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swampgallows · 1 year

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I've been following you for a few days. I don't know if it's a good idea to talk to you by asking questions, but I did it anyway. I feel that most people on the Internet don't have a good opinion of Garrosh (it's true that he did a lot of bad things in the later plot), but these people have gradually evolved into attacking you 100% if you say something good about Garrosh. They even send some vulgar meme expressions to attack this poor guy 😢. So do these people really understand the shaping of Garrosh's character? Maybe they only know the later version of Garrosh's blackening to curse him as a complete villain, or maybe they just want to curse this character for the sake of cursing? I really can't accept this kind of thing. If they really haven't understood Garrosh enough and come to attack him, then I think they are completely lacking in connotation, either stupid or bad. I just started playing World of Warcraft recently and immediately fell in love with Garrosh. Now I'm trying to learn about Garrosh from the TBC version and through some veteran players' stories. I learned that this character was messed up by internal struggles among the screenwriters. He was essentially supposed to be a positive and heroic character, not the big villain who collapsed later. But there are always people who don't want to analyze the core of this character, but simply attack him from the worst version. I feel very uncomfortable 😭 and this kind of misunderstanding is particularly serious on Twitter. I'm very sad 😢 and sometimes I'm even influenced by this kind of misunderstanding and have self-doubt. I really can't stand it. They say Garrosh is a tumor, but I feel that they are the real tumors and even more toxic than tumors. Oh...I really feel sorry for Garrosh 😢 and hope to eliminate this misunderstanding 😭。

first i want to say that anyone is welcome to talk to me in my askbox, that's why i have it open and have anonymous on! i can be a bit caustic in my interactions with online strangers however, and that's my fault. i am sorry if i had ever made you feel like you couldn't talk to me; it is one of my major weaknesses. I am trying to get better at reining in my emotions, but i do have a hard time with it.

Second, I apologize because as a newer WoW player, this may all be a bit overwhelming to you.

The situation with Garrosh is complicated because yes, it is true that his story was changed partway through, but yes, it's also true that Garrosh's "worst version" is his canon, or "true in WoW" version of himself. He has zero regret or remorse for his actions, and his fictional villainy has inspired violence and hatred in real life (mass shooting trigger warning at this link).

Garrosh is characterized as a fascist—by both fans and by Blizzard themselves—and many people have drawn parallels to real world hateful, racist leaders like Trump and Hitler. Also, the Blizzard (ex-)employee most responsible for Garrosh from the very beginning is Alex Afrasiabi ("Garrosh was my guy"), who is one of the main perpetrators of the sexual harassment and discrimination mentioned in the recent Blizzard lawsuit. As a result, Garrosh as a fictional character and Garrosh as a representation of real-life hatred and violence across history and behind the scenes at Blizzard bleed together, which is why so many fans (appropriately) have such a strong negative response to him. Many fans also played through the years of Garrosh's character shift and felt betrayed for ever having believed in him, or they started playing later in his story and know him only as the incredibly evil character that he is. That impact may be lost on a newer player; although that culture shock is one of the reasons I became so fixated on Garrosh.

Therefore, many people are right to be wary of die-hard Garrosh fans (or "Garrosh apologists") who say things like "Garrosh did nothing wrong". The "[x] did nothing wrong" meme is originally "Hitler did nothing wrong", after all, and there are many people who believe Garrosh truly "did nothing wrong" despite the canon itself saying otherwise (again) (and again). It's also why I try to make it abundantly clear that I may like Garrosh as a character, but my love for him is only as a fictional character. It's fine to be a fan of the character and wish he turned out differently; the game itself acknowledges his wasted potential. But it's also important to know why people dislike him and may react strongly, although that does not give them any excuse or right to be cruel to you.

Oof. I really ought to make a video essay about all my complicated Garrosh feelings one day, lol. Anon, I am always happy to talk about Garrosh any time and at great length, so you are free to send as many asks as you like :)

#ask #anon #yamyell

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roobylavender · 2 years

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just saw someone refer to Zdarsky’s characterization of talia in that urban legends issue as “the talia damian deserves”… she existed as a better character for decades before him than she did after… when will we be free of the misogyny.

but, in all seriousness, it frustrates me because having to deal with this level of character defamation closes the door to so many conversations about talia’s character.

Like, for example, given things like the state of her & bruce’s relationship & the level of complexity that exists there even when they’re at their best bc of the age gap, along with her own history growing up, it’s totally possible that talia’s feelings about parenthood would be deeply fucking complicated. and it’s just something that slides under the radar because people are so busy either trying to compromise with, endorse, or disprove morrison’s (and those who followed’s) mischaracterization of her.

So, in the interest of being constructive: Obv she would love her baby no matter what, but there’s so much that could be said as to whether she’d be ready for that role (especially considering that she had to contend with the possibility of single motherhood), about if she felt like she had the tools to be a good parent in that moment regardless of how much she may love her baby, about whether she feels she knows how to give this baby the upbringing she knows it deserves because she still has a lot of growing to do herself. And to be clear she would be ask these questions out of nothing but love and hope that her baby will live the fullest life the world has ever seen, but it would still be really really fucking hard because it’s not an easy emotional place to be in! and that’s okay! it’s interesting! And that’s not going into the fact that I have never once heard a single person ever confront the possibility that, for all we know, talia could have struggled with post-partum depression. and it’s just so frustrating because examining this part of her story can be fascinating, especially because family, love, and responsibility are all major themes for talia’s character and contending with these sorts of questions through her would be such a fitting setup for deeply human character work. and tbc i do think, even following the line of damian being given up, talia would want to have a family someday, like she would want to be a parent yk? so her having to confront these issues and where she sees sort of faults in her person in the hopes of being better for the child she could have one day in honour of the one she already has? As a thank you for gracing her life, even if only for as long as she got to hold them? we could have had it all.

but hey, at least now she’s the talia damian deserves, whatever that means.

i think so much about the fact that her life from when she gave up damian to when he was introduced was rarely explored in context of that loss! like obv it was never mentioned again bc denny o’neil erased it out of canon for his tenure so no one could bring it up but i think it’s fun to work with that forced erasure and make something of it. like you could totally reason that talia’s behavior immediately following son of the demon (i.e., detective comics annual #1, bride of the demon) could be construed in light of post-partum depression. her strength of character was still there but i feel like there was a sort of childlike petulance to her, too, like she was grasping onto the last threads of happiness that she could have in light of that loss bc it was otherwise traumatizing to go through and process on her own, what with her being the only one to know the truth about his survival. mike w. barr was subtle with it obv but those last pages of bride of the demon always make my heart pang bc you could tell how badly she wanted to be able to share the grief of that with bruce, and yet not even he could bear to talk about it, so you can only imagine what she was going through

i also like to construe some of her later material approaching and following tower of babel as reflective of a developing relief within her at the idea that she didn’t have to be a mother. that period of time is so crucial for her in terms of breaking free of all constraints and expectations and i can picture her having those fleeting thoughts. thank god i gave him away. i don’t know how i would have done it on my own. i can’t handle raising a child. i would spend the rest of my life perpetually in fear for his safety, and i would wither away. not to position her as potentially selfish or anything but i think it’s always impt to note she was very young when she married bruce and like! it’s totally human to experience both a deep grief following such a loss and a deep relief at the idea of not having to bear such a burden as a young woman all alone with no one to support her. but i like it even more so bc i think it could be really fun to capitalize on in light of an introduction to damian where she finds out that ra’s has him. like can you imagine how guilty she would feel knowing she got to break free and forge her own life and make her own decisions meanwhile her father was busy recapturing the child that she was eventually relieved to have given away. i would love to see something like that explored on paper. it’s so much more interesting to me to explore the complicated nuances of talia’s (and bruce’s) “abandonment” of damian and how that would factor into building a relationship with him once they meet him, than is the morrison premise of talia having raised him the whole time bc ofc she had no life outside of the league and never went through an arc to gain independence 🙄

