#i need them not to be doomed but rather learn and grow. accept the flaws and faults of the past and learn to move on

[epicfirestormer]

Will never get over how Starscream and Skyfire's relationship is always doomed. There's never an iteration of them where they both stay on the same side at the end. They always end up being against each other, tearing each other apart (whether intentionally or not). They always end up losing each other, be it by a snowstorm, by the war, or by death itself. They never receive a happy ending together, one if not both of them is doomed to suffer.

Skyfire is doomed to be an Autobot, by forces out of his control. Starscream is doomed to be an Decepticon, by his own self destructive tendencies. They are both doomed, because of who they are. They always try to save the other, in their own way. But it never works. They are doomed to fail, whether they stay together or not.

[sindri42]

What do you think the Reapers were supposed to be all about before the writer got replaced and the ending of ME3 threw out the lore?

There's not a lot that we have that's solid, just a lot of hints and suppositions. So there's no way to really conclusively determine what was supposed to be going on, but we can definitely come up with theories that match the evidence, which the "canon" absolutely does not. So here's what we know:

Harbinger refers to themself as our "salvation through destruction" and the "Harbinger of your perfection". "We will bring your species into harmony with our own" they say, and "Your species will be raised to a new existence. We are the beginning, you will be the end," but also "You will surrender your potential against the growing void."

Sovereign claims they are each a nation unto themselves, that they are the pinnacle of evolution, and when asked who created them or for what purpose insists that they have no beginning nor end

Mass Effect technology plays upon dark energy in a way that is poorly understood by the young races despite their reliance on it for almost every aspect of life

A small but significant number of stars are destabilizing for unknown reasons, aging at a massively accelerated rate.

The mass relays were built for the young races, partly so civilized planets would be laid out upon predictable paths and easily accessible via the "back door" in the Citadel, but also so that the new civilizations would develop along the lines the Reapers had planned for them

it's very rare to have more than a single major race in each cycle; most often the other spacefaring civilizations are either wiped out or made subservient to the rulers of the galaxy

The greatest race of each cycle is used in the creation of a single new Reaper, while lesser races or those with major flaws are discarded or turned into servitors like the Keepers (per the end of ME2; obviously this got retconned in 3).

Between "harvests" the Reapers retreat beyond the galactic rim, sitting quietly in the dark using as little energy as possible for tens of thousands of years at a time.

So, first and simplest assumption, the Cycle is effectively the Reapers' reproductive system. Like all life forms, they have a drive to produce more of themselves, but for some reason they can't or won't simply make a new chassis out of raw metal, and they're unwilling to use "flawed" people as components, which means the people put into it are extremely important. If the larval reaper that Shepherd killed had been allowed to grow up, it would not simply have been a machine with some random DNA inside, it would have been humanity, an entire nation and species flying through space for eternity.

Second assumption, slightly stretchy but with several weak points of support? Mass Effect technology is slowly killing the galaxy. As more people use it in more ways every year, more stars start to die. This isn't an issue that would affect any normal person alive today, the changes are observed over the course of millennia rather than even centuries, but unless something big changes everyone is eventually doomed. And sure, any given individual or small group could simply refuse to use the mass effect, but it's so easy to figure out that you could never suppress the knowledge of how to use it in any meaningful way, and it's so useful and people are so greedy and short-sighted that you could never persuade everybody to stop. And if you tried to do it by force, well, a nation making free use of eezo in their engines and their guns and their shields would wipe the floor with a nation determined to stick to mundane technology.

So, my theory of how things went down? The first race to figure out the mass effect knew they had a problem. Maybe they had already made themselves immortal, so they were more concerned with the long term than most people. Maybe they just had more foresight than most. Either way, they put themselves into a form where they could still think and communicate, likely on a deeper and more intimate level than ever before, but they would use as little energy as possible to preserve their billions of lives. The "pinnacle of evolution" if you will, a machine which had no creator besides itself, a life form which could last forever with minimal resource consumption. And they sat quietly Thinking about how to fix this, for tens of thousands of years.

But while they researched and experimented and contemplated, other life forms kept evolving. And eventually they also figured out the secret to using the mass effect, but either didn't know about the dangers or chose to ignore them. So the ancient... okay let's just call them Harbinger for convenience, had to do something to stop this. Maybe they were too soft-hearted to wipe out an entire species for an honest mistake. Or maybe their research had hit a dead end, and they needed an outside perspective to apply new ideas to the problem. Or maybe they were simply lonely, or the instinctual drive to be fruitful and multiply reared up after being suppressed for so long. Either way, they converted the young fools into another nation-ship hive-mind like themself, convinced them of the seriousness of the situation (to "surrender your potential against the growing void" as it were), and resumed Thinking out in the black.

And when it happened again, and again, they refined their approach over time. The eezo drives on the individual ships of the young races are not only slower, but also massively less efficient than the technology the Reapers have developed, so they gave the Relays away as a gift to minimize the damage each new race would do. They couldn't allow young races to become too powerful to stop, but they wanted to allow them as much opportunity to develop scientific research and understanding as possible in order to be more useful to the ongoing project to save the galaxy, so they learned how to insert observers and infiltrators throughout alien societies to observe things and ensure the Harvest was delayed for as long as it was safe to do so but no longer (and I think you can agree that they were cutting their deadlines really close given how an extra three years brought the council races from 'utterly unprepared, basically a walkover' to 'giving you a serious fight').

So, how would the game end, after you learned all of this? Maybe Shepherd simply accepts the inevitable fate of the young races, like Saren once did, and helps the Reapers to end the Cycle with a minimum of suffering so that they can join the endless search for a real solution. The ultimate 'sacrifice for the greater good', killing thousands of entire species of people in order to preserve life in the galaxy as a whole. Maybe Shepherd rejects the idea that it's worth killing billions of innocents now in order to head off some distant nebulous threat later, and fights back with everything they have... and if you managed to unify everybody you possibly could, this would certainly be more power than the Reapers ever had to deal with before in any past cycle. Or maybe you use a display of that power to force the Reapers to the negotiating table, and then use all the "impossible" things you've achieved and all the scientific progress made over the past few short years, plus a heavy dose of raw charisma and Paragon ideology, to persuade them that if everybody works together they can finally solve the impossible problem, the one that has been stumping every Reaper for millions of years, within the time span of this one final Cycle if they just share the data they have so far and allow the young races to work freely.

[codenamesazanka]

look. one can personally believe in utilitarianism(?) and thus believe it’s justified to kill someone for the greater good - that an individual in question is too dangerous to let live; and they are better off dead to protect society and to promote the happiness and well-being of everyone else. That’s fair. That’s a personal philosophy.

But that’s not the story My Hero Academia is telling.

