#devlan

[opttwoodrow]

Atomic Dustbowl Pilgrims.

Sculpted by Knucklebones Miniatures.

Painted by me.

For use in Inquisitor, Necromunda, Stargrave, Dark Heresy, etc.

Many questions surround the ghostly warriors that stand vigil over the nuclear dunes.

How do they survive the radiation? Who is the Off Worlder leading them? Are they allies of the Red Sorcerer? Why are they gathering in numbers never seen before?

Most folk simply turn away and lock their doors. What they dont know can't hurt them, right?

[cabalt]

Duke Devlin Mud

[flashfuckingflesh]

There's No Cutting Out This EVIL! "Brain Tumor" reviewed! (MVD Visual & Whacked Movies / DVD)

Watch the Deadly Growth of the “Brain Tumor” on DVD! World-renowned but virtually unorthodox and cursory neurosurgeon Dr. Seymour Caligari removes yet another brain tumor with relative ease from a cancerous-afflicted patient.  After the large golf ball sized tumor is discarded for oncology dissection and study in the lab, the once lifeless biological malignant specimen escapes from the medical…

[lanitalay]

Back to the basics

Cassian x reader

Premise: Cassian has been working too much, reader is upset

a/n: hello loves, this is my first cassian fic and I'm kind of unsure about it since I've never written for him specifically but hopefully you enjoy it!

warnings: tiny bit of angst (minuscule)

Masterlist

“Cass!” You yell from the bottom of the stairs and wait for your mate to answer.

“Cassian!” Now climbing up, and a little agitated you walk into your bedroom and expect to see him sprawled out on the mattress. But the room is empty and the bed is cold. You roll your eyes and send Rhysand a mental insult. There’s only one place he could be. 

You had grown tired of asking him to take a break and rest. Maybe it was selfish, but you missed your mate. Wanted his attention only on you, like the old days. When he would whisk you away for picnics and spontaneous camping. You couldn’t say you were the outdoorsy type. Having been born and raised in the heart of the Rainbow, you were a proper city girl. But Cassian loved all of that, and you loved him more than what was rational. 

The door to the study was closed and you could hear him shuffling around in there. Probably frustrated with something happening in the Illyrian Mountains, or maybe Eris sent word of Beron’s newest antics. It must not be grave though, since no one called an emergency meeting. Whatever he was dealing with could wait. 

Once the tent and food supplies were packed you barged into the office. “I’m busy right now, sweetheart.” 

“Cassian, I’m going to say this with love. You are a workaholic.” He scoffed “just give me a few minutes-” 

“No! You’ve been in here for who knows how long. I supposedly have a mate but I never see him. We never talk and if we do it's “Devlan this” or "Kier that” or “Eris said” and I’m sick of it! I’m pulling you out. Come on.” You grab his arm and drag him out of the stuffy office. All the way down the stairs he’s complaining “sweetheart, I’m sorry but I have to work, it's time sensitive-” he finally stopped talking when he saw all of his camping gear packed up in the middle of the sitting room. 

“What-”

“We are going camping. Like we used to, you remember? When you still paid attention to me?” Cassian groaned, “I’m sorry I’ve been caught up with work-” 

“Nope. That word is forbidden. If you mention anything to do with work you will have to face… undesired consequences. I’ve told Rhysand to leave you alone for a few days. Let's go.” 

“Are we walking or..?” You smile, he didn’t put up much of a fight.

“You are flying us, silly.” Hand him the bulky gear and then open the door for him to walk out. 

“We can’t go too far if I’m going to be carrying all of this.” You jump in his arms and kiss him on the cheek “let’s go to that little island where we used to see the dolphins.” 

He considered it. The flight was longer than what he would have wanted but you had some precious memories there and he knew that you were trying to do something nice for him. “Alright.” 

After a comfortable flight, Cassian immediately set you, and all of the gear down. “What should we do first?” He asked as he looked around, trying to find a spot to set up camp.

“Let’s set up the tent, then go fishing.” 

Cassian nodded and pointed out a level patch of grass nearby. You begin by taking out the tent from the bag and organizing all of the little sticks and stakes in bunches so you knew how many you had of each. 

“Do you remember how to do this?”

“Well… I think this went together-” he snaps a few sticks together “and then it goes through the loops on the tent.”

“No, I don’t think that’s right.” You distinctly remember that the loops were for securing the rain tarp. Cassina sighed. “Sweetheart, I’ve set this tent up enough times to know how.”

“Well, sweetheart, you haven’t touched this tent in over fifty years so you’re probably misremembering.”

“Do you really want to fight right now?”

After a deep breath you reply “no, but you’re wrong. Those things go through these sleeves.”

Cassian did as you said and the tent was up in a matter of minutes. You grabbed the fishing rods and walked towards the shore. There was a dock that ended near a reef where fish were abundant. It was also the place where you and Cassian had your first kiss. 

Back then you were smitten with the giant Ilyrian but Cassian was sweating cold, unsure if you felt the same. He brought you here for a picnic and when the sun began to set you grew frustrated and asked “Cassian, be honest, do you want to kiss me?” He choked on a piece of cheese and struggled to articulate that “yes, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to kiss you and-” you pounced. Latching your lips to his and kissing him until you were both panting. 

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.” You smile at him. Months later Cassian told you that he knew he was done for when you smiled at him like that, wild and wicked. 

“Cass?” He hums, eyes focused on the line he just threw, waiting for it to bob. 

“Do you still like me?” 

“What?” You throw your own line. 

“Well, we’ve been together for so long I sometimes wonder if you like me. Like if you saw me walking down the street would you still feel attracted to me?” 

“Of course I’d be attracted to you. You’re the most beautiful creature I have ever seen and I mean that as a fact not a compliment.” 