#canon bruce / talia / damian dynamic is a hostile bickering coalition and frankly. it puts me to sleep #i want them to be painfully awkward and confused and hopeful but hesitant and drowning in the grief of inexplicable separation #i want bruce and talia to look at damian and not be able to meet his eyes bc one moment they were prepared to give him everything #and they potentially failed on every front. not bc of any fault of their own. but it feels that way and will feel that way forever #to be deleted

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goodqueenaly · 3 years

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If the theory that Dunk had a kid with Daella or Rhae is true, then the personal implications for Dunk are staggering (and for the other characters too, but Dunk’s the one I’m the most invested in as we know what kind of person he is and have an idea of how his life turns out). (TBC)

(Continuation) If their sexual relations were consensual, as I’m certain they would have been, he might not feel guilt that they happened, but Daella/Rhae is the one who’d have had to take the brunt of the consequences of their actions. If she got pregnant before marriage, she’d have had to face her father’s anger alone and get married off quickly. Admitting that he’s the father wouldn’t have helped and only would have resulted in his death. (TBC)

(Contination) If they’d slept together on the eve of her wedding, then they’d both wonder if her subsequent pregnancy was a result of their night together and there’d always be the chance that someone who doesn’t like her or wants to contest the succession might look at her adult child and remark that the only time they’d seen someone that tall was when that knight who was always hanging around the prince escorted their lady to Tarth. (TBC)

(Continuation) The kingsguard aren’t exactly anonymous and Dunk has a very striking physical trait. And, of course there’s the fact that Dunk now has a kid who will never know that he’s his dad. (TBC)

(Continuation) And there’s the fact that this was the result of a relationship between a knight of the Kingsguard and a Targ princess, which is most definitely taboo. Even if Dunk wasn’t part of the kingsguard at that point, how would he feel about wearing a white cloak in the future after what he did? And what would it mean for his friendship with Egg? Even if Egg was super understanding about all of this, Dunk still complicated his sister’s life a lot. (TBC)

(Continuation) And, even if Egg never finds out, would Dunk still feel guilty? I don’t know, I can’t stop thinking about this. What do you think? Do you think I’m making too much of it? (So sorry about the length of this, it was way longer than I thought it would be)

Oh no, I don't think you're making too much of this at all! Far from it, in fact - I would be frankly shocked if GRRM did not use this relationship as an opportunity to both continue Dunk's characterization (and Daella's!) and explore a number of themes he has already shown himself partial to in the main novels. (Long, more under the cut.)

As a beginning note, I think it is important to include details of my own theory about where the Dunk-Daella story is going as I talk about themes GRRM may explore, since that theory necessarily informs how I think GRRM will tackle the themes therein (and because I've somewhat changed my feelings on how the relationship will be portrayed over the years). I don't at all claim to be absolutely right or that GRRM will 100% do everything (or, indeed, anything) I suggest here, but this is my theory and I'm going with it.

So first, I tend to think that Dunk will get his white cloak during the Third Blackfyre Rebellion. Not only does this seem like a practical opportunity to do so - if the Third Blackfyre Rebellion was a major civil war, as it seems to have been, then there's a fairly decent chance that, as with other major Westerosi civil wars (e.g. the Dance of the Dragons, Robert's Rebellion), one or more Kingsguard knights might die - but I think Dunk receiving his cloak then could be a nice three-step payoff on his knighthood journey as paralleled in the Blackfyre Rebellions. Dunk's path to knighthood began during the First Blackfyre Rebellion, though he himself did not know it at the time, because Arlan's squire Roger died at the Redgrass Field; as Dunk thinks in "The Sworn Sword", had there never been a First Blackfyre Rebellion, "Roger of Pennytree might be alive today" as "a knight someplace, a truer knight than me", while Dunk "would have ended on the gallows, or been sent off to the Night's Watch to walk the Wall until I died". In the Second Blackfyre Rebellion, Dunk had been offered arguably the highest promotion a Westerosi knight can get, with Daemon the Younger Blackfyre revealing his prophetic vision of Dunk in a white cloak and suggesting Dunk become one of his Kingsguard knights; however, Dunk had refused, instead helping (albeit somewhat unwittingly) unravel the Blackfyre conspiracy. Now, in the Third Blackfyre Rebellion, Dunk could receive a true Kingsguard promotion, the ultimate acknowledgement of his (supposed) knighthood as well as his devotion to Egg, a prince and future king.

Already this is an interesting setup for a future romantic/sexual relationship between Dunk and Daella. Dunk had certainly idolized both knighthood in general and the Kingsguard in particular growing up (especially after being taken on by Ser Arlan), but he had also recognized that the Kingsguard swear themselves to celibacy; he had even teased Egg about the boy's goal of joining the Kingsguard, saying that "[t]hat's a noble thing, but when you're older you may find you'd sooner have a girl than a white cloak". Nor has Dunk been immune to a desire for both sexual relations and a romantic relationship: when Daemon the Younger offered him a place in his Kingsguard, Dunk thought that "I might find Tanselle again someday. Why shouldn't I have a wife, and sons?" (and indeed, he and Egg traveled the breadth of Dorne looking for Tanselle, without success), while his dreams about Rohanne Webber (both at Coldmoat and at Whitewalls) and his kiss with her at the end of "The Sworn Sword" convey his obvious desire for her. (Indeed, it is even possible that Dunk may have had some sexual experience by the time he fought in the Third Blackfyre Rebellion and, perhaps, got a white cloak, depending on how far that kiss Bran saw between Dunk and an unknown girl went, since the story for now called "The She-Wolves of Winterfell" will of course take place before the Third Blackfyre Rebellion.) Dunk may therefore struggle quite a bit internally before accepting a white cloak, balancing his honor at being selected to be among (at least ostensibly) the greatest knights in Westeros and his deep devotion to Egg with his personal desire to marry and father children (with Tanselle or anyone else). The author can potentially draw a very compelling thematic contrast here between Dunk and both Jon (whose deep shame at the (supposed) circumstances of his conception and birth help motivate him toward joining the similarly celibate Night's Watch) and Jaime (who joined the Kingsguard precisely because of his ongoing sexual relationship with Cersei, believing (somewhat incorrectly, at least at the time) that by doing so he could both avoid having to marry and have sex with Lysa Tully and could be by her, Cersei's, side at court permanently).

