or some evil desire - his actions in SA2 are done out of his devotion to Maria, a trait which we see in later games.

Shadow’s actions take a dramatic turn when he eventually remembers what Maria really wanted after Amy convinces him to help the others stop the ARK. After that point, he abandons his stubborn refusal to help and leaves Amy immediately to go join up with everyone as quickly as he can (even though he had been Sonic’s nemesis up until that point throughout the entire game). He even goes as far as to fight the Biolizard for Sonic and Knuckles so they can stop the Chaos Emeralds and later joins Sonic in his super form to stop Finalhazard, only to sacrifice himself to save the Earth in the end. These actions are clearly linked with the fact that Maria’s true wish was for Shadow to protect the Earth, and we see here that again, his actions are done out of devotion to Maria and possibly a genuine sense of heroism.

What do I mean by heroism? Well, even as early as SA2, we see that Shadow is quick to defend or protect innocent people and his friends, and he doesn’t let innocent people be endangered if he can help it. One major example I can think of in SA2 is when Rouge is trapped on Prison Island. After running late in escaping the island on her mission to get the Chaos Emeralds, she calls Shadow and lets him know she won’t make it off in time with the Emeralds. Shadow naturally wants to save the Emeralds because he needs them to achieve his goal, but when he uses Chaos Control to get to Rouge, does he simply grab the Emeralds and leave again? Absolutely not. He takes Rouge with him right before the island explodes, thus rescuing both her and the Emeralds. When the two talk later, Rouge brings this up, and Shadow claims he only came to save the Emeralds, but that may be a cover so that he doesn’t show Rouge he cares (this connects to something I’ll mention later). After all, he could have, in theory, grabbed the Emeralds while Rouge was still shocked from seeing him use Chaos Control and then left Rouge to die in the explosion.

Shadow actually shows this same willingness to protect others in Sonic Heroes and Sonic ‘06, both incidents involving Rouge as well. The example from Heroes is really striking because it’s implied that Shadow forgot everything that happened in SA2 after falling back to Earth again. In the opening cutscene of Team Dark’s route, Omega awakens when Rouge tries to unlock the capsule holding Eggman’s “secret treasure” and opens fire on her. Shadow wakes up to notice this and, instead of immediately facing off with Omega to stop his reckless shooting, actually pushes Rouge out of harm’s way and then tries to stop Omega. What’s significant about this interaction is that Shadow supposedly doesn’t remember Rouge at all, and yet he decides to keep her safe even though he doesn’t know her. He could have left her to die from Omega’s gunfire and used that to stall Omega so he could take him out, but he decides to make sure she’s safe first. On the other hand, he attacks Omega because Omega seems like a threat to him - Omega attacked first, and so Shadow feels the need to stop him. This scene brings up another interesting point in Shadow’s character we see a lot: Shadow doesn’t attack someone who doesn’t threaten him first or otherwise causes him some sort of problem. This may be why Shadow was so quick to fight Sonic in SA2 despite not knowing who Sonic is. Sonic often posed a threat to Shadow by trying to take the Chaos Emeralds away from him or otherwise just demanding a fight, to which Shadow obliged. The same is true for the inter-team boss fights in Sonic Heroes, where Team Dark faced off with the other teams because Rouge was worried they would get in Team Dark’s way. Rather than being the aggressors who pick a fight for no reason, both teams involved typically had a reason to defend themselves.

But getting back to Shadow’s heroism, the example from Sonic ‘06 I mentioned earlier is equally important in showing this facet of Shadow’s character. When Rouge and Shadow are on a mission to get the scepter holding Mephiles, they are ambushed by Eggman, and at one point Rouge is struck down from the sky. Shadow had a choice at this point to either keep his hold on the scepter and let Rouge crash or save her and let the scepter break. He goes for the latter and catches Rouge just in time, but as a result, the scepter breaks, and Mephiles is freed. This decision to save Rouge over keeping whatever dark power trapped inside the scepter contained shows that Shadow prioritizes his friends’ safety greatly, even if it means he has to sacrifice something else.

