#because i never see the same standard applied to any other morally grey character in other fandoms

[biherbalwitch]

the darkling, ALEKSANDER, was never a Villain. In this essay I will-

[sangre]

heh 😏

the magician,  the hierophant, the lovers,  justice, the world for catarina & his guardian 🙈

major arcana headcanon prompts / ask.

ty SO MUCH naomi i got so excited when i saw this ask. HEE HEE! guardianstuff 😳🙈 SDBHKGSDFKHB

the magician – how does your muse feel about fate? do they believe they can change their own destiny?

i don't think catarina believes in fate so much as she believes in cycles? there are cycles of everything. like karma, the dragon whose blood supplements her family's lineage. what goes around comes around – she adheres to that a lot in life and believes that people always, always get theirs. things come in threes. the more things change the more they stay the same. people repeat themselves. in some way or another, there's always a cycle of something.

but because destiny isn't really something he expects to chart the course of his life, he strongly believes in the power of like... decisiveness and strength of character/conviction. you choose the future and the path you walk, for the most part. to that end, sometimes she'll help instigate 'karma' according to her own judgement. and the same applies to the whole of her life, i think. where she sees fit to but in, she probably will. if she didn't believe she could change her lot in life, i don't think she would make the journey post-tadpole in the first place; she definitely sees herself as capable of like... doing something. if this doesn't end the way she wants it to, she at least did her damnedest to get close.

and naturally, i think her guardian is compelled by a sort of pragmatic approach to changing the tide of fate. in their own ways, they're both sort of hellbent on mending their own wounds before the world can get any worse for them (and others consequentially).

cont. / 5

the hierophant – what are your muse’s morals / ethics? do they follow their moral code strictly?

OH MAN!!! it's definitely chaotic neutral for a reason. she has a sort of personal code she adheres to... in terms of being very protective of innocence, he won't let certain things go unpunished/ignored. that said, catarina can be a little selective in terms of what justice means in different corners of his life. i think in times of really great despair or considering the greater good, he tends to look ahead rather than into specifics. he doesn't make excuses for shitty choices, he just has his own priorities and has VERY little care for what others think of him.

it's like. yes she will follow her own beliefs but probably not to a hard T – there are grey areas (like. Late Game Stuff has grey areas that he's like. Well that's awful. That's an awful lot in life. But I can't save everybody and make everything right. There's a whole world at stake.) there are things that haunt him but never ones that are trivial. she holds herself to pretty high standards and has trouble forgiving herself for losses she tried to prevent, though. it's like this deep and turbulent sense of guilt that's been buried 7 leagues under the sea and goes unaddressed.

i think it's because of his carried, quiet sense of guilt that almost no one sees that the guardian can reach him emotionally in the first place. like... he disarms it and reassures her. it's not your fault the world is wicked. is that for his own good? is it for hers? to her, she knows what he's doing. they have to work together, and catarina suspects he's being used as a means to an end from the beginning. but there's this looming tenderness that i think sort of neither of them know what to do with. like. you've saved me and i'm your sword and this is going to hurt but then why do you let me in like this. YOU KNOW. the guardian inspires a lot of like. catarina's urge to be saved. and he knows that obviously. so even as she resents him for it... onward they move. and sometimes the rules get bent for the sake of that to keep poisonously blooming.

the lovers – how important are relationships to your muse? do they value having a significant other?

catarina grew up in a HUGE family like huge (so many brothers) and her parents' marriage is one full of love. two of her elder brothers got married before she even left home and they're like very fulfilled/have a strong sense of love and judgement and she sees it as a very like... when your life is settled down you'll know what you want/you'll know what's right for you. he's had quite a few flings so far but nothing very serious. i think she had a very sweet significant other about 10 years ago but it didn't last very long? like... it was too sweet and not quite fast enough and didn't do it for her.

me making this character in the bare bones stage like: yeah there's no way idk what to do she feels doomed to end up in a mcr romance (and obviously got one). she's not dependent on love, never has been, has been perfectly fine not falling in love and didn't see it for herself for a while in fact! but. The weight of desire when it disgusts you and you're digging your own hole that is not your grave and so on.

buuuuuuuttt likeeeeee GBHKDSGSD:LFKSGL:K

yeah he falls in love:( and it's like the best and worst possible thing. illustrious codependency woohoo! they become inextricable from each other! but catarina at least finds comfort in that she's not alone. her guardian didn't intend for it to wind up what it is, either. it's important for her to turn that measure of control he wields on its head. she likes him vulnerable 🤔. i digress

tl;dr catarina def has like fable-adjacent dragon tendencies. she is possessive and greedy and delights in whimsy with her pretty shiny thing. so he wasn't seeking to add to a hoard but when u find a jewel what are u gonna do... Leave it.... When It's Making Sure U Don't Turn Into a Mindflayer... Give Me a Break

justice – does your muse find it easy to be impartial in emotional situations?

not at all. he's relatively course/stoic in terms of disposition but high tension makes his temper flare. he's not the one to find if you need a cool head. catarina is like... more likely to breathe fire than to make sense. i think the guardian is her voice of reason (when he's not urging him to EAT WORM). he's a lot more realistic than she is when there's a lot at stake. her resistance melts and she throws tiffs.

the world – is there one thing in life that your muse must accomplish? what will they do when they complete that goal?

i think catarina's goal is more like his birthright, which is to protect the vestige her family watches over. he has to live and die making sure that thing stays safe and cared for. being the most draconic of her brothers she feels the most connected to it as well, so that definitely plays a part too! otherwise, i think her ambitions rest more in seeing what more the world has to offer, and assuring her family's security and happiness. he tries not to think too hard ahead, or about the end. an everlasting ambition is more comfortable.

his guardian is... trying to protect the world from absolute destruction, heheG:JSDGLKSHDF. once things settle down, i really do not know what either of them will make of that. i haven't beaten the game so i'm not even sure where to start 😂 BUT i think! they have things to work through. afterward. ASAP. GG to them. time to go hiking in Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage: Magma Cone world.

[travelling-on-the-octopath]

An anon from another user said, to quote them: "It's told time and time again with shit like '[Claude's] smile doesn't reach his eyes' and that 'he's a schemer' and all that. Except in the golden deer route (Or any route really) he never did any sort of 'schemeing' or backstabbing or anything that even made him the SLIGHTEST bit morally grey. And now, he's fixed!"

And, like... manipulating people for their power so that you can help others isn't morally gray? Lying to everyone who trusts you with their life because of the very real danger of what happens if said lie is outed to the wrong person isn't morally gray? Bringing in the aid of a formerly hostile foreign nation without informing your friends - who still think said foreign nation is hostile - isn't morally grey?

Doesn't it click for that anon that the REASON other characters don't trust Claude and talk about him like this is because Claude... does stuff like this? While KNOWING it will make people distrust him, but he doesn't ultimately care because these actions are still keeping the most amount of people safe? Does anon - and a lot of other people, apparently - not realize that good people... can still come ACROSS as bad people, depending on their actions and how they look to others?

Or do they really think "well other characters think X character is bad, therefore X character MUST be bad, and if X character isn't bad then X character is being written badly"??

I know exactly what anon you're talking about and exactly what user you're talking about because I fucking lost my mind reading that ask fklgjdfg. Nearly ripped out my damn hair.

(As an aside, I completely agree with what @butwhatifidothis said. Claude does a million and one things that make people raise eyebrows, but the original response is better at addressing that in dept. I take a slightly different angle.)

For Claude, it's a matter of doing things that are unideal for the right reasons. Is that morally grey? Depends on where you draw the line. Is Dimitri morally grey? No, frankly, because regardless of his actions, his morals remain intact: in his own eyes, he's less than human for what he does. His right and wrong are perfectly intact. But, he still kills, which is bad by societal standards. But he only kills imperial soldiers. A war is going on. Does a moral compass adjust for war? Does that then open up moral greyness when the compass shifts to out of war? Are there different compasses entirely?

That's the problem with morality, especially when you try and play with the middle ground of it and apply it to characters who are neither one thing nor another. People don't do well with middle grounds. Humans like lists and boxes, which is what creates the appeal in not being easily sorted into those lists and boxes.

The fact remains is that despite his actions, Claude's moral foundation is a solid one. But, for the sake of this silly goofy argument, let's say that both games are an example of grey morality. Let's just--create that foundation.

And then let's play a game, because I think there's a very distinct problem with painting both games with the same brush, and it has to do with what's evoked in the player.

Why doesn't Claude just come out and say he's Prince Khalid? Because it would paint an even larger target on his back, seeing as an assassin crops up in Azure Moon, when he hasn't said a word about, or done a single thing to indicate, who he is. Also I believe the implication is that Claude . . . promised his parents he wouldn't. What do you do when you promise to lie? Either you break the promise or you follow through on it, and either option is the typical "bad" move. Kid trying not to get himself killed? Sympathy: earned.

Why does Claude keep nearly everyone and their mother at arm's length? The short and sweet of it is that life has not been all that kind to him, and his drive to create a world where no one else is subjected to that sort of cruelty means he looks out for any and all chances to make that dream come along more efficiently. It means he reveals things about himself covertly (the story he tells Marianne) with the intention to comfort without becoming vulnerable, and sees in Byleth a means to an end before he comes to value them as a person first and foremost. Guy dancing around vulnerability because some people have sucked so far and feeling unendingly driven to make his dream a reality? Sympathy: earned.

Why does Claude walk up to Byleth in their hour of mourning and basically say "I'm gonna ask you to do this thing, but also if you don't, I'll do it when you're not looking"? Same answer as the previous, in that he has a sort of tunnel vision regarding his dream that it manifests in arguably ugly ways. But the dream is a good one, and makes this moment an example of his character flaws. Sympathy: intact, though I do want to shake him like a rattle.

Why does Claude lie to an allied lord in order to help another country's forces? Because Dimitri's forces are gunning for the Empire (the quickest way to end a war that is costing an endless amount of lives) and Gloucester has been forced to ally with that same empire. Claude's whole "bring about peace with minimal blooshed" thing remains true even here. Leader deceiving one of his own (who's allied with the enemy) to get rid of said enemy? Sympathy: earned, with a sprinkling of respect.

Now!

Why does Claude ally with EdeIgard? Because, I think, maybe, perhaps, that seizing Arianrhod was a show of strength. Strength is king, apparently. Despite the fact that Faerghus remained their own entity, even after the stronghold was won. So. Not that strong. Why did he do this again? Sympathy: not earned.

Why does Claude leave EdeIgard alive in Three Hopes? I . . . don't know. He suddenly has a moral obligation to keep her alive when he said "We'll be using the Empire right back." Not even Claude knows what shade of morally grey he's supposed to be. Sympathy: who?

Why does Claude invade Faerghus? Because a letter was too boring, and to boot he cites a centuries old and gone conflict between their countries. Sympathy: 404 not found.

Why does Claude stoke the fire of the Sreng-Faerghus feud? To make the above easier, despite the above being nonsensical to the nth degree. Does he care about the lives lost in the process? Probably. Not enough to avoid the invasion though. Sympathy: couldn't find it if it killed me.

Why does Claude want Rhea dead? The only place we see him gain info on her is via EdeIgard. We're trusting her now? Sympathy: Fuck off.

The issue, to me, is glaringly obvious here, because moral greyness often flies on the the grounds of sympathy. Claude lies and plots and schemes, but in Houses there's a litany of reasons for why he does it, and each of them is sympathetic. That's what's missing from Hopes!Claude: cause for us to understand why he does what he does. Motives that we can sympathize with and actions we can interpret through those lenses. Frankly, "this is the guy we were supposed to get all along" and "you just can't appreciate grey morality" are not reason enough to make me ignore the massive, illogical discrepancy between the two depictions of the same guy. Fuck it, they're not reason enough for me to tolerate Hopes!Claude, because there is no rhyme, there is no reason, and there sure as HELL is no cause for me to feel for a Claude who does things without logic or thought.

[snapeaddict]

Hi, what do you say to the people who claim Regulus is the real Slytherin hero, and not Snape? To me RAB always seemed like a plot device and nothing more so I don't get why he's being worshipped... He's just another rich pureblood kid...

I say this is a very bad take, and it is disrespectful (that's a strong word for something that isn't really important but I cannot think of a softer version) of the actual people who enjoy his character. I'm going to write down some thoughts, but there's more to it than just what I would reply to them - allow me to ramble a little on the roots of this claim and on the thought process embraced by Snaters and Marauders apologists (I've seen that some people don't like this term, so I mean people who erase the Marauders' flaws and make them morally superior to Snape, justifying them being abusers and him being abused.)

The nonsense of comparing a plot device to a complex, layered character: Comparing Severus and Regulus is ludicrous. You are comparing one of the most (I would argue the most well-written and complex, but Dumbledore is quite something as well) well-written, accomplished character of the books to a plot device. It is indeed what Regulus is, no matter if his character could have been really interesting/seems to be interesting: we know very little of him, and he exists solely for the Slytherin locket plot. The very little we know of him certainly isn't enough to express any critical judgment of his character; he is mostly made out of white pages which are filled out by his fans, which is great, and by the people making this kind of argument, which is unfortunate.

The interest in the character only stems in his usefulness: I would argue that the vast majority of people making this claim do not care at all for the character himself, despite using him as a moral high ground. It is not his character which interests them, but how useful he can be to fuel their hate and biased claims. His personality? Having being sorted in Slytherin. His merits? Being a Slytherin. This is the only fact that matters, because it allows them to 'prove' that Snape wasn't a hero (being a hero does not mean being a good person, by the way) and diminishes Severus' merits. Using a character solely for the purpose of depreciating, downgrading another is not appreciating them: it's just completely hypocritical. This is often the kind of flat argument used by people opposed to social justice movements, if you will allow the broad comparison: using something you have never cared for before (often minority populations) in an attempt to depreciate something, even though the very fact you are using them for this purpose shows how little concerned you are with the actual people you are talking about. Well, it reminds me of this a bit. The true purpose is to try and impose your own views, and here they try to legitimise them by filling an almost inexistent character with their views to carry on with their agenda.

The sudden leniency toward privileged characters: Making such a claim in fact once again proves that Snaters have an extremely biased, subjective and elitist vision of what being good means, an opinion on what is moral integrity (and superiority because they keep comparing people), which they also apply to James and Sirius. I think Regulus is loved because he is a Black, respected by the fandom because he comes from a pureblood, rich family. It is very easy to prove: look at how much love Draco and Lucius get, despite being supporters of blood supremacy, active members of a terrorist group, using discriminatory insults on a daily basis, being actively supportive of the murders of muggle borns/participating in these murders [do not misinterpret this - I'm pointing out double standards, not saying they should not be loved. One's interest in a character does not depend on the character's morals]. Look at how respected Snape was in the fandom before book 6, when people thought he was a rich pureblood from an ancient family. Social hierarchy has a great impact on how people view characters, and they tend to be much more lenient toward privileged characters, because prestige is attractive, even in fiction. Similarly - but it is more concealed - there is the usual refusal to acknowledge that social inequalities do impact one's life, choices, and opportunities to be or do good. The quote "You didn't make good choices! You had good choices" (Little Fires Everywhere) works quite well in this context, especially regarding James and Severus, but also regarding the Blacks versus Severus. Severus' survival was completely, utterly dependent on his adherence to blood supremacist values. This must be taken into account - but weirdly, this is an argument that is often used to prove Sirius' moral superiority, because his family required him to share their beliefs. This is ignoring that despite his difficulties, he still beneficiated from a support system and privileges that others did not have access to. Similarly, you cannot compare Regulus' and Severus' choices. And in my opinion, both are tragic; but if we had to take part in Snaters' silly arguments, then I would remind them that Regulus effectively had no obligation to join Voldemort, his parents were not death eaters. The pressure both characters experienced certainly wasn't of the same nature - even perhaps not of the same intensity. But does comparing them makes any sense, again...

The social biases: While Snape is blamed for his decision to join the death Eaters (rightly), Regulus is praised for his decision to leave them. While Regulus is pitied because he came from a family who brought him up with this ideology (just like Draco is), which apparently takes off all responsibility from him, Severus' background is never considered as a factor which pushed him right into extremists' opened arms. Regulus' privilege is used as an excuse; Snape's social disadvantage and familial issues are, at best, ignored, at worst, interpreted as proof of his inherently bad nature. Some people associate his upbringing with him being bad, whether they want to acknowledge it or not. While Regulus is headcanonned as handsome, Snape is constantly described as 'greasy' and 'ugly' by these same people, and you can see exactly how important appearances are to them. I'm even going to argue that worshipping a rich, handsome, privileged pureblood must sound better to them than being fond of the 'greasy git', and I am also saying these are mostly internalised biases. When you read these claims carefully, it sounds like in the mind of these people, Regulus is more legitimate as Slytherin's hero because he is better - inherently. And it is easy to see why.

