#and also due to the circumstances he was an effective and important character to the batman mythos

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

savanaclaw light novel: the importance of introspection

I’ve previously discussed how TWST benefits from telling us the same story across different mediums. Different mediums provide different benefits over others, and some can “patch up” rougher bits of story or add more detail to them. The game is interactive and serves as a baseline for most new content. The manga is able to have far more freedom of movement and expression due to being visual-heavy. And last, but not least, a light novel, which is mostly text, has the boon of letting us see more of each character’s thoughts and feelings. We can elaborate on what the game already established and understand the characters on a deeper level.

I would say that the light novel’s format will most benefit the OB boys, as they are the ones who will go through the biggest character arcs in the main story. Because the game’s story is told via mostly dialogue and some sound effects, we rarely, if ever, get a clear understanding of what the OB boys are truly thinking and feeling outside of their brief post-OB flashbacks. The same goes for the manga, which has limited pages to tell its story, so it has to keep a certain pace. But a light novel? Well, you can go ham there with an omniscient narrator.

Today, I want to talk about Leona’s expanded post-OB introspection in the second volume of the light novel as an example of this. Then I will combine it with the information we have from the game and see how the light novel complements what already we know of his character thanks to hindsight. (I’ll be referencing this fan translation if you want to read and follow along!)

First thing’s first! From the game, we know that Leona enrolled in Night Raven College one year late (and then got held back a year, which makes sense considering he is 20 in the main story present). He didn't find a use in attending school since he, by royal birth, was able to afford all the best tutors in the world and didn't think NRC had anything left to teach him. In Leona's Birthday Boy vignettes, he further specifies that he decided to enroll at NRC after Cheka was born. As Leona says in his post-OB flashback in-game, Cheka's birth means "the despised second son loses what little claim he had to the throne forever", essentially putting an end to his hopes. This would imply that this specific change in circumstance was the push that made Leona want to physically distance himself from home. Furthermore, it's supported by Leona's other behaviors: he does not take calls or read letters from home if he can help it (implied by Cheka asking why Leona doesn't answer his letters and Cheka calling on Halloween night to catch up with him; Leona lies and quickly hangs up), he makes excuses to avoid going home (as Kifaji states), etc. If we want to extrapolate even more, how is it that Leona, second born prince, initially crossed paths with Ruggie, who was born and raised in the slums (which, I imagine, must be quite some distance away from the royal palace)? This makes me think that even before Leona enrolled at NRC he would leave his housing and roam around, finding alternative places to stay because home just felt too uncomfortable and suffocating for him. There's also the implication that Leona often brooded over his circumstances, as he confesses to thinking about it and going to NRC to get his mind away from the tired cycle--although he also acknowledges that he's running away from "the pain" of having lost the throne.

The distancing would prove itself to be beneficial to his mental health, as Leona cites that his heart started feeling lighter, his restlessness dulled, and his pain numbed. With the throne out of sight, so, too, was it out of mind, and his longing softened. But that same haunting despair returns when another group starts to place expectations on him. This time, it's no longer the palace servants, but his own dorm members. Instead of fear and derision, his new pack looks at him, their "king", with desperateness--and, more importantly, hope. Speaking about the future with sparkling eyes. That, in turn, made Leona hopeful too. He can't let these people who look up to him and rely on him down, so he must do anything to win. That's all he ever wanted: to win, just this once. No matter what, he wants to win.

But when Leona's plans crumble, that crushing sense of despair rears its ugly head. He fails. And he suddenly understands that all his efforts will always amount to nothing, that they will always be meaningless, that there is no future for him. Leona's hopes have been dashed. He has been struck down by the world once again, just as he had started to climb up, fighting tooth and nail, to prove himself. Yet when defeat came, he also claims it doesn't bother him as much as he thought he would--perhaps because he's so accustomed to not winning, because maybe this is the outcome he had expected all along in the deepest recesses of his heart. That familiar disappointment begins to hurt him once more, and Leona wants to forget it all, to retreat to the shadows and to lick his wounds, to be far away from that pain.

One interesting new detail we glean from the light novel is that Leona is terrified by his dorm mates staring at him with hopeful eyes. It's not their expectations he's inherently scared of, but what those expectations can do to him. Leona is scared of himself, of being motivated by others to act, to never give up hope, when he still anticipates being beat down again and again by a world that rejects him and denies him. He even goes so far as to say he would be pathetic if he let his dorm mates' words inspire him and keep his waning hope alive. Ruggie, who had wanted to turn the world upside down together. Jack, who was inspired by his play three years back. All the mobs putting faith in their futures on him, their one and only leader. With so many people looking to him, how can he not be swayed by that positivity that had once been so elusive to him? How could that not ignite what little spark of hope is left in him? And that's exactly what Leona finds so dangerous about it. He's lived almost his entire life being put in his place, hurt every time he tried to demonstrate what he could do, how he could contribute--yet time and time again, here comes life, tempting him to try again, just to inevitably be compared to his brother and kicked down, delivering another blow to his pride and his self-image. Leona truly seems to hate himself for not being able to let go of that small fragment of hope he has left. He wants so badly to give up and not have to worry anymore about something he can never obtain. He's so tired of struggling and suffering for nothing. If he just caved, then he would never be hurt again. He can't be hurt if he doesn't care about anything. Yet no matter how much he wishes or tries, he can't run far enough away to detach himself from those expectations of grandeur, of being something more.

There's been many fan theories about Leona's mental health in circulation well before the release of this light novel, many of which mention self-loathing in spite of how proud and confident he typically presents as. You'd have to read in-between the lines of dialogue from the game to draw these clues out, whereas the light novel lays it more bare to you. It hits very differently reading hateful statements made by the character to himself. Leona calls himself all sorts of things: a fool, pathetic, insignificant, boring. That he isn't strong, that he isn't wise, that he's not loved. (In the in-game flashback, Leona also talks in a self-deprecating way, but to a far lesser extent than in the light novel; we also see that Falena does his best to discourage Leona from this kind of behavior.) That this is who he is, that it's the one thing he's afraid to admit and accept--but he also says he lacks the "strength" to give up. That's why Leona would rather run away than confront that potential truth. The option to embrace complete nihilism just isn't possible for him, because he can't just quash that pesky little thing called hope. This is much more complex than what's explained in the games and demonstrates a maturity and degree of self-reflection from Leona that we've never seen before. What's more, this gives us brand new context with which to view many of his other seemingly mundane actions mentioned in the game. At face value, Leona often acts very callously and doesn't care to help others unless he gets some kind of benefit from it (like agreeing to poof the contracts in book 3 just because he has his own deal he wants to get rid of). We see this time and time again when he instructs others reliant on him or less knowledgeable than he is in various matters where he is well-read and experienced with. For example, he takes note of his club members' strengths and weaknesses and offers tailored advice to help them improve their play. He tells others how to mine magestones of an adequate size in Vargas Camp. Maybe he's just doing these things to make the circumstances easier for himself (so he can put forth less effort to leading them in a game, or so he can nap heartily). But from what we've just learned from the light novel, now I'm suspecting a different secondary motive.

What if... Leona is, in part, encouraging and helping others to hone their own skills to subconsciously compensate for what he doesn't believe he himself is capable of? Because there's still so much hope for his dorm mates, for his underclassmen... (and, let's not forget, it was those in Savanaclaw that first motivated Leona to "try" again for the first time in forever) but he doesn't have that same amount of hope for himself. I get these vibes as late as book 6, when Leona and Jamil have a talk. In their conversation, Leona directs many pointed, blunt words at Jamil--words that could very easily also be thrown back at Leona's face and be applicable to his book 2 self. He accuses Jamil of making excuses so he won't have to actually act, just as Leona has continuously run away from uncomfortable situations to put himself at ease. At one point, I believe Leona event states that Jamil “*isn’t like [me]”, Here, again, it can be argued that we're seeing Leona's self-awareness on display, as well as a willingness to warn others to not follow down the same path he once treaded, to lose all hope in the future. Again, it's done with a double purpose: the other one being to get Jamil out of his way while they're exploring. And (of course) Leona's way of expressing his message is gruff and not very warm, not to Jamil and certainly not to himself. He's become prickly and defensive himself after all of his experiences--but that just adds to the complexity of his character when we synthesize what we know of him from TWST multimedia.

I really wish a lot of what was in the light novel post-Leona OB was also in the game. It would have helped to flesh out Leona's motivations and fears, which book 2 was sorely needing. As he is presented now, he appears shallow and selfish in his goals, and we don't fully understand the emotions spurring him on, a lot of which is genuine self-loathing and the sinking despair that comes with thinking you're not enough and you'll never be enough. That would have been so much more relatable than the in-game Leona having himself a pity party with a great amount of emphasis on the throne--a throne which, in actuality, just symbolizes a desire for recognition, love, and acceptance. It was never about explicitly being king. It was about being seen as his own person and appreciated for it instead of being admonished and compared to his exalted older brother.

Now, as an adult, Leona has become someone who pushes away those who try to give him that which he craves. He sees a lot of people--his own family and his dorm mates, the closest thing he has to friends--as dangers to his own mental wellbeing. He's scared to let them in, so he's built up these emotional, arrogant walls around himself. Think at how often he rejects advice from Falena and refuses Cheka's affection for him. Look at how this behavior extends beyond those who are keeping him from a literal throne and to his classmates. They instill hope in him, hope which scares Leona. The things he has wanted all his life are now poison that chips away at him. Considering all of that together, it makes Leona's story far more tragic than how it was initially shown to us in the game alone. But guess what? That can also become his strength, fuel for his character arc. Leona isn't running anymore. He's actually returning home for winter break in book 4. He's determined to not get held back again. He's committing to an internship in a field (an energy lab) which will immensely help his country (which is rich in natural resources). All of this, coming from a young man who once acted bitter when his older brother suggested that there were many things Leona could do with his intelligence to benefit their homeland. Leona is making slow strides and steady progress toward a future he used to think was unattainable for him. From that darkness, he's rising anew--like the sun upon the savanna.