Shadow really is a kind and loyal person at heart, though sometimes his emotions get the best of him. The same friend I mentioned earlier pointed out that Shadow’s aggression in earlier games like SA2, Heroes, and ShTh was probably just a side-effect of him being so confused about who he is - and more importantly where he is. Keep in mind that Shadow had never been on Earth before SA2, and now that he has to face this brand-new world, all while not knowing what his intended purpose was in life, must have driven him to be aggressive. His dedication to achieving his goals probably fed this aggression as well, since it may have been the best way to deter any impediments to his goals. My friend also brought up the fact that Shadow, while being chronologically 66 years old, is mentally and physically 16 years old. He’s going to act and think like a typical 16-year-old, albeit with some behaviors found in people who experienced trauma, because that’s what he is. He likes blowing things up and being powerful because he knows how powerful he is (he brings up the fact that he’s the ultimate life form all the time), but he doesn’t use that power for evil or just for kicks, as we see in many games where, when Shadow acts like his true self, he uses his powers for only good. His overconfidence in games like SA2 and Heroes also stems from the fact that he is, in fact, a young teenager with lots of power at his fingertips and a new world to explore. In this respect, he and Sonic are very similar: both are kind and a bit prideful, but they don’t put down others unless they prove to be evil or a threat.

An interesting side note on Shadow’s power is that he seems to get untold amounts of strength from his love for and devotion to the people he cares about. We see this multiple times in the true ending of ShTH, where Shadow is able to instantly recover from the effect of Black Doom’s paralyzing gas through his accumulated memories of Maria and later when he breaks free from Black Doom’s mind control after seeing Gerald’s message to Shadow about the Black Comet. The entire premise of Heroes being that each Team grows stronger through teamwork and the friendship between all three people in each Team also remains true for Shadow, despite people typically seeing him as a loner-type. And just as much as Shadow gets strength from his loved ones, he encourages them as well when they need strength. Throughout the entire Finalhazard fight in SA2, Shadow constantly checks on Sonic to make sure he is okay and even compliments him at one point, saying with a laugh that he believes Sonic may be the actual ultimate life form. In Heroes we see this same kind of support towards Sonic when Shadow offers to distract Metal Sonic during the Metal Madness fight so that Team Sonic can go super, and later in Generations Shadow says the infamous line: “You’ve got this, Sonic!” as an expression of genuine encouragement and faith in Sonic’s abilities.

Just as Shadow believes in his own power and others’ power, Shadow also has a capacity for understanding right from wrong, and though ShTH shows that he understands that some choices aren’t black and white, he knows when evil needs to be punished. It is ironic that people consider Shadow a villain simply because of his appearance when he has spoken out against evil multiple times in multiple games. In Heroes, during the Metal Madness fight, Shadow actually criticizes Metal Sonic for stealing data on all living life forms in order to become strong, showing that he doesn’t believe in unfair methods of obtaining power. In ShTH he shows the same kind of sentiment towards Black Doom, refusing to give him the Chaos Emeralds and becoming angry at Black Doom for tricking him into collecting them for him in order to enslave the human race. Shadow’s distaste for evil is shown directly in the lyrics of “Supporting Me”, where the “air of darkness” is said to be “disgusting”, and yet Shadow “never [loses] out” to it, indicating that he doesn’t let his past evil actions get him down or discourage him from wanting to change for the better. He even outright states in his victory phrase after defeating Finalhazard that he wants to destroy “all the evil [Professor Gerald] has created”.

Another point in Shadow’s character that is similar to Sonic but also shows his own unique perspective on life: he values his freedom just as much as he values his friends, and doesn’t let his past get to him. The Dreamcast era games really focused on Shadow’s identity issues, but they also showed that he handles them in a way that doesn’t let them bring him down. In fact, Rouge is the one to mention Shadow’s identity problems in both SA2 and Heroes. In SA2, Rouge confronts Shadow about the fact that his memories may be fake and that he may not be the real end product of Project Shadow, but Shadow doesn’t respond with sorrow or a typical “angsty” answer. He instead asserts that even if his memories are fake, he is who he is now as a result of his actions throughout the entire story of SA2, and he is content with the identity he has made for himself. He then doesn’t dwell on the issue any longer and focuses on his own goal. A similar situation occurs in Heroes, where, upon finding the Shadow Androids, Rouge attempts to console Shadow, who has gone silent. Rather than breaking down, Shadow simply tells Rouge to disregard the Androids and to keep moving. This action ties back to the point I made earlier about Shadow not letting others see that he cares all the time. Possibly because he doesn’t want to burden others with his problems or let those problems affect who he is as a person, Shadow doesn’t let Rouge dwell on what he may have felt upon seeing the Androids and decides to ignore them. We see a similar reaction in Sonic ‘06, after learning that Omega was the one to seal him away in the future, Shadow doesn’t go off on Omega or cause an uproar. He simply walks away, probably to give himself time to think or just to avoid burdening Rouge and Omega with his feelings at that moment.