The double-standards and their disturbing roots: This is also plainly ignoring the fact that Regulus and Snape defected for the same reasons, if we must make comparisons. Voldemort was targeting one of their loved ones, Kreatur for the former and Lily for the later, which made them realise, because they are humans and thus not selfless, how wrong his methods were when they turned against them. However, in Snape's case, turning against Voldemort in an attempt to save Lily is often held as proof of his selfishness/absence of morality: he wanted her for himself, he only deflected because someone he liked was in danger. In Regulus' case however, his gesture is seen as heroic and compassionate. Why? Well, there are a variety of reasons apart from Snaters' double standards, but I have noticed that most of them seem to think of Lily as 'belonging' to either James or Snape, and think Snape unworthy of having ever had Lily as a friend because of some kind of deep rooted flaws he had even as a child ('He tried to hurt Petunia with accidental magic when he was 11, he was always bad'. In fact I should make a post about how horrible this claim is.) In Regulus' case however, wanting to save Kreatur is seen as an act of compassion. Why? Not only because they want to make Regulus look better than Snape. I think it is also because Kreatur is a house-elf, an inferior being: Regulus' wish to protect him becomes praiseworthy, laudable, because house-elves do not really deserve consideration. So wanting to save him becomes an act of generosity. Even when you're not thinking of the double standards, this way of thinking is disturbing. Snape also turned against Voldemort at the age of 20, 21? Like Regulus did if I recall? They weren't death Eaters for very long. They both actively fought to bring Voldemort down. It would be tremendously hypocritical, wrong and plain bad faith to think of Regulus' action as superior to Snape's 20 years of hard work to bring Voldemort down.

So why can't Snape be a hero? I think this claim is a confession. To me it shows a very simplistic vision of heroism, of good and bad, of models, and a complete refusal to consider the grey, sometimes praise the grey- it's a failure to accept the complexity of the human functioning. Thinking that the people we praise for certain actions, or consider to be examples must be flawless is vain, simply because it is unrealistic, and we could not admire them/relate to them/like or dislike them/learn from them if they were not like us, layered and flawed - but this is exactly what this claim desperately wants us to believe. Or rather, what Snaters want to believe, while imposing their very biased views of good and bad, themselves rooted in prejudices. This is why they are using a character that is mostly inexistent: an empty, one dimensional character can fulfil this aim. This is also why so many people fail to appreciate characters such as James, Sirius and Remus without completely ripping off their flaws, and thus complexness - they cannot be loved if you can find fault in them.

[bookofmirth]

see on one hand i totally agree that you shouldn’t waste your time on being negative about characters or ships you don’t like but majority of the time i see these type of comments it’s from feysand stans that are upset that nesta stans are able to use the strange moral code sjm uses in her writing to point out nesta ain’t all that bad in the grand scheme of things and compared to majority of the characters

a lot of the time it’s feysand stans that reblog cute feysand art but 70% of their blog is shitting on nesta and calling her an abuser and saying that anyone who likes her is a horrible human but when a nesta stan posts anything criticising the inner circle or feysand then it’s immediately ‘don’t read these books if you don’t like rhys and the ic’ or ‘get out of the fandom’ or just in general shitting over any opinion that criticises the inner circle and rhysand and says it’s pointless writing anti posts and to get out of the fandom but at the same time writing anti nesta posts for the majority of their blog

i think it’s honestly quite clear that nesta is held to a higher moral standard than most of the other characters. for rhys, for example, his actions utm are majority of the time justified by his stans because acotar is ‘enemies to lovers’ and he’s ‘morally grey’ but saying that nesta’s behaviour at the beginning of acotar is excused because nesta was an evil sister cardboard cut out villain and that she’s morally grey is not allowed because then you’re invalidating feyre’s abuse. i love rhys AND nesta (i know, not common) but it’s clear he gets a lot of leeway where nesta absolutely doesn’t which is why i think her stans are as aggressive as they sometimes are. because for the longest time nesta was hated on so badly and anyone that liked her was immediately an abuse apologist and a red flag so it’s not surprising to me that some stans have become super defensive when they defend her and have an answer for everything

I respect where you are coming from anon, and I know that people have been saying things that are rude and inflammatory, but I think you are illustrating what the anon and I were talking about in that ask. I can speak for myself for sure when I say this is what I meant when I said that in addition to the ship war, we have the Nesta versus the IC war.

(I am using your ask to address something that I have seen in the fandom at large A LOT this past month or so. My comments aren't just about this ask, it just gave me an excuse to talk about it.)

People get called an abuse apologist for liking tamlain, for liking Tamlin in general, for liking Nesta, Lucien, let's see... oh if you dislike Elain you're misogynist. My point in that post was that it's hard just existing in the fandom without encountering people complaining or just being outright rude. And I think that was anon's point too, that it's nearly impossible to say anything without people jumping in with an accusation of some kind, and refusing to accept any other opinions. Which it sounds like you have experienced! I wasn't pointing any fingers, though I know that doing so is practically the newest fandom trend that everyone *must* try at least once. It annoys the shit out of me, personally.

It's the way that the fandom is taking the ship war behaviors and applying it to something that shouldn't be a war in the first place. Instead of elriels vs gwynriels, it's Nesta stans versus IC stans and I HATE it 😴 The rhetoric ends up sounding eerily similar, to the point where we can't escape the ship war vibes no matter how hard we try.

So back to the whole finger pointing thing - oh, this random asshole you've never met said something you don't like? And did they hold a weapon to your head and make you respond in kind, with equal if not worse insults, slurs, and bullying? No. They didn't. (This is not "you" as in you, anon, this is a general "you".)

All these excuses that I've seen - primarily in the ship war - saying "well we did that as a reaction" 🤣🤣🤣 are you kidding me???? Is that not what toddlers say when they get caught punching their siblings? "Don't hit your sister" "but she stole my Barbie!" I- I just cannot with the things this fandom says with a straight face.

So yeah anyway. Our feelings are valid. The actions we take based on those feelings are 100000% our responsibility. I recognize that it's hard to turn the other cheek and let things go. Trust me. I do it regularly when I delete a rude anon, or when I see a ss of someone being a complete dingus on Twitter. I don't even have a perfect track record with how I respond (see: me defending Mor on occasion with more vehemence than is probably necessary). But saying "well I did it because they did it first". And if gwynriels/elriels/nesta stans/your mom jumped off a bridge, would you do that too?

says it’s pointless writing anti posts and to get out of the fandom but at the same time writing anti nesta posts for the majority of their blog

Gah, do people really not understand the difference between just disliking something and being an actual, full on anti?

(This is again a general "you" in this paragraph, not you directly, anon.) Perhaps, what would be more useful, is addressing everyone as individuals with their own opinions and reasons behind them. I absolutely agree that there are trends within fandom that can be misogynist or homophobic or what have you. (Case in point, everyone lusts over Az and Eris, the professional torturer and the man who left Mor to die, but they talk shit about Elain and Mor, two of the least problematic people in the whole series. What's that trend driven by? I'll give you one guess.) But that's a cultural problem, not necessarily an individual one. Are there people who are more guilty of this than others? Yes. So you block those people. You feel whatever it is that their words made you feel, and then you decide how you want to react. Because your reaction? You own that. No one else does.

Okay anyway, back to you anon 😂 I also like both Rhys and Nesta. Rhys pissed me OFF a few times in acosf with how he treated her, but she pissed me off in that fight with Elain. I totally get what you mean when you say that Nesta doesn't get forgiveness as easily as Rhys. Especially considering their age differences and the fact that he's a High Lord who now has everything he ever wanted, and she's a traumatized woman spiraling into self harm.

I guess the thing I wish could happen, is that people either 1) read the things that are actually being written and take that person as an individual without assuming right away that they are pro this character and anti that character, and 2) just move along if they really are just an asshole we don't want to deal with. The way people see everything in black and white terms means that there are two options. We either end up in a circle jerk with people who think the exact same way we do, or we scream at people we think we have absolutely nothing in common with.

[palmett-hoes]

Hi, I really loved your post with the monsters as Birds of Prey! Was wondering if you had any thoughts on the Foxes as Marvel or Mcu characters? I feel like I could see Dan as Carol Danvers and Andrew for sure is Jessica Jones, idk about the rest.

oh wow old post!!

haha unfortunately i’m not really a comics person so i don’t feel like i can really give the best analysis possible, but i have seen most of the mcu movies and bits and pieces of the netflix show so i’ll try my best. also im using dc characters too bc i want to

1. Dan: I think your instinct with Dan as Captain Marvel is spot-on (at least uhhh,, based on the movie lol sorry comics ppl). Her direct, forceful powers and fighting style are definitely reminiscent of dan’s no-nonsense leadership approach. similarly the themes of overcoming sexism and acceling in a male-dominated industry in the captain marvel movie is pretty much the same as dan’s story establishing herself as the first female exy captain (tho sports is way more valid than the military). plus there’s a lot of emphasis on love and friendship between women that dan is ALL about. also lashana lynch would be a god tier dan wilds fc. Dan could also def have that lawful good Okoye from Black Panther energy. Loyal, disciplined, no-nonsense leader. no powers except discipline. no hair. also danai gurira in 2012 with the dreads and the sword and the cape on TWD was definitely part of my middle school sexual awakening

2. Kevin: Aquaman. this is based pretty much exclusively on the fact that jason momoa is my #1 kevin fc and also that Pasifika kevin is phenomenal and mandatory, actually. otherwise i think he has a decent amount of stick-up-the-ass cyclops energy. or dick grayson nightwing energy but i don’t have any evidence for why. kinda looks like him tho

3. Andrew: andrew gets the most characters bc he’s my favorite. i think ur jessica jones instincts are absolutely correct, both in her storyline (i only watched the first season) and her powers. i’ve seen some powers au and the tendency seems to be giving andrew like,, psychic powers or the like, and i don’t really agree. andrew is a very direct character. he’s pragmatic, he confronts problems head on, and he doesn’t muck about in details. to me this really translates best into physical powers like super strength that help u big punch straight thru all ur problems. also i def think andrew would be not just a solo hero but a mercenary (or a detective) because he’s not altruistic enough to be a standard vigilante. he doesn’t care enough about other people to hang out on rooftops all night waiting for Crime to occur. there’s a price for that.  which brings us to the NEXT andrew hero: deadpool. maybe in personality more of a drugged andrew but the superpowered mercenary is really a perfect fit for andrew. also, healing powers have a decidedly tragic poetry to them on andrew. already he’s self-destructive, if he had a healing factor his concern for his own well-being would be so beyond rock bottom it’d be in the earth’s core. even worse when you remember that with a healing factor, as opposed to indestructibility, you still feel all the pain. which brings us to Wolverine and X-23, who have the same thematic points as deadpool but are much more of a personality match and they have knife hands, which i really think andrew would appreciate. ending that sadness train and onto another tho, andrew’s aesthetic and Vibes fit the Winter Soldier just SO well (just that movie tho, not really civil war or anything past that) and a reinterpretation of the captain america story using the twinyards would be incredibly interesting. and finally, one last hero that would work really well for andrew: rogue, only remove the angst around not being able to touch people, andrew would love that. one touch and their comatose? baller. don't fucking touch him.

4. Matt: Shazam. I didn’t see the shazam movie but my dad and brother did and they said it was very funny and all the trailors looked like it had a lot of fun himbo energy and i really think that fits. in terms of matching himbo disaster energy i think i’ve heard good things about comics hawkeye (not mcu). thor?

5. Aaron: Mr. Fantastic. now this might be a stretch but aaron is a character who uses a skin-deep veneer of anger to cover the fact that he’s actually quite pliant and bends to other people’s wills. and he’s a doctor or w/e. he could alse be like,, antman. he’s smart right? hank pym not paul rudd. katelyn can be wasp

6. Seth: Arm Fall Off Boy. no i will not elaborate.             ..... ugh fine, but i'm using my favorite piece of superhero media of all time: x-men evolution, the one where they're all teenagers in public high school. seth can be lance alvers/avalanche who’s a bit of a jerk and has a lot of issues with authority and has a rivalry with cyclops very reminiscent of seth with kevin, but still there’s the recurring theme that he’s lashing out because of low self-esteem and a bad situation and he’s a surprisingly sympathetic character who i’m very fond of. his power is earthquakes but i think the name makes that pretty self-explanatory

7. Allison: Iron Man. cocky, bitchy, and rich rich rich. sounds like allison to me. then to elevate it a level higher: emma frost, rich bitch extraordinaire. also if allison had telepathic powers she would be unstoppable. plus one more bitchy, morally-gray blonde (but chaotic this time): Harley Quinn

8. Nicky: Okay so I do wanna give a quick shout-out to Northstar, the first openly gay comicbook superhero, who’s a speedster which I’d actually say fits Nicky pretty well. However, if i had to choose a superhero to represent nicky in presence and powers it would have to be Jubilee from x-men (... from what i’ve heard lol. i’ve never actually consumed any of her Media hahaha anyway) she’s a joyful, energetic presence and her powers are setting off fireworks which i think is a good balance of nicky being a supportive cousin-parent AND a chaotic train wreck garbage trash man. also gonna throw in johnny storm for a cheap 'flaming' joke

9. Renee: Thunder/Blackbird from Black Lightning bc she’s a fufkin lesbian lol. (i don’t watch the show but i do follow nafessa williams’s tag). now the fr ones i’m gonna do together because to me they have the same Vibes so i chose them for the same reasons. Wonder Woman and Storm who to me have the same  reserved, impartial, regal energy. honestly ethereal and somewhat otherwordly, and quite literally goddesses. also op as hell.  black widow and her “red in my leger” looking for redemption story also fits thematically.

10. Neil: okay lazy answer first: the flash or quicksilver. get it? because they run fast? and neil run too? yea i like to think i've proven myself to be better than such a surface level interpretation but worth the mention ig. so for srs now, mystique and her shape changing powers would be an interesting interpretation of neil's identity issues, but i wanna push it a step further. nightcrawler would actually be possibly the MOST interesting hero to apply to neil 1. because powers still very movement go fast place to place 2. because of the thematic focus on neil's unusual looks and the lengths he goes to hide them, very much in line with the way nightcrawler will use a hologram-projector in order to look human, yet in both cases it's only a surface-level illusion, and 3. his parentage. here, mary would be mystique, which i also think works very well considering mary seemed to be the far more effective chameleon on the run than neil, and also fits with her place as a morally grey character, as mystique herself is often a villain or an antagonist, with her own agenda and shadowy motives. then nathan matches well with nightcrawler's father: azazel, a literal demon, and also where kurt gets his appearance. it's a shockingly coherent narrative between the three of them. then, to also give neil some powers that aren't contingent on his fucked up geneology and rather on his own merit and abilities, Black Canary and her sonic voice parallel the way that neil began to anchor his identity and take ownership over himself through his voice and his sick roasts

and 1 extra, wymack: batman, on account of his altruism, his dedication to second chances, and his many, many adopted children

---

anon, ik it's been a sec since you sent this, so i hope it gets back to you. i had a fun time with it and it prompted like,,, 7 different au s that i'll never write

[jbuffyangel]

The North Star: Arrow 7x08 Review (Unmasked)

Well I wasn’t expecting this that’s for sure. I’m not listening to reviewers with screeners anymore. Their descriptions of the episode are almost identical, but inevitably whatever episode they watched is not the one I watched.  I’m starting to wonder if reviewers are paid for writing agreed upon talking points. Then again I might just be moody.

“Unmasked” has a lot of good stuff. It also has a lot of bad stuff. And then there’s the WTF stuff.

Let’s dig in…

Olicity

Before I dive into our faves, I wanted to clarify a few things. I’ve been noticing some push back online about the phrase “dark spiral” in terms of discussing Felicity’s current arc. The general complaint seems to be when Oliver does whatever it takes to protect his family he is called a hero, but when Felicity does the same thing it’s called a dark spiral. Therefore, there are some misogynistic connotations using this term regarding Felicity’s arc. Since I am someone who frequently uses dark and light terminology to describe our characters I thought I should address this.