You give him a soft slap on his shoulder “you old sap.”

“What about you?”

“I think you only get more attractive as the years go by.” The fishing rod bends down, signaling that a fish took the bait. This is where Cassian always takes over and pulls out the catch with minimal effort. 

The sun was setting and you sat flush to Cassian, head resting on his shoulder as he hoped to catch at least one more fish for dinner. You were drawing idle lines on his hand and forearm, just how you knew he liked it.  “Cass?”

“Yeah?”

“Is it that I’m annoying to be around or something?” 

He shifted “what do you mean?” 

“Well you’re always doing something else and I… it sometimes feels like you’re taking on so much because you don’t want to come home and spend time with me. I mean today I had to drag you out of that study.”

 He sets the rod down and turns to face you. His hands come up to cup your face, he almost flinches when he sees your eyes, hard and unfeeling. He knows you’re bracing yourself for whatever he’s about to say and something inside him cracks. “Y/n, I… I’m so sorry if you feel that way but that is the farthest thing from the truth. I treasure our time together and… if I’ve been absent it has nothing to do with you.” 

He feels the roll of your eyes like a stab to the heart “you say that but you don’t even make it home for dinner most days.”

“It's just- y/n, we came so close to losing everything. The war, Hybern, the Cauldron- we are still here by pure luck. I was out there doing my best to keep you safe and it was not enough. Nothing I did was enough. But now we’re here and we know something is happening. Koshchei, Beron and who knows if Hybern had other allies looking for retribution. The only thing I can think about is that now the world knows Velaris exists and you are here if something were to happen… if another attack happens and you get hurt- that would kill me. So I try to stay on top of everything because it's the only way I can sleep at night. Sweetheart, I love you, I love you with everything that I am and everything that I’ll ever be. I’m sorry, just-” 

Cassian stops talking when you wrap your arms around him in a desperate hug, face buried in his chest. He hugs you back and his heart sinks as he hears you sniffle and moisture pricks at his skin. “Sweetheart you don’t need to cry- I’ll be home more, I’ll-”

“No Cas, you don’t need to do anything. I- I’m just so selfish and self centered. Here I was mad at you while you’ve been carrying all this burden and I could only think of myself. You deserve better than a spoiled brat and-”

“What are you saying?”

“I should be apologizing to you!” Tears are cascading down your cheeks now as you burst with emotion “please forgive me, we can go home right now if you want.” You begin to stand up but Cassian pulls you down again. 

“Don’t you see? You’re right. I’ve been obsessing over potential problems but I haven’t been home and you are entitled to react to that because I vowed to you to always be by your side and I’m sorry I failed you-”

“Don’t say that! You haven’t failed anyone. I just- I miss you.”

“I miss you too.”

“So how are we gonna fix this?” 

“I’ll be home everyday for dinner and we can have lunch together in a cafe and-”

“Don’t suggest I train with you.”

“But babe it would be quality time spent together.” You giggle and wipe away the drying tears from your eyes. “I’ve seen you train and trust me, I’d die.” 

“Are we good?” You nod and crawl into his lap to straddle him. With both hands on his neck, you pull him towards you in a kiss that reminds you of your first. 

He deepens the kiss with a nip to your lower lip and his hands come to squeeze your hips. You pull away “do you want to-” before you can finish, he mumbled a “yes” and began carrying you back to your campsite where you would not be getting any sleep.

[annelucia]

How to live as enemy prince-chapters:

47- Kalian vs Aila

52-Alan meets Evan

53- Randell makes rose bloom

54-Yan don't act like a servant/Kalian's 4th circle

55-Kalian meets Sispanian

59- Kalian vs Slayman

62- Kalian meets Gray

63- Arsene explodes Gray's carriage

66- Kalian vs Gray

68- Kalian sees Randall's rose

70- Plants visits Kalian's room

73- Arsene vs Pavel Knights

80- Lucy/Kalian meets count Aprin

82- Plants meets Hina

88- Kalian and Arsene spare/Plants takes care of Vulcan

92- Kirie gets revenge on fight club/ Arsene and Plants first day as vice commanders

93- why Kirie is so loyal to Kalian

95- Plants meets Chase

97- Kalian meets Chase/ Plants gets to know about Kalian

105- Kalian threatens Randall's holy knights

108- Demirea and Kalian together at ball

108- Kalian and Chase talk, Kalian cries

113- Plants and Chase talk " my brther became very dull"

114- Kalian vs Warriors of the desert

122- Kalian is carried on Kirie's back

125-Plants tells Chase to build his own Vulcan, side story Alan's past

127- Arsene blows up Heisia Palace/Kalian asks Hina if she wants to join Vulcan

130- Kalian is scared of leaving behind an empty spot

132- Chase and Arsene meet

135- Plants makes oath with Evan

137- side story Bern and Kirie met, Bern and Chase's bets

138- Kalian gets to know about Randall oath

140- Kalian and Chase talk about Tensil

143- Kalian tells Plants that he will teach him everything

144-Kalian scolding wizards

147- Demirea vs Plants spare

150- Yan is confuswf why Kalian suddenly doesnt like strawberries

153-Alan vs Kalian, Kalian transforms his magic circles

156- Kalian sees Arc of Time under Heisia Palace

163-Plants sees Arc of Time

165-Sispanian meets Kalian 2nd time

168-Plants vs Kirie, Kalian takes Kirie's sword/ side story Sispanian's past

172-Kalian saves Arsene

176-Hina and Plants talk about scentless flowers

183-Bern takes knight oath

185-Kirie's knight oath

188-Chase gets to know Bern is pruning

190- Plants and Randall talk

191-Arsene gets in on the secret

192- Arsene and Kirie drink(well only Arsene)