During the final stage of Heroes, Shadow makes a declaration reminiscent of the one in SA2 and affirms his identity as who he is currently rather than what he was in the past. ShTH really brings this together during the True Ending, when Shadow outright declares to Black Doom after breaking free from the paralyzing gas, “I’m Shadow the Hedgehog. I’ve left the past behind me. No one can tell me what to do now!” Shadow not only retains his freedom to determine who he is but also his destiny - which brings up another quote from Sonic ‘06. After Mephiles shows Shadow his future self imprisoned in a capsule permanently for fear of his power in order to convince him to take revenge on the humans who imprisoned him, Shadow simply tells Mephiles to quit the act and that he will never listen to his futile persuasion. Upon Mephiles asking if Shadow will really forgive humanity for his fate, Shadow says only one thing: “I determine my own destiny.” We even see in ShTH that Shadow doesn’t let his memories of Maria and Gerald haunt him: in the final cutscene of the True Ending, Shadow tosses away a picture of himself and Maria while saying “Goodbye forever, Shadow the Hedgehog”, signifying that he won’t let his past define him or haunt him any longer. He doesn’t let anyone - whether it be his own father, Maria, Gerald, or even his friends - determine his path of action and his choices. The entirety of ShTH is spent with Shadow determining his course of action in order to get to what he believes in the truth, demonstrating his belief in his own strength and sense of right and wrong (which is shown to be less black-and-white than it seems at first). All of Shadow’s character songs tie back to themes of freedom to be oneself or confidence in one’s identity created through one’s actions, and these songs often give off a feeling of being victory songs because victory for Shadow is asserting that he is who he is no matter what may have happened in the past.

In the end, I think Shadow is a kind, loyal, and determined person at heart who knows that right and wrong aren’t always easy to discern at first but still wants to protect the world from wrongdoing and help those in the world who are symbols of goodness, and who also values his freedom and loved ones more than anything.

[pomegranate-salad]

Seeds of thought : Wicdiv 455AD

Hey everyone ! Fair warning, this month’s analysis is a bit heavy on the History lesson side. I try not to go all nerdy on here because I want to emphasize that this is only my opinion/thoughts and not “10 things you need to know to understand this issue” but the further we go back in time, the harder it gets to analyse things without putting them in context first. So yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, as usual spoilers under the cut. Enjoy !

FOUND ROME IN MARBLE, LEFT IT IN SHAMBLES

 What in G-O-D’s name did poor Eleanor Rigby have on her face that made Ananke so pissed ? Because let’s face it, between 1831’s wannabe necromancer and 455AD’s emperor in training, her double murder ranks maybe a 3 on the Lucifers-are-a-pain-in-the-ass-o-meter. Having been a main character in the comic and both specials, Lucifer is at this stage the god we’re the most familiar with in the grand scheme of the Recurrence. And while our data is inevitably skewed because we haven’t seen enough incarnations of the other gods, it means that using him, we can begin to talk about gods not only throughout one specific incarnation, but as a succession of incarnations, and analyse their recurring traits – and their evolution – both as a character and a religious/mythological figure.

 A few hours before the special came out, I wrote this short analysis of the various wheel symbols of Lucifer in which I saw a common theme of both religious inadequacy and performative value. I observed that according to their symbols Lucifers were not mystic leaders, but performers, closer to the popular idea of themselves than to themselves. Turns out I was accidentally dead on, at least when it comes to the 455AD special. This time, Lucifer is literally an actor, and although it’s unclear whether or not he was one before becoming a god, I think we can assume it is the case, seeing how vindictive “Julius” is about making people respect actors.

Contrary to Greek traditions, actors in Rome were considered the lowest part of society, barely superior to slaves ; in fact many of them came from families of former slaves. A lot of them were basically courtesans who occasionally acted. And of course, the profession was associated with “shameful” sexual practices, homosexuality first and foremost.

