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caffeinatedseri · 4 years

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Dead Apple Light Novel

Recently, I decided to buy LN 5, Dead Apple, purely because I’m a sucker for all of BSD’s light novels, so this post will revolve around what I took away from this novel.

Dead Apple is Canon

Since the story jumps around in the timeline a lot, I had originally thought that Dead Apple took place outside of canon (especially with Atsushi’s flashback).

However, a particular part of Asagiri’s afterword stuck out to me:

Now, allow me a moment to discuss some of the particulars of Dead Apple. Chronologically, the story takes place after the second season of the anime — in other words, after the war with the Guild, which puts Dead Apple somewhere between the ninth and tenth volumes of the manga.

The novel also ended up affecting the main story in numerous ways, and I’m sure this new experience will continue to influence my future work as well.

It’s not unusual for a light novel to insert itself into the main timeline (see 55 Minutes which takes place in the 10th volume), but it’s nice to have confirmation that the same applies to Dead Apple.

Of course, just because a work isn’t canon compliant (see BEAST), doesn’t mean that it has no potential for further analysis or it doesn’t bring any added complexity to the main plot. Regardless, this post serves as somewhat of a precursor to my other posts concerning Dead Apple since I have a tendency to talk about it a lot, and I’d like to establish a basis for a lot of my posts.

Differences between the Movie and Light Novel

In the afterword of the light novel, Hiro Iwahata (the author of this LN) said:

“Furthermore, I worked on this book under Asagiri’s supervision, meaning there are several lines in certain scenes that differ from the movie. It might even be fun comparing the two! Nothing would make me happier than the fans enjoying this novel alongside the movie.”

As per Iwahata’s request, I went into the light novel, looking for differences between it and the movie. However, the novel is surprisingly, almost identical to the movie (maybe not surprising considering it is a “movie novelization”).

Because the differences are so miniscule, I believe they hold an even greater significance, since Asagiri must have wanted to change these specific details for a certain reason.

Some of the differences I talk about might be unimportant, but I did my best to catch everything that was changed from the movie.

1. The movie doesn’t mention SKK as a part of the Dragon’s Head Conflict, but the novel says, “Some fought under the alias Twin Dark.”

This probably means that SKK became a pair either before the Dragon’s Head Conflict or during (although I’m pretty sure that the “organization” they destroyed over night was Shibusawa’s organization).

2. When Dazai says that he would’ve continued killing people in the mafia if it weren’t for Oda, Atsushi has little to no reaction in the movie; I would describe it as maybe a hesitant or concerned feeling.

In the novel, Atsushi has a more outward reaction.

““Huh...?!” Atsushi was baffled. He had no idea whether that was true. What did Dazai mean by that? (...) The melancholy Atsushi felt from Dazai had disappeared, and Dazai continued to speak in his usual lighthearted manner.”

Not only does he react verbally, but the novel also adds an inner monologue (mainly for Atsushi) that can’t be portrayed as well in movie format.

To me, this change highlights how Atsushi sees Dazai purely as a good person; he reacts in such a startled manner because he believes that Dazai is too good of a person to be in the mafia killing people (which we know Atsushi hates). This trend reoccurs throughout the story, of Atsushi turning a blind eye to Dazai’s “bad side.”

3. This one isn’t at all the movie’s fault, but the novel gives a lot more clues as to what the “dead apple” and the dagger in the apple motif represents.

The first time it appears is when Kunikida and Tanizaki meet the Special Division’s agent, but they find out that he’s already dead.

“It [the apple] was, without a doubt, a simple fruit... save for the fact that there was a knife sticking out of it as if to condemn the taste of sin. A blade had been driven into the symbol of original sin. A dreary, ominous aura, oozed from the ripe fruit like venom.

Throughout the novel, it seems to associate the “dead apple” motif with Fyodor pretty strongly, especially since this paragraph ties in Fyodor’s ideals nicely with the symbolism of the apple and dagger.

The apple represents sin, the very first sin — which you could interpret as sin at its purest — while the dagger represents the condemning of such sin. However, the apple can also potentially symbolize life, while the dagger stabbing into life can mean death.

Fyodor’s ideals revolve around “removing the sin” of ability users (represented by an apple in this case) but he does so through manipulation. The dagger is associated with stealth and deception, which is fitting with what Fyodor does to “remove the sin” of ability users.

However, he’s also taking the lives of ability users in this process, hence stabbing the apple, coincidentally committing another sin in his attempt to relinquish all sin.

4. In the “Snow White” Oda and Dazai flashback, everything is identical to the movie (word for word), but there is some additional narration.

“It was an alarming sight — Dazai sounded like he was in a trance. It was as if he was ignoring all this world had to offer while in pursuit of something else.”

I’ve talked about this particular scene before here, but the gist is that Dazai was discreetly talking about himself while referring to Snow White.

Dazai joined the mafia because he believed that the violence (or true human nature) would give him a reason to live, but we already know that this kind of thinking was flawed. Thus, this line most likely means that Dazai was ignoring all of the “good” qualities of the world while pursuing a reason to live, which inevitably wouldn’t work.

5. Right after the flashback, when Dazai takes the pill, the novel really sells the act of “Dazai walking towards his death and going to the evil side.”

Personally, this scene in the movie felt more open to interpretation after you’ve seen the ending. You could say that Dazai took the antidote and said “Being on the side that saves people is more beautiful,” because his plan is to continue living to save more people.

However, the novel throws away any possible double meaning with this paragraph:

“Dazai then reached for the pill with his bandaged hand, neatly picked it up, and slowly brought it to his lips — just like Snow White and the sweet, poisoned apple. The venomous red-and-pure-white-pill disappeared inside his mouth.”

After Dazai’s tangent on how Snow White could’ve committed suicide out of despair, the narration compares him directly to Snow White. With the added venomous pill stated outright, it only further cements the idea that Dazai’s actually committing suicide here.

I don’t particularly like this change, because it feels like this moment was set up entirely just to divert the audience’s expectations, rather than it be a standalone scene that makes sense when considering the rest of the story. (It might not necessarily be a change, possibly just a rough translation from movie to novel).

6. When Atsushi wakes up from his nightmare, there’s some additional inner monologue:

Everything’s okay. I’m not the same person I was when I lived at the orphanage. I have friends. I have a place where I belong — the Armed Detective Agency. Things are different now.

The anime (and in turn the movie) tends to downplay the effects of Atsushi’s trauma — probably due to the limitations of anime — but regardless the novel portrays it much better with how Atsushi’s trauma affects practically every aspect of his life.

7. I thought Fukuzawa’s ability only gave his subordinates control over their abilities, but the novel says:

“Yukichi Fukuzawa and his skill, All Men are Equal, a peculiar ability that allowed him to suppress and control his subordinates’ skills.”

Does this mean that Fukuzawa could control and suppress all of the agency’s abilities? It could be a weird translation, but it seems oddly specific.

8. This detail isn’t actually a novel exclusive, but it is an extremely small detail that I missed while watching the movie, so I figured I would add it here too.

“the phantom’s notebook had the word Compromise written on the cover. A copy of himself that didn’t follow ideals but made compromises was an abomination to Kunikida.”

Considering how abilities act as the shadow to every character in this story, this is a nice detail that shows how Kunikida’s inner desire is to compromise, because carrying such heavy ideals is undoubtedly a burden. However, because he holds onto his ideals so strongly, it becomes his biggest weakness AND his biggest strength.

9. There’s a super small detail added to this scene with Dazai, Fyodor, and Shibusawa. When Dazai suggests that Shibusawa could be saved by an angel or a demon, the following exchange occurs:

“Hmm... Maybe an angel?” Dazai picked up the skull on the table. “Or maybe a demon?” “It’s obvious what both of your true intentions are, if you ask me.” The third man mirthfully cackled and took the skull from Dazai’s hand.

In the movie, Dazai doesn’t pick up anything, so as a result Fyodor doesn’t take anything from Dazai either.

Because Fyodor walked into the scene after Dazai suggested that an angel or demon would save Shibusawa, I strongly suspect that this was foreshadowing future events in which Fyodor does “save” Shibusawa by giving him his memories back.

The novel adds more to this foreshadowing by having Dazai pick up the skull before it’s taken by Fyodor — essentially having Fyodor take the cards out of Dazai’s hands and put them in his favor.

It’s also worth pointing out that the skull is also the object that Fyodor uses to revive Shibusawa into a supernatural ghost of some sorts at the end of the story.

10. This may be just a difference in translations but in the movie, Shibusawa refers to Fyodor as “Demon Fyodor-kun”, whereas in the novel Fyodor is called “Fyodor the Conjurer.” (Ango uses the Conjurer title as well).

In western esotericism, a conjurer is a person who summons supernatural beings, like spirits, demons, or God.

This slightly changes the connotation of Fyodor’s title from a inhuman being of pure malicious intent to just a human who summons these otherworldly beings. This idea also aligns with Shibusawa’s revival, since he’s some sort of supernatural ghost that was “summoned” by Fyodor.

11. Skipping past the parts where Kyouka and Akutagawa regain their abilities, and Chuuya talks to Ango in the government facility, (since they have little to no changes between the movie and the novel) there is a somewhat significant detail changed in Draconia once again with Dazai and Fyodor.

In the novel, this glowing ball of energy from the movie is actually described as an apple:

The two lights melted into one and spun until they formed a juicy sphere. They had produced a single apple — a juicy, poisoned apple red as blood.

It birthed a skill — and an extremely powerful one at that — the ability to absorb. Every last crystal adorning Draconia’s walls was sucked into the apple with intense force. Ten — a hundred — a thousand — two thousand — every last one was greedily devoured by the apple...

The apple swelled as it absorbed the numerous crystals until the red light became hotter than the surface of hell.

Since the “dead apple” motif aligns with Fyodor’s character, we can assume that the apple is representative of sin, and sin is associated with abilities, as Fyodor believes.

This strange poisoned apple is made of abilities and has an ability (the ability to absorb), and it commits a sin (greed) in its devouring of other abilities; it’s also hotter than “hell”, which is a very specific connection that leads me to this idea:

My theory is that a normal apple represents life, while a poisoned apple (or dead apple), indicative of a stained, impure life, represents sin. Fyodor believes abilities are akin to sin (what a clever rhyme), therefore all of their lives are sinful.

12. This is arguably the most insignificant change of this entire post, but I feel obligated to put it here regardless since it was different from the movie. When the Special Division detects the singularity of Shibusawa’s dragon form in the novel, it says:

“Abnormal values for singularity are increasing! They’re twice — no, 2.5 times higher than they were six years ago.”

In the movie, the number is five times higher instead.

Why did this number change? Is it significant? I honestly have no idea (I’m surprised I even caught this), but it’s there and I had to document it anyways.

13. The novel adds this narration for Shibusawa when he gets his memories back and he’s in the orphanage’s room with Atsushi:

“Shibusawa clearly recalled the events from six years ago. Fyodor had enticed him to go to the orphanage where he tortured a young Atsushi... until Atsushi fought back and killed him.”

There’s two things to take away from this: Fyodor had known Shibusawa for at least six years, and Fyodor had been planning the events of Dead Apple since at least six years ago.

I find it hard to believe that Fyodor’s plan was thwarted by Dazai, because of how Fyodor demonstrated his ability to plan ahead in the main series, but I’m not sure what the long term effects of this plan could be. If Shibusawa succeeded, then it could’ve aligned with the DOA’s goals, but once again I don’t think Fyodor’s plan was actually foiled.

14. Super minor once again, but right after Shibusawa gets revived, the last sentence of chapter 5 is,

“Nobody would ever see the smile on Fyodor’s face.”

Honestly, I think this was just added to create an ominous tone, but it’s a nice detail regardless.

15. As the red fog spreads across Yokohama, there’s a good part of exposition that connects the “dead apple” motif to Fyodor once again:

“After the red fog devoured the earth, the planet would undoubtedly look like a floating red apple from space. There would be no humans left on its surface, nor any signs they ever existed. It would be a true paradise, and with that, the Dead Apple would finally be complete. A dead planet covered in red fog — that was what Fyodor had planned and sought out.

Nothing other than death could wash away the original sin of man, so it was only fitting for the sin, which started with a fruit, to end with one as well.

It’s pretty long, but I like the way this passage is written, more specifically the last part since it fits well with the sinful poisoned apple idea.

It also aligns with Fyodor’s ideals of creating a true paradise, free of ability users. However, if Fyodor had planned to have the Earth covered in fog, that could mean that his plan was actually stopped by Dazai and Atsushi in the end.

16. Shibusawa has a few additional lines of dialogue when he talks to Atsushi in their final fight.

“The dragon and tiger... I see now why they are called rivals.”

The dragon and tiger have their roots in Chinese Buddhism, but to go further into that topic would make this already lengthy post even longer.

“Don’t get the wrong idea, though. I’m not blaming you for what happened.”

This line is a brief moment of weakness for Shibusawa, which is interesting in contrast to his strong will to kill Atsushi. Just as Atsushi learned to accept the past and the tiger’s ferocity, Shibusawa shares the same attitude by separating the blame from himself to just simply accepting the past for what happened.

17. In the aftermath of the last fight against Shibusawa, Atsushi and Kyouka meet up with Dazai.

Kyouka asks, “Are you sure this is what you wanted?” which prompts two different responses in the movie and novel respectively.

In the movie, Atsushi says, “Just as Shibusawa was able to forget that he’d been killed before, I think Dazai can put his past behind him again. But this is fine.”

In the novel, Atsushi says:

“... I could probably seal away this memory just like how I’d forgotten I’d killed him before. But... I’m okay with this.”

I interpreted Kyouka’s question in the movie to be questioning Dazai’s loyalties, as he did betray everyone, and Atsushi responded in Dazai’s defense because he trusts him.

However, the novel does change Atsushi’s response to focus on himself rather than Dazai, which in turn changes the implications of Kyouka’s question.

Kyouka seems to be asking Atsushi whether he was okay with killing Shibusawa, and Atsushi responds by acknowledging that he did kill Shibusawa, and that’s okay. (a very clear development from the beginning of the story when he believed it was unnecessary to kill anyone, and he didn’t want to kill anyone)

18. In the epilogue, Ango talks about the underlying motivations behind the “Dead Apple” case. This change could be attributed to translation differences (like many others in this post), but the connotation does slightly differ from movie to novel.

In the movie, Ango says, “How is a man like Shibusawa, so intelligent that others look like alien creatures to him, to act, to be destroyed, or to be saved?”

In the novel, Ango says:

“Perhaps the two of them [Dazai and Fyodor] just wanted to get a glimpse of someone like them... Perhaps they wanted to see what he would do and how he would meet his demise... or perhaps how he would be saved.”

The movie simply poses a broad question of what would happen to Shibusawa, a person alienated from the rest of society.

The novel changes this to focus on Dazai and Fyodor’s perspective — two irredeemable aliens from society just like Shibusawa — executing this grand scheme out of curiosity to see what would happen to someone of the likes of them, and if there’s a possibility for redemption.

19. This is the final difference on this list, and it’s quite a large change. In Fyodor’s monologue at the very end of the story, he has a completely different tone from the movie to novel.

In the movie, Fyodor says, “But in order to end this world, rife with crime and punishment, I do need that book.”

The novel says:

Glittering high-rises and stately brick buildings stood side by side in this port city with its countless citizens who struggled against crime and punishment. “I think I’ve taken a liking to this city myself..” Fyodor took a bite of the apple in his hand, and the juicy nectar ran down his delicate fingers. “You’d all better be on your best behavior until next time.”

The reference to the book may have been removed for consistency with the main series, as the book is a part of the DOA’s plan (or more specifically Fukuchi).

It also seems like Fyodor has grown fond of the city, and no longer wants Yokohama to be destroyed, so it’s still possible that his plan deterred from what he had originally intended.

Beyond that, I’m not entirely sure why crime and punishment was mentioned, or why there’s such an ominous tone to his ending statement, but that’s up to personal interpretation.

That concludes the long list of extremely specific and minor differences between the Dead Apple movie and light novel!

Overall, I would say it’s worth checking out the light novel if you don’t have a strong grasp of the Dead Apple story, because it definitely presents the small intricacies of the plot in a more comprehensible way.

On a side note, the manga adaptation has a lot of noticeable differences from the movie and light novel, mostly with the addition of entirely new scenes (which you can read @buraihatranslations — what a shameless self plug). I would highly recommend reading it as those extra scenes are very amusing, to say the least without giving any spoilers.

Honestly, this post was a lot longer than I intended, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless. Thank you for reading!

#bsd #bsd dead apple #bsd meta #bungou stray dogs

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multimetaverse · 3 years

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HSMTMTS 2x01 Review

New Year’s Eve was a great way to return to HSMTMTS especially after such a long gap. Let’s dig in!

Vladimir Lenin once said that, ‘’ there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen". It’s been almost a year and half since S1 ended but this past week has seen revelation after revelation as the fandom has resurrected itself and promotion for S2 kicked into high gear: Joshua Bassett came out, Frankie and Joe confirmed that they are a real life couple, Larry seemingly confirmed that S2 will only have 11 eps rather than the 12 initially ordered, and perhaps most importantly Olivia revealed that she and the main cast are under contract for 4 seasons and made clear that she’s leaving the show as soon as her contract is up.

I really enjoyed this premiere, it felt like picking up right back where we left off. I’m guessing that S2 was originally supposed to premiere around Christmas or New Year’s but the holiday decorations and real Utah snow add a charming aesthetic to the ep. Tim Federle deserves credit for giving HSMTMTS more of an ensemble feel which is no easy feat with a cast as large as this show has. It likely won’t last due to covid restrictions but at least for tonight we got to see all the characters hanging out together acting like a real group of friends.

The dialogue tonight really reminded me of Glee and I think I mean that as a compliment. Miss Jenn in particular seems to be doing her best April Rhodes impression minus the alcoholism.

The rini scenes tonight were lovely. Perfect gift was a great song and I loved the rini duet during the music in me as the world faded around them leaving just the two of them. The Harry Styles reference is funny in light of Josh’s coming out interview. Of course, it’s hard now to separate Nini and Ricky and Olivia and Josh. Their chemistry shines through as 2x01, 2x02, and possibly parts of 2x03 were filmed pre Jolivia breakup which seems to have happened around summer 2020. Whether they can keep that same chemistry later on in S2, not to mention future seasons, remains to be seen.

A major theme tonight was communication and clearly Rini need to work on theirs. Poor Ricky had to learn that Nini’s moving to Denver the night before she leaves town which has to remind of him of his mom effectively abandoning him. Ricky saying that he’s never gonna breakup with Nini ever again sure sounds like foreshadowing for a disaster though the odds that this time Nini initiates the breakup are pretty good.