[koolades-world]

Obey me! but with the brothers having had always been demons, formed in kid/baby-form as manifestations of the seven deadly sins. Lucifer was raised as the right hand man of Diavolo, appointed the brother of Mammon, then Levi, then Asmo etc. etc.

A version where they are more depraved and dark than they otherwise would've been 'cause they were essentially raised in the outermost layer of hell (think VERY questionable morals, moves like uncanny valley characters, where Satan tears and rips beings apart in his fits of rage, they don't understand MC's sense of right and wrong). I wonder how Lucifer and his brother's dynamics would have been with each other, with Diavolo and Barbs growing up. Would Belphie still have hated Diavolo for his absolute authority? Would baby satan still have formed as a manifestation of Lucifer's wrath, again adding to his rage due to his circumstances?

Lilith based on mythology was described as the 'queen of demons'. If the story was somewhat compliant to that, imagine she fell into the Devildom after the whole 'fall-in-love-with-human shtick' and Diavolo fell in love/took pity on her, which the brothers didn't respect or understand at the time (why feel bad for someone who fell in love with a puny mortal?). The bitter parallels it would draw when they fall in love with MC years down the line.

Imagine that instead of just reincarnating her soul as a human, Dia REPLACED the soul of a human infant with hers (again, being very morally dubious). Maybe he saw it as an interesting experiment of sorts, to see if it would have any effect her human off-springs. He purposely kept an eye on her descendants (hence, mc being brought into the DD). Cunning, manipulative and conspiring Diavolo (Soo-won type character) omgomg

I want the brothers to legitimately handle otherworldly, gory demonic entities (think of that monster from nocturne of nightmares), sort political Devildom affairs, kill/mess around with humans instead of just sitting around attending the demon-equivalent of highschool! They're eons old for crying out loud, why subject yourself to 1000's of years of the Academy??? If anything, their attendance at RAD should be a refresher course that happens for 5 - 10 years once or twice every century or so.

AKA Obey Me! but more Devildom-centric, where the characters got to actually deliver their role in Diavolo's government, where Diavolo had ulterior motives making the exchange program (perhaps to instigate an uprising, an all-out war to overthrow the demon king?). Where the other characters are actually fleshed out instead of just meaningless plot-devices (Barbatos with his powers, Monsolo, Lilith, and etc. all had so much potential)!

Sorry I wrote a lot, this is just everything I hoped OM! would be.

NO OMG I think about this sometimes too!! like I know why they didn't do it but still can't help but wish for more

demons are often depicted as everything but sweet and kind, which is what we see in the game. dia would not be this golden retriever type character (although I love that) he's supposed to be the next king, so he would be much more devious as for lack of a better word. god i wish they explored barb so much more. like why are we brushing over him like he's part of the wall?? he's so powerful it's insane. I'm glad solomon is getting more of a spotlight in nightbringer but I hope they use it to its full extent. i also wish they explored the general worldbuilding more and made it feel more real, like there's stuff outside the relationships mc has with the named characters

i absolutely love the lilith queen of demons thing, like it makes sense as to why it was mc in specific. of course they would bring back someone that important to them over and over again

another thing that feels totally ignored is that it's hell!! most people there are there for a reason! while personally don't know where the line should be drawn for what counts as being a sinner or not, for a fact i know that mc would 100% be meeting murders down there, like actually terrible people.

you put this entire thing so wonderfully so i hope you don't mind if I incorporate aspects of this into my obey me as horror piece! like don't get me wrong I love my silly little demons but realistically they would be anything but silly lol

[justyourtypicaltuesday]

So What's Up With Logan? - a speculating post for the season 2 finale

While I, like everyone else, am anticipating the season finale, I thought I might as well summarise my thoughts in a post.

In LNTAO, Logan outright explains he's irritated with being repeatedly ignored.

"There will be times in which I must be heeded and given our... current circumstances... I clearly haven't been."

This really stands out to me. It's no secret that due to being consistently talked over, shut up and disregarded, Logan's struggling to deal with his emotions- and keep up the facade he puts up pretending he doesn't have any. This is only evidenced further when he throws paper at Roman. But this quote almost feels like foreshadowing, suggesting that there will come a time Logan's the only side with the right answer, and because of the sides and c!Thomas' practice, they won't listen to him and will exacerbate the problem doing so.

Another interesting quote from LNTAO is hidden in plain sight- the overlapping verses from Logan and Thomas in Incomplete.

"This just serves as a testament to the fact that you have a temperament, which is fine, you just haven't accepted it, if you'd let them finish they'd get to the-"

"This just serves as a testament to the fact that to me you're negligent, which is fine, it just works to your detriment, you not letting me finish is proving my-"

Both verses here provide context into Logan's character. This confirms that c!Thomas is fully aware that Logan has emotions, specifically a temper, and that, in his eyes, the song was an attempt to get Logan to accept that part of himself. This could be setting up a very powerful scene in the finale, Janus and/or Thomas confronting Logan at a point when Logan pretending he doesn't have emotions is actually damaging Thomas as a whole.

Additionally, Logan feels neglected by Thomas. That's a word which is not used lightly. He points out that being ignored is actively causing detriment to Thomas, which he conveniently doesn't hear as he's talking (singing?) over him at this point in time.

They're both right. Logan is ignored to the point of detriment, but he also thinks highly of himself ("I'm the most important side here!") and often disregards the others' contributions until he's actively proven wrong. This is a repeated character flaw of Logan's. It's also seen Growing Up, Moving On, and even in Asides like Can Plushies Improve Our Health?. While Logan's been the cause of minor conflicts in the series, having him cause a problem on a scale similar to Patton in POF would be intriguing to see from a narrative standpoint. It's clear that in the latest episodes, Logan is struggling and maybe at some point soon, constantly being antagonised by c!Thomas and the other sides is going to have an effect.

This brings me to WTIT. This is the last plot-dependent episode we've had, so it naturally is where a lot of my theories are coming from. While we can see a lot of Logan's progress as a character- specifically in prioritising Thomas' mental health- we also see his lowest point so far. Thomas' mental health has been steadily declining since SvS, introducing Remus, the discussions during POF and this episode all make it obvious. And this is reflected in Logan. Despite taking precautions and relaxing the schedule so Thomas feels comfortable, Logan loses his cool when he yells at Remus. What the orange eyes mean is TBD, but Logan's emotions in that moment say one thing and one thing only: he can't keep it down much longer. Each time we see Logan lately, he's been more and more distressed. In LTNAO, he throws paper at Roman, in SvS he's left out. In DWIT he's exasperated the whole time trying to calm down the others. In POF he's clearly done with exerting any amount of effort getting them to listen to him. And here is the result of all that pent up anger.

"I just want to help Thomas become the best version of himself he can be, and in order to do that, he needs to listen to me. Unlike yours, my methods aren't the flashiest, and it's not very often I get the chance to get through to him. Please understand my insistence on the matter."

The words right before his outburst mean a lot too. Logan's been already established as a perfectionist, but here he outwardly admits his goal is to improve Thomas as much as possible. We've already seen c!Thomas second-guessing himself because of difference in opinion between sides, so here's an opportunity to explore Janus v Logan conflict. Logan questioning Janus' advice to Thomas to take it easy could mean that the rest isn't as effective as it could be and cause a problem they'll need to discuss. Logan's been largely absent from Janus-related episodes, so an argument in which Janus explains Thomas has worth as he is while Logan is focused on perfectionism and improvement is not unbelievable at this point in the story.

On the topic of Janus, I believe he's going to play a huge role in Logan's character development. The main thing holding Logan back is that he's lying to himself. He repeatedly insinuates and sometimes outwardly states that he doesn't have feelings, and both c!Thomas and Janus know this is a lie.

"I don't feel anything."

"Oh, of course you don't."

My theory is that Janus, as practically a living lie detector, is going to confront the sides about the lies they tell themselves, and being more truthful about themselves will help Thomas long-term. While this can be explored for each side, I'll save that for a post for another day and point out how specifically Logan's lie about not having feelings is already questioned multiple times in the series, setting it up to be confronted soon.

In conclusion, my speculations for the season finale are:

Logan's going to have another outburst- in full view of c!Thomas and the other sides this time, and it will have to be addressed.

Janus/Thomas and Logan are going to confront each other, Logan over being repeatedly ignored and sidelined, and the others over Logan consistently lying about not feeling emotions.

Logan is going to be the outright antagonist in at least one episode of the finale, along the lines of Patton in POF.

On the contrary, in one episode Logan will have the right answer, but be ignored because... well, duh.

Janus v Logan conflict is going to be a large plot point- addressing perfectionism and to what extent you should accept yourself as you are and to what extent you need to work on growth.

If you got this far, thanks for reading. It's my first post as a blog and I hope you enjoyed reading my guesses to what we'll see surrounding Logan in the finale. I'm planning on continuing with in-depth analysis of other sides and other theories I have, but so far this is what I've gathered in regards to Logan's direction at this point in the series.

[jesawyer]

I'm really interested in hearing about the thought process behind Brother Guy not being the victim in the final version, as well as where his backstory we learn about in Act II might have come from. Considering Act II also introduces the Sommerfeld family, was there a background decision at some point of "hey, we need to acknowledge what is happening with Jewish people in this setting?" Is Guy's story and approach to everything going on meant to sort of contrast with the Sommerfeld's (i.e. Guy as a descendant of forced converts vs Rachel and Benjamin as Jewish people active within their community)?

