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sage-hendricks · 1 year

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I and many of my coworkers at Rusty Quill have released statements and testimonials in light of recent discussion surrounding Rusty Quill.

You can click through this link to see all of our statements individually. For my part, I already shared mine in whole to the discord server for my independent content a few days ago, so now I'm sharing it more widely here.

Annie Fitch’s Testimonial

Finally sitting down to write a statement regarding all the recent discourse surrounding RQ. This is a statement I am writing and releasing for myself. No one at RQ has pressured me to write any of the following, nor altered my words in any way.

First, I want to talk about the allegations that RQ is mistreating employees. These experiences are my own, so please do not imagine I am speaking about any other specific case or anyone else’s story. Have I ever felt mistreated by anyone at RQ, professionally or otherwise? Categorically no. Not in the slightest. Professionally, leadership has been so patient, kind, and helpful in all facets of my time there. I obviously cannot divulge specifics, but there are occasions when errors on my part have directly and seriously impacted production. I always think a decent metric of how a company treats its employees is seeing how it treats them when they make mistakes. So how was I treated? Kindly. Patiently. With understanding. Above all, professionally. No one made me feel that I was in trouble, that they were angry.

Personally, these people are not just my coworkers and bosses, they are my peers and my friends. The inside working spaces of RQ are friendly, open, communicative, funny, fun, and easily my favorite employer I’ve ever had.

Am I telling you not to criticize the company? Absolutely not. I don’t personally agree with every single decision the company has ever made. It would be deeply unhealthy to treat RQ as above reproach. The problem, to me, is when people so desperately want leadership to be the villain. One big podcast and suddenly everyone thinks you’re Disney. I truly wish I could express to you the things Alex and Hannah have sacrificed, for me and everyone else at this company. Some of the recent discourse has been around pay scale; I wonder if you’re all aware that Alex pays himself the same amount as I get paid when editing? He’s got orders of magnitude more experience, skill, and knowledge than I do, but the pay rate is flat. A good leader is someone who will never ask you to do something they would not themselves do. When I train line supervisors at my day job, one of my maxims is “no one is too important to load a truck.” The message is to be the first on the line doing the shitty jobs; if you order someone else to break a sweat on your behalf and then stand around with a coffee giving orders, that person will never trust you. I can confidently tell you there is absolutely no job I could be asked to do at RQ that leadership would not be willing to bite down and do instead.

What’s most frustrating to me is the uncritical reception of allegations against these people. If you don’t personally know them, I don’t expect you to take it on faith that they’re good people. Likewise I don’t expect my testimony to their character to waive away all concerns. It’s disheartening to see people I trust, people who have gone out of their way to support me and the things I create outside of the company, use me as a model victim. I cannot thank these people enough for the kind words, the support of my streams and my music, and all they’ve done for me as a creator. On the other hand, it hurts me a lot to see my friends try to slag off my other friends on my behalf. Again, there are legitimate criticisms to be made, and they should be pursued when presented. That doesn’t feel like what’s happened; this feels like a group of people coming with preconceived notions, whether deserved or not, and immediately accepting anything they feel confirms them. What kind of advocate for workers’ rights doesn’t reach out to the workers currently employed for their input? When you wield your fandom as a hammer, the creators you support start looking like nails sooner than you think.

Even when the points were refuted, line by line and with proof, some people only doubled down. It begins to feel like nothing could ever be enough to turn some people’s opinions around, and that saddens me. There’s very little I can do to convince anyone, I know, but I hope at least some people can trust me when I say that the evil they’re looking for is just not present. These people are my friends, and some of the most honest and upstanding people I know. We can try to handle issues and disagreements in good faith, or we can keep cycling the same stress forever.

I know I’m painting a target on my back writing this. I’m not looking forward to finding myself on the other end of the outrage every time going forward. But in truth, if you want to support me, Twitch and Bandcamp are great, but supporting Rusty Quill IS supporting me. Supporting this company, critically but in good faith, is how you help me and my peers grow. It’s how you help us, all of us, do better. And for the love of god, I could do without the stress of this every three months.

I hope you are all well, I care about all of you immensely, and I am sorry if any of what I’ve said hurts or alienates anyone. I’ve held a lot of this back for a long time, and it’s clear it’s no longer helpful to anyone for me to stay silent. Be good to one another and I hope to see you all around very soon.

So there you have that. Guess it'll be interesting to field reactions now 🙃

Small note because I'd hate this to become a bigger thing than it is: I edited one single character of this statement to post it here! Gasp! The one I sent in had a typo where instead of "It begins to..." I wrote "I begins". Fuck I hate proofreading.

#rusty quill #rq #the magnus archives

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kiefbowl · 2 years

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regarding alicent being hated by neckbeards (and not to sound like some Women Are Worse Actually apologist or something cause asoiaf fanboys are the worst lmao) things are not much better with the women in the fandom. i mostly move in female dominated spaces when it comes to asoiaf and it's been shocking seeing the way they've been talking about her. literally calling her every misogynistic slur under the sun 276485 times a day. and when the actress who played young alicent alluded to romantic undertones in rhaenyra and alicents relationship they went fucking feral and jumped on her saying that if actors wanted to fuck they should do it in their own time and leave the characters out of it.

it took me so much by surprise the intensity of the hatred both for the character and ship bc i can name countless villainous characters that have big fanbases?? not to mention problematic het ships ("problematic" ranging from starting as enemies to straight up shipping male abusers or groomers or pedos with female characters). they're basically treating alicent as the devil incarnate while adoring the man who took his 15 year old niece to a brothel...it's disgusting. i

was in the fandom for a while before i read fire and blood so i got into the book with preconceived notions expecting to love daemon/rhaenyra (cause he's a fan-favourite and fans are really presenting their relationship as some great love story) and hating alicent more than any asoiaf villain by the way they were talking about her. instead i was disgusted by how a male character like daemon could have stans and couldn't get what made alicent different from basically any asoiaf and got character? cause almost everyone in that universe look to save their own skin, gain power for themselves etc etc so i didn't view her as an anomaly just your run-of-the-mill antagonist??

generally liked the changes they made in her character in the show cause she was just too evil stepmothery for my taste in the book and it fell flat but the fandom was foaming at the mouth at the thought that they made her remotely sympathetic. and every time the actors/showrunners etc mentioned that alicent is a product of the patriarchy they'd be screaming about how she's the patriarchy herself and shit like that as if women who cape for the patriarchy aren't oppressed by it? it generally feels like i've time travelled s couple of decades back with the misogynistic takes ive had to read that are widely accepted in fandom . it's disturbing cause they basically switch "feminism" on and off based on whether they like s character or not and if they don't it's free estate apparently? they hate her so much that they can't even empathise with her being married off to an old man as a teenager and enduring marital rape cause apparently that would be excusing her later actions. but they'll happily joke around about daemon murdering his wife...

sorry for ranting lmao i just really wanted to discuss the show with another radfem haha

Omg girl, the takes brewing in the hotd tag on tumblr are ATROCIOUS, I'm right there with you. A week back I got an anon about Alicent where I said she hadn't become the villain yet, but had clearly turned antagonistic toward Rhaenyra. This past episode, she has clearly stepped up her villainy, and like - what about it? Her choices and feelings are completely understandable.

It truly makes me wonder what people watch stuff and read stuff for. Like what do you get out of it? If you don't find characters compelling, what's the point? If evil characters make you hate them like it's personal, perhaps you need a bit of a reality check? These people aren't real lol

I'm also absolutely bemused how angry people are getting that the showrunners are interpreting this book and creating scenes that aren't quite what the book described, because it's the point? The book is a ""history book"" intentionally playing on unreliable sources. Every scene is going to be more fleshed out and a little different, and they're going to create visual parallels within the show. These complainers would make terrible television shows

Alicent is a tragic character, and you don't have to root for her, but I don't understand not feeling sympathy for her.

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gentrychild · 3 years

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AU where Izuku has All for One and nobody bats an eye at it until he gets to UA

It's mostly because in Aldera, almost everyone know each other since they are little kids. A small child doesn't have preconceived notion about villainous quirks or dangerous quirks, they just class them as "Neat", "Boring" and "Awesome". Izuku can take and give quirks, which is neat bordering on awesome when he accepts to switch quirks. That mentality stayed with them so even when an outsider came to the group, there was a five second freak-out followed by "Eh, I guess this is normal."

All Might doesn't meet Izuku because of the Sludge villain but because of a con where students from Aldera showed up with very powerful quirks that weren't matching up the quirk registry. Even stranger, the next week, everyone was back to their original quirk. All Might was freaking out because he thought it was AFO. He found Izuku instead. "Listen, I understand that you want to help your classmates but it's wrong." "But the exams are biased!" "Can't argue with that... It's illegal?" "It wasn't. I used my quirk at their home so it wasn't in public places. I also have everyone consent's form." "Okay, consider, if you do that for someone going to UA, Nedzu will have your hide for it."

Izuku didn't have any problem until he went to UA. There was a really heavy silence in 1-A when he told what his quirk was but it didn't go beyond that.

People outside of 1-A, students, civilians and heroes alike comment on his quirk, qualifying it as "scary", which sends Bakugou into a frenzy. He especially gets the frightened looks after the USJ noumu.

Izuku being deadpan every time people comments on his quirk.

Monoma: "How does it feel not to be able to do anything on your own and to have to steal quirks to fight?" Izuku: "Oh, it could be worse. I thank the heavens every day that I don't have anything lame like copying quirks for five minutes." Endeavor: "It's a scary power... not unlike that guy, AFO, who haunts my nightmares." Izuku: "It's true that Hellfire is such a sweet and harmless quirk in comparison." Shigaraki: "You could be part of my League and take as many quirks as you want!" Izuku: "Or I could be a hero, help people and take the quirks of the morons who ambush me at a mall. :)"

#5 headcanons game

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baoshan-sanren · 3 years

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Hi, I just finished SV and I Loved it! I have a question though that irks me and I'd love to hear you opinion on it. It's said in the novel that LBH knew no kindness except from his mother and then NYY & SY!SQQ. It seems to me a little like he fell in love with SY's kindness and not really with his personality. He didn't fall in love with NYY's kindness so it could also be an authority thing. My q is, do you think LBH would fall in love w any other Shizun who showed him the slightest kindness?

Okay bear with my nonsense here for a minute because, aside from making fun of everyone and everything, SVSSS is a pretty good study of what happens when reader expectations meet real situations and real flesh and blood people, and just how unrealistic most of them turn out to be. We see PIDW and LBH in SVSSS via mirror of only SY’s perception and his preconceived notions, but we’re also bound to only see SVSSS and SY via mirror of our own perception and with our own preconceived notions (and boy, do a lot of people miss that about SVSSS completely even though SY the judgmental reader and all his baggage are right there). How many chapters does it take for SY to admit that he hasn’t been really viewing LBH as his own person, but a fictional character he had only gotten to know through airplane’s bad writing? I remember how fucking frustrated I kept getting the first time I read SVSSS because SY kept that picture of LBH (the one we never met bc we never read 300+ chapters of airplane’s novel like SY did) firm in his mind despite all evidence that they were not the same person. Who is it that said “compared to the dullest human being actually walking about on the face of the earth and casting his shadow there, the most brilliantly drawn character in a novel is but a bag of bones?" SY’s whole issue with PIDW is that the novel sucked. That most of the characters were one-dimensional and unrealistic, and that even his own scum-villain character had no story/background that would justify his attitude or behavior towards LBH. We only get to see SJ as a person with a history, and grievances, and a boatload of unaddressed trauma because SY digs up and improves all those storylines that airplane had left out. But even knowing that, SY still keeps seeing LBH through the lens of his own preconceived notions, and keeps assigning him motivations that LBH clearly doesn’t have. So I guess my thing is, if it took SY nearly a decade of flesh and blood contact with LBH to figure out that all of his expectations were wrong and inaccurate, can we (the readers of SVSSS) ever view LBH accurately?