203-Arianne talks with Kalian

205-Hina comforts Kalian

206-Kalian gets mad at Alan and Plants about King of Secretia message

210,212-Kalian calls Alan a father

216-side story past Plants, Bern and Plants meet on auction

230-Demirea gets in on the secret

231-Hina's voice, Plants was first

233-Kalian destroys Evan's gem, gives Plants cat brooche

237-Kalian gives Demirea advice, tells her he was youngest swordmaster even before

241-Kalian vs Evan

245-Kalian faints(" damn peas, they're so green")

247- Plants gets to know Kalian been pruning

253-Kalian and Aila meet again

259-Kalian vs Siona

262- Kalian being compared do Devlan, Plants stops Elven Elder's murder

263- Kalian cries by the sea

264- Kalian tells Plants why he's afraid of the sea

268- why Plants use describtions for people instead of names, Danu shows Kalian day Secreta was burned

269- Plants receives Sinastar

271- Needlen gives Plants birthday shell

273- Kalian tells Plants why he got hurt by Evan

276- Alan and Kalian drink

279-Kalian and Plants drink

280- " what are you going to do if you catch a cold, Brother Chase"

283- Kalian meets Louise

284- Kalian's first private meeting with Devlan

286- Plants gets tablet for birthday

291- Plants first real sword fight

293- Kalian faints

294- Sinastars

297- Plants the crown prince

299- Hina heals Louise, Kalian and Plants

303- Kalian back scar

305- Kalian(Bern) meets Devlan in the garden

306- Kalian snaps knife

309- Serens side story, Eila

311- Bird's of Chase come to rescue

315- Kalian meets the child he killed in the past

316- Arsene and Louise talk

318- Kyrie vs Adelia

319- Kalian throws sword at Devlan hearth

320- Alan vs Adelian, Sispanian intevenes

321- Kalian interogates magic association president Meirin and meets Devlan as his ghost

322- Chase the king of Secretia

323- Serenity time, Bern's birthday

325- meeting Tensil crown prince

326- Kalian and Plants eat cod

327-Demirea buys annelucia flowers for Lili's mother

328- Kalian meets Arnaizel

334- Kalian vs Adelia

340- Found village where Freya Siona and Whitlin lived

342- Danu shows Plants last day of Secreta, Kalian vs Danu

345- Kirie i Hina know about their parents being killed

346- Lemain's letter to Plants

350- Lili and Plants meet

355- Kalian wonders if old Kalian was forced to give him body, Plants invades Randall's room

358- Plants calls Lemain father

361- Plants asks Serie a favor

362- Kalian and Plants meet Serenity

364- Kalian breaks spoon for Arsene, collection complete!

371- Kalian saves Aila

375- Needlen's past, Plants meets Rashid

378- Plants punches Kalian

379- Arsene counseling Plants and Demirea counseling Kalian

389-Kalian as Bern meets Vulcans, Kirie vs Siona, Kirie's aura

392- Plants talks to Chase about Kalian changed into Bern, Kalian as Bern meets Randall

395- Kalian as Bern vs Vulcans, Kirie awakens aura

[omniblades-and-stars]

❛ for what it’s worth, i really am sorry. ❜

~ @void-botanist

SEND ME A PROMPT ABOUT SOMETHING ANGSTY

Oh this one has such good The Shepherd flavor. So here's a piece of her history that doesn't have anything to do with Thane.

CW: Murder, but not graphic.

"Charlie? What are you doing here?"

Charlie, well, not really Charlie, spins around, sitting in Devlan's living room chair like she's done so many times over the last several months. For the first time in a very long time, she thought she'd found the perfect balance. A friend who didn't pry too hard into her life, content to let her have her secrets and believe her lies, allowing her to have her job and a social life too.

She should have known it couldn't last. It never does.

Charlie tosses a digital photo frame to Devlan, who catches it out of the air easily. "You have interesting friends, Dev," she says, sidestepping his question entirely.

Devlan looks at the picture with a raised brow and turns it so that she can see who is on it. A turian woman with a cracked and age-faded carapace, no tattoos on her face. "I don't know who this is, Charlie," he says with a laugh.

"Look at the next picture, Dev."

She doesn't need to see the picture to know what's on it. She took it. A shot from above of a handsome young man standing over the body of the very same turian from the first picture.

"Where did you get this, Charlie? This isn't a fucking game." His voice is tight, anger and suspicion caught in the tension in his throat.

Charlie shakes her head. "I thought it was something every assassin knows. No one ever looks up. Ergo, an assassin should always look up for threats. She had such lovely wooden rafters, unusual these days."

Dev grips the frame so hard, the screen cracks. "Who are you, really? You on a contract for me?"

If only. It would be easier if this was a contract. A contract gives it thin veneer of professional coldness that keeps her from having to experience regret or really any emotion at all. But this isn't a job.

"I can tell you that I have been known as "The Shepherd", but it won't mean anything to you, Dev," she explains as she draws a silenced pistol from under her jacket and points it at his head. "It's not a contract. But it is business. I can't abide a competitor."

It's just business.

It's just business.

It's always just business.

Her line of work doesn't allow for mistakes, for mercy. To survive in the only world she knows, she has to ensure that her place in it is secure. Survival of the fittest, survival of the cleverest. Survival of whoever is willing to do the nasty work of betrayal and cruelty.

Survival at whatever cost is necessary.

Dev holds his hands up, a strained and nervous laugh pulls from lips held in a thin line. "Wait, that isn't necessary, Char. I can pay you, and you'll never see me again."

She's already taken his money, he just doesn't know it yet. Hacking bank accounts and swiping credit chits are one of the first things she ever learned how to do on her own, and there's no honor among murderers.