Dark spiral does not mean evil to me. It means a moral crisis. Every hero, at one point or another, goes through a moral crisis where they reexamine how they look at the world. This is typically brought on by trauma, loss, anger, grief, etc. This means the hero is not in the best emotional place to be making moral judgments. 

Please note I am using the word hero. A character does not stop being a hero simply because they are going through a dark spiral. The hero doesn’t suddenly become a villain because they are crossing some lines to get the job done.

Light and dark are terms to represent the best part of ourselves and the worst. We all have light and dark in us. We all have the ability to make wonderful, righteous, selfless and virtuous choices. This is the light. We all have the ability to make bad, questionable, uncompassionate and immoral choices. This is the dark. 

It doesn’t matter if you are male or female; we all have these opposing sides in us. We all have the space between light and dark, the shadows, or white and black, the grey, where our morality and choices are not clear cut. This is what it means to be human.

I don’t describe what villains do as darkness either. Damien Darhk, Ra’s Al Ghul and Diaz are evil. Can our darkness lead to evil? Yes, this is why we must be vigilant about it. However, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak and John Diggle aren’t going to become the villains in this story. They are the heroes who will sometimes experience a moral crisis and make questionable choices.

Oliver Queen is a character who consistently makes questionable choices and whenever he does I call it darkness. It doesn’t mean Oliver stopped being a hero. More often than not, his intentions are very good and he has a moral justification for his decisions. The problem is we can justify just about anything, which is why it is important to have some kind of moral code. This isn’t a standard I merely hold fictional superheroes to. It is one I hold myself to.

Arrow is being extremely sloppy about the kinds of situations they are putting their characters in, particularly Felicity. They are conflating very different scenarios into the same scenario and then saying it requires same response. This could not be further from the truth.

There is a very big difference between self defense and murder. If Felicity had to kill Diaz after he broke into her apartment, while in witness protection, then it would be self defense. It would be a completely necessary and reasonable decision. Felicity absolutely has the right to protect herself and her child.

However, killing Diaz when he’s unarmed, handcuffed, and in protective custody is not okay with me. That wasn’t about self defense. That was about retribution. Felicity wanted to take Diaz’s life because he took hers. That is murder.

I apply the same morality with Oliver Queen. Oliver had to kill Ra’s Al Ghul when they fought on the mountain. He couldn’t work out an agreement over Sarah’s death over tea with Ra’s Al Ghul. However, I had an issue with Oliver killing a de-magicked Damien Darhk. Yes, I know he killed thousands with a nuke. Yes, I know he was only de-magicked because the city imbued Oliver with hope and he was able to repel Damien’s powers.

However, there’s the rub. There was another way to stop Damien short of killing him. Would Oliver have to think outside the box a bit? Yes, but my frustration with Arrow is they never allow Oliver those types of outs, even though Barry Allen is given multiple options to avoid killing the villain. It’s always about killing or not killing with Oliver.  He couldn’t even use the friggin underground prison he had on Lian Yu. This is one of the reasons I am very excited about Arrow giving Oliver the option of the justice system.

Every Big Bad deserves to die. They are all horrible, evil people, who murder innocents, have unstoppable ninja skills, magic, super strength, armies, a city under their control, and the ability to escape from prison. So why does Slade Wilson get to live? Why does Malcolm Merlyn? Oliver is making emotional decisions when he’s choosing whether or not to end someone’s life. This is why he picks up and sets down his no killing vow as it suits him. That’s not having a moral code. I’m not losing sleep over any of these bad guys dying, but it doesn’t mean I agree with the decisions. Nor does it mean I believe this is the kind of hero Oliver Queen should be.

There have been several times Felicity Smoak is acting in self defense and that is perfectly acceptable. There are other times she is making the same moral judgments I disagreed with Oliver over and I’m going to call her on it even though it is Felicity. Am I saying I don’t like Felicity or believe she’s a bad person who has gone all evil? No, absolutely not. 

This is part of the hero evolution process and Felicity Smoak is as much of a hero as Oliver Queen. This is why exploring a darker arc is vitally important. Is Felicity morally justified in some of these more questionable choices? Yes, but simply because you can morally justify a choice doesn’t automatically make the choice morally right. I also hold Oliver, Felicity and Diggle to a higher standard than I do a regular Joe because they are heroes.

I also recognize killing a villain is not the same as killing an innocent person. Let’s say Felicity killed Diaz while he was in police custody. This is not the same as Bl*ck S*ren murdering a bunch of innocent people. If a hero kills a villain it doesn’t automatically make the hero a villain. If I believed Oliver Queen was a bad person because he killed bad people then I wouldn’t have watched the show. I recognize Oliver’s heroism when he’s making decisions nobody is willing to make and accepting the responsibility for those choices.  

However, I don’t believe killing is right. There are very few circumstances where I believe killing is justified. This is just my personal morality. It doesn’t have to be yours. However, I am applying the same morality to Felicity I apply to Oliver. I am going to keep describing it in the same terminology as well.  So, I hope this clears up any confusion regarding my meaning behind dark, light, dark spiral and my general view on morality in regards to Arrow.

Okay. Enough of this. Let’s talk about the sex.

To be honest, it was a letdown. 

We started out so good. 

We were micro inches away from shower sex y’all! But Oliver goes into full prison PTSD mode. 

Source:  oliverfelicitygifs

He pulls the shower curtain back to reveal a startled, but silky robe clad Felicity Smoak. She was about to hop in the shower with him. Nobody can tell me different. I know my truth.

Oliver is available to zip up her dress though. ( I want you to zip it down you big pine tree. We really should be united on this. I am shocked I have to explain it to you.)

Felicity leans into his touch as he slowly zips the dress up. 

She rests her head back against his chest and broad shoulders and feels the warmth of his breath as he whispers in her ear.

This is what she missed. Not simply having someone around to help with her dress, but the physical reassurance she is not alone. 

Felicity can finally lean against the man she loves, take comfort in the strength of his arms, and find reassurance in his soft, gentle voice. The voice meant only for her. 

There’s no more glass separating them. Felicity can touch Oliver again. He’s real. Her husband is home.

Source:  oliverfelicitygifs

Oliver tries to wiggle out of going to the fundraiser being held in his honor. 

He’s clearly nervous about seeing his friends and citizens of Star City post prison. Oliver is quieter, softer, reserved and more withdrawn after his violent life at Slabslide. He’s gingerly dipping his toe back into the water, unsure of his next steps, like a child walking into the ocean for the first time. Oliver has returned from yet another island. After seven months, everything that was once familiar is now unrecognizable.

Source: andjustforthismoment 

Everything except Felicity… or so he thinks. She still believes in him, even if Oliver is uncertain. He knows the people of Star City are angry with him. He feels apprehensive because Oliver also understands they have a right to be. 

Star City citizen’s can clock a 2 on an angry scale of 1-10, due to the inordinate amount of times Oliver Queen/Green Arrow saved them from mass destruction and certain death. Not to be a stickler on the maths, but facts are facts. At least the ungrateful twats are publicly recognizing Oliver as a hero. I’m still waiting on the key to the city though (side eyes B*rry All*n bitterly). 

However, Felicity explains this is finally Oliver’s opportunity to show Star City who he truly is without a mask. Oliver may be apprehensive, but Felicity knows once the city sees Oliver for the hero he is they will fall in love with him just like she did.

Source:  oliverfelicitygifs

This is what he missed. Not simply the softness of her skin or the way she looks in that dress, but Felicity’s unwavering unconditional love and belief. 

Oliver could feel it while he was in prison, but it’s very different when she’s kneeling before him and he can stare into her big, blue eyes while holding her hand. There’s no more glass separating them. Oliver can touch Felicity again. She’s real. He is home.

Oliver runs his fingers over her wedding band, the infinite loop reminding him of the promises they made each other one year ago today. Remembering the anniversary is Husband 101, but Felicity is trying to give Oliver time and understanding as he eases his way back into everyday life. So, Felicity is thrilled when Oliver repeats a line from his vows.

Girl, he’s been separated from you for months and you are the literal air he breathes. Anniversary also equals guaranteed sex and it’s been seven months. Oliver ain’t forgettin’ it.

We start out with so much promise. 

Source:  oliverxfelicity

Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards should teach a course on how to kiss on camera. We shall call this course “How to Be Hot 400.” Yes, it’s an upperclassmen course. Sorry freshmen. 

Source:  whoeveryoulovethemost

Oliver takes off his shirt (no invitation needed - thatta boy) and Felicity runs her hands over his chest. 

Source:  oliverxfelicity

Oliver lifts her up into his arms and they fall back onto the bed. Yes, yes… go on.

AND THEN THE CAMERA CUTS AWAY. 

We didn’t even get that great of a shot in the mirror’s reflection. 

Source: oliverxfelicity

I’ll take a lower half shot if Oliver is getting handsy, but there’s no handsy. WHERE’S THE HANDSY? It’s been seven months. He should be migrating to the glorious Felicity Smoak arse in record time. The dress should be off by now. I should see it fly across the room in the mirrored reflection as Oliver moves other… places. I won’t get into too much detail. I’m a lady.

Listen, I’m a nice person. I deserve nice things. We waited a year and a half for a shirtless 15 second make out session??? 

We didn’t get post nuptial sex and now they shorted us on anniversary sex. 

 I demand angry sex as recompense.

At least they had the common sense to include some dirty innuendo. 

Source:  oliverfelicitygifs

Hehehe. Oh, we all know your first meal, big fella. Say no more. Wait, isn’t a double double four? WELL DONE SIR. 

Felicity, girl you deserve it.

Every time Oliver returns home from an island there is the inevitable mob of aggressive reporters and cameras. One of the loneliest scenes in Season 1 is watching Oliver fight through it on his own. 

Source:  hollandrooden

Now Oliver has Felicity and she not only holds his hand through it, but is his friggin bodyguard to boot. (Yeah, I said what I said Diggle.) 

Ugh, Max Fuller. This douche bag again. Weirdly has not aged a day, so he may be a vampire. 

Source:  oliverfelicitygifs

At least his asshole comments provide an opportunity for Felicity to mark her territory and that never gets old. 

Source:  felicitysmoakgifs

No, Oliver was not the marrying type until he met this genius, funny, warm, insightful, bullshit detecting, red pen-chewing, blonde sunshine and then all he wanted was to have lots of sex and babies with her. Catch up Fuller.

Bl*ck S*ren swings by to keep up appearances and Lyla asks in a not so hushed tone, “Are we friends with her now?” 

This cracks me up any time any character says it. I’m comfortable with the classification of frenemy. Bl*ck S*ren is the Cordelia Chase of Team Arrow. You know, if Cordelia was a murderer. Scratch that. Bl*ck S*ren is the Spike.

Felicity reminds everyone the only person who actually helped her get Oliver out of prison was BS. 

Oliver for his part tries to be gracious and thank her. 

Bl*ck S*ren’s response is a back handed compliment, but it reveals an uneasiness between Oliver and Felicity not even four orgasms can fix. 

Source: katie-mcgraths

Worth a shot though.

Olicity has the fight we’ve been waiting for after Max Fuller sends one of his goons after Oliver.  First, we need to talk about Felicity’s state of mind. She is clearly traumatized from her experiences with Diaz and as a result is obsessed with security. 

When Curtis asks Felicity what is next she tells everyone she’s building a new security system. It’s her Spidey sense tingling, and not Oliver’s, when she realizes the security system she installed didn’t go off when Oliver entered the apartment. Then, Felicity hides behind her chain linked curtains, which can stop arrows, when the goon breaks into the apartment. And finally, she goes for her gun. 

So, clearly Felicity is experiencing PTSD no different from what we witnessed with Oliver in the shower earlier.

Oliver is handling the situation with the Fuller goon. It’s one guy. Arrow has finally remembered Oliver Queen can take down ten without breaking a sweat. This will not be a problem. Is it taking a minute? Yes, but he’s still Oliver. He dove over counter tops and furniture to throw his body in front of arrows to protect Felicity. He’s got this.

Oliver throws the goon into a wall and he’s essentially down. He begins to question said goon in his big, scary, lower octave, Green Arrow rumble when Felicity joins in with her gun. 

I agree with Oliver’s reaction which is, “What the fuck are you doing?” 

This distracts Oliver for a microsecond and the goon gets up. 

Prosecutable in a court of law? No, the goon broke in. Technically it is self defense, but also whoa babe! Stop shooting suspects!!! 

Let’s holster the happy trigger finger.

Source: oliverfelicitygifs 

Do I feel the use of the gun is necessary in this circumstance? No, Felicity is married to The Terminator. He’s home now and perfectly capable of protecting her from one guy. 

However, this break in is clearly meant to echo the one we saw in the premiere with Diaz. Her security system failed then too. Only she was home alone with a 12 year old boy and Diaz was the one with a gun. All Felicity had to defend herself was a pot of coffee and a poker stick. 

She is literally reliving Diaz’s attack, so Felicity responds to this goon with what she wished she had back then – a gun. It doesn’t matter Oliver is there now because her trauma is triggering this response. 

It’s no different than Oliver with the shower curtain.

Do I think it is madness for Felicity to carry a gun? NO!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Oliver’s response to it drove me nuts. He’s more concerned she has a gun than with how she’s using it. This is missing the forest through the trees.

I don’t have any problem with Felicity carrying a gun. I’ve had a general annoyance with Oliver and Diggle for the past seven years regarding Felicity’s training. They’ve trained her to defend herself somewhat. Is she as physically proficient at self defense as everyone else on Team Arrow? No. Not even close, which I find grossly irresponsible on Oliver’s part. 

While we’re training L*urel, Rene, Dinah and Curtis to be ninjas, Felicity is just sitting at the computer typing. We can’t toss the girl a staff and go a few rounds? Instead, they send her out into the field in high heels and a mini skirt as she uses a stick, laptop, or whatever she can find to defend herself.  Give me a break.

Diggle warned Oliver about this when Felicity joined the team. Oliver’s entire defense strategy for Felicity was HIM.

She didn’t need to know how to fight back the same way other team members did because Oliver always planned on fighting for her. 

He would throw himself in front of any bullet or arrow before he let it touch her. 

It’s romantic, but not very practical. Oliver also never planned on Felicity going into the field as much as she has. As soon as she did he had a responsibility to train her more and he didn’t.

Generally speaking, Oliver has does an extremely good job protecting Felicity. 

He is true to his word.  Oliver always uses his body to shield Felicity from anything coming her way.

Oliver did teach Felicity to defend herself too. 

We’ve seen her defend herself time after time. 

By no means am I saying Felicity Smoak is a damsel in distress.

She was not, however, capable of defeating someone like Ricardo Diaz. Felicity Smoak is the wife of the Green Arrow.  The minute Oliver made that announcement to the world he put a target on her back and then disappeared into his island.

The only defense Felicity has against someone like Diaz, or anyone else with a fighting capability beyond her own, is Oliver. But he was gone. She was alone to defend herself and their son.

The security system Felicity had in witness protection was A.R.G.U.S. and they were completely worthless. What does A.R.G.U.S. do besides screw up? Their big plan was to watch Felicity and William, which equated to a failed security system and taking five minutes to respond when she’s under attack. News flash: it doesn’t actually take that long to kill someone.

It is irresponsible for Felicity not to have some kind of weapon to defend herself with. Oliver, Diggle, Dinah, Rene and L*urel all carried guns, but the minute Felicity does it’s, “GASP. OH NO! SHE’S EVIL.” Talk about your Madonna/Whore complex. She has a gun so she’s a whore! Unbelievable.

I have a problem with how Felicity used the gun. I have no problem with Felicity having a gun. It is just smart.  In the immortal words of Frank Castle, “You still got that hand canon?” Start packing baby girl. Go with God.

But we’re not dealing with Frank Castle. Unfortunately, we’re dealing with Oliver Queen. Who has apparently forgotten all the bullets and arrows he’s pumped into suspects the last decade, because he’s super judgey.

Oliver: Where’d you even get a gun? You’re new best friend Laurel?

Felicity: Of course not. I got it from your ex-best friend Anatoly.

Oliver: You what? I’ve barely been gone seven months and you’ve aligned yourself with two of the most immoral people we know?

Listen, pretty boy. I am glad you’ve found moral enlightenment and are now walking the higher plane, but you’ve been there for all of five minutes. 

Let’s not forget you’ve made an entire career of aligning yourself with the most immoral people on the planet. In fact, you worked with Talia and Turner inside of prison!!! Neither one is exactly a Care Bear. Turner may have some good in him, but he’s also a murderer. So, dial down the moral condemnation.