Shortly after the Third Blackfyre Rebellion ends, I think, Egg will marry Betha Blackwood in secret. The timing is already known - the Third Blackfyre Rebellion occurs in 219 AC, while Egg and Betha wed in 220 AC - and I would not at all be surprised if the experiences of the war and/or its aftermath prompted Egg to make his move. Perhaps Egg, having experience real battle for probably the first time, will feel that he had come too close to death to put off marrying his love, and will not want to take the chance that he might die without ever being with her; perhaps the royal government and/or Maekar, wanting to shore up a dynasty which was sorely lacking legitimate heirs of the next generation, will put pressure on Egg and Daeron to marry their respective fiancées (with Aerion perhaps being less a focus for dynastic propagation given his vaguely sinister "actions" during the war). Either way, I think that Egg will decide that he will wait no longer to marry Betha - and that Dunk, his closest companion, will help him do it.

Of course, I also think that Egg was betrothed to Daella (given his comment that his sister Rhae once poured a “love potion” in his drink “so I’d marry her instead of my sister Daella"), which will leave quite a problem for Daella. This is when I think Maekar and/or Aerys I's government may arrange a marriage for Daella, to smooth over the potential scandal of a royal princess being jilted by her similarly royal betrothed for a "mere" aristocrat, and turn to (presumably) Lord Tarth - because he is available, because he is willing (like, say, Eldon Estermont with young Sylva Santagar), because Maekar thinks it wise to shore up the realm's eastern defenses with a royal alliance with Tarth (after all, it had been Tarth that Myrish pirates had invaded during the reign of Jaehaerys I), for any or none of these reasons. In a patriarchal society, Daella may if not probably will have little to no say on her marital fate; her husband will be whomever her father and/or her uncle's government decide on for her. Importantly, I tend to think Maekar will decide to split up Dunk and Egg at this moment: since they had both defied him, but neither so much as to warrant severe punishment, perhaps Maekar will think it would be good for both of them to separately (emphasis on separately) remember what their respective responsibilities are - Egg with him as a dutiful royal son in the capital, Dunk with Daella as a Kingsguard sworn shield to a royal princess.

This is where I think the romance of Dunk and Daella comes in, and where GRRM could really start delving into some of his favorite ASOIAF themes. For one, GRRM loves playing with the tropes of chivalric romance, and I don't think you could get a more perfect setup for a chivalric romance than this story with Dunk and Daella. The relationship is one between a princess of much higher rank than her knight (and you don't get much greater a distance in rank than from daughter of the king or soon-to-be king and a knight born in the slums of Flea Bottom - among the reasons I don't think they married) and a dashing, valorous knight in service to her. Like the story of Tristan and Isolde, Dunk is sent to escort this princess to her betrothed (not from the Emerald Isle of Ireland to the mainland, as in the tale, but from the mainland to the Sapphire Isle of Tarth). Their love is adulterous and impossible, but, perhaps, continues because of its devotion and passion, trapping the three (Daella, Dunk, and Lord Tarth) in a doomed triangle of love and service: Daella is wed to Lord Tarth but loves Dunk, Dunk has pledged himself to the service of Daella as Lady Tarth (and so by extension her lord husband) while engaging in a sexual relationship with his bride, and Lord Tarth, perhaps, cares for Daella and/or Dunk (at least with the latter, Evenfall Hall hung onto Dunk's shield into the present day, suggesting some ending on good terms between Dunk and House Tarth) while having both engage in an affair with one another in his home. This is a unique chance for GRRM to tell the story of the chivalric romance from the point of view of the knight-protagonist; instead of observing the tropes from a distance (as with, say, the story of Rhaegar and Lyanna) or altering the conventions (as with, say, Brienne, whose story embodies some chivalric romance tropes while twisting others), we can be inside the knight's head as he engages in this doomed affair with his lady love.

For another, GRRM also adores exploring the theme of duty versus love, as well as (and sometimes relatedly) forcing characters to choose between competing, mutually exclusive vows and/or responsibilities. Indeed, Aemon's own theory as to why the Night's Watch (on whose vows those of the Kingsguard were modeled) forbids its members from taking wives or fathering children directly cites the danger of love as a force to tempt men away from their duty (which is why I tend to think Aemon's unknown first trial had to do with falling in love but rejecting this love in favor of his maester's vows). Dunk would have just taken his vows of the Kingsguard, knowing that by doing so he would be obliged to live a celibate life; how could he then break that vow, and with no less than the king's (or soon-to-be king's) own daughter? Would he remember the Kingsguard before him who did the same - not only the historical examples of Lucamore Strong (who had been gelded and sent to the Wall for his simultaneous sexual affairs) and Criston Cole (who had (at least by some tellings) begged Princess Rhaenyra to engage in an affair with him), but the more recent (for Dunk) stories of Terence Toyne (who had been killed by the orders of Aegon IV for sleeping with Bethany Bracken, herself executed) and Aemon the Dragonknight (who among Blackfyre loyalists was the true father of Daeron "Falseborn", the propaganda Dunk had heard firsthand from Eustace Osgrey)? Yet could he ignore the love of Egg's own sister for him when he himself had just assisted Egg in marrying for love? What could he say to Daella - "yes, I helped Egg break his betrothal promise to you for the sake of his love for Betha, but no, I will not help you break your promise of marriage to Lord Tarth when you are in love with me?" Between the love of Daella for Dunk - a mutual one, I would guess - and the duty he had sworn to as a new-made Kingsguard, which one would win out in Dunk's heart? (No prizes for guessing, given Brienne's existence, after all.) With the way GRRM has written on this theme before - look at Jon's emotional struggle over his relationship with Ygritte, or Arys Oakheart's shame over his affair with Arianne - I fully expect he'd take the chance to delve into it again with Dunk - only this time a true knight (unlike reprehensible Arys) really emotionally invested in the other person, kept from a publicly legitimate relationship with her by vows they both would have been aware of (without the added secrecy of Jon's Night's Watch mission, which he of course could not reveal to Ygritte).