I’m glad that the show is continuing to delve in the Bowen’s divorce story with their house being sold and Ricky and his dad having to move into an apartment. Divorce is expensive and the division of assets typically leave people less well off. Mike Bowen needs to work on his communication skills but he’s rocking that beard; it takes him from depressed divorced dad to depressed divorced daddy.

Seblos was cute and in a nice change of pace Disney doesn’t seem to be cynically teasing them then cutting their scenes. It was refreshing to see them just being a couple and to hear Carlos casually refer to himself as gay. In that regard tonight’s ep didn’t seem like it was a Disney show at all and it’s major progress that there are now two main gay characters on HSMTMTS. We learn that Carlos is rich which seems likely to be a source of conflict with Seb who comes from a large farming family.

Bet on It was really fun and I liked that Ricky apparently couldn’t stop singing it. The medley of HSM 2 songs was fun but I’ll be real with you wildcats, I never thought HSM 2 or 3 were nearly as good as the first movie so I’m not sad that they’re doing something else this year.

Wild that Big Red’s mom also calls him Big Red. Salt Lake Slices seems poised to be a big part of S2 both as hangout spot and work location for some of the characters. Redlyn are sweet together but sometimes Big Red comes off as a closeted gay guy which isn’t ideal for a het pairing that is supposedly a big part of S2.

Nice to see Gina so excited to have sleepovers with Ashlyn. We know from 2x03 that Gina contends with being single on Valentine’s day and from her glances at Ricky tonight she’s clearly not over him. Tim’s playing with fire and I can only hope he knows what he’s doing. I liked the little detail of Kourtney having AOC on her vision board, it feels true to the character (hopefully AOC gets elected president one day if the USA doesn’t collapse into a fascist dictatorship or civil war before then). EJ’s beard has got to go but I like that he seems committed to being a better version of himself; very doubtful his plan to go straight to Duke like his forefathers doesn’t change by the end of the season.

Derek Hough did a good job of playing Zach as a subtly condescending man who managed to swiftly undermine Miss Jenn’s confidence, we’ll see what he and North High bring to the table.

Looking Ahead:

Next week are auditions for Beauty and the Beast, we know Ashlyn gets the role of Belle and EJ has conveniently removed himself from the running for Beast which presumably clears the path for Ricky to take the lead. There’s been some controversy over the casting choices and I’ll save my comments about it for the 2x02 review.

We get to see Lily who looks like a meaner version of season 1 Gina, we’ll see how much depth she actually ends up getting. Howie is introduced in 2x03 and Antoine likely shows up later on. Jack likely shows up towards the end of the season.

Howie seems to have a connection with Kourtney though the character synopsis does say he gets close to a wildcat or two which certainly leaves room to slide him into Gina’s plot. We know Antoine is into Ashlyn so that’s another love triangle to look forward to. Jack was described as having wanderlust and most of the cast seems not to have filmed with him so I think it’s likely that he plays a role in convincing EJ to take a gap year rather than head straight to Duke.

A translation leak on TikTok reveals that in 2x03 Gina is sad that she’s only gotten a Valentine’s Day gift from her mom. A brief clip from the promo shows up her on her porch at night holding a heart shaped box of chocolates. If that’s supposed to be from a secret or semi-secret admirer than it has to be from either EJ, Ricky, or Howie. If it’s a platonic gift then it could be from anyone, we’ll see what Tim has up his sleeves.

Nini moving back to SLC is a question of when not if. It’s going to be very difficult to bring her back in a way that’s justified and also doesn’t leave the time she spends in Denver looking like a total waste. Frankly, I’d rather the show just bite the bullet and bring her back with as little fuss as possible.

We’re possibly around a quarter way through HSMTMTS given that the mains have 4 season contracts and presuming that the show is not cancelled earlier. At the very least the show will be radically different after S4 if they try to continue it as Olivia has made very clear that she’s going to leave asap to pursue her burgeoning music career full time (notably she’s only done the bare minimum of promo for S2).

Looming over the remaining seasons of HSMTMTS is what the professional relationship between Olivia and Josh looks like especially since in many ways the show is built around Ricky and Nini. Off screen relationships have often caused on screen problems and dating a co-worker is rarely a good idea since even clean breakups leave lingering resentments. Obviously the Jolivia breakup was not clean, Driver’s License, Deja Vu, and Good 4 U (which is a certified bop) were clearly written from a place of hurt and in some ways were written to hurt. It’s no surprise that Joshua has dropped his duet with Sabrina Carpenter from his EP; someone on his team at least is trying to stop the damage to his reputation. There’s a decent chance that Olivia’s songs becoming such hits has irreparably damaged Joshua Bassett’s reputation among the same pool of largely young women that he’s targeting his music towards thereby cutting off his music career at the knees. If nothing else this behind the scenes drama should keep things entertaining for a while.

Until next week Wildcats

#HSMTMTS #Rini #Seblos #Ricky Bowen #Nini Salazar-Roberts #Carlos Rodriguez #Seb Matthew-Smith #Gina Porter #ej caswell #HSMTMTS Reviews

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aspoonofsugar · 3 years

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RWBY Chain Of Faves

Who are your top 10 favorite RWBY characters and why?

Hello anon!

Thank you very much for this ask! I love talking about faves!

1) The murder kids aka Emerald and Mercury

I have talked about them here and here and I’ve shared some minor thoughts here and here.

I think their story has yet to enter its climax, so the metas on them are not as finalized as those on other characters. Still, the set-up is all there and I love it. As I say in the metas linked, they are a unit (body and soul, weapon and semblance). They are also two of the characters who mostly explore the cycle of abuse (together with Cinder, who is both victim and perpetrator).

I like how they are given the chance to screw up very very badly (and are given consequences for their actions), but are also always framed as two kids who try to be toughter than they are.

What is more, I love their relationship and their dynamic with Cinder. I think both bonds are very complex and are shown rather than told. This is why Emerald and Mercury’s body language is very effective imo. Their closeness is mostly conveyed through them glancing at each other or how they move around each other. This makes sense because they are in a place where they can’t speak freely.

In particular, I like that their relationship is deep, but not idealized. They care about each other, but are too scared to save each other. This is why Emerald needs the help of an adult (Hazel) to leave her abusive environment. This is also why she is recovering in a healthier environment that also lets her understand the consequences of her actions better. At the same time, Mercury who is instead stuck with another abusive mentor can’t currently escape.

When it comes to each one of them individually...

Emerald’s design and semblance are among my personal favourites. Her semblance especially is at the very top of my list. It has so much potential thematically and flexibility in terms of use (invisibility, transformation, specific illusions fitting a character’s flaw). I hope they use it more and in diverse ways in the future to show Emerald’s growth. For example, how cool would it be if she used it to help another character overcome a panic attack? Or if she helped Ruby enter the mental state to use her eyes with it?

I also really like she has a specific fighting style that fits her thief motif and is very different from others. It is less scenographic, but very pragmatic and I love it.

I also liked the focus she received this season and I think it needs to be finalized. I am curious on how it will happen.

Mercury’s background is the one which breaks my heart the most. The little we know is horrible :( I also think it is a story that heavily relies on symbolism to convey the idea of abuse...

Marcus took Mercury’s legs, so he can’t psychologically escape the cycle of abuse... Marcus told Mercury he needs no crutches and Mercury is refusing to aknowledge his hurt and to heal... Marcus’s violence messed up Mercury so much he is not sure what he wants and his semblance is missing to underline it.

I wonder if we will discover more about his background or if what we have so far is all. I can see it go both ways to be honest. Also, Tyrian’s interactions with Mercury are interesting and meaningful, but also terrifying. I both want more and I am scared of having more :’’)

I am also looking forward to see how his allusion will be used. As for now, he has the potential to have at least three different motifs going on. The one of Mercury the God, the one of Mercury the metal and the one of Mercury the planet. Curious to see what is done with them!

Finally, I’m the One is one of my favourite songs because it is full of foreshadowing and perfectly conveys what their characters are about. I would love to properly analyze it one day, even if I have used it in multiple metas already :), so I am not sure I have new things to say.

The same can be said about their fight against Coco and Yatsuhashi and their fight with Cinder against Amber. In a sense, those two fights are complementary, since the first one foreshadows their major assets that are properly shown and charged symbolically in the second.

In short, their fight with Coco and Yatsuhashi is how they want to appear:

I'm the one that your mama said 'Don't mess with them or you'll end up dead That type they don't follow any rules'

Their fight against Amber is who they are deep down:

I'm the one That was born in a nightmare a murderer's son

I'm the one Who rose out of filth and was loved by no-one

3) Penny

She is the protagonist of the Atlas Volumes and has my favourite arc so far.

Her arc is contradictive, sad and powerful. In a sense, her whole character is written to hurt :’’’) She is given a happy and enthusiastic personality to hide how tragic her story is.

Penny is an example of how to write a specific kind of tragedy, where the main conflict does not lie in the character’s flaw, but in the environment she is in. Penny wants to be a “real” girl, but others won’t let her. This conflict escalates until she tragically manages to affirm her personhood in death.

At the same time, she is given self-issues that can be seen as a flaw and tie to her environment. She is self-sacrificial and struggles to see herself as a true person. Still, this flaw does not really drive her plotline (others’ control of her does) and, as @hamliet has stated, it does not eat everything around Penny.

So, she dies tragically because she never gets the chance, not even to overcome these self-issues, but to properly face them. At the same time, her death is powerful and cathartic because she negates others’ control and manipulation. She negates the mechanisms that had her develop self-issues to begin with.

Is it a happy outcome? Not at all. It is sad and contradictive. It is gray, but this is precisely why it is powerful. It manages to convey and explore complex and contradictive ideas. It does not offer an answer, but only bittersweet questions.

I also really like how Penny’s allusion is used in the story. It is played straight in terms of plot since Penny becomes human as the story goes on. However, it is problematized in terms of themes. It conveys that humanity is about making choices and experiencing both happiness and pain. Finally, Penny’s final scene is an inversion of the original novel.

Penny is not the Blue Fairy’s creation, but the Blue Fairy’s creator:

She goes from Creation (passive, a child) to Creator (active, an adult).

Incidentally, Penny too has one of my favourite songs. Friend is beautiful and it perfectly describes her arc. It conveys how much she loves humanity despite how complex and painful it is. The music starting slow and melancholic to gain more power as it goes on describes Penny’s life beautifully. It is a story that ends too soon (the music interrupts at its most vibrant), but it is still a melody full of love for life:

An answered prayer A chance to Share the world To be a girl Who fin'lly felt alive

4) Cinder

Cinder is probably the most complex and best written character so far.

She manages to make me feel for her and to make me incredibly angry with her at the same time :’’’)

I have written several metas on her, so you can read my thoughts on her background, the focus she received this volume, how I think her arc will end and some minor symbolism.

Cinder is built on an equilibrium between victim and perpetrator. She is both and the narrative strikes perfectly with its framing of her. It is both sympathetic and strict and most of all tragic because no matter if Cinder wins or loses... she keeps spiralling either way and she can’t understand she is fighting a worthless fight.

She is also full of interesting motifs and symbolism. One I would like to explore more in the future (and for it to be explored more by the story itself) is her fall motif.

She chooses the surname “Fall” herself when it is decided her first target is the Fall Maiden. This makes for a nice juxtaposition between her and Winter.

Cinder is born with nothing. Her own name refers a substance almost completely burnt, something with almost no color. It is a very humble name, so she chooses a surname which is important. It is a surname that hints to her role as a vessel of the Maidens.

She is not chosen to be a Maiden... she is not supposed to be one. However, she decides she is going to take the power even if it is not hers. She is taking destiny in her own hands.

Winter is born with apparently everything. However, this is also why everything gets decided for her. She is given the name Winter before she was born. Similarly, Ironwood chooses her as the Maiden even before she discovers about them.

Cinder sees Winter as having everything Cinder deserves. However, she misses how Winter is facing very similar struggles. She might be given what Cinder is negated, but she too has to make that destiny hers. She has to take her story in her own hands, just like Cinder.

At the same time, Cinder’s fall motif is linked also to the idea of falling. She falls and makes others fall. Exactly like she burns and is burnt. The orange of her flames aesthetically calls back to the orange of the falling leaves.

This idea is also conveyed through Cinder constantly mistreating and even killing characters representative of sides of herself.

She abuses Emerald and Mercury aka her child selves.

She kills Watts aka her negative foil.

She kills Pyrrha and Penny aka her Maidens’ foils.

It is clear that all this hurting and killing parts of herself won’t end well for her. I mean, she, not Salem, is the one responsible of the two major deaths in the series (Penny and Pyrrha), so she is bound to receive consequences.

Another thing I love about her is how her intelligence is people focused. She is very good at reading and manipulating others and this is how she wins her major fights. This is both her flaw and her major asset. I like it because I think RWBY is good in showing different kinds of intelligence and Cinder’s one is very coherent with her personality.

Finally, I love how her Cinderella allusion is used. It is a deconstruction of the original fairy tale that is born from a question: “What if Cinderella were not the kind victim of the story, but a bad victim?”. It is also interesting how the key character in Cinder’s allusion is not the Prince or the Stepmother, but the Fairty Godmother who fails her twice (Rhodes and now Salem).

As a side note, I can’t wait for The Truth to be out in its complete version.

5) Oscar

Aka the one who deserves nothing of what he gets :’’’)

I love him because he is an example of how to write a character who is a cinnamon roll, but that also is not boring and has complexity.

His struggle is about his sense of self. He starts the story by wishing to become more than what he is, but he does not like that this “more” turns out to be about fusing with another person. He wants to grow not to lose himself to another entity.

This is his major fear:

Who will you see? There in the darkness When no one is watching Who will you be? When you're afraid And everything changes Will you see a stranger? Feel proud or betrayed?

This is well conveyed also by his relationship with the rest of the group. He starts as the odd man out and others mostly rely on Ozpin rather than him. He sometimes even seems to disappear behind Ozpin. However, as time goes on, he forges genuine bonds and he becomes dependable on his own. He becomes even more so than Ozpin because he has something Oz lost out of cynism. The ability to trust.

In the Atlas volume he is the character that embodies the thematic statement about trust:

Oscar: You want him to trust us? Then trust me.

The point is that to be trusted you should trust first, even if there is no guarantee it will work.

It is interesting because the theme of trust is explored starting with Ozpin, Oscar’s foil, who does not trust others, so our protagonists feel betrayed. However, in Atlas they find themselves in Ozpin’s shoes and must choose if to trust Ironwood or not.

Here, we explore a form of conditional trust. This idea is presented by Ruby, who wants to be sure it is safe to trust Ironwood. So she keeps secrets and studies him until she decides she can trust him... only to discover that was not the case immediately after. This happens because trust can never be completely safe. Actually, in its most negative declination, this kind of trust becomes the control symbolized by Ironwood.

No matter what, trust is always a leap of faith. This is why trust is a risk. Oscar shows this concept well. He decides to still trust Ironwood at the end of volume 7, but it does not work. Still, he does not stop and decides to trust Emerald and Hazel. This time his trust and faith are repaid. He is fred and gains a new ally:

I love Emerald and Oscar’s interactions btw :’’’) It is good that Oscar is the one who is growing closer to her. They escape Salem together and Oscar has not been hurt by Emerald the same way the others are.

Anyway, even if trust is worth it, the exploration of this theme in Atlas actually ends on a negative note. It ends with Cinder who is an enemy of trust because she uses others’ trust and feelings against them.

Anyway, Oscar is a key character and I can’t wait for his story to develop more!

6) Ironwood

He breaks my heart.

He is a an excellent tragic Hero.

He thinks he is the Great Good, but this is precisely why he spirals out of control and falls with his own Kingdom, hated by his allies and forgotten by his enemies.

His downfall stems from his inability to trust, his refusal of emotions, his single-mindness and mostly his convinction he is better than others. This idea is structural of Atlas society and is seen in many of his inhabitants. No matter the social class, we see multiple people thinking they deserve better and that they are above others. This is why Atlas falls and his people becomes refugees in the poorest Kingdom of Remnant.

Anyway, Ironwood thinks he is better than others, so he should be the one deciding for others as well. This idea is flawed and perfectly conveyed through his ideology of sacrificing everything. He feels he has everything, so he can sacrifice what he wants. Still, this is not the case. Others’ lives and feelings are not his. He doesn’t own them.

7) Weiss

I love Weiss. She has one of my favourite designs and one of my favourite semblances and fighting styles.

Her snowhite allusion being played to explore the idea of a dysfunctional family is very good.

In general, I love how much she has grown slowly, but steadily and how she has progressively become warmer. I enjoyed her interactions with her siblings this season. She also gets many moments where she shines for her humanity and intelligence.

She is both Snowhite and the Prince, but also the Huntress that changes and makes others change. She becomes an inspiration for her whole family and since the Schnees are all in Vacuo and she will eventually join them, I am curious if there is going to be more about their family dynamic.

Other than this, I am excited about her Nevermore summon, what is means symbolically and when she will use it.

8) Ruby

I think Ruby’s arc must still enter its climax and that she will shine towards the end of the series.

That said, I love her as a protagonist. She has an interesting set of skills that makes her competent, but not invincible. Moreover, I like how she is important and a participant of the plot, but also does not single-handedly solves everything by herself. She has to learn just like the others. For example, this volume she learns that trust is a risk and the importance of taking risks.

Moreover, she is actually very rarely the protagonist of a volume climax. Speaking of the most climatic volumes, Pyrrha is the protagonist of the climax in volume 3, Yang and Raven are in volume 5, Penny in volume 8.

The climax where she is the most in focus as a character is volume 6 and that is the volume where her eyes are explored and her personal arc is set up. That said, she still manages to be important and to contribute to the action in many ways.

I think her role is to inspire others and I guess that by making that speech this volume she is gonna grow into a symbol even more. If that happens it will be interesting to see what this means for her.

Apart from this, I am curious about her subplot with her mother and if it will tie to her choice to save Cinder with her eyes (since I think this is where we are going). She is going to be both Hood and the Huntsman who kills the Wolf and saves the Victim.

9) Nora and Ren

They are my favourite canon romance.

Their story starts with Ren getting focus (with Nora as a support) and is slowly shifting to Nora developing as her own person (with Ren as a support).

It fits for them to be one of the series main romances because as characters they both explore the concept of emotions and emotional intelligence.

I would say Nora is one of the most emotional intelligent characters in the cast. She is aware of her own feelings for Ren and tries to push their story forwars. She quickly picks up on Pyrrha’s crush and encourages her to make a move. Honestly, she sees herself as a dumb jock, but she is far from it. She is one of the wisest and most sensitive characters:

Nora: You shove people out so you don’t have to feel things that are hard!