Not in regards to Toga (and the rest of the League). Especially not when it’s been shown multiple times that the ‘tragedy of Toga Himiko’ was entirely preventable. If her parents hadn’t rejected her; if school offered up quirk counseling that didn’t “end up emphasizing the inherent differences between us all”; if the media hadn’t sensationalized Toga’s stabbing of her classmate (broadcasting her parents calling her a hopeless ‘demon child’ is terribly irresponsible, I think). I’ll somewhat concede that during Heroes’ encounters with Toga, she is threatening enough with a knife that they were too focused on defeating her rather than talk her down; but that itself is a flaw of Heroism - they escalate the situation instead of defusing it. Toga was willing to talk. Toga was sharing her thoughts and feelings. Toga desired acceptance. That is a chance for dialogue. Lie to her, trick her into surrendering to be captured and thus end the conflict just like that without excess, sure. But was an opportunity without need to battle to the death, and no one took it and now everyone has to battle to the death.

(No, that is not ‘playing therapist’. That is a fucking government worker, a public servant dedicated to ensuring the well-being of all its citizens - yes, including criminals. It’s not an intimate interpersonal relationship between people who are supposed to trust and love each other - it’s a legal obligation of an enforcer towards people)

(I’ve been watching Criminal Minds - which is a show that does promote the idea that the law enforcement officers are nearly-flawless forces of goodness, justice, and morality going up against irredeemable evil - and when they have the FBI agents face off against completely atrocious serial killers, even then the general rule is that they try their best to talk them down and arrest them. Get them help if they can.)

It’s not even that MHA is asking for every terrible Villain to be redeemed - it wrote off Muscular, and AFO seems doomed to die because he really is just too megalomaniac and dangerous. Toga gets ‘should be saved’ treatment because of her fell-through-the-cracks-of-Hero-Society-and-this-was-unjust-and-treatable circumstances that Heroes must tackle in the narrative.

My Hero Academia is a story about society and it’s relation to individuals. It has shown as clearly that its Hero characters want to create a just and peaceful society; and it has shown as how on the margins, it has terribly failed the ones who needed help the most. The resolution naturally is Heroes doing their best to save these Villains. Killing the Villains without learning any lessons from them and without resolving to change things so another Toga Himiko can grow up better cared for (and not dismissed as a ‘parasite’ or hopeless) is straight up failure and against everything Heroes say they stand for. That is a tragedy, not a victory.

If the central premise of this is something you disagree with, I’m sorry the story hasn’t convince you and it’s just not your cup of tea.

[princesssarisa]

Some more “Little Women” remarks: the problem of Beth

I honestly think most commentary I’ve read about Beth’s character is bad, both academic and from casual readers.

I understand why. She’s a difficult character. Modern readers who love Little Women and want to celebrate it as a proto-feminist work need to contend with the presence of this thoroughly domestic, shy, sweetly self-effacing character, seemingly the opposite of everything a feminist heroine should be. Meanwhile, other readers who despise Little Women and consider it anti-feminist cite Beth as the embodiment of its supposedly outdated morals. Then there’s the fact that she’s based on Louisa May Alcott’s actual sister, Lizzie Alcott, and does show hints of the real young woman’s complexity, and yet she’s much more idealized than the other sisters, which often makes readers view her as more of a symbol (of what they disagree, but definitely a symbol) than a real person.

But even though the various bad takes on her character are understandable, they’re still obnoxious, and in my humble opinion, not founded in the text.

Here are my views on some of the critics’ opinions I least agree with.

“She’s nothing but a bland, boring model of feminine virtue.”

Of course it’s fair to find her bland and boring. Everyone is entitled to feel how they feel about any character. But she’s not just a cardboard cutout of 19th century feminine virtue. So many people seem to dismiss her shyness as just the maidenly modesty that conduct books used to encourage. But it seems blatantly obvious to me that it’s more than just that. Beth’s crippling shyness is actively portrayed as her “burden,” just like Jo’s temper or Meg and Amy’s vanity and materialism. She struggles with it. Her parents have homeschooled her because her anxiety made the classroom unbearable for her – no conduct book has ever encouraged that! In Part 1, she has a character arc of overcoming enough of her shyness to make new friends like Mr. Laurence and Frank Vaughn. Then, in Part 2, she has the arc of struggling to accept her impending death: she doesn’t face it with pure serenity, but goes through a long journey of both physical and emotional pain before she finds peace in the end. Her character arcs might be quieter and subtler than her sisters’, but she’s not the static figure she’s often misremembered as being.

‘She needs to die because her life has no meaning outside of her family and the domestic sphere.”

In all fairness, Beth believes this herself: she says she was “never meant” to live long because she’s just “stupid little Beth,” with no plans for the future and of no use to anyone outside the home. But for readers to agree with that assessment has massive unfortunate implications! The world is full of both women and men who – whether because of physical or mental illness, disability, autism, Down Syndrome, or some other reason – can’t attend regular school, don’t make friends easily, are always “young for their age,” don’t get married or have romantic relationships, aren’t able to hold a regular job, never live apart from their families, and lead quiet, introverted, home-based lives. Should we look at those real people and think they all need to die? I don’t think so! Besides, it seems to me that the book actively refutes Beth’s self-deprecation. During both of her illnesses, it’s made clear how many people love her and how many people’s lives her quiet kindness has touched – not just her family and few close friends, but the neighbors, the Hummels (of course), the local tradespeople she interacts with, and the children she sews gifts for who write her letters of gratitude. Then there’s the last passage written from her viewpoint before her death, where she finds Jo’s poem that describes what a positive influence her memory will always be, and realizes that her short, quiet life hasn’t been the waste she thought it was. How anyone can read that passage and still come away viewing her life as meaningless is beyond me.

“She needs to die because she symbolizes a weak, outdated model of femininity.”

SparkNotes takes this interpretation of Beth and it annoys me to think of how many young readers that study guide has probably taught to view her this way. No matter how feisty and unconventional Louisa May Alcott was, and no mater how much she personally rebelled against passive, domestic femininity, would she really have portrayed her beloved sister Lizzie as “needing to die” because she was “too weak to survive in the modern world”? Would she really have turned Lizzie’s tragic death into a symbol of a toxic old archetype’s welcome death? But even if Beth were a purely fictional character and not based on the author’s sister, within the text she’s much too beloved and too positive an influence on everyone around her for this interpretation to feel right. This seems less like a valid reading of her character and more like wishful thinking on the part of some feminist scholars.

“She's a symbol of pure goodness who needs to die because she’s Too Good For This Sinful Earth™.”

Enough with the reasons why Beth “needs to die”! At least this one isn’t insulting. But I don’t think it’s really supported by the text either. If she were a symbol of goodness too pure for this world, then she wouldn’t forget to feed her pet bird for a week and lose him to starvation. She wouldn’t get snappish when she’s bored, even if she does only vent her frustration on her doll. She wouldn’t struggle with social anxiety, or dislike washing dishes, or be explicitly described as “not an angel” by the narrator because she can’t help but long for a better piano than the one she has. Now of course those flaws (except for accidentally letting her bird die) are minute compared to her sisters’. It’s fair to say that only “lip service” is paid to Beth’s humanity in an otherwise angelic portrayal. But it seems clear that Alcott did try to make her more human than other saintly, doomed young girls from the literature of her day: she’s certainly much more real than little Eva from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, for example.