Nor does GRRM ignore the theme of secret keeping in his writing, characters hiding the truth even from those closest to the secret keepers for the sake of the secrets' beneficiaries. Indeed, this is at the very heart of Dunk's story: Dunk has repeatedly, deliberately concealed the fact that Ser Arlan never actually knighted him, falsely claiming the public distinction of knighthood while living the spirit and principles of true knighthood. While I don't tend to think it will be obvious that Daella's child was fathered by Dunk - again, Brienne is a direct descendant of Dunk without apparently knowing it, and no one has yet called the current Tarths bastards or cited any illegitimate ancestry - I do think that both Daella and Dunk will be aware that this is their child, and not the child of Lord Tarth. Both would now have a secret to keep from the world: to preserve both their lives and the life of their child, they could never let the world know that this was, in fact, a child born of a passionate affair between them. Consider Ned's emotional turmoil over the secret of Jon - how much it pained him to keep this from Catelyn while recognizing the necessity of doing so, and how Catelyn in turn suffered because of Ned's bullying over her asking him about it and his subsequent silence on the matter, and I think you might get an idea of how the internal struggle could go for Dunk. Just as Ned (I think correctly) decided that telling Catelyn would put Catelyn in the impossible position of deciding between abetting Ned's treason by shielding Jon or denouncing the treason (and thus consigning both Jon and Ned to death) to protect her children, so Dunk may think that telling Egg would put Egg in an impossible position: either Egg would have to denounce Dunk - and so watch his friend be gelded and sent to the Wall, his sister be perhaps forced into religious seclusion (if not herself in danger of being executed for a politically dangerous form of adultery), and his baby nephew (I tend to assume nephew) being declared a bastard, with at best an uncertain future - or he would need to protect his friend's scandalous, indeed criminal conduct, putting himself in danger should it be revealed that he knew about it. Dunk did not romantically love Egg as Ned and Catelyn loved each other, but theirs was clearly a long and deep friendship, so I'm sure GRRM could have a field day with twisting the screws on that friendship, the secret Dunk could never reveal for the sake of their closeness.

On top of all of this, moreover, is the child himself (and again, I tend to assume their child would be a boy because patriarchal Westeros is going to patriarchy and the typical (non-Dornish) Westerosi power structure goes from males, through males, to males). Dunk had, after all, thought of sons as well as a wife in turning down Daemon, and Aemon had asked Jon, in the context of their conversation on duty versus love, "What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms[?]". Likewise, while he had never known his own parents - guessing that his mother had been "some whore or tavern girl" whom his birth had killed and his father "some thief or cutpurse" who had been hanged or sent to the Wall - Dunk had nevertheless romanticized finding his father, begging to go north with Ser Arlan because if he "could only reach the Wall, might be I'd come on some old man, a real tall man who looked like me". How would Dunk feel, then, to know that he had fathered a child, to know that a child had been born out of love between himself and Daella - and yet know that he could never hold this child, nor claim him as his own, if he wanted him, Daella, and the child to keep their necks? While the circumstances of his child's birth could not have been more different than Dunk's own - born the child of a great knight and a princess, in an ancient castle, with the name of a supremely blue-blooded family - Dunk would be condemning this child to grow up as he had grown up, never knowing his father nor ever being able to find him. Think of the way GRRM has explored this topic with Jaime - how throughout the end of ASOS and in AFFC Jaime is grappling with his complete lack of paternal relationship with his own children, thanks in part to the circumstances of their conception and upbringing - and I think there might be an idea of how the author will tackle this from Dunk's point of view. To protect his child, Dunk could never call him his child; whatever love he bore for him would always have to be secret, but it could never be erased completely (no more than Ned's love for Jon, despite publicly proclaiming the opposite of Dunk - that is, that this boy, actually no son of his, was his bastard).

(The child's conception and birth also brings up the question of bastardy, although that may be a less pressing point. After all, Dunk took a rather calm view of his own probably bastardy - coolly explaining, when Egg haughtily parroted Westerosi aristocratic an religious prejudices against bastards, how he himself had likely been born out of wedlock - which may in turn leave him less concerned about his child's legal illegitimacy. Still, it's entirely possible that Dunk would have lingering feelings of guilt over this child, less because of social prejudice against bastards and more because of his part in interrupting the Tarth dynasty. Dunk had both witnessed and participated in the ongoing aftermath of Aegon IV's fathering many bastards, "the bane of the Seven Kingdoms" as Dunk thinks; now he himself was helping father a bastard for House Tarth, to claim the family title without right to it.)

Now, of course, the classic (consummated) chivalric romance is a doomed one, which does not promise happiness for either Dunk or Daella in the scenario I've envisioned. Because Dunk lived to an old (by Westerosi standards) age and only died at Summerhall, still apparently an honored member and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, we can guess he didn't succumb to any of the horrible and/or tragic fates usually awaiting the knights of chivalric romance. Less can be said about Daella, because she doesn't so much disappear from the narrative as is barely in it to begin with; what happens to her is as mysterious as any other part she has to play in the story. (This is not an invitation for GRRM to kill her off in childbirth, which he often likes to do as an easy answer for getting rid of female characters.) It therefore seems unlikely that GRRM will follow specific beats of some of the more famous chivalric romances for their fates (no attempted burning at the stake for Daella, then, and no death by grief for Dunk). So I tend to think the separation will be less dramatic and more personal, with one or both of them realizing that they cannot be together forever, either on their own or through external circumstances (like, say, Dunk being recalled to the capital). Perhaps it will be something along the lines of, say, the ending of "The Sworn Sword", the most romantic so far of the Tales, with both parties desiring to be with each other but aware of the impassable gulf of rank and position between them.

So all of this is to say that there is a lot here for GRRM to explore in terms of theme and characterization. As @warsofasoiaf has correctly noted, GRRM seems to enjoy using the individual Tales as his takes on specific pieces or genres ("The Hedge Knight" as a sort of medieval tournament fantasy a la Ivanhoe, "The Sworn Sword" as a Western, "The Mystery Knight" as a sort of crime thriller a la North by Northwest; I could also see "The Village Hero" being a sort of riff on Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven, though I haven't yet decided what genre whatever "The She-Wolves of Winterfell" will be called will be). It makes sense to me, therefore, that one of these stories would be his take on a chivalric romance in the style of Tristan and Isolde or Lancelot and Guinevere, with all (or many) of the trappings of the genre but told through the uniquely personal touch GRRM's masterful handling of POV style provides.

#asoiaf meta #speculation #tales of dunk and egg #duncan the tall #daella daughter of maekar #tarth targaryen theory

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twilights-800-cats · 3 years

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Well, I’ve got my hands on A Light in the Mist and I’m making my way through it... My thoughts so far:

Instead of the prologue being set in the present and awkwardly going back to explain how and why Ashfur had blocked StarClan, it should have just... been that. It feels like a waste of pages to have both the prologue and chapter one essentially rehash one another, and I think there might’ve been a more elegant solution somewhere.

Speaking of solutions - there is one, now! And it seems... kinda weak? I’m not really a fan of the whole idea of the Dark Forest and it’s connection to emotion already (tldr, it feels like a way to take autonomy away from villains) but having hope be the solution to the barrier problem? It’s just feels way too easy, especially with how much these problems and solutions could’ve been hinted at earlier in the narrative.

Once again, the split nature of the narrative makes some of these chapters feel like I’m being jerked around too much. One chapter goes through the motions to set up something big... only to cliffhang into another chapter with a different character doing something completely different.