Ren is ironically the one struggling with feelings, even if his semblance is all about emotions. In a sense, it is as if he develops it precisely because he struggles with this part of himself.

As a child he is easily overwhelmed by emotions like fear, which goes in the way of his actions. So, when he is under stress he deveops a magical power that lets him control this part of himself. However, as time goes on, it becomes more and more obvious that he should face his own feelings. And once he faces them:

Ren: No! No one is replaceable.

Then he becomes able to see both himself and others more clearly.

In general, both Ren and Nora must overcome their issues if they want to end up together.

Ren’s issue was his fear of being completely vulnerable and to open up with another person. Nora’s is her complete dependance on Ren and how she sees herself as only a part of him, while she is much more.

As a side note, Ren finally confessing his feelings for Nora only to be (temporally) rejected is a great note for his character arc. He was repressing his feelings out of fear, but now he has grown enough to take a risk (opening up, showing vulnerability). Well, this risk does not pay off immediatley. Nora asks him for some time and this is surely not how Ren would have hoped things to go. Still, he understands and supports her. He takes an emotional risk that does not pay off immediately, but he is able to live with it.

In terms of writing, I also think Raven is top notch. Moreover, Winter is a lowkey favourite as well.

I also like some minor characters like Ilia, whose background is built on a very interesting premise that fits her chameleon motif, and Whitley who manages to be helpful even if he is not a fighter. Velvet also has a cool weapon and semblance that tie with her photography motif.

I also love Yang, Blake and Jaune aka the other members of the main cast.

In terms of design, many of my favourites have also my favourite designs (Emerald, Weiss, Mercury, Cinder, Penny, Winter, Ruby, Ren and Ilia).

Other than them, I love Neo’s design, characterization and fighting style:

Finally, I also like Tock’s design and concept, even if she only appears once.

Thank you for this ask! I had fun with it!

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strangertheory · 4 years

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I’ve heard so many different opinions on the Duffer Brothers. On one hand, I see the cinematic parallels point to a queer awakening for Byler and I see how their employees are supportive of the LGBTQ+ community (stranger writers), but I also hear people say how Maya had to “beg” them to make Robin a lesbian, and how they are “queer baiting” us, or that they are homophobic. It’s so confusing and conflicting to hear people refer to the Duffers as “homophobic” because it puts a damper in my confidence when it comes to Byler, even though I believe in it 100%. The way they are handling the relationship between Will and Mike seems like it could be a wonderful case of Good Queer Representation, and when you add Robin to that mix, it would be even better and make ST a show with healthy queer rep that I think we need more of. But they could easily queerbait us and chase popularity and comfort, and take the easy way out by making it one sided. They have so much power in their hands, and I am not sure if they’ve ever made it explicitly clear what their stance is on LGBTQ+ but I’ve heard some rumors of them being misogynistic on set, and it definitely makes me nervous. I’m so tired of being queer baited.

As with anyone famous that I am only familiar with through social media and PR and tabloid news: I have very little reliable insight into their personal ideologies. I treat most of what you've described as gossip and hear-say and as the variety of information that comes from tabloids and news sources that prioritize clickbait, controversy, and dishing out rumors about celebrities in order to increase the number of times their story is re-shared and engaged with on social media. I suspect that much of what you may have heard is embellished by unreliable fandom gossip as well.

Even if Maya used the phrase "begged" herself (I'm unsure — I don't have a source on hand, but that's irrelevant to my next point) the context of that is not inherently a sign that they are homophobic and could very easily be related to their originally different plans for Robin's character arc.

I have no idea what any of the cast and crew truly think on any given issue, and I think fans should remember that they don't truly "know" any of these celebrities either.

I do know, however, that the first season of Stranger Things features multiple moments in which homophobic characters are presented as the antagonists and characterized as clearly villainous: Lonnie is written as a deeply dislikeable character, as are Troy and James when they mock Will and then Mike (one of our obvious main heros in the story) shoves Troy to the gym floor in response to his bigotry. Neil Hargrove is also characterized as an abusive father figure who hurls homophobic slurs at Billy.

Consistently and regardless of whatever any individual involved in the creation of Stranger Things may think: the clearly written stance within the Stranger Things universe is that homophobia is offensive, villainous, and wrong. Additionally, as you mentioned in your Ask, I believe there is incredibly strong evidence that Mike having eventual romantic interest in Will has been foreshadowed in a variety of narrative ways in every single season thus far.

Regardless of what anyone involved behind the scenes thinks, the canon story itself has been very consistently pro-lgbtqa+ in both its text and subtext and combined with the consistent pro-lgbtqa+ messages from the official writers' room Twitter account I see no reason to fear that the team behind the important decisions in the making and promotion of the show is queerbaiting.

Yes, queerbaiting still happens far too often in popular media. But I think we do a disservice to not only ourselves but also to production teams that are working on unfinished series and who still might be planning to reveal plot twists to us in future seasons if we start treating them as though they have already failed us when the story is incomplete. I have seen fans literally cursing at creators of unfinished shows on social media and accusing them of queerbaiting rather than respecting that queerbaiting is, by definition, when a story does not deliver on intentional build-up and foreshadowing by the stories' conclusion.

Too many fans not only in this fandom but also in other fandoms do not understand the definition of queerbaiting. If a story reveals that two characters were in love or that a character is queer by the end of the series after a lot of subtext is established in the story prior to the big reveal: that is not queerbaiting, that is called foreshadowing.

I respect and empathize with the anxiety that some fans in the community have but I hope that they remember that the story isn't over yet and that not everything you hear in pop culture "news" or in the fan community rumor mill is always as trustworthy as you might think it is.

I hope that gives you some comfort. 😊

#byler #stranger things #stranger things theories

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browniesnivy · 3 years

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hiii brownie idk enough abt yugioh but *insert one of ur yugioh faves* and umm maybe franziska for that character ask game :]

Franziska Von Karma

How I feel about this character- FRANZISKA LITERALLY SO AMAZING...I love how she’s introduced as just as terrifying and cruel as her father, but then you see that she really does care about helping other people throughout her determination to avenge Edgeworth and to help Phoenix save Maya in Farewell My Turnabout despite taking a bullet to the shoulder (such a good parallel with her father on its own!)... and then with the scene at the airport she’s is allowed to be emotionally vulnerable without being any less of a competent prodigy of law! She’s just... so fucking cool I LOVE HER!

All the people I ship romantically with this character- Maya Fey! I love the contrast between both of their personalities making them seem like total opposites, but when you look at their connection to a family legacy it becomes obvious they have a lot in common. I wish the games had expanded on their dynamic more, but unfortunately lesbians are oppressed :(

My non-romantic OTP for this character- VON KARMA SIBLINGS... Mieke I know you agree with me on this! They grew up with the same terrible expectation that come with being a prodigy, and so they’re really the only ones who’s can comfort and understand each other... they obviously both feel such an obligation to protect each other and it makes me so CRAZY UGH. BROTHER AND SISTER!

My unpopular opinion about this character- I don’t think this is an unpopular opinion but I wish she’d kept the shorter hair design from the concept art where her hair is slicked forward to contrast with her father’s slicked back hair, not only because I’m a lesbian and that hairstyle was SO GAY but because I think it could have highlighted or even foreshadowed how she differs from Manfred. Maybe since she hasn’t been able to abandon his influences by Justice for All it wouldn’t make since for her to have such a “wild” hairstyle, but I think that if she returns it would be amazing to see her with that hairstyle to represent how she’s moved on after a decade.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon- SHOW HER DENOUNCING MANFRED VON KARMA FOR REAL. I can understand that it would take time for her to fully accept that her father was not as admirable as she’d been least to believe, but by this point in the timeline I think it’s time for that aspect of her character arc to be resolved. The natural conclusion of her development requires her experiencing the same acceptance of defeat as her brother, so I really hope that if they bring Franziska back at some point she’ll be allowed to admit that her father was awful and that victory isn’t an indication of worth.

Rex Raptor

How I feel about this character- HE IS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER IN ANY PIECE OF MEDIA EVER. I know that he isn’t meant to be a deep character at all and he isn’t given much narrative focus at all but he is just SO DAMN ENDEARING TO ME OKAY. I have an unhealthy obsession with how he is initially introduced as being crass and inconsiderate while Weevil is more polite and strategic, but then it turns out Weevil is a total asshole while Rex is just... a kid who likes dinosaurs and duels for fun? Like even though he’s a total dumbass (the best character trait) who can be a bit rude (not even mean-spirited if we’re being totally honest, like most of his remarks are just him being snarky), the manga describes him as “having to the spirit of a true duelist” and he never really seems as bitter about losing as his counterpart Weevil (except in the Season 4 filler arc, which although I adore for giving me so much more Rex content, makes a lot mistakes by characterizing him as basically interchangeable with Weevil... BUT that’s ANOTHER STORY for ANOTHER DAY). I mean he has more justifiable reasons to be upset than Weevil given how he was LITERALLY cheated out of the Battle City tournaments by Espa (which Mokuba the official rule enforcer LETS THEM GET AWAY WITH and then doesn’t do ANYTHING to compensate Rex), and he STILL tries to warn Joey to stay away from trouble despite him being the guy he supposedly dislikes because he took his best card, totally disgracing him and ruining his entire career. I could keep going but this paragraph isn’t probably already sickeningly long and I still need to be able to make posts about him in the future, so in a nutshell... he seems like a funny and good kid. OH AND WHEN MAI ASKED HIM THE “what can you see but cannot see” RIDDLE AND HE ANSWERED TAKOYAKI BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE THE DOUGH ON THE OUTSIDE BUT NOT THE OCTOPUS ON THE INSIDE? LITERAL CUTEST SHIT EVER KING OF COMEDY I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU. Ahem. Sorry.

All the people I ship romantically with this character- Weevil Underwood. They’re both teenagers who got famous, let it get to their heads, and then lost everything... considering that they seem like the types of kids who would be bullied relentlessly (they're already constantly being made fun of by mostly of the character anyway), I think the fact that they end up befriending each other is a good sign that they can find some comfort in each other and discover other things to be fulfilled by beside card games. I love how even though this friendship is framed as a begrudging alliance between two self-servings jerks half of the time, the other half of the time it’s about best friends starting a shit together for petty reasons and always being by each other’s side no matter what. The way that they tease each other constantly but then always stand up for one another when others pick on them... it’s so obvious that they actually really care about one another! I just love their dynamic so much it’s unreal, hence the blog.

My non-romantic OTP for this character- Although I primarily think about his relationship with Weevil, there is still a lot of potential to be explored with other characters! Mako is another minor character obsessed with a type of animal, but where’s he differs from Rex and ESPECIALLY Weevil is his sportsmanship, being able to become friends with Yugi and Joey even after being defeated by them. I think that difference mostly comes down to Mako being significantly older than Red and Weevil and therefore having more perspective on gaming fame, so I feel like he would be a great influence on them. On Rex specifically, I think Season 4 missed a big opportunity to expand on Rex and Mai’s relationship. Mai had been a major contributor to Rex losing in Duelist Kingdom, but now they both feel like washed-up failures. I think given the circumstances they could have comeback to an understanding, maybe even have Mai apologize for throwing him under the bus to screw with Joey? I think showing Rex that not everyone who has wronged him in the past had/still has bad intentions would be really good addition to his character arc in Season 4. Then of course there is Joey... to me, the main difference between Rex and Joey is that Joey is stupidly lucky while Rex never seems to catch a break. Otherwise they’re both recklessness dumbasses who prioritize brawn over brain, but Joey is nevertheless able to triumph through sheer dumb luck while Rex gets anihilated over and over with basically the same strategy (minus the RNG cards, Joey’s strategy is just big monsters after all). While the previously mentions she relationships were hypothetical, this dynamic between Joey and Rex is actually given some focus in canon, and I found it very compelling! I only wish this difference between them hadn't only been used to increase Joey’s confidence in his skills as a duelist (which I will remind you is mostly LUCK, no offense to Joey because I do love him BUT I MEAN... only being able to beat Rex because of a lucky Time Wizard isn’t peak strategy ), but to develop Rex’s character somehow as well.

My unpopular opinion about this character- JUST LIKING THIS CHARACTER IS AN UNPOPULAR OPINION MAN... tons of people hate him so much! I know he isn’t an important character at all but he isn’t nearly as much of a jerk as people make him out to be, and I mean even if he was he’s just a kid! I won’t pretend that he is always portrayed favorably by the narrative, but the fact that some people feel nothing but disdain for a child whose accomplishments were robbed from him by forces outside of his control and who received no sympathy for it, causing his self-worth to deteriorate... it’s a bit concerning to me that so many adults in particular are so disgusted by that.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon- I’ve talked QUITE a lot already about things that I wish had happened to develop his character more, but above all else I wish his character arc in Season 4 had been given a proper conclusion. The writers set up this interesting conflict where the insignificant minor characters are upset that they aren’t allowed to be successful when the more important characters aren’t involved and shows the consequences that their defeat had on their lives and self-image... BUT THEN AFTER THEY’RE DEFEATED THEY ARE FORGOTTEN ABOUT FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON UNTIL THEY WAKE UP IN THE HOSPITAL AND INSTANTLY REVERT BACK TO BEING COMIC RELIEF GRRR GRRRRRRRR! There wasn’t no resolution to this arc AT ALL and it drives me UP THE GODDAMN WALL because it absolutely captivated me in concept... but like with many things in Yu-Gi-Oh! the execution was totally ruined :(

#I hope you don’t regret asking about Yugioh ive been known to get... quite passionate lol #Wake up babe new Brownie rant dropped 😅#Thanks for the ask bestie!

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onegirllis · 5 years

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Since Life is Strange 2 is finally fully released, I let myself to write a probably not-so-short review of the complete season. The momentum for such a summary is already gone I presume but it took me a moment to finally digest and find the proper words to describe what I think and feel about this production. Following the game from the start, I patiently waited to look at the story as a whole, hoping to find an explanation for tons of burning questions and satisfying outcomes to my choices and decisions. Unfortunately, most of those didn’t happen, therefore I present you with a piece that is not very favorable towards the newest Dontnod production, harsh in places but honest. Please, do not read if you really enjoyed the story of the two brothers and find it meaningful and important, not burdened with any fallacy. Life is way too short to read reviews that just leave you frustrated.

Remember the scene in Life is Strange season one (I still hate the fact that I have to separate different instances of the franchise calling them seasons), when Max summoned by an enormous plasma TV in Victoria’s room fantasizes about watching “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” on it? “I like this movie, I don’t care what everybody says,” getting protective about her preferences, the little freckle leaves the room soon after, never gifting us with any explanation as to why she indeed values this animation so much or why it was an important statement. It was never brought back again, it will never matter, becoming simply a meme material or a trigger for snarky comments from Twitch streamers and YouTubers. I watched the said movie a long time ago, recalling only two things about it: the breathtaking animation of hair at the beginning and the fact that the main male character looked like Ben Affleck. The rest of the story fell into obscurity before the end credits hit the screen. I reached for this title only because I was interested in anything video games related, and the name of the popular franchise was more than enough.

The same thing goes for Life is Strange 2.

Just like the mentioned FF: The Spirits Within, the second instance of the beloved series is more of an animation than an interactive experience. Recently, plenty of video games, overwhelmed by finally reachable technology of smooth mocaps, facial expressions, hyper-realistic locations, and scanned people as characters, turned into an alley dedicated to B-class movies. From adventures by David Cage to Death Stranding, video games started to flip their working template, replacing the actual action with long animations, not the other way around. With scattered gameplay, sometimes forced as if the developers reminded themselves at the last minute that this product is supposed to be interactive, they raise an eyebrow at best, and boil your blood with the lack of creativity at its worst. Life Is Strange 2 follows this trend with astonishing enthusiasm and to the core. Even regarding this particular genre that’s supposed to focus on narrative, it barely stands as a walking simulator becoming a hardly watchable TV series — a road trip story where walking is limited.

Well, shit.

The gameplay in Life is Strange 2 is nonexistent. To be frank, riveting action-packed sequences were never a trademark of the series, but a blatant lack of any didn’t make this experience any better. With the first one, the rewind power allowed the player to actually be part of the narrative. The second, where Sean just serves as a witness to his brother’s actions, plays more like a full motion picture. An enormous amount of un-skippable cut-scenes change LIS2 into a tedious, dragging journey straight from the worst selection of buy 1 get 3 free Z-class movies. The music and the mastery in creating an atmosphere that rose Dontnod to international fame due to widespread acclaim can’t save those sequences either. It almost feels like their own creation so enchanted the development team that they ignored all the red flags and clumsy solutions to immerse in the world themselves, treating the actual player as a lesser evil, throwing them a bone just to claim it is a video game format. To no surprise, most of the items the player interacts with don’t matter at all and don’t serve any purpose either to foreshadow an upcoming outcome, present exposition to the world, or be in any way helpful.

The lack of superpower is not an issue here though. Before the Storm met the expectations with way more grace, proving that a story doesn’t need a lot of strange in life to grip and hold its audience for hours. Watching a superhero growing up is an interesting premise, but a hell of a challenge to execute and execute well. Some stories like “Little Man Tate” translate to a brilliant film, but don’t necessarily work as games, after the planning stage or first Game Design Document. The references regarding the first game also remain scattered and uneven, tossed on the pile with a heap of faith that devoted fans would notice, but without a purpose in mind.

Even if I sound harsh, I do believe that Dontnod wanted to deliver the best story possible, but Life is Strange 2 feels even too big to absorb or fill with details. Captain Spirit, not necessarily my cup of tea either, was in my opinion way more coherent, as the creative team felt more comfortable with such a small scope of a product. Everything falls into place after careful exploration, makes more sense with every minute. The mystery about the mother, an alumnus of Blackwell Academy, and an admirer of Jefferson’s work is a solid premise that didn’t raise expectations up the roof nor overpromise. The mystery of yet another mother, this time Life is Strange 2, played for over 3 and a half episodes, falls flat in comparison and ends in the disappointing question “that’s it?”

No, that’s not it. There’s more to it.

Life is Strange 1 was mocked as Tumblr: The Game, while the second instance could easily pass as Twitter: The Animated Series. The writers didn’t challenge themselves or the audience to answer the question of why certain people voted for Donald Trump, or why they would do it yet again. The only reason presented in the story is quite simplistic and obvious – because they are evil, deplorable people, not worth listening to. They are the worst. We are better. Issues of being harangued by foreigners about domestic policies and troubles of your own country are a brewing can of worms I wouldn’t like to touch at the moment. Still, this particular stance, which serves as painful generalization that every single republican voter in the US is foul, can be forged only by someone who either lives in a bubble or doesn’t live here at all. Simply because we all have parents, grandparents, relatives, friends, or co-workers who decided to elect the actual prescient to power. Some of them are racists, disgusting, and horrible personas, and some just belong to the scared of change, confused and manipulated crowd that don’t accept the fast-paced transformation nor the need for a revolution. We coexist together, arguing and fighting, especially during holiday breaks, but even if it costs me a headache, I wouldn’t call them evil. Millions of people voted for Trump, but only a few wouldn’t spit on a swastika if confronted with the Nazi banner.