This element of the game just really keeps sticking in my brain, and I'd love to learn more about what was discussed behind the scenes!

He was never intended to be the Act I victim. When working on prototypes, I try to approach them with the explicit declaration that everything we use will be thrown out. It doesn't mean we will throw everything out, but that needs to be the attitude.

Prototypes are built for effect rather than for establishing pipelines. I.e., the prototype is about creating an experience we can all agree on. The vertical slice expands that experience but builds it "the right way". Vertical slice content usually winds up in the game so it should not only be the experience that you want, but it should be built the way you expect to build (most of) the rest of the content.

If we lean too heavily on material we made in a prototype during our vertical slice, we may incur debt because those things may have been built badly, or oddly, or simply in a way that is different from everything else. So while we did use a lot of our prototype material in our vertical slice, the main quest itself was scrapped (as it was always intended to). The murder in Act I needed to fit into a larger narrative framework and Brother Guy's death wouldn't have worked for a variety of reasons.

Some spoilers below:

Cf. the murder of Adelmo in The Name of the Rose. The death of one monk, even under suspicious circumstances, is only of great concern to the abbot because the Papal delegation is arriving. The death of Baron Rothvogel is of great concern to Father Gernot due to his friendship with the Prince-Bishop of Freising.

As far as Guy's background, I thought it was important that the story addressed various things happening to Jews around Europe at the time. The early modern period was very turbulent for Jews and I thought that should be reflected, even if it was happening in side stories. His experience is not the experience of the Sommerfelds and his way of dealing with prejudices toward his ancestors is certainly unique.

We didn't want to make historical prejudices central to the identities of people in Tassing or Kiersau for the same reason we didn't delve deep into things like corporal spousal/child abuse (though characters like Franz and certainly Lenhardt are clearly emotionally abusive at least) even if that were quite common in the period. The topics are so severe that they would likely derail focus on the other plot and thematic elements. Characters like Vácslav also indicate there are background prejudices at play that keep him in the company of charcoal burners and executioners. Anyway, even if the people of Tassing and Kiersau had likely been indoctrinated with prejudices, they have bigger fish to fry, so to speak.

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

Re your meta: How has immortality not been a good experience for Darkling? He grew to be quite powerful because of the immortality and time.

I’ve talked about this before in a slightly different context.

He does have power, but that power has been acquired at the expense of all other potentials for happiness.

I would frankly argue that immortality bringing him misery isn’t necessarily a matter of interpretation rather than outright text. The narration often brings attention to his bleakness. He is isolated, feared by even the people closest to him— rightfully so. His most important relationship is with his mother, an equally miserable and bitter woman who he blinds, who eventually commits suicide in a bid to stop him. The sincerity of his desire for some sort of connection with Alina is debatable (I think it is genuine) but it is fact that he basically has no one else.

His life just doesn’t sound particularly fulfilling! And you may attribute that to his actions rather than it being an inherent effect of immortality. But immortality is what has shaped him into the person that he is by the trilogy.

In my opinion, the story doesn’t function if the Darkling is happy. If he were happy, he wouldn’t be so unchangeable in his perspective or *afraid* to be proven wrong. If he were happy, he wouldn’t need Alina to turn out exactly like him and to validate his choices. He is a character that is ruled by sunk cost fallacy.

He is positioned in the narrative as Alina’s foil and the threat of what she could become. The story draws a direct line between power and immortality, and the main theme it is concerned with is the inherent corruptive nature of power. Therefore immortality itself, as a concept, is presented as a corrupting state.

I don’t tend to approach the trilogy and the duology as a single narrative, because I feel they thematically contradict each other and aren’t written with the same ideas in mind. But it’s worth bringing up that the other immortals we see in KoS are uniquely warped, completely othered from humanity, and also distinctly miserable. Even outside of their purgatory, Elizaveta would simply never be happy. Neither would the shambling, shape shifting mass that is Grigori. The series pretty consistently presents immortality as a cruel and wholly transformative fate that, ideally, should be avoided.

That’s why in Demon in the Wood we see the Darkling so young and so vulnerable. He has a capacity for cruelty even then, but it’s explicitly due to the direness of his circumstances. That’s also why the faint nods to his insistence of the Grisha following peasant customs is, imo, really integral. Likewise, his claim to only being motivated by the greater good of his country and Grisha as a whole, is a farce now. But it wasn’t always. To fulfill his role in the narrative, he cannot have always been an unfeeling, selfish mass murderer. It’s his long life that has slowly transformed him into that.

He starts out ambitious, but that ambition has eaten at him from the inside until he’s nothing but a husk. The sheer force of time has slowly worn away at his morals, has made him discover that there isn’t any line he wouldn’t cross if it‘s for a good enough purpose. And over the years, the bar he needs to clear for “good enough” drops lower and lower.

The longer he lives, the lonelier he becomes, the less he sees other people as people, they’ll all die in the blink of an eye anyway. The more he sacrifices for gaining power, the more he becomes convinced that power is the only thing that matters. He cannot even consider any other way to live, because if he did, that means acknowledging that all those centuries of being miserable were for nothing.

I know your question wasn’t a moral one, rather than approaching it from his perspective of happiness. But with such a (formerly) ideals driven character, I think the realization that he’s sitting on centuries’ worth of accumulated corpses for absolutely no pay off or greater purpose is itself a looming source of anguish that he’s trying very, very hard to avoid.

[princeescaluswords]

not sure if it was meant to be done elsewhere, but my favorite fic of yours is 'Ten Things That Scott McCall Can't Say'!

Thank you!

I wanted to point out something. In Second Chance at First Line (1x02) Scott gets angry at Stiles while riding in the Jeep because he feels Stiles is treating Scott's transformation and the danger like a quest in a video game:

Scott: I can't find anything about wolfsbane being used for burial. Stiles: Just keep looking. Maybe it's like a ritual or something, like maybe they bury you as a wolf. Or maybe it's like a special skill, you know? Like something you have to learn. Scott: I'll put it on my to - do list, right underneath figuring out how the hell I'm playing this game tonight. Stiles: Maybe it's different for girl werewolves. Scott: Okay! Stop it! Stiles: Stop what? Scott: Stop saying "werewolves"! Stop enjoying this so much.

Now, we're supposed to believe that Scott's agitated mental state is due to the wolfsbane rope concealed in Stiles's backpack, but this scene also marks something else, just as important. This is the last time we see Scott get angry at Stiles because of how Stiles behaves toward Scott. Scott may become exasperated at Stiles's insistence on murder as a solution when it comes to Derek, Jackson, and Liam, but that is in defense of others, and Scott does judge Stiles in Lies of Omission (5x09) when he believes that Stiles kills Donovan to protect his father, but I cannot think of another time when Scott expresses anger or even frustration at Stiles at how Stiles treats him specifically. If you've read my blog know I believe that there were plenty of opportunities for this.

Now, moving forward to the other end of Scott's character development, compare this exchange to the scene in Pressure Test (6x15), where Scott is gathering his things to leave Beacon County after his father negotiates a deal.

Rafael: Look, I know this isn't what you wanted, but it's the right decision. When Stilinski called... Scott: Can you hand me that shirt right there? Rafael: Now, you can be mad at me, but I'd rather watch you leave the state than watch you die. Scott: (SIGHS) I'm not mad. I get why you did it. Rafael: Scott, you're not the only one who gets to protect his family. I'll be downstairs.

We've seen Scott lay into his father before in Insatiable (3x23), but he doesn't in this instance. While the circumstances are different, both scenes have a character making what's happening to Scott about them instead. But now, six seasons have passed, and Scott has learned that there are things he can't say -- or, more precisely, emotions he can't express during a crisis situation.

Teen Wolf made it a point to explore the burdens of leadership. Derek was an incompetent alpha because he made decisions based on his emotional reactions to events -- anger at what had been done to him and his family -- and Scott has managed to mature into someone who can put aside his own emotions in order to do what must be done. Scott has demonstrated this growth, and he will do it again in Season 6 when -- after a harrowing night of listening to his mother struggle to live on the operating table -- he goes to Peter -- Peter! -- and asks him to join the fight against Monroe.

Personally, I literally seethe in reaction to that scene in Eichen House in Werewolves of London (6x17), but the show was relentless in its conviction that a good leader has to put their own emotional responses to the side in order to be effective. I would have loved if Scott had unloaded, verbally or physically, on Peter after that villain enabled a fanatic to point an assault rifle at his own daughter and the man trying to protect his ungrateful ass, but that wouldn't have made stopping Monroe any easier. So Scott didn't.

Fanfiction gives us what canon didn't, and the lesson Scott learn about suppressing his own reasonable emotional responses is what I explored in this story. I suspect that the movie commented on that by having Scott move to Los Angeles -- somewhere he could be free to express himself -- but I wish it had been more explicit.

[irregularcollapse]

Okay okay okay I have been trying to think of a good question all day and I maybe have one? I really love the way you're writing Laurent's slow process of trusting Damen both physically and also emotionally. Can you talk about how you planned that out/how you decided to structure it? I am completely unfamiliar with either source material, but I love the fic!

I just still can't believe that people are reading this without knowing or being super invested in the source material 🥹🥹🥹 I seriously have no words for how that makes me feel.

This is an incredibly good question! I will answer under a cut because. This will be long.