“She’s destroyed by the oppressive model of femininity she adheres to.”

This argument holds that because Beth’s selfless care for others causes her illness, her story’s purpose is to condemn the expectation that women toil endlessly to serve others. But if Alcott meant to convey that message, I’d think she would have had Beth get sick by doing some unnecessary selfless deed. Helping a desperately poor, single immigrant mother take care of her sick children isn’t unnecessary. That’s not the kind of selflessness to file under “things feminists should rebel against.”

“She’s a symbol of ideal 19th century femininity, whom all three of her sisters – and implicitly all young female readers – are portrayed as needing to learn to be like.”

Whether people take this view positively (e.g. 19th and early 20th century parents who held up Beth as the model of sweet docility they wanted from their daughters) or negatively (e.g. feminists who can’t forgive Alcott for “remaking Jo in Beth’s image” by the end), I honestly think they’re misreading the book. I’ve already outlined the ways in which Beth struggles and grows just like her sisters do. If any character is portrayed as the ideal woman whom our young heroines all need to learn to be like, it’s not Beth, it’s Marmee. She combines aspects of all her daughters’ best selves (Meg and Beth’s nurturing, Jo’s strong will and Amy’s dignity) and she’s their chief source of wise advice and moral support. Yet none of her daughters become exactly like her either. They all maintain their distinct personalties, even as they grow. Admittedly, Beth’s sisters do sometimes put her on a pedestal as the person they should emulate – i.e. Amy during Beth’s first illness and Jo in the months directly after her death. But in both of those cases, their grief-inspired efforts are short-lived and they eventually go back to their natural boldness and ambitions. They just combine them with more of Beth’s kindness and unselfishness than before.

“She wills her own death.”

Of all these interpretations, this one is possibly the most blatantly contradicted by the text. Just because Beth’s fatal illness is vague and undefined beyond “she never recovered her strength after her scarlet fever” doesn’t mean it's caused by a lack of “will to live”; just because she interprets her lack of future plans or desire to leave home to mean that she’s “not meant to live long” doesn’t mean she’s so afraid to grow up that she wants to die. It’s made very clear that Beth wants to get well. Even though she tries to hide her deep depression from her family and face death willingly, she’s still distraught to have her happy life cut short.

I’ll admit that I’m probably biased, because as as a person on the autism spectrum who’s also struggled with social anxiety and led an introverted, home-based life, I personally relate to Beth. If I didn’t find her relatable, these interpretations would probably annoy me less. But I still think they’re based on a shallow overview of Beth’s character, combined with disdain for girls who don’t fit either the tomboyish “Jo” model or the sparkling “Amy” model of lively, outgoing young womanhood, rather than a close reading of the book.

[evabellasworld]

Hear the Wind Sing

For @the11tailedlovesclones, this is my gift for you as part of the @starwarsfandomfests event. Thank you to @lilhawkeye3 for organising this event. I really enjoyed it so far.——————————————————————————————

Summary:  Fox and Riyo were relaxing underneath an ancient tree, wondering about the past and the future of their family they're building.

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AO3 Link

Stepping onto a dead leaf that was laying on the ground, Commander Fox was walking down a fresh, muddy road, holding Riyo Chuchi's hand. With a plain white T-shirt and his khaki pants, he gazed at the paddy fields to his left, with the young stalks standing still on the murky water, filled with eels and occasionally leeches.

This wasn't the first paddy field that Fox has seen throughout his life. The first one was when he had to safeguard Riyo from danger. At that time, they hadn't confessed their love towards each other due to the circumstances at that time. It was a day after the whole fiasco at her parent's house that they both realized their feelings towards each other.

Even then, both Fox and Riyo had to hide their relationship from the public, despite a few of them learning their secret. The Jedi who accompanied them were the first to figure it out but promised not to tell anyone about it. His brothers and sisters, Thorn, Stone, Thire, Yves, and Lip knew about them as well but decided to not say a word, though they nudged him about it.

It was difficult to have a love affair in public since he was a clone trooper while Riyo was a senator, and kissing in front of everyone would not only ruin both their reputation but also their career as well. Riyo would have been fired and shamed in public while Fox, on the other hand, would either be decommissioned or euthanized or both.

He heard stories about how his brothers were caught fraternizing with their lovers and were never seen or heard again. His sisters, on the other hand, had it worse. There was one clone who ended up pregnant and as a result, both the mother and the baby were terminated by the Kaminoan government.

Disgusted and angry at them, Fox finds himself cursing the Republic for not only treating them like slaves but also restraining their rights to lead normal lives such as falling in love with someone. Since clone troopers were only manufactured to fight to their death, love isn’t in the manual, but that doesn’t stop soldiers like Fox to lead a private life with Riyo.

It was risky, but breathtaking at the same time for Riyo. The romance novel that she read when she was younger, titled ‘My Dirty Secrets,’ was about an office clerk who met a homeless man down the streets and found a spark between them. As time goes by, they both have a love affair and have to keep their relationship a secret from the clerk’s snobbish family. They both didn’t live happily ever after in the end, as the male lover was found dead in the streets, leaving behind his pregnant lover.

The novel made Riyo tear up and astounded at the same time, as she would read it again and again, just to feel poignant. She dreams about having a secret lover one day and wanting one desperately after finding out her parents were once secret lovers as well. 

Their relationship was scandalous at that time since her father was a rice farmer while her mother was the daughter of an aristocrat. Both sides of the family did not approve of the relationship and did everything they could to end their relationship but in the end, they relented and the rest was history.

Who would have thought that Riyo would repeat history by falling in love with someone that society would never approve of? It's almost as if her parents taught her that love knows no boundaries and accepting of each other's flaws. She wouldn't be dazed if the child that she's carrying in her womb would carry on with the tradition of loving someone that is contrasting from what others expect. Who knows?

“Beautiful day, isn't it?” she smiled, noticing her newly-wed husband gazing at the rice fields. 

“Yeah, it really is a beautiful day,” he smiled back, shifting his attention to Riyo, who was squeezing his hands. “Just like you and the baby.”

She chuckled, covering her thin lips. “The baby isn't born yet, dear.”

“Well, how long do I have to wait until our child is ready?”

“Around 27 weeks,” answered Riyo. “Are you this impatient to see the baby?”

He scratched the back of his black curly hair as if he was caught red-handed for stealing candy from a jar. “Yes, I am impatient to meet our child. It's just that, well, I have been preparing day and night on what to do when the baby comes out and what I say to her when I meet her and such. I-”

“Alright, I get it,” Riyo stopped him there. “You're just excited for the baby, I know. But you don't have to stress on every single detail about our child, you know. All you have to do is to go with the flow, that's all.”

He let out a sigh. “I know, I know, but I just can't help it, especially when it comes to something that is unfamiliar to the both of us, you know.”

“Fox, you took care of kids before,” she placed her hand on his shoulder. “I know that you will be a good father to our daughter. I have faith in you.”

Fox could only press his lips on her forehead as he gave a slight nod. “I'll try my best, Ri. I promise.”