Thank goodness Felicity is not taking any of Oliver’s crap.

Felicity:  Oliver, you don’t get to judge me.

Oliver: You just shot a man in our living room.

Felicity: Something you’ve done a million times.

What’s frustrating is Oliver isn’t asking the right questions. 

Source:  felicitysmoakgifs

He’s not focusing on the clear trauma Felicity has suffered. He’s not asking why she feels unsafe, what her fears are or how he can help her. It’s all about who Felicity has been working with, which is again, missing the forest through the trees.

I have a real beef with Oliver’s remark, “This isn’t you.” Felicity is going through a dark spiral and is reexamining her morality. However, this concept Felicity is this lily white Virgin Mary character is baffling to me. 

Felicity was already breaking the law as a hacker before she even met Oliver. Then, she signed up with a guy who was dropping bodies regularly and fell in love with him. We aren’t dealing with Rainbow Brite! Felicity’s morality was light years ahead of Oliver’s, but she could reconcile murder and breaking the law for the greater good. That’s a darker skew on morality.

And apparently Oliver has just erased all of Season 5 because he clearly has no recollection of Helix. Maybe one of his head wounds is more serious than I thought and he’s experiencing amnesia. 

Felicity showed she would do whatever was necessary to avenge her boyfriend of five minutes. What did Oliver think she was going to do when her husband and child were threatened? She wasn’t going to Pottery Barn to pick out fabric swatches for the new apartment, Oliver.

Arrow is really focused on Oliver putting people in boxes because he has to learn not to. I get it. However, it’s resulting in some sloppy writing because he’s blatantly ignoring Felicity’s history to keep her on this pedestal. Oliver needs to realize his wife is human. I thought he already realized this in Season 5, but I guess we’re repeating it in Season 7. It’s fine. Hopefully they do a deeper dive on it than they did in Season 5.

Source:  felicitysmoakgifs 

“This is me because of you,”  is the line I’ve been waiting seven months to hear Felicity say. We had a little taste of it when she visited Oliver in prison, but she couldn’t unleash her anger full force because he was in prison. 

Oliver is home now though and it’s time to deal with this. 

Felicity reminds Oliver he destroyed their lives. He left his wife and child to the wolves without even discussing it with her Felicity. I mean, sweet mother of Moses, what did he expect?

Source:  felicitysmoakgifs

Oliver’s response to Felicity’s completely warranted anger pissed me off too. He’s very, “How many more times do I have to apologize for this?” MORE THAN ONCE ASSHOLE.

But Felicity isn’t looking for an apology anymore. What good is an apology at this point? What’s done is done. 

Source:  felicitysmoakgifs

Oliver’s actions have consequences. He continually lies and believes an apology will somehow be a magic wand erasing all the damage he’s done. Marriage doesn’t work like that. Life doesn’t work like that.

I just had this fight with my husband, which is why I respond so much to Felicity in “Unmasked.” She is saying very similar things I said to my husband. Believing you are not going to impact each other’s personalities over the years is naive. You can’t continue the same hurtful behavior and expect it not to change who your partner is.

Felicity has told Oliver several times she feels abandoned when he makes decisions without her. This behavior hits Felicity where it hurts. This is her greatest fear. Her pain is raw and exposed. Yet, Oliver continues to make decisions without consulting her. I don’t even think he checked with her before going back out into the field as Green Arrow. I hope to God he did, but if not this is exactly what she’s talking about.

Felicity is required to make changes inside of herself due to the impact of Oliver’s decisions. Oliver abandoned her. He left her alone, with a child and defenseless. As did their “friends.” 

So, Felicity had to learn how to defend herself. She had to learn how to survive.

Oliver Queen wasn’t the only one on an island. Felicity is on one too, but her island was made by her husband. Oliver may be home, but Felicity is not. 

Felicity is still on that island, fighting alone every day to survive, because she can’t trust Oliver won’t make another decision without her. Felicity doesn’t trust Oliver won’t abandon her all over again.

Felicity is making decisions for herself that, yeah Oliver, maybe aren’t typical to the woman you knew seventh months ago. His behavior in this marriage is impacting the decisions Felicity makes and those decisions are changing who she is.  It is cause and effect.

Oliver can say he’s sorry all he wants, but it doesn’t erase the trauma Felicity is dealing with now. Oliver needs to walk through these consequences with his wife and understand the impact he’s made. There’s no magic wand.

I understand Oliver is dealing with trauma too and acclimating himself to life outside of Slabside. He’s missed a lot and needs a moment to catch up. We are dealing with two traumatized people. However, Felicity has always treated a traumatized Oliver with compassion. One of my main frustrations with Oliver in “Unmasked” is he’s coming to this fight with a lot of moral condemnation.

We’ve been down many dark spirals with Oliver Queen. He is constantly reexamining his morality. Oliver is constantly pick up and putting down his “no killing” vow. He expects everyone to get on board with whatever he decides whenever he decides it. Felicity has never approached Oliver’s darkness with moral condemnation. If anything she treated him with kid cloves. 

Felicity harnesses Oliver’s light with cups of coffee, reassurance, forgiveness, belief and unconditional love. 

Oliver’s response to Felicity’s dark spiral in “Unmasked” is, “Who the hell having you been working with?” 

Oliver realizing criminals are human too does not make him morally superior to everyone else. Felicity has been arguing this kind of morality for the last seven years. I’m happy Oliver has finally gotten on board, but he’s not suddenly Jesus.

That said, Oliver’s experience in Slabside, and his new found moral code, will make him into the superhero Felicity Smoak needs right now. He is absolutely capable of harnessing her light, but unfortunately we did not see much of that hero in this fight.

There is a glimpse of that hero though. We get a clear view of the deep hole Felicity is in when she tells Oliver the person she was before was weak. 

Oliver is just completely dumbfounded by this. How can Felicity believe she is anything, but the strongest person Oliver knows?

Source: whoeveryoulovethemost 

I shared Oliver’s shock because I too cannot fathom Felicity ever viewing herself as weak. The line really bothered me, but it’s supposed to. This is another manifestation of Felicity’s trauma. She’s viewing herself as weak both physically and emotionally. The person she was couldn’t physically protect herself.  The gun and new security measures are all coping mechanisms for Felicity’s deep rooted fear.

Felicity can feel her fear inside and she views that as weakness too. She never wants to feel afraid like this again.  So, she’s reviewing her morality. The woman who was not willing to do whatever it takes was weak. 

This is a very Oliver Queen Season 1-3 attitude. Oliver always believed his humanity was a weakness. 

Now Felicity is viewing her humanity as a weakness, which is so heartbreaking.

Oliver is shocked and saddened by Felicity’s remark because her humanity inspired his humanity. 

Source: whoeveryoulovethemost

It’s why Oliver believes Felicity is the best part of him. Anything to the contrary is unfathomable. Felicity needs to see herself through Oliver’s eyes, just as Oliver saw himself through Felicity’s eyes. He needs to be a hero to Felicity like she was to him. That’s the love, the light, which will illuminate the path out of the dark.

However, there’s another reason Oliver repeated those vows. “You’re the very best part of me” assigns an ownership and responsibility to Felicity over her husband’s soul that is unfair. It’s something Felicity touched on when she tells Oliver ultimately who she is, and the decisions she makes, aren’t on him. Those decisions are on her.

Source: oliverfelicitygifs

The same goes for Oliver. Felicity can’t be responsible for harnessing Oliver’s light all the time. He has to inspire himself. Oliver has to harness his light on his own. He did a good job in Slabside, but now that he’s home he can’t fall back to relying on Diggle and Felicity to be his cheerleading squad. Oliver has to be a good person all by himself without someone holding his hand.

This pushes both Oliver and Felicity in new and important directions. This dark spiral gives Felicity’s character a freedom she’s never had before. Oliver’s enlightenment gives him a new sense of accountability.

Source:  olivergifs

We finally achieve a moment that has been a long time coming in Oliver Queen’s journey toward becoming a fully realized superhero. Oliver lied to the people of Star City and understands the only way to gain their trust is by being honest (*cough*apply this to your marriage Oliver*cough*). He decides to go out into the field as Green Arrow with his hood down and without a mask. 

Source:  olivergifs 

For the first time, Oliver is merging both personas. He realizes part of being a hero is being accountable for his actions.  He doesn’t remain in the shadows, but steps into the light as Green Arrow for the entire world to see. 

Source: whoeveryoulovethemost 

This is a moment I’ve written about for years and it fills me with a lot of joy watching Oliver finally putting the pieces together.

While their argument is necessary, it also feels mishandled by the Arrow writers because Oliver and Felicity are acting so extreme. Oliver’s reaction to the gun is extreme. How Felicity uses the gun is extreme. They cram a discussion we’ve waited seven months for into two little scenes. There’s way too much other nonsense going on. The Olicity scenes don’t get the time and attention they deserve. It feels sloppy as a result.

Source: oliverfelicitygifs

The two circle back to one another at the end of the episode to find some way to merge their diverting paths.  This time Oliver tries the softer and gentler coffee approach. See? He’s learning!

Source: oliverfelicitygifs

The last seven months has impacted each of them in permanent ways. Felicity is right. Oliver simply can’t talk her down to the old Felicity chewing the red pen. 

Life changes us, but I don’t believe this is about getting the old Felicity back. Oliver’s journey was never about restoring an old version of him. It was about finding the new person, the new hero, he had become. It was about learning to balance the light and dark.

Oliver may not be able to talk Felicity into her old self, but maybe he can inspire the new hero she wants to be. Someone who has light and dark. Someone who is impacted by their trauma, but not ruled by it. Someone who makes choices not out of anger, fear or pain, but from compassion. This is the hero Felicity inspired Oliver to be. So, now it’s his time to return the favor.

I am not remotely concerned about Olicity. There is no shortage of love between these too. They didn’t spend seven months fighting to be together just to separate.

Source: oliverfelicitygifs

I know they are on different paths right now, but they will find their way back to one another. This happens in marriage. Learning how to repair broken bridges is a large part of being married. My sincerest hope is they continue with Felicity’s moral crisis and keep examining the kind of hero she wants to be.  

She’s going through the same trajectory Oliver went through. It’s a mini trajectory. It won’t take Felicity seven years to get there, primarily because she’s smarter than Oliver, but I do hope the writers give the character the freedom she’s earned. I certainly was patient with Oliver crossing lines, so I have to give her character the same in turn.  

That said, Felicity Smoak is always a person who valued human life. So, the moments she’s not are when I am questioning her moral justifications. She admits to Oliver she would have killed Diaz and I don’t mind Oliver being shocked by her actions. Killing an unarmed man in police custody is A-typical Felicity Smoak behavior and Oliver has a right to be concerned.

What drives me nuts about this final scene is when Felicity says this:

Source: oliverfelicitygifs 

The idea that Felicity’s darkness is incompatible with their relationship makes me want to pull my hair out.  

I realize Felicity is channeling Season 1 – Season 3 Oliver and he always used his darkness as a reason why they couldn’t be together. However, they weren’t married at the time. Yeah, that’s right kids. You signed the paperwork. You are legally required to wake up next to each other.  Felicity doesn’t need to be sunshine and rainbows all the time for their marriage to function. It’s okay if Felicity gets lost. Oliver needs to put on his big boy pants anyways. This gives him a perfect opportunity to do so.

The line doesn’t even really make all that much sense given the context of their conversation. 

To be honest, it feels like the toss away divorce line. NO I AM NOT SAYING THEY ARE NOT GETTING A DIVORCE.  In fact, that’s why I’m annoyed with the line because I know they aren’t getting a divorce. Arrow isn’t even considering divorcing Olicity. It’s just relying on a tired, old television trope to bring viewers back after winter hiatus. “Oh no! I better tune in January to see if Oliver and Felicity get a divorce!” This is spectacularly lazy writing. 

If Arrow is incapable of drumming up drama in Olicity’s marriage without threatening divorce every time there’s a bump in the road then they are just crappy writers. Plain and simple. Dig deeper, Arrow. There’s plenty to mine in Olicity’s relationship without fake threats of legal proceedings.

I’m not ending on cranky though because I found some additional hope, should you need it, in the flash forwards. Yes I found hope in the flash forwards. It’s a friggin miracle.

Dinah shows William a tattoo on her wrist. 

Source:  mei-pellegrino

It’s called the Mark of Four and is something Oliver came up with. It represents the four pillars of heroism: courage, compassion, selflessness, and loyalty. It’s the reason Roy came back to Star City with William.

Dinah: We all got them as a reminder that no matter what happened if one of us was in trouble the other ones would be there.

The tattoo is shaped like a compass. Three of the marks have arrows as end points, but the one at the top faces north with a star end point. Oliver’s legacy, the kind of hero he inspires, is one who embraces courage, compassion, selflessness and loyalty. If they follow the four pillars like the North Star then they’ll never become lost in the dark. Everyone on the team has the tattoo. Everyone decided this was the kind of hero they wanted to be.

We can look at symbolism multiple ways to find more than one meaning, which is the fun. This tattoo also tells us everything we need to know about Felicity’s trajectory. Dinah began at the star when she listed the four pillars. She started with courage. Courage is the North Star and Oliver always says Felicity Smoak is the strongest person he knows.

Her strength has never been physical to Oliver Queen. She may not be able to take down Ra’s Al Ghul in a sword fight, but Oliver believes Felicity is stronger than him. Why? Felicity embraces her humanity even when the world has given her every reason to shut off her heart. For Oliver Queen, this is the most courageous thing a person can do. This is why she has always pointed the way for him.

We know Felicity has the Mark of Four tattoo because she inspired it. Courage, compassion, selflessness and loyalty are the very best parts of Oliver Queen. The Green Arrow encapsulates the four pillars because of the light Felicity harnessed in Oliver. When Oliver became lost in the dark he looked to Felicity for his way out. She was the North Star for Oliver, so he could become the North Star for everyone else.

Felicity is on the same path. She is not only Oliver’s great love, but his equal in every way. They are becoming full realized superheroes together. Oliver will remind Felicity her humanity is the very best part of her.  We all become lost in the dark at some point, but Felicity will find her way again. She simply needs to find the North Star inside herself again.  Felicity inspired the four pillars because she is the four pillars. The Mark of Four is the kind of hero Felicity will become because it’s the hero she’s always been.

Flash Forwards

Maya is Blackstar. (Waves excitedly at Katherine McNamara).

Source:  Source:veronica-lodge

Well done fandom.  

However, William, Dinah and Zoe don't know who Blackstar is. 

Does this mean she is not Olicity’s daughter and William’s sister? No. I still believe she is for reasons I’ll get into in a minute.  I genuinely wasn’t expecting any kind of confirmation from William or even a hint she may be his sister because it blows the lid off Beth’s big surprise. If Felicity is pregnant at the end of the season then it’s Arrow’s big May sweeps shocker.  

So, they aren’t going to confirm anything in the mid season finale. In fact, the smart thing to do is to cast a lot of doubt she has any connection to William.

However, there are signs she does. Arrow made a really big show of Oliver drinking scotch this week.  Max Fuller breaks out an expensive bottle and Oliver sits down for a drink.

Source:  whoeveryoulovethemost

Oliver ordered scotch on his first date with Felicity. 

It was his drink of choice while drowning his sorrows in the Arrow bunker in 5x19

Scotch is Oliver’s drink. 

He only switches to vodka when he’s drinking with Diggle.

William asks for Blackstars’ help at the bar while she’s drinking, you got it, scotch. 

Source: veronica-lodge

She’s cage fighting in Max Fuller’s old club. It doesn’t hurt Katherine McNamara tweeted about the booze. 

What’s the reason for making such a big deal out of such a small detail?

The second big hint Blackstar is Oliver Queen’s daughter is her fighting style. 

Source: veronica-lodge

The cage fight is very similar to the Oliver’s fights we’ve seen this season. She’s obviously been trained by Oliver Queen or at least by someone who knows Oliver Queen. Not to mention her whole attitude and vibe felt very Oliver Queen.

Source: veronica-lodge

Why does it matter if she is similar to Oliver Queen? Well, Arrow has spent a lot of time showing how similar William is to Felicity. Their connection may not be biological, but it is familial. 

I think they are doing the same thing with Blackstar only she is her father’s daughter.

There are still more clues:

She has a Queen Bee tattoo on her back shoulder – the same place Oliver once had his tattoo.