Furthermore, Roman theatres are not a place of worship. It is rare to see gods in plays, and there is no religious meaning behind attending a play – something that is hinted at in Dionysus’ choice of calling himself Bacchus. So when “a catamite actor boy” reveals himself to be a god, should the tables turn ? Not as much as it would have seemed : in his flashbacks with Dionysus, Lucifer’s clothes and housing remain shabby, his tone bitter. Divine or not, Lucifer is just an actor. He cannot make History, only resurrect it onstage while Rome is falling. He is loved, but not respected, hated but not feared, brilliant but not enlightening. Who he was is in constant tension with who he became and what he wants to accomplish. Can you blame him for deciding to put on his stage costume permanently ?

In fact, this entire pantheon seems to have faced the same problem : who must you be to inspire people when you have so little time ? In later centuries, and especially in modern times, the answer will be much easier : be a performer. But in 455AD, inspiring figures are not onstage, they’re in the forum or on a battlefield. Those are political times. The answers the gods gave are varied : Baal is a city leader, Inanna arranges a political wedding, Mithras is a general of some sort, Minerva is linked to a place of knowledge. But as for Lucifer, a roman actor, who better to be than the ultimate junction of man, god, acting and political power ? He will be emperor.

 But adding a third facet to himself – actor, god, and now emperor – doesn’t solve his paradoxes and inadequacies ; it aggravates them. This special weaves a complex web of references linking all those facets, all of which ripe with tragic irony. There is of course the figure of Julius Caesar, who never technically became emperor and died trying, which Lucifer turns into some grand saviour of Rome. Then we have the usual suspects, Caligula and Nero, the madman and the artist, both of which wanted to succeed to the “great” emperors Julius Caesar and Augustus only to fail, finding a new incarnation in Lucifer. But I see two more emperors eluded to in this issue. First there is Tiberius, who started the practice of throwing criminals in the Tiber, and also famously forbade higher-class citizens to entertain relationships with actors. And even more interestingly, there was another emperor who straight-up forbade his priests and senators to set foot in a theatre : Julian the Apostate, the last pagan emperor.

 Holding Christian beliefs became legal in the Roman Empire in 313 under Constantine, who also became the first emperor to convert. Christianity then quickly became the dominant religion all over the empire, extending to the various Germanic tribes who had started integrating themselves to Eastern territories in search for cultivable lands, and had adopted roman culture for sometimes more than a century at the time of the special (if anyone was confused by Genseric being a Christian, here’s the explanation). But in 362, Emperor Julian briefly tried to restore paganism before dying from a battle wound. Only a few years after his death, paganism was outlawed for good in the Roman Empire.

 If there’s one invader hovering over this entire special, it’s not Genseric, it’s Christianity. A subject I find fascinating but hadn’t been touched much before by the comic is the relationship between the worshipping of the pantheon and the status of monotheistic, worldwide religions. In modern times, the two seemed to coexist in relative peace, as the cult of the pantheon didn’t seem able to transcend its members’ death. The Pantheon is an event, Religion an institution. But here, four centuries after the birth of Christianism, we are at the end of a cultural shift : Christianism has become the dominant religion while paganism is quickly disappearing. What this means is that this generation of pagan gods is experiencing, maybe for the first time, what it’s like to exist in a world that no longer worships you. Paradoxically, as these gods get farther away from the times they were actually dominant figures, they’ll have an easier time drawing from those sources and adapting them to match the current taste. But in 455AD ? The Pantheon is suffocating in the shadow of the Christ, not relevant enough anymore to sustain a cult on their own, not syncretised enough to resonate within the context of Christian culture.

 And this brings us to our poor Lucifer. Of all the members of this pantheon that we know of, he’s the one that will be assimilated most directly and most textually to Christianity. You could argue that Inanna found some sort of syncretism with the Virgin Mary, but if only by their names, all of them save for Lucifer will remain decidedly more pagan than Christian. Lucifer, on the other hand, will see his pagan origin completely erased by his Christian recuperation. From a minor god presumed to be the divine incarnation of Venus, he will gradually become one of the most important figures in Christian iconography, a position that will allow him a degree of changeability in concepts and role that will make for an incredibly rich series of incarnations. Eleanor drew from the evolution of mores and morality to create a supremely cool and even areligious devil, yet one that had the tang of a crisis of faith ; XIXth century Lucifer was both the devil of Romantic artists, a tragic incarnation of creativity and also the remnants of popular beliefs, the grotesque figure of evil philosophy quickly being replaced by higher concepts.