“Glad to hear it,” she gleamed as they both continued walking on the road, rubbing her belly. 

For the past four months, she did everything she could to conceal her pregnancy from the public. Whenever she zipped to the bathroom due to morning sickness, she would claim that she was reapplying her makeup and adjusted her hair to avoid suspicion from her colleagues.

Fox was ecstatic to hear that he was going to be a father, but at the same time, he was nervous. With their relationship in secrecy, there is no way people can know that Riyo was carrying his baby. If they ever found out, their relationship would be doomed, just like the lovers in 'My Dirty Secret.' 

With Palpatine forcing him to work extra hours in his shift, he felt guilty for leaving Riyo all alone in her apartment, throwing up inside the toilet bowl. A normal husband would be ready to assist his pregnant wife whenever she needed his help, but not in his case. 

Riyo continued going up and down in the Senate, pushing herself to make sure Republic bills that would benefit the public would be passed while dealing with her dizziness that would creep from time-to-time.

Fox would check in every few hours and would massage her sore shoulders and back to soothe her dizziness. If he was lucky, he sneaked in a ration bar, which she craves a lot. 

She hated those rations for being too bland and chalky for her taste, but suddenly loved them when her favourite womp-rat stew was nauseating for her. Even those Pantoran milk cookies made her lose her appetite, but at least his brothers and sisters have an excuse to hoard for themselves, much to the Marshal Commander's annoyance.

Hyewon especially would stuff everything in one go while Yves just hides the extras in her secret pouch and eats them as a midnight snack. The worst culprit was Thorn, who had a sweet-tooth among the Coruscant Guards. Not only would he put a few teaspoons of sugar and cream, but he also poured a quarter of a jar of cookies inside the coffee, giving Fox a heart attack.

He loves his siblings very much, but at the same time, he has the urge to just smack them on the head for being dumb, which Riyo finds their bickering rather humorous. Though he doesn't admit it, he does miss them and would call each other every week just to check in with them.

Last he heard, Lip left a toxic relationship with her lover after a year, granting her full custody of her daughter. Thorn, like Fox, settled down with his lover on Coruscant. Thire, on the other hand, replaced him as Marshal Commander and served under the Republic military, this time, being paid for his duty, along with Commander Stone.

His batchmates, Wolffe, lived together with Cody, Tori, Mayyah, and Rex in one cabin, leading a life outside the military, though Tori supported her Jedi General whenever she could, since they're still young and coping with the aftermath of the war. He would like to have a reunion with his siblings one day, but for now, he'll have to catch up on some lost times with Riyo.

As they settled down underneath an enormous tree, with a tyre swing hung on the thick branches, Fox found himself surrounded by a field of pastel pink tulips, which were swaying back and forth with the cool wind. He could only gasp as he began to count every flower that he's gazing at right now. 

He was speechless. Likewise, he had seen pictures of tulips in the HoloNet, he had never looked at them, or even touched them in his life. “Ri,” Fox stuttered. “This is amazing. I've never seen anything like this before.”

She grinned, sitting on the swing like she did when she was a child. “I always come here to either play with the swing or climb all the way to the top.”

“You can climb?” Fox raised his eyebrows, his hands on his waist. 

“Yes, dear,” she chuckled. “I climbed this very tree all the way to the top and pretended that I was on top of the world. It was one of the best memories I had growing up.”

He smiled as he stood in front of her, rubbing his hands on her belly. “Sounds like fun, to be honest.”

“Oh, it was fun. I even sneaked out here in the middle of the night just to see those stars in the sky. You'll get the best view here.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yes. One time, I ran out of the house late at night and climbed all the way to the top of the tree, and guess what? I witnessed not one, but two shooting stars passing by Pantora. Isn't that exciting?”

“What's a shooting star?” Fox asked, who had never done such a thing in his life before.

“Well, it's a star that glides in the sky that grants you a wish if you ever see one.”

“A star that grants your wish? Does it work?”

Riyo nodded. “In a way, it works, though it's rare to see a shooting star in the sky.”

“So, what did you wish for, dear?”

“Well, I wished that I lived happily ever after with a brave knight, and a bright future.”

He let out a snort. “Looks like you only got your second wish to come true, no offense though.”

“Actually, all my wishes came true,” Riyo held his hands, glancing at his deep, brown eyes. “You are the knight that I wished for when I was a child.”

His eyes widened at her words. Surely, she couldn't have wished to be together with him, since they have never even met yet. She was probably imagining a gallant knight that she read in fairy tales, who had shining armour and a handsome look, which admittedly, Fox has none of those. “And how am I the knight that you wished to live happily ever after?” 

“You perform your duty well as a soldier, you protect those who couldn’t protect themselves, and on top of that, you have honour and kindness, and I’m proud that you swooped into my life, commander.” 

He could only hold back his tears as he kneeled on the emerald grass, pressing his forehead against her forehead. His hands were gripped around his waist as Riyo clung her arms around his broad shoulders, feeling each other's hearts drumming in rhythm.

“I'm proud to have you too in my life, To, though I feel that I don't deserve you.”

She raised one of her eyebrows, wondering what he meant. “Fox, don't say that. You deserve good things in your life after what happened in the last four months.”

He could only frown as he recalled what happened on that very day in the Senate building. “Yeah, I remember like it was yesterday. I could never forget it, no matter how much I've tried to move on.”

“You can tell me anything, Fox,” Riyo assured him, even though she already knew what happened back then. “I won't judge you, I promise in the name of the goddess Loona.”

“It all started when I received an order from the Chancellor,” he began. “He informed us that there was a rogue clone who was on the run. According to him, he tried to kill the Chancellor, and we were ordered to hunt him down on Coruscant.”

“So we did. Yves, Duke, Hyewon, Chae, Eren, and Jay, we all had our blasters loaded. We set them to kill since the Chancellor ordered us to do so.”

“But when we confronted him in the warehouse, I just couldn't do it. I had my fingers on the trigger, but I couldn't bring myself to kill him, Riyo. Even though I barely know Fives, he was my vod'ika. I didn't want to take my younger brother's life. Instead, I just let my blaster drop from my arms and sobbed like a child.”

Fox paused for a moment, wiping the tears off his face. “General Skywalker and Rex were there, comforting me. Fives just watched as I told them what the Chancellor ordered, and the next thing I knew, I ended up pointing my blaster at the Chancellor, with General Skywalker and General Windu threatening to step down from duty.”

“And the rest was history,” Riyo concluded, brushing his cheeks with her gentle palms. “I'm glad that you did the right thing, my dear. I know that you wished that you could have acted sooner to eliminate the Chancellor, but your actions have saved the Republic and the galaxy, and for that, we thanked you for your bravery.”

He pulled her closer as he rested his head on her chest, letting his tears carry the rest of their conversation. “I hated him so much, Ri. All those years, he ignored my brother's and sister's pleas against the abuse inflicted upon them, he let them die as they begged for his help to send more troops, he even made us a property that is replaceable. He-”

“It's alright, Fox,” she whispered in his ears, rubbing his back. “He's already gone. The war is over and your brothers and sisters have the freedom to pursue their own life without restraints.”