Anyway, not to write an essay (too late) but I guess if I were to speculate on the subject via my own subjective interpretations, I would say that airplane wrote a pretty shitty stallion novel for $$ during which LBH fell for NYY for her “kindness” but right off the bat in SVSSS, we see that NYY does very little except managing to make LBH’s life harder. Still, despite being a character that solely consists of bouncy breasts and questionable life choices in PIDW, she does seem to harbor genuine affection for LBH, and PIDW LBH, who has not gotten affection since his adoptive mother passed, is likely to have latched on to any affection, no matter how destructive it turns out to be, for some self-preservation of his self-esteem and self-worth. Obviously not the healthiest way to obtain either, but hardly unexpected (and we see him doing the same thing with literally every female character in PIDW - Freud would have a field day with just a quarter of this novel). Again, we only know PIDW LBH through SY’s perception, and SY is clearly not the most objective witness, but I find it hard to believe that PIDW LBH ever truly loved any one of the 300+ women in his harem. There is no indication (in what we get from airplane’s writing) that he trusts any of them, and it even seems as if all the harem infighting served as a means to keep them from focusing too hard on LBH as anything other than a prize to be obtained. I mean clearly, PIDW was not meant to be that deep, and we don’t get to read it, so there’s no use speculating much. (I’m sure you noticed my theories are all psychology/trauma centric, which is my bread and butter, and subjective as fuck, so there’s half my point made).

As to whether I think LBH would fall in love with a different shizun who showed him kindness? If kindness is the only factor, I don’t think it’s likely. After all, the 300+ women in his harem in PIDW have all probably showed him some kindness at one time or another. In that respect, SY is certainly not special. There are theories about LBH not actually being sexually attracted to women in PIDW at all, extrapolating on the idea that a more supportive and loving environment during his development years has allowed him to grow up without repressing many things he has clearly repressed in PIDW, his sexuality included. That theory, I suppose, could support the idea that LBH could have just as easily fallen in love with a different man in his immediate vicinity who showed him kindness?

Idk how much I buy into any that; like I said, PIDW was never meant to be that deep, and SVSSS is just full of loose threads I love to yank on (always aware I’ll never see where they lead without an access to MXTX’s brain). I think we’re meant to view PIDW for what it is - a poorly written story for $$ with cardboard cutout characters that, once permeated with “real flesh and blood humans,” turns out to be nothing like the story that the reader (SY) expected to find. And since there’s the same degree of separation between PIDW and SVSSS, as there is between SVSSS and us (the readers), speculating on who LBH might attach himself to if SY was someone else, and how his story might go under any other circumstances, is bound to be as accurate as SY’s predictions concerning PIDW LBH, which turned out to be (as we clearly find out in SVSSS), inaccurate as fuck :)

#Anonymous #ask for ts #svsss #meta #sorry noonie #idk if that'll make any sense to you #y'all should never ask me anything about svsss again #bc I'll just go on and on

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lokiondisneyplus · 3 years

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Disney+'s Loki Season 1 was weird, wild, and wonderful; all spurred on by the god of mischief himself, as Tom Hiddleston’s Loki went to the far reaches of the MCU’s reality and back to change everything, including representation in our corner of the sacred timeline. As discussions about representation for the LGBTQIA+ community focus on seeing themselves in media, Loki’s premiere during pride month elicited discussions and excitement from fans and critics. The topic, what does Loki being bisexual. Where do we go from here has been on everyone’s mind, but the answer is simple. As Loki prepares for Season 2, it’s time for Marvel to take the next step and explore the character’s gender fluidity.

Loki’s MCU popularity is somewhat ironic given the character's original roots in the mythology. The Norse counterpart to Hiddleston’s trickster was the son of the giant Farbauti and the goddess Laufey, who managed to wiggle his way into Odin’s family. He is described as a shapeshifter; taking multiple forms like a salmon, a mare, and an old woman. Depending on the source material, Loki (much like other deities) shapeshifted and schemed his way into the myths that shape the world: When bound to a rock beneath a serpent, if the serpent drips venom on him it causes earthquakes. He sired Hel, the goddess of death, Fenrir, the wolf, and Jörmungandr — a snake eating its own tail.

Loki has counterparts in multiple other pantheons (Anansi from West African and Carribean mythology, Hermes from Greek Mythology, to name a few) but he’s front and center in Marvel and the fan dedication to the character (where else are you going to get a room full of fully grown people screaming a villain’s name?) means that Marvel can tell stories with him including stories that focus on what Loki represents in comics canon, who the character has become in the modern mythos of the MCU.

In the MCU, Loki's story is a sad one. In Thor, he discovers that he was adopted, that he will never be King of Asgard despite his brother Thor being a brute, and decides to make himself an enemy of the Gods of Asgard and the humans on earth slowly learning about what lies beyond the solar system. Outcast and alone, he becomes Thor’s primary motivation to fight, battles the Avengers and nearly takes over earth, and finally sacrifices himself to save Thor and the other Asgardians seemingly undergoing a redemption arc. In fact, Loki has had two redemptive arcs, both of which speak to people who have struggled to repair themselves and contribute to society. His story is that of someone who has always sought to accept himself — much like those in the LGBTQ+ community.

Now that his redemption is (seemingly) out of the way, there are other parts of Loki’s comic history that writers can tackle, including his shape-changing abilities and his fluid sexuality. Neither are unusual in the media (you could make an argument that Loki’s mythological arc where he gets impregnated and gives birth to an eight-legged horse is a sort of ancient world blockbuster event).

Loki being genderfluid should be Marvel’s next step in on-screen representation because all of the character’s traits point to it being the logical choice. For one thing, the story of a being who feels abandoned in their own family is one common to every sphere, but it fits in well in the LGBTQIA+ community. Statistics regarding transgender children point out that over half have considered some sort of self-harm without support. Support leads to a decrease in suicidal thoughts as well as suicidal attempts. Loki never went through those things, but for many now cheering his bisexuality seeing a character with that backstory doing good and being seen in the public doing some good is much-needed representation.

In all other continuities, Loki is a bisexual genderfluid being. Using the so-called “God of Outcasts” to introduce bisexual and genderfluid characters to the MCU is a smart decision. Loki’s large fanbase puts him on avengers merchandise and front and center in Avengers canon. His villainy and transformation to anti-hero with two redemptive arcs has brought his engaging character to the forefront of his own story. As he says, he’s “writing his own destiny,” something members of the LGBTQ+ community can relate to, and he and his variants can ask the audience to question their preconceived notions of the bisexual and genderfluid community.

There are certain behaviors that come with being genderfluid. There is the notion that constraining oneself to a particular set of societal expectations of gender is ridiculous. There is a focus on individuality over conformity on such a base topic. As so many people say, gender is a spectrum and to describe individually what gender means to specific people, doesn’t do it justice.

Rather there are practices and behaviors that Marvel could study and put into stories. Loki’s change in appearance and outfits could come with new pronouns (a facet of being transgender and genderfluid, as pronouns are a source of hot debate in the cisgender community) and audiences would be more willing to accept it thanks to the dedication of his loyal fans and his anti-hero status. Loki is cunning, Loki is full of guile, and Loki has proven himself because people love the character. Villains from underrepresented groups are frequent. The audience’s love has writers wanting to explore his sympathetic backstory. That changes the equation. Members of the LGBTQ+ community understand what it’s like to be declared villains.

The show has made massive strides in representation, even casting queer actors to play Loki(s). DeObia Oparei’s Boastful Loki exemplifies just what Loki and the MCU should be striving for, representation and work — building characters who can be examples to others. Oparei went to Twitter and thanked Marvel for its work, but it’s work that must continue.

From his beginnings as a trickster god to his inclusion in the modern mythos of the MCU, Loki is a powerful figure, and the new Disney+ series has set him up to be both a real anti-hero and an embraced character. Since audiences have now embraced his sexuality, it’s time to embrace the next step and use Loki, Sylvie, and any other Loki variants to explore what being transgender, what being genderfluid, truly means in modern mythology and beyond.

Loki Season 1 is streaming now on Disney+. A second season has been announced.

#Loki #genderfluid

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faintingheroine · 3 years

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Wuthering Heights Reread - Chapter 2

And here is Chapter 2, the funniest chapter of Wuthering Heights. I really chuckled a couple of times in this reread.

“Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold. I had half a mind to spend it by my study fire, instead of wading through heath and mud to Wuthering Heights.”

Good idea Lockwood. I wish that you had stuck with this decision.

In these first lines of the chapter the conflict of the chapter is pretty much laid out, Lockwood unwisely going to Wuthering Heights and being trapped there because of the snowstorm.

“On coming up from dinner, however, (N.B.—I dine between twelve and one o’clock; the housekeeper, a matronly lady, taken as a fixture along with the house, could not, or would not, comprehend my request that I might be served at five)—“

Here is our first introduction to Nelly’s character. The critic James Hafley who came up with the villainous Nelly theory pointed to this first introduction as an evidence that Nelly is supposed to be a negatively portrayed character. Personally I think that it is instead revealing of how Lockwood views Nelly and the culture clash between them. Lockwood views Nelly as “a fixture”, almost as an item in the house. Lockwood’s patronizing and classist perception of Nelly will be present throughout their interactions.

The culture clash is also interesting. Nelly is someone who believes that you must have done half of your day’s work before ten in the morning and therefore she believes that lunch should be eaten in the afternoon, whereas Lockwood is a young urbanite who lives a life of idleness and wakes up late. It is fitting that this is our first introduction to their relationship since this discussion about when to go to bed will be featured later in the novel. This difference between their attitudes is not just about class but also about the general culture of the place. The inhabitants of the Heights go to bed at nine and wake up at four in the morning according to Heathcliff. These are practical, no-nonsense people despite all their other emotional turmoil and they can’t understand Lockwood’s decision to visit the Heights during a snowstorm, this is definitely a factor in the clash between them and Lockwood throughout the chapter.

Nelly is described as a “matronly lady”; Lockwood likes categorizing people, especially women, into different archetypes as will later be shown in the chapter.

“On that bleak hill-top the earth was hard with a black frost, and the air made me shiver through every limb. Being unable to remove the chain, I jumped over, and, running up the flagged causeway bordered with straggling gooseberry-bushes, knocked vainly for admittance, till my knuckles tingled and the dogs howled.”

Joseph’s gooseberry bushes make their first appearance. In Lockwood’s second coming to the region in late 1802 the door of Wuthering Heights will be unbarred and Cathy and Hareton will have cleared the ground from some of the gooseberry bushes intending to replace them with plants from the Grange, indicating the difference that took place between Lockwood’s visits to the region.

“The snow began to drive thickly. I seized the handle to essay another trial; when a young man without coat, and shouldering a pitchfork, appeared in the yard behind. He hailed me to follow him, and, after marching through a wash-house, and a paved area containing a coal-shed, pump, and pigeon-cot, we at length arrived in the huge, warm, cheerful apartment where I was formerly received. It glowed delightfully in the radiance of an immense fire, compounded of coal, peat, and wood; and near the table, laid for a plentiful evening meal, I was pleased to observe the ‘missis’, an individual whose existence I had never previously suspected.”

Our first introduction to Hareton immediately highlights his status as a worker in the farm and his seemingly lower status. He brings Lockwood to the house through another gate that presumably farm workers were supposed to use rather than a genteel visitor like Lockwood. We also get our first introduction to Cathy in this same paragraph which is fitting.

The description of the Heights is rather cozy, this isn’t a Gothic castle but rather a comfortable domestic setting. What makes it Gothic is the people and the happenings, not so much the actual place.

“She never opened her mouth. I stared—she stared also: at any rate, she kept her eyes on me in a cool, regardless manner, exceedingly embarrassing and disagreeable.

‘Sit down,’ said the young man, gruffly. ‘He’ll be in soon.’

I obeyed; and hemmed, and called the villain Juno, who deigned, at this second interview, to move the extreme tip of her tail, in token of owning my acquaintance.”

Cathy defiantly gazes back at Lockwood without a hint of feminine shyness or even any sort of friendliness. This is indicative of her defiant personality. No matter how dire her circumstances are her will to stand her ground and not obey others is strong, which, despite her rudeness and depressive spirit, is admirable.

The “ruffianly bitch” is revealed to be named Juno, which is fitting considering her swarm of squealing puppies.

“‘A beautiful animal!’ I commenced again. ‘Do you intend parting with the little ones, madam?’