It’s even more painful when you understand what kind of message was sewed into the stitches of a shattered story. There was no ill will, or at least I don’t think so, but an honest, genuine need to express the concern about modern America. Unfortunately, when executed, this concern changed into another yell or discourse by the family table during an argument with your racist uncle. An open discussion in a game community that unifies both left and right supporters equally by their love for this form of entertainment would be appreciated by many, just like after playing LIS1, a handful of people changed their views on LGBT issues.

Instead of a lesson that had to be experienced, we got a lecture about morality and tolerance, contradicting itself constantly and nonchalantly following the well-known tropes NOT in a sarcastic and admirable way known from Saturday Night Live, but in a lazy and sometimes even clumsy substitute of a dramatic format. The political landscape painted in LIS2 is caricatural, unforgiving, harsh like a deserted wasteland with a few peaceful oases to stop at, but shies over its own existence, not willing to thoroughly discuss the dreadful weather. Guess what? The sand won’t change into greener pastures only because you close your eyes, putting your imagination to work. Donald Trump might not be re-elected for a second term, but his supporters will stay in place, even more conflicted by the other side. It’s a brave decision to deliver such a punitive story but such a cowardice to break its pillars, hoping that the general public wouldn’t notice or get distracted when things get too heated up.

The lack of subtlety forced scene by scene is even more polarizing. There is no peaceful dialogue with the other side as if it couldn’t exist in this world. There is no change of heart or a path to do so. Sometimes it feels like the only message that LIS2 writers wanted to provide was to find your own, peaceful and liberal hermitage, either among hipsters in the Redwood forest, driving a car that your ‘family with money but no soul’ had bought you or move to a trailer park filled with artistic souls in Nowhere, Arizona. Any contact with the outside world can hurt you and your feelings. Drop off the grid or die. The end.

No discussion.

The efforts of trying to understand the motivation behind even the most dreadful character of the first game, got lost in preparation for the second. LIS2 builds a higher wall between two political sides, than any other game released after Trump became the president of the United States and desperately wants to keep it erected, ignoring the crumbling foundations of such. A proverbial river you shall not cross nor build bridges over since the only outcome would end up in death, destruction, or you and your young brother getting hurt.

I’m familiar with the discussion about LIS2, especially with a shouting match that if you do not like this instance, you are therefore a racist pig, a disgusting person without a soul, conscience, or working brain that doesn’t understand the situation and never will. On the contrary. In my humble opinion, we deserve a better discussion, better stories, better representation, not sticking to whatever is presented because it’s brave enough or was never approached before. I disagree with the stance that a Latino, bisexual main character is enough to close your eyes, omitting all problems that this title tries to shun, riding its high horse. No. Those topics are way too crucial to just walk past, setting for less with your head down, thanking for the game industry to take notice. You the player deserve better, even if you don’t struggle with specific issues on a daily basis. And after playing LIS2, you may feel so good about yourself, stating that an effort was made but it it wasn’t made enough.

I expected more. I wanted Dontnod to do more, and frankly, I feel silly putting so much faith in them and supporting their efforts. Armed with resources provided by Square Enix, I’m sure they are aware of the fact that most of their audience is quite young and wouldn’t mind a lesson or message about what to do amidst troubled times. Well, Dontnod doesn’t have any but warns you that voicing your opinion or being different may end up in disaster. Outraged, they just yell at the news, angry about what our reality has changed into, but nothing comes out of it. It’s all right, though. Our parents do the same thing. We started to do the same thing, but instead of complaining to family members, we have Twitter.

While Life is Strange 2 tries really hard to come across as a realistic and raw portrait of the US at the end of the decade, they didn’t have enough courage to show realistic obstacles two runaways would be faced with. The brothers do meet a handful of bigots and racists, but the rest of the fellow travelers help them beyond understanding or hidden agenda. Sean and Daniel never really struggle to find a place to stay or a warm meal, usually complaining on or off the screen just before the game mercifully provides them with a solution. There’s no trap they can fall into, no ambiguous characters that promise one thing and then demand something in return. It’s very honorable for Brody to pay for a place to stay, but if an adult man gave young kids a key to a motel room, I would consider a way more sinister outcome. It’s not even about Brody himself, since good people exist, just like the racist ones, but the boys not even once are put in a realistic, scary situation created by a supposed ally. If somebody is helpful, this person is always decent, offering them a job, a ride, some food or money. The bad people wear red hats and yell racist slurs. America by Dontnod is simple to navigate but raw and painful when not necessary and fairy-tale-like when it could teach an actual lesson. Running away from home is not so hazardous because of Trump supporters but because you can end up dead in a ravine, being robbed and raped. It’s not the first and surely not the last time when the developers feared to touch any topic of sexual abuse with a ten-foot pole, but then the journey plays more like a vacation than a desperate escape. Sean gets beaten-up a few times, loses his eye due to a brawl, but it doesn’t affect him at all in the long run. When Daniel finally gets kidnapped, it’s not an Epstein-like circle, dealing with human trafficking, but a religious cult that worships him. The first option, even if it feels like a stretch, is unfortunately way more realistic than the latter.

Preaching to the choir is not the biggest sin this game commits though. That brings me to the most discussed theme of the production, which is education.

With all due respect to the developers, writers, and designers, Life is Strange 2 in this aspect falls flat as a discovery of a Sunday father, who is responsible for taking his kid to the zoo and struggles to find any common ground with his offspring, either trying to crack jokes about famous pop-culture phenomena or talk about food discussing their next favorite meal. The said father is trying his best though, perfectly aware that it’s his only chance to teach his son a thing or two, but doesn’t know exactly where to start, torn apart between buying more ice cream and throwing a fit about a stain on the carpet. The father doesn’t even like kids that much and can’t translate his lessons into an engaging play that would be memorized forever, rolling his eyes and counting the days to his kid’s graduation so they could share a beer or two and talk about adult things. Now, any effort to explain how the world works seems to be in vain, therefore a waste of his precious time. Leaving the emotional approach aside, the father doesn’t have to cuddle with his kid when he’s scared, bullied, traumatized or asks millions of questions about the future or present, because the full-time mother is waiting at home willing to replace him in this duty. The mother, knowing that her ex-partner sucks big time at talking about feelings, will be the one who will hold the kid, patiently explaining that the boogieman does not exist, playing pirates, or stay late at night to distract his sorrows. The kid will never discuss his fears with his dad though, trying so hard to impress his male parent. He will never know, and it’s fine. The mother is going to do the job while he can deliver a once a week entertainment along with the lines of ultimate wisdom that most likely will be forgotten anyway.

This is not raising a kid, it’s nursing them like a fragile plant in a flowerpot, focusing on water, sun, and fertilizer, but discarding the emotional background, hoping that somebody else would take care of such issues if things go south.

Sean can’t raise his brother well, simply because he is immature and will stay immature for the rest of the game. There is no moment when he truly goes through a transformation changing from a boy to a man, a fully grown-up adult who takes responsibility for his actions and makes sacrifices for the sake of the greater good. No, surrendering in a fight in the church doesn’t serve as one, neither does the first sexual experience. He doesn’t wonder even once if the hastily constructed plan is benefiting Daniel, forcing it to the last minutes of the game, taking the separation as the worst thing that could happen. There’s no spark of a tragedy like in “The Road” when a father gives up his son to strangers for the sake of saving him. Sean doesn’t care, presenting no character development across the board, merely pushing forward. If there are doubts, they disappear in the blink of an eye when the next cut-scene takes place.

I understand that such a young lad as Sean wouldn’t know how to raise a kid, especially if having no model to rely on. However, a part of growing pains is developing the awareness that we know way less than we assumed. That said, Sean Diaz is always assuming he is right, not asking for advice regarding Daniel even once. Apparently, it’s not something that he’s interested in or ever will be. If Life is Strange 2 wants to pass as a coming of age story, it falls on its face before it even starts.

Moreover, locked in the auto-driven plot, Sean cannot grow up and gain a new perspective; otherwise, the story wouldn’t reach its big, explosion-packed finale of crossing the border. His desperate efforts of influencing his brother usually converge to order him around, feed him with half-truths or simply leave him in the dark when convenient. I didn’t see any difference or change in Sean’s approach from episode one when he scolded his brother, annoyed for his party plans being interrupted, and in episode three, when he reacts similarly, for the sake of spending time alone with the chosen love interest. There’s no deep thought, no wonder about his own wrongdoings expressed to his brother, no faults admitted, no fallacies explained, with one life-threating situation after another. From an illegal weed growing farm, to destroying police stations, Sean just follows the road, paved by the writers, oblivious to the harm done to his younger sibling, as if Daniel simply forgets the morally gray choices, growing his moral spine entirely on performing chores. Washing the dishes and peeling potatoes does not make us better people but understanding a perspective so different than our own does. Thanks to Sean, Daniel expands his world, but it’s a very one-sided perspective, focusing on always praised, hippie-style liberties, and disregarding every option that requires any code of conduct, as represented by the grandparents. While the older brother forces the younger one to keep up with the designed tasks, he never discusses the issues that really matter. In episode 3, the youngster gets involved in a heist, a robbery, but after it fails, costing Sean his eye and the possible death of some of their companions, this is never mentioned. Mexico, a plan that is hardly a plan at all, is supposed to be an answer to all the questions and doubts. El Dorado of knowledge.

This is not how you raise a dog, not to mention a child.

There is no emotional bond, no special ties between the brothers, except a few problematic moments that play mostly on simple connection forged by blood, not by circumstances. Sean worries about Daniel because he’s his brother, but the player starts to wonder quite quickly why and what for. Reminiscing about old times gets nailed down to a few lines about the comforts and amenities of a life long gone. The tough topics, such as grieving after personally witnessing their father’s death, are mentioned scarcely and without much emphasis, as if serving only as a reminder to the player, but not a poignant struggle. Same goes with the dog, their friends mutilated at the end of the weed farm chapter, Chris (aka captain spirit) who is mentioned just before the end credits of the second episode, and tons of others. On top of it, the scattered and not so often dialogue lines about putting people in danger refer only to the good folk, siding with the brothers, not to humankind in general. Killing a police officer or knocking down a gas station owner are just natural ways of how things work in America, honorable deeds since it’s apparently perfectly fine for a kid to attempt a homicide if people are mean.

What a brave story.

Chloe Price had been suffering for five years after William, her beloved father, died in a car crash. For Sean and Daniel, there is no grief to experience, but a memory to share with a plan to erect a monument in the future. Esteban Diaz is a plot device, a symbol of inequality, but not a family member. Even a dream sequence with his guest appearance lacks the impact of the subconscious conversations we’ve seen in Before the Storm. It just simply doesn’t matter.

I can’t believe I have to say this but the relatable part about LIS1 wasn’t the tornado, just like in LIS2 crossing the border is its weakest point, but it’s those small moments, gestures, quick smiles in passing, the atmosphere and a breath of fresh air when a line, sometimes silly, got dropped. In the most recent story, there is not a single line worth quoting, memorizing, or discussing. And please, don’t bring up “awesome possum” again. It’s literally taken from The Lego Movie song.

The brothers, just like Thelma and Louise, decide to leave everything behind, throwing away the life as they knew it and forging their own future despite all odds. Although, when the two desperate women drive off the cliff committing suicide, chased by the armed forces, there is nothing to explain as the audience fully understands their reasoning. Their will of life was strong, but the path they followed was too steep to return. Without any help or support, confronted with brutal honesty and the world’s cruelty around them, it is the best possible solution. The story of the two brothers, even if it tries to echo the iconic movie, couldn’t be more different. Despite resources at their disposal, family members that do care about their wellbeing, the whole community rising in protest in their hometown, they risk everything for the sake of getting back to the land they don’t even know. Their Mexican heritage is also mentioned just as an exposition, and, as we learn in the very last episode, just before the ending that Daniel doesn’t speak Spanish. So why do the stubborn Diaz brothers despite all odds travel to Mexico? Because.

Canada was too close, I guess.

Last but not least, let’s talk about sex, because why the hell not. A lot of fans or admirers of the previous instances howled across all social media about how much they miss Max and Chloe. I don’t really think it’s the case, but those two girls symbolize something that LIS2 has a tremendous problem with. There’s no emotional connection between the characters the brothers meet along the way, especially the ones that really should matter. Even the love interests feel more like nagging choices than anything else, an experiment during a camping trip, not something that would last or could be fantasized about. Instead of nerve-wracking decisions such as if you’re supposed to kiss Rachel, hold her hand, or the ecstatic discovery (for PriceFielders, but it was ecstatic, right?) that Chloe changed her phone’s background, we are instead presented with a lineup of sexual experiences, that maybe trail-blaze the road when it comes to topics tackled by a video game, but fall into obscurity as an emotional construction. There is no build-up between Sean and Finn as everything develops to a kiss in one conversation, and Cassidy has fewer lines than Victoria Chase before she invites Sean to her tent. We watch it as we watched it before, trying to get attached, feel something, but the only thing we remember was how much it touched us years ago when we played a different game but with a similar title. The sex scene, relatable or not, is stripped from the emotional intimacy and is as sensitively challenging as a dog being killed.

Character development doesn’t move an inch even if Sean, a surrogate father to his brother, lost his virginity to an older girl. There’s no single thought in his head that he might conceive his own offspring during this short but probably memorable experience. There’s not a single line except for the satisfaction of some female parts finally discovered. Oh, dashing explorer, will you ever learn?

It’s sad. I did want to like this game and gave it plenty of chances like no other titles ever. I’ve made excuses for the poor execution, technical problems, with the whiny voice acting that was driving me up the wall, plot twists written (I think) on a lunch break, and so on, but I couldn’t stand it. It’s a hard pass when it comes to a video game in general, not to mention the story, script, and everything else. Life is Strange season one; a low-budget production, was the first step to create a masterpiece that LIS2 might’ve been able to become. The second season didn’t learn much from LIS1’s mistakes, additionally exchanging the well-known beauty for a garbage fire, ignoring all the warning signs along the way. Delivering a story that tackles such important topics, it slides between the checkmarks on the board of issues, mentioning conversion therapy, religion, gayness, illegal immigration, and a spiral of crimes but never elaborating on any of them. There is no meat and potatoes presented on the plate of events, but just a sticky, sweet gravy with nothing underneath that leaves you not only hungry but frustrated, willing to call the chef and yell at the waiter. The trick is that unless you were living under a rock, there are tons of other productions in different media that give those themes justice, carefully unfolding all the aspects, giving voice to both sides. The fact that it’s the first video game having an affair with serious issues doesn’t matter. I don’t believe that anybody who consumes any kind of other media like decent books, movies, or TV shows can remain blind to the problems of Life is Strange 2, claiming it to be a good story. It’s not.

So here we are, girls, boys, and beyond. Life is Strange 2 with its broken mechanics, story, characters, and spirit slowly but surely will be forgotten. It’s Dontnod’s Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within that you might love to watch or play on your brand-new TV, despite what everybody else would say, omitting any valid or invalid criticism, but unfortunately, it won’t change the general optics about this particular piece of media. A lost chance or recklessness created a convoluted mess and with a heart beating in the wrong place. You might praise Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, get excited about it since it’s a free world, free country (and even if it’s not, no one will take this ersatz of such liberty) and don’t let anybody tell you what to love. The problem is, that most likely the only thing that people will remember about this production is that the main male character looked like Ben Affleck and the hair animation was dope. Everything else won’t matter.

The same thing goes, unfortunately, for Life is Strange 2, subtitle: The Spirits Without.

#life is strange 2 #review #honest #dontnod #square enix

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loopy777 · 5 years

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following up on your wastly superios republic city, how would you rewrite asami's role in this new city, the city related plot, and her relationship with korra?(i cannot imagine you'dd want to keep the terrible love trialngle for this story). do you think opening their relationship on a romantic note with clear attraction from the start or have it develop more slowly over the course of the first book would better?

I don’t usually talk much about Asami here on Tumblr because I have lots of criticisms of her character and Korrasami, and this site enables such things to be passed along out of context and co-opted for agenda-driven bashing. I don’t think Asami or Korrasami are any worse than any of LoK’s other failures, and at least it’s bad writing for a good cause. Unlike Iroh II, who's just bad writing. Heyo!

Also, I’ve mainly been thinking about Book Air with all my talk of Republic City, but discussing the development of the dynamic between Korra and Asami is going to take us beyond that, and so outside of Republic City.

So let’s see how much I can answer this question without stepping over my self-imposed line.

First of all, I would introduce Asami independently of Mako, and you’re right, I wouldn’t bother with a love triangle. I don’t like that LoK ended on a romantic moment for either Book Air's climax or the finale finale, because the whole first episode is completely devoid of romantic matters or potential suitors. It’s one thing for AtLA, where Katara provides the opening narration and Aang’s crush on her is established at their first meeting; their getting together is the culmination of their respective coming-of-age arcs, which is why Book Fire stretches Kataang out so much and so nonsensically.

Korra's journey is never really about romance. It’s about seeing the world and making connections; Tenzin, her guide into the wider world, is the one who narrates the opening to her story. So I’d expect her final scene to be about all the friends she’d made and her place in the world, not a single romance and a vacation to the Spirit World. But Korra’s main character arc is over by the end of Book Spirits, anyway, so I can understand just ripping off AtLA for something feel-good. Also, considering the limitations in what could be shown, I guess they wanted as many parallels to AtLA as possible to make sure everyone got that Korra and Asami are romantic.

So, with the benefit of hindsight and the goal of endgame Korrasami, we can introduce Asami earlier to give her proper prominence. In the first episode, while careening through the city, Korra encounters Asami. There is no blushing or giggling or anything when Korra and Asami meet, because that's not how Korra or Asami react to attraction. I'm thinking we can replace the whole thing with the hobo and the illegal fishing, since that material can be covered later; perhaps Asami buys Korra food when she sees Korra has no money? But before they can exchange names, something happens that sends them off on a short adventure, and then they get separated.

In episode 2, instead of encountering Mako and Bolin while trying to break out of Air Island to see Probending, Korra encounters Asami again. Asami is likewise sneaking out to see Probending, and she’s a parallel to Korra in that she’s a victim of social isolation. Asami recognized Korra, gives a shout, and they exchange names and bond as fellow probender-geeks. Once that’s done, the girls somehow wind up meeting Mako and Bolin, Korra gets the chance to join the team, etc. Asami would help convince Mako to let Korra play. The end result is Korra with a big group of friends, no romantic hints about anyone (other than maybe Bolin having the hots for her, a situation that will be temporary), and an explicit connection between Korra starting to ‘get’ Airbending and the perspectives offered by her new friends. Perhaps Mako or Bolin shout some advice that gets the circle-walking to click for her, or it could be another thing for Asami to do.