Riyo took a deep breath as she faced him, never letting go of each other's grasps. “It's hard to live with the traumas after the war. It's hard to face your own personal demons that torment your head. I know it's hard to forgive yourself for not being able to save your siblings from death, but I know you can go through this.”

“You're the strongest man I have ever known, not because of your muscles or the ability to shoot with your weapons, it's because of the way you faced obstacles in your life, Fox. You've dealt with abuse, you've dealt with overworking, you've dealt with prejudices from senators and civilians, and yes, it is torturing. But you know what, you're not alone. You can bounce back from the pit, you can grow to be a better person, I know you can.”

“Thorn believed in you, Wolffe believed in you, Tori believed in you, your brothers and sisters believed in you, and I believed in you. I know you feel alone, but you're not. We'll always be there for you, no matter what.”

Fox could only smile as they let their foreheads touch. Riyo was right. He is not alone in this battle against himself. His friends and family are there to support him through the hard times. Recovering from pain is a difficult path, as there are no right or wrong answers to heal. 

But he can get through this. He will live long enough to witness his child having a family on their own, and he will live long enough to watch Riyo's hair turn grey. As long as Fox and Riyo heat the wind singing their love stories to their children and their children, everything is in safe hands.

[chibimyumi]

Hi

I hope you're doing well

I have questions if you don't mind

Who do like Axel von Fersen in Marie Antoinette or Axel von Fersen in 1789 les amants de la bastille and also do you like Marie Antoinette in Marie Antoinette or in 1789 les amants de la bastille

Thank you for answering my questions

Dear Anon,

I am doing well, thank you very much! I hope you too.

Hmmm, as a quick answer I would say I prefer both Marie and Fersen from ‘Toho MA’, but the full answer is slightly more complicated.

Firstly, it is almost unfair to compare them to each other because in MA they are the main characters, whereas in 1789 they are main-support or secondary-mains at best.

Secondly, MA has a far bigger focus on the characters because that is what drives the plot, while the opposite is true for 1789, which mainly sells a spectacle. I myself am more fan of subtle and deep story-telling rather than spectacular shows, so the MA versions of Marie and Fersen are more to my liking.

Thirdly, the quality of the characters also depends greatly on the cast. My first view of MA is the A-cast, and therefore my impression of the characters is that they are incredibly well written. After comparison with other casts however, I started to wonder whether it was just the A-cast being too good, and the musical itself being ‘fine’. (In short; I’m not fully sure how much I’d ‘clearly’ have preferred MA Marie and Fersen were it not for A-cast. Click here for a comparison between the two casts written by my friend @wildandwhirlingwords)

But, I shall go into more detail for both characters why MA’s version appeals more to me - someone who enjoys character writing most.

🌹Marie Antoinette🌹

M.A. 2018

In my opinion Marie Antoinette is better in MA because you see her journey and her motivations. We all know that the historical Queen screwed up majorly, but in MA we see why, and in what ways she indeed had very little other choice from her own perspective. She was a flawed foreign woman in a time and place where flawed foreign women were hated most.

In the beginning of the musical the King comes tell Marie that she’d have to live more economically. Marie is clearly not very enthusiastic to hear that, but she also never protests. She just asks ‘why’ and then accepts the answer - albeit broodingly. More importantly however: we need to keep in mind that despite being called Madam Deficit, the historical Marie Antoinette was actually quite economical at first because the Austrian court where she comes from was way less extravagant than the French. It was after her marriage into French royalty that she became more extravagant, because she was criticised for “not being a proper royal” by the French. According to the court, the 14 year old Marie was “a peasant unworthy of becoming Queen.” When you’re that young and criticised by your entire new life, you do everything in your power to make sure you can actually have a life; you adapt. So when Marie was then suddenly told to stop ‘adapting and be a proper Queen worthy of the French”, we can see why more is at stake than “Karen needs to deal with only 10 dresses a week.”

Something else that adds depth to her character as opposed to her 1789 counterpart is that as the story progresses, Marie actually grows. She becomes more mature and more serious, and you see in her how all the events have a clear toll on her. From her own perspective, she really was trying very hard, but anything she tried was inadequate to improve the situation. What she didn’t know is that no matter how hard she tried, the situation was already un-salvageable before she was even born. The populace AND the court had already decided to hate her for being an unintelligent foreign woman from an enemy state, after all. This is an insight most historians nowadays agree on.

In a later scene where Margrid confronts Marie, she asks the Queen: “what makes you think you are better than us?” Marie confirms nor denies, but replies: “I am merely Queen as I was appointed by God.” When she adds: “All I know is duties, you are free,” there is also a clear sense she genuinely doesn’t know why she was appointed by God, but as she is now, all she can do is her best. She is still ignorant, which was a genuine problem about her. She does not know the hardships of not being from the top rank, allowing her say something as insensitive as: “at least you’re free.” But again, despite her ignorance, her feelings are sincere. From all the unfair expectations she was made to live up to from age 14, you really do see why ‘a life without duties’ seemed so much more appealing to her.

1789 - The Lovers of the Bastille

Marie in 1789 is more of a side-character, and the musical itself just is not very character/story driven as MA is. 1789 has the tendency to take the tropiest of tropes and stay on surface level with the characters. Ouki Kaname is an incredibly good actress and she tries her best; but she cannot do more than the script gives her to work with.

In this musical Marie is not portrayed in a very relatable or sympathetic light. She is extravagant because she has escapist fantasies, but we don’t really see what she’s escaping from. The sympathy from the audience is supposed to be drawn from the tragedy that she’s married to the King but is in love with Fersen. Oh, and she has a son but he’s mortally ill. Meanwhile however, you don’t see how her life is so bad she needs to escape... and you also don’t see Marie really being worried about her son than an occasional: “Oh Ill again? Sucks I guess. Gotta cry my eyes out on my lover’s lap, AHHH FERSEN 💗” It was not until her son had already died that Marie woke up, but the lack of portrayal of Marie’s perspective and the pacing really makes one legitimately wonder whether the child did not just die of Marie’s neglect. And about the forbidden love ...we’ve seen enough love triangles with star-crossed-lovers... I don’t know about you guys, but I am numbbbbb to this “problem”.

When Marie receives message from Olympe that she finally gets to meet her lover after a long separation at the Palais Royal, one of the first things she says is: “is that not the place where revolutionaries and prostitutes are gathered?” This immediately sets up an empathy-barrier between her and the common people. This Marie clearly views herself too good for people who do anything to get by; why would you care about her then? Because Marie’s story is not fleshed out you don’t see parts that can make you go: “oh, the revolutionaries really hate her for reasons beyond her control, she is in danger.” Or “she was raised by a puritan society, making her hate on sex-workers; that’s part of her character flaw.” Instead it’s just this Diva being quite judgemental.

Ouki was trying very hard to make the focus about her own safety, but with the script being what it is... she’s still a mostly unsympathetic character who is a martyr of forbidden love.