‘They are not mine,’ said the amiable hostess, more repellingly than Heathcliff himself could have replied.”

Here we have yet another indication of Cathy’s unhappy state and an indication that she does not exactly function as the mistress of the house, the dogs are not hers.

“‘Ah, your favourites are among these?’ I continued, turning to an obscure cushion full of something like cats.

‘A strange choice of favourites!’ she observed scornfully.

Unluckily, it was a heap of dead rabbits.”

Needless to say, I really like this passage. It is the perfect example of the dark humor of Wuthering Heights. It is also the most concise illustration of the failure of Lockwood and by extension the reader trying to impose their preconceived notions of the world and fiction on Wuthering Heights. (People who were disappointed by the book not being a romance were probably expecting something like cats). It is also a good example of the aforementioned culture clash between Lockwood and the inhabitants of these houses, these dead rabbits are probably for farm work whereas Lockwood comes from the urban world where animals only exist to be pets or as a means of transportation. (Though admittedly Lockwood will later come to Yorkshire to “devastate the moors”, but knowing Lockwood this is also probably a passing interest and he does not know that much about hunting).

“Her position before was sheltered from the light; now, I had a distinct view of her whole figure and countenance. She was slender, and apparently scarcely past girlhood: an admirable form, and the most exquisite little face that I have ever had the pleasure of beholding; small features, very fair; flaxen ringlets, or rather golden, hanging loose on her delicate neck; and eyes, had they been agreeable in expression, that would have been irresistible: fortunately for my susceptible heart, the only sentiment they evinced hovered between scorn and a kind of desperation, singularly unnatural to be detected there. The canisters were almost out of her reach; I made a motion to aid her; she turned upon me as a miser might turn if any one attempted to assist him in counting his gold.”

Unlike her mother who is scarcely described in the text, Cathy is described in admiring detail by Lockwood. It is quite male gazey.

Cathy Linton is the character who is most frequently described as beautiful and this might be a factor in how healthy she comes off, both mentally and physically, and how positive a character she is. These things are explained in more detail here and here.

Lockwood’s description of her eyes foreshadows how important a role those eyes will play in the narrative later and brings to my mind Isabella’s comment to Heathcliff about how Hindley and Catherine have the same eyes: “Hindley has exactly her eyes, if you had not tried to gouge them out, and made them black and red; and her—”

Cathy not wanting Lockwood’s help shows how distrusting she is of everyone in this period of her life (and can we really blame her?) and how she tries to be strong on her own. This makes how she later retains her strength via her comradery with Hareton all the more moving.

“‘Were you asked to tea?’ she demanded, tying an apron over her neat black frock, and standing with a spoonful of the leaf poised over the pot.

‘I shall be glad to have a cup,’ I answered.

‘Were you asked?’ she repeated.

‘No,’ I said, half smiling. ‘You are the proper person to ask me.’

She flung the tea back, spoon and all, and resumed her chair in a pet; her forehead corrugated, and her red under-lip pushed out, like a child’s ready to cry.”

This shows how little authority Cathy has in the Heights. It also shows how unwilling she is to do anything that she doesn’t absolutely have to. “Her neat black frock” is a clue to her being recently widowed, of course Lockwood doesn’t put two and two together.

The description of her childish expression brings to mind how she is still a teenager and quite young, of course she is moody and rude after such an awful experience and under such dire circumstances.

“Meanwhile, the young man had slung on to his person a decidedly shabby upper garment, and, erecting himself before the blaze, looked down on me from the corner of his eyes, for all the world as if there were some mortal feud unavenged between us.”

I think this is Hareton being jealous of another man having the attention of Cathy.

“I began to doubt whether he were a servant or not: his dress and speech were both rude, entirely devoid of the superiority observable in Mr. and Mrs. Heathcliff; his thick brown curls were rough and uncultivated, his whiskers encroached bearishly over his cheeks, and his hands were embrowned like those of a common labourer: still his bearing was free, almost haughty, and he showed none of a domestic’s assiduity in attending on the lady of the house.”

Hareton’s ambiguous class position is another classic foreshadowing of the revenge plot to come and was probably a sign of how something went really wrong here to the book’s original Victorian readers who believed in clear-cut class binaries.

“Are you going to mak’ the tea?’ demanded he of the shabby coat, shifting his ferocious gaze from me to the young lady.

‘Is he to have any?’ she asked, appealing to Heathcliff.

‘Get it ready, will you?’ was the answer, uttered so savagely that I started. The tone in which the words were said revealed a genuine bad nature. I no longer felt inclined to call Heathcliff a capital fellow.”

Hareton seems to be angry at Cathy as well. This is the first important sign that Heathcliff might be a generally “bad” person, not just a bit misanthropic and sarcastic.

“When the preparations were finished, he invited me with ‘Now, sir, bring forward your chair.’ And we all, including the rustic youth, drew round the table: an austere silence prevailing while we discussed our meal.

I have always found it interesting how Heathcliff sat at the same table with Cathy and Hareton, as @dahlia-coccinea also pointed out in their post on Chapter 2. Cathy and Hareton are not complete Cinderellas. In some twisted way Heathcliff does see them as family. In a way his revenge is making them his family, more than making them into servants.

“‘It is strange,’ I began, in the interval of swallowing one cup of tea and receiving another ‘it is strange how custom can mould our tastes and ideas: many could not imagine the existence of happiness in a life of such complete exile from the world as you spend, Mr. Heathcliff; yet, I’ll venture to say, that, surrounded by your family, and with your amiable lady as the presiding genius over your home and heart—’”

As several critics pointed out over the years, in this passage Lockwood is trying to fit Cathy into the archetype of the “angel in the house” (which is especially ironic after Cathy offended him with her rudeness) and is trying to make sense of this strange family circle through his own cliched ideas about domestic bliss. This rather admiring description of marriage and family also belies Lockwood’s assertion in Chapter 1 about how misanthropic he is.

‘“My amiable lady!’ he interrupted, with an almost diabolical sneer on his face. ‘Where is she—my amiable lady?’”

I love Heathcliff. This exchange is one of my favorite parts of the book.

“‘Mrs. Heathcliff, your wife, I mean.’

‘Well, yes—oh, you would intimate that her spirit has taken the post of ministering angel, and guards the fortunes of Wuthering Heights, even when her body is gone. Is that it?’

This is ironic since Mrs. Heathcliff that is referred to here was Isabella but Heathcliff does indeed desire to be haunted by the spirit of another woman.

Notice how Heathcliff parodies Lockwood’s sentimental language. His entire revenge is partially parodying the actions of the people who hurt him.

“Then it flashed on me— ‘The clown at my elbow, who is drinking his tea out of a basin and eating his broad with unwashed hands, may be her husband: Heathcliff junior, of course. Here is the consequence of being buried alive: she has thrown herself away upon that boor from sheer ignorance that better individuals existed! A sad pity—I must beware how I cause her to regret her choice.’ The last reflection may seem conceited; it was not. My neighbour struck me as bordering on repulsive; I knew, through experience, that I was tolerably attractive.”

So, living here is being buried alive according to Lockwood. Much misanthropy.

The last sentence is just hilarious. He would sound much less conceited if he didn’t need to clarify himself. People who think that Wuthering Heights is devoid of humor or that Emily Bronte was incapable of getting the subtleties of human interactions clearly forgot about this chapter.

“‘Ah, certainly—I see now: you are the favoured possessor of the beneficent fairy,’ I remarked, turning to my neighbour.

This was worse than before: the youth grew crimson, and clenched his fist, with every appearance of a meditated assault. But he seemed to recollect himself presently, and smothered the storm in a brutal curse, muttered on my behalf: which, however, I took care not to notice.”

“Beneficent fairy” lol.

Hareton being so offended at the thought of being married to Cathy is clearly an early sign that they will end up together. He would care less if he were indifferent.

“‘Unhappy in your conjectures, sir,’ observed my host; ‘we neither of us have the privilege of owning your good fairy; her mate is dead. I said she was my daughter-in-law: therefore, she must have married my son.’

‘And this young man is—’

‘Not my son, assuredly.’

Heathcliff smiled again, as if it were rather too bold a jest to attribute the paternity of that bear to him.”

“We neither of us have the privilege of owning your good fairy” I love Heathcliff.

Heathcliff doesn’t take pride in ignorance or brutishness, he sees Hareton’s ignorance and brutishness as things to be ashamed of and is proud of himself for bringing his enemy’s son so low. He does love Hareton on some level, but he wouldn’t want to be mistaken for his father. He doesn’t think that ignorance and brutishness are good traits and he doesn’t want to to be associated with these traits, contrary to popular belief.

“‘My name is Hareton Earnshaw,’ growled the other; ‘and I’d counsel you to respect it!’

‘I’ve shown no disrespect,’ was my reply, laughing internally at the dignity with which he announced himself.”

Lockwood doesn’t seem to remember having read Hareton’s name on the door, perhaps because he didn’t enter through that door this time.

“ The dismal spiritual atmosphere overcame, and more than neutralised, the glowing physical comforts round me; and I resolved to be cautious how I ventured under those rafters a third time.”

Wuthering Heights has “glowing physical comforts”, it is the spiritual atmosphere that makes it a bleak place, not necessarily its physical presence.

“A sorrowful sight I saw: dark night coming down prematurely, and sky and hills mingled in one bitter whirl of wind and suffocating snow.”

A very good and concise description of the situation. Wuthering Heights is really good at setting the atmosphere through brief natural descriptions.

“There was no reply to my question; and on looking round I saw only Joseph bringing in a pail of porridge for the dogs, and Mrs. Heathcliff leaning over the fire, diverting herself with burning a bundle of matches which had fallen from the chimney-piece as she restored the tea-canister to its place.”

Our first porridge!

I like the little details of daily life here. Wuthering Heights is remembered for its dramatic and explosive scenes, but it is also good at conveying character through little details like these.

To my surprise I have found that I could get into these characters in this reread independently of my knowledge of the later happenings in the novel, despite me knowing the novel so well. The misanthropic grumpy landlord, moody teenage girl, the ridiculously delusional tenant, rude young man of uncertain class status, religious old servant... These characters are well-drawn and interesting independently of their backstory that we will later learn about, a novel that is more of this chapter could also be fun and interesting.

“The former, when he had deposited his burden, took a critical survey of the room, and in cracked tones grated out ‘Aw wonder how yah can faishion to stand thear i’ idleness un war, when all on ’ems goan out! Bud yah’re a nowt, and it’s no use talking—yah’ll niver mend o’yer ill ways, but goa raight to t’ divil, like yer mother afore ye!’”

The first mention of Cathy’s mother.

“‘You scandalous old hypocrite!’ she replied. ‘Are you not afraid of being carried away bodily, whenever you mention the devil’s name? I warn you to refrain from provoking me, or I’ll ask your abduction as a special favour! Stop! look here, Joseph,’ she continued, taking a long, dark book from a shelf; ‘I’ll show you how far I’ve progressed in the Black Art: I shall soon be competent to make a clear house of it. The red cow didn’t die by chance; and your rheumatism can hardly be reckoned among providential visitations!’”

Cathy derives her power from her clever words and her love of books.

“Mrs. Heathcliff,’ I said earnestly, ‘you must excuse me for troubling you. I presume, because, with that face, I’m sure you cannot help being good-hearted.”

The belief that Cathy must be good because she is beautiful is related to physiognomy. It is interesting that Emily Bronte has Lockwood say this since Lockwood’s assertions about women tend to be obviously ridiculous, yet she seems to make use of physiognomy in her characterizations. She is probably making fun of physiognomy as something to believe in real life but makes use of it to characterize her characters.

“‘How so? I cannot escort you. They wouldn’t let me go to the end of the garden wall.’”

Cathy is literally trapped at the Heights.

“‘As to staying here, I don’t keep accommodations for visitors: you must share a bed with Hareton or Joseph, if you do.’

‘I can sleep on a chair in this room,’ I replied.

‘No, no! A stranger is a stranger, be he rich or poor: it will not suit me to permit any one the range of the place while I am off guard!’ said the unmannerly wretch.”