This would be explicit foreshadowing for the Book Air finale, where Korra uses Airbending for the first time to defeat Amon. But instead of Mako being the one in danger, it’s all Korra’s friends, and the scene would be set up as an explicit parallel to the one in the second episode. Korra achieves freedom through her connections, people who show her new sides of herself and the world.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. For most of Book Air, I think Asami and Korra can be partners in discovering Republic City. The Bending Brothers can introduce them to some new element, and the girls react to it in similar but disparate ways. Asami can sometimes be a bit of a snob, while Korra can be more into getting dirty or eating nasty food or belching or whatever. But they still do get moments of going to a dance hall together, getting pulled into street racing together, helping each other chase the corruption out of Probending, etc. Still, a little distance comes between the two, as Korra starts to see herself connecting better with the boys, especially Bolin. If we want to deal with Bolin trying to woo Korra and it not working out, this is the place to do it.

However, rather than romance and a love triangle, the main conflict between Korra’s Krew is Asami being courted by the Equalists. As I said in my other post, rather than the Equalists kicking things off with criminal activity and a direct confrontation with Korra, I’d like them to be a running subplot that only explodes at the end of the season. I think Asami could be a good viewpoint character into that, as she starts to learn and hear about the Equalists- and it will eventually be revealed that Hiroshi has been setting this up for her, to manipulate her. Remember, in my vision, he’s the one who got Amon to adopt the rhetoric of saving the oppressed by eliminating Benders.

It starts with Asami thinking it’s silly, then she starts to acknowledge that they have some good points even if they’re wrong about being against all Benders. Perhaps Asami explains to Korra about some of the good points, and Korra is skeptical but admits that the Bender gangs are a problem. I think this should come to a head in a similar manner to the cartoon when Hiroshi comes under some kind of suspicion. Instead of getting tangled in the love triangle, Mako and Bolin side with Korra right away, and Asami starts to wonder if the Benders really are oppressing her. She knows she’s sheltered and naive, and Hiroshi puts into her head that Korra and the Bending Brothers have been taking advantage of her sweetness and wealth. Asami's been paying for all their adventures, after all, and the others seem closer to each other than to her.

It still ends with Hiroshi’s villainy being revealed, and Asami siding with good guys over him. But here, it’s about Asami siding with her friends, rather than just Mako. This is all still without romance, but it’s laying the seeds.

Things continue on from there, and the only major change I feel the need to call out is that the team doesn’t split up for the final battle. They’re all together, and as I said, Korra has to save all her friends with Airbending. And there's no Iroh II, because he's just boring pointless fan-service who detracts from the other characters.

For Book Spirits, I’d toss out Asami’s whole subplot. I used to have an epic post on ASN (which I saved) describing how it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever, but you can just take my word on it for now. If we do something similar to my Spiritual Eco-Terrorist Unalaq idea, then we can turn Asami’s part of bringing Korra back away from extremism into a parallel of Korra convincing Asami to turn against the Equalists. This book also sees a minimizing of Mako and Bolin, since part of the story is going to take place outside of Republic City. Asami has more reason to leave, so she emerges as Korra’s strongest friend in this book. Bolin could still get mixed up Varrick, if we want to do that subplot, but we’re completely skipping the whole thing of Varrick trying to steal Asami’s company. It's just filler, and the themes of Book Spirits deserve more focus.

Instead, we say that Asami has been steadily rebuilding up Sato Industries in the background of Book Spirits, so she’s in a position to leave it running when she goes with Korra on the Airbender Recruitment Tour. Again, I’m thinking we leave Mako and Bolin behind. Or, if Bolin went off with Varrick at the end of Book Spirits, as I suggested in that Unalaq post, either just Mako is left behind or else he goes with the girls to try to get over his brother being gone. They support him during his loss, and he maybe develops a real bond with Jinora’s future boyfriend, Whatshisname, rather than that subplot being unceremoniously dropped. Eventually, Bolin and Varrick would come back into the story, although maybe not until Book Balance.

Also, Book Change is where we start to have Korra and Asami blushing at each other and making surprising vows of devotion to each other. As Korra explores romance, in parallel to Jinora, we could get some advice from Tenzin and maybe even discussion of how Aang changed the nature of Air Nomad culture by accepting the idea of family units. At the end, when Korra is injured and Asami practically proposes marriage, it won’t come out of left field; it will feel like a culmination. And Korra gives an explicit refusal, our cliffhanger for that subplot.

Hm, perhaps we can also properly introduce Kuvira while we’re here? She can join the Krew as an ally and friend, and part of what has Asami starting to think about Korra as something more than a friend is that Kuvira is explicitly trying to seduce Korra for fun. That might be amusing. Or it could be stupid. It is a love triangle, after all. It's easy enough to cut if we can't make it work, even if the voice actresses have already recorded their lines.

Anyway, as we launch into our final season, Korra starts to recover to find that the Metalbending chick who was (maybe) trying to seduce her is now leading an imperialist conquest of the Earth Kingdom, and also a new Amon is back in Republic City trying to bring down the government. This new Amon is a creation of Kuvira, to give her an excuse to invade the United Republic as a pacifying force. Korra and Asami have to bring down Amon II, and then also Kuvira. It’s very tragic that they have to beat up their former friend, but not too tragic because it turns out that Kuvira is a real jerk.

Timing-wise, as I mentioned in my Hiroshi post, he dies saving Asami from Amon II. This happens before the final battle, so we get to see Asami mourning for a bit as she and Korra go after Kuvira in a new sub-arc. She emerges ready to confess her love to Korra. They get together, and then Korra rallies all her friends and allies across the world to defeat Kuvira and restore freedom to the galaxy. The end sees Korra and Asami together, as romantic partners, amidst all their friends. The End. Huzzah!

Hopefully, that showed how a functional Korrasami arc could be done that makes good use of their characters and frees them from the really janky storytelling that plagues most of LoK. Most of the problem is that LoK seemed intent on giving Asami something separate to do, rather than properly integrating her into things. For all that the storytellers claim to like Asami and Korrasami, it's stunning how little of either -- even in terms of friendship -- there is to the plots and story arcs.

Ah, but there's the line. I shall now back off, rather than crossing it. Yay for me.

#thekingofwinterblog

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littlemisssquiggles · 5 years

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I could be totally wrong, but Oscar mentioning the "hope Atlas was meant to inspire" to Ironwood could possibly be a callback back in Volume 3 when Ironwood mentions that seeing the fleet in the sky makes the citizens feel safe. Ironwood states that Oscar sounds like he was there, but this could be because Oscar can remember Ozpin's memories. The merging process can already be happening, but I dunno, there isn't enough build-up for me to recognize this. Correct me if I'm wrong though!

Hello anon-chan. Yesterday I made a postregarding that whole subject. Forme, I kind of saw that moment harkening back to V4 during the episode whereOzpin made Oscar describe Lionheart’s office and he was able to recount thedetails of it to a perfect tee in spite of never being there.

So it’s safe to note that this will be normal behaviour expected of Oscar. He’s meant to inherit ALL of Ozpin’s culminated memories; not justthe ones in relation to his combat style. Ozpin did once say back in V5 thatwith every rebirth, his soul is eventually paired with another and he---meaningOz---is changed, but the memories of him and all of the past Wizardsof Light still remain a part of the next Wizard in the cycle.

Last time it was Ozpin to go throughthis experience. Soon it will be Oscar’s turn.

Ironwood also gave a small foreshadow in V7CH7 that stated that at some point, no one would be able to tell the two soulsapart since they would’ve become so integrated. However, in the end, the soul you see before you is the man or boyyou knew them to be; as I interpreted it.

I walked away from this momentwondering if Oscar was lying to Ironwood about keeping one more ‘surprise’ fromhim. And the hunch I described was one in which Oscarhas already merged with Ozpin and the audience is left not knowing who exactlywe’ve been watching throughout this volume.

But not in the sense like, have we beenwatching Oscar or Oz but more along the lines of, have we been watching Oscaror a version of Oscar who has already merged with Oz?

My belief in this post is we, as anaudience, are supposed to walk away from this volume finally accepting Oscar as himself. His ownperson. Since that’s who the other characters in themain cast choose to see Oscar as moving forward. Not Ozpin or another versionof Oz. Just Oscar.

The show has made it very clear, fromeven as far back as V5 that Oscar ismeant to his own person.

And what I think this volume has done decently (I’d give it a solid B for nottoo bad-ish) is establishing how all of our main heroes---particularlythe people who were more affiliated with Ozpin before such as Ironwood---haveaccepted Oscar.

Not as another version of Oz but ashimself since that’s how it’s supposed to be, right? Moving forward, Oz ismeant to ultimately cease no more as he becomes a part of Oscar in the form ofthe memories of his previous lives that he leaves behind with Oscar.

But ultimately, Oscar is meant to be hisown being. He was never supposed to change into Ozpin or become another life for Ozma tolive. I always believed that he was meant to remain as who he is in the end butthe influence that Oz left on him from their time together was meant to becomea part of him too. It was always meant to be a passingof the torch. Not a possession.

This is why it bothers me so much whenfolks keep acquainting every moment of character development and focus forOscar to Ozpin. It honestly makes me wish that the Writers never introduced thewhole Oz and Oscar sharing a body thing since I feel like no matter what theydo with Oscar, there will always be those one of two folks who will neveraccept Oscar as his own character separate of Ozpin and as a Pinehead,I find that honestly depressing to see when I explore the FNDM.

Then again, to each, their own, Iguess. I can never speak for other people. All I can do is speak for myself.

All I can say is that from the get-go, thissquiggle meister has always seen Oscar and Oz for who they were. Two like-minded yet completely separate being forced to share Oscar’s body.

I’ve always seen Oscar as his owncharacter. Heck, much of my recent time spent in the FNDM had been advocating forthe show to treat him as such as opposed to ‘Ozpin’snew skin’ or ‘meat-suit’. As a proud Pinehead, you have no idea how much it angers me whenever I hear people refer to Oscar as a ‘meat puppet’.

For Pete’s sake, he’s his own character.

While the road to achieving this respecthas been clunky and admittedly not that well-executed (especially in V5 and V6),that’s not the fault of the character but the fault of the writing behind thecharacter.

However, I do have to give props whereit’s due.

I think the Writers have delivered alittle better for Oscar for V7. It’s better than what he got for V6 for sure. I’mespecially pleased that my favourite freckled farm boy turned little barnprince got to have his moments (more than one) in this recent episode.

That being said, going back to talkabout the scene with Ironwood, I couldn’t help but feel something off aboutOscar’s reaction to Ironwood telling him “nomore surprises”. To me, I stand by my earlier stancethat the BIGGEST surprise that the CRWBY Writers can give to me is if wediscovered later that Oscar has already merged with Ozpin and had been mergedfor some time since the two made their peace with one another since after theplane crash.

It would be interesting if Oz has beenwith Oscar since then---but in a way where Oscar can tell that he’s there butdoesn’t make the others fully aware of that like before. It’d be a pleasant surpriseto know that Oscar has been aware of Oz being ‘back’ since the heroes’ arrival with Atlas. Like it’s a scenario whereOz is back but not really since he’s there and Oscar is fully aware of hispresent. However doesn’t intervene on Oscar’s development.

He lets him stand on his own two feetand think on his own and doesn’t overstep his boundaries like he’s done in thepast. This gives Oscar a chance to grow on his own. But let’s say, knowing thatOz was there, Oscar has made attempts to reconcile with the ole soul. HoweverOz never answers Oscar. He just stays in the background, watching him and everynow and again, Oscar could ‘feel’ how he’s feeling.

It’d be interesting if since the startof this season, Oz has been present in Oscar’s head but Oscar has kind of been ‘protectingOz’. Like he knows he’s back but he knows of his apprehension and his feelingsof guilt. So rather than try to push Oz or force him to return when he ‘wasn’tready’, Oscar just does what he can while Oz is a silent spectator to his growth.

It’d be interesting if there comes a moment later where Oscar reveals that Oz has beenpresent with him the entire time mentally and he knows he’s there. He justnever said anything about it since he wanted remain respectful of Oz’s feelingssince he knows he’s still hurting. Imagine if there’s a moment where Oscar isforced to turn to Oz and ask him to fight with him---lend him his power so thetwo can fight together or something like that.

It’dbe really funny if by the end of this season, it is revealed that Oz has beenthere just chilling in Oscar’s mind and Oscar is, like I said, protective ofthe old soul. Like he’s contented with keeping Oz a secret from the group untilhe’s ready to make himself known again. Y’know what I mean? Or something likethat. I dunno.

One curious thing I wonder about the Merge is whether or not thelength it takes for the two souls to fuse is adamant on their relationship.

Like I’d imagine that it would probablytake much longer for the two souls to merge if they didn’t learn to live together. What would be interestingis if Henkle (Dadpin) was the lifetime that started the melding of the twominds. Like what if…in the past, Ozma would just either be a prisoner within theminds of the men he was paired with after Diggs or perhaps, similar to Diggs, Ozma would hijack the bodies of his descendants which led to periods of extremeconflict between the paired souls reaching as far as them fighting each otherfor control.

Since Jinn made sure to pinpoint Ozmalearning to live in harmony with the men he was paired up with, I’m thinkingthat it was from this point where the Merge became a thing.

I’ve always better liked the concept ofthe Merging of Minds being symbolic of the union between the two souls---the point in which theyfinally become one with the last Wizard becoming a part of the next Wizard as hetakes his place within the cycle.

I’d still like to think this is thecase. It’d honestly be funny if in the end, Oscar already merged with Oz andwhat would be even more interesting if certain characters who knew Oscar and Ozrespectfully pick up on something ‘different’ about Oscar.

Hence the example scenario I gave in mypost from yesterday where Ruby confronts Oscar about Oz, leading to himconfessing that Oz has been gone for some time. This in turn leads to Rubyquestioning Oscar of his identity now. Whowas he now? Was he still himself ordid he become just another life for Oz or Ozma to live as he had feared?

Oscar’s response to Ruby’s inquiry is thena prompt asking her who shesaw him as. Ruby replies that she sees Oscar as she’salways seen him. As himself. Thus, that is who Oscar will be now and forever more until theend of his lifetime. Himself.

I know some folks didn’t really likethis idea from my previous post since it overlooks important plot details likeOzpin reconciling with the group onscreen and receiving a proper send off. Andto those folks I say, I wasn’t trying to imply that this will be the case forthe canon. What I was mostly getting at was that if the CRWBY were to hit uswith one more UNEXPECTEDSURPRISE before the end of the season,especially one regarding Oscar, this would be something that would genuinelysurprise me since I was more looking forward to seeing Oz and Oscar reconcileon-screen before reconciling with the group followed by the inevitable Mergelater down the road.

Then again, perhaps we and everyone else with this same thought might’ve been readingtoo much into that moment anon-chan. For all we know, that small moment could’ve been another foreshadow but not for the Merge but regarding something else like…Neo and Cinder suddenly showing up. That could’ve been just it alone.

This also makes me wonder something very curious in relation to that scene. While we know that Oscar told Ironwoodthe truth regarding what Jinn revealed to them about Salem. However, what I’m startingto wonder about now is whether ornot, Oscar actually told Ironwood about why Ozpin is really gone?

Did Oscar actually tell James about themusing the Relic on Ozpin and then turning their backs on him afterwards,resulting in his isolation? Did Oscar actually tell James the little part thatour heroes are responsible for Oz’s departure? That’s the one thing that wasn’tmade entirely clear. I mean it’s safe to assume that Oscar did tell James everythingin the spirit of fairness and “choosingthe truth over fear”.

But given how that scene played out, itmakes me wonder if Oscar told James everything except that one part about Oz?

Then again…I could just be overthinkingthis scene yet again. But anyways, that’s pretty much all the thoughts I haveto say about it anon-chan. For now, let’s just stick a pin in this scene and wait and seeif any of the remaining finale episodes say anything more to quell ourcuriosities regarding Oscar and Oz. That’s as much as I can say for now. Hopethis answers your question, fam.

~LittleMissSquiggles(2020)

#squiggles answers: rwby #oscar pine #professor ozpin #oscar and ozpin #rwby theories #rwby volume 7 theories #rwby volume 7 spoilers #Anon-ninja #squiggles answers

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snycock · 6 years

Text

Mary Morstan is a Mary Sue

I was browsing around and came upon the Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test, and was struck by the definition the test writer gave of a Mary Sue:

“…a character (male, female, or otherwise) who is given or is expected to be given unwarranted preferential treatment and unearned respect, thereby compromising the integrity and believability of the story and/or its characters.” (italics mine)

Wow, I thought, that seems like a perfect description of Mary Morstan in Sherlock. I know that one of my major frustrations with season 4 (and, to some extent, season 3) was her usurping John’s role with Sherlock and driving a wedge between them, despite Mofftiss saying that she would not (of course, I know that they lie). And then there’s the whole defying-physics, leap-in-front-of-a-speeding-bullet thing…

I found myself wondering how she would score on the test.

The answer is: very badly. She got a 150. Anything over 50 is considered to be “…almost certainly a Mary Sue, and a bad one at that.”

Details about specific responses under the cut...

(I paraphrased some of the questions - the original test and original wording can be found at the link above)

Is your character described as especially beautiful?

(In script, Mary is described as “very striking” at first introduction. Contrast with the script descriptions of John (thickset, weathered) and Sherlock (tall, lean, imperious) at first introduction.)

Does your character have any of the following: particularly unusual/exotic birthmark, tattoo, or blood color?

Has your character been in a lot of physical fights/battles but doesn’t have a lot of scars to show for it?

Do you (Mofftiss) think of your character as a role model?

(I’d say given her role in s4, yes they do.)

Does your character openly call anyone else incapable, incompetent, foolish, etc., but the character or characters referred to as such DON’T find your character’s behavior insulting, hurtful, rude, belittling, condescending, or insubordinate?

And do most/all of the character’s friends fail to get angry at your character’s behavior, despite knowing that their friend was insulted?

Is the insulted person the type of person who’d never let that type of behavior slide with anyone else?

(I think Mary does this with both John and Sherlock)

Does your character ever strike or attack any other character…yet the character or characters affected don’t get angry or upset over it?

And do most/all of the character’s friends fail to get angry or upset, despite knowing what your character did?

Is the victim the type of person who’d never let that behavior slide with anyone else?

Did a serious injury result?