The Shepherd sighs, feels an… uncomfortable weight settling in her gut. Guilt. Regret. The desire to let him go and just pretend this never happened. But she can't do that, won't do it. He is an assassin, and so is she. He's competition and competition doesn't survive in the games played by professional killers.

"For what it's worth, Dev, I really am sorry."

She pulls the trigger.

[sethnorth]

Kenny Williams v. Jordan Devlan

[missmercurielle]

Attack #7 -- last but not least -- is revenge on @lara-has-a-tablet for her hobgoblin bard, Devlan! I know, I know. I don't usually do soft shading, but like... look at him. He deserved dramatic rim lighting.

[terribletoonietuesday]

We added a feature length watch along to Patreon. patreon.com/riotatthemovies , You should totally join . Its a full watch through of Kindergarten Ninja as tiss the season. Hope you watched last weeks trailer show episode as it leads into some of the references we make here. Sure would be sweeelll if you joined us on Patreon so I can buy some cold and sinus drugs for Morgan. Also whenever we do a watch along I dedicated it to specific members of my Patreon. This episode is dedicated to both Devlan Nicholson and Gary W Olson Stay Awesome everybody

[commonguttersnipe]

BTDPR backstory theory time #3:

Herbert Swampcastle is the humble (if a little annoying) son of manipulative, greedy and slimy/sleazy entrepreneur and businessman, Mr Devlan Swampcastle. His dad divorced his biological mum shortly after Herbert was born as his dad deemed her to be, quote "not much use for him now". However, years later, he remarried due to implied sexual frustration, and his second wife was actually his private escort. This young woman is called Sindy, who deeply despises Devlan for his sleazy and immoral business practices and his emotional negligence to her as he treats her like an afterthought. Sindy only agreed to marry him as she genuinely felt bad for Herbert who had no mother figure, so she tries to be the best mum he could ever have, and so Herbert and his stepmum get along pretty well.

What do you personally think of this? I'd love for any improvements!

I adore it!!

[anewcalamity]

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A New Calamity: Page 465

Donations are appreciated: Patreon / Ko-fi / Paypal

ANC Ghirahim @stylincheetah

Leonus @sparksplitter

Va Eheníhv @gerudoshikyapril  

Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 • Chapter 5 • Chapter 6 • Chapter 7 • Chapter 8 • Chapter 9 • Chapter 10 • Chapter 11 • Chapter 12 • Chapter 13 • Chapter 14 • Chapter 15 • Chapter 16

[davehoward-ca]

Devlan

Not a match but still.

[brummie-man-interests]

"Some Like It Hot" is an American romantic, comedy film, based on the 1932 musical play "The Great Magoo" by the screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist: Ben Hecht (February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) and the journalist, author, and dramatist: Gene Fowler [Eugene Devlan] (March 8, 1890 – July 2, 1960).

[birindale]

She-Ra: Progressive of Power

Episode 2: Duel at Devlan

This week, Lauren and Eric discuss the first episode after She-Ra’s pilot, which, as in most shows, ends up providing a pretty solid template for the rest of the series. She-Ra teaches a village to #resist a guy with a face for a body, a bunch of people get pies in their face, and Lauren gets incredibly happy that Spirit really can talk!

[The 80s theme song plays, upbeat music with an occasional chorus of ‘She-Ra!’]

ERIC: I'm Eric. 

LAUREN: And I'm Lauren. 

ERIC: We've both volunteered for progressive political causes.

LAUREN: And we're both nerds. 

ERIC: Growing up, She-Ra is one of my favorite shows. 

LAUREN: I've never seen it before. 

ERIC: Catching it on Netflix again recently, it struck me how modern the show still feels. 

LAUREN: Even though it's definitely a product of its time. 

[continued audio clip of the 80s theme song] 

LAUREN: We're interested in the ways She-Ra presents a modern progressive message. 

ERIC: And the ways in which it fails. 

LAUREN: Join us each week as we dive deep into a different She-Ra story.

ERIC: Always with an eye on how it relates to the present. 

LAUREN: We're only doing episodes from the first season, so you can follow along on Netflix. 

ERIC: But we'll also recap the episodes so you don't have to.

LAUREN: We'd love to hear your feedback on everything we're discussing. 

ERIC: So please enjoy this political, nerdy dive into a heck of a cartoon. 

ERIC AND LAUREN IN UNISON: This is She-Ra, Progressive of Power. 

[audio clip of the 80s theme song ends]

ERIC: Hello, welcome to another episode of Progressive of Power. I'm Eric.

LAUREN: I'm Lauren. 

ERIC: And today we are talking about the episode Duel at Devlan. And kind of our progressive topic du jour is Resistance, capital R. So let's—let’s do a quick recap of Duel at Devlan first, so this is—We're not going to hit every episode of the series probably, but this is the first episode after the five-part pilot. And I always think, you know, the first non-pilot episode is so important in a show because it kind of tells you what the status quo of the show is going to be. And I think that's what Duel at Devlan does. 

So let's get into it. We have basically a provincial town where the Horde rules. And the Horde captain there is kind of a… kind of a jerk. And his name is Dylamug. And he's like, terrorizing the citizens. And in particular, the poor innkeeper, who tries to get the Horde people just to like, pay their bill and not cause trouble. But instead, he like, makes them dance by shooting lasers at their feet. And the innkeeper's daughter is really uh… up in arms about this. So she throws a pie in Dylamug's face. And then, she goes off to find the Rebellion to get them to help free her village. Well, when she finds the rebels, She-Ra's like, ‘Hey, we're not going to help you. I'm going to come help you help yourself.’ And that's what happens. That's basically the episode. 