This also makes it seem like most of these chapters are these characters going over the same arguments again and again, even using some of the same talking points between them OR repeating things that they said two chapters ago. I’m genuinely tired of the five Clan leaders having the same argument again and again.

Graystripe choosing to go into the Dark Forest paints that old man with every death flag imaginable. If he lives I will be shocked. There is absolutely no subtlety about it, lmao.

Lightleap... does something? Oh, wow. I didn’t see it coming, really, especially after an entire arc and a half of absolutely nothing from this character. That fact also makes her Clanmates touting her skill and expertise very, very funny. This still does not change my mind about Shadowsight not needing siblings - Lightleap could functionally be replaced by any cat and serve the same purpose, with the same generic dialogue applied to her.

Firestar showing up again - let alone possessing and killing someone - was not something I foresaw. Good job killing Darkstripe like you should have ten years ago, buddy. Miss you.

The Dark Forest cats getting more characterization is interesting! We see little snippets of insight into their pasts and that’s cool!! I wanna know what’s up with Silverhawk and Emberdawn! I wanna know why Maggottail failed to be leader of ShadowClan!

The narrative still exonerates Bramblestar of his abusive nature, but in the same breath it condemns the shit out of Ashfur which I’m alright with. If there’s any more Squirrelflight blamers in the fandom after tBC I’ll be surprised.

Anyway, I’m only 10 chapters in. I’ve seen one spoiler that has me very curious, but otherwise I’ve avoided them for the most part. This book has a lot to do to make up for how weak the past two books were, so we shall see if they stick the landing...

#a light in the mist spoilers

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transparenthologramrebel · 3 years

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Thinking about early characterization for ashfur.

It really sucks that Ashfur later characterization really ruins his characterization in TNP. Like people like to point to him being controlling and possessive in TNP when he wasn’t written to be that way? He was written to be over protective, which while isn’t great its a far cry from him trying to control every move that Squilf makes like he does in TBC. Like he doesn’t try to stop her from making her own choices, or stop her spending time with other cats. He mostly just expresses concern for her wellbeing when she’s about to do something dangerous like when she goes to fight the rouges in twilight I think? He talks to her before he leaves and says I guess there’s no point in telling her to be careful to which she reassures him that she will be. He doesn’t try to stop her from going, he just expresses concern because he wants her to return home safe. Like the only time I think he ever really makes her do something is in Sunset when he forces her to rest after she runs herself to the point of extreme exhaustion from looking for Leafpool. Even then he’s not doing it to be controlling he’s doing it because he’s worried about her wellbeing. Also him fighting and yelling at Brambleclaw is honestly understandable. Like its not great that he’s trying to fight on squilf behalf, but its not to try and control her or stop her from seeing Brambleclaw. She’s somebody he cares deeply about and Brambleclaw is often mouthing off to her and treating her poorly, realistically if somebody was mouthing off to our SO we would get pissy and fight back. Not out of trying to control them, but out of trying to protect them from the other person. Like I said its not great he basically starts trying to fight her battles for her, but its understandable.

IDK it just makes me sad that his later characterization ruins who he was before PO3 and that it makes people construed him as controlling and abusive from the get go. Because he wasn’t written to be like that. TNP and TPB Ashfur is one of my favorite characters. I loved his friendship with Squilf as well as his other friend and family relationships. I just wish that the Erins had chosen a different cat to be the villiain or made up another cat, because I miss who he was before he was given the villain role. I would have loved to see more of his friendship with squilf even if they didn’t end up together.

#Warriors #warriors books #warriors ashfur #ashfur #squirrelflight #brambleclaw

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petalstem · 3 years

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Okay. It's Ashfur time

As I mentioned in the tags of my previous post, I'm honestly not against villain Ashfur making a return in TBC. Personally it wouldn't have been MY choice, but there's definitely potential there. My problem is how they treat villain Ashfur as just that, Ashfur but he's A Bad Person Again. The most exposition we get as to why he's suddenly done a 180 from what had been said about him before (As Ashton pointed out in my previous post) had been that people, most notably Hollyleaf, believed he'd been changing and growing for the better, and it was all actually a ruse and he tricked them.

That's another situation of "This could have worked". I'm okay with the IDEA of Ashfur having always been plotting, but that's not what was originally intended nor even alluded to, and it doesn't align with Ashfur's previous actions, as when he's at his lowest point in previous arcs, it's visible to other characters and more importantly, the reader. Ashfur suddenly becoming a master manipulator and great at masking his emotions for the sake of hiding a secret evil plot just doesn't fit right with previous characterizations of Ashfur.

And then there's the issue of Ashfur's motives as the imposter, AKA... why. The whole thing with the Codebreakers and imposter Bramblestar becoming vicious and strict is arguably my favorite part of this arc, I love criticism of the Clans structure and the rules imposed on them, but of all cats to enforce this, why Ashfur? His motivation hasn't EVER related to codebreaking. The CLOSEST he gets is Squirrelflight's kits actually being Leafpools, but even that it's not the CODEBREAKING that he really cares about, it's having that vital leverage over Squirrelflight and wanting to use it to hurt her. And like... Squirrelflight isn't notorious for codebreaking or anything. She does occasionally, but it's not a major character trait, just like it wasn't for Firestar. Ashfur has no real motive to target codebreakers.

And finally, what would I have done if I were an Erin. Back before this was proved very blatantly wrong, I had a theory that Ashfur wasn't the real big bad of TBC, but rather a scapegoat. Ashfur already has a history of having malicious intentions and bad actions, and a lot of StarClan cats are bound to know this, mainly Hollyleaf, Firestar, and Yellowfang. If Ashfur suddenly turned evil with little to no build up, chances are it'd be easy to dismiss it with "Oh well we should have never trusted him anyways, this was bound to happen". Cue real villain. The real villain of TBC would have been manipulating and retriggering a lot of Ashfurs previously established problems, and using him as their puppet to do their dirty work. By the time Ashfur would be caught, the damage would be done, and the true mastermind would get away scott free, because even if Ashfur tried to call them out, well, he can't be trusted, now can he? It would explain his shakey motives (It's not REALLY his motivation, it's someone else instructing him what to do), his sudden turn to villainy (He's being mentally tormented by someone else rather than just "always being that way"), and allow for a way more interesting twist than "The guy you all originally suspected was the true villain!".

TL:DR:

Ashfur has a lot of potential not as a true villain, but rather a puppet by a real big bad who's using him as an easy scapegoat due to his bad reputation. Also like 50 other Ashfur thoughts

#warrior cats #wc #I ALSO think imposter bramblestar should have had a moment with Hollytuft #i mean. c'mon. thats so easy and fun to have some foreshadowing there #have him jump at the sight of her #have him gently rub his throat when she asks him a question #please erins i beg of you put literally any effort into your series

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bonefall · 2 years

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I mean..looking back, Thornclaw willingly joined the dark forest, didn't trust Cloudpaw/tail, caused Lionblaze to lose 2 kids PERMANENTLY. Even if they didn't pick Ashfur or Thorn for the whole Love triangle thing (i guess going with Shrewpaw idk) and kept Ashfur consistent with his TPB characterization, I could see Thorn doing the Fire scene. Not out of incelness, but because he's kinda a dark grey character.