Her code name Blackstar could be a reference to the Mark of Four. As I explained earlier, the first pillar has a black star as an endpoint and it faces north. Blackstar seems to be a particularly on the nose code name for someone who doesn’t have any relationship to Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak, the people who inspired the Mark of Four.  

The camera transitioned from the Olicity love scene directly to William looking for Blackstar during her cage fight. These transitions are extremely important to pay attention to because they connect the dots.

Blackstar is protective of Felicity Smoak as well. At first, she pretends not to know her, but when William informs Blackstar Felicity is dead she immediately looks upset. 

Source: veronica-lodge

Blackstar confirms she worked as a broker for Felicity to obtain trigger mechanisms for a bomb. But her warnings sound more like a threat. 

Source:  dctvladies 

Sort of like, “I’ll slit your throat if you mess with my Mama.”

Did you notice how quickly Blackstar changed the subject when William said she has a lot in common with Felicity? Maybe they are not only working together, but are mother and daughter.

Finally, the characters went to great pains to avoid calling Blackstar by her real name or even asking what it is. She didn’t even use the name Maya, which I still maintain is an Arrow code name to avoid spoiling the surprise. There’s something about Blackstar’s name which gives away her identity. Could her name be Moira? Methinks yes.

Could Blackstar be Arrow’s version of Mia Dearden, Oliver Queen’s ward? No, I don’t think so. Marc Guggenheim said many times in early interviews Thea Queen was Arrow’s version of Mia Dearden. Thea’s middle name is Dearden and she used the code name Mia Dearden while living in Corto Maltese with Malcolm Merlyn.  

Technically, Roy was Oliver’s ward. Roy was essentially homeless and Oliver took him in. It is Roy who ultimately inspired Thea’s superhero identity – Speedy. Mia Dearden is Speedy in the comics. There are too many Mia Dearden threads in Thea’s character. They’ve already been there and done that.

Is it possible they are repeating the character because Thea is off the show? No, because they already have replacement sister waiting in the wings with Emiko Queen. If there’s a character who is trying to fill Thea’s role on the show then it’s Emiko, not Blackstar.

Source:  arrowdaily

Stephen welcomed Katherine McNamara to the show by tweeting, “Welcome to the family.” This is also what he tweeted to Sea Shimooka and Ben Lewis when they joined the show and they are playing Oliver’s blood relatives.

“But Jen these are such minuscule details! They don’t meaning anything!” We’ll have to agree to disagree these subtle not so subtle hints don’t mean anything. I think they do. This is how it starts. We often have very little evidence of the direction Arrow is going in the beginning of these mysteries/surprises. 

The bouquet was the first hint for the wedding.

In the beginning of Season 4, we had very little hints as to who was in the grave. K*tie C*ssidy’s lack of storyline discussion at SDCC was honestly the biggest clue.  

These minuscule clues Arrow offers via symbolism or imagery are often all we have to go on.  

As the season progresses there will be more clues. Once the big surprise is revealed everyone will look back at the earlier scenes and realize the signs were there all along. So, yeah I’m going all in on scotch.

If Blackstar is William’s sister then it’s heartbreaking to realize he doesn’t know or recognize her. This means William has been separated from his family for much longer than we thought. 

If Olicity gets pregnant this year, then William will be at least 12 years older than his sibling. He’ll be leaving for college in about six years. Maybe whatever happens to break the family apart happens after William leaves home. It is possible he wouldn’t recognize his sister if the last time he saw her was around age 5 or 6. Or maybe William doesn’t recognize his sister because he believes she’s dead.  

There are tons of plot holes right now because we don’t have all the information. However, there are many plausible explanations for William and Blackstars’ separation. It echoes Oliver and Thea’s separation in the beginning of the series only on a much larger scale. If Arrow’s goal is to expand the show, and William and Blackstar are brother and sister, then this gives the writers tons of story potential to build the relationship going forward.

So, either Felicity or Oliver don’t have any more children other than William, which makes me sad or William has been separated from his family even longer than we anticipated. This also makes me sad. Neither option is great. Fingers crossed William is just pretending not to know Blackstar to keep her cover (but I doubt it).

The essential problem with the flash forwards is there’s  just bad news on top of bad new week after week. I know Arrow is a dark show and I like that it is because it means there are consequences. However, Arrow isn’t only dark. There’s a lot of hope too.

Unfortunately, we aren’t getting a lot of hope in the flash forwards and it’s casting a shadow over any happiness in present day.  This is why we’re not supposed to know the future. Not that there’s much happiness in present day because the writers are trying so hard to sell Felicity is becoming evil. I know the flash backs were dark too, but the present day scenes countered it because we knew Oliver was moving towards a happier place, even when things weren’t going well. Unfortunately, we don’t have that balance this season.  

It’s making me very concerned about a tone shift. I know I said the minute the flash backs were introduced the writers expanded the story and they needed a Lian Yu level event to kick it off.  However, I understand the frustration and sadness. Oliver either never saves the city or his happy life with Felicity is destroyed in a relatively short amount of time. It’s difficult to get hammered with despair on top of despair every week. Oliver needs a win at some point.

Stray Thoughts

Emiko Queen is the new Green Arrow. Oliver has another sister. We been knew.

Oliver is now a Green Arrow consultant for the Star City police department. He’s a legal vigilante. Uhhh... okay? 

Dinah has her own Canary network and Blackstar hates vigilantes. So who are the good guys and who are the bad guys?

Diggle and Lyla are the stupidest to ever stupid by going to Diaz for help. They could have talked to Oliver and Felicity about it beforehand, but noooo. Can the whole “Diggle only gives a crap about himself” storyline end now?

I’m extremely irritated Diaz is back on my television screen, but if Arrow kills Curtis that’ll make it up to me.

I wrote a scene in The Gift where Oliver helps Felicity by zipping her dress down, so dreams come true.

Seriously Oliver you’ve been in prison. We couldn’t break William out of boarding school for a long weekend?

I love crab cakes.

Isn’t Max Fuller a character on Fuller House? Hahaha. That’s funny to me.

I like WASP-y sweater Oliver. Feels very S1. We could throw in a leather jacket again though.

“We didn’t get this treatment when we put Diaz behind bars.” Rene, you’ve been released from time out on account of good behavior, but if you keep saying narcissistic and arrogant crap like this I’m going to throw you back with Dinah, Curtis and Diggle.

“If anyone in here actually gave a crap they’d use that money to help people in hard up neighborhoods who end up in the system because they don’t have anything else.” This sounds very similar to the anger rumbling around The Glades in the city hall meeting. It also sounds very similar to the “Defend the Glades ” attitude in the flash forwards. Calling it now. Given Dinah’s remark about running for office, Rene is the mayor of Star City in the future. Yeesh.

I looooved Bl*ck S*ren’s sparkly jacket and wanted to purchase it for myself, but it was $1700 on sale. I think not.

Oliver catching the arrow with his bare hand was sweet. And hot.

Curtis had one line. This is the way it should always be.

Stop wasting my time with all the Newbie crap. I swear, this show is tone deaf to what an audience is interested in. I also need about 50% less Dinah.

Arrow took 2 ½ minutes to replay the same crossover set up scene they showed on Supergirl the night before. There could have easily included this scene once at the beginning of the crossover during the, “Previously on Arrow/Supergirl and The Flash.” There’s no reason to cut into my show and steal minutes which could have been used for sex.

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[solitaire-dreams]

Pokespe Gold, Silver and Bronze? An Arc Progression Analysis

Hey readers! I'm back and ready to attack a long post that had a long time coming. It is time for the part 2 of my prediction for the Gen 8 Pokespe dexholders/dexholder analysis. I would recommend reading my previous “What Type are you?” but there is a recap below for need-to-know info. Skip to the asterisks if you've already read (thanks).

Grass type dexholder = character who has self-intrinsic motivation despite life pushing them down and the path to their goal doesn't hurt many people.

Fire type dexholder = character who tramples over anything or anyone in the way of their goal.

Water type dexholder = character who hides important information from other characters and is secretive.

Gen 8 Male Character Counterpart = water type

Gen 8 Female Character Counterpart = fire type

Relationship (platonic) between the two = more emotionally charged and dramatic than other pairs.

***Today in our analysis, part 2 looks at exploring the progression of Pokespe against the evolution of...comic books of all things...and how the sets of holders mirror the ages of comic books.

DISCLAIMER: I am personally not a fan of comic books, despite my love for the superhero shonen of BNHA, and all this information is extrapolated from online research. Also this post was inspired by a post on the dexholders opinions of the pokedex which I can't refind for the life of me because I DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE THIS FREAKING SEARCH BAR CORRECTLY. Credits to them for inspiration. Somewhere out there.

SPOILERS BEWARE.

So, let's start at the beginning with the main arcs for our first three dexholder trios (RGB, GSC, and RS; with Yellow and Emerald to a lesser extent). These arcs represent the Golden Age equivalent in Pokespe.

The Golden Age (from the late 1930's to the middle of the 1950's) is described as the introduction of archetypes for the genre, and heroes and villains were depicted as very white and black in order to provide moral for a society in wartime.

While the original arcs of the manga were marketed towards 10 year olds in the 1990s-2000s instead of 10 year olds in the time of WW2, there is many of the same patterns in how they present the stories.

The RGB arc is the most shonen-esque out of all of them, where Red simply plays the role of the standard protagonist you've seen countless times and an episodic formula for chapters. The rival of Blue also feels standard by this definition and the conflict with Team Rocket is pretty black and white. Giovanni is a mafia boss who kidnapped an entire town, genetically engineered multiple Pokemon through harsh experiments, was willing to murder kids; and all for “The Glory of Team Rocket.”

GSC gives you the exact kind of story you expect with a shonen target market and a hot-headed + headstrong main protagonist (a f*ckboy). The main villain of the Masked Man who kidnapped children also keeps him firmly on the evil side and our protagonists who oppose him firmly on the good one.

Then while RS may have been unexpected for most readers, considering a secretive male protagonist clashing with a headstrong female protagonist, a stronger character focus and development was to be expected. Plus, despite Ruby initially ignoring the fight against the region and Norman (who I still maintain is a sh*tty parent and should not have been forgiven for his treatment of Ruby that easily) both are still painted on the side of good. Ruby does the closest in giving a complex protagonist, but by the time he locks Sapphire in the aircar and teams up with Courtney, the reader can understand he's still on the side of good.

Mainly, the reason they never seem too morally grey in the first arc is that the in universe characters do not address their flaws as in depth as they should. Plus, the villains of Maxie and Archie are both shown be extremely corrupt and willing to endanger their own for the end means; providing a level of villainy to overshadow the grey tones of Norman and Ruby.

The arcs are all often grouped together when talking about Pokespe as well because the first three regions of dexholders are the only ones that have actually interacted with one another. And the post which I CAN'T find classified their stance on the Pokedex as they take their roles as protectors of the region seriously and accept the responsibility.

This translates well into the Golden Age characterization as this view of all the dexholders makes them appear more noble than most; magnifying the heroic traits of dexholders and heightening the contrast with the villainous teams.

Next up in the timeline was the Silver Age. The notable features of the Silver Age (mid 1950's to 1970) are hard to peg down, but they conclude important aspects are: targeting a wider audience including girls and adults, science fiction overcoming gods and magic in use in stories, and the pop art style started in this time period.

The Silver Age honestly doesn't have much to apply to Pokespe, but the Silver Age is a transitional era for comic books, as its boxed in by the much more influential ages of the Golden and Bronze ages. For Pokespe, its version of the Silver Age does seem to adjust its target audience to a wider audience of kid Pokemon fans (as there isn't too much “mature” content in Sinnoh or Unova arcs). However, its new hook lies in “the power of friendship”; also noted in that elusive post.

The DPP arcs centres around a trio that all become very close friends, with the Pokedexs canonically serving a role to demonstrate the bond all three of the characters have developed. Plus, Dia is a protagonist who completes believes in friendship for all as he listens to Cyrus is the Platinium arc, possibly giving him the chance to amend his wrongs.

BW may not have a trio of great dexholder friends, but the connection that develops between Black and White have a strong focus, and Black's friends of Cheren and Bianca also have a strong present in the story and exhibit the friendship that exist all between them. Meanwhile, the power of friendship cannot really apply to Team Plasma, but they definitely manifest the transition from “evil for the sake evil” to “complex motives that may not make them evil”. Despite N being the near definition of “morally grey” in Pokemon, the manga keeps him in a dark enough light that the reader can't fully think of him outside of evil—unlike the game.

Following up the Unova adventures in B2W2, this arc does a better job of emphasizing friendship. While Lack-two/Blake claims to lack any emotions, I'm not sure if it would hold up to a power of friendship punch in his emotionless face. Whi-two/Whitley also learns a lot about becoming friends as she gets closer and opens up to Blake—despite it being a ploy for information—still pushes the friendship theme. The evil is team is dealt with better as well, because Whitley has sympathy for N and the old values of Team Plasma, being a former member herself; and we see one of the older members aid Hugh in his search for Purloin. By having the new terrorist branch of Team Plasma cover the evil, it allows the members who follow the previous values to be painted in a redeemable light.

Finally, we arrive at the two most recent arcs of XY and SM/USUM. Or the Bronze Age equivalent of Pokespe.

The Bronze Age (1970-1985) of comics is the one people who are fans may know fairly well. Darker plots returned in full forces, tackling more serious topics such as poverty, pollution, and dangerous substances. Heroes were also more flawed and complex than they had ever been; and villains were dipped deeper into grey.

And if you've read the XY arc, these traits are probably ringing some alarm bells. The arc was extremely dark, expanding on the games in a way they never managed to achieve. The main theme of the arc is the apathy of society and how its flawed, self-serving natures screws over anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in its wake. This stance that Team Flare took against society had radical actions (tons of it), but the sucky behaviors demonstrated by Kalos citizens in the manga prove society is far from perfect. The story of Emma/Essentia is also compelling as you understand she is on the wrong side, but with some right reasons.

X is additionally one of the most flawed male player character protags by far; the best way to describe him being all the negative mental problems shoved into one 12-year old boy (which I mean in the most loving way possible). Y also has her repressed problems, and a standoff-ish/headstrong nature that puts her at odds with others; most notably with the huge fight with her mom.

Then, in the SM arc, despite the more lighthearted vibes that come from Alola; that does not undermine the Bronze age themes present throughout the arc. The manga does not shy away from manifesting the trauma Gladion and Lille have sustained from Lusamine going insane, Guzma smashes his head into a wall after losing a fight, and Lusamine's fusion with Nihelego horrifies our protagonists; as it probably should if you saw that for the first time. The manga seems to be going in the direction that Lusamine has lost all her marbles and can't be fully held responsible for her crazy actions. Plus, Sun's flaw of hyper-focusing on gaining all the yen he needs to buy back the island/hatred for the Aether Foundation; and Moon's flaw of a hero complex that causes her to help one problem, but abandon it for a new one when it comes up (on top of her cold attitude to people initially).

Their Pokedex stance was summed up in the post by: “WTF is this thing? I don't want it.” which fits pretty well with their overall stance on the region crisis. None of these four protagonists ever truly consented to saving the region. In Kalos, the reasons the protagonists fight back is that their town is destroyed and they are being assaulted by the evil team. And as for Alola, both Sun and Moon get sucked in slowly with smaller events until it's like: “Hey, you've bonded with the incarnations of the Sun and Moon. Guess you’re the last line of defence for Alola now!”

Thus, if the Ages have each of the three rotations sets in it, Gen 8 in the Galar region will also stick with the Bronze Age vibes. Though, that's to be elaborated on in a later post (so sorry).

Tl;dr The progression of arcs in Pokespe follow the same progression of comic books throughout the different ages. RGB-RS (also Emerald) are in the Golden Age, with standard archetypes and black and white divides between heroes and villains. The Silver Age doesn't tie in much to DDP-B2W2, but they are both transitional periods for villain characterization (evil, but with a chance for redemption) and have a new hook; this time in the form of friendship boosts. Last lies the Bronze Age for XY and SM arcs, known for darker plots, and complex and morally grey villains paired with complex and flawed protagonists.

[roxannepolice]

Prophecies and free will - the (seductiveness of) disenchanting the Galaxy FFA

Or a really long introduction to the smut hut vision meta

Prophecies are a slippery matter in fiction - or at least they became so as the process of disenchanting or rationalisation of the world progressed. There's always some sort of tension between the notion of destiny and free will, not always a very comfortable ome, and the simplest disenchantment is to reject the former idea completely. Nevertheless, prophecies are a more than useful plot device in the way they affect the interpretation of the text and build suspense. Besides, it would be a bit dull if all authors always chose the same, most rational answer.