But in 455AD, Lucifer is a difficult one, “this time most of all”, because he finds himself in the middle of an identity crisis. He is being robbed of his traditional divinity and turned into something else. Something that, according to most interpretations, is not even divine, just “a dog shivering from the Divine’s whip”.

Taking the mantle of the emperor is not just an act of hubris, it’s an act of desperation, not only to stay alive as a member of the pantheon past two years, but as a divine figure past his time of worship. It’s interesting to note that if some emperors were indeed deified, they were so after their death ; to Lucifer, they are the proof you can retain divinity even after your time is over.

 But of course, you cannot escape programmed death, in more ways than one. Christianity is pertaining at every corner of this issue, dooming the gods to obscurity. The final destruction of the library of Alexandria is said to have been ordered by Pope Theophilus ; the figure of Ildico, the wife suspected to have assassinated Attila, will get overshadowed by Saint Genevieve, said to have stopped the Huns’ march in Gallia. As for Mithras feeding his army with his own flesh, I’m afraid we’ll only remember its famous precedent.

Ananke herself seems to incarnate the unstoppable march of Christianity : draped in a blue shawl reminiscent of the Virgin Mary herself, she is referred to by Lucifer as “the most necessitous mother”.

And as for Lucifer himself… he might try to be an actor, a pagan god, an emperor all at once, but at every turn, he is Christian. I joked that his own symbol, the upside-down Chi Rho, has never been associated with him, but indeed, his own symbol has never been associated with him. Upside-down or not, a Chi Rho is a Chi Rho, and it only ever refers to the Christ. In 455AD, you cannot even signify Lucifer anymore without using the Christ. And then we have Lucifer’s last moments. Like the actor he is, the builds his scene to evoke both his pagan origin (with Jupiter as his father) and his chosen personality Julius Caesar with his last words a direct reference. But while Caesar’s last words “Et tu, Brute ?” were addressing his son, in this context “Et tu, Jupiter” is addressing the father. A father who has abandoned him while he was trying to sacrifice himself for a people. Father, why hast thou forsaken me.

 Lucifer dies closer to a failed Christ as he does to his own pagan roots. But how could he have not failed ? It wasn’t that he was bad, or powerless, but he was inadequate. As an actor and as a god, in a time that had no use for the old him anymore and no use for the new him yet. More than anything else, Lucifer is battling the invincible push and pull of History. Being born in the wrong time and place, practicing the wrong profession, loving the wrong person. Being the wrong god. When you’re out of place in History, there is no changing the stage. You can’t create your own atmosphere. When you’re not in tune, you’re not in tune.

And through Lucifer, it’s the death of Rome itself that’s told. Deified emperors were not just additions to the pantheon ; they were the divinities most closely associated to Rome as a political entity. In pagan times, when they invaded other regions, Romans famously let people keep their religion, but all had to be present on the days of celebration of deified emperors. They served as a unifying cultural fabric throughout the Empire. The emperors were the gods of Rome. Lucifer, like Julian the Apostate, tries to reinstate paganism, but with a particular target : the very spirit of the greatness of Rome. He vows a cult to the idea of the Empire more than its gods.

 But the Empire is done. And so will be, in barely 70 years, the Vandal kingdom, reconquered by the Eastern Roman Empire. As for what vandal will come to mean… In her final speech to Genseric, is Ananke purposely lying or is she just as ignorant of the future as he is ? Most of all, I think she does not care. In her own words, gods are meant to burn bright to light humanity’s path, but each and every god of this pantheon accompanied the end of an era. If the gods serve any purpose, they do not ensure that the path will remain the same, only that there is a path to continue on. Failure is just as significant as victory ; the pantheon walks alongside History, they do not shape it. The 455AD pantheon’s purpose was to bear witness to the fall of the old world, of their world, and Ananke would not let them deviate from it.

In fact, we are two specials in, and so far have we witnessed anything but endings and falsification ? The events of the summer of 1831 did not just remain a mystery as Ananke destroyed Inanna’s journal, they also coincided with the end of the golden age of the Romantics. 455AD does not simply marks another step towards Rome’s rapid fall, but what really happened is now mere “wilder theories” according to David Blake. So far, it seems a successful pantheon to Ananke’s standards is one she managed to almost erase from History. Once again, ironically, this special IS our Sulla : we’ve seen Ananke rewrite History once, we know she can do it again. How many times HAS she done it ?