Do authority figures NOT punish your character when they probably would have punished xir peers under the same circumstances?

Are the rules of the universe bent or broken for your character?

Did you choose your character’s occupation and/or hobbies because you think they sound neat, glamorous, prestigious, or exciting?

Is your character some sort of genius or prodigy, and/or is unusually accomplished for xir age, time period, place, occupation, and/or social status?

In something that is extremely desirable and/or useful within the story’s universe?

In something that is extremely difficult for virtually anyone to achieve?

Is your character simply the best or among the best among xir peer group?

Is xe famous or renowned for any of these?

Are other characters extremely impressed or astonished at your character’s skills?

Do they impress even the most cynical, jaded, exacting, or experienced?

(Mary says her assassination team was at the “top of our game” for years, Sherlock describes her as having an “extraordinarily retentive memory”)

Does your character end up in a tight spot and turn out to have cool, yet uncompletely foreshadowed powers or skills that were dormant and/or unknown before?

If/when your character does make any major mistakes, are they quickly and easily forgiven with no real consequences for the character?

Did these mistakes ever result in important property or items being seriously endangered, damaged, or destroyed?

Did these mistakes ever result in people being seriously endangered and/or injured?

Did these mistakes ever result in anyone dying?

(pretty much the entirety of The Six Thatchers, there)

Does your character ever single-handedly take out more armed forces than you can count on one hand using xir kickass awesome skills in one go?

When your character makes new friends, do they care about your character as much or even more than they care for friends they’ve had longer after knowing your character for only a short time?

Would any of them die for your character?

Even characters that are not known for their friendly, outgoing attitudes?

Does any character who is normally portrayed as being cold, callous, or even cruel to others treat your character with warmth and kindness?

(I’d argue that all of these apply to Sherlock’s relationship with Mary. When he shoots Magnusson, he’s essentially sacrificing his life for hers.)

Do other characters often quickly and readily put their own responsibilities, dreams, and even lives on hold in order to help out your character, and/or quickly and readily engage in illegal or risky activity to help your character?

Does your character’s love interest give up on or ignore prior responsibilities, deeply-held convictions, personal goals, passions, or lifelong dreams and ambitions to be with your character and live the life your character wants?

Was your character orphaned, abandoned, kicked out, or at least raised by a person/family that was not xir own family?

Was your character the very last or only survivor of anything?

(Mary thought she was the only survivor of Tbilisi until Ajay showed up)

Has your character lost a close friend?

Does your character angst about something xe did in the past?

If your character has to prove xirself, does xe completely pwn everyone else and make them look like buffoons in the process?

Do you (Mofftiss) feel insulted, attacked, or defensive when someone does not like your character?

If people don’t like your character, do you believe it’s just because they don’t “get” xir, or that they’re just jealous of your character?

Does a story arc pretty much center around your character, or is xe the main source of conflict in the story/arc?

Does your character have a capability asset (talent, ability, skill, etc.) that for intents and purposes is identical to one had by a canon character, and the canon character’s capability is supposed to be extremely rare?

If your character’s capability asset is identical or near-identical to one a canon character has, does it work even better or more efficiently than the canon character’s?

Do your character’s capability assets allow xir to do the same job or fill the same role or function as a canon character, on the same team or in the same workplace as the canon character?

Do your character’s capability assets allow xir to do something a canon character did in the original story?

(this is probably my biggest beef with s4 – that Mary essentially took over John’s role with respect to helping Sherlock with cases and was seen as being as good as or better than John in that role. Sherlock even points out that her skill set is more impressive for the work than John’s)

Does your character belong to or join an elite or special group?

Does xe specifically join the team/clique/crew/unit that the canon characters belong to?

Is xe accepted as one of the gang quickly, easily, and with no complaints or reluctance from anyone whose opinion matters?

(see above about replacing John/solving cases with John and Sherlock. I also feel like this speaks to Mycroft’s lack of protest about his little brother solving cases and running around with a) an assassin, b) the woman who shot him)

Does your character need a canon character to help xir work past xir problems and traumas?

Does the canon character have to reorganize xir schedule or set back other projects or personal goals to make time for your character?

Has the canon character never been shown as the type of person to try to reach out and help people in this way?

(I think this speaks to Sherlock’s complete willingness to help Mary in TST)

Does a major canon character fall for/is attracted to your character?

Does your character fall for/is attracted to a major canon character?

If your character falls in love with or becomes the significant other/partner of a canon character, does your character’s love interest break up with a canon partner in order to make way for your character’s relationship?

Does your character end up moving in with or living fairly close to any of the canon characters?

(even if you don’t see John and Sherlock’s relationship as romantic, you can’t deny that John marrying Mary broke up John and Sherlock’s partnership/friendship, something that didn’t happen in the original ACD canon.)

Does your character save the canon characters from a situation or come up with a solution that they probably could have done by themselves before?

Does your character alter the behavior or habits of any canon character, or get any canon character to do something they’d normally be reluctant, averse, or even opposed to doing?

And the canon character isn’t angry or at the very least annoyed with your character’s antics?

Was the behavior or habit in question one of the fundamental, defining traits of the canon character?

Is your character ever taken, threatened, and/or endangered by the villain?

Was there a special reason the villain targeted your character?

Does your character do something that only a canon character should have done?

Does your character play a crucial role in resolving the conflict of the story/arc?

Does your character actually die in the process?

Does everyone mourn the death of your character?

Is xe revived/resurrected/brought back later?

Does your character know everything/almost everything about what’s going on in the story/arc?

While the canon characters know almost nothing at all?

Does your character play a central role in the resolution of the story/arc?

Does this plot/arc replace a canon storyline?

Do you plan on writing stories about your character’s children?

#sherlock #writing #marysue

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tobeornottotc · 7 years

Note

More hints/theories towards Jyrus? Such as the skateboard scene?

Thereare many clues which have hinted at Jyrus, especially the skateboard scenewhich was previewed that is coming soon. Gonna take you through eachof these clues, separate them into support for Cyrus involvement and crush on Jonahand the other a support for Jonah and his questioning feelings. And lastly justsmall clues here and there very much foreshadowing that Jyrus isdefinitely involved in the story path, there’s no avoiding it.

Foreshadows

First of all we have the Look back- An important scene inwhich we finally get a semi canon confirmation/hint about Jyrus potentially occurring.This competes for support that Cyrus has a crush on Jonah which he hasn’trealized is more than just adoration as a friend but also in a romantic way.The look back is mentioned first as the easiest way to know if someone hasfeelings for another person. Jonah looks back to show us that he thinks of Andias more than a friend, and then whilstthe audience are biting their lip waiting for Andi to turn back, it’s Cyrus whoends up looking back confirming the shift between Jyrus alas, Andi turnedaround as well. Hinting at a potential love triangle.

Photo bombing theJandi picture- In the episode called dancingin the dark, Cyrus manages to photo bomb the picture of Jonah and Andi, this isanother sneaky clue showing you that, the storyline with Jandi also is going toinvolve an interruption by Cyrus, this seems like an awesome foreshadow howeverit also sides more with the Jandi couple path due to the fact thatinterruptions/distractions in story lines are used for character and conflictbuilding which causes the main couple of the triangle to even grow closer.

“It’s goanna be Andi,it’s going to definitely be Andi” – This clue seriously is the biggestsupport for Jyrus coming out of the triangle as the main couple. At theBeginning of episode 2, Jonah is performing his award ceremony which is important,the award is for the person who is the best and truly stands out , We have bothBuffy and Cyrus who immediately like the rest of audience perceive this winneras Andi Mack but in the end it’s a twist and the person who gets it isCyrus. That’s huge for story writing, itcould mean that the writer is foreshadowing using that little bit of dialogue thatin the end Jonah’s heart actually lies with Cyrus even though it’s expected hischaracter is meant to be a typical love interest for Andi. This really doesquestion what Jonah actually thinks of Cyrus in general.

The skate boarding scene Season 2 sneak peak- The mostrecent scene to come out that made us again hope that Jyrus was going to bechosen as the end of the story path. There are different actions and ideasportrayed in this scene alone that foreshadows Jyrus especially for Jonah’sside.

“You’re one of a kind”- Being one of a kind is one of the highest compliments aperson could ever receive, for Jonah to perceive Cyrus as special and uniqueout of everybody he knows suggests that the boy might actually have a differentform of feeling for him that surpasses friendship. Jonah has shown endlesssupport for Cyrus who doesn’t seem to notice because he has his owninsecurities about who he is. One of the best things about written couples isthe unconditional love they have for each other which really popped up out ofnowhere. Perhaps, Jonah’s opinions onCyrus really does show that he puts him on a high pedestal above other peoplewhich could mean that he could even have stronger feelings for him potentiallyin the future than Andi. And saying you’re one of a kind and smirking andbiting your lips when you compliment your friend definitely seems to hint you’resaying it in a flirtatious way.

The Mentor-trainee trope- There’s always a written tropewith couples especially BL couples in which you have a person who is thetrainer/mentor helping and putting themselves in opportunities for skinship inorder to teach the trainee (the clueless partner) We see this all the time, withteaching a romantic partner how to golf by holding the waist, how to bat byholding the waist, how to play pool by you get it… How to shoot a gun, how to do archery, how tocode etc… This trope normally involves scenes including touch, harm to trainee,kissing etc. So Jyrus getting a mentortrainee trope scene really made me hope yet again, that the writer is seeingthem as “potential couple” Obviously its more laid back with no touching buthints portrayed through dialogue. Insteadof a passionate confession/kiss our story ends with the stereotypical harmingof the trainee, which is the person puts themselves in danger for the otherperson etc. Not sure if that was articulated properly but this whole style ofwriting is a clue for Jyrus.

The weird text that mistranslated from gnarly to girly ahuge topic- This is a call back which I will summarise really quickly because I’msure you already know why this supports the Jonah theory for Jyrus. The wholeepisode Cyrus panics (going through the frog to the prince trope which is alsoimportant will be mentioned later) when Jonah sends him a text which actuallyends up questioning his masculinity. Which of course is important when it comesto BL lovers’ story writing? But that’s not the part I’m focusing on, the partI’m focusing on, the clue is Jonah deciding at 12 in the noon to send a text toCyrus to tell him he’s…gnarly? Like… no one uses gnarly to describe someone atthat age first of all, also again Jonah is telling Cyrus he finds him awesome,cool , one of a kind etc… The whole partof this episode was weird, and actually was when people started to clock intoJonah’s behaviour towards Cyrus. It’s strange he thinks of him really highlywithout really hanging out with him, but also he does it in such a weird way?Using old school slang as well… If there are kids of age 14 who use gnarlyplease let me know. Maybe I’m just thinking too much into it…

“I’m not looking for a girlfriend right now” – The biggeststatement he said and then changed his mind about that caused bells to start toring for us to question what Jonah wants, Jonah has just been hurt by Amber, (who by the way he was in a veryemotional abusive relationship) and he decides that he’s actually not lookingfor another romantic relationship with a girl. Of course this could just be himstating he wants a break, but his actions had caused us to start to questionhis intentions with that line especially after seeing Cyrus’s reaction to thatsame statement. But Jonah sadly goes back on his word and ends up getting backwith Amber which you know again could be a hint that he’s struggling with hisfeelings (this also occurred with Jyrus’s date and the matching Jacket) or hewas just bluffing on this statement. By the way he’s been acting I would say it’sthe first one.

#andi mack #jyrus #cyrus goodman #jonah beck #asks #reveiews #analysis #cyrus x jonah

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freechoicedreamer · 4 years

Text

Body and Soul (Ch.1)

AO3

Opening theme

For the almost 1.5 million inhabitants of Maine, whose capital is Augusta, autumn continues its natural course indifferent to an equally natural autumnal course overlapping theirs in that same - albeit another - Maine, one where enchanted lands and waters, paradoxically so close yet so far away from them, constitute the United Realms, whose capital is Storybrooke. In these magic domains, isolated from theirs by an invisible barrier, autumn follows an especially ‘sweet’ summertime that brought together Wish Killian and Wish Emma to their new home, in Storybrooke. Their arrival in the town inaugurated a period of unprecedented harmony whose intensity, while vibrating in frequencies of light, peace and love, foreshadows other frequencies, warped in the shadows, synchronized with disharmony, conflicts and challenges. Although the citizens' awareness is still oblivious to these hidden plots, the subtle energies of intuition are already being activated at a collective unconscious level, as if to prepare everyone for what is coming…

Storybrooke, the Swan-Jones home, late at night

Silence is not an absolute quantity and does not necessarily translate into a sound scale. Silence may be the state of two souls at rest, peacefully floating and dancing in an atmosphere that is vibrating in harmony with Billie Holiday's voice echoing with her orchestra in the dimness of the room in almost silent quietude. Silence may be the calmness of two naked bodies relaxing after their fusion in a rite of love. And in silence is how Emma and Killian, lying on their bed, communicate in this autumnal night: without words, simply two lives synchronized by the beating of their hearts deeply and eternally enamored with each other.

“... You know I'm yours for just the taking Oh I tell you I mean it…”

"… I'm all for you, body and soul!"

Breaking their silence but not out of the pace, Killian sings softly and along while turning to Emma, who smiles back at him, snuggling into his arms.

"And in what distant fields was the fertile mind of yours wandering, out of this body and soul that is so all for me, may I know?" Emma asks mischievously.

“Quite impressive, Swan, you almost hit the mark”, he nods admired, “the fertile mind of mine, out of this body and soul so very much all for you, was wandering in Persephone’s gardens”, he continues, muttering enigmatically with a slight wink, “but let Zelena not hear us!”

After a pause reflecting on Killian's last words, Emma smiles with the satisfaction of who deciphered a riddle. “You mean in the garden of Hades’ wife - actually, Hades's widow”, she corrects herself before concluding, “in the Underworld, isn’t it?”

“Aye, it is indeed. Persephone’s myth has been always associated with Hades’ although, obviously, by the time he disintegrated they were not together anymore,” he conjectures. Then, elaborating more for an attentive and inquiring Emma, he clarifies, “You see, Zelena may have been Hades' True Love, the one that unleashed the curse on his heart, but in the perspective of his very long – and now we know - quasi-immortal life, she was not his only love. In fact, we can't dismiss the importance of Persephone in his story - he committed a lot of insanity for her sake, even though his ‘love’ for her may be morally questionable and deeply driven by bad form. Of course, the moral compass for gods is based on a different standard than that for mortals but… I have known Zeus, Poseidon and Hades so, in my own way, I can draw parallels and state that, knowing Hades as I did, none of his well-known behavior surprises me. Hades was inclined to abuse and cruelty. And I could add: taking Persephone’s myth as a reference, inclined to non-consenting sex, driven by an egoism that is characteristic of serious personality deviations. Even his ‘true love’ for Zelena was not able to bring out the best of him; on the contrary, it was able to accentuate his worst side. Our good Cricket, Dr. Hopper, would have had a unique opportunity in Hades to study the nature and origin of many mental illnesses. At least, I guess, in his own distorted way, he truly loved Zelena and Persephone. And that leads us back to Persephone and why I was thinking of her garden.”

After Emma's expectant nod, he goes on to explain: “Based on my knowledge of Greek mythology, she used to spend six months of the year as queen of the Underworld alternating with the other six months on Earth and Olympus. What I'm not sure about is why or when she broke this cycle of alternating permanence between worlds. I’m not even sure if she really broke it. That's because the Underworld, as we have known it, is only a tiny fraction of an infinitely larger kingdom; we only got to know a Decayed Storybrooke, Underbrooke, built by Hades to impress Zelena.”

Stopping to absently curly a lock of Emma’s blond hair spread on his arm, Killian reaches out to turn off the playlist and thus, more literally, to plunge with her into the deep silence of the night with all the chirping and chilling it brings. Hugging tight his wife as if seeking courage and warmth to continue, he then whispers: “You know, Billie Holiday's piercing voice chanting such meaningful words ignited the memories of my unique experience of stripping myself of my body and finding myself in my essence, in my soul - in other words, my experience of dying. And then, from thinking about the life-death dichotomy to strolling around Persephone's gardens only took a small leap of thought, I guess…”

There are silences that precede confessions; there are silences that anticipate the intimacy and complicity of knowing how to listen, in silence. The silence that followed Killian's words was broken, this time, by Emma. Nestling in his hug she magically covers their bodies with a blanket, closes her eyes to focus her attention on his next words, and says warmly “I’m listening…” thus giving him the comfort and the pass to continue.

Though unresponsive at first, Killian also closes his eyes, searching for the thread that will lead him to the recently interrupted thoughts. Finding them, he reopens his eyes, fixes his gaze on the ceiling as if it were a huge canvas ready to receive the vivid strokes of a painting, and re-starts:

“Persephone is closely associated with both death and rebirth because of the alternation of the autumn-winter season, while she is in the Underworld, and spring-summer when she returns to the world. As a result she has been portrayed as a liminal figure, a symbol of the inexorability of life and death. There is a poem, the one I was thinking about when you asked me where my mind was, written by an English poet, Swinburne, that explores this complementary nature of life and death. He draws a comparison between this garden in the Underworld, associated with Persephone (whom he calls Proserpine), and earthly life. He describes the Garden as a place where the world is quiet and peaceful - although in a comparison seemingly less favorable to the Garden. I mean, while Earth is colorful and productive the Garden is pale, deathly, and incapable of sustaining life.”

A new pause follows, as if he is not sure if she is still with him, thus a new propelling impulse comes from Emma: “And… so?”

“So, while the flowers in the Garden are necessarily bloom-less,” he continues, “the flowers of the Earth are periodically bloom-less during the winter, implying that life is full of little deaths, so to speak, because everything in life is temporary. Everything in nature is constantly cycling similarly to how, inevitably, Persephone alternates from death to life every year, or at least, to how she used to do. Anyway, because of this inevitability of death being a part of life, I believe that an immortal goddess such as Persephone inevitably would keep her cyclic dwelling. Even though we haven’t seen her during our stay in the Underworld, I believe we should (have seen) because by that time it was winter on Earth, maybe she was in another sector of the Underworld. You know, Swan, having been there as a soul without a body, as a bloom-less flower, sometimes makes this old ‘man wander…”

There are silences that foretell a response that is up to long and reverent silences and expresses the impulses dictated by the deepest layers of the heart, such as in Emma’s reply while stroking his chest hair, randomly combing it:

“Oh Killian, my adored dashing rapscallion pirate, I did not experience death on my skin as you did, but… as the other side of the same coin, I can imagine the impact it has had on you based on the impact it has had on me. I say this because the trauma extended to me, an active instrument for all that drama to unfold. Truth is: I went through many stages of regret, sorrow and grief, that I did, but it was your soul that endured the worst part, the torture imposed by Hades added to your own regret, sorrow and grief. It was your soul that went through the death of your body, but… you also went through the plenitude of experiencing your body's resurrection, your rebirth, which brought fullness and eternal happiness to my soul - and to my body, by the way...” She smiles, pensive, before concluding, “You see, I feel that as a result of death or of the simple passage of time, life, like a flower, or like a young skin, eventually finds its end, but we are living proof that love transcends human life and is eternal. Besides, your description of Persephone as a harbinger of death is contrasted with her association with spring and rebirth, never forget that...”