Macbeth is a fascinating text for many reasons, but one of them is the way Shakespeare used practically every way in which a prophecy may get resolved - that is, except for the option that they don't come to fruition at all - and even that interpretably. So:

prophecy as a trigger setting in motion deeds leading to its fulfillment - that's of course the case of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth killing Duncan. It's impossible to say what would have happened if Macbeth never encountered the witches or never acted basing on their prophecy. Interestingly, Macbeth is usually juxtaposed with Oedipus, but I'd argue it's an oversimplified reading of the text, as it's hardly the only prophecy in Macbeth

prophecies fulfilled on their own - that's all of those applying to Banquo and Fleance. Banquo doesn't do anything to bring them to fruition, yet they all come true and, arguably, independently of Macbeth's actions - though only arguably.

an interesting point to be made is that prophecies applying to Banquo and his offspring do not get fulfilled in the text taken alone - it's more of tacit knowledge those interested in Shakespeare or british history and, arguably, target audience of 17th century London have (had) that Macbeth is in fact grounded in history and James I was Banquo's offspring. Otherwise, audience is left to assume the fact that Fleance escaped means that at some point he became the king of Scotland - or that the whole prophecy thing was, in fact, bs

a self-fulfilling prophecy - that's the case with Macduff. There was of course a general uprising against Macbeth's rule but it was only through his attempt at avoiding the prophecised threat and killing Macduff's family that he got himself a mortal enemy - and one that, incidentally, wasn't of a woman born

prophecies not going to go the way you think - that's Birnam forest and Macduff's birth. They both made Macbeth feel invincible yet they both somehow came to be. A point to be made is that for such a prophesy it be, it has to be expressed ambiguously (a frequent case in ancient times when oracles would basically get high to have visions) and thus it's actually its believer's arrogance that leads to their fall. Enter Eowyn the badass

That last take on prophecies - that they come to fruition in some, far from obvious, way - has become almost a cultural standard by now. It allows for suspense to be built, introduces some irony, especially if combined with self-fulfillment, and all that without really challenging the tension between destiny and free will. Such is currently the case with Cersei Lannister and the valonqar prophecy. Few think she's right to believe it's Tyrion who'll kill her and if so, then only as a result of the way she treated him out of fear caused by what Maggie the Frog said - hence the most satisfying option apparent is if she's killed by Jaime (not going to go the way she thought) because of the way she treated Tyrion (self-fulfillment).

The problem is, George R.R. Martin could yet turn out to be a trope refuter. There are those who believe the show and the books will go in completely seperate directions, the former reviving the epic fiction genre, the latter deconstructing it completely. Thus all of the prophecies are bs, prince that was promised and valonqar alike. However, once a prophesy is introduced it will always affect the way readers interpret the text and I think Martin considered that. Cersei surviving past the last page of the last book won't mean she definitely won't get killed by someone's younger sibling - because the readers, trained by Macbeth, know better than to not consider every younger sibling of ASOIAF. The truth is, for the most creative readers to not come up with some way in which the valonqar prophecy will be fulfilled, Cersei would have to spontaneously combust and even then some would argue she got choked by the smoke, and smoke is fire's younger sibling or something. In a way, valonqar can be Birnam forest gone meta.

I introduced ASOIAF in its most disenchanted reading (which, in itself, doesn't have to be the correct one for what we do know by now) because a good deal of audience expects it to be the new cultural standard and apply the same attitude towards - among others - Star Wars. Disenchantment. No more lineages, no more prophecies, the Force gets stripped of all the mystical bs, it's just magic in a fairy tale. Now, I'm all in for premarital sex, but tbh, I would feel as a tad uncomfortable if after 19 years it turned out Shmi was lying about Anakin's birth.

And I would also say the potential disenchantment is what makes ASOIAF adult fiction at least in the same degree as sex and violence described, whereas Star Wars remains a saga for 12 year olds. Disenchanting the world feels good, feels smart, feels like telling your younger sibling Santa Claus doesn't exist. It basically has a strong Vernon Dursley vibe to it.

So, leaving Scotland and Westeros and returning to the Galaxy Far Far Away

So far there have been three, arguably four, arguably two, prophecies in Star Wars’ main story. The two undisputable ones are that of balance and the smut hut visions. The third one is that of Padmé’s death in labour and the fourth one, very similar, whatever Luke saw on the Dolorous Night. I think it’s a bit too simple to treat them all as indiscriminately going to go not the way we think combined with self-fulfillment. So, let’s analyze.

I’d argue that the prophecy of balance is a case of one itself being an agent influencing actions in the desired direction. Now, the Force may not be as morally unambiguous as jedi would like, but it’s not as amoral/downright malevolent as the three witches (sometimes interpreted as the Moirai, hence the amorality). But it’s also the main reason why Anakin became a jedi and later a sith in the first place, and the jedi in their old form, as most here agree, had to go for the balance to come. Would Qui-Gon train a “too old”, strongly attached to his mother force sensitive and help him get a better life than that of a Tatooine slave? Probably yes, because Qui-Gon was a good person. But would jedi let him join the order? Probably not, for their own good - but their good was a secondary matter here.

Anakin's vision of Padmé's death is a tricky one. In many ways it's a classic case of self-fulfilling prophecy, but there's a bit more to it. First of all, it's the only one that we actually see the way it plays out in Anakin's head, as opposed to his getting impression of Shmi dying. It also differs an extent from the way Padmé actually died, which, I think, is the best argument for the theory the vision was implanted in Anakin's mind courtesy of Palps (though it's far from being a decisive). Or just good old subconscious beeing mean.

Similar discussions apply to what exactly prompted Luke to consider killing Ben, up to the point of some people believing this was Snoke's direct influence, too. Or it could have been, again, Ben's subconsciius that he had no intention to follow. Funnily enough, it's also the only case when a good deal of audience isn't inclined to question the vision, but whatever.

And finally, the smut hut. Now, following a few months of uncertainty, the SW databank stated explicitly that Rey and Ben both had visions of the future. I don't think the visions were in any way manipulated by Snoke, or the raisin would have bragged about it. I also refute the idea that the visions are going to go completely the other way than they think, because Rey talking about solid and clear vision precludes an amibuguity of Birnam forest type - granted the latter was a case of being overly literal about what could be seen, but unless Rey's moral sense is highly questionable, I'd say if she says she saw Ben doing good, that means she saw him doing good. And leaks from Jedi the Last only enforce that belief.

There is however the question of what exactly have they seen. Now, I know most reylos think they have seen their grey future together - and I'm far from decisively refuting that - but it just doesn't add up, imo. It's too simple, too easily reconcilable for their reactions. If I were to interpret their expressions when they tell each other what they saw - to refresh, Rey tells Ben he's not going to bow to Snoke, he'll turn and she'll help him whereas he says when the time comes I don't think this part gets the attention it deserves, from any part of the fandom she'll be the one to turn and that she'll stand with him (I find it interesting, btw, that Ben is arguably the only character so far to not act in order to directly achieve or prevent a force vision, though only if we assume he hasn't seen his future with Rey) - Ben looks sceptical (yup, I think homeboy's done with all the visions he had and others had about him) but Rey is downright disquieted, even before he brings in her parents. How hard to reconcile is what they said they saw if they have indeed seen the same thing? But, as I already stated, that's just my take and having a choice between an answer that's interpretably simple and intuitive but bringing even more questions, I'll choose the latter any day.

Because the really interesting question imo is why have they seen whatever they saw because, regardless of whether their visions were gray or black and white, one clear result is that they brought them closer together, if only for a while. Another case of a prophecy being an agent in its own fulfillment? Force badly wants 'em great-grandbabies? Were the visions coercions? Or warnings, if black-and-white? Inevitable or but possible? Or will the galaxy far far away get disenchanted and the entire scene was but a plot device?

[gldtarnish]

the loveliest angels make the cruelest demons. 

 — ✧ that looks like ROSALIND SNART! they’re the TWENTY SIX YEAR OLD DAUGHTER of GOLDEN GLIDER. [ they are also a SKATEWORLD ROLLER RINK EMPLOYEE. ] i hear they’re INSIGHTFUL & TACTILE, but tend to be MANIPULATIVE & SARCASTIC. her file says that her power is ASTRAL PROJECTION & INTANGIBILITY.

stats.

pinterest.

            some people’s stories are written before they are born:    sometimes, being born on the wrong side of the track can feel like a noose around the neck, not yet tightened.

    your father is never in the question; it could be anyone. you had your money bet on another rogue, but every time you asked your mother, she’d simply reply with a side smile and a half shrug.   she’d always say,    ‘ fathers aren’t worth the trouble. ‘      you just nodded your head.

lisa tried to be a good mother ;    loving her daughter dearly, doing whatever she could to protect her pride and joy.      to give golden haired rosalind the childhood that had been robbed from her.   unfortunately,    as a super villain -- that was easier said than done. lisa tried to go straight for a while, but the duo struggled to keep their head above waters, and the more lisa began to dabble in thievery, crookery, and straight up villainy, the more she learnt if you loved something you have to let it go. and sometimes, that constitutes putting your kid in the foster system.      or, she was partially.               it was an initial attempt to give rosalind a better life; a different family name;   it lasted roughly a year in the foster home, occasional visits from her mother every now and again to check up, occasionally having other parents come to see her to see if she would fit. but every time a whisper of a name. a statement would be exchanged;    a  side eye glance and a sorry expression as the parents moved on for a less ‘troublesome’ canidate.

the last ditch effort ; sending rosalind to gotham academy.  if she couldn’t get a new shot at life, away from all the villainy,   than she may as well get a good education.   she got more than that; good friends, a backbone to her voice, as well as finding out how athletically gifted she was.

people dubbed her ‘the golden girl.’ though, she mostly thought they were just mocking her mom.  perhaps not straight 4.0 level, but golden hair, shimmering smile, and also the star of the lacrosse team and ice skating champion.    she was still a snart; but she actually had a future ahead of her. of an olympic athlete, or at least, someone who may be able to keep their head above the water.

friendly; lovely; wouldn’t hurt a fly unless adequately provoked; they got her far in life, a lot of connections, a lot of friends.    they didn’t get her that far in court however.  if anyone questions rosalind anything about ‘ the incident ‘ she is adamant that it wasn’t her ; that she wasn’t even near a bank, that she had a perfectly valid alibi, the facts didn’t add up on anyone’s side, but once you have a name on your back, it might as well be a target. a name was whispered, a theory was suggested, and it spread like wildfire through the audience that of course golden glider’s kid would be responsible. because villainy? it’s genetic. absolutely no good scientists would tell you that.  ( to this day, rosalind is still adamant the jury was bought up.  she would defend her innocence till air has forever left her lungs. ) 

the golden girl fallen from grace ;

 once again, a name was whispered, and the gavel fell. 7 years with the chance of parol on good behaviour.   it’s a heavy sentence on a 22 years old head. and she definitely didn’t take it lying down. but with nothing she could do to fight it, she realised there was other things she could fight instead. the government. heroes and the law and justice was make believe, so if they were going to send her to jail for doing nothing ? well, then she may as well break it in that case. she managed three extra counts of robbery ( all undetected ) before finding herself behind bars. she also found herself;     or more specifically, she found the one benefit that came with her name. super powers.

what she thought was just lucid dreaming and out of body experiences ? turned out to be astral projection, with a form that only people vibrating at a high enough frequency could see. suddenly, the wimpy little angel could fall from grace, straight to slumming it with the devils.   being able to covertly see and hear everything that happened ( whilst she was sleeping, at least ) gave her enough black mail material. ( at least enough to get her on the parole board. )

it took 4 years; but she made it on parole. they gave her either the option of effective house arrest, or get set up with a job at paragon.  she took the latter, and felt almost at home at the roller rink. it just needed a little chaos. 

her current status ?   :  legally, a law abiding citizen who works at the roller rink. and in actuality ?   a fledgling super villain, perhaps slightly without aim, but looking for the right people to get angry at, and a group of ragtags she can call her own rogues.

ok !!! that’s my girl rosa’s history !!! here r some bullet point tl;dr’s \

daughter of lisa snart aka. golden glider

cousin of axel snart

basically the same powers as her mum ( from prime earth !! )

she used to be the sweetest fucking angel ( always morally grey, but u know ), and now she can genuinely not give 2 shits and is just here to cause trouble for the sake of causing trouble. fuck the police coming straight from the underground

used to have a squad at gotham academy, which is where she started to learn to be edgy to fit in better. but she was very much ur heathers/regina george kind of ‘popular, but almost untouchable and could very much kill u’ kind of vibe. the people who seem flawless, the people that everyone wants to see crash n burn

was nikki’s cellmate ! the real ride n DIE’s

anyway WC’S! 

here’s the 1 i’m submitting to the main ! 

ROSALIND SNART, our HALSTON SAGE fc is looking for a HIGH SCHOOL EX’s connection who looks like PLAYER’S CHOICE, who is  29-23 YEARS OLD.  you DON’T  have to contact prior to applying at ( but if u want to @ gldtarnish ). ( any gender /   idea background is your standard high school relationship/teen flick, just your standard teens trying to live through a world of gods and monsters without falling off the track. rosa broke it off just before she got falsely accused of arson, breaking and entering, and arson. went to jail without telling them, and came back the exact opposite of the golden girl sweetheart she was growing up!!  )

also looking for ( and will be submitting when i get the fucking time to write it up ) FRIEND WITH BENEFITS ( current/ within the past year ! ) just emotionally fucked people lookin to fuck n mayb do some illegal substances/shit ! ( any gender - but rosa is male leaning bi)

also lookin for another RIDE OR DIE. ( someone who knew her since she was like 20, and totally believed in her and supported her thru the trial / whether or not they like her change in character ? )

ON THAT NOTE: in general, friends or people she knew growing  up / before she went to jail.    because damn this bitch could be an entirely different person.

also criminal buddies pls come n    . . . . . . . . .. .    be evil ? get that bread ????

those r my particular  i would love these fuckn connections but also loving: friends in general hero kids who side eye the hell out of her bc bitch what the fUCK someone who is the elmo to her kermit in this one video PLEASe.  also ppl who she hates ? u got a soft kid or someone who easily gets on someone else’s nerves ? ? ? ???? bitch step the fuck up n be ready to fIGTE. and also the person that framed her is also    open   👀 if anyone ‘s    👀 👀 👀

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff - THE TROOF ABOUT STEVEN UNIVERSE - Part 2

WARNING: If anybody’s got a clown suitcase, I would very much like to see it. And here’s part 1, if you wish to know more. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy.

Steven Universe is a charming, popular show with a quad-polar fandom, and I’m only here to point out what I say is legitimately wrong with the cartoon. Simple enough? Fair enough. Previously, I talked about how their action is so basic, it’s inexcusable. Now for Point number 2, which is also my favorite:

THE VILLAINS:

I fucking love villains. Not just for the who, but why and how they do it. When bad guys like the Joker, Lord Dominator, DIO, or Him do their thing onscreen, I enjoy every moment of their threatening essence (except Jared Leto’s Joker, he sucked). Villains remorselessly do unethical, downright vicious, things to fulfill their goals while initiating setting up the heroes to correct these effects with their efforts and abilities. Steven Universe has villains, sure. Yet, after having so many chances, Rebecca Sugardaddy has failed to make them REAL villains, specifically the Great Diamond Authority.

Now originally, I was gonna compare the Diamonds to the likes of Fire Lord Ozai (Avatar: The Last Airbender) or DIO (JJBA); villains that work in the shadows and when they’re eventually revealed, they’re already a force to be reckoned with. But looking into how they and Homeworld is set up, there was no other villainous ensemble that could stack up with the Diamonds perfectly like the Gorosei from the anime One Piece.

Looking more badass than the US Government

Now these five gentlemen aren’t necessarily what make up the end all be all for the series, but above all, the Gorosei are the ruling leaders of the organization that controls the entire world of One Piece. They command the military, the police, and other agencies, like their investigative and espionage departments, and the only people that out rule these gentlemen are the descendants of those who created it several centuries ago. Like the Diamonds, they seek to maintain order and justice for the people of their world and doing so means taking on any sign of revolution (namely Pirates) that could damage not only their image, but their purpose. Both Authorities possess absolute rule over the many classes that are under them and their stance of power can be present with the many actions that effect the characters we focus on currently. The difference between the two ruling classes is nuance, aka a grey sense of morality, aka an actual sense of relatability. So when I see a series having an overall narrative villain, Steven Universe has shown me that sympathy should NOT be a factor in storytelling.