“Lucifer was only an actor made great by History” and, as Ananke hints, so is everyone. But Lucifer in the History she rewrote is neither great nor part of History. If truly we are all actors on the stage of History, then every generation is playing for the future ones. The actors do not know their role and the audience does not know the truth. And if the play goes wrong, Ananke will there to sweep the stage after each performance. Alea falsata est.

  WHAT I THOUGHT OF THE ISSUE

 So, before anything else, can we agree that if Wicdiv ever gets to make figurines of its characters, Lucifer with his homemade harp needs to be one ? Because I have a figurine of the Hieronymus Bosch knife-penis from The Garden of Delights that needs a friend. Cool ? Cool.

 I do admire the wicdiv team’s will to have the special be their own thing instead of a simple extension of the normal wicdiv canon. They read like a completely different series, with its own language and rhythm. This one had even fewer kieronisms than the last one and the style is almost antithetic to McKelvie’s. But what this also means is that this reads like the issue #2 of a series more than an outgrowth of the main one. Meaning, it’s a series that’s still finding its footing.

Wicdiv 455AD is much better than its predecessor Wicdiv 1831, but as part of its series I have a feeling it’s not quite what it has the potential of being yet. The story 1831 was trying to tell simply didn’t work for the one-shot format : it felt rushed, with stakes minimal, and its referencing didn’t seem to add up to anything. 455AD, despite technically happening on a grander scale, tells a much more personal story. The limited number of pages certainly works better with one character and a straight timeline than it does with four on multiple storytelling levels. And if the references forced me to take maybe one too many trips by Wikipedialand, it felt purposeful, adding to the text instead of subtracting from it.

So the most obvious problems from 1831 have clearly been fixed. The story of 455AD works wonderfully as a one-shot, albeit one that requires a decent baggage on both the Wicdiv canon and ancient History. This is one of those “the less you know about the character, the better” cases, and reading the reviews I find it very telling that everyone seems to have different levels of empathy for the main character. Over the course of the one-shot, he appears both extremely sympathetic and insufferable. But the shortness of the plot never allows us to form a meaningful connexion with him, meaning we always keep a certain distance from the story, which in this case is a good thing : this special is about the movement of history, the towering feeling of hindsight, the spectacle of failure. Having such distance to the characters allows us to seize the foolishness of his quest while also finding room for sympathy ; if we were more involved, we’d resent his failure. In that perspective, we are more on Ananke’s side than his. We come from a place so far away in History that we cannot possibly root for his success, because we cannot envision the dramatic change that would mean for our own history. Just like Wicdiv #27 took a time limit and turned this limitations into an asset by embracing frenzy and confusion, Wicdiv 455AD took its limited number of pages and used it to tell a story on ineluctability. It had just the right level of story not told to get us just as involved as we need to be.

 However, the format of the one-shot still feels a bit too short for its story. It focuses on the character, which was the most important element, but to the detriment of the rest. Rome is falling, but we barely see it ; the most we get is burning rooftops and murdered courtiers. It’s hard to feel the toll and stakes of it all when the camera is zooming so closely on the main character. And call me greedy, but I would have liked to see more of Araùjo’s depiction of Rome. I just love this style so much. I’m not sure if that’s a common type of style in Anglo-Saxon media, but for me in Europe it’s a huge nostalgia bomb. I grew up on French/Belgian comics and this kind of super detailed, expressive and somewhat cartoonish style is basically my childhood. Plus, coincidentally, this type of comics was obsessed with Ancient Rome. Here however, the story happens mostly in geometrical interiors, and save for the triumph scene, the city feels almost empty. Of course, part of it is intentional : Ananke’s walk to the Tiber, from the magnificent streets though walls too small to be intimidating, to a dirty river under dirty stone exudes maybe the most powerful pathos Wicdiv has ever wrung out. But as a whole, the setting lacks scale and life. I think I’ve already said before that locations are maybe the least interesting graphic aspect of Wicdiv, but goddamn, if you give me Rome before the fall and I don’t get a little bit whiplashed by the setting, I feel robbed. Clearly the décor had to be kind of sacrificed for the characters, and the expressions here are just fantastic. They achieve a level of ugliness that’s completely foreign to McKelvie’s style ; even when his characters are pissed, they never stop looking like perfect cut-outs from magazines. The expressiveness of Araùjo’s drawings immediately plunges us in something realer, more tangible and grounded. I just wish there had been more of a balance between character and background.