And I think that's really interesting. And that's how I want to start the discussion is like, She-Ra will not bring her army of rebels to Devlan, because in–in her argument is that people who are, you know, oppressed have to make the choice to free themselves. And I think that's a pretty interesting moral for this cartoon. You know, kind of further explicated by the fact that in the grand battle, she loses. Like the last thing she does in the show is get shot in the back by Dylamug. And then the citizens of Devlan kind of rise up and beat the Horde for themselves. 

So Lauren, what do you think about that, thinking about resistance, that it has to come from, uh… from the people who are being oppressed? 

LAUREN: So I thought it was uh… interesting choice, specifically knowing that we are just coming out of the pilot, we just kind of learned that there's this Rebellion and all of the characters that are in it, and we immediately get told, ‘We're not using them’. And so it's not that the idea behind the plot is—is strange. There's actually a lot that I like about it. It's that it's strange in its timing. I really wanted to see more, just, army action from the Rebellion before we started getting into these more complex lessons about resistance. 

I will also say, this being the first episode out of the pilot, that it took a long time to get to the plot of this one. There was the opening scene that you mentioned with pies. Pies are a very popular weapon. We use them like three different times. And then we just go into the forest, where the Rebellion is, and kind of further emphasize the forest versus technology visuals. But there's like 10 minutes of just breakfast bits. 

ERIC: Yeah, that's kind of the, um like He-Man and She-Ra fans’ number one complaint about this episode is that there's so much, you know, quote, unnecessary stuff. I actually really like those scenes. I think that it's kind of cool that they help you get to know the Rebellion just as people like, ‘Oh, here's what the rebels do’. Like they're chilling, they're having breakfast, they're cracking jokes, the little twiggets are--are sledding.

That said, it--it is an interesting choice that it takes a long time to get to the action. And yeah, the pies. This episode really makes you feel like getting a pie in your face is a grave social injustice. 

LAUREN: It’s just the worst thing that could happen to you. Well, and that's one of my questions. I know in the last episode, we talked a lot about how the Horde is the established power. And I kept asking myself, ‘do they have these sort of weird, comedic, nonviolent tactics? Are they so ineffective in this episode? Because just the heroes have to win? Or is this the story of sort of a dictatorship that's gotten soft and less effective having been sitting at the top for so long?’

ERIC: That's a really good question. I think maybe the answer is that, you know, something this episode does is it pulls the uh, the lens of the pilot way… it narrows it substantially. You know, we don't see the Fright Zone. We don't see Hordak. It’s—It's like I said, a very provincial show. And I think it's kind of showing like the Horde in the sticks. Like, yeah, they're not that effective, but they've never really had to be, like… This episode almost goes to comical lengths to show you how—how cowed the village is, and they've never really had to fight back before. So I think that's why like, ‘oh, we're going to shoot lasers at this guy's face and then throw a pie at him’ is like effective. It shows that the villagers just have no morale. 

LAUREN: [quoting a pathetic villager whose feet were being shot at] ‘It's all right, Darius. I'm having a wonderful time.’

ERIC: [laughs] I can't help it, though. I watched this episode twice and both times I laughed out loud when the little girl, Kristala, pushes a pie in Dylamug's face. It's so, like, it's both so obvious, but kind of like just so unexpected. It happens without like, incident. There's no music cue or anything. 

LAUREN: The pie has come back, though, because when the villagers finally stand up for themselves, one of the things they bring out is another pie. 

ERIC: Yes, pie. And I think sacks of flour and barrels, and that defeats–

LAUREN: That does a great job. It works really fast. 

[clip from the episode]

DARIUS: Please, just finish eating and go. And don't worry about paying, the pie’s on me. 

DYLAMUG: Hear that, my friends? The pie’s on him. Shall we? [wet splat sound] [sinister laughter] That cream’s looking a little flat. I think it needs to be whipped. [laser gun sounds]

MRS. DARIUS: Kristala, no! 

KRISTALA: You leave my father alone! 

DYLAMUG: I think you need a lesson in how to respect your elders. [wet splat sound] [raucous laughter]

MRS. DARIUS: Please Kristala, go back to your room. 

DYLAMUG: Let us go men. We’ve had enough fun for one night.

[end of clip]

LAUREN: So a point that uh, really interested me about this episode was—I believe it's Kristala, someone asks She-Ra, ‘Why is the situation so bad?’ and She-Ra's response is ‘some things are just like that. But if we all work together, we can change things’. And I feel like the latter part of that is true for sure. I mean that's how I get to go to sleep every night, is feeling like if we unify and we resist, we can make great change in our nation. But the former part of it is puzzling to me. 

If you compare it to today, I think we do a lot of talking about how we got here, um, how we created our situation in our country. And the story is the same over and over. Um, our current president was elected and a bunch of people like you and me felt like they weren't doing enough. And so we're just in this period of self-reflection you know, ‘How did I get here?’ And it's interesting to hear She-Ra say, ‘some things are just like that’. I mean, what does that mean for us now? 

ERIC: I'm glad you brought that up. I think… that is an interesting line. And, kind of She-Ra's whole perspective in this episode, it's not… what you would expect, I think, from like a cartoon heroine in the 80s. She's not like just cheering on the good guys, she's a little more measured. She's a little more somber about the way things are on Etheria. 

You know for me, I think the one thing that I took out of 2016 was… I don't want to say I stopped believing that the universe has a positive moral arc, which is something that I've always believed. But I think the lesson for me, and again I'm saying this as someone who, the election affected me so much less than so many people I care about, including the person I'm looking at right now, you know, as a straight white male. It didn't really do that much to me. It made me quit my job, which I can talk about in a future episode because of politics. But whatever.

I think it taught me that the universe doesn't arc towards justice without everybody doing their part, right? Like that's—that’s really the lesson I learned and that's why I volunteered, is because I always used to think, ‘oh, things just get better’. Like that's just the way things are. And then I realized, well, but part of that is we all have to help make it better. I think that's what She-Ra is recognizing?