(CW for discussion of the impact of CSA on a character)

Laurent's history of sexual trauma has shaped his attitudes toward sex and relationships in a way that is often seen in victims of CSA, which comes through quite clearly in the books despite them being told from Damen's perspective. What you've likely picked up on from the fic is that Laurent blames himself for what happened to him (and sees himself as sick/tainted/wrong because of it), that he has an ingrained shame response toward his own natural sexual desires, that he sees sex as an unequal exchange (only pleasurable for the "top"), that he sees certain sexual acts as humiliating or degrading, and also that due to both his trauma and his socially-assigned "role" in a sexual relationship (as he sees it - i.e. because of his looks, he would always be expected to take the submissive role) he would never be able to enjoy sex. His internalised slut-shaming and self-disgust are obviously triggered whenever he confronts the fact that what he wants is often what he has been conditioned to see as the most degrading thing.

It's all unintentionally compounded by Auguste's protectiveness as well, but that's a whole other discussion.

So what about Damen? Laurent has no reason to trust him, initially. But unlike in the books (where Damen actually killed Auguste, which is what then left Laurent exposed to his uncle) Damen is essentially a blank slate of a person to this Laurent. One thing Laurent prides himself on is being a shrewd judge of character: he is able to discern a person's motives quite well, and refuses to allow himself to be hoodwinked easily. This is as much an effect of his trauma as it is his natural intelligence and ruthlessness. As such, despite Laurent's trepidation, Damen gives him no reason to continue to distrust him.

He is honest and supportive, caring, respectful of Laurent's boundaries, and values Laurent's skills. It was really important to give multiple opportunities for Damen to show this, in various ways: each time he does something for Laurent (whether it be simply not touching him when he says not to, or being observant enough to know what will bring him comfort, or dramatically leaping to Laurent's physical defense) it proves something new about his worthiness - and it deliberately escalates! Although the flogging is a brutal physical sacrifice, the true sacrifice is the marriage proposal.

Not only does Laurent have no frame of reference for a man treating him this well, he has been living in his brother's shadow and (again, Auguste's protectiveness!) hasn't been given proper opportunity to prove himself. Damen treats him as an equal, as much as he can in the given circumstances.

In the books, this realisation comes quite late for Laurent (see previously mentioned brother-killing). But part of the inspiration behind this fic was wanting to explore Laurent being the fish-out-of-water, and to develop their relationship without the fraught history. With the obstacles removed, and with the power dynamic shifted slightly, I felt that their relationship would progress quicker, with less angst.

Basically, as much as Damen sees Laurent for who he is, Laurent - being a keen judge of character, being logical and rational - sees Damen for who he is. It turns out that who he is, is exactly Laurent's type. The initial physical attraction is then able to become emotional as the trust between them builds, despite Laurent not thinking he deserves it. The real development is in how Damen proves to him that he does deserve it. Yes, it's in how he helps and encourages Laurent to enjoy sex and to gradually shed his shame. But it's also in how he is so consistent in his respect (and reverence) for Laurent's autonomy and personhood - so much so that Laurent actually starts to believe in it himself.

What I can promise from things still to come is something I've started calling "character development through erotica" lmaooo like yes, we CAN and WILL use sex scenes to show character growth and healing!

Hopefully this was interesting! Thank you so much for the question ❤️❤️❤️ I loved answering it, stupid amounts.

(Apologies if there are typos, I am very physically wrecked and super tired today lol but I love this question sooooo much)

[derekscorner]

Kurosaki Twin Conundrum

For the past few weeks I've been talking about Zanpakuto types, Ichigo's non-canon forms, or gushing about my Quincy Ichigo ideas but after finishing my part three to the zanpakuto types I was reminded of something; The Kurosaki Twins.

I used to a have on them way back but now that the 'Thousand Year Blood War' is being animated with Kubo's noteworthy influence involved I' feel 'll tackle this again.

This isn't a post about their characters per say but about the nature of their abilities. There is no doubt they have some power but we don't know what kind of powers. Allow me to explain.

Masaki & White

Thanks to the TYBW anime any Bleach fan knows by now that Ichigo was so unique due to the incident involving these two. I'll skip the convoluted nature of Ichigo himself since the show explains already.

What's important to Ichigo's sisters is that White was not present when they were conceived and later born. By the time the twins were a thing in their mothers womb White had already merged with Ichigo and transformed into Zangetsu.

Like Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu are the children of a pureblood Quincy and a Soul Reaper from a very old clan. Unlike Ichigo, they did not inherit a hollow.

Another thing that should be noted is that the sisters are fraternal twins rather than identical ones. I do not know if this had an impact on their powers or not but it is something to keep in mind should the anime or Kubo make a statement in the future.

Either way, going by these sequence of events, you'd immediately assume that the girls are perfect hybrids of a quincy and soul reaper.

But I do not think it's that simple. For one, we know that mixed blood quincies (which the girls happen to be) need more work to awaken their full potential. There are even some abilities they'd have to work for that a purebred quincy would have at birth.

Ichigo himself never uses his quincy abilities consciously. It is Zangetsu who uses them and even then the full "flood gates" as it were did not open until Ichigo battled Quilge Opie. Yhwach clearly states that this battle and the cage Quilge trapped Ichigo in awakened his latent quincy power.

Yuzu nor Karin have had a teacher nor any circumstance strenuous enough to awaken those powers. Even when in the grip of a hollow and their lives threatened they did not awaken any abilities.

Of course, I must remind you, Ichigo is special. White became Zangetsu, Ichigo's quincy powers had taken on a mind of their own and could do these things.

Which brings us to our next point.

"Old Man" Zangetsu's Absence

Masaki's inner hollow, White, became Ichigo's inner hollow and then transformed into his zanpakuto. As flawed as it was compared to a true zanpakuto used by actual Soul Reapers it still existed.

The absence of White means that Yuzu & Karin do not have the special circumstances to have their own innate zanpakuto. The Soul Reaper powers they would've inherited have no way to manifest.

Although Soul Reapers have families, unique powers, magic, and knowledge they do not come into the world with a zanpakuto in hand. They only get that once they begin training and receive their "Asauchi".

The "asauchi" will bond to that Soul Reaper and eventually become the zanpakuto. It is a crucial element they'd need.

Their human forms may also hinder this process. Even Ichigo can't use his Soul Reaper powers without leaving his human body....although his son doesn't seem to have that issue but he's a headache we won't cover.

So where does that leave us?

Well, they have no hollow powers. White was already gone when they were conceived.

They should have latent Soul Reaper powers but being living humans and without Zanpakuto they do no manifest.

They should have some degree of Quincy powers but they seem entirely dormant. Even Yhwach's Auswählen didn't target them nine years ago.

In essence, they're effectively human....but they're obviously not. Despite the lack of unique abilities both sisters show the ability to see spirits.

For Karin this is even more pronounced because she's fully capable of seeing Ichigo in his Soul Reaper form. She has the spiritual power to see and touch a Soul Reaper.

That is way more impressive than the series lets on. The Soul Reapers even refer to humans with this level of spiritual power as "High Spec" humans.

They're rare but they are not unheard of.

Although the anime makes her unable to see spirits it's a fact that Yuzu actually can see ghosts. She can only perceive a blurry image but she is spiritually aware.

She too has something innate even if it's just raw spiritual energy. Sadly, we see little of it save for anime filler which obviously do not count.

Between the two the series actually makes a bigger deal of Karin's powers especially for the year Ichigo was powerless:

She even goes to Urahara often to get items to ward off things like Hollows since she's essentially an easy target they can sense miles away.

You may wonder what my point is with all this when I systematically closed the routes of them having powers earlier. It's simple, they do have powers but we just do not know what form they take.

Even if you argue that Yuzu is effectively human it's obvious that Karin isn't. Without Ichigo's overwhelming spiritual pressure her own skyrocketed.

She has a power that's developing which is why this curiosity over the twins persists.

Hypothesis & Conclusions

In conclusion to all of this they should not have specific powers. Yuzu, in fact, seems to not have anything other than weak spirit perception. While Karin is obviously more than she seems even if she has no desire to explore what that power is.

And all though I shut down so many possibilities earlier there is things to consider;

For example, White may have been gone but it's possible remnants of it's spiritual power resided within Masaki. That would make it possible to one or both twins to have latent Fullbring potential.

There is always a possibility that their Quincy natures could awaken as well under a specific circumstance.

Then there's the Shiba clan their father comes from. It is one of the five founding clans of the Soul Society. It is a literal primordial bloodline and there's no telling what unique powers are latent there.

The reaper powers they did inherit would awaken should they get an asauchi and become a reaper. Or should someone grant them powers as substitute soul reapers.

I have no real answers to any of it but it is a topic still fun to talk about. I'd like to know what they could be even if they never go that route. Kubo is answering a lot of questions on his website these days so maybe we'll get one some day.

Either way, I'm done now. Bye~

[that-dreaded-wolf]

I don’t talk about games I love enough but I’m revisiting so time for a mass effect ramble.

The fandom is pretty ableist.

I mean the fandom is a lot of things, but the ableism stands out a lot, and when I think of it the first thing to come to mind is Kaidan Alenko. One of the main reasons given for hating him (aside from him not following with blind loyalty no matter what happens) is “he’s annoying and whiny about his headaches” “he’s a pussy about his stupid headaches”, etc.

Kaidan Alenko is a man left with lifelong disability due to the L2 implants. He’s disabled. He mentions the migraines in passing when discussing L2s which are incredibly relevant to the game. Kaidan has a lot to discuss, and this is one of many topics that he is familiar with alongside the general trauma that happened in BAaT. He honestly talks about it with an air of nonchalance at times. He’s used to these things. They’re just something factual and painful he knows. Never does he have a fit about his migraines, he touches his head, speaks to his Commander about them alongside the rest of his crew as it is RELEVANT to them and important for them to know about. Also the others get curious, many do about the L2s. It’s a big thing, the disabilities that come from them and otherwise.