As for the writing, it still occasionally feels like there was way too much going on in those scripts and what made it onto the pages is what won at eeny meeny miny moe but as a whole there’s much more breathing room in the dialogues. Lucifer and Ananke’s discussion is the one bordering the most on overbearing, but it’s too much of a delight to see Ananke’s manipulative ways to really mind. Of Gillen’s habitual writing style, this special retains its disjointedness (which as usual works when it works and lets you roll with it if not) but adds a substantial touch of natural that’s not that common in the main wicdiv run : bizarrely, despite the complex speech patterns of Antique Rome, this special feels more intimate and direct than the average Wicdiv issue.

 Overall, I did really like this special. I think it was starting with a bit of an advantage given how interested I am in Ancient Rome. The Art is to die for, even though it still felt like it could have been showcased even better. The story is purposeful and all the googling didn’t feel like a waste of time. Still, I feel like there’s still some wiggle room to make a truly great one-shot in which the limited space and the conceptuality won’t hinder the emotional connexion. I’d also like to see the specials mix it up by maybe getting away from the “end of the pantheon” motive, and given the next special should be the modernist pantheon and we’ve already seen their end, it feels like the perfect place to do it.

Yeah, I’m aware my opinion is not all that interesting this time, as for me this special falls in the “very good but not great” category, and I’m not that clear on what could have been done to make it great. Most of all, I think it tells us that standalone issues are hard, and when they have to do with a completely different historical context and revelations on the main canon to cram in somewhere, it’s not every day you’ll get something as rich and enjoyable as this.

[marcythewerewolf]

Some Lord of Shadows Thoughts, In No Particular Order

I think Jace’s name is in this book more than Kieran’s which is obnoxious. Also every appearance of his was prefaced by a multi-sentence description of how gorgeous he was. This did not stop even when he showed up purely to be a dick to Kit. I officially hate book Jace now. He’s drunk the Kool Aid and he’s part of the Shadowhunter establishment and he’s insufferable so thanks for that book. ‘

Shadowhunters are a cult. Full stop. Sometimes it seems like the book has started to recognize this but then it backtracks and goes back to glorifying them. They’re so rich, they’re so pretty! Like, yeah, but they’re also super racist and hugely regressive and directly responsible for the suffering of thousands. Sure, they do some good along the way but so does Salvation Army, they’re still BAD. Look past all the glitter and propaganda and they’re just magical thugs who haven’t gotten past the middle ages and at this rate never will. The Blackthorn kids are better off without them. 

Kit is probably the most sympathetic person in the entire book and I do want him to run away and set up a pawn shop in Ohio? Save him from everyone but especially Jace. 

At one point his face was described as angular though, which makes me wonder if CC has seen a fifteen year old ever. You do it once, it’s justifiable, but most teenagers have a bad case of the baby face and saying other wise is ridiculous. This cheekbone addiction is getting out of hand. 

This book was so ridiculously heterosexual. Like, just such a pervasive case of unfortunate and tragic heterosexuality. So casual. So pointless. Magnus first gets brought up as “glittery”. One character thinks in all seriousness that you only get one dad. Gwyn is painfully straight for no apparent reason when faeries should and previously have been all sorts of flexible. It’s just... bad. 

The centurions are all kind of awful and I didn’t bother to learn their names. 

That being said, I did like the focus on Diana. She’s beautiful and amazing and brave and I love her. 

This is just blatant apologism for what happened to Anselm Nightshade. You set up a situation like that, you deal with the consequences of it, you don’t wimp out. 

The kids went to Faerie together and I am glad for that. They did just kill of Iarlath with no fanfare, but now his headcanon bf are chilling together and we got some follow up on Malcolm’s faerie ties so I’m not too mad about that. 

“Her old tutor, Katerina.” God, where’s my  Katerina spinoff. She has gotten no lines ever and because of that I love her. 

I do like anything with faeries very much but it could afford to be a little less fantasy and a little less chaos theory. The rest is just an issue of misplaced expectation. Obviously I like some of my interpretations better (killing girls is so stupid and outdated, an actual curse dooming him to have fifty sons all the time is maybe a twist) but other than that, nice worldbuilding, solid writing. 

Faeries! Gosh, I just love them so much. Faeries all the time, that what I want. 