LAUREN: I feel like for a long time I held a similar belief. We tend to say, ‘so-and-so is on the right side of history. Are you on the right side of history? Who is on that right side?’ as if history moves on its own, you know, whether or not we participate. But… if you look at anything from income inequality, to the current attempts at deregulating uh, environmental restrictions, someone is going to take action even if you don't.

You have to fight for policies and the populations that you believe in, because history is not gonna swing its great pendulum towards the right side if only the—the Horde [ironic chuckle] is acting. 

[clip from episode]

SHE-RA: How are you feeling? 

KRISTALA: All right. Thanks to you. 

SHE-RA: Now, why don't you tell me what you were doing here all alone? 

KRISTALA: I was trying to get to Bright Moon to find the Rebellion. I need their help.

SHE-RA: Tell you what: Why don't we just fly there on Swift Wind? If you're not frightened, that is. 

KRISTALA: Could we? Really? 

SHE-RA: You bet. Hold on tight. Here we go. Up, Swift Wind!

KRISTALA: Whee! I'm flying! 

[end of clip]

ERIC: Then what is, what do you think of the episode's ultimate ethical argument, that like, it is up to the villagers to make the call for themselves? Because I think there's kind of a little bit of rocky ground here only because… here's one way in which you know, She-Ra’s different from the real world, is we need to not put this step on people who are already marginalized in the real world, like we can't say ‘oh well you have to do it for yourself and then we'll help you’ because they've been trying to do that forever–

LAUREN: Right 

ERIC: –and power structures keep keeping them down. But I think in this abstracted fantasy world, you know, where if we take the villagers to be just kind of your everyday person who's living under this malaise in the world of Trump, then I think that's actually a really great message is like, you know what? You can't just watch other people fight the battles that you think need to be fought. Like you need to step up and do it too. 

LAUREN: Right, you make a great point about people who are oppressed are under no obligation to educate or move others, because they've been fighting all along and not everyone has the same resources or opportunities to use to rise up.

That said, regular people have a lot of power based simply off of numbers, and I would love if everyone just sort of acknowledged that at the same time, and used it. What I don't love about this episode, the line was ‘you've given us back our self-respect’. The villager says that and that was the cringey part for me, because I think it would be terrible to say that people must just be downtrodden, or oppressed, or poor, or enslaved just because they didn't respect themselves, and only if they loved themselves more this situation would be over. That's crap. 

ERIC: I think we yeah, we have to just assume that these villagers aren't part of any kind of already-subjugated minority or just this whole message breaks down. But I do like the idea that you know, we can't just sit around waiting for someone in… in the government to, like, some Democrat in—I don't know, far away—to fix things the way they are now because we're unhappy with them, like we have to be like the villagers who are just kind of like ‘well, yeah, we hate Trump, but what are we gonna do?’ and like we can be the government, you know, we can be the Rebellion. 

LAUREN: Absolutely. And I think, you know, we're getting a little cynical here. This is kind of a pessimistic conversation. It's important to remember that this show is for children. And I think presenting this to children, remembering the sorts of conflict or issues I might be experiencing as a child, that this is a metaphor for, this might be a good message. If I'm getting bullied on the playground or a teacher gave me an unjust grade, I mean, then let's unify with the people around me who I'm comfortable with and know. That's a completely reasonable thing to tell a kid, and in this way. 

There's a moment where the Horde is taunting She-Ra because she's alone. All of the villagers are hiding and they're like, ‘oh, you're all alone’. And she doesn't even flinch. She just karate kicks a, you know, a vehicle out of the sky. And I felt something in my chest then that I know I would have felt even more as a little girl. Like, ‘no, you're not going to make me feel fear. I'm going to keep going’. And for a young child, a young girl watching that show, that's incredible. 

[clip from episode]

DYLAMUG: She-Ra, ha! Not even you have enough power to battle all of us and our weapons. 

SHE-RA: What makes you think I'm alone? 

DYLAMUG: [laughs] These cowards won't lift a finger to help you. You're all alone. 

SHE-RA: Then it's an even bigger challenge. And I love a challenge. 

DYLAMUG: Get her!

[end of clip]

LAUREN: One last thing I'd like to talk about in this episode that is political. Uh… the, the Horde was really on the nose with their sort of taunts. They said, ‘oh, it's so easy to take advantage of people who are frightened’. And… I, I kind of giggled at how just obvious that was, how willing our villains in these cartoons were to just say exactly what they were up to. I feel like the current administration and just people in places of power elsewhere in our lives, we're talking about any—maybe just even the bosses at our jobs that aren't so great, whatever, use fear, but in a much more underhanded and sinister way. 

I think a lot of the reason Donald Trump got elected was because people were afraid of the changes in their lives around them, things they didn't understand, whether that was seeing LGBT rights come forward, whether that was, ‘well, I have economic strife, it must be people from Mexico’. I watched my own parents take issue with people of color moving into their neighborhood and the neighborhood that I grew up in was very white. But if you ask any of those people why they voted the way they did, not a single one of them would cite fear, not even a single one of them would admit that their opinions were influenced by anyone but themselves and their knowledge. And so I did a lot of thinking about the line ‘it's so easy to take advantage of people who are frightened’, because today we have people being taken advantage of that same way, but they have, in my opinion, no idea that's what's happening to them. 

ERIC: Totally, and like you said, this uh, it's an 80s show for kids. So the villains are gonna be super on the nose, but I completely agree with you, and I'm glad you brought that up. And one of my bigger political theses is… you know, the right likes to call people like us snowflakes. And I think they've got it a little backwards because to me, generally Trump country is very fragile and it is very fear-based. It's very much fear of the things that aren't understood and there's no robot with the toupée shooting lasers at their feet making them dance or throwing pie in their face. It’s—It's much more sophisticated. It's a rhetorical fear. 