Heathcliff has really become a miserly and grumpy man which again runs completely counter to the popular perception of him.

His completely reasonable assertion that Lockwood can spend a night sharing a room with Joseph or Hareton is forgotten by Lockwood because of his rudeness.

“At first the young man appeared about to befriend me.

‘I’ll go with him as far as the park,’ he said.”

‘You’ll go with him to hell!’ exclaimed his master, or whatever relation he bore. ‘And who is to look after the horses, eh?’

‘A man’s life is of more consequence than one evening’s neglect of the horses: somebody must go,’ murmured Mrs. Heathcliff, more kindly than I expected.

‘Not at your command!’ retorted Hareton. ‘If you set store on him, you’d better be quiet.’

‘Then I hope his ghost will haunt you; and I hope Mr. Heathcliff will never get another tenant till the Grange is a ruin,’ she answered, sharply.”

A sign of Hareton’s goodness and conscience and a sign of Cathy’s goodness as well.

Hareton is jealous of Cathy’s concern for another man. (@dahlia-coccinea also pointed this out in their post.)

Cathy and Hareton’s bickering is an early clue to them ending up together, which is why I am always surprised when people say that their relationship came out of nowhere. Like it or not, in fiction when a young man and a young woman share a quotidian and irrelevant enmity or a spar of words this is usually a sign that they will end up together. Yes it is not the least toxic of tropes and went out of fashion in the last few years, but this is the way it usually goes in fiction.

“He sat within earshot, milking the cows by the light of a lantern, which I seized unceremoniously, and, calling out that I would send it back on the morrow, rushed to the nearest postern.”

I like the little details of the farm life that are going on in the background like Joseph milking the cows. Bronte never lets us forget that this is a working farm where things are getting done and she always retains the vraisemblance of her setting.

“I ordered the miscreants to let me out—on their peril to keep me one minute longer—with several incoherent threats of retaliation that, in their indefinite depth of virulency, smacked of King Lear.”

The famous reference to King Lear. It is a rather humorous reference, referring to Lockwood’s threats being moot, which is what I have been feeling throughout the chapter whenever Lockwood mentions that he is on the verge of beating up someone.

“I don’t know what would have concluded the scene, had there not been one person at hand rather more rational than myself, and more benevolent than my entertainer. This was Zillah, the stout housewife; who at length issued forth to inquire into the nature of the uproar. She thought that some of them had been laying violent hands on me; and, not daring to attack her master, she turned her vocal artillery against the younger scoundrel.”

Zillah is positioned as Lockwood’s benevolent savior so far in the narrative, but her hesitation in going against her master is a clue to her pragmatic nature.

“‘Well, Mr. Earnshaw,’ she cried, ‘I wonder what you’ll have agait next? Are we going to murder folk on our very door-stones? I see this house will never do for me—look at t’ poor lad, he’s fair choking! Wisht, wisht; you mun’n’t go on so. Come in, and I’ll cure that: there now, hold ye still.’”

Zillah calls Lockwood “poor lad”, I think Lockwood is supposed to be young and certainly younger than Zillah. I imagine him as someone in his mid to late twenties.

“He told Zillah to give me a glass of brandy, and then passed on to the inner room; while she condoled with me on my sorry predicament, and having obeyed his orders, whereby I was somewhat revived, ushered me to bed.”

Dun dun dunn...

@dahlia-coccinea

#wuthering heights #wh reread #wh reread 2021 #chapter 2

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rpmemesbyarat · 3 years

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Note: This is more an opinion piece about my own tastes than anything, but I thought it was worth posting for those who feel the same. Whether or not you thought that the new “Cruella” film was good, if it was necessary, if it was problematic, whatever, one thing everyone can agree on was that the villain, the Baroness, was evil. Wholly, cruelly, irredeemably evil, with no sympathetic or complex elements in the slightest. She doesn’t have a single humanizing thing about her, and she one-ups the original villainous Cruella by trying to have a BABY be killed by her henchman, not just baby animals. It’s ironic to me that a film dedicated to humanizing Cruella used a villain that was essentially just like her original version---an older woman who is a fabulous fashionista and also irredeemably, utterly evil and attempts to have the most innocent, helpless of creatures murdered on her behalf for no greater reason for her vanity and convenience. Perhaps this was intentional, but it’s something I notice pops up a LOT in these sorts of stories. For instance, in the musical “Twisted” which retells Disney’s “Aladdin” from the point of view of Jafar, it’s not merely that Jafar is misunderstood or has sympathetic motives and reasons of his own; Aladdin is an utterly evil villain unrecognizable from his original self. He steals out of laziness, is only an orphan because he killed his parents when they wanted him to get a job, is 33 to Jasmine’s 16, and is implied to be ready to rape Jasmine when she refuses him. All of his altruism, bravery, and other good traits are erased. He’s as completely flat and unsympathetic a villain as Jafar originally was, complete with perving on Jasmine being transplanted on to him with Jafar now becoming Jasmine’s protective biological father. I enjoy works that explore the idea that there are two sides to every story, that every villain sees themself as the hero in their own story, and that things are always more complex than the “heroes and villains” dichotomy. And stories like these promise that. . . .while actually just reproducing the same dynamic of the hero who didn’t actually do anything wrong vs the utterly evil, reprehensible villain who is just evil for no reason. I see a lot of this in fanfic and fanon too; works that promise to simply explore things from the villain’s perspective either present the heroes as completely two-dimensional bullies dedicated to making the villain’s life hell for no reason, or introduce a new character to be a far worse villain by comparison for the protagonist villain to stand against, or who torments them to explain their villainy. And it’s not played as simply being how things happened in the villain’s head, a lie they tell themselves to excuse their behavior, but as actual fact. This bugs me. You’re not breaking down any preconceived notions about good and evil, you’re just switching who is in the roles while keeping all those same ideas---the flawless hero, the evil inhuman villain---or only making the villain “heroic” by adding a WORSE person for comparison. And like. . . ok, if there’s two sides to every story like these works claim, what about the 2D inhuman villains like the Baroness who are created solely to explain the evil of the original bad guy? It could be clever if we got hints about them that suggest they have a painful past too that made them that way, but that seldom happens. The writer tells us that no one is born a villain, then unrionically presents us with a new villain who seems to be exactly that. I think breaking out of the villain/hero dichotomy is a worthy, interesting thing to explore, as is the idea everyone has humanizing traits and motives that make sympathetic sense to themselves for reasons that are understandable. But it seems like a lot of works that promise to do that, are still stuck in the same mentality that everyone DOES have to be all bad or all good, that villains DO lack any real depth, they just switch the names around of who is what. And that’s not new or original or thought-provoking at all, in my opinion.

#writeblr #villains #writing villains #writing

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cruelfeline · 4 years

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One of the aspects of Hordak that strikes me so significantly when compared to other characters is the unexpected, terrifying escalation of his situation.

We don’t really see this happen with anyone else: generally speaking, our other characters are very much a case of “what you see is what you get.” Adora is perhaps a bit of an exception, seeing as her status as “First Ones gun trigger” is used as a plot twist in season four, but her general background and the overall nature of her situation remain fairly consistent throughout the show.

Same with Catra. Same with Glimmer and Bow. Mermista, Perfuma, Scorpia, Frosta... everyone else receives a backstory and, barring minute elaborations, stays true to our first impressions of them. Our understanding of who they are and what they are about doesn’t really change.

Hordak is not this way.

Hordak starts off as a pretty standard, one-dimensional evil warlord character. Season one finds him very much delegated to the background, supposedly pulling the strings behind the scenes as other characters have their dramas play out center stage. He is well-designed and frightening, an imposing individual with a stoic personality and a sense of reason and logic that marks him as an effective commander.

We get no backstory at this point, and the initial impression of the character (at least for me) is “capable evil leader, little to no depth beyond what is absolutely necessary.” And that’s fine. At this point in the story, there’s no suggestion that Hordak will have any sort of role save for serving as an ultimate antagonist for our heroes, so a backstory is largely unnecessary. He appears properly built to provide powerful opposition, and that’s all we need.

This is Hordak’s starting point. It is a serviceable starting point. It is also stunningly different from his end point, and at this stage in the series, there is zero indication that there is going to be any alteration, let alone such a dramatic one.

Seasons two and three see Hordak gaining actual development. Significant development. Development that provides him with a painful, sympathetic reason for waging his war. Suddenly, Hordak is not an all-powerful, untouchable warlord. Suddenly, he is a vulnerable individual with significant physical ailments and resulting emotional trauma.

His situation has escalated.

We see now that his body is falling apart, that he is sickly and weak and dependent upon armor and bravado to maintain control over his subordinates. We see that he is not the stoic, omnipotent man presented to us in season one.

Instead, we learn that he is a manufactured clone with deep emotional wounds linked to past rejection and trauma, that he comes from a society where his illness is scorned enough to earn him rejection and what amounts to a death sentence. We come to understand that he views himself very poorly, and that a significant number of his negative character traits are rooted in shame and fear and a desperate need for validation.

we also learn that he has cute lil ears that can wiggle and droop when he’s sad

To these significant developments we add his budding friendship with Entrapta, and we find that Hordak is very much capable of desiring, forming, and maintaining a positive, affectionate relationship with someone. His character thus becomes even more complex.

Now, something to keep in mind at this point: thanks to revelations provided by his backstory, we can view Hordak as a more vulnerable individual with legitimate feelings and insecurities. That said, there is still a certain dangerous edge to him. At this point in the series, we have been told, by Hordak himself, that he was a top general in a much larger version of the Horde.

This supposed fact somewhat tempers his vulnerability. We get the sense that, while he is suffering from the shame and subsequent rejection brought on by his disability, his ultimate goal of rejoining his brother still involves a certain level of power. There is this idea that, though he wants validation and acceptance, he is also seeking to regain a position that, theoretically, grants him greater power and authority than the one he holds now. Hence why he doesn’t just settle for conquering and ruling Etheria: being lord of Etheria does not hold a candle to the power granted him by regaining his rank as Horde Prime’s top general.

One can look back at the fandom during late 2019 to fully appreciate this: fanfiction from this time period often features headcanons of particularly accomplished clones holding respected positions in Prime’s empire. High ranking clones have names and titles. They have ships. They have their own planets and their own armies. Even though they serve Prime and are, sadly, purpose-bred clones, they have power and status that provide them with a certain level of agency.

Essentially, there was the idea that a traditional Horde military structure exists, and Hordak held privilege within it.

So, while Hordak’s situation has escalated in emotional poignancy from “evil warlord wanting to rule the world” to “defective clone seeking validation,” there remains an unsympathetic aspect to it. There is still some degree of potential power-hunger that one can attribute to him.

This changes, very suddenly and traumatically, in seasons four and five. And this, friends and neighbors, is where I begin to become very emotional.

Our first indication that things are about to wildly change comes during the season four finale. We meet Horde Prime. We see how submissive and terrified Hordak is in his presence. We witness Prime’s distaste not only for the state of him and his failed conquest, but for Hordak daring to take a name.

It is Hordak’s name being a problem that plants the seeds for an upheaval of our preconceived notions regarding a clone’s function in the Galactic Horde. Those seeds germinate abruptly and violently in the next few moments as Prime lifts Hordak by the throat, declares him an abomination, and viciously violates and erases his mind.

And oh, friends and neighbors, now we know that something is wrong.

We don’t quite know the specifics yet, but we know that there is some sort of discrepancy between what Hordak told us and the truth he has lived. At no point in the narrative did Hordak say anything about names being inappropriate. At no point did he say anything that might have prepared us for the suspiciously religiously-coded language Prime is using. At no point did he say anything to suggest that there was anything wrong with what he was doing beyond trying to compensate for a physical disability.

And then, alongside all of these dark little surprises, there are the hauntingly blank stares of the clones standing besides Prime’s throne.

All of these factors instill a sense of dread that culminates in the chilling reveal of the Galactic Horde’s true nature come season five.

It is a cult. An honest-to-the-gods, played-absolutely-straight religious cult.

The Galactic Horde isn’t a traditional army, or an aggressive nation, or even a standard imperialist empire. It is a cult, with Horde Prime as its god and countless clone acolytes acting as its horrifically willing members.