The Unseelie King is super interesting. His kids are more trite, but hey, I love them anyways. 

On a related note, have I mentioned how much Gwyn just wants his big dumb teenagers to be safe and happy? Kieran and Mark aren’t even twenty and they need to take care of each other and not die. What a quality Faerie Dad. 

Some times these kids act dumb but i do not begrudge them it on account of them being children. 

The book got good about halfway through, which I appreciated. Kieran my sweet bratty boy, Nene the enigma, the courts, this is some good stuff I appreciate. 

What I did not appreciate was the killing off of Arthur. Like, come on. You’ve already done a disservice by magicking up your mental illness, you don’t have to kill him off too. A much more straight forward solution would have used the fact that Malcolm and Annabel were technically married, have his death revive her, then have confused Annabel and her angry zombie husband coming after the Institute, then Annabel realizing what was really going on and turning on Malcolm. Less in between steps. Failing that, ancient aunt they mentioned last book. 

Mark, Miach, darling, in fairness, the Seelie Queen’s lover very much did kidnap you. She was kidnap complicit. Don’t be trusting her. She absolutely had Sebastian’s baby. 

Memory loss plots are rather boring, but I recognize they do something for some people, so it might just be a cup of tea situation. Enjoy your memory loss then, friends. 

The Kieran/Mark/Cristina plot is juicy and I do like that but I want More Diana and Helen and Aline back and Answers first, you know?

One of the downsides of these books being about Shadowhunters is that it always comes down to the Shadowhunter heroes fighting and killing the irrational villainous Downworlder hordes which is Unfortunate. That conflict with Barnabas could have gone so much better. 

People need to stop trying to brainwash Kit with this Herondale stuff. People don’t go around calling me by my great-great great grandmother’s name and expect me to sit down and take it. Sure, we’re technically related, but that’s not how convention or basic politeness works. Your name is what you are raised with and more importantly it’s what you choose. His name is Kit and he’s a Rook until he decides, on his own without the constant pressure of adults, to be something else. 

As an extension of that? All these callbacks to the other book? They’re getting old and frankly more than a little annoying. 

Jessamine died in 1878. Edgar Allan Poe died in 1849. I’m telling you guys, the timeline just doesn’t line up. She wasn’t even born when Malcolm was young and building his house.

Kieran is a very impulsive boy who is already too invested in his Shadowhunter bf and gf. I don’t make the rules. 

I tried not to read too much into the Disaster Children literally burning down a church and having a weird intimate moment but they really are a mess. No laws, no holy lands, nothing but family, and nothing comes before family. I’m much more invested in them when they’re tearing down the establishment and making terrible toxic Wicked Powers choices. 

AIRMED WAS THE DAUGHTER OF MANNAN. This is basic people. Do your research. 

See, the memory loss plots always backfire unless you come clean. Lying never pays, kids. 

My Diana theories are more or less confirmed which I appreciate, thank you very much. 

I do very much wish they’d at least had the decency to leave bby Morgenstern a bby, that or go all the way and age him a few decades so you had a fifty something year old claiming to be Clary’s nephew. Much better than this cliche storm. 

I recognize that Annabel got a short shift in life, but so did Malcolm, frankly. The fact that he gets a life of torment and a horrible death at the hands of one he loved while she gets to wander off and live happily is a little concerning to me. Why do Downworlders not get to be happy? Downworlders, and Arthur Blackthorn, apparently, aren’t allowed to live nice, non-tragic lives, but pretty young Shadowhunters can get away with anything. At this point I would have preferred a disappointing end for Annabel. Get that good tragedy going. The Blackthorn’s clearly have a bad case of the Gothics they need to fulfill. 

Oh. OH. There we go. There’s the Blackthorn drama I crave. 

My sweet girl, my sweet girl Livvy. She’s coming back as a ghost, isn’t she?

So that’s about five hours. My record holds. The book wasn’t bad, it was just sooooo long. I feel like it could have used a ruthless editor with a really good grasp of the classics to clean things up a bit. Didn’t make me laugh as much, but that might just be a result of my evolving sense of humour. Drama got good nearer the last half of the book. There was some nice stuff in there. Overall, not a waste of five hours, and I’m not mad. Just please, someone de-brainwash these Shadowhunter children. They’re in a cult. Someone needs to tell them that they’re in a cult. Save Kit, he’s getting pulled in as well.