Also now I know why I hated the whole line that Ashfur was evil from birth in TBC. He wasn't! I hate how the Erin's make everything evil from birth or good from birth. No one can be morally grey. I kinda wish they had made the imposter someone else just so there was a morally grey character in Starclan. Yeah a dark morally grey, but still.

Villain Thornclaw

I can absolutely see Thornclaw doing the fire scene too. Not out of any kind of romantic involvement, but straightup just to murder the Three.

Twist the situation a little bit and you have a perfect motive: Thornclaw catches wind of the prophecy, and decides that it's not worth the risk. They're powerful beyond imagination, more than anything Thornclaw can fight if Lionblaze gets any stronger, so he decides to kill them as young warriors before they threaten ThunderClan

But I can't see him letting them go, unlike Ashfur... I find it weird and wrong that Thornclaw ever got a litter honestly, he strikes me sooo much as OBSESSED with his work and being an excellent warrior. Romance wouldn't sway him; and he wouldn't just do things to hurt some ex-fling.

Idk Villain Thornclaw would be a super cool opportunity and it's a shame it's not explored more in AUs

BUT NO ROMANCE. EVERYONE NEEDS TO STOP TRYING TO ROMANCE THORNCLAW. NON-MARRIAGEABLE NPC.

Ashfur

Anyway, I also strongly dislike how they went back in time with Graystripe's Vow to try to retcon evil into Ashfur. I feel like the writers can't just, let a character have once been a good person without Secretly Harbouring Darkness the whole time.

I LIKE the story they present of Ashfur getting worse because he just lets his spite consume him, seeing Squilf like an object to possess. I just wish they'd written a more clear descent from TPB Ashfur to PO3 Ashfur... like, idk, have some scenes of his family noticing this?

Do anything at all with Ferncloud and Cloudtail? Hnnnggg?? Any Thing At All???

I'm super partial to Hawkfrost Imposter AUs, honestly. I feel like it would have fit Hawkfrost a lot more... the code stuff, destroying Bramblestar's family, the obsession with harsh punishments, I don't know. Something felt right about it being Hawkfrost.

Still love Ashfur as a villain tho, ngl

#Villain Thornclaw AU #Hawkfrost Imposter AU #Warrior cats analysis #Ashfur #Hawkfrost #Thornclaw

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insomniacowl · 4 years

Text

Neon Genesis Evangelion analysis chapter:17 Angels advance

Sakiel: The third angel

The year is 2015 and Sakiel, the first descendent of Adam/ Third angel appears. Due to the base structure of Eva’s storytelling being “Humanity’s struggle against the angels”, understanding the nature of the “Enemies” that are the angels is necessary for understanding this series. However, due to the proper explanation of the angels being abundant and clear (Which is rare for anything from Eva), this chapter will be used to explain set pieces that are important to the plot but not often talked about or glossed over.

Also, Due to Kaworu requiring a chapter of his own, this chapter will contain only the fourteen angels that failed in their Advances and were unable to infiltrate into central dogma.

Sakiel’s design in the planning phase of Evangelion. It resembles Unit – 00 much more

The third angel Sakiel is the Angel of water and shows the closest resemblance to Adam out of all the angels we see. The design of Sakiel has reminded many viewers of the plug suit as well, raising many questions about the nature of Angels. And due to it appearing cute when it blinks, many of the viewers have found it to have an adorable design.

And as we can see from the original design, the producers tried to allude to the fact of the “Angel of water concept”. When the design was changed, we can still see this allusion with Sakiel appearing from a body of water.

The fourth angel Shamshel

The fourth angel looks like a squid without most of its tentacles and arrived three weeks after Sakiel was defeated. It is the Angel of daylight, but we don’t see anything that alludes to this fact (Other than that it arrived during the day, but this is not unique to Shamshel)

But Shamshel was important to the plot as it provided the S2 engine that would be soon inserted into Unit – 04. We can see it being much more aggressive in its attack compared to Sakiel and the level of aggression makes the viewers question if it is trying to avenge its fallen predecessor. But in the end, it was repelled by Shinji who showed an even higher level of aggression.

The fifth angel Ramiel and its remains in episode 9

The angel of thunder Ramiel followed suit and along with Sakiel, were the only two angels that appeared for two episodes in a row and is one of the more memorable opponents in this series. Its movement creates harmonics that reminds one of a church choir and is shaped almost like an abstract art sculpture. All of this with the fact that it is easy to draw makes Ramiel one of the most popular Angels.

Many look to the similarities in design and posits that the design of Ramiel was modeled after Laputa, but the truth was already revealed by Anno himself. The design of Ramiel comes from a 1983 anime ‘Future police Urashimen’ and the mechanic from episode 47 is undoubtedly Ramiel.

Sixth angel Gagiel

The angel of fish, Gagiel was used for highlighting Asuka’s debut on the series and there is not much we can talk about.

Seventh angel Israphel

The angel of music Israphel is unique in the sense it was able to split its body in two, serving as a proof of split-ability of souls in this universe. Its face(?) was shaped like a Yin-Yang before splitting.

Eighth angel Sandalphon

The angel of fetus Sandalphon was found in magma before it has hatched from its egg and the internal view showed it to be shaped like a fetus. Unit – 02 was chosen to undertake the mission of capturing it alive for experiments but was eliminated when this mission has failed. Sandalphon also plays a role in determining the Sex of the baby. This fact leads some to argue that the theme of this episode was “Sex”

Ninth angel Matarael

Perhaps it is really crying

The angel of rain Matarael perhaps tops the mediocrity of angels but also marks the end of the list of “easy” enemies that started with Gagiel. It looks like a spider and has an unexposed core but is the only angel that was eliminated using a rifle. The important thing of note in this episode is the Self-defence force referring to Matarael as the eighth angel, showing that Seele and Nerv are hiding the existence of Lilith. It is sometimes maddening that Anno believes this to be enough explanation.

Tenth angel Sahaquel

The angel of the sky Sahaquel appeared out of the sky just like its namesake. It is one of the angels that saw much change compared to the planning phase design, the toilet paper roll like arm of Zeruel was originally Sahaquel’s. This makes one wonder what the battle against it could actually have been.

Because Sahaquel’s attack involves a suicide attack using its whole body, it practically made the initiation of the Third impact impossible. This makes the investigation of its motives impossible and the “Angle that does not think” in the series development document might be referring to this one. However, there is an alternate theory that posits that Sahaquel was in a symbiotic relationship with Iroul and it is a possibility we can consider.

the AT field of the eleventh angel Iroul

The angel of terror Iroul took the form of bacteria sized micro machine and infiltrated Nerv through the means of hacking the system. Being the first and the last angel to attempt a non-physical method of attack, it was perhaps the most vulnerable moment for Nerv. And it is during this attack that Kaji was ‘Investigating’ central dogma.