You know, it's, it’s… people like Trump stirring up all these images in their minds and their souls, of things that they don't understand and making them react against that by embracing this nationalism. And it is, it's very similar in broad strokes to the tactics that the Horde use. Uh… I think even, I mean, you can see that a little bit where in this episode, I think, for the first time, one of the, someone who's not in the Horde uses Rebel as the slur kind of, you know, like when Kristala brings She-Ra to the village, someone's like, ‘you can't bring a rebel here. The Horde will make us all slaves’. Like that's–that’s ‘cause that's what they know. That's what they've been told of Rebels. And you know, what have, what have people in Trump country been told about people who don't look or think or act like them?

LAUREN: Right. That was a surprise to me in this episode that everyone has heard of the Rebellion already, but not everyone has heard good things. 

ERIC: And I think it's really interesting, and I want to get your thought on this, what does it mean that it's a little girl, a child who goes out and—and seeks out the Rebels to free her village? 

LAUREN: I think that's an incredibly important uh, point of this episode, not only for the children watching this show to have someone to relate to, but I think a lot about today, um, even in a pre-Trump world, right? So often when confronting homosexuality, transgender issues, the sort of stereotype phrase you hear is ‘how am I going to talk to my child about this? What am I supposed to tell my children?’ but the heroine in this episode, I think, reminds us that kids aren't born with any real opinions about minorities or subcultures or people different from them. 

Kids are pretty awesome. They're born pretty positive and pretty optimistic and only become fearful or judgmental or skeptical or eventually—you know, as adults—bigoted, I think, because of the world around them. It's a very nurture versus nature kind of thing. So if you… take that kid who's a blank slate and… raise them to be open and loving and, uh, fond of diversity and welcoming to difference and change, then you won't have to—you won’t have to struggle with ‘what will I tell my children’. And this is a little girl who I think just hasn't been jaded yet, hasn't been… She hasn't suffered enough experiences at the hands of the Horde or the people around her to have lost her hope yet. And that's a good lesson for all of us, even grownups. 

ERIC: Overall, you weren't crazy about this one though. 

LAUREN: You know, I think it had very good intentions. It had great things to teach us about kids and about, uh, self-empowerment, but it had a lot of missteps in terms of when you got actually down to the—the things people were saying and the quotes, could have done a lot better. But again, for its time, it was probably quite a thing. 

ERIC: And you think that kids would—would react to this maybe better than you would?

LAUREN: Yes, yes, yes, yes. I am a cynical adult. And the second I tried to think about, you know, seven year old Lauren instead of thirty-one year old Lauren… Even the song that I've made fun of before, I was like, ‘yeah! [singing] She-Ra! Let's go. This song rules!’ [laughs as the theme song plays in the background].

I do on a lighter note want to make a correction to my previous wonderment in the last episode. Spirit can talk when he is not Swift Wind. He did it in this episode. And that was such a point for me last time. I just have to shout it out to be like, ‘guys, I learned. I learned my lesson. That horse can talk whenever he wants’. 

ERIC: I also noticed that and I was very happy for you. 

LAUREN: I was pumped! [laughs]

ERIC: All right. So next week, we're going to come back with a discussion of two episodes called The Sea Hawk and The Return of the Sea Hawk. Guess what, those are connected. And we're going to talk about gender roles. If you would like to write back to us with any feedback, as long as it's thoughtful, we will take positive or negative comments. You can email us at progressiveofpower@gmail.com or leave comments on our website.

[clip from episode] 

ADORA: Ready for our morning flight, Spirit?

SPIRIT: [whinnies] Of course! Going any place special?

ADORA: No, let's just wing it. [giggles]

SPIRIT: Very funny. 

[end of clip] 

ERIC: So let's talk about the moral. So this–we, we kind of played at this last week, but going forward, every episode of She-Ra has a moral segment at the end, complete with a little imp who hides in the episode called Loo-Kee, and then you're supposed to find him. 

LAUREN: I know, I'm going to be looking for him now. I didn't know that was a thing. I'm excited. 

ERIC: But what I think is interesting and I think that this episode kind of shows head on is that the morals are so often… at odds? They either don't express what the real message of the show is, or they're at odds with it. 

LAUREN: This one was at odds.

ERIC: I agree. So some quick background. I didn't look up his name because I'm a dummy, but Filmation had an education professor from, I think, UCLA on staff to supervise the moral segments for every show, because that was their number one way to get angry parent groups off their back was– [[1]]

LAUREN: ‘Look, it's educational!’ 

ERIC: Right, exactly. This professor at a college that you've all heard of said it's educational, but the morals are at best dumbed down and you can get way more out of the actual show.

And at worst, they are… yeah, the opposite of what you're going to take. So here's the moral as stated from this episode: “In today's adventure, Dylamug acted like a bully. You know, a person who tries to make other people afraid of him. It's no fun being picked on by a bully. If someone bothers you, don't ever be afraid to tell your parents or some older person.” Not a bad moral, but not what this episode is about. 

LAUREN: No, in an episode that is entirely centered around, ‘you have to rise up and fight your own battles’, saying ‘run to someone else for help’ is… not what we were supposed to learn, I don't think.

ERIC: Yeah, even like… Kristala does go to someone else for help, but only after making the decision for herself to seek out the Rebellion, which no one… like her parents were not cool with. 

LAUREN: I was quite bullied growing up. That's a big formative part of my personality is how much I was made fun of, and how much I struggled both in grade school and high school. And, uh… I don't think telling your teacher or telling your parents actually worked that much for kids. Um. I used to resent hearing things like that as a kid. Um. 