We never see a top general, or any generals at all. We never see any sort of military hierarchy. We never see clones leading armies, or owning ships, or holding ranks, or commanding anyone or anything.

What we see instead is clones blindly worshiping their Brother. We see them doting on him, sacrificing their own life force to maintain his form. We see them forfeiting control of their bodies to him whenever he feels like using another’s form. We see them chanting the virtue of suffering to achieve purity. We see them blank and emotionless save for religious zealotry, a purpose-bred cohort of completely brainwashed followers. We see that there is no apparent escape from this life, for Prime sees their minds and controls every aspect of their existence, and we see that there is no desire for escape among them, so utterly indoctrinated are they.

We see Hordak reduced to one of these cowl-wearing acolytes: nameless, powerless, ready and willing to endure physical agony in order to forget his shame and relinquish his self to his Brother in the hopes of... well, certainly not of regaining some exalted military rank, or of reclaiming some previously-held status. These things do not exist. Not in this actual religious cult.

Hordak’s true situation is now fully apparent, and it is so far removed from our views of him back in previous seasons: rather than being a calculating warlord, or even a defective clone seeking to regain military glory, Hordak is a manufactured soldier-slave who was born into a religious cult, so indoctrinated and bound to his Brother that he risks his own life in order to win Prime’s love and approval.

Because that’s what this final realization confirms: Hordak was never after any sort of power or prestigious military status. They never existed. Hordak was, in the end, an abused slave trying desperately to win love from his loveless master. He truly was just after validation and affection and a feeling of secure belonging. All things that he was deprived of because he was born a slave-acolyte in a godsforsaken cult.

And that’s... that’s such a vastly different state of affairs than the one we accepted in season one. It completely rewrites our understanding of Hordak’s power, of his vulnerability, of his true wants and needs and desires. Said understanding shifts from a purely villainous one to one steeped in self-loathing and control and lifelong victimization. It is absolutely shocking to see a character’s circumstances completely transform the way Hordak’s do between the show’s beginning and its finale. It is utterly bewildering to witness this intensity of change.

As I stated at the start: this doesn’t happen to anyone else. Oh, other characters develop and grow and undergo their arcs, sure, but by and large, Catra remains a scrappy catgirl. Adora remains an orphaned heroine. Swift Wind remains a revolutionary winged steed.

Only Hordak undergoes a transformation as dramatic as shifting from “all-powerful conquering warlord” to “defective clone seeking validation... but maybe also galactic power” before finally settling, tearfully and painfully, on “shamed, love-starved cult victim.” Only his situation, his true identity and our understanding of it, escalate so shockingly and to such terrifying levels.

I’m still not over it. I still cry about it. I still feel light-headed sometimes, knowing that Hordak's circumstances revolve around being born into and abused and thrown away by an actual cult. Even though we're over two months out from SPoP's finale, it's still that emotionally powerful to me, and the shock of the difference between seasons one and five only make it more so.

#hordak #horde prime #she ra

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perthshirecottage · 4 years

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Okay this wound up way longer than I thought it was going to. I was thinking about little Five in the apocalypse and finding Vanya’s book. Has anyone ever thought about how much Vanya’s book influenced Five and his perception of his siblings? Because I think about that and I haven’t really seen too many posts about that so here’s my two cents.

Five was only 13 when he got stuck in the apocalypse and yet he comes back acting like he knows these 29 years old versions of his siblings. Five obsessively reading the book actually explains why he comes back and immediately thinks every single one of his siblings besides Vanya are stupid and useless despite not having seen any of them in 45 years. The book would have been written to make Vanya the poor sympathetic victim and her father and siblings the villain of her story. 45 years is a long time and I’m sure Five has forgotten plenty of details about his siblings. He still has his own faded memories of the people he remembers and so he might remember bits and pieces that weren’t in the book but those memories would be influenced by the things Vanya had written and perhaps make him question if he was remembering correctly. Not to mention Vanya’s book is the only written account of the kind of people they became and Vanya made sure she was the only one who came across in a flattering light. Five would have read about Klaus and his spiral into addiction and how he stole and lied to his siblings. How Allison became even more shallow and vain. How Luther was almost cruel in his need to be the leader, acting more and more like dad every day. Deigo was selfish and only cared about making sure everyone knew he was better than them and he was angry and bitter when he couldn’t. And Vanya would have written herself as the saint who endured all of this only to be tossed aside like a broken doll that no one wanted. Of course Five is going to lean towards seeing things Vanya’s way. Her voice is the only influence he had on knowing who his siblings became. The only fact that Five would have kept alive outside of Vanya’s influence is that he loves his siblings. I don’t say any of this to diminish what Vanya went through. She *did* suffer. But so did everyone else in that house. And Vanya’s book would not have shown that because she didn’t think anyone else suffered the way she did. She thought she was treated horribly and abused while her siblings were living the high life of being extraordinary and that she had to be the martyr for living through that. So Five, young and impressionable and all alone would have had Vanya’s voice in his ear telling him all the reasons why she was the only good person in that house, the only one that was competent and could be trusted. Five would have felt more of a kinship towards Vanya than anyone else because her book would have endeared him to her. Unfortunately when he got there and Vanya didn’t believe him it went against the Vanya that Five had created in his head. Because none of Five’s siblings were quite the people that Vanya had portrayed in her book, not even herself. And Five has had to adapt to anything the world has thrown at him so he just rolls with it. He also didn’t have time feel any loss at his preconceived notions being wrong because, you know the apocalypse was in 8 days.

I don’t know the exactly what the kids’ relationships were like growing up, and I know that Vanya wrote about how Five was her only confidant. How he was the only one who cared, but that is the voice of someone who is 15 years past what happened and seeing things with rose tinted glasses. I know the popular opinion is that Five and Vanya were the absolute best of friends and everyone else was just sort of there, but that’s based on a head shake, a name called, what Vanya said, and the fact the Five went to Vanya first. That’s not to say that Five and Vanya were not friends, but I don’t think that Vanya was Five’s only friend. Because of their dad’s influence no one wanted to hang out with Vanya that much but since Five did that meant that he was her best friend. And Five left and so those are the memories that Vanya held onto to but I highly doubt that Five hung out with Vanya and only Vanya. The fact that Five had enough love and connection to endure 45 years of hell to get back to his entire family and not just Vanya shows that five had to have had an honest connection to *all* of his siblings. At 13 I’m sure that Five played with all of his siblings and had a relationship with each of them. In flashbacks he was arrogant and smart but also a little silly and playful and he wasn’t as stressed and mean as he is in the show because he hadn’t endured 45 years of trauma. And while yes, I do think Five was probably closer to Klaus, Ben, and Vanya, if only because Allison and Luther were caught and up in each other and Diego had latched into their mom, it doesn’t mean that Five didn’t hang out with people who weren’t Vanya. He would have bonded with everyone else over things that Vanya couldn’t understand. Vanya thought getting a tattoo would have been cool, and wanted one only because she was left out while everyone else knew how frightening and traumatic the whole thing was. Vanya didn’t endure training sessions and know how brutal those could be. She didn’t go on missions and experience how thrilling they could be when they went right but that also meant she never felt the panic and desperation and fear when they went wrong. Back to my point which is that Vanya would have only had good things to say about Five and how close they were. Vanya probably would have written about how everyone didn’t seem to mind that much about Five going missing because that gave them more room to shine and how she was the only one to make him peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches and leave the lights on for him because she was his best friend and the only one who cared about him. so of course Five is going to come out years later remembering how close he and Vanya were because her book would have influenced his memories. He wouldn’t as clearly be able to remember joking around with Klaus or sitting around complaining about training with Diego or those moments where he and Ben would sit in compainiable science while reading or how he and Luther would excitedly talk about whatever new science fact they had learned that day or how he and Allison would laugh over some of the more ridiculous articles that were written about the esteemed Umbrella Academy. Vanya’s account of their friendship would have made Five feel closer to her than anyone else. And I’m sure Five would have felt a connection to Vanya’s portrayal of complete isolation. Five understands on a visceral level what it means to be cut off from everyone and everything and he would have felt this kinship with Vanya over that as well.

Which brings us to season 2. Five still loves Vanya and wants to protect her, but Vanya also isn’t the same person he thought she was. She is more angry and vindictive than he thought. And the rest of the siblings aren’t quite what Five had built up in his head either. Klaus isn’t just a lying junkie, but also empathetic and sad. Diego isn’t just an angry number 2 but has a protective streak a couple miles wide. Luther isn’t just Dad’s lackey but is someone who just wants to protect his family but is floundering in figuring out who he is. Allison isn’t completely focused on herself but wants to be a better sister, a better person. Five is reminded more of the people he knew when he was 13. He is reminded that Vanya has some bad qualities but that those don’t diminish the good ones. He is also reminded that the others are not just the horrid useless people from Vanya’s book, but people who are hurting just like him (even if he still knows he had it worst) and who are good and loving people that he wants to reconnect with. And so seeing them in this new light and also realizing that leaving people out of the loop is what caused the last apocalypse, Five puts more trust in his family and tries to bring them together to stop this new apocalypse. He wants to be closer and work with and spend time getting to know this version of his siblings. In S1 when Five is given a minute to breathe because he thinks the apocalypse is over, he realizes that all he wants to do is grow up and be with his family. He wants to just be, without a mission, without an apocalypse. He is tired of fighting and clinging to rage to keep his adrenaline up just so he can function to get through his exhaustion and pain to save the world. He wants to connect to his family. He wants to know all of them. And Five is willing to do whatever he has to get the chance to truly know his siblings on his own terms and not through someone else’s skewed perspective. Five is even willing to fight Vanya because again, he is seeing that she is willing to toss away all of his hard work because she cares more about her selfish desires than going home which is all Five has wanted for 45 years not to mention the fact that he hasn’t had a single break in two weeks. Of course it’s not just Vanya, everyone does get sidetracked by their own personal problems and Five winds up just about losing his mind. Even older, younger Five shows that Five is automatically going to side with Vanya for destroying the world. This Five hasn’t been rejected by Vanya or seen her get angry or been reminded that his family is more than just the bad people in Vanya’s book so when he finds out that Vanya destroyed the world because she was ignored then he is like yeah that tracks. Five has seen all of his siblings too long through Vanya’s eyes and he deserves the chance to know them himself.

Five has lived far longer without his family than he did with them plus he was so young when he left that he wouldn’t have had that many years of concious memories. So Vanya and her book would have had just as much of an impact on his life as the apocalypse did.

#tua #five hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #the hargreeves #tua s2 spoilers #the umbrella academy season 2 spoilers #the umbrella academy

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duhragonball · 3 years

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For the ask game: Broly, whichever version you'd rather talk about

I was having trouble choosing, but luckily I got the same request twice, so we’ll just do both of them (air horn) in chronological order, the best order.

Give me a character and I will answer:

Why I like them: All right, Broly ‘93. Basically, he’s a big meaty representation of what some might expect a Super Saiyan should really be. It’s a running theme in DBZ, where Goku is a Saiyan, yet constantly at odds with these preconceived notions of what a Saiyan is. I’ll probably never get confirmation of it, but I’m pretty sure someone in charge of Movie 8 looked at this:

...and invented a character that resembled it in ways Goku did not. The idea being that Goku’s a poser, here’s the “““real”““ Super Saiyan, and then Goku beats that guy. That’s why Vegeta despairs when he sees Broly, because he sees something that he wants to be, but isn’t. And Goku just sees him as another movie villain to throw down with.

And I like Broly for scratching that itch. He’s a wild man who just wants to fight and kill without restraint. It’s good that we have a character like that who can explore that idea, and to prove why it doesn’t work.

I also like the original Broly as this mythical figure in the early 2000′s fandom. Movie 8 didn’t get an official release in the U.S. until 2003, so leading up to that, fans were vaguely aware of Broly, but not entirely clear on what his deal is. It probably didn’t help that the movies aren’t canon, and that a lot of fans don’t understand that, and fansubs probably muddied the waters even further. So it’s led to this cult-of-personality where Broly’s dearest fans cling to the notion that he’s invincible and can beat anybody. I’ve seen fanart of him punching the Living Tribunal, which is like eight steps above Galactus on the Marvel cosmic power heirarchy. Meanwhile, the actual character is a three-time loser. He can’t even win in his own movies, so why should anyone believe he’s a big deal? I guess Toei kind of fueled the fires by making him a bonus superboss in so many video games. It’s implied that Broly is, or at least could be, the strongest guy of all, and it’s a fun notion, even if it’s a load of crap.