We also see Gendou creating false reports regarding Iroul’s infiltration of Nerv arguing that this has never happened, telling the viewers of the fact that these two entities are not in complete agreement with each other. There is more to be said about this “lie” that Gendou told and will be covered in a future chapter.

The twelfth angel Leriel

The angel of nigh Leriel appears like a ball floating in the sky but this “ball” is later revealed to be a shadow and the “shadow” that was cast on the ground surface was the actual angel. But later interviews revealed that the floating ball was used only for the visual impact and was not the original idea of the twelfth angel’s appearance. The inside of the angel is the field called Dirac sea (it is different from the real-life theoretical model of the same name thus requiring no exploration into the field of theoretical physics). It was the first angel that showed interest in Humans and we also learn that Nerv hid this fact from Seele.

Shinji + Leliel?

According to Tsurumaki from the production staff, the ‘young Shinji’ that converse with our Shinji is actually Leliel. The original sequence of this conversation was Shinji talking directly to Leriel, the production staff decided that this did not convey the intention of the scene well enough thus they choose to depict it at a symbolic level, making the patterns on Leliel similar to the shirt young Shinji wore. It is sometimes maddening that even the production staffs believe this to be enough explanation.

Thirteenth angel Bardiel in its sticky mucus form

Fourteenth Angel Zeruel

Fifteenth Angel Arael

I am glossing over Bardiel and Zeruel as there is not much to talk about here.

The angel of birds Arael holds an extra meaning of “The god of light”, or “The vision of God” and is another angel that is true to its namesake. It is also another angel following Leliel that showed interest in human psychology.

Just like how Leliel appeared in Shinji’s mind in the form of his childhood, Arael did so for Asuka as well. Keep this in mind as we talk about the next angel.

The sixteenth angel Armisael

Armisael: I’ll give you a piece of my heart. How does it feel? Painful?

Rei: Painful? No… This is the feeling of loneliness

Armisael: I don’t understand

Rei: We are all together, but you are alone, and you don’t like that. That’s what it means to be lonely

The sixteenth angel ‘penetrates’ into Rei’s mind just like Leliel and Arael did for Shinji and Asuka respectively. Armisael tells Rei about the ‘pain’ it feels in its heart and is taught by Rei that this is called loneliness. Angels that exist as a unified entity did not have the concept of ‘Loneliness’ and learns of it through communication with Rei. Armisael then synchronizes it’s feeling with Rei and approaches Shinji in her form while creating the ‘Tower of angels ‘through Unit – 00.

The ‘Tower of angels’ Armisael creates

How it looks like. From the development document

The ‘Tower of angels’ is a structure shaped like the amalgamation of all angels that have appeared so far. This points to the possibility that Armisael knew of the appearance of all previous angels, posing the possibility of communication among angels in some way. Or the design could have come from the memories of angels that Rei held.

Either way, Armisael learned of the concept of loneliness through Rei and the synchronization of its emotions and desire with Rei’s led it to attempt seducing Shinji and portray its desire of wanting to be with other angels. This is a very short sequence overshadowed by Rei’s self-sacrifice that soon followed but is used to portray that even the unified beings (angels) also suffer the concept of loneliness, making human’s ability to feel lonely to not be an inferior trait.

Armisael is the angel of the womb and the shape of Unit – 00 right before the self-detonation is like that of a pregnant woman. There is one more hidden symbolism to this, but it being integral to the characterization of Rei, I will mention it in her part chapter 27.

The face of an angel.

The seventeenth angel Tabris can be said to be Adam (‘s soul) thus we will talk about him in a later chapter (chapter 18). This chapter has given a broad description of the angels, next chapter, we will have a deeper dive into the nature of these angels.

TBC Chapter 18 Angels, what are they?

#Neon genesis evangelion #Evangelion #Eva #End of evangelion #Nge #Nagisa Kaworu #Lilith #Sci-fi #Ikari Shinji #Soryu Asuka Langley #asuka #Ayanami Rei #rei #Anno Hideaki #Katsuragi Misato #Anime #Analysis #Review

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the-owl-tree · 11 months

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I truly believe the erins gave up on some character's personalities just for the sake of some scenes- mothwing is an example of this. during tbc, they simply changed her whole personality, everything we knew about her character was gone just for the sake of some scenes of her yelling at shadowsight. jayfeather could have easily replaced her in this scene since he has always been known as grumpy- however, he is a victim of the same syndrome too.

Jayfeather has always been an asshole, that's a fact. but did his whole assholary lead into anything? No, miss erin is too lazy for that. during po3, even if he hated intereacting with kits, he wasn't an ass to them. they were kits, and he would take care of them. but AVOS came, and he barely knew how to intereact with them at all. what happened?

wonderful ask to send right as i finished reading the spoiler thread. consistency who?

I feel like it was definitely an issue with the switching of a new team and their understanding of these characters. Jayfeather went from a grumpy but albeit not unreasonable character to yelling at Twigkit and generally making all of Alderheart's POV chapters with him miserable (though. i can't say alderheart made making his chapters a slog difficult). I think the authors have always been shit at characterization but the new team's interesting takes on old characters has definitely made this clear.

#deer rambles #like man. avos!jay is so fucking miserable to read #ur too old to be yelling at a baby buddy

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whisker-biscuit · 5 years

Text

In the Name of Science: Chapter 1

Fandom: Sonic Movie (2020)

Rating: T for unethical experimentation, implied violence and gore, and implied torture

Summary: Tom and Maddie didn’t make it in time to rescue Sonic from Robotnik. Hopefully it’s not too late to save him now. Unfortunately, hope is hard to come by in the labs of the mad doctor himself.

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Dr. Ivo Robotnik, M.D. Log 1

Preliminary report: Subject is 3’3”, 14.1 lbs., male. Age and maturity unknown. Vaguely resembles four-toed hedgehog from outward appearance and obvious anatomy. Fur and quill are primarily cobalt blue, with chest and stomach fur light coral peach. Blood sample taken, analysis tbc. Note: internal anatomy to be examined at later date, due to blunt trauma and related injuries.

At 23:30 MST during transportation, subject’s heart ceased regular palpitations. Resuscitation was administered and subject was revived successfully. No other heart or organ irregularities occurred, and subject was transferred to personal laboratory at 1:56 MST for examination. About to conduct preliminary quill count and inspection at time of report.

Subject has yet to regain consciousness since initial containment.

End log

…….

Sonic comes to on a metal table, his face smashed against cold steel and his limbs stretched above and below him, cuffed together. He groans as the aches and pains from the fight with Eggman catches up all at once, and his body’s current position certainly isn’t helping. The hedgehog rubs his cheek against the metal, using the cold to try and ground himself so he can figure out how bad his situation is.

He doesn’t remember much beyond trying to escape at the top of the pyramid. There was heat at his back, and then everything hurt even more than it does now. So that must mean….

Something starts touching his quills. He stiffens.