Kaidan doesn’t even talk about it as much as fandom claims outside of relevant conversations about the complications of the L2 implants. He doesn’t cry about it, he doesn’t ask for rests during flare ups, he casually remarks upon it from time to time.

I just think it’s obvious that the ableism is huge when a character mentions chronic pain and immediately fandom is like “OH MY GOD SHUT UP ABOUT THE MIGRAINES” “STOP BEING A PUSSY ABOUT YOUR HEADACHES” etc. like… Of course he’s vocal about it. He experiences it. Migraines are his everyday. And migraines are absolutely terrible to experience.

It’s okay to hate Kaidan, just don’t be ableist about it. Chronic pain sufferers are going to talk about their chronic pain. They’re going to voice it to people it’s relevant to. We don’t need to be shamed for that because it’s normal to voice what pain you’re experiencing amongst people you trust and are close to. Or just to those who are curious about your disability or the circumstances around it

[outofangband]

@camille-lachenille sent this ask about Maedhros post Angband and I wanted to address it in two parts!

This first one deals with the possibility of brain damage post Angband

cw: aftermath of torture, discussion of brain damage, brief mentions of ableism (both in universe and out)

Angband World Building and Aftermath of Captivity Masterlist

I hc Maedhros really struggling with speech and communication in the years following his rescue, and he has to basically relearn how to speak properly. Even centuries later, it still takes him a lot of energy to make complex and long sentences, or understand a long speech, and that’s why he’s so often silent or just barks orders to his troops without much ceremony. And he tends to muddle the words when he’s tired or very emotional, or forget altogether how to speak Sindarin/Taliska/Khuzdul, and he can only speak Quenya, so his land is the only beside Gondolin where Quenya is still spoken on a semi-regular basis despite the ban. Before important events he will prepare what to say as to reduce the chances of getting stuck on his words. He also has "cheat cards" in his pocket with prewritten sentences in Sindarin for emergencies.

He also has to relearn how to read and his writing is awful because he has nerve damage so he struggles with fine mobility tasks. For official papers, he has Maglor write for him so it’s readable.

He gets better until the Nirnareth but the trauma of losing both the battle and his dearest friend makes him regress in his speech abilities.

First I should say I really like your headcanons! I think way way too much about the profound effect of Angband on the body, mind and soul, both generally and for certain characters in particular, Maedhros being one of them!

And Angband does have a profound effect. 

with regards to brain damage, first I should note that while I have some brain damage myself though obviously from considerably less severe circumstances than Maedhros’s and while I have done my research, I am by no means an expert

Though there is no canon evidence for Maedhros suffering brain damage there is absolutely a veritable wealth of circumstances that could have caused it at least for a human during his time in Angband; hypoxia/lack of oxygen to the brain, malnutrition and poisoning, actual physical damage from directed violence, etc

As I’ve talked about in many places (I think here is one of the more recent ones) we must assume at least some intervention and difference to human anatomy for Maedhros whether that comes from differing elven physiology or intervention by Morgoth to keep him alive or as I believe, likely both. 

That being said the conditions of Angband are devastating and effect the bodies, minds and souls of elves (and humans) in ways that rarely occur on the outside

One thing that’s fun about The Silmarillion is that it a, takes place over a long period of time and b, there’s a lot of ambiguity in the text in places. Maedhros does conceivably have longer to recover physically and emotionally 

Though the few bits of dialogue we have for Maedhros during the time between his rescue and the Nirnaeth do not seem to show him struggling with speech It is notable too that while he seems to have much skill as a diplomat, a lot of his recorded communication takes places through letters he could have spent much, much longer drafting, revising and consulting on rather than in face to face discussions where significant difficulties in communicating would have been harder to deal with. 

I like the idea of him having cards to consult with! I think that makes a lot of sense!

I do think Maedhros had specific issues with speech and communication. Some I think were due to physical damage and some I think were due to psychological. I know I’ve said almost exactly this probably more than once but I really cannot understate how profoundly damaging it is to be in an environment where your ability to speak, advocate, communicate and express yourself is just completely oppressed and stolen. I do headcanon that Angband severely limits and in some places/circumstances outright bans many elven languages (It can’t completely because some communication between especially newer prisoners learning the tongues of Angband is necessary during labor and such but that’s other posts...) Anyways Maedhros was in an environment where he was actively punished for speaking up, for using his own languages, for daring to act in any way that suggested that his words have meaning. 

This does not lift just because he is outside of its walls. 

That’s also absolutely not to say that brain damage couldn’t be a confounding factor as well. The combination of physical and psychological factors complicate his recovery in many ways especially in the beginning where these sorts of injuries were almost unheard of among the returned Noldor

(I should also note that even if it’s not fully supported by canon, it’s still a good and interesting headcanon/perspective and I share much of it!! unfortunately while Tolkien did seem to have a compassionate understanding of many aspects of trauma, the depiction in The Wanderings has always struck me as especially profound, due to when he was writing and such, it’s not surprising that many aspects of disability might have been overlooked or dismissed. It’s always worth considering these aspects, I think)

I also personally headcanon that writing especially took him decades to relearn properly. Even alongside brain damage, having to write with a completely unfamiliar hand while likely dealing with chronic pain and other symptoms! Due to my own neuro issues I have enough issues writing with my dominant hand! I can’t imagine having to relearn with the other. 

Finally, it makes sense both medically and in universe that Maedhros experiences a regression in his symptoms post Nírnaeth. The body-mind-soul connection is so strong for elves and symptom regression following severe physical or psychological trauma can absolutely happen.

Also on a similar note I headcanon that Húrin has severe neurological damage from Angband too

Anyways I hope this is an ok reply! As I said I also get super fixated on the effects of Angband on the body, mind, and soul of elves and humans

[fredbydawn]

You think Jigsaw was pro life?

This is a very interesting question that I find myself thinking about very often. Putting under a read more, cuz this is gonna be a long ass ramble

Full disclosure, I am pro-choice and have had an abortion, so my takes are obviously going to be influenced by that

I think about this a lot cuz there’s the popular question of “would you survive a Saw trap?” and my smart ass response has usually been “I don’t have to worry about it cuz I haven’t done anything worth putting me in a trap” but then I remember that I did in fact have an abortion so I gotta be on my toes 👀 cuz that lil puppet could be anywhere

There is a line when John has Cecil in the knife chair where he says he’s doing this because Cecil accidentally injured Jill and caused her to miscarry. But he words this as Cecil “killing an innocent child” (or something to that effect, I don’t have the exact words in front of me) and I think he doesn’t even mention Jill. Seeing the life of an unborn child as more important the health and safety of his literal wife seems very pro-life to me. That being said, I’m not totally sure whether or not John would put someone in a trap for having an abortion, nor am I sure he would stop a trap if he found out the person in it was pregnant (and therefore place the life of the fetus on the same or greater level than the pregnant person).

Like John’s philosophy is so interesting to me particularly because of how hypocritical he can be sometimes. Cause like his whole thing is “value your life” not necessarily to value life itself, and to prove that you value your life his tests will sometimes require you to harm or even kill another person, who sometimes hasn’t even done anything particularly heinous (i.e. Lawrence being tasked with killing Adam (who I fully believe was not intended to survive), or Zepp being tasked to kill Allison and her young daughter Diana (who fully didn’t do anything). So in that way I could see John potentially seeing someone getting an abortion as a way for them to take control of their life, particularly if they were pregnant by sexual assault.

But then again, John seems to have very little sympathy for people doing “bad” things due to the circumstances they find themselves in. I think there’s a conversation between him and Amanda in X where’s she’s basically like “hey, man, maybe these people are doing these things that they know are wrong and feel bad about because they have no other way to make money and survive?” and John’s just like “nah, miss me with that gay shit” so idk 🤷🏻‍♂️

There’s also a whole thing about how some of the larger games almost operate on a Silent Hill kinda level, where you’re facing the guilt that you have surrounding an event (such as Jeff’s game from III) and you’re made to confront the ways you’ve been punishing yourself. So while it feels almost like going down a supernatural route where we believe that John somehow has a way to assess how much something weighs on your psyche, I feel like if someone didn’t feel guilty about getting an abortion (which, most people don’t obvs) then they wouldn’t be put in a trap.

In general, I feel like the politics of the Jigsaw killer(s) is a rich and complicated vein of character interpretation. In the beginning there’s definitely a conservative vibe, people being put into traps because they’re sex workers, drug addicts, mentally ill, etc. But when we get to VI it starts to get a bit more capital l Liberal with corrupt insurance company employees being put in traps. But even still, like I said, preserving your life is considered the sign of success and there are very few traps where sacrificing yourself for another person is even an explicit option, let alone considered the “right choice.” So there’s that to think about, I guess.

Long an short of it, in my opinion;

John: still on the fence on whether he’d put someone in a trap for having an abortion, but might stop the test if he found out they were pregnant, especially if they wanted to keep it

Amanda: she strikes me as pro-choice-ish around the beginning of her apprenticeship, but just generally anti-life towards the end, probably wouldn’t put someone in a trap for having an abortion, but would not stop the test if the person in it was pregnant, whether they wanted to keep it or not

Hoffman: as much as he is my thick waifu, he’s also an incredibly corrupt cop so he’s probably leaning conservative, he might put someone in a trap for having an abortion (although there’s a whole nother conversation to be had on how much Hoffman actually believes in John’s philosophy, so he just might not care enough idk), but he would not stop the test if a person in it was pregnant

Lawrence: he’s a doctor, he’s intelligent, so he wouldn’t put someone in a trap for having an abortion, but I feel like he would stop the trap if the person in it was pregnant but only if they wanted to keep it since family is probably a soft spot for him

Logan: thinking about the Jigsaw movie gives me such a fucking headache so I don’t wanna think about it too much, but he did participate in the US invasion of the Middle East and works with the police, so yeah probably conservative and pro-life

Schenk: tbh probably the most left leaning of the apprentices (although technically he’s not an official John Approved™ apprentice, but whatever) so he might be pro-choice, but honestly idk

But that’s just my 2 cents :)🏖

[poisonouspastels]

Anon forgot time exists. I would really love to hear more about Groda's transition from antagonist to basically house cat! Her character really fascinates me and I love a good redemption arc.