Why I don’t: Broly’s overrated, no question. Movie 8 was awesome, but take away Goku and Vegeta and Paragus and you end up with Movie 10, where he sucks rotten eggs. The general vibe I get from Broly discourse is that his critics hate him because he’s so one-dimensional in Movie 10, and then they watch Movie 8 and go “Oh, so this is why people like him.” And the fanboys love him for Movie 8 and then they see 10 and go “Oh, this is why everyone hates his guts.” They argue in circles about the character, when they’re really talking about the two movies, one good and one bad.

I suppose Broly represents some of the worst aspects of the fandom, the folks who only care about stats and power levels and battleboard nonsense, the dudebros who cling to the male power fantasy even as DBZ constantly pokes holes in it at every turn. But I don’t blame the character for that. Movie 8 was a fun movie, and he was a big part of the reason why.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Probably the part where he kills his own father. What makes Movie 8 work is that it’s this tragedy disguised as a revenge story. King Vegeta tried to kill Paragus and Broly, and Paragus wants revenge for that, but Broly goes haywire and wrecks the whole thing, which only proves that King Vegeta was right about Broly all along. I think, early on, Paragus and Broly genuinely cared about one another, but their evil scheme ruined their relationship, until they each saw the other as disposable.

Favorite season/movie: Movie 8, no question.

Favorite line: “I do what needs to be done. What do you expect from a true freak?!”

Favorite outfit: He’s really only got the one, but I do enjoy the alt-attire they give him in the video games, where he looks more like his Movie 10 self, and for whatever reason there’s less green in his hair and aura. I think the Raging Blast Games let you customize auras, and I would give Broly the classic SSJ one, as opposed to his green nonsense.

OTP: You know, I can’t believe I never thought about this before, but has anyone tried doing like a Movie 8 version of Cheelai? Like, I don’t know if “Evil Cheelai” is exactly what I’m suggesting, but some kind of darker version of her, a lady who’s basically inherited the same tenuous control over Broly that Paragus had. Like, maybe he thinks she’s his slave, but she’s manipulating him, or she has a beefier version of the mind control tiara from the movie.

But yeah, otherwise, I got nothing.

Brotp: Forget that, Broly’s a jerk.

Head Canon: The Xenoverse games sort of pull the same trick as all of the older games, using Broly ‘93 as a bonus challenge after you beat the game. Except the Xenoverse games have to try to explain it somehow, like he’s a time anomaly, or he crawled out of a timehole or whatever. I kind of like that idea, that Broly is this glitch in reality that manifests as a freaky-deaky Super Saiyan.

Mostly, though, I just cannot abide the idea of that green bulky form being the legitimate Legendary Super Saiyan form. I’m not saying it’s phony or wrong or uncool, but I hate the idea that Goku beat Frieza using some knockoff transformation that wasn’t green enough. That’s dumb.

Unpopular opinion: I cannot stress enough that Cell would wipe the floor with Broly ‘93. It wouldn’t even be close.

A wish: I always wanted to see Goku or Vegeta defeat Broly in a one-on-one encounter. Basically he shows up and they’re like “Well now we have Super Saiyan 2, so your ass is grass,” and he loses clean.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I hope they never do a Broly revival where he’s even stronger and they have to use Gogeta Blue to beat him, that would be stupid--

Oh, wait.

Well, they made a good movie out of it, but I still detest the idea of Broly being that much stronger than Goku and Vegeta. It’s not right.

5 words to best describe them: Mean and green and bad.

My nickname for them: Broly ‘93, I suppose.

#dragon ball #ask duhragonball #broly #the 1993 version #nico-robin-official

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crimsonblazw · 4 years

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Zero-one is the perfect start to a new generation

artist credit:https://twitter.com/r5WitWG0y8Poz0K/status/1300385462972866560?s=20

Introduction

Kamen rider Zero-one concluded last week and I believe it to be a very strong first entry into the Reiwa era of Kamen rider. On the surface it's back to basics with a grasshopper themed main character and simple animal motifs for his forms and the other riders while the major motif of the season centers around Artificial intelligence and the concepts of free will,dreams,and empathy.

At first glance you'd have several preconceived notions about the series,but there is FAR more than meets the eye.

Story and themes

Structurally this season of KR is made up of bigger arcs (four in total) which break down into smaller two episode arcs that make up the week to week episodes which allowed the show to maximize the monster of the week formula while the main story progresses at it's own pace (the best way to do KR in my opinion), this pairs well with one of Zero-one's biggest strengths; world building.

Each two episode arc explores the humagears' place in society and they're overall relationship with humans leading to a diverse range of dynamics that get explored over the course of the show with very few stones left unturned.

In general the thesis of the show is built on the beliefs of the humagears' creator Hiden Korenosuke,that humagears will help humanity achieve the their dreams.

At first you can take this literally given humagears can be thought of as "tools" for day to day life when in reality they where meant to grow along with humans (in other words reach singularity) and use their own passions and dreams to elevate those of humans and vice versa,the significance being that humans by nature are empathetic and social beings who have only made it so far as a species due to our ability to care for one another, humagears are meant to help humanity achieve our full potential faster.

The challenges this idea faces is a society that not only wants humagears and humans alike to become nothing more than "beasts of burden" for the upper class but also it's mirror opposite;the potential malice and selfishness that ultimately destroys lives and dreams,all of this being synonymous with the classic fiction trope or A.I. and robots representing the inhumane treatment of the common person.

Characters

While the overall show and it's smaller stories make up the backbone of the show the main characters are the heart, having arcs that represent the exact message the themes of the show are trying to communicate.

Aruto Hiden/Zero-one- Our main character. He has the staple good heart of a main rider with a strong belief in the power of dreams.

His arc is flat in order to inspire the other characters around him and further their own growth while having his own convictions tested the challenges of the show. He's very endearing and seeing how he overcomes every obstacle (even when it's crushing him) is the mark of a good main rider.

Izu-Aruto's humagear partner. It's easy to dismiss Izu's growth but her change is present but subtle. She goes from following Korenosuke's initial directives to making her own decisions,she starts off confused by Aruto's jokes but begins repeating them,and she goes from being Aruto's secretary to being his family. The evolution of her and Aruto's relationship is heartwarming and gives them on the best male/female lead dynamic in the franchise.

Fuwa/Vulcan-He starts as a staunch humagear hating foil to Aruto and a rather typical secondary rider. But after discovering his entire mindset has been "crafted" by those who want to control him his arc blossoms into a great story of a man taking back control of his life and rejecting the false and toxic ideals forced on to him, resulting in arguably the best arc in the show.

Yua/Valkyrie- While her arc can be easy to miss she represents those who unintentionally surrender their personhood to those above them while believing they retain their independence. Despite some lacking screentime she does recognize her worth and atonomy and reclaims her life (not unlike her partner Fuwa) and I hope future female riders follow her example (but with more screentime).

Horobi and Jin- Our two initial villains and the heads of the humagear terrorist cell Metsubojinrai.net.

Horobi begins as a steadfast believer in his "master" the Ark and shares it's beliefs in the extermination of humanity, beliefs he tries to pass to his "son" Jin who has concerns about their violent and forceful methods before becoming indoctrinated.

As the show goes on Jin begins to develop his own beliefs separate from Horobi while Horobi begins to experience a crisis of faith. They're dynamic is unique in KR and their arc is a perfect representation of the kinds of toxic concepts that can be passed down from parent to child but with time can be unlearned.

Gai/Thouser- One of the two major villains in the show. In many ways he's a more serious version of Dan from Ex-aid, his main position in this story being a stand-in for the greedy ruling class who will destroy as many lives as they want so long as they get what they want.

He's genuinely impressive in terms of how well calculated his plan is and absolutely loathsome for the fact he essentially caused everything wrong in the series. His eventual "redemption" is VERY hard to swallow but for food or ill does fit with the shows themes of overcoming our worst aspects and also doesn't bend over backwards to make him sympathetic.

Naki/Raiden-the other two members of Metsubojinrai.net. Wish they had gotten more screentime, especially since Naki seemed like a character that would have been cool to see more of. I do like them still and think it's cool they got their own happy endings.

The final arc

This deserves it's own section. The final arc is one of the most bold and interesting final arcs in the franchise and in my opinion is the best one since Drive.

The asset that really makes this part of the show work is the "final boss" the Ark. Despite seeming like a generic "evil entity" final boss commonly seen in toku the Ark is a methodical and truly evil being.

The Ark represents the darkest parts of human existence, mainly that our compassion/love can be easily turned into malice when the hardships of the world take it's tole on us.

Going deeper the ark's "philosophy" can also be seen as a parallel to those who think humanity is better off destroyed because of humans alleged inherent cruelty,not realizing that not only are humans not inherently cruel but that mindset is at most a trauma based response to the hardships of the world or a hypocritical mindset that give those who think it a free pass to be malicious and hateful while thinking they're "enlightened" for recognizing the alleged folly of man.

The Ark utilizes these concepts in it's final plan when it manipulates Aruto and Horobi take each other to their lowest points by having them kill each other's most treasured person,the duel between the two fueling human/humagear tension to the point of war,and it did this all without being around for most of it.

Aruto is so besides himself with grief that he essentially abandons his dream,I think what stood out to me was Fuwa attempting to stop Aruto and pointing out that Aruto is where he used to be,full of rage and hatred that can only be overcome with someone else showing you genuine empathy, which is what Fuwa is attempting to give to Aruto as a parallel to when Aruto did it for him.

The final battle is not only between Horobi and Aruto but between Malice and empathy. And in the end the two breaking down and recognizing each other's pain with Aruto winning but sparing Horobi is the final "test" of what fully realized empathy is.

Outro

2020 has been rough. I think more than ever we see what's wrong with the world and what we need to do to fix it. Whether it was intentional or not Zero-one was the rider I think we needed right now.

In a society that doesn't value empathy ,unity,or dreams we have to elevate each other and hold on to our passions and dreams for the future.

Thanks for reading ! Please like and share ! And feel free to share your thoughts. Keep your eyes peeled for future posts! Best wishes friend

#kamen rider #zero one #toku #tokusatsu #hiden aruto #izu #fuwa isamu #yaiba yua #horobi #jin #gai amatsu #the ark #humagears #kamen rider vulcan #kamen rider valkyrie #metsubojinrai #review

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darnianwayne · 4 years

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gdi batman doesn’t kill for a Reason: a character study

first let’s get this one out of the way: in canon batman is and likely will always be presented as a wealthy, white man of privilege and he Specifically should not have unilateral license to kill due to that. because well... COME ON!! if i have to explain this one, This Post Is Not For You

now, batman’s reasons for not killing are not because “killing would make him as bad as the rogues uwu” and if that’s your interpretation then i am sorry on behalf of recent bad comics and adaptations that have so diluted batman’s character to be closer to a sick, man-child perversion than an actual superhero with all the grey morality and social responsibity that truly implies

as a character, batman is first and foremost a detective who actively works with the only non-corruptable “good cop” he cound find in a city that is so historically corrupt and disenfranchised that at one point after an earthquake decimated gotham, the national government basically threw up its hands, shrugged, and abandoned gotham’s survivors to anarchy. batman is a symbol to the people of gotham for hope and protection against all manner of evils - not only from the criminal underbelly but from the corruption that mutated gotham’s systems of power from woefully incompetent to actively harmful to its citizenry. batman is a traumatized man who was once a happy child who watched his parents murdered in front of him and decided never again. batman is a father who realized if he ever used his role as batman to take a life, he would be sanctioning his children to do the same in his name

the batman character is a lot of things. but batman is not, should not, and cannot be judge, jury, and executioner. to paint him as a brutalizer that goes mad with power when presented with low-level criminals is disingenuous at best and actively harmful to the batman symbology of heroism at worst. even to say that batman should kill only in extreme cases like joker, who is undeniably a horrible piece of non-human excrement whose death would actually be a net good for all of dc in-universe society, it would be completely against who batman is as a character to have him break his morals like that. batman, bruce wayne, is a man who tries to use every tool at his disposal to bring about justice and prevent death: using his company to hire the disenfranchised in gotham including ex-cons, single-handedly funding gotham’s charities, and ofc using batman to find evidence to bring down powerful crime bosses and corrupt politicians alongside the rogues gallery. batman is one man whose symbol and legacy is larger than he is, but who is still only One Man

batman doesn’t kill not because he’s too good for it. he doesn’t kill because he’s too SMALL for it! bruce inherently values human life to the point where he believes one man cannot decide whether another human being lives or dies. that’s his whole stance when bruce inevitably butts heads with members of his own family who don’t subscribe to his point of view!