There is one scene where we see her take on a much more mature and responsible role. That was the first time I personally felt like Marie from 1789 is an actual human being with feelings and personal difficulties. But in great part this is Ouki’s acting... (the other cast didn’t do much for me). What is also important is that Marie was ‘humbled’ because her son died. Marie did not have much of a personal growth, and then she changes to a more sympathetic person because of an external factor just... feels less earned.

In the finale Marie appears again in her execution clothes, and the way Ouki appeared really felt like a punch in the gut. She sings “as a recompense for our griefs, people have learnt forgiveness.” However, the story skimped over the characters so much I was left to wonder: “who learned to forgive whom?” Do you think the people forgave you? Or was there somebody you hated but now learned to forgive? What was your grudge? Do you understand the angry mob’s grudge?

The finale of the musical treats like after the heroic sacrifice of the protagonist (Ronan) the oppressive monarchy was replaced by a good democracy, and a Reign of Terror will DEFINITELY not happen under Robespierre or something. But if you’ve had a BIT of European history you just know it’s a blatant lie. So the finale just feels too simplistic, and this simplistic feeling was in part presented by Marie’s very empty, lip-service-y line.

⚔️Hans Axel von Fersen⚔️

M.A. 2018

Fersen is a bit harder to compare which version is better, because honestly, depending on who plays Fersen in MA, Fersen is either the most generic Hollywood sweeping-lover-hero, or a diamond mine to excavate. In the same post linked above by my friend, she explains in detail the differences between TashiroFersen and FurukawaFersen. K-musical fans, don’t @ me, but from what I can tell, the Korean Fersens are also very... typical.

In this post I have discussed Furukawa’s Fersen in great detail, so I shall skip over these for this post. But to summarise, when portrayed by Furukawa at least, Fersen in MA is very nuanced and restrained. Even if we do not fully credit Furukawa however, then at the very least the script allows enough space and material for an actor to flesh him out so phenomenally well (I think Tashiro and some other actors just.... really missed out on the potential).

Fersen in MA incredibly memorable because the main atmosphere of the imminent doom awaiting everyone is carried by him in a way nobody else does. The moment Fersen enters you feel the tension that the musical wishes to tell. Fersen has seen revolutions, he’s seen the power of anger; he knows shit is going to hit the fan because he’s familiar with this trajectory. 

Fersen has excellent self control because he knows how a lack thereof would hurt Marie’s reputation and escalate the growing chaos. You can see very clearly how Fersen does want the intimacy, but to him duty and the grander picture has priority. In all the small actions from Fersen you see how he is a savvy intellectual through and through. (More about reservation later).

In contrast to 1789, we also get to see so much more of Fersen in MA because he is the narrator and a main character. Throughout the musical he’s been trying to de-escalate the chaos and even though his plans were actually well thought-out, the problems were just simply too big for any one person to solve. When Fersen mourns Marie there is a clear sense that he is not really surprised, just really upset that things had to come so far. Instead of singing something accusatory to the angry and hungry people, he sings: “fate, why did you give her everything, only to show her hell in the end?” Fersen truly understands why the people were duly angry, but that not taking away his sorrow of losing Marie who he knows is a better person than people make her out to be.

Also in great contrast to 1789, the finale of MA is rather grim. It does not suggest hope or that all problems will eventually disappear. The story for these people have ended, but the problems and the world will continue to our days, and days far beyond ours. It gives a feeling that the world of MA is so extensive that we - the audience - are part of it. In the finale when we see Fersen again, he also stays in tune with this feeling. “How can the problems of the world be solved, what is true justice? We remain clueless” he sings, and the way he looks into the unknown distance is almost a reminder to us that nobody has reason to stop worrying and fight for justice.

1789 - the Lovers of the Bastille

Now if we were to compare MA’s Furu Fersen to 1789′s Fersen, we see a stark contrast between the two. Where Furusen was incredibly reserved and hyper aware of everything, 1789′s Fersen is just the over-romantic lover who had been pining for his love. For a moment Marie realises she probably should not be cheating on her husband and backs away. Fersen however, is the one to make further advances, actively pulling her back to his side.

When he embraces Marie you see how he is just dreaming and indulging, something Furusen would never do. Furusen might hug Marie, but not without sh*tting 50 colours. 1789′s Fersen is the sweeping Romeo that most of history makes him to be, and little more. But again, Fersen plays but a very small role in 1789, so it is also unfair to compare him to MA’s Fersen.

Regardless of whatever nuance might or might not be there however, it is also just quite hard to like this Fersen because he is ‘just another privileged aristocrat who is just needy’. When making out with Marie in Palais Royale they find out that Ronan fell asleep there drunk. Ronan simply complained that Marie was too loud and woke him, and Fersen immediately shuts him up, and then draws his sword at him for ‘speaking rudely’.

First of all Fersen and Marie, if you’re gonna do a clandestine meeting, you CHECK your surroundings. Second of all, FERSEN Ò.Ó, this peasant is untrained and weaponless; you can’t just unleash your high-ranking martial arts at him with a shiny sword. This is EXACTLY the reason the revolution happened; the people were sick of the suppression of the powerless by the powerful. UGHUM. It truly is mind-blowing to consider how 1789 Fersen and MA Fersen are both...Fersens.

This Fersen is not very involved with the revolution from either side. He just proposes to help Marie and the King escape once, but got dismissed immediately. The following time we see him it is in the finale.

There he stands, a knight in shiny armour singing a really hopeful phrase to a relatively upbeat and hopeful music: “do not rely on force, but seek for hope and courage.” Here again unlike with MA’s Fersen, you don’t really feel like this Fersen has experienced anything. It was like he was an employed special guard, told by his boss there’s nothing he needed to do, his boss is dead, and oh wellll, moving on!

Conclusion

Because Marie and Fersen in MA are main characters whose stories are fleshed out, it really is very unfair to compare them to their 1789′s counterparts in a race of ‘who is better’. In the end of the day, 1789′s aim is to sell a spectacle, and it realllly is a phenomenal piece if you’re there for the spectacle. The choreography, songs, stage, everything is masterpiece-level. So if you’re there for the spectacle you get exactly what you went there for. The story and characters however... not so much. If one is more drawn to a direct, glittery spectacle with hands-down-amazing-songs however, they’d probably find Marie and Fersen from 1789 more enjoyable. If you’re into first and impressive impressions, the MA counterparts might demand a BIT too much attention and patience to get into.

Related posts:

Introduction and character analysis Fersen ‘MA’ 2018

Comparative commentary on MA Cast M and Cast A

[sambinnie]

1. Happy Mabon! Every autumn, I forget that the darkness comes clanging down in a great rush in the mornings. One day, I am greeted by a pinking sunrise. 48 hours later, it’s so dark on my run to the river that I have to stop a passing runner and check the time, in case my disturbed sleep sent me dressing and leaving the house at 2am. This summer may not have given us those mornings where it’s so hot I can barely get out of the water, where those early hours feel like full silent days carved out just for me to sit in the light and wait for everyone else to wake up, where the only extra thing I put on to run home is my trainers — I look at my waiting winter gear, neoprene socks and gloves, head torch, two more thickening jumpers, hat, thermal mittens — but every season, every day, is beautiful.