Hey no worries at all!! I've actually been talking to Atlas a lot abt Groda lately (he's #1 Groda fan I'm pretty sure) so I can actually copy/paste some of the stuff I've talked abt previously! And to anyone who needs to do some additional catch up reading, I talk about a lot of her past history here, and a bit about more recent (but also still past) events here. But!!! Talking about her (rather long) transitional period specifically, that pretty much started the moment that she got (unwillingly) taken home by the main 4 players after her defeat. Given she held Rana hostage for a few days, among other things, fair's fair. The main focus point though was after everyone getting back to somewhat decent health, Herobrine using his magic was able to find a way to block Groda from using it on her own, hence creating a longer term solution than just having her tied up forever effectively. Groda, without her magic, is a goddamn sitting duck. No Wardens, no turning people to stone, no way to fight back other than a half-hearted slap fight at best. Unfortunately her loss of the ability to use magic ALSO means almost no one could understand her anymore. Previously, thanks to her magic, the Galactic language was basically auto-translated to the players as Commonspeak (her lips actually wouldn't fully sync up with words she spoke, something that was noted by Rana during her time stuck with her in the caves), but now she'd only be reduced to Galactic at its purest form. Fortunately due to Herobrine's self-taught learning of the language (albeit a VERY butchered version of it being self taught), he at least was able to still understand her and communicate in some regard. Or perhaps you could consider that unfortunate for him, given the only weapons Groda had left to use was her words, and he had to be the brunt of actually understanding that and teaching her Commonspeak. On the contrary, soon after this revelation Rana would try and learn Galactic to try and make Groda more comfortable with the current circumstance and maybe feel more motivated to put in the effort. She's not very good at it, but it's the thought that counts! Groda did pick up rather quickly on Commonspeak though, since it and Galactic aren't too far apart in translation. Once she picked up enough on the language to be able to communicate basics (and maybe curse words she would pick up on from Alex), she would soon be getting her hands dirty for once in her life and actually doing field work with Rana, not only to carry her own weight in chores but also to get her more in touch with the new world and being an actual PERSON after her long lived royal life. With time, learning more of Commonspeak and taking in the world around her with the people who were willing to even TRY and help her change for the better, she started to realize more and more how badly her actions managed to inadvertently fuck everything up. How much the world had changed because of what she unleashed, and the weight of her actions fully dawning on her. Which I give this important note of Groda's characterization to:

She gets better slowly with time of course, its all just taken day by day and she learns more and more to do things for herself and to help those around her. I think one of my favorite turning points for her though is when Rana and Herobrine bring home a Sniffer egg they found in some old wreckage at sea. (Sniffers being a species in this instance that went extinct because of the Wither being unleashed by her) Groda is dumbfounded to see the thing even intact at ALL, and hesitant to hope that it may still harbor life at all, but she does take it upon herself to care for it until it does indeed eventually hatch! She names him Bear :)

Thank @beegswaz for the art of them together im obsessed with it Another important arc for her character, arguably the most important one is when she's spotted by the Wither Cult and is eventually pursued directly by White Eyes upon her finding out that Groda is still alive. Upon the (deadly) confrontation between White Eyes and the main 4 + Groda, she shows her truest colors:

After the dust settles, White Eyes is brought home much like the same way Groda once was (albeit unconscious this time around) and a way to free her of the Wither's influence will eventually be found. And though the mere sight of Groda brings her to a rage even now (very understandable), Groda takes some solace in the fact that she for once can think with 100% unbiased confidence that she did the right thing.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

I'm gonna apologise in advance for how dark this is, but looking at your recent Placidodumping from the tag force games... i feel like he's geniunely suicidal, and even if not exactly suicidal then he has no concept of self-worth.

Like, he's way too happy to die. Being willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the future is dark enough. But the fact that he's saying he will be able to rest? That he's expecting you to be happy to die too? Yeah, that's the darkest part.

Placido's literally come from hell, but he's not even trying to save himself. He's not just acceptant of his fate, he's welcoming it, and it makes me wonder just how much he's been through. His despair, is it entirely from the memories he's been created from? Or is it from something else? *coughcoughashittyoldmancoughcough* Thinking of the Jakob part in tag force, how he straight up killed Placido and Lester, how he spoke about them, I feel like it wouldn't be too far fetched to assume he's said these things to Placido's face (and let's not forget how Zone spoke to Placido-and only Placido- in duel links)

Perhaps Placido's real despair wasn't the inherited trauma from Aporia.

Maybe it was the way he was treated by the only people around him. One of his duel links lines is "it's so sad when you have no one to love" and yet the other Iliaster members are right there, as family. And yet, he didn't get love from them.

Maybe he could have been saved if someone did love him. Maybe then he would have had something to live for.

(Apologies for the mini essay in here it was supposed to be a few sentences and then suddenly I've written an essay)

OH YEAH NO FOR SURE we are definitely WELL past the point of Primoplacido Yugioh 5D's having a true sense of self-worth in any emotional or psychologically 'human' way, but I think when analyzing that (and his behavior that could definitely be labeled some form of suicidal) it's important to approach it less from a "oh what [abuse/traumatic event/negative feedback] has he personally been through to cause this" and more from a "what are the circumstances of Primo's creation and how does that effect him." The former is still an important element of course, but it's a bit of a disservice to his character to attempt to 100% separate him from Aporia when dissecting what's going on with him; one really can't exist without the other! (i.e. Primo was only brought into being via Aporia's memories and suffering, and Aporia as we see him in-show only can be brought into being when the emperors fuse....the cyclical infinite nature of these characters runs very very deep hehehe)

imo it's not an either/or situation with Primo's despair--I think his completely fucked sense of self worth stems from the trauma he's inherited by being a piece of Aporia AND the bullshit he deals with from his peers currently AND, also, the inescapable fact that Primo was Created To Act Under a Specific Set of Parameters. more after the cut, lots of analyzing this miserable Swordbot9000, apologies for the Epic of Gilgacidomesh

Primo is not human. IM NOT SAYING THAT TO BE MEAN TO HIM OR ANYTHING he's just Literally Not a Flesh and Blood Human Being; he's a machine created from a dead man's memories and emotions by Just Some Guy who thinks he's god, and due to this Primo has deemed himself Above humankind--better than them, more capable than them. Sometime I need to go off more on my Emperors analysis discussing the fact that theyre basically Mechanical Angels, BUT FOR NOW I think a very core trait of Primo's is the fact he doesn't see himself as human, and he takes great pride in that. He's less come from hell himself, I'd say, and more or less come forth from Someone Else's Hell and Now He Has to Live With That. And also he is completely, almost desperately devoted to his God. If anything, he sees himself as a tool blessed by god Himself, with a great power he will use to enact justice upon this wretched timeline.

He sees saving the future as a very important task he needs to complete (and he DESPERATELY wants to be the one to complete it himself, more on that in a moment,) and I think that in part is why he's so excited about "finally being able to rest" and welcoming his fate--it means that he has completed what he was made to accomplish, the way a computer would complete a process, and why would he ever want to "save" himself from savoring that experience? (reminds me of how in TF6 lester is like "why would I want to run away?" re: trying to escape the Ark Cradle crashing into the city--it's not just a Primo thing, this sort of lack of self preservation!) (Also considering primo's track record of failed plans, no wonder he would be Especially obsessed with completing the Circuit and getting the cream of the crop "glorious honor" of dying in Z-one's name in God's Very Citadel and preventing the catastrophic future. That IS his will to live; he doesn't know how to have another one 😬) Dying in the process of the Ark Cradle crashing onto New Domino isn't seen as a 'sacrifice' for these guys I don't think; it's seen as an inevitable conclusion to what they were brought into existence for.

(Also, while we never really get complete confirmation on this, I do think Z-one also Definitely programmed the Emperors to worship him, to act with such dedication to the cause, to work ceaselessly towards their goals despite years (centuries?) of failures, and not stop, not give up. And I think that, alongside the fact they're effectively gijinkas of the most traumatic moments of Aporia's life, robots built from misery, quite literally Embodiments of Despair, that's not just flavor text. It's what powers them. And it explains a Lot of why they act the way they do, especially with regards to something like Primo's 'suicidal' behavior. In fact, I don't even think they would see this way of thinking as "suicidal," even, since that implies being alive in the first place, and the emperors…um. don't see themselves as 'alive!!!' :,) kind of fucked up to think about!!!!!)

OK SORRY FOR THAT TANGENT IT'S JUST SOMETHING I THINK A LOT ABOUT WITH THESE GUYS the inherent discussion of humanity when it comes to a robot. anyway, re: the way Primo's peers treat him, yeah i don't think that's helping much !!! Primo seeks approval like he'll die without it, he's an android copy of how much it Sucks To Be 19; like I said above, he desperately wants to be the one to complete the Circuit, to save the future, in the dub he basically states he wants to be God's Favorite, so course that brings him into conflict with Jakob (the implied actual Favorite,) of course Z-one apparently REPEATEDLY not giving a shit about him is doing damage to his psyche.