“Never, Emma, never…” he sighs and completes: “I think it is time to sleep, my love, have sweet dreams, Swan,” followed by a slow kiss on her strawberry scented hair as they both board the sleeping ship that will rock them for the rest of the night.

“Good night, Killian, while it's still night and we still can sleep at least for a little while… Soon, our solar child will come to cheer us up!” Emma remembers with a yawn before immersing herself into dreamland.

Storybrooke, the Sweet-Jones home, early in the morning

Storybrooke is waking up as slowly as the sun, whose first rays still don't compete with the glow of the streetlamps. Despite that, as the recent beginning of the school year officially marked the end of summer, in student-friendly homes the day's movement has already begun. In the streets, the first passers-by have quietly started to circulate – mainly workers who, from behind the scenes at the bakery, at Grannys' diner and at the docks’ cafeteria, will set the stages for another day's curtains to open.

Yawning, Emma inhales and exhales slowly her good morning before stating that “the days are already taking longer to dawn and the mornings are much cooler. I had almost forgotten what autumn mornings were like”. She then looks up at the grey sky through the window curtain, over their bed, feeling Killian's movement beside her as he turns his head towards the window and pulls an extra blanket over them, nestling in the warmth of her arms as he mutters “and our bed gets warmer and inviting for a morning love session, don't you think?”

“That would be great but I need to pee first,'' Emma replies with a peck on Killain's lips while uncovering and getting off the bed. The abrupt gesture of getting up quickly, however, causes Emma to lean against the headboard slowly, as if unsure of her surroundings, as if fearing to lose her balance and fall to the floor.

With a shout, “EMMA!” and a lightning jump, Killian rushes to catch her. "What is happening, love?"

"I’m dizzy," replies a completely pale Emma, "the vision darkened, then brightened, and is now red with little lilac spots flashing."

Killian helps her lie down, adjusting the pillows so that her body is slightly raised. "Just lie down a bit, love, I'll get you a glass of water and will be back in half a minute."

With her body still shaking, Emma reaches out her cold hands to take the glass of water with a trembling "thank you".

"Still dizzy?"

"No, it's gone, but I'm shaky and still needing to pee, will you help me, please?"

"Sure, lean on me... Hey Luna, good morning Missy, excuse me, you two!" he says kicking the two pets lightly.

"Not now, girls," Emma also addresses them as they follow closely while she creeps under Killian's support, "wait a bit and we'll get you some attention and your breakfast potions, okay?”

…

One hour and a shower shared with Killian later, Luna and Missy are already fed and Emma feels much better. Her morning uneasiness is just a reminder now, a topic of conversation over a frugal breakfast — just tea, juice, toast with jam and some light fruits - to keep from weighing in on her stomach. Still worried, Killian insists on persuading her to see a doctor this same day, but she doesn’t think it’s necessary, not yet.

"Killian, we have talked about this and, hypothetically, considered the possibility... Since our encounter at Hearty Island, we have been making love on a daily basis completely and utterly unprotected and without attention to my fertile periods." Taking another sip of her juice and already teary-eyed, Emma continues with a voice choked with emotion, "It has been amazing but we have always been aware of the risks. So, my period is long overdue, though my cycle used to be punctually lunar. Adding to that: the need to urinate more often, my aching breasts and this morning dizziness, and... "she can't even finish the sentence, cutting it with a loud sob and bending down her head.

Taking her hands to hold them tenderly and lifting her chin to look into her eyes, Killian whispers, "Emma, Sweet, listen to me. If what we suspect is true… this means that our life will be complete with a new life, the product of our love. This little miracle of creation is a divine blessing that you and I will embrace with gratitude and love. I know it is scary, believe me, I am scared too, but we are in this together. If you trust your intuition and what your body is telling you through so many signs, who am I to not trust you too. It’s just…It is one thing to guess around hypotheses; it is another to look reality in the face. As incredible and wonderful as it may be, it is natural that the magnitude of this huge reality takes us by surprise. It’s just telling us that it is happening!!” At that, as if realizing for the first time the dimension of the facts, he also begins to cry, almost sobbing too, “it’s happening, Emma… you see, for me, despite the deep love I feel for Alice, despite the wonderful parenting experience she brings me, experiencing pregnancy with you, my love, is an infinite grace that I cannot describe with words. It’s unbelievable yet true, our little bean or… would be beans…?” he tilts his head and raises an eyebrow, looking at her belly pensive, before concluding “…the bean - or the beans, is/are already here, with us!" A smiling Killian then gets up from his chair, kneels before Emma in reverence, caresses her belly with adoration and lays his head on her lap, holding her legs and crying silently while her fingers absently comb his hair and tears run serenely down her face. They stay in this position for a few more minutes until they get up and head for the sofa in the living room, which welcomes them like a mother's warm lap. Cautiously, Luna and Missy approach and join them, snuggling into their favorite pillows.

…

“Thank you, Killian Rogers Jones, for being an active part in making, with me, this dream come true.” Emma confides, after having processed the news for a little while. “You know, even with my biological clock still in full swing, it is a gods’ blessing to revisit motherhood now, 39 years old, and to enjoy the privilege of having you as a partner in such unique adventure. I was so young, so naive and inexperienced when Henry was born. Everything was so... different from now. You know, I feel like I’m living another life, as if my soul has reincarnated in my own body bringing with me another worldview while keeping the memories of my past life. From them, I keep a wonderful son, who is now a young adult discovering romantic love with his Violet, many good friends from a transformed realm, and the longing of those who have gone to the afterlife. And in the present life, after having found my true love, a new home, a daughter, two daughters in law, a new family, new friends, two pets… receiving now the grace of a new baby overflows my heart with happiness. And I concede, you're right; I'll soon consult with a doctor to unravel the mystery you have just planted in my brain with this creative and imaginative mind of yours, this 'hypothesis' of twins!” She reckons mischievously.

“Right, right,” Killian gets up, feeling like entering a new configuration of time and space, and helps her up, hugging her tightly and protectively, as if instinctively he needed to make sure that she and the baby were safe from any threat. "I would suggest to keep the news only between us until we go see a doctor but… since I don't know too much regarding Storybrooke's healthcare system, it might be good to share the news with Emma Swan or Snow, I'm sure one of them, or both, will lead you in the best direction to be taken. I remember hearing someone commenting about the Minister of Health, Dr. Victor Whale, a general practitioner, like the doctor who everybody used to call in any emergency. Ah! Killian once mentioned something about his origins, a sort of Dr. Frankenstein tale, but it seems that said Doctor has modernized himself and is, in fact, very competent and reliable. Anyway, we’ll find out."

“We may find out sooner than you thought”, Emma ponders. "That’s because I was planning to go grocery shopping this morning and, after that, having lunch at Grannys'. That could be an opportunity to invite Emma, or maybe even the Swan-Joneses, thus including the whole pack, to lunch there with us. I see no problem in sharing the news with them all, so you and Killian – and Hope, could be there too.” With the sound of what she just said, she adds, “It is still weird when we refer to them with our names, and that is practically inevitable, since their names are our names too. Perhaps, in addition to meeting them and their sweet little child we both adore so much,“ she pauses to dream of the adorable girl for a bit, “we could practice with the names she taught us: her mom is Emma, I'm (aunt) Emm, her dad is Killian and you're (uncle) Key! What do you think? I’m thinking about starting to call you Key, it kind of suits you, you know…”

“Actually, I don’t know… but it doesn’t matter. You see, I used to be called Hook, then Rogers, now Key… What I mean is whatever name we use for calling ourselves won’t change who we are. So, we can do that, no problem, why not? But, when we are alone, I’m Killian and you are Emma, okay? Other than that, thinking on practicalities, you are right, my dear Emm!” Killian agrees with a wink.

Awakening at the same time from their nap, Luna and Missy get up from their pillows and utter happy meows and barks of approval.

Storybrooke, Grannies', lunch time

From the head of the table, with Mommy and Daddy on her right, and Uncle Key and Aunt Emm on the left, a very talkative Hope brightens the scene and reigns over the conversation. "Mommy, please, tomorrow's lunch has to be at Aunt Emm’s, cause Luna and Missy cannot be alone…” she tells Emma and then, turning to Emm, she asks: “you promise they're alright, Aunt Emm?”

“I promise, honey,” Emm answers reassuringly. “This morning Uncle Key and I took them for a little walk before he went to work – with your dad - and I went to the grocery store. They ran a lot during our walk and I think they got tired. When we got back home they had lunch and needed to rest - they love to take a nap because they weren't used to a colder weather. You know, before, on the island where we lived, the weather was always warm during the day and only at night, sometimes, a little cold..."

"I know! I remember the island!" Hope exclaims waving her little hands excitedly. "I went flying over there a lot, and I knew that Uncle Key was bringing you home!" The four adults don’t say any questioning word but exchange significant glimpses, multiple raised eyebrows and slight smiles at the girl’s words, reacting as naturally as they must to her unexpected tirade.

“About that…”, Key clears his throat and scratches behind his ear before resuming the conversation, "about bringing new beings to live among us," he smiles reluctantly, glancing over at Emma, Killian and Emm and, even more timidly over Hope, "Emm and I would like to share some good news with you..." he pauses to look at them, reticent.

“Wait a minute,” Killian cuts him, “Does this mean what I think it means? Guys, that’s great news, congratulations you two!!” Killian exclaims stretching over the table to pat Key on the back, “welcome back aboard the baby parenting club, mate!!”

“I’m so happy for you two!!” Emma also reaches out to hold Emm’s hands, both women nearly crying, “These are great news on so many levels, you know? Each new life is a new promise of more life cycles to come. I'm sure you'll be immensely happy with the arrival of your baby... Hey, that means…” she thinks for a bit and then adds, “I think it'll be around spring of next year, isn’t it? Do you know the due date?"

“Thanks for your support, Emma, it means the world to us,” Emm responds, “and no, we don’t know the due date. Actually, we don’t know for sure about the pregnancy, I mean, technically sure, because we haven’t seen a doctor yet neither used any domestic test. But the evidence is too strong for us to deny it. You see, despite our intense activity we never used any kind of prevention or protection and there have been so many reliable pregnancy signals lately, all of them practically pointing towards a ‘positive’ result that they left us with no doubt. I mean, morning dizziness, check; extra sensitive breast, check; my highly emotional mood – much more than usual, Key has been really patient with me, check; and my late period when the usual is a punctual lunar cycle… check!”

“Don’t I know that? Perfectly lunar cycles, a patient Killian… check!” Emma winks reassuringly, with the complicity that only non-wish and wish people could understand, and then proceeds, “look, it will be a pleasure to help you with these formalities and technicalities on your first steps into pregnancy in a modern world. You could make an appointment with the same doctor who accompanied me, Dr. Maturin, he was great with us: really competent and considerate, a nice person. Like almost all of us here, Dr. Stephen Maturin is known outside our realms as a book (and movie) character - in his case, from a series of nautical tales. Anyway, it was his navy-related origin – and that the books got right - that caught our attention. Killian and I really like him. About him, I know that he came from the Land of Untold Stories and has since worked with other surgeons at Storybrooke Hospital – one of them we know and is also a very good option for you, Dr. Victor Whale, although he has been busier now because he accumulates the duties of Minister of Health. Anyway, there are more names, but I think these are two good ones for you to choose.”

“MOOOMMYYY!!! DAAADDYYY!!!” Hope cuts them shouting at the top of her voice, drawing everyone's immediate attention to her. In a flash, Emma reaches out to pat the girl’s hair while asking softly “what is it, Sweetheart?”

“We need to protect everyone: you, daddy, me, Uncle'Key, Aunt'Em, ba-baby, baby, everyone, everywhere, pleaaasssse!!!” she screams, scared, between sobs.

The four get up immediately and stand around the girl. Emma, already with her daughter on her lap, whispers comforting words in her ears, walking out of the diner and motioning for the others to follow her. “It’s okay, honey, everything's alright, nothing happened, you see? Everyone's here, we’re alright, don’t worry sweet baby… it’s okay… schhh… schhh… it’s okay…”

“What happened? We heard a commotion…” ask the diner owners, Granny and W.Granny, coming from the kitchen.

“The Swan-Jones girl”, says a customer, “she looked like she had a scary vision, a premonition, maybe. They went outside with her, I think the situation is already more under control and the little girl seems calmer,“ he says, looking out through the window.

…

Embracing her father's neck, the girl still sobs but is calmer. They are all sitting at the diner garden tables, waiting a bit to get inside and pay for the lunch. Hope refused to elaborate on what she has seen rather than explaining that she doesn’t understand what it was but she didn’t like it - and no one insisted on her. She seems relaxed, more confident. Turning her head to Uncle Key and Aunt Emm, she tries to comfort them, "The babies will be alright, okay? We will protect them, no problem, I promise."

"Ba-babies?" Emm mutters under her breath.

"Babies," Hope nods with a playful smile.

Shaking his head and hugging Emm, Key smiles, muttering "I was kidding this morning but who would know…maybe there'll be indeed an ‘I told you so’ here! We need to see a doctor, love, more than ever now. Let’s make an appointment with this… Dr. Stephen Maturin, what do you think?"

“I agree, let’s do it.”

“Very well then, I’ll send you his contact,” Emma says, already picking up her cell phone to send the contact. "Emm, have you gotten used to everyday technology?"

"Easier than I thought, I think spending six years watching all of you from a distance was an excellent training about this kind of routine, it prepared me well..." Sensing her phone vibration, Emm picks it up and confirms, "I've got it, I'll just wait another half hour because of lunchtime, and then I'll call this number to make an appointment. Thank you, my dear my sister in every way possible."

The embrace that follows between the 'sisters' is intense, as deep as the bond that connects them. Witnessing the scene, the other 'twins' exchange silent glances as Hope slowly begins to relax in her father's lap foreshadowing a nap. Due to the incident, Key suggests they go to the loft, which is much closer to Granny's, so Hope can play with Luna and Missy when waking up. Besides, it's also closer for him and Killian to go to the police station in the sequence. "Go ahead,” he says, “I'll just go inside to pay for lunch, I’ll catch you in a minute.” Noticing Killian’s gesture, he adds: “and don't even think about sharing the bill, Killian, you were our guests today."

“Thank you, mate," Killian sighs deeply, letting the women move forward to exchange a few words with his brother. “I'm still stunned by what happened inside. This afternoon we need to contact David. Since becoming the Minister of Defense he has traveled a lot, I hope he'll pick up his phone. We know that today he and Snow are in Camelot, as well as Regina, for the closing ceremony of the Summer School held there. Perhaps he is aware of any recent anomalies, anything unusual in other realms..."

"Aye, I thought the same; you have no idea how worried I am. Even here in the capital, there may have been some incident that has not yet been reported. Anyway, this afternoon we'll see.” Also sighing, Key remembers, “Emm and I finally got together, breaking the last barrier that still separated us, thanks to your daughter’s intuition guiding you three into a magic aid; we are living proof that Hope’s visions are to be taken very seriously. But you know that more than I do, of course. Anyway, let's go onwards, this story is just beginning, I'm afraid. "

Enchanted Lakes, Camelot, in the afternoon

Snow, Guinevere, Gideon, Jasmine, Aurora, Tiana, Ella (Ashley), Cindy (Henry's wife), Ariel, Abigail (Kathryn), Merida and Elsa gather in the round table room to celebrate and evaluate the First United Realms Summer School, promoted and coordinated by the Education Minister, Snow White. In parallel, in an enclosed office, David, Lancelot, and Regina also gather in an emergency meeting to address the notifications David has been receiving in the last few hours from some realms.

Clearing her throat and with an affectionate look directed at those present, Snow starts her speech. “Over the course of two weeks, nearly 500 students from all realms, aged 5 to 17 and housed in three different sectors of the Merlin Tower Lodge, participated of 4 Light Magic workshops, 2 Astronomy & Astrology workshops, and 2 Mythology & Literature workshops conducted by experienced teachers, writers, wizards, fairies and scientists from all realms. Each workshop was offered in 3 versions, adapted for school-level children, pre-teens and teens, which required special logistics and a large number of monitors and assistants. The courses gave them a broad overview of the many cultures, costumes and approaches practiced everywhere. In addition to these knowledge-integrating activities, they also participated in social-integrating activities, culminating in the First Lake-Nostos Festival, with music, dance, painting, theater, sports and cuisine from various regions. I consider this event to have been an enormous success and I am immensely grateful to all of you who have committed yourselves to the organization of the School and have ensured its success. I know that many people from your realms in special your partners, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters and your in-laws, who could not be here today, supported the hard work of coordinating the logistics of the event, ensuring the comfort and safety of all. I therefore ask you to convey to them my deep gratitude. I hope this was the first summer school in a series of many summer schools to come. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you, my dear friends."

…

“So… in short, David, you're saying that from four different locations came reports stating that almost at the same time - around noon today, frightened seer children, frightening everyone in the process, predicted a scary threat hanging over our heads. They do not know exactly what they saw but did not like it at all.”

"Exactly, and one of these children is my granddaughter. Regina, we know Hope - and someone could say ‘just a 2-year-old girl’, but we also know that she has the lucidity and premonitory precision of an elder visionary. She was specific about the need to protect everyone. She practically said that everyone is in danger."

After a pause when the three remained pensive, David continues. “As far as I can see, trying to map a network of widespread evil in the United Realms today, it's possible to spot only one outbreak of a more intense evil radiation – I’m not referring to villainy usually associated with different degrees of sociopathy, which is sadly present everywhere, but to that combined with dark magic. Although they have been permanently monitored and, apparently, have had no suspicious behavior, we know that Wish Pan and Wish Cruella have teamed up and are living in the castle that once belonged to Wish Rumpelstiltskin. Therefore, obviously, from the meeting of those two we can expect nothing good. Besides them, according to Aladdin and Eric, Jafar has been kept paralyzed – and safely hidden; that means that he has been neutralized. Furthermore, fortunately there is no Dark One threatening us anymore. Finally, it seems - I think it's good to confirm with the Minister of Science and Technology, Captain Nemo - in the Enchanted Sea there is no dangerous villain we have heard of...”