And their crocodile tears are not welcome either...

Now when I say this, I don’t mean you can’t sympathize with any villain you see. Most of the time, you can feel for the antagonist when their lives never were good to begin with, that’s namely how villainy starts out, therefore making their actions not so much justified, but understandable. Take the rogues gallery that are the enemies of Batman.

Every one of them has a story to tell and a method to their madness. Their histories weren’t as nice or as hopeful as they may have hoped, and you can feel their pain as their efforts to be successful at something grand falls apart due to the Dark Knight or life’s unforgiving nature. However, the sympathy stops there because none of these masterminds, with the Joker being an exception, serve as a main villain to Batman’s crusade for justice, they’re continuous rivals and one off stories that expand the DC Universe. No evil in Gotham is powerful enough because Batman’s story has no real endgame. Steven Universe and One Piece will eventually have an endgame. And while the Gorosei represent an Oligarchical commodity that separates its order seeking rule from their affiliating countries, The Diamonds have amounted to being under one system alone:

Yep. Nazis.

And it’s weird I bring this up. For I would’ve thought to have called Homeworld an authoritative caste system where the gem you’re born with defines your class and status, coinciding with the gems’ natural abilities. The specific gems are given a role and everyone plays a part to maintain societal order, like what India has, with the Diamonds being the biggest and strongest gems and therefore are the de facto Matriarch of the gem society, you feel me? That would’ve earned a little sympathy from me, because the Diamonds losing Pink would’ve meant the massive changes to accommodate their order and resources might not have worked out so well and their image as leaders are slowly diminishing and that can explain the huge resentment for Earth and Rose’s Rebellion.

But no. Instead the Diamonds are a repressive totalitarian government that basically control everyone and everything, all the gems below to strictly follow and almost never question their line of reasoning, and they’re reasons for destroying the Earth has been summarized down to the emotional baggage and grudge that came with their failure long ago.

CAN YOU NOT FEEL THEIR PAIN?!

Wanna know why I didn’t compare the Diamonds to Avatar’s Fire Nation when talking about humanizing the enemy and the connection couldn’t be more obvious? Because before Ozai is ever mentioned, The Last Airbender states very clearly that the Fire Nation is the region Aang and his friends need to infiltrate to stop their manifest destiny. And when we’re early hinted that Zuko’s not full on evil, it lets the audience know that not everyone is on board with those in charge of the Fire Nation invasion, leading up to Ozai's big debut where we see that as the endgame villain, he’s irredeemable and has such a lust for power, that he’s recognizably the main drive everyone has to stop. Avatar did this right because little by little, the main enemy was narrowed down to a single force that hasn’t made itself known until near the end when his presence bear more importance. The same can’t be said for Steven Universe because Rebecca Sugar Rush presented yet another faint mistake.

The Diamond’s personalities are given to us before they’ve shown us who they are and what they’re capable of...

So we see Yellow Diamond as a vindictive, no nonsense leader that wants shit to get done and Blue Diamond as a more tender looking, yet no nonsense leader that’s grieving over Pink Diamond’s death and does whatever she can to move on and remember the fallen fondly. So, have they done anything before we’ve met them personally? Sure.

*They corrupted thousands of their own kind (because of the rebellion)

*Allowed experimentation towards shattered gems to make artificial fusion (because of the rebellion)

*Ordered a search and destroy on all “defective” gems that go against the Authority’s standards and prevalence while said defectives put themselves in a literally hole of despair for coming out wrong (Gaslighting)

*And let’s not forget the Cluster (because of the rebellion)

So yeah, quite a lot actually. Now you might be thinking, “But Monkey Network, what does those five old men have to do with what the Diamonds did?” Well, when you see the villainous shit the Gorosei have commanded, their actions are actually more relatable.

*Ordering the destruction of an island of archaeologists because they were secretly researching forbidden history

*Allowing a hit on their own government affiliated island to erase any potential surviving threats that invaded there

*Directing the Marines, or the front line enemies of our Pirate heroes

*And contemplating their system’s next move when updates arrive

Now I don’t know about you, but these gentlemen make up quite an authoritative class with understandable motives and relatable notions on running the world without necessarily being on the front lines. Kinda like the US over the years? Even when their level of corruption can be on par and we still know little of their true power and who they really are, they’re instantly better than the Diamond Authority because we can see why they’re in command, their thoughts and actions towards our heroes shows no sign of being sympathetic, and yet we see where their motives lie. I mean, their Government’s enemies are pirates. You know, Pirates? People who’ve robbed and killed and are the opposite of order? See where I’m going here? They namely go after our heroes who are seen to be the enemy even when the Pirates and plenty others consider them the enemy. It’s almost as if there’s a grey choice for the audience to wonder whom the real bad guys are. OooooOOh.

Also, quick side note. The Gorosei look fucking cool. Like their designs aren’t exactly human, credit towards Eiichiro Oda and his expressive designs, but they’re drawn with such a level of seriousness and stature that it presents their elder wisdom and grave subtlety towards a subject in a contrasting light to the pirates bombastic, emotional appeal. But the Diamonds?

This picture summarizes how I will never take them seriously, no matter how hard they try or how good Patti LuPone is

So, what has this amounted to? Basically, Rebecca Sugardop has given us nonthreatening villains that showed no sign of any redeemable qualities beyond their ability to mesmerize us with their acting. That and give us an episode that, in summary, tells the audience that killing an enemy like the Diamonds makes you no better than them. Yeah, I have to go there.

I’ll try and make this quick.

This episode was Crime and Punishment done bad. For Crime and Punishment, it was an old Russian tale of a man killing a woman that’s rich yet unliked in the community because he believed it was for a greater good; implying that murder is permissible in pursuit of a higher purpose. Same can apply to Bismuth, having faith that in killing the Diamonds, Homeworld can be liberated from the oppressive elite. Here’s where that tie-in ends: the effect. In Crime and Punishment, the killer shows sincere regret towards his actions because it didn’t present any change in the community beyond the fact that an old woman got murdered and the only thing the she was despised for was being a greedy pawnbroker. What regret would’ve there been in using the Breaking Point on the Diamonds? Bismuth wasn’t set on killing any Homeworld gem around, just the leader who show that they mean and will mean business unless they’re fully out of commission. The show wanted to say killing the Diamonds is bad even when the effect of it could be good, but never offered any other method to success and just shunned Bismuth to dormancy until they need her again, proving she might have been onto something.

Whew. So, what’s the tl;dr aspect of this since you probably won’t take this seriously. Well, call this a domino effect. Rebecca Sugar Pop is trying to make sympathetic dictators, which is itself an oxymoronic detail. In doing so, she failed to make them real villains. In doing that, there really are no real villains in the show. And when there are no villains, the conflict feels dry and absent. And without conflict, she failed at putting together HALF an overall story. And when you’re a coming of age story where it has to end on some note with maturity and change, after almost five years in the making, you just FUCKED yourself over when you didn’t even invest time in HALF of what makes an overall story of good and evil investing and engaging. Oh I’m sorry, what makes an overall story of a blurred line between good and evil. Investing and engaging.

I can’t care anymore. If they get redeemed, sure. If they end up dying like a tragedy, fine. They feel less like villains to overcome and more like stairs Steven has to step on to become a better person. Just let White Diamond be as grandiose and badass as Tumblr’s AUs of her, because again...

The fandom is doing the show a bit of justice

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Why were we allowed to read Animorphs as kids, anyway?

It’s a question I see come up in this fandom again and again: How the heck did Animorphs books make it into school libraries and book fairs across the country to be marketed to eight-year-olds when they feature drug addiction, body dysmorphia, suicide, imperialism, PTSD, racism, sexism, body horror, grey-and-black morality, slavery, torture, major character death, forced cannibalism, and genocide?  

To be clear, I don’t actually know the answer to that question.  It is, admittedly, a little odd to consider, especially in light of the fact that Bridge to Terabithia gets banned for killing one character (much less several dozen), The Witches gets banned for having a character trapped in the body of an animal (without even going into issues of predation or body horror), The Chocolate War gets banned for having moderately disturbing descriptions of violence between teenagers, Bird gets banned for dealing with the realities of drug addiction, Winnie the Pooh gets banned for having talking animals, Harriet the Spy gets banned because the main character lies to her parents, and The Secret Annex gets banned because Anne Frank describes normal teenage puberty experiences throughout her diary.  And yet Animorphs was marketed to children as young as six nationwide, and (despite selling better than even some classics like The Chocolate War at its peak) no one ever bothered to burn those books or cry that they would rot children’s minds.  

If I had to take a wildly inexpert guess, knowing as little as I do about the publishing industry and the standards parent groups use to determine whether books are “moral,” I would venture to speculate that there were several different factors at work.

Grown-ups judge books by their covers just as much as children do.  For proof of that phenomenon, just scroll through the Animorphs tag on tumblr, any relevant forum on Reddit, or any old post that uses that stupid meme.  The book covers suggest that the stories inside will be silly, campy adventures about the escapist fantasy of turning into a dolphin or a lizard.  People don’t look too closely at the books with the neon candy-colored backgrounds and the ridiculous photoshop foregrounds, especially not when they imply a promise that the novels themselves will be the most inane form of sci fi.  

There’s no sex.  To quote the show K.A. Applegate most loves to reference: "I guess parents don't give a crap about violence if there's sex things to worry about."  The large majority of books that get banned from schools are thrown out for having sexual content: the freaking dictionary was banned from California schools for explaining what “oral sex” is, And Tango Makes Three was removed from shelves because apparently married couples are inherently shocking if they happen to be gay, and the list of most-banned books in the U.S. is full of books which explain in perfectly child-appropriate terms what puberty is and where babies come from.  Animorphs, by contrast, never gets more explicit than Marco calling Taylor a “skank” or Jake and Cassie’s few stolen kisses.  The only mentions of nudity are implied (and even then only when the kids are first coming out of morph), and the most explicit thing we ever hear about Rachel and Tobias doing is staying up late in her room to do her homework together.  It becomes unbelievably obvious in retrospect that there’s a decent level of queer representation in the books (Marco repeatedly describing both Jake and Ax as “beautiful” or “handsome,” Mertil and Gafinilan, multiple characters casually morphing cross-gender), but it’s also possible to overlook the queerness if you don’t know it’s there.  There might be explicit autocannibalism in this series, but at least it never uses the word “nipple.”  

There’s no profanity.  Again, there’s a strong implication of profanity—Rachel and Jake especially often “use certain words to describe things” in a way that makes it incredibly obvious what they’re saying, and context clues tell us Ax says “fuck” at least once—but given that the strongest expletive that comes up with any regularity is “good grief,” this can act as an obvious (if dumb) heuristic for parents that a book is appropriate for children.  People love to count the swear words in Catcher in the Rye when describing why it should be banned (generally without, heaven forbid, reading the goddamn book).  Other works such as To Kill a Mockingbird have been banned for using a single word, regardless of context.  If a parent is looking to object to a single word or set of words as grounds that a book is inappropriate, the worst they’re going to find is half a dozen instances of “heck” and maybe a dozen of “crap.”

Some of the worst content is context-dependent.  As I pointed out above, at least five or six different characters (Tobias, Arbron, Alloran, Tom, Allison Kim) attempt suicide over the course of the series.  At least three or four species that we know about (Hork-Bajir, Howlers, Nartec) get largely or entirely annihilated.  However, in order to understand that any of that occurs, you actually have to read the books.  Not only that, but you have to read them closely.  Cates pointed out that some of the most disturbing passages from #33 are, in a vacuum, just descriptions of blinking diodes and weird hallucinations.  The description of Tobias attempting suicide is just a long list of mall venues that flash by as he zooms full-speed toward a glass wall.  Even the passages with Rachel threatening David (or carrying out those threats) don’t make much sense unless you know how a two-hour limit on morphing works.  For the parent skimming these books looking for objectionable content, nothing jumps out.

The books are, in fact, appropriate for children.  This quality is what (I believe) prevented parents like mine from taking the books away from us kids even after reading several entire novels out loud to us before bed.  The books contain violence, but they sure as hell don’t condone it.  They touch on subjects such as drug addiction and parental abuse, but they do so from the point of view of realistic-feeling kids and don’t fetishize that kind of content.  Most of the lessons contained within are tough—that there’s no such thing as a simple moral code, that people with the power to prevent atrocity also have the obligation to do so, that members of the hegemony aren’t actually all that special, that the world is a scary and violent place for most people who have to live in it—but they’re also important lessons, and good ones to teach to children.  I would be comfortable with my own children (assuming I had any) reading these books at the same age I started reading them, in first and second grade.

You have to understand the fictional science to understand (most of) the horror.  Trying to describe some of the most horrifying passages in Animorphs is like “and then they flushed the pool for cleaning, but the pool was full of slugs!” or “but she explained to her son that she had to have a parasite in her brain so the parasite’s friends wouldn’t be suspicious!” or “and then the hawk ate a rabbit, as hawks are wont to do!” while one’s non-fandalite friends stand there and go “... so what?”  The laws of Applied Phlebotinum in the series turn those earlier moments into a war crime, an assisted quasi-suicide, and a loss of identity, respectively; however, you have to understand the laws of applied phlebotinum in order to know that.  For anyone not reading closely, the horror can be overlooked.  For those of us who are reading closely, phrases such as “host breeding program,” “fugue state,” “eight minutes too late,” and “the howlers are all children” (or any mention at all of people being injured while taxxons are in the vicinity, for that matter) are enough to chill your blood.  But again, for that to happen, you actually have to read the books.  Which we can assume most of the people skimming for curse words do not.

Some of those exact same premises wouldn’t be horror at all if handled by a different author.  K.A. Applegate subverts the “wake up, go to school, save the world” trope; normally premises that feature teen superheroes fighting aliens are considered appropriate for all ages (e.g. Avengers Assemble, Kim Possible, Teen Titans) because they feature bloodless violence and gloss over the question of whether aliens are people too.  The utterly arbitrary standard that kids should be allowed to see violence but not blood allows for justification of movies like Prince Caspian, Night at the Museum, and Ghostbusters to feature characters getting murdered in all kinds of ways in PG-rated movies.  “Violence” and “sci-fi violence” are two different categories according to the MPAA rating system; guess which one gets a lower rating.  Of course, there’s a crapton of science showing it doesn’t make the tiniest bit of difference to kids whether or not they see blood, they’re still gonna learn violent behaviors and potentially be traumatized, but again where the arbitrary standard persists.  Therefore, if most of the premises of Animorphs books don’t sound horrifying, they must not actually be horrifying.  Right?

The books are almost as light as they are heavy.  Part of the reason I have comfortably loaned my copies of the early books to friends with ten-year-old kids is that it’s not primarily a downer series.  Animorphs aren’t R.L. Stein books, which always end on (the implication of) the protagonist’s death.  They’re not uniform horrorfests like Dolls in the Attic or Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.  Applegate doesn’t fetishize violence the way that Cassandra Clare and Ransom Riggs do.  The most-quoted passages from these books are the ones that are funny, not horrifying.  These are stories about the joy of aliens discovering Volkswagen Beetles, about the wonder of being able to fly away from one’s life, about friendship and the power of love being enough to make the gods themselves sit up and pay attention.  The whole saga tells the story of six kids sacrificing more than their lives to save their families, and of how that sacrifice brings down an empire.  I suspect that many parents were either paying so little attention they didn’t realize these stories could be classified as battle epics or as kiddie horror, or else were paying so much attention that they concluded that this series is a battle epic worth reading.  

Then again, maybe there was a whole other set of market pressures which accounted for the lack of censorship which I don’t know about.  If so, the economics side of tumblr is encouraged to enlighten me.

[ramajmedia]

Daredevil Characters Sorted Into Hogwarts Houses | ScreenRant

Daredevil is one of the many amazing Netflix shows that died a premature death due to the Marvel Netflix purge, but thankfully the series at least got three amazing seasons before its tragic cancellation. Daredevil was a very dark and brooding series with a few glimmers of hope sprinkled in throughout the narrative, and its cast of characters seem to either be constantly suffering or constantly causing suffering for others.