He gets clowned on and demeaned by effectively all of his coworkers (including and especially these other pieces of himself) (good GOD), no one even seems to LIKE HIM. LIKE. AT ALL, of course he wants to feel important to someone!! he probably (definitely) thinks if he can complete the Circuit he'll win favor with God, get the respect and attention he craves. I've talked before about how I feel like Z-one condemned his dead friends to the same loneliness he's become cursed with, and you REALLY see that with the Emperors and Primo especially. Aporia got split into threes and all three of 'em somehow ended up even lonelier than they would have been as one body--Primo is SUCH A MISERABLY LONELY GUY. HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO INTERACT WITH PEOPLE LIKE A NORMAL PERSON BECAUSE HE WASNT PROGRAMMED TO BE A NORMAL PERSON.

sure yeah his chronically unpleasant to be around attitude doesn't help, but in the Tag Force games you see these repeated little moments where you can tell he enjoys your company, he's Excited to spend time with you. I get the impression half of him thinking you should be happy to die too is just that he's so excited to share what he considers the ultimate culmination of what he was created to do with you (if TF5 is considered 'canon' in TF6 he might even be under the idea youre also an android--but that's a kettle of fish for a different time, primo's TF5 route is also insane). This isn't suicide to him! This is saving potentially billions of people! This is something really important to him, and he wants to share it with you!! Our hard work will pay off and we can rest!! This is the highest holy honor you can have!!!!! Aren't you excited???

I just wouldn't say his continued agonies are Solely hinged on what's happening to him currently, nor are they what are driving him to this supposed lack of something to live for (again, since ridding the world of Momentum IS his something to live and persevere for, since that's what he was made to do.) I'd argue they're definitely external factors exasperating an internal problem built into his very code, though, and it just makes Primo's situation all the more harrowing to think about. He has got so much shit going on with him and none of it is good. "I feed off my own despair" OK COOL BUT THAT'S NOT A GOOD THING, DUDE. BEING A MACHINE POWERED BY YOUR OWN MISERY AND ANGER IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF. He was literally Built to Harbor Someone Else's Agony. If you keep dropping straws on a camel who was born with a back already covered in 'em, of course it's only gonna get worse, regardless of how much the camel thinks suffering makes him stronger and above humanity!!!

I do agree, though, that things maybe would have gone so much differently if someone outwardly, properly expressed love and affection to this poor guy. If someone told him he mattered in a way beyond his programming and divine mission. That taunt in Duel Links, the way he actually says it, it comes off as almost this snarling scornful jeer, but he looks so sopping wet sad saying it.

He is the embodiment of "losing those who you love" and you have to wonder how that manifests with him, despite the fact that, like... he doesn't Know Eurea. he didnt even know she existed until Z-one put him back together and told him the truth of what he is. I wonder if Primo feels the itch to inflict that same pain of losing your closest love on other people (a trait Aporia also Very Much Has.) Or if he's written himself off as unlovable entirely (😢)... or if 'disgusting humans' are just beneath his sky high standards. And, yeah, you really do have to wonder why he doesn't class the rest of Iliaster as someone to love, why he gets along so poorly with the other Emperors in the first place. Did Z-one also program them to not fucking get along with each other??? Was this also some 6D chess bullshit to actually hinder their progress even more??? Is this indicative of just how bad Aporia's mental state was/is????? CAN WE KNOW!!!

this is all just theorizing and guesswork at the end of the day, but it's a lot to think about, and i love ruminating on it. I personally think Primo's fixation on having no one to love stems from a combination of things, and the fact some of it is coming from these vague feelings of agony baked into him from when Aporia lost Eurea is, like, GOD. MAN. I also think at least a little of it may be just that Primo thinks he doesnt 'deserve' anyone to love properly, and also that the Emperors are so divorced from humanity in their eyes that to "love" one another, or to see each other as 'family', is absurd and a waste of time (though if they actually fully believe that, who knows--it definitely seems like Primo cares quite a bit about Lester. wahhh ;;; ) Like. They're literally this post. In the Tag Force games Primo always acts kind of jumpy and almost shy when youre nice to him??!? HE DOESNT KNOW THAT ONE. AND IT'S SO SAD.

WOW. OK. THIS GOT AWAY FROM ME A BIT. APOLOGIES!! tl;dr: yeah Primo's sense of self-worth is complete dogshit, the ghost of Aporia's suffering over a woman Primo has never met or known haunts his circuitboards in a way that can't be ignored, and that plus the fact he gets treated with disdain by his closest cohorts (which may be due to their God's 'divine' decisions) are definitely exasperating his issues and behavior. BUT, that being said, that's actually probably the least of why he's shown to be so excited to die, and the actual reasons that seem to be at play are a lot more horrifying! :D Primo largely sees himself as a means to end rather than as a person (he is a beautiful machine, a half motorcycle agent of justice and punishment, and far mightier and above miserable humans like Yusei Fudo,) and THAT'S largely because he was programmed by his creator to see himself that way. He is a computer built to complete a task and shut itself down. He was made to serve his God at the request of His long dead best friend for the good of a future he isn't meant to actually see.

i dont really have a conclusion, but I think a lot about this post with regards to the Three Pure Nobles.

Maybe Primo could have grown beyond his programming, if he'd been exposed more properly to love and kindness. and i hope you want more for him too. im going to bed and going to think about this until i fall asleep. ok bye

[bvannn]

Weekly Update January 26, 2024

I am still very sick. I just took my second increased dose of the medicine, hoping it will help. Whatever stomach issue I was having a bit ago appears to have returned as well, or it could be more side effects from the surgery. Or something else. I don’t know. I tried fasting on Wednesday and felt physically better but also guilty, and I don’t want to keep doing it because I know it’s dangerous. I’m still a healthy weight for my height so I can probably get away with doing it like, once a week, but I don’t want to accidentally lose too much weight either because I’m already a 22 year old adult who buys clothes in the kids section I don’t need to be any smaller. I’ll figure it out, I’m trying to focus what I am eating on fruits and nuts, hoping it’ll detox me a bit.

I did a couple drawings this week. Kinda. The one I posted was actually sketched back before the surgery I just hadn’t digitized it yet. I only posted the one drawing because I want to hold on to the other for a bit because it’s part of that epithet prompt set I made. I’m fully not expecting to do every one of those prompts, but I figured hey since I missed a few I can do a batch of the missed prompts and release them at once. I sketched the one for this week and planned on finishing it on Wednesday but I got sick again. Once I’m feeling better I’ll try to focus more on drawings. I think I gotta scrap the big animation project I was working on due to circumstances beyond my control, which sucks but theoretically I can try other animation things too. I’ve been sitting on an idea for a short Detective Conan animation, maybe I’ll do that. Or maybe I’ll stay sick. Idk. I kinda want to figure out how I would animate Shaun, since he’s a ghost so I’d have to deal with both transparency and glow effects, plus certain aspects of his design that were meant to be more flowy, like his shirt-tail-thing. I could poke after effects again but it seems a lot more tedious than I had hoped.

I did review over comic stuff this week too, although I haven’t made any progress since I really started getting the surgery after effects. I like how it’s flowing for the most part, but I’m probably going to have to do second drafts of a few pages. Kinda sucks that everything feels so rushed, since I want to fit the whole introductory chapter into ~32 pages, which I’m totally able to do but I have to hold off on some little dialogue exposition conversations that I think people would like. Any story with ghosts is going to have people wanting to fully understand how the ghosts physically work, especially when it becomes relevant, but some of that can be put off until later because character moments are more important. Whatever, I can always keep going.

I feel super bad about not being able to do anything but I’m still so screwed up. I want to take another stab at music, and maybe I will, but I need to sit upright to play piano which screws with my stomach, and in order to pick out VSTs I want on a song I need to be able to have a midi that resembles what the final will sound like and I need to be in the headspace to listen to music without going into sensory overload. I’m pretty sure all of this is sleep related, I have the weekend to hopefully catch up on sleep, but I need to do some homework as well. And I need to stop waking up in the middle of the night. I’m afraid to double dose on sleep medicine because even though I know it’s safe after 6 or so hours, I don’t want to be reliant on sleep medicine because that’s how Michael Jackson died. Might have to wait for my surgery bs to subside before I can try to detox though.

I don’t know what to do with myself right now. I feel awful, I feel like my insides are rotting, but I know they’re not since I’m not in pain from it (or at least not enough pain to really believe that). Plus surgeon looked at me before I moved back to Uni and seemed really impressed with how quickly I was healing. Even though I probably disobeyed her ‘don’t lift more than 20 pounds’ rule. Like a lot. I did feel better this week than I did last, so I’m hoping I can bounce back pretty quick. I’ll give it another week or two before I ask my primary if I need another medicine. I’m hesitant right now because both she and the surgeon seemed to agree beforehand that I wouldn’t, and I want to trust them. I don’t know. Time providing I’ll try to do more drawings this week.

[crows-and-cookies]

The most pivotal decision in Vampire Academy?

I'm rereading Frostbite right now, and I couldn't help but wonder--would the Queen ever been murdered if Dimitri had gone with Tasha? Would that plan ever have been thought of, or would it had been suggested/attempted and Tasha turned in immediately? Dimitri would have never been turned, and by extension, never been 'radicalized' (in the guardian sense) by Lissa to help break Rose out of jail, which she was only in due to the queens murder.

Tasha would still have her rebellious character and motives, but I think Dimitri, and possibly having kids, would have changed what could have literally been possible for her to do.

Also, Lissa would have never been queen, at least not in that time frame, maybe in the Bloodlines books eventually, but not at that point. Also, would they have ever found Jill to support Lissa having a quorum?

I'm going to organize my thoughts with what we for sure know based on the text.