“H-Hey, who’s there? What do you want?”

There’s no response, and whatever is messing with his quills moves down to their base, meeting fur and skin. Sonic gasps as the same freezing sensation from the table runs along his back. A weird high-pitched whirring fills the air as it goes along. Oh, it’s a robot doing that.

He struggles to turn his head to get a better look at this thing, but he can’t move more than a few inches. The robot continues to probe at his quills, seemingly oblivious to his response, and no matter how Sonic tries to twist and turn, nothing changes at all.

After what feels like an eternity, the robot pulls away and makes a sudden loud clicking sound. It startles the hedgehog into a jolt that he immediately regrets. His body protests, loudly.

“Quill count: 5933.”

“What?” He asks through gritted teeth, waiting for the pounding pain to go away.

The robot doesn’t reply, but then it starts poking at his fur again. Two fingers – are they fingers? Sonic hopes they’re fingers – find a longer quill and pinch at its base. He realizes what’s going to happen right before it does.

“Don’t-!”

It pulls. He sucks in a breath, closing his eyes as the quill is ripped out of his back. He’s no stranger to this sensation, but that doesn’t mean he’s okay with it happening. The robot finds another quill. Sonic flinches and rubs his cheek against the cold.

“Quill count: 5928,” the unfeeling thing announces to nothing once it’s done. It withdraws from the hedgehog who is currently trying to stay calm, holding the stolen quills and moving to some place Sonic still can’t see.

Tired, hurting, and now conflicted between angry and panicked, the teen decides to take a risk.

“Hey Eggman, I know you can hear me! Come out where I can see you! I know you’re scared of people who can kick your butt, but this is ridiculous!”

He yells it out with as much bravado as he can manage, and later he’ll say he was pretty proud of himself for keeping his voice steady. Then he listens, and waits.

For a long while he stays alone in that room, with only the robot doing whatever it’s doing to his quills. But eventually there’s the whoosh of an automatic door opening somewhere behind his left side. Sonic turns his head that way just in time for a long black coat to take up his entire view.

“Finally awake, I see.” The man says, and it’s hard to tell whether he’s pleased or annoyed by this fact. “You’ve been unconscious for nearly 8 hours.”

Sonic’s eyes trail up slowly, meeting the maniacally-gleeful face of his captor. He swallows, and it takes a few moments to find his voice again.

“D-Dang, that long? Must have been quite the beauty rest. How about you let me go so I can look myself in the mirror and tell you if it worked?”

“Just as chatty and full of hot air as your moronic human guardian. I should have expected that, which I did. Nothing ever gets past me, little alien.”

The hedgehog falters. For a single second. “Oh yeah? Better get used to failure then, Eggman. I’ve gotten past you so many times already that I’ve lost count.”

Robotnik takes hold of his ear and twists. Sonic’s mouth clamps shut to keep the whine under his tongue, but he never takes his wide eyes off the scientist.

“Here’s how it’s going to go, hedgehog – which is what you most closely resemble in physical structure and biology, despite the incredibly irrational discrepancies.”

He leans in to speak directly against the teen’s caught ear.

“I’m going to do whatever I want to you, however I want, whenever I want, and the only words I want coming out of your mouth unless stated otherwise are ‘yes Doctor,’ ‘no Doctor,’ or ‘thank you Doctor.’ Do you understand?”

Sonic takes slow, shallowed breaths as he listens, and he steels himself before offering a nickname he’s only heard Donut Lord say twice ever.

“Sure thing, Dr. Douche.”

The hand on his ear pulls so hard that he thinks it’s going to come off. He chokes back a watery whimper when Robotnik forces his head up off the table.

“Pain receptors and nerve endings appear to be fully functional, although I can’t say the same for your auditory processing.”

“Ow, ow ow…” The teen’s hands clench into fists as his head is held back and kept there. He doesn’t dare close his eyes, watching Robotnik like he might rip his ear off entirely the moment he stops staring.

Finally, the man releases him, and Sonic’s head hits the table with a thunk. He winces at the painful contact to his chin.

“Ow-uh, easy on the face! We can’t all look this good naturally, c’mon.”

The doctor stands up straight without acknowledging him. “Agent Stone.”

“Yes, Doctor?”

The hedgehog is startled by the assistant’s voice coming somewhere behind Robotnik; he had no idea the guy was even there.

“Set up my recording equipment pronto. Now that the subject is awake and responding in a…semi-intelligent manner, I do believe it’s time to get information firsthand.”

“Of course sir, right away.” Agent Stone’s voice is already fading as he leaves the room. The sound of equipment being shuffled starts up distantly.

Robotnik’s gloved hand returns to Sonic’s head and he flinches, but this time the touch is light and almost examining. He rubs his thumb and forefinger on either side of the teen’s ear, then trails down to run along the fur on top of his head. Sonic realizes with no small amount of disgust that he’s being petted, like what Tom does with Ozzie.

“Hey, quit it, I’m not a dog!” He tries to pull his head away to no avail.

“Those are the first scientifically correct words you’ve said thus far,” the scientist says quietly. “Although it’s such a low bar. Honestly, I thought that hick cop babysitter of yours was the least sapient lifeform on this planet until you opened your mouth for the first time.”

Sonic bristles. “Don’t talk about him like that. You don’t know anything.”

“Ah, I suppose you’re right. I shouldn’t pigeonhole you in the same category as that knuckle-dragger. You are so much more remarkable than that. A peak product of evolution. Well…physically, at least, but it isn’t so difficult to train animals.”

The hand hasn’t stopped petting him. Sonic feels a sick pit in his stomach, and it’s not just from the betraying urge to lean into the touch.

“If you think I’m going to roll over and do what you want, you’re wrong. I’ll get out of here somehow and then you’re going to regret it.”

“That’s the spirit I like to see! Makes the end result so much more satisfying when I’ve broken it.” Robotnik tilts his head to meet the teen’s anxious glare head-on. Then he half turns away to call out. “Stone! Are you finished yet, or do we need to set aside another eternity?”

“All set and ready to go, sir!” Comes the response from the other room. “The holding pen is prepped and secure as well!”

“Excellent, finally. It’s so hard to find decent human help these days.”

He presses a few buttons on his left glove. A pair of floating egg-like robots appear and connect to Sonic’s restraints, releasing him from the table and lifting him up between them. The hedgehog tries futilely to kick out or make them drop him. Robotnik leads the way towards the other room, not giving his captive a second glance.

“Now the time for pointless chit-chat is over! Time for proper scientific observation!”

All Sonic can do is struggle as he’s carried away.

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A/N: I thought Robotnik would be really hard to characterize, but I'm having an easier time with him than expected. Maybe it's cause Sonic is the one fighting me at every turn heh. Also, remember how in the movie Sonic supposedly stopped breathing and then got revived from his powers and friendship? Yeah, me too :)

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy!

Prologue

Chapter 2

#sonic movie #sonic the hedgehog #sonic movie spoilers #dr. robotnik #agent stone #experimentation

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