and yeah there’s always room in the Disk Horse to talk about whether or not batman is doing enough or if his morality is too simple and he actually should, logistically speaking, “cross the line.” those conversations are welcome in the context of all batman mythology: if batman and his universe existed, would bruce wayne’s batman be the form he should take? tbh idk and i am not here for thought experiments of what form superheroism would take in “real world” scenarios. there’s plenty of other fiction and media that have tackled that question, with results ranging from absolute fascist-glorification garbage to genuinely good works that challenge consumers’ preconceived notions of what a “superhero” would truly look like (watchmen, the ultimate batman au fanfic, is a great example)

the character of batman in-universe serves as a hard moral compass example to his family and other heroes not because it’s simple and easy - but because it’s HARD to believe human life is inherently valuable in the face of all the atrocities and horrors bruce has seen humans do to one another. and the question of whether or not the human monsters batman faces are worthy of their lives is straight up not one bruce wayne contends with. bruce has made his position clear and he is steadfast. but those types of questions are valuable anyway, and though we know batman’s answer, it’s metatextually important batman is challenged for his morality. in the batman mythos, jason todd is the clearest example of a character type that confronts those life-death questions, chooses differently, and that batman and we the readers have to decide who to agree with

at this point the batman “no killing” morality is a whole arechetype in and of itself. the batman archetype of heroism and vigilantism has inspired or informed the interpretation of most if not all other vigilante-like heroes that have been created since the early 20th century. so in a lot of ways batman has the simple rule of “no killing” because we as consumers don’t want a hero who kills. we live in a reality where innocent people are murdered by the powers that be, where cops murder civilians in cold blood, and call those crimes deserved and just. so we build fiction where that “reality,” that fun-house mirror of absolute power, is cleansed and where an individual has that same power of impunity and deliberately chooses not to use it. heroism in comics is an idealized version of what we wish existed in our own society: somebody with the actual power and ability to make a difference for the greater good without moral bankruptcy. it’s easy when you put it like that. batman exists in the vacuum of fiction, so the decisions he makes as a character do not have to be as complicated as real life. and the dc mythos is rich enough that batman is actively challenged on his stances by others even within his own family and honestly he should be! as a character batman has to be given the option to change his mind, and as a literary device readers have to be reminded of the moral choice at stake. It’s Good Writing Babey!! tho admittedly it’s this aspect that is most actively (and probably rightfully) criticized BECAUSE batman never changes his mind. and for a character with mythology that is over 80 years old - that’s a long time for the cultural and moral zeitgeist of superheroes to remain unchanged, especially considering the “no killing” rule has become a hard rule for all mainstream superheroes

tbh the assumption that batman, bruce wayne, does not kill because then he would essentially be the same as his villains gallery, morally-speaking - it doesn’t hold that much water. do you have ANY idea how much canon bruce wayne suffers from self-hatred and constantly questions his own actions?? even the batmans of bad storylines where he’s a grimdark, I Work Alone caricature, batman is a master of self deprication and loathing. he’s a man of few words and hard lines, but he is as likely to think of himself as morally equal to, say, deathstroke (in the sense they are both powerful, capable men who live and die by their choices) than superman. bruce does not believe he has the moral high ground, ever. batman believes he cannot make the choice to kill, so he doesn’t. simple as that

tldr batman doesn’t kill because killing is bad. it’s not that deep

#batman #bruce wayne #sunspeak #the batman is not an interesting character bc he doesnt kill Disk Horse has driven me here #how tone deaf can you be?#long post

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fem-blade-adept · 3 years

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Ok, so seeing a lot of hate against my boy, Tolkien, and I want to set some records straight. Now, this is coming from someone who obsessed over the LOTR series for years and not only has she read all three LOTR books multiple times, but has also read the Hobbit multiple times and spent a ton of time with the Silmarillion. I also dated a girl for two years who knew everything there is to know about Tolkien and his works AND THEN SOME. Suffice to say, I’m not an expert, but I have a pretty solid idea of what I’m talking about. Now...

A lot of people assume the man was racist based on his portrayal of orcs and Uru-khai and judging them by the standards of how people nowadays associate them with black stereotypes. This is not the case. Just because the Uru-khai were the soldiers of the enemy doesn’t make them inherently bad or evil. In fact, Tolkien makes points in most of his books to remind us that orcs and Uru-khai were actually dark elves that were corrupted by Sauron, because that’s just how massive his influence is. This never made them inherently bad, it just makes Sauron even worse. The rest of the population of Gondor was defending itself from incoming invasions from the orcs rather than causing this war Sauron was waging. Hell, the dude could have an adverse effect on Galadriel, Gandalf, Frodo, Boromir, Isildur, Gollum, and hundreds of others at EXTREMELY long ranges, through the Palantier and the rings. And all of the orcs were living DIRECTLY UNDER Sauron’s big ass eye. Tolkien himself even describes a lot of the characters in his books with the term “fair skinned”, which isn’t congruent to the term “white”. It means lighter tone of skin, which, black people can also have. Again, THIS IS NOT SAYING THAT PEOPLE WITH DARKER SKIN TONES WERE THE VILLAINS HERE. Middle Earth operates on a different racial spectrum than we do. Racism exists in Middle Earth, just not in the same way our world sees race. Dwarves hate elves, elves hate everyone, humans are looked down upon by both, Hobbits keep to themselves, etc. If you haven’t read it yet and you love fantasy, DEFINITELY go read the Silmarillion because even though it wasn’t finished, it is a very comprehensive history of Middle Earth and the big picture.

A lot of people write off Sauron as just another villain, but this guy was the terror of Middle earth. And he was on par with a more ancient evil, Morgoth, who was part of the Ainur, which are the gods of Middle Earth. And Sauron himself was an elf. Not a dark elf. He was an elf who forged the one ring with the help of another elf by the name of Celebrimbor, who was also an elf. So, really, if we think about it, the villains of the entire series are the elves, who crafted and set loose ALL of the problems that Middle Earth had leading up to Aragon’s reign due to their inconceivable arrogance and extremely poor decision making, and why the elves deemed it time to leave middle earth during the entirety of the trilogy.

Saruman and several others also feed into the notion that the people pulling the trigger in this scenario we’re definitely Sauron and Saruman. The Ringwraiths, ALL OF THEM, were ancient kings of the HUMAN realm, who fell under the corruptive power of Sauron. THATS HOW STRONG HE IS. Each of them had their own ring of power and fell to corruption anyway. And for those of you wondering, Morgoth and Sauron were the reasons the rings were created in the first place. And it’s arguably the point of the LOTR. This Eye, this dictator by the name of Sauron is powerful enough to indoctrinate an entire race of unwilling participants for the sake of waging war on his own people and that no matter what race you are, it’s entirely possible you can succumb to evil intentions, hence why Frodo carried such a heavy burden by carrying the ring as far as he did.

And let’s not forget. Tolkien gave the elves their own insidious brand of hatred and racism in the form of their massive rivalry with the dwarves. In fact, the elves hate EVERYONE because their pride, arrogance, and preconceived judgments lead them to mistrust and condescend EVERY SINGLE RACE other than them. So, if anything, the Elves, not the dark elves, are the true villains of the books.

I’ll even add this for those worried about the “misogyny” and “anti-lgbt”, Eowyn, Arwen, and Galadriel were all amazingly strong characters in their own right and, regardless of them making mistakes, were respectable in their circles. And for the LGBT aspect, have you seen how much physical affection there is between male characters in those books? Aragorn, arguably the manliest man in the series was not afraid of his own sensitivity around people or even his friends. Gimli and Legolas were practically dating and they were interracial if you think about it.

All of this is part of the books, but in real life, Tolkien, for years, was actively anti-Nazi, even in peacetime, and was a very caring individual. He even fought in World War I. He consistently spoke out against Hitler and his regime and believed that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

My point is this: Tolkien had no intention of connecting the Orcs or the Uru-khai. There are several other authors I can guarantee sit in that branch or racism, misogyny, and Anti-LGBTQ+ like Lovecraft, George R.R. Martin, Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl, Orson Scott Card, and J.K Rowling, but J.R.R. Tolkien does not sit in anywhere near that group. If anything, the man was had no idea people would come to the conclusion that orcs could be misconstrued as stereotyping black people. I’m sure a lot of other sources willingly leaned into those stereotypes with full awareness of what they were doing, but for the life of me, I cannot see Tolkien being a part of that racism.

#jrr tolkien #lord of the rings

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alj4890 · 4 years

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None But You

(Thomas Hunt x oc*Amanda) in a regency era romance as requested by @pixieferry

A/N *squeal* We are getting so close to the wedding. Things are moving along better than I hoped with these characters. I love it when that happens. Sigh. But just as happiness awaits, so does that one other thing...evil intent. Yes, Duke Viktor Montmarte is still very much a part of this story.

@graceful-popcorn @krsnlove @alleksa16 @hopelessromantic1352 @pixieferry @emceesynonymroll @buzz-bee-buzz @hopefulmoonobject @rainbowsinthestorm @lxaah11 @my-heart-beats-for-ya @everythingmarvelsherlockspn @friedherringclodthing @aworldoffandoms @ab1901 @i-bloody-love-drake-walker

Masterlist

Summary: The traveling party arrive at Kirkwood Manor. Thomas spends a pleasant afternoon showing Amanda around her new home. Lord Ryan is a bit perplexed about his feelings for Lady Millie. And we see what our villain has in store for the engaged pair.

Chapter 13

"Welcome home, my lord." Thomas' butler, bowed him and his traveling party into the foyer.

"Thank you, Berger." Thomas introduced him to Amanda.

The middle aged butler stoic façade eased as he bowed to her. "Welcome to Kirkwood Manor, my lady. On behalf of the staff, we wish you every happiness for your upcoming wedding."

"Thank you." Amanda smiled at him. "I look forward to getting to know you and the rest of the staff."

Thomas asked for refreshments to be brought to the drawing room.

"Perhaps someone could show Lord Summers to his room." Millie spoke up. "The journey has been quite difficult with his wound."

Ryan gritted his teeth. "I'll be fine. I just need a moment of not being jostled all over Creation."

Berger quickly called for a footman to take the wounded man upstairs.

"Do you need me to help you?" Millie whispered.

He shook his head, lips curving in a brief smile. "I'm certain Lady Bridgerton will wish to talk wedding plans. I will be fine for a few hours." He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a tender kiss. "Thank you for all that you have done."

She watched him ascend the stairs, worried at how he leaned against the bannister for assistance.

"Millie, dear." Her mother waved her toward the drawing room. "We have much we must take care of before the wedding."

"Coming Mamma." She checked over her shoulder to make certain he made it upstairs safely and continued on to join her parents and friends.

*****************

A few hours of planning later, Amanda managed to escape when Thomas expressed his wish to show her his home.

Lady Lucy couldn't help but chuckle at the pleading look on her niece's face. "Be off with you now. I can already tell that neither one of you will be able to keep your mind on anything else."

The young lady pressed a kiss to her aunt's cheek and happily left with her intended.

With each room he took her to, he shared a piece of his childhood or family history. She laughed at his humorous stories, while admiring the home that was now to be hers.

Here was where she would bear and raise their children, watch them grow up, and hopefully see the next generation of Hunt's that followed them.

"I spend most of my time in here." Thomas opened a door to the manor's library.