“David, Regina,” a worried Lancelot intervenes, “I was thinking… before the reports of these events arrived, you were just telling me the good news about the Dragon moving to the United Realms and taking a prominent position in the newly created Ministry of Communication at the same hierarchical level alongside Maleficent and Lily. Then the reports began to arrive so quickly that I didn't even have time to comment with you that I really liked this news because I know the Dragon; he traveled to Camelot earlier this year to visit Merlin’s Museum and commented about his magic having now fully incorporated the technology from the Land without Magic. This means that he can develop and produce media devices that combine Magic and Technology with unprecedented performance. Now, more than ever, he could come in handy. You see, news of the seer children premonitions can run fast, escalate and spread panic in the population, it is important that you, Regina, as Queen of all realms, be prepared to quickly address, in a broadcasting, a reassuring message so that everyone will stay calm.”

“Yeah… you are right, I’ll contact the Dragon right way and ask for his help on this task. Even Sydney could help on that, now that he has managed to forgive me and is able to get in and out with freedom from the Mirror World. In the meantime, we gain time to pursue the more investigative and preventive work, especially on tracking the latest activities of Wish Pan and Wish Cruella - could you make sure of that, David? Other than that, I think it's time to interrupt the round table meeting and share the bad news with them. I hate to do that. I was looking forward to be there celebrating with them, appraising and applauding them for the huge success of the Summer School; it’s really frustrating to cut their celebration this way…”

“But you must to that,” Lancelot advises reassuringly and, trying to lighten up her mood a little, he adds, “look at the bright side: you’ll have in front of you a unique opportunity to gain time in gathering many heads of state, most of them are already here, with the important addition of Gideon. He is a powerful wizard with an enormous knowledge on the legacy of his father. I know that Wish Rumple was not his father, but he might be a great advisor on smart strategies for us to approach Wish Rumpelstiltskin’s castle.”

“You know, Lance,” David remarks, “you just reminded me of another possible source of evilness, one that I hadn’t considered yet because of its low likability but who could tell…. Actually, it might be a huge one and I'd have absolutely no idea on how to deal with it if my suspicion turned out to be true: the Underworld. Would that be possible? And how would we know the answer to that? How could we try and find out? Contact Arthur’s soul, maybe? I have no clue…”

“Questions… questions....” Regina mumbles in between teeth as she walks self-assertive to the door that separates the adjoining office from the round table hall, opening it and transposing it after a break to breathe deeply: "Ladies and Gentlemen please excuse me..."

Elysium, sunset in the timeless eternity

“This landscape reminds me a lot the landscapes of the Edge of Realms: a beautiful painting with vibrant colors foreshadowing, then, the everlasting that we would meet in the afterlife…” Belle turns to Rumple and smiles.

"Similar but with some fundamental differences, Belle," Rumple returns the smile and walks along the axis of the plateau, extending his arms over the abyss. ”We can establish two levels of difference. First, let's look at your case: a mortal woman whose body could not stand alive if she jumped from a height like this. But for your soul? Nothing would change, your soul was already vibrating in the frequency of Light, Peace and Love, regardless of whether being in a physical body or not. Intimately, you were already living in your private Paradise. However, despite all happiness we found there, deep down, your kind, compassionate, heart was also suffering. You suffered because of a man whose soul was trapped in the artificial immortality of his body and the only way for him to want to be mortal, again, was to live the experience of witnessing your death, of losing you. So, let's think about my case. The Dark One immortality prevented my body from dying, but my soul, for centuries, was nearly dead already, erased, enslaved by an ego clinging to material power, to power over other people exercised through fear – which was imposed by dark magic. Fundamentally, the difference between the false immortality, which imprisoned me, and the eternal life I experience now, beside you, Belle, is what I call Inner Peace. The period we lived at the Edge of Realms, in that landscape looking so much like this one, represented for me the closest to the feeling of inner Peace in many years, perhaps in all my long life on earth. So, having tasted that sample of real, true, happiness was enough to give me the strength to fight for our love, for us, for our everlasting.”

“I know, my love,” Belle replies, “whenever I thought of you, your image was reflected by the calm waters of the lake in front of our house and on the banks of which many of our friends live. I could, then, watch you from here and I know how hard and challenging your path was - but I never lost my faith in you… and after everything you went through, I’m so proud of you, Rumple. Now, in the eternal now, from the perspective of a timeless realm, our past struggles are just that, an abstract past, a distant memory still pulsating in our ethereal hearts; they became just another painting on display in an art gallery.” Belle smiles as she walks, arm in arm with her forever husband, during an apparently late afternoon. “Our lives have become beautiful canvas, a beautiful sunset: eternized by a divine artist in a painting that does not correspond to the end of the day and beginning of a night. However, for those in the Wheel of Time, in the duality, the cycles are still happening. Now I’ve finally realized that all that dichotomy like day-night, chiaroscuro, good-evil, all that bipolarity… they were essential for the learning by comparison, which is the only way to learn discernment between right and wrong. And, most importantly, without falling into any ego’s trap, without escaping through loopholes like the ones you've always been so good at identifying...”

"Sometimes I wouldn't mind being able to identify any of those loopholes just to be able to visit Gideon, or Alice, the daughter my heart adopted, or some friends. I miss them, Belle, and I know you do too..."

Still walking, they talk about their life on the resting place known as Elysian Fields. Belle remembers reading about them – and she realizes that the books got a lot right, but not everything. As described by the books, there are two distinguished Elysian realms: the islands of the Blessed and the Lethean Fields. They live in the first, also known as the White Islands, an afterlife realm reserved for heroes and virtuous people. They are not trapped there, though. In fact, as they are allowed to travel to the second resting place by crossing the river Oceanus, they have been there once, travelling in Captain’s Liam ship in the company of a group of souls who, in other circumstances, would never agree to fraternize in a journey together. However, having gained the right to access Elysium through heroic acts, they have freed themselves from old enmities that would have prevented them from gathering in a ship. Among them, the closest ones are Belle’s mother(s) (Collete and Wish Collete), Merida’s father (Fergus), Wish Gepetto, Dorothy’s aunt (Em), Baelfire with his brother (Wish Baelfire) and their mother (Milah), Liam’s mother (Alice), Wish Snow, Wish David with his mother(s) (Ruth and Wish Ruth), Merlin with Jack, his Apprentice, Midas with his wife (in both versions, wish and non-wish), Marian (Robin Hood's first wife), and Ingrid with her sisters and brother in law. The second Elysian area is also an underworld realm with pleasant fields: an afterlife to initiates of the Mysteries. The gods of the Mysteries associated with the passage to Elysium are chaired by Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld.

“These Mysteries really intrigue me. I know that they are called Mysteries for a reason”, Rumple gushes, “and once a Mystery they are not supposed to be decoded, I know that, but I would love to understand them on a deeper level, beyond that of an initiate. You see, during our trip to the Lethean Fields, Merlin and I talked quite a lot about these Mysteries and for him, too, there are still many riddles to decipher. The concept of a heroic act or the code of morals and ethics governing the gods’ judgments, what would they be? Certainly one of the biggest mysteries concerns the afterlife sector in which we find ourselves, also known as White Islands. In one thing Merlin and I agreed one hundred percent: to us, supposedly characters of tales and mythological legends, the codes of morals and ethics differ from those that govern the conduct of mortals at the Land without Magic. Otherwise, there would be none of us left in the Elysium!!" Rumple and Belle laugh, imagining how they would all be forbidden to cross the Gate to Paradise.

“By the way,” he recalls, “besides Eva and Leopold, I mean, (W.) Snow’s parents, whom we met during our travel to the Lethean Fields, I’ve heard that Cora and Henry Sr., as well as Robert - David’s father, and the two Hunters - Graham and Wish Graham, are also living there,” Rumple comments, “ah! and Liam and Killian’s father, Brennan Jones, with his second wife, actually, according to Merlin, with both of them to be more precise, in other words, his Wish and Non-Wish second wives. Can you imagine that? A real paradise whose permanence can only be guaranteed by the waters of oblivion provided by Lethe river!” both chuckle at Rumple’s keen sense of humor although, jokes aside, feelings like jealousy are no longer part of their existence neither of the Lethean Fields' souls.

“I see what you mean, Rumple, and that intrigues me too. I don’t get how the gods of the Mysteries judge and decide about who has been hero enough to come here or to go the Lethean Fields. We do know that those fields are crossed by the gentle river Lethe, whose name means oblivion, and we also know, because we talked to many souls we visited there that, probably because of the effect of their river waters, have totally forgotten former events of their past lives. Although we have eternity to find out the criteria, the Mysteries seem to be endless, it seems that they amount to infinity and the more we know and decipher them the more we need to know. I really would love to find a book with a more detailed explanation about the afterlife; I should go the Elysium’s Library more times, I guess, I have so many doubts... For instance, I’m not sure exactly how reincarnation works in the Underworld...” Belle wonders.

“Why, Belle, thinking about going back?”

“No, it’s not that, although I miss our son quite a lot. I asked out of curiosity, I mean, once a bookworm, eternally a bookworm…” she claims and continues, “It’s just that... I was thinking about those souls in eternal suffering, those who do not want to evolve, to find the Light. Or even, those souls who may desire not to have existed at all, or for humanity not to have existed at all - so why would they desire eternal life instead of eternal oblivion? ”

“You’re talking about the souls who go Tartarus after being in Underworld sectors like the one ruled by Arthur, isn’t it? Well, I’m not sure about them; I guess their punishment may be associated with an eternal loneliness subordinated to the duality evil versus good. They become slaves of not being ever sure of what they really want other than to hate and blame all the rest of humanity for their own fate and their own faults. Considering the evolutionary cycles, though, they should be allowed to evolve through reincarnation cycles. Perhaps, as you said, they are locked to the idea that they don’t want to evolve, or to exist as just a soul without a body. Perhaps they are slaves of the idea of never ceasing to exist in the physical world even if the price is to become a dark soul. I know from experience, Belle, darkness doesn’t accept the body’s – neither the ego’s - mortality.”

After a silence, Rumples concludes, “about reincarnation for souls from our realm, I know that it is possible, usually to accomplish a special mission or, perhaps, to ascend to more subtle levels of energy and bodies. Anyway, apparently the two Elysian realms are sometimes tiered - a soul which reincarnates and has won passage three times to the Lethean Fields will, with the fourth death, be transferred to the Islands of the Blessed for all eternity.”

“I see… the four reincarnations could, if fulfilled correctly, be the equivalent to heroic acts like the ones that gave us a pass to the Islands of the Blessed. I wonder about how could we be given a pass to the Olympus, I mean for a visit… what should we do to deserve that? I guess we should be allowed to visit the Olympus. Can you imagine having a personal conversation with the gods in their own temples or palaces, how great that would be?” Belle continues dreamily, “I would have so many questions…”

“As far as I know, Belle, normally only gods can be there. Except for Meg, who is Hercules’s partner, I’m afraid I have never heard of other souls of mortals living or staying in the Olympus. But I agree, we should be allowed to visit them sometimes, they go down to earth, to visit the mortals whenever they want…“

“But they are gods, Rumple, they can do everything whenever they want!!”

“I know, but we could try and find out more about them. If the gods can visit the mortals, the other way around should be valid too… If we think and look at it more closely, even eternity may take us by surprise. You see, we tend to think of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, and the other siblings as being the ultimate powers but I know, and you know as well, that these Olympian gods weren’t the first—or even the second—group of immortals who had a hand in shaping the world. Remember the books?”

“Yeah… I see where you are going with this line of thought: Rumpelstiltskin, the loopholes’ hunter” Belle winks at him.

“That may be... Anyway, if you remember what you read, first there was…?”

“Chaos!!” Belle exclaims, excitedly.

“Exactly, from which came the Earth (Gaia) and love (Eros),” Rumple continues, “then, occasionally, Tartarus, the Underworld, was created from Chaos. Want to continue?”

“Right…” she sighs and takes on the narrative, “You know, these are ancient stories, there are contradictory narratives and some of them are twisted versions of others - just one more reason to visit them, to know the truth from the real source… One of the books I read said that Gaia gave birth to the Sky, to the Sea, and the Mountains and married one of her sons, Uranus (the Sky), giving birth to Cronus, a Titan. Cronus, in turn, took his sister Rhea as his wife and only then, from their union, came the original Olympian Immortals Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Hestia, Hades and Zeus, the youngest. Eventually, they surpassed Cronus in power... What a tale, no wonder their moral code cannot apply to the mortals’ world.”

“And they called me a Villain!!” Rumple giggles. “Loopholes apart, what should we do if we needed to talk to them, to ask them a favor, such as to intervene on earth in exceptional occasions? Belle, I think we should visit the Wish Charmings and talk to them, I know that they have been able to contact their daughter while she was trapped in the Heart Shaped Island…”

“Let’s do that then, Rumple, let’s wish to be in their house.” At that, hand in hand, both disappear and reappear in front of Wish Charming’s farmhouse.

Nautilus, evening under the Enchanted Sea

Sitting at the pipe organ, Nemo plays the chords that accompany Ursula's enchanting voice. The calming sound waves, undulating in harmony with the finally placated ocean, do not reveal the turbulence that has been overcome a few hours ago. The crew of 3 Joneses, 2 lieutenants and their Captain relax at the sound along with Wish Ariel, who arrived with her aunt soon after the greatest perils had passed.

Eyes closed, souls pacified after the storm, they open them occasionally to look around as if certifying about their safety and to sip the special vintage wine served by Nemo. Then they close their eyes again, internalizing the feeling of being alive and having survived the suddenly raging sea.

"Beautiful," Brennan mutters after the last chords echo in the air, "sublime balm.... Nothing better than the softness of your voice, Ursula, to placate this old soul of mine and make me forget this afternoon's fright, what the hell was that?"

"Nor do I know, Brennan," Ursula replies, "a few times I saw the sea creatures so agitated; it was as if some kind of dark magic controlled them. I felt the effect too, all the nymphs and mermaids as well, but our nature allowed us to resist it. Nevertheless, neither my brother nor I could counteract the dark magic; a direct intervention from our father was the only way to placate the creatures. I talked a little with him, after the incident, then I came straight to the Nautilus to see how you were doing, but the little he said was that it didn't seem a magic coming just from this world. According to Poseidon, the source of the turmoil seemed to be a combination of dark magic coming from multiple realms, perhaps from the Upperworld and Underworld, now that I’m thinking about.... Perhaps a visit to cousin Persephone would be in handy; maybe she'll be able to clarify, or at least to have an idea about what happened. Anyway, the anomaly served to wake us up and keep us more alert. "

"Indeed," Nemo agrees, "since the epic adventure of Wish Realm's Killian and Emma, a complete harmony reigned so intensely in the Enchanted Sea that we forgot that, quietly, in the shadows, evil is always plotting. Liam Senior, we need to get in touch with Queen Regina to find out if there were any occurrences inland, could you help me with that? And if you can't find the Good Queen, try talking to one of the other 'triplets', Wish Regina and Split Regina. I remember seeing Queen Regina explaining to you the means to contact them, am I right?"

“In part.” Senior explains. ”She only gave me her Wish sister’s phone number; it seems that she doesn’t live far away from the seashore near Storybrooke. As for Split Regina, I’m afraid I don’t know how to contact her, but I think that it won’t be necessary. I mean, I hope so…”

"For beards and mustaches of the Sacred Shrimp!" Wish Ariel exclaims, "These form of treatment we use, including ‘Wishes’ and ‘non-Wishes’ sound so weird but, ‘Split Regina’? What even is this? That is another level of weird! Wouldn’t there be a smarter way for us to recognize ourselves and call each other? Nemo, as the Science & Technology Wizard you could find a more sophisticated solution to this identification problem..."

"Minister," Liam Jr. corrects her in a flirtatious way, "Minister of Science and Technology..."

"Whatever you say, Liam..." W. Ariel replies even more flirtatiously. “But...the problem remains,” she winks at him.

“I don't see much alternative, Wish Ariel,” Nemo replies. “You see, I could develop badges/electronic displays for people to use, but the difficulty of addressing them wouldn't be resolved like that. Imagine the 3 Reginas in the same room: they are physically identical. Last time I met them, I suggested a numbering system, they wondered a bit and asked for a time to think about but still haven't given me their answer. In this system, Queen Regina would be Regina 1, Wish Regina, Regina 2 and Split Regina, Regina 3. I really believe that the simplest method is numbering but it’s up to them to choose. Particularly, here at Nautilus we have our system well equated, but our case is atypical: Liam Jr is 34 years old and Liam Senior, for choosing not to submit to the rejuvenating magic, kept his 53 years, then he is physically distinguishable from his brother. As for Brennan, his non-wish counterpart is not alive, so in this world, he is the only Brennan Jones. As for you, Ariel, and your sister, also Ariel, it's best to use the good old ‘Double U’, or even the word ‘Wish’, as a prefix, a treatment pronoun - a title! We could call you Princess Ariel, but chose Wish Ariel, instead. What do you think?”

“I think that's okay for when the two ‘versions’ are in the same room, or when we want to refer to one of us, I agree that the treatment pronoun is necessary to differentiate the two. But, if my twin is not nearby, I think that the best treatment would be just ‘Ariel’. What do YOU think?”

“I think that your suggestion is perfectly reasonable, let’s make it a deal,” Nemo replies raising his glass and everyone agrees cheering up.

“Now, back to the bigger problems,” Brennan reminds them, I propose we retreat now, after such an intense day, to rest a bit and renovate our energies. Then tomorrow, if the Captain agrees, I would like to go to Storybrooke, to learn of the events inland, if there was any, and meet my sons. I'm really worried about my Killians and their families..."

"Wise advice, old'friend, we should go there all together," Nemo agrees, and addressing Ursula and Ariel, he invites them to stay on the Nautilus and go with them to the capital.

"Thanks for the hospitality, Nemo, after today I really need a change for a while and I guess Ariel needs that too, so we accept your kind invitation."

"Captain," Liam Senior approaches them; “could you please help in accommodating our guests on their cabin? Meanwhile I will try to contact one of the Reginas and find out how things are going on solid ground..."

“Well, then…” Nemo nods and signs to Lieutenants Harris and Martin, who were heading to their quarters, to open the way to Ariel and Liam Jr. They are followed by Brennan and Ursula, who takes Nemo's arm singing melodiously as they float on the seabed...

"Now it's time to say good night Good night sleep tight Now the sun turns out his light Good night sleep tight Dream sweet dreams for you Dream sweet dreams for me. Close your eyes and I'll close mine Good night sleep tight Now the moon begins to shine Good night sleep tight Dream sweet dreams for you Dream sweet dreams for me. Close your eyes and I'll close mine Good night sleep tight Now the moon begins to shine Good night sleep tight Dream sweet dreams for you Dream sweet dreams for me.

Humm... Humm... Good-night... Good-night babe..."

#Body and Soul #Ch 1

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