Today we go early for celebrations, and the water is silky, and Orion hangs over us with his phallic sword dangling and Betelgeuse winking on one shoulder. The near-full moon spotlights us and I feel almost ready for the shortening days.

2. Hilary Mantel continues to be a literary god. How does she write with that clarity? How can I ever speak with her calm good sense and wit? 

3. We have two main problems at the moment, as far as I can see. a) What we’re doing (“curating” our lives; twitter spats; purity spirals; division and isolation; wanting ‘debates’ that can only be won or lost; encouraging people to buy more things; trying to buy our happiness; letting marketers tell us how we feel about the world rather than encouraging major moral lessons from throughout the ages to challenge us on our weaknesses; refusing to accept that life is suffering; asking self-care to be a plaster for everything we don’t have) and b) what we’re not doing (joining together to stand against those with more money and power; protecting the people who have even less power and voice than we do as a matter of course; learning from history; protecting nature above all else; prioritising going for walks; learning to repair things and campaigning to make things repairable; having a basic belief in human dignity for all, not just those with whom we agree; accepting that truly, we are all different and no amount of shaming or disgust will change that; working to shape our societies, culture, economies, production, food supplies and communications around improving �� not just sustaining — the air, water and land, and fighting to ensure all of those new shapes protect women and children).

Individualism has morphed into something so completely self-destructive that we’ve forgotten we need nature more than anything — literally, more than anything — and we need to unionise and unite and put aside differences and work together even with people we don’t like. 

Because when there are wicked people in power, when it’s genuinely exhausting to think about all the corrupt, venal, toxic, divisive, false, and cruel things they have done since coming to power, those people love to watch everyone below pointing their fingers at one another, saying, You, You’re The Enemy, You’re The Problem, while corrupt populist leaders rub their bellies and chuckle at another promise broken, another mass death on their hands, another building site on a protected forest. Do you understand the stakes here? Do you understand that it’s actual survival? It’s not about being right any more, it’s not about besting someone in the argument. It’s about having decision makers who can not only ensure there is still food to eat and air to breathe, but that relations both within a country and between countries are built on care, and support, and compassion, and believing in human dignity. And while it sounds wishy-washy and hands-clappy it’s the schmaltzy, sentimental truth. It’s the only one, really. 

If we instead continue to believe every single day that my feelings are the most important, that my beliefs are the right ones, that I’ve got to prove those baddies there are evil and awful and wrong, then honestly, what the fuck? If we’re happy to live in a country where hostile architecture is the starting point for all public builds, where we send refugee boats away from our shores, where affiliate links are a career goal, where we haven’t stormed the Daily Mail offices with accounts of all our lovely immigrant friends and family and had a huge feast together and compared our long and tangled family trees, then come on. It’s only a race to the bottom if we all keep running. 

Because, pressingly, whatever the spark of a major global conflict — assassination, fuel shortages, hyperinflation, invasion — the kindling is almost always a populace fed pure hatred for months, for years, until they can’t even taste it anymore but are ready to spew it out again, and are ready to use another populace as the receptacle. And hatred is brewed up in silence and isolation, and in the ashes of bridges burned between disparate groups. 

And on that note, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, mainly because I don’t believe governments are generally competent enough to manage Grand Plans, but it’s annoying that technology and social trends and culture have developed in such a way that no one knocks on anyone’s door for a chat as a matter of course now, that it’s a given that a ringing phone triggers anxiety, that it’s not the norm for cups of tea with your neighbours, that we don’t know each other’s neighbourhoods, that we don’t even talk on the phone, with live words and intonation and synchronised laughter, but in text, in WhatsApp chats, in tapped out words and symbols that we know can be screen-grabbed and misinterpreted, that we know are kept, filtered and sold by the tech companies. It’s not a conspiracy. It’s just a reality that every single one of us can choose to do differently. 

Sometimes exactly the right thing comes along at the right time. All of us here watched About a Boy at the weekend, a film which is so wonkily weighted and oddly rhythmed, but a perfect depiction of everything I’m banging on about here. Hugh Grant’s character likes being alone. He’s happy that way. It suits him. It’s his choice. Then, between one thing and another, he finds himself drawn into a world of a suicidal single mother, a duck-murdering young boy, more single mothers, more tricky teens, plus exes and mothers-in-law and awkward support groups. And it turns out that actually, being with people is better. Being uncomfortable often develops you as a person. Constantly prioritising only yourself produces a waxen, pointless baby. Making shared sacrifices might just be the point of being alive. Remember that to be human is to be flawed. That no one is ever completely right, and no one is ever completely wrong. That the boring stuff makes us feel good, and the glossy stuff, if all we strive for is gloss, doesn’t. 

If you want anything practical, here are the things that have really helped me over the last few years:

Writing a letter or email regularly to my MP, to CEOs of organisations, to anyone I want to communicate my strong feelings and how I’d like things to be done better. Tweeting eats your soul. It’s a horrible myth the media pretends is important. It really, really isn’t.

Inviting people to go in front of me in queues, in traffic, getting on to buses and trains. It lowers my stress levels right down.

Learning the names of my neighbours and people I meet regularly on walks and letting them learn mine. (I definitely haven’t just decided I loathe a neighbour because they cut a bird-hatching tree down in their garden on the last day of the year it was legal to do so. It’s fine.)

Joining a few political parties, and the closest thing I have to a union

Making something, anything — everything can be done with love, and learning to not get sucked into the capitalist conceit of having to make it perfect, sellable, exhibitable is a genuine gift to yourself; making a cake or a film or a coaster and not putting it on social media, letting it be ugly or serviceless and loving it anyway. I felt extremely overwhelmed the other evening, but instead of doom-scrolling I knitted a… I don’t know, something flat and woollen, and it helped to have my hands and eyes working on directionless introspective creation. 

Trying to stop hating. Every time I want to tell a negative story in my head about someone, I attempt to turn it into something positive: how unhappy that person must be, what they must be missing out on. It’s so nauseatingly Pollyanna-ish, and of course it isn’t always successful, and of course every single day brings a hundred thousand examples of cruelty and injustice and wickedness, but the alternative only makes my life feel worse, so why would I indulge that? 

Teaching myself the names of birds, trees, flowers, clouds and constellations. I’m still at the most basic levels on all of these, but the difference one feels in the world when you can name things  — let alone use them and know their stories — is a very real sort of magic. (For that reason I hope to read this book very soon.) This episode of The Cut is also good on the wonder and power of learning the names of the weeds that grow in your nearest pavement crack. 

4. Creating anything is always a gamble, isn’t it, but writing a book you actually like for once and seeing it slowly and beautifully sink to the bottom of a river never to be seen again is ever so slightly crushing. However, it turns out even Thom Yorke feels that way, so I am comforted. 