He watched her closely as she walked around the room, her fingers trailing the many leather-bound spines.

Her eyes touched on the different sections he had his books divided in. Philosophy, Botany, Nautical History...she paused at one near the large cherry wood desk. An entire case was filled with novels.

He stopped behind her and pulled a book off the shelf. With a quick flip, he opened it to the last chapter.

Her eyebrow lifted while she fought her smile at the memory of first meeting him in a London bookshop.

"See here, sir. You are ruining each story you pick up!" She tried to mimic how gruff his voice had been a few months ago. "Why are you only reading the final chapter?"

Thomas felt a warmth within him at her remembering his first words to her, even if they did reveal his temper. He repeated her own words said to him so long ago. "For a very simple reason, Miss. I prefer certain types of endings in stories. The only way to ensure such is to read the last chapter of books that have been recommended to me."

Her eyes widened at his memory of her argument.

She recalled his eyes narrowing at her and mimicked the action as she continued their beginning. "Can you not simply read what is recommended without spoiling it for yourself?" Her lips twitched with her need to laugh. "Dash it all! People spend months to years creating such for someone to enjoy. They do not do so to be judged solely by the final chapter!"

Thomas set the book back on the shelf and wrapped his arms around her. He repeated the question she first asked him. "Did you write this?"

Her arms looped around his neck. "I did not."

He pressed a long, gentle kiss to her lips. "Then you, Miss, have no right to be offended."

Her laughter was muffled by his next kiss.

"Who knew that would be the beginning of all this?"

"I should have known then that you were going to be the one to turn all my preconceived notions upside down from that initial argument."

"True. But what did you think of me?" She asked, caressing his cheek. "It must have been favorable for you to appear at Almacks."

"Though I thought you quite pretty, it was our conversation that won me." Thomas explained. "I was not used to encountering an intelligent lady."

"Then I am very grateful for a lack of education amongst ladies of the ton." She guided his lips back to hers. "For you sir, captured my attention from the very beginning."

He softly groaned as their kiss grew in passion. He reluctantly ended it to finish showing her about. "I want you to feel free to come in here whenever you wish." He set her hand within the bend of his arm. "I know some gentlemen refuse access to what they consider their domains, but I would enjoy discussing books with you or simply being able to glance up from my desk and see you reading or sewing near the fireplace."

"I think we will spend a good deal of our time in there." She squeezed his arm. "Thank you, my love, for welcoming to your home. I already feel myself growing attached to it."

He led her upstairs to show her the bedrooms. "You feeling at home here is one of my most desired wishes."

"One?" She looked up at him. "What else do you wish for?"

His lips curved. "Our wedding."

"That's less than two weeks away." She pointed out.

"And I am grateful for such." Thomas paused outside the bedrooms meant for the viscount and viscountess of Kirkwood. "But it still cannot come soon enough to suit me."

He opened the door and smiled at her gasp of delight.

"Thomas! This is beautiful." She stepped into the set of rooms that made up the viscountess' bedroom. He explained that he had it redecorated with what he hoped pleased her.

The walls were adorned with vivid paintings of landscapes around the manor. With so many windows having views of the ocean, the rest of the room was done in blues and whites. She trailed a hand along a small escritoire he had made specifically for her. Paper and ink wells were set at the ready for any letters she would wish to write.

The bed was plush with numerous pillows embroidered with blue flowers.

Everywhere she turned there was some little thing that he had insisted on to make this room perfect.

Thomas waited patiently near the connecting door as she explored the bathing chamber and wardrobe.

"Amanda?" His tone held a hint of hesitancy.

She twirled around. "Yes?"

He opened the doors. "This leads to my bedroom."

Color bloomed on her cheeks as she stepped into his personal quarters.

His room continued with the landscape paintings though these were more of the wooded areas near Kirkwood. Golden oak wood dominated the furniture. Rich shades of green and brown were used for the bedding and cushions on the chairs.

It was just as inviting as her room.

"Amanda, I..."

She turned toward him and noticed the flush creeping up his neck. "Is something wrong? You're not unwell, are you?"

"No. It is merely that I hope you," he grimaced at his foolishness for wanting her with him as much as she allowed. He knew it wasn't typical of members of the ton to do so, but he never really worried about their trends.

"Thomas?" She reached out for his hand.

"I want this room to be yours too." He searched her eyes for understanding.

Her brow furrowed. "You want me to have both chambers?"

"No. I mean, yes." He closed his eyes for a moment. "I hope you wish, are willing, to share this chamber with me every night." His eyes widened at how that might sound. "Not that I expect you to, er, perform your--rather, I," he cursed, causing her eyes to widen even more. "Forgive me. I wish for you and I to sleep together each night regardless of any intimacy occurring."

Her lips curved. "Then I will."

He blinked. "You don't mind?"

A slight blush bloomed on her cheeks. "I have enjoyed these past nights of being near you while I slept." She averted her eyes. "I think they will be even better once we are married."

"They will be." He vowed.

Her lips parted when he yanked her against him, kissing her with a preview of the passion he intended to unleash on their wedding night.

She could do nothing but hold onto his shoulders throughout the exchange.

His lips tenderly brushed hers as he spoke. "I have asked that all your things be brought up here and stored in your room. It can be used however you wish." He moaned when she kissed him. "But if there is anything you want to keep in here, then please feel free to do so."

"Thank you." She murmured.

******************

That evening, Lord Ryan joined them all for dinner. His color had improved and he swore he was feeling much better now that he was not being, "bumped about England."

He even encouraged Millie to take a walk in the night air with him.

He hadn't considered though to have not only Amanda and Thomas as chaperones, but also Chris and Matthew.

The first two he didn't worry about, considering Thomas was most likely going to take his lady off somewhere shrouded in shadows.

Sadly the two gentlemen who were sadly losing the moniker of friends was also tagging along. Since Thomas had decided to settle down with his love, Chris and Matthew were ready to help hurry along Ryan's courtship with Millie.

Ryan considered himself a gentleman with an excellent sense of humor. He was one of the few lords among the ton who was intelligent enough to know when not to take life too seriously.

Much to his chagrin, this wasn't such a time.

He wasn't exactly sure how he felt about Lady Millicent Rawlings. When he all but heard her admit to Ms. Fontaine that she was in love with him, his view of her had changed.

It had sharpened with a clarity that he had yet to experience with any other young lady.

What was he to do? He believed much like his misguided friend that marriage was not for him. Not for a very long time. Yet, no sooner had those words been spoken than Thomas pursued the one he had won.

"Good lord." Ryan muttered with the thought. "It can't be."

"Did you say something?" Millie asked.

"Er. No." He quickly replied. "Nothing of import."

His hopes that she wouldn't question him were met.

If only he had wished the same for the ones on their heels.

"He said Good lord, followed by, It can't be." Chris readily answered.

Ryan could all but hear the smug smile the young man must have on his face.

How he longed to be the type of gentleman that was well-trained in pugilism.

He decided right then that he would begin attending sessions at Gentlemen Jack's as soon as be was back in London. Then he would know exactly how to punch friends in the face without causing serious damage.

Oh yes. It would be worth it.

"Makes one wonder what can't be, doesn't it, Lady Millie?" Matthew spoke up in a cheerful tone.

"It does." She admitted. "Though if Lord Summers doesn't wish to share what it is then I shan't be the one to pressure him."

Good lord, she was making him fall in love.

This won't do. It was one thing for her to feel deeply for him but quite another for him to reciprocate such emotion.

"How are you feeling?" She asked softly. "Are you certain you are up to a long walk?"

"I'm fine." He managed.

"No doubt he is in need of romantic moonlight." Chris loudly whispered between the couple.

"Shouldn't you go trail Hunt and Lady Amanda?" Ryan snapped. "If anyone needs to be kept an eye on then it is them.

"Perhaps." Matthew conceded. "But they are already settled. Chris and I have decided that we want to see all we care about also so happily shackled in the bonds of matrimony."

"Shackled?!" Millie gasped. "I never!"

Ryan took a cautious step away from her. If anyone deserved her temper it was the ones behind them. The only way they could be worse is if they were two matchmaking mothers on the prowl for the highest title and fortune in the land.

"Now Millie," Chris smiled warmly at her. "We only want the best for you."

"There's no finer man in England, that is free of romantic entanglements, than Lord Ryan." Matthew added. "If I had a sister, I would push her in his path at every opportunity in the hopes he would take her."

"Take her?!" Millie stopped in her tracks and crossed her arms, glaring at the two men

"What about me?" Chris demanded. "Why wouldn't you push your sister upon me?"

"Push?!" Millie sputtered.

"You must be having trouble hearing tonight." Chris grumbled before turning back to his friend. "Why wouldn't Lady Rodriguez be pressed upon me?"

"First off," Matthew replied, "there is no Lady Rodriguez. Second," he gestured silently toward Ryan and Millie.

"Oh good grief." Millie rolled her eyes. "I think that is enough ridiculousness for one night." She gathered her shawl tighter about her shoulders. "I bid you all a goodnight."

"I'll escort you back." Ryan reached out and grasped her elbow. "Goodnight gentlemen."

"'Night." The two chuckled at having gotten them to finally go off alone.

"Idiots." Millie muttered.

"Indeed." Ryan replied.

Millie chewed nervously on her bottom lip. "My lord?"

"Hmm?"

"What did you mean by saying, it can't be?"

He softly groaned. He should have known she wouldn't let the matter drop.

"It is nothing. Just a passing thought."

She tilted her head and studied his profile. "Oh."

He grit his teeth at the sound of dejection he could hear in her voice. "Oh what?"

"Nothing, just oh." She responded.

"Your oh's rarely mean nothing. So what did it mean?!" He demanded.

"I beg your pardon." She huffed. "I wasn't aware you and I were anything special that allows you to demand explanations to my words and thoughts."

"Millie." He practically growled.

"Don't you take that tone with me, Ryan Summers! I don't care what lofty title you hold. I refuse to acknowledge such brutish behavior." She let go of his arm and hurried ahead of him. "Your escort is no longer appreciated or needed, sir."

"Oh no you don't!" Ryan's long legged stride caught up to her quickly. He grabbed her arm and swung her back around.

The momentum had the pair crashing against each other. Millie's gasp brushed his lips, causing his own to part in surprise.

All the irritation disappeared when he cupped her face. Her eyes met his right before the two met in an impassioned kiss.

Her hands lifted to his cheeks, gently holding him in place as their kiss came to a slow end.

Ryan's breath was ragged. "Millie, I think I'm in--"

They jerked apart when they heard Amanda's laughter coming closer to them.

"Ready to go in?" Thomas asked when they saw them..

"Yes, of course." Millie tugged her shawl up over her shoulders.

She set her hand on Ryan's arm as they followed the couple.

Matthew and Chris appeared behind them.

"I look forward to more treks while we are here. Don't you Lady Millie? Chris teased.

She narrowed her eyes at him, causing his smile to be even more unrepentant.

****************

A private room in a tavern near Kirkwood Manor...

"I believe the best time will be during all the confusion of getting to the church." Charles explained. "What do you think, your grace?"

Viktor slowly nodded to his valet's recommendations. "I agree." His eyes then lifted to his coachman. "And you John?"

"After what I viewed of the viscount's activities, then I think the moment he departs for the wedding will be the best opportunity to take the lady." He replied, feeling quite uneasy with such a devious plan.

"Hmm." Viktor took a long sip of his brandy. "I suppose I should be glad they didn't issue me an invitation. Imagine how much awkward that would be."

He chuckled at the thought of Lord Hunt's face when he found out his bride was not coming. How he wished he could witness it when he discovered she had run off with a better man. But, his being the better man in this scenario meant he would have to miss it.

After all, he couldn't be at Kirkwood and on the Great North Road at the same time. Not when he had his own elopement to attend to. Gretna Green would be the final slap to Lord Hunt's pride.

Who knows? Along that long dark road to Scotland, he might very well tire of the Lady Amanda and leave her for the highway men. After a sample of her body, he could be magnanimous to those less fortunate.

His lips curved at his plan becoming even more clearer in his mind.

#Thomas Hunt #thomas hunt x amanda #none but you #thomas hunt x oc #rcd regency au #rcd thomas hunt

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