I had a, you know, I think my mom did a pretty good job. I have vivid memories of my dad being like, well, if someone bothers you, just punch him. [laughs] That's not going to work in Catholic school, I will get expelled immediately. Parents that you tell, parents of the bully is very much ‘like not my child. They'd never do anything like that. There must be some kind of misunderstanding’. And I remember my kindergarten teacher calling me a tattletale. And so I don't think this is as cut and dry as the 80s are like—I don't think it works! 

ERIC: No, I think the episode itself does a much better job of presenting like, even though it's problematic, like an actual ethical lesson for like, if you're having problems with someone harassing you, here's some steps you can take. 

LAUREN: Well, yeah, and the villagers actually sort of prove my point. The–the little girl, I'm sure, tells her parents first and her fellow villagers first, and they're like, ‘no, there's nothing we can do’, which is a lot more like, I think, the real life experiences of a lot of us nerdy kids. The moral needed 30 more seconds of audio in which Loo-Kee went, “And then that older person or teacher is going to take you on an emotional journey where you will be empowered to help yourself!” 

ERIC: [laughs] That is the moral of today's episode. 

LAUREN: [laughs] We did it!

[EPISODE OUTRO]

ERIC: Thanks for listening to She-Ra: Progressive of Power. If you like our show, you can write and review us on Apple podcasts. We'd super appreciate it. You can also send us any feedback you have, either to our email address, progressiveapower@gmail.com, or as a comment on our website at progressiveapower.wordpress.com. 

LAUREN: The word resistance can sound pretty intense, especially if you've never protested or called a person in government before. We recommend using Resist Bot. In less than two minutes, Resist Bot will take your name and zip code, and help you fax your congressman about issues you care about. Faxes are pretty old school, but are one of the only ways your representatives know they are hearing from real constituents. Text RESIST to 50409 to get started.

[outro to “I have the Power”]

ERIKA SCHEIMER AND NOAM KANIEL: [As She-Ra and He-Man] For the honor of love, we have the power so can you.

ANNOTATIONS: 

[[1]]: So beginning with Fat Albert, Filmation consulted with educational and psychological advisors, to hash out what was appropriate for their audience. For Fat Albert they had Dr. Gordon Berry from UCLA, a professor of Educational Psychology who gave “direction on needs to be covered by stories and [...] verified the content of our scripts, suggesting ways to make them more meaningful.” (Lou Scheimer in “Responsibility to Children a Must in Animation”, an editorial for the Broadcast Daily newspaper). They became friends over the years, but eventually Dr. Berry was hired by CBS to be an in-house consultant, and he was no longer able to work with Filmation. 

For He-Man, they brought on Dr. Donald F. Roberts (who was cited in the above editorial, improperly, as “the author of The Rule of Television in the Formation of Children's Social Attitudes”, which was actually called the Role of Television and was co-authored by Dr. Peter Christenson, but what’s a typo between friends?). He was actually one of Erika Scheimer’s professors at Stanford—Now Erika, if you’ll recall, is Lou Scheimer’s daughter, who did some of the voice work on the show and sang that catchy little outro on the above episode. According to Creating the Filmation Generation, on first day of class he said “The only good programming for kids is on PBS, except for Fat Albert. That’s a good show,” which both moved Erika (who had done voice acting on that as well) to tears, and kickstarted Don’s introduction to the Filmation family.

Don was terrific to talk with. I explained to him that we wanted to make sure that He-Man was not the violent type of show that one might have expected from the barbarian looks and the comics that came with the toys, even though it was still action-adventure. I said, “You’ve got a chance to make a difference in children’s programming.” He said, “But you won’t really listen to me; it’s just you’ll use my name.” And I said, “No, we actually let you read the scripts, you’ll make suggestions, and we’ll change things.” [...] 

He and Arthur Nadel would talk on a daily basis, and I could just see Don glowing with the fact that here was an academic who had a voice, had a reason for having that voice heard, and somebody who’d listen to him and actually change things because of what he said. He was a joy to work with. We sent him the initial premise and outline, then the various drafts, and he got us notes back within 48 hours, sometimes quicker. [...] He worked very closely with Arthur and the writers to make sure that the morals of the show were an integral part of the stories, not just something tacked on to the end. They were both very concerned about story and character development and doing nothing that would harm our young audience.

-Lou Scheimer, Creating the Filmation Generation, page 203 

Not even sorry for that huge block of text. If you’re reading the annotations on the podcast about the 80s show, you give a shit about this. I’ve trapped you in here with me. 

They kept him on through She-Ra--I’ve actually mentioned him on this blog before! In the Series Bible they dropped a quote to help sell the show: 

She-Ra has an excellent chance to garner a new audience of females while retaining the large portion of the male audience He Man has already developed. The series will thus have the opportunity of reaching a new segment of the viewing audience with the kinds of pro-social messages you have been developing for the He Man show, while at the same time reinforcing those ideas among current He Man viewers.

The plan to present the pro-social messages in She-Ra in a novel and challenging way can engender a significant increase in learning among those children who view both shows.

He Man has demonstrated that it is possible to engage in worthwhile values training with no sacrifice of entertainment quality. I think She-Ra will continue the tradition.

So I mean, there’s no explicit confirmation that he reviewed every script. But the odds are extremely good.

[deerpun]

Fun with Felt pt.2!

This time Devlan is feltified :3 He is about 11in. tall (from the top of his horns), though slightly smaller than Foxglove. While he doesn’t have any additional layers, Devlan does have more drawn-on details!

Devlan is similarly constructed out of craft felt and tacky glue :)

[anewcalamitycolored]

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A New Calamity: Page 31 Colored