If Dimitri went with Tasha to be her guardian/possible partner, we can safely assume the following:

He would have never been turned in Blood Promise in the school attack.

Lissa would have never saved him, and by extension the knowledge of saving Strigoi may not have come to light.

Tasha may not have ever had the idea, the ability, or the circumstances to murder the queen, or been able to frame Rose. At that point, Rose had a terribly reckless reputation from...everything, but specifically Europe and taking Adrian's money, and those things only happened because of Dimitri turning. Also, part of Tasha's motive for framing Rose was that Dimitri was in love with Rose and had denied her.

Dimitri wouldn't have been devoted to Lissa as his savior, and therefor willing to break Rose out of jail.

Dimitri wouldn't have been with Rose in the end, or at least not by these circumstances.

Now, the effects we would see on Rose:

Rose would have stayed in school. She may not have met her dad.

Rose would have graduated normally. (Would she have been to the badass level she was at during graduation? Yes, she had killed Strigoi at that point, but wandering through Europe as a Strigoi huntress put her on a completely different level than her classmates, which is noted during her trials.)

Rose would have never met Sydney. So forget the entire Bloodlines series! And all of those changes! Not to mention Adrian's growth both as an adult or as a spirit user, which is *chef's kiss* delicious in my opinion.

What about Lissa as the queen?

If Tatiana hadn't been murdered, she still could have appointed Lissa as her successor, but I don't think they would have gotten as far as they did. The strange circumstances of the assassination pushed them to find Jill, giving Lissa a quorum, which allowed her to be queen.

Her saving Dimitri was a big push in letting people now spirit users existed, which was important in her being the queen.

Tasha was a huge supporter in Lissa being queen. I don't think this would have changed, but the circumstances would have been different.

Overall, I love the first book and the deep set up it provides for the rest of the series, but at this point in my nth reread of the series, I think Dimitri not leaving with Tasha is the catalyst for the events in the rest of the series. The queen could have been murdered, but the circumstances would have been wildly different, and the outcomes may not have been the same.

Also, what it represents is so much more important.

While is seems like a passive choice (not moving locations and changing his circumstances), it's actually an incredibly active one, considering his position. He denied what a royal wanted, denied the push to create more dhampirs, and denied what some saw as a great opportunity (Janine says as much to Rose during the fight that she gave Rose a black eye). He also still could have been involved with guarding Lissa (through Christian) in some capacity if he went with Tasha, so I'm not sure he was really giving that much up.

Dimitri is choosing dhampirs over Moroi with the decision. Their whole life, they are told 'They [Moroi] come first'. He is choosing what he wants, even though he doesn't actually follow through with getting it immediately, and he is choosing Rose.

As an extension of point 2, he's choosing to teach the next generation of guardians (dhampirs, again) over protecting one royal. This is something that is fought for later in the series when they want to lower the age that guardians graduated. This is something that was brought up in Frostbite prior to his decision. He was choosing dhampir needs over Moroi in that moment. (Yes, that decision does eventually serve the Moroi, but within the social structure at that time, this was the closest he could get to choosing dhampir needs over Moroi.)

In sum, Dimitri's choice was selfish (in guardian terms), and his selflessness is a core character trait for him. Rose is generally considered the selfish one (which the mechanics and meaning of that would be a whole other rant), and she is helping him by allowing him to make these selfish choices.

I'm almost wondering if we look at all 6 books as one big plot line if where Frostbite is in the series it would line up as the inciting action/catalyst.

I'm sure there's more to this, but I should probably go grocery shopping now. Anyways tell me what you think! I'm still rereading and if I find another catalyst that sets the book on the path more so than Dimitri's decision I will update.

[defenders-core]

My Black Panther 2 Review

So I saw Black Panther 2 last night and here's some thoughts on it. Spoilers ahead:

Just making a sequel to Black Panther must have been a massive undertaking. The first film's release was an undeniable cultural moment. It shattered tons of box office records, cultivated an audience entirely separate from theatergoers guaranteed to attend Marvel movies, and catapulted Wakanda to an international household name. Anecdotally, I worked in a movie theater when it released, and not only was it massively busy for several weeks, but probably 60% of the audience were people who never went to superheroes before. I vividly remember one such customer, an elderly Black woman, brought her grandson to see the movie four times and went on her own another three times. She'd never seen a superhero film before, but she went to see Avengers: Infinity War opening weekend. She was sobbing uncontrollably as she left Infinity War, inconsolable at the death of "King T'Challa." I've often wondered how she responded to the news of Chadwick's death.

I think it's easy to say that Black Panther was popular simply because it was a major superhero film with a Black cast, but it's important not to discount how much of its success was a direct result of Ryan Coogler's writing and direction. We had plenty of those customers come out in a big way for other Black-led films, but not day after day for weeks like they did for Black Panther. The movie didn't cross a billion dollars on opening weekend. The real draw of Black Panther was its passion and artistry. Real craft went into the set design, costuming, and cinematography, and its use of symbols and theme was clever, poignant, and deft. If you watch Coogler's director's commentary, or any of his scene breakdowns, it becomes clear just how much consideration and vision went into every detail of the movie, and how deliberate a filmmaker Coogler really is. Black Panther was a better film than most superhero movies because it was made like a film moreso than most superhero movies. Most of its flaws, too, are born of the limitations of being an MCU film. Its visual effects were often shoddy due to budgetary restrictions and strict release deadlines, its need to function within the justifying ideology defanged some of its more radical politics, and its function as a piece of a larger cinematic universe divided some of its focus.

The sequel, then, really had to be a sequel to two different movies: a superhero movie in the MCU, and a movie at the heart of a cultural moment almost entirely unmoored from superheroes. And, because of the unimaginable tragedy of Chadwick's loss, it also had to be about grief and response to tragedy. That's an incredibly difficult tightrope to walk, and it's one few filmmakers besides Coogler could have tackled. He was very clearly given much more freedom this time around; movie is shot with much more artistry than the first. At times it feels almost like an art film rather than a blockbuster, with its deliberate use of color theory, its unusual or unsettling angles, and its willingness to let the audience sit with a moment or character and take in the circumstances. Paradoxically, there seems to be less use of symbols this time around - or maybe I intuited less of it than I had in the first one. There's still a focus on imperialism, the conflict between the "third" and "first" worlds, and the violence of Western powers' resource allocation, but much of it is more direct, not as subtle.

With those themes in mind, using Namor as an antagonist here makes a lot of sense. Atlantis (changed to Talokan in this film, which is a perfectly fine change) and Wakanda are often at conflict in the comics, but in a way that sometimes feels like banging two action figures together. They're two major fictitious world powers, so pitting them against each other in comics is a good way to have countries go to war without making any kind of political statement about conflicts between real countries. But as some comics have pointed out - and as this film makes one of its core themes - in the real world, Talokan and Wakanda would both be beset by Western powers. It would be much more advantageous for them to ally, regardless of personal disagreements between their heads of state. This movie draws on Namor's roots as a racialized subject at war with "the white man" - old comics' own words, not mine - to stop them from taking his people's resources. That's an inherently sympathetic angle. Like Killmonger, he does do something that would turn audiences against him, but unlike Killmonger, his actions do not detract from his ideological positions even within the logic of the film.

If anything, Wakanda is the less sympathetic player in this conflict, and the color theory established in the first film promotes this. Throughout, most of the protagonists wear different shades of blue - Coogler's color for imperialism and the contemporary consequences of the trans-atlantic slave trade. And it's not for no reason; they're the ones working with CIA agents and spreading cultural outreach programs. The real consequence of the decisions at the end of the previous film is that Wakanda has slotted pretty well into the neoliberal stage. It's not a perfect fit, yet, but they're getting there. T'Challa's criticisms about Wakanda's refusal to help disenfranchised people outside of their borders do still hold true. But those are positions they've been forced into by the West. They still have to guard themselves from outside interference, and the very act of protecting themselves involves making moral compromises. It's brought up in the first movie that Wakanda avoided the effects of the slave trade entirely in part because of their isolationism. Now, however, they're up against someone who is more isolationist but also who literally remembers the slave trade firsthand, and that discrepancy in memory informs their differing styles of isolationism.

This movie is, at its heart, a disaster movie. In some ways, that makes a lot of sense. If your Namor movie isn't a disaster movie, you probably messed up your Namor movie. In other ways, though, that's a strange proposition to a sequel to that cultural moment in 2018. You can't recreate the celebration of this Afrofuturist paradise in a movie depicting the destruction of that paradise. It's not empowering to watch the Wakandan people retreating to refugee camps, to see these buildings and streets flooded, to watch Wakandan children crying for their drowned parents, or to see the powerful Wakandan army cut down to only a handful of survivors by a much more powerful invading force. I won't be shocked if this movie doesn't have the cultural relevance or box office legs that the first one did for that reason alone. But as much as Disney would have wanted another February of 2018, I don't think that was Coogler's artistic goal. I think there's been a lot of pain and suffering, both personal and shared, between then and now, and that a return to the joyful Wakanda of 2018 would have been a hollow one. Joy is important but at times like these, after a pandemic, after an uprising, after the loss of Chadwick, what people really need is catharsis. And you can't depict catharsis without first depicting a tragedy from which to recover.

I didn't enjoy this movie as much as the first one. I saw the first one about ten times in theaters and I don't know that I'll catch this one a second time before it moves to streaming. But it's a better movie than the first one. It's a clear display of artistry and craft. And it's proof that if Coogler does leave film behind as he's considering, the medium will be lesser for his absence. I have more I could say, but this is long enough as it is, so I'll just say I think it's worth a watch. I loved Namor in it. I hope it influences the superhero genre going forward.