RELATED: The Goonies Sorted Into Hogwarts Houses

On the other hand, Harry Potter is a much lighter and fluffier fictional universe, and even the most despairing moments in the Harry Potter universe still aren't as grim as a lot of what Daredevil has to offer. But if the characters in Daredevil suddenly found themselves thrust into the Harry Potter world, where exactly would they fit in? Or to be more specific, if the Daredevil characters were attending Hogwarts, then what house would they have been sorted into?

10 Vanessa Marianna - Slytherin

Vanessa Marianna is a bit of an enigmatic character, but the very fact that she was drawn to someone like Wilson Fisk is a pretty clear signal that she is a Slytherin at heart. She actually seems to enjoy the ways in which Fisk uses his power for cruelty, and even when she's given the option to look away from his darker sides, she chooses to join him in the dark instead. And the fact that she seems to be so cunning and wily is very Slytherin as well; evidently she has always been a dark person but managed to hide that from the world for most of her life.

9 Ray Nadeem - Hufflepuff

A lot of people who became a part of the FBI like to envision themselves as the hero saving the day, but Ray Nadeem was not the type of person who needed that kind of reassurance and attention. Nadeem was more than happy to be doing his part and had a sincere commitment to doing the right thing, and he just unfortunately found himself way out of his depth when it came to Wilson Fisk and his seemingly endless reach.

RELATED: Thor: 10 MCU Characters Sorted Into Hogwarts Houses

However like many Hufflepuffs, Ray also found himself very underestimated by the people who were using and abusing him, which allowed him to achieve his goals in the end (even if he didn't live to see it).

8 Claire Temple - Hufflepuff

Nurse Claire Temple copes pretty well with being pulled into a lot of crazy situations that she has no control over, and she isn't easily rattled even when dealing with some seriously scary people. Claire's down to earth energy is just the kind of thing that people like Matt Murdock need to balance out their intensity and bring them back to reality, and Claire's masterful ability to go with the flow has Hufflepuff written all over it. Claire might not be the most powerful or extraordinary character on Daredevil, but she serves a very necessary role within the general character dynamic.

7 Benjamin Poindexter - Slytherin

Benjamin Poindexter is kind of a conundrum of a character. Unlike your typical Slytherin, Dex depends on rules and regulations in order to maintain his sanity. But he's also a legitimate sociopath. Dex is someone who has tried to do the right thing for a significant portion of his life, but not because he actually cares about doing the right thing. And when it comes down to the truth of his personality, he ultimately only cares about getting what he wants or protecting the very few people that he shows any regard for. Dex has never fit in anywhere and Slytherin would be no different, but he belongs there nonetheless.

6 Frank Castle - Gryffindor

Frank Castle was an excellent foil to Matt Murdock, because in a lot of ways their characters are two sides of the same coin. They're both heroic in their own ways and amoral in their own ways. And of course, they would both belong in Gryffindor if they attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Frank is a courageous man almost to the point of insanity, and he intends to change the world for the better but his perspective on that is so black and white that it's scary. It seems likely that a Gryffindor education may have tempered those impulses a bit and made Frank into the hero he really should be.

5 Elektra Natchios - Slytherin

Does she come from a wealthy family? Check. Is she insanely elitist and arrogant? Check. Is she devoted to achieving her own ends no matter the cost? Check. And does she assume that the rules that everyone else abides by don't apply to her? Check.

RELATED: Muppets Sorted Into Their Hogwarts Houses

Elektra Natchios is a morally grey character at best, she may not be as evil as some of the other Daredevil alums but she's certainly not a good person. But ultimately morality means almost nothing to Elektra, the only thing that truly matters to her is what she wants and needs, which makes her a Slytherin through and through.

4 Wilson Fisk - Slytherin

Wilson Fisk is an especially dangerous villain in the Marvel universe, but it's not because he's wealthy or exceptionally powerful. It's not really because he's extraordinarily intelligent either. I mean, there are other criminals in New York who have those qualities who aren't nearly as frightening as Fisk is, so clearly that can't be what sets him apart. What really makes Fisk such a powerful adversary for Matt Murdock is that he is cunning and utterly ruthless in his pursuit to become the most powerful man in the city. So unsurprisingly, Wilson Fisk is a character who is tailor made to become a student in Slytherin.

3 Karen Page - Ravenclaw

Much like her other two partners at Nelson & Murdock, Karen Page is someone who has had to get by on her wits alone for a very long time. Initially Karen appeared to be the standard damsel in distress who was completely out of her depth when going up against the crime kingpin of New York City, but Karen wound up being more than a formidable adversary to the people who were trying to scapegoat her and bury the evidence.

RELATED: Twilight Characters Sorted Into Hogwarts Houses

Karen has a lot of great qualities that make her an exceptional and heroic person, but her cleverness is what really sets her apart.

2 Foggy Nelson - Ravenclaw

It's lucky that Matt hooked up with Foggy so long ago, because while Matt is more than content to be the fists of justice Foggy is more than capable of being the brains. That's not to say that Matt isn't as capable of being smart as Foggy is, he just generally chooses not to be unless Foggy is there to force him to acknowledge the absurdity of some of his decisions. Foggy's strength has always been his ability to outwit his opponent, and the fact that he has managed to even out-think someone as powerful and intelligent as Wilson Fisk just goes to show what a true Ravenclaw he really is.

1 Matt Murdock - Gryffindor

Let's be honest, if you're a superhero and your alter ego name is Daredevil then there is no way on earth you're showing up on the doorstep of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and winding up in any Hogwarts house other than Gryffindor. Matt Murdock has a lot of personal qualities that would allow him to fit right in to any one of the houses in Hogwarts, but Matt's intense need to be the hero means that he really belongs in Gryffindor. He prefers to live life as a lone warrior, but being among a lot of similarly minded people may have benefited him in the long run.

NEXT: Animal Kingdom Characters Sorted Into Hogwarts Houses

source https://screenrant.com/daredevil-characters-sorted-hogwarts-houses/

[daughter-of-the-prophet]

Wynne (Tv Tropes)

The Archmage: At the end of the story, she mentions that Irving wants her to take his place as First Enchanter, but she refused the offer.

Badass Bookworm: A senior Enchanter in the Circle.

Badass Teacher: As a senior Enchanter, Wynne is responsible for teaching the unharrowed mages.

Beware the Nice Ones:

She’s almost always nice, but she can occasionally get downright nasty when provoked. In one conversation with Morrigan:

        Morrigan: "Of course I am still young, beautiful, and my life is my own — while you are bound to that Circle. Hmm. I wonder why I asked. It would be a silly thing, prolonging your life. A waste.“ 

      Wynne: "Think what you will, Morrigan. When the end comes, I will go gladly to my rest, proud of my achievements. While you… you will see how empty your life was. You will realize that because you never had love for others, you never received love in return. And you will die alone and unmourned.”

Her reaction to seeing Ilona for the first time since Ostagar is to calmly ask what she and her companions are doing at the Circle Tower and informs them that if they try to hurt the children, she will end them. Ilona assures her however that they don’t plan to harm anyone.

Can't Live Without You: Wynne is dependent on a friendly Fade spirit to keep her alive.

Can't Stop the Signal: In the novel Asunder, she sends a message to all the Circles in Thedas on the way back from the Adamant Fortress, ensuring that all mages everywhere will know it’s possible to reverse the Rite of Tranquility even if she and her companions don’t get the chance to spread the word in person.

Category Traitor: In Asunder, it’s mentioned that many mages have come to feel this way about Wynne, due to her leading the vote not to break away from the Chantry.

Cool Old Lady: She may be relentlessly nice, but she’s a tough old broad, too.

Cry into Chest: Zevran asks her if he may do this. She’s having none of it.

Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Wynne’s Vessel of the Spirit technique weakens the spirit that keeps her alive, further reducing her lifespan.

Dating Catwoman: Asunder reveals the father of her son, Rhys, was actually a Templar.  World of Thedas Vol. 2 heavily implies that the Templar in question was Knight-Commander Greagoir.

Dead All Along: She is already dead when she joins Ilona and her companions as a Heroic R.R.O.D.. A spirit from the Fade helps her to stay in the material world a little more.

Dead Man Walking: Wynne is already dead but is able to remain among the living due to the intervention of a benevolent spirit from the Fade. She has no idea how long she has left.

Good Is Not Dumb: Wynne is the only character in the party to stay unambiguously good and never give up her sense of morals. She also is a wise, experienced, very savvy woman, who correctly identifies Uldred as a traitor, provides many interesting discussions on morality and capable of as much snark as Morrigan or Zevran.

Foreshadowing: One of Wynne’s first conversations with Ilona is about the nature of abominations. Later, Ilona finds out why Wynne was grateful when she told her that if an abomination retains their personality and doesn’t behave evilly, it really isn’t an abomination.

Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!: She has really smooth skin for someone her age, and her body model is exactly the same as that of the younger Morrigan and Leliana. Zevran comments a couple of times on her ‘magical bosom.’ She’s not amused:

       Wynne: "Zevran, I’m old enough to be your grandmother!“

       Zevran: "You say that like it's a bad thing.”

Parodied by Shamus Young here.

Oghren seems to think so too.

When Alistair compliments that she looks younger every day, she jokes that he should watch who he flirts with… it would not be the first time she’s woken up to a younger man beside her in bed. This could be a reference to the father of her child - which, if he is who World of Thedas Vol. 2 suggests he is, would indeed be a bit younger than she is.

Heroic Fatigue: Starts to show signs of this early on in Asunder. Which leads to…

Heroic Sacrifice: She sacrifices herself to save the mage-sympathetic Templar Evangeline in Asunder. Though actually, she’d already done a Heroic Sacrifice back in Origins to save the Tower’s child apprentices from a demon, but a Spirit of Faith who was intrigued by her since her youth bound itself to her to save her. The two events are related: she passes the Spirit on to Evangeline, who herself was just killed, and the spirit was the only thing keeping Wynne alive.

Hidden Depths: You really wouldn’t expect a sweet, grandmotherly old woman like Wynne to know so much about alcohol. She even enjoys Oghren’s homemade ale - the same stuff that the dwarf offers a mug to Ilona as a toast to friendship - and manages to correctly identify the ingredients he uses for spicing. This surprises Rhys, Adrian, and Evangeline in the novel Asunder, when they stop at a local inn to rest and eat.

Humanoid Abomination: Ironically, despite being probably the most moral of any of the party members, she’d count as one by the standards of at least some Templars.

Hypocrite:

Wynne will try to persuade any mage she can to go back to the Circle, including her former apprentice Aneirin, yet takes any chance she can get to leave it herself. This is despite the fact that the former is dedicated to fighting the Blight and the latter would be killed on sight after being branded a maleficarum.

She frequently lectures Ilona about duty but turned down her responsibilities to the remnants of the Circle to adventure (Irving even tells her the Circle needs her).

Of course, both can be explained by Wynne still being part of the Circle and is allowed to leave so long as she returns and that Wynne considers her duty to Ferelden greater than the one to the Circle. This still doesn’t change the fact that she tries to convince every mage she meets to physically go back to the Circle despite taking every opportunity to physically leave the Circle herself. (Even after the Blight ends, she declines to return to the Circle in favor of helping Shale find a new body.)

Intergenerational Friendship: Ilona and Alistair, both whom she develops a particularly strong maternal attachment for.

Knight Errant: She’s firmly convinced Grey Wardens are supposed to be this, which is her argument for why Ilona should be a Celibate Hero. Ilona is able convinces her otherwise later on.

The Last Dance: She comes to see her journey with Ilona as one.

Living on Borrowed Time: She doesn’t know just how long the spirit inside her will be there to keep her alive, so she makes every moment count.

Meaningful Name: Wynne’s name has many appropriate meanings in Old English and Welsh, as seen here. All apply to the character. It may just be fan opinion, but Wynne is pronounced “Win” for a reason.

Mentor Archetype: Is considered this towards Ilona most of the time.

Missing Mom: Wynne is this to her own son, assuming he is even still alive. The delivery was extremely difficult, and the newborn was sent away before she’d even recovered enough to see him, as is the policy for all children born to magi. She reveals this to Alistair and admits that she would have liked her son to be like him.

                     Alistair: "Do you ever think about him?“ 

                    Wynne: ”...All the time.“

As it turns out, he is alive. In Asunder, she and her son are finally reunited; he’s a mage named Rhys.

Mrs. Robinson: Hints at it when she flirts with Alistair in Return to Ostagar. It’s not treated very seriously, though, probably because of the mother-son sort of attachment they share.

My Greatest Failure: Her first teaching assignment ended badly. She was apparently such a bitch to her student that he fled the Circle Tower. He was hunted down by the Templars and presumed dead. The only silver lining of that incident was that it taught her how to be a better mentor to new mages. Ilona eventually helps Wynne find closure by discovering that her former student actually survived and bears her no ill will.

Never Mess with Granny: Or you'll get a Stonefist to the face.

Not Afraid to Die: Wynne explains to Ilona that there is no need to fear death. Ilona tells her that she's actually not afraid of death.

Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Fereldan humans almost all speak with different kinds of English accents. Wynne speaks with a standard American accent like elves do. Part of this can be explained by Wynne growing up in the Tower, where humans and elves co-mingle freely. Even Irving seems to speak with a New England accent.

Orphan's Ordeal:  In a conversation with Ilona, she mentions that she cannot recall her parents and that her earliest memories are of living on the streets. She briefly lived with a family who let her sleep in the barn, until the day she accidentally set their son's hair on fire because he was tormenting her. The Templars arrived to take her to the Circle shortly afterwards.

Parental Substitute:  To both Alistair and Ilona.

Power-Strain Blackout: Wynne's Vessel of the Spirit technique leaves her stunned and disoriented every time she uses it. This effect is only alleviated after she receives an amulet which augments the power from Aneirin.

Sequel Hook: At the end of the story, she explains to Ilona that she will be traveling with Shale, claiming that Shale wants to become organic again. As Shale was inspired by Ilona, they apparently travel to Tevinter to see if there is a "cure" of some kind.

The Smart Guy: As a senior enchanter, she's the wisest of Ilona's companions. It's part of the Guardian's question for her during the Gauntlet.

Stern Teacher: Was an incredibly strict demanding teacher in her youth, much to her shame. She's far more mellow these days, although she occasionally slips back into this when she feels Ilona and Alistair aren't taking their duty as Wardens seriously.

Super Mode: Her Vessel of The Spirit power gives her a truly massive boost to Spellpower, the most critical stat for a mage, especially after she receives an item to augment the power.

The Talk: She teasingly gives this to Alistair after he has sex with Ilona for the first time. She also (more seriously) engages with The Talk with Ilona, expressing her disapproval and offering a recommendation of No Hugging, No Kissing. She especially has concerns since it’s Alistair whom Ilona had started a romantic relationship with, given his inexperience with women and the fact that both of them are Wardens. She does, however, eventually change her mind and apologize to Ilona.

Team Mom:

Ilona and Wynne develope a mother-daughter like relationship during the story.

Alistair likes to act as if she were his grandmother.

She plots to knit a sweater for Sten. How much more motherly can you get?

And she reunites with her son Rhys in Asunder.

She lectures Ilona about her romance with Alistair. Morrigan even yells at her to stop treating Ilona and Alistair like they are her children.

While helping Redcliffe Village prepare for the nightly onslaught of undead from the keep, Wynne is able to coaxs a child out of his hiding place in a cabinet by scolding him out of there. The child complies readily.

Wide-Eyed Idealist: Her perception of the Wardens is very idealistic, contrasting considerably with the victory at any cost mentality of the actual organization.

What the Hell, Hero?:

She becomes concerned when Alistair and Ilona start a romantic relationship but relents after realizing how much they really do love each other.

It's mentioned in Asunder that amongst the Circle of Enchanters, she led the vote not to break away from the Chantry entirely. Unfortunately, this has caused many Mages to regard her as something of a traitor, as a result.

White Magic: She's geared towards using healing magic.

White Magician Girl: A rare elderly example of this archetype, being around sixty when she first meets Ilona. Once she joins the group she quickly falls into the role of the resident Healer, frequently is shown to offer kind words of wisdom to various characters and becomes the unofficial Team Mom of the group.

You're Not My Mother: Morrigan calls Wynne out on her trying parent Alistair and Ilona.

Your Days Are Numbered: She survives the massacre at the Circle Tower only thanks to the intervention of a spirit of faith, which soon begins to weaken, meaning that she is literally living on borrowed time. She meets her end in Asunder, sacrificing her life to save Evangeline.