5. I’m sure I’ve mentioned plenty of these before, but if you want some suggestions of where to find joy, here are my favourites from the last year or so:

I was given Lucy Easthope’s book, When the Dust Settles, for work recently, and I was surprised and delighted to discover the most uplifting, hopeful, human and rightfully angry book I’ve read in a long time. Do yourself a favour and preorder it. I bought this other book for my own birthday, gave it to a housemate to give to me, forgot about it, and was delighted to later unwrap He Used Thought As A Wife. Laughed a lot, cried twice. Marvellous. 

Now even the youngest housemate here can recite John Finnemore sketches and sing the songs. Has also taught them various composers, gods, logical fallacies and gothic story tropes. Also v funny. Oh, Kate Beaton! Her two books (Hark! A Vagrant and Step Aside Pops) are a bit like a comic-book version of Finnemore, but swearier and sexier and utterly unsuitable for all the housemates who have read it and been educated about the Brontes, Katherine Sui Fun Cheung, Tom Longboat, Nancy Drew, Ida B. Wells, Sacagawea, and the Borgias. 

Had to give Inside a restraining order against me for the sake of us all, but Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade is a masterpiece of writing, acting, sound design and optimism. Spy is dumb action comedy polished to perfection, and Yasujirō Ozu’s Good Morning seems like the inspiration for almost all US arthouse films since 1990, and is also beautiful, funny, thoughtful, and good. 

Taylor Swift’s Evermore, like all brilliant albums, isn’t completely perfect. But most of the songs are. And Hole’s classic Live Through This is still just ideal for turning up very, very loud after a tricky day, for the enjoyment of any neighbours who may have hacked down a bird-friendly tree on the last day of February. 

Watched both series of Liam Williams’ Ladhood when I had a week off this summer, and really relished the location, the intention, and the writing. More please. 

Miles Jupp and Justin Edwards continue to be my comforting bedtime listening in In and Out of the Kitchen. Has it ruined Nigel Slater for me? Well, a bit, but no more than any of us deserved. 

I thought this would be a book I’d mumble through the first chapter of, then let get buried in my To Read pile, never to re-open. Instead, I found Whatever Happened to Margo? laugh-out-loud funny, drily written, and full of humanity. Excellent Women has made me want to read everything written by Barbara Pym, a goal I am slowly but surely working towards. 

6. I’ve spent the last few years trying to find hazelnut trees, and finally found a copse between a car park and a play area, full of nuts the squirrels hadn’t noticed. Now I’ve found them, the spell has been cast and I see hazel trees everywhere, on walks and on pavements and running along motorway slip roads. A tray of green and brown frilled hazelnuts now dries with the laundry. They are so beautiful. 

[linkspooky]

Mirio Togata: Hero of Another Story

In honor of season 4 let’s do a Mirio Meta! One of the most interesting things about Mirio is how he’s introduced as another potential successor to All for One. From his introduction alone we are asked to compare him to Deku but he seems entirely different. Mirio is self confident, outspoken, extroverted, and has recognition from the entire school. Meanwhile Deku is constantly trying to earn hi splace, has a mumbling habit, introverted, and despite being the successor for All for One only got to the top eight in the Sports Festival, has trouble securing internships, and still does not show the same intense urge to rise to the number one spot as Bakugo does. They are even colored differently, Deku is a characterthat usually is shaded in heavily while Mirio is depicted mainly in whites. 

Mirio is so complete a character on his own, he really seems like someone who should be the protagonist instead of Deku. This is a clever bit of foiling on Horikoshi’s part. Let’s explore that under the cut. 

1. The Deku and the Cooler Deku

Mirio is introduced as someone who shares the same goal as Deku, to save as many people as possible, but is otherwise better than him in every way. A better, cooler Deku. In a way that makes you ask, why isn’t this guy the main character of the story? Unlike Deku who is continually struggling and falling short we see Mirio, and always confident optimist who never seems to break. 

This is a point of comparison the story is asking us to make ourselves, by bringing up the fact that Mirio was once going to be a sucessor for All for One too. That if All Might had not run into Midoriya that day, it could have so easily been the other way around and Mirio could have been the main character of this story. 

This also comes at a turning point for Deku when he’s starting to define who he is and what he wants to be as a hero other than blind admiration for All Might and a want to be just like him. It’s a challenge to Midoriya’s identity. He now has to defne himself, because there is somebody who closely resembles him but not only that but as a better him he makes Midoriya superfluous. The question asked by this arc is would everything have been better if Mirio inherited All for One? Why is Midoriya the protagonist of this story?

Midoriya is asked to define himself, whereas Mirio already knows who he is, and what he wants to be, which is why he’s much more confident of a character in comparison. 

By appearing as Deku’s total opposite, (defined by his self confidence where Deku is nervous and always second guessing himself) Mirio acts as a classic literary foil shining light on Deku’s character. (Quite literally because his name is Lumillion).

In literature, a foil is a character that shows qualities that are in contrast with the qualities of another character. The objective is to highlight the traits of the other character.  What we observe in literature very often is that a foil is a secondary character who contrasts with the major character to enhance the importance of the major character. [Literary Devices]

Mirio and Deku are as different as Night and Day, yet at the same time they both wish to become heroes for the exact same reason, they both feel the overpowering urge to save the people in front of them. This was the quality that All Might recognized in Deku in all people and the reason he decided to make Deku his heir, but in this arc we see this is not a quality unique to Deku. 

Mirio is closer to All Might than Deku. He even physically resmebles him more, he has blonde hair in the same style, is more physically built, and shares the same habit of always smiling. 

By presenting Deku with Mirio, the person who has far more qualifications to be the main character of this story than he is. The better Deku than Deku is. Deku is forced to reclaim this as his story. The opening narration starts out with this is my story of how I became the greatest hero. It’s not enough to just exist as the main character, Deku has to learn to take control of his life so that it can become his story. 

Because the alternative is being denied everything who he is, and all of his struggles. Deku usually has an attitude that he did not accomplish anything on his own, that he was given All for One and given support by the others around him which prevents him from standing out in the same way MIrio does, but in this instance Deku is finally fored to acknowledge his own efforts and that this is his story even if he received help along the way. 

2. Mirio is what Deku Could be as a Third Year

The reason we follow Deku instead of Mirio is because stories are about development, not just following a cool character around when they’ve already reached their goal. Mirio exists in the story to show the kind of person Deku could grow into. That is why Mirio is the main character of another story, for us his story has already been told and we only see him after he has crossed the finish line.

Mirio, like Deku burned out on his first Sports Festival and did not make it far enough to stand out as a student. The Mirio of one year ago is a lot like where Deku is now. If we had met him then, then he would have been challenged to grow the same way Deku is now.

The Mirio we see now is what Mirio dreamed about being a year ago, most likely all of his life. Unlike Deku, he’s no longer dreaming about becoming a hero, he sees himself as a hero. He’s completely self confident in that identity. 

The more we learn about Mirio though, the more we see he was not always like this. In fact he spent most of his life being a loud mouth wannabe loser, with none of the talent to back up his completely unearned confidence in himself. 

The way he’s introduced he seems to have an amazing untouchable quirk completely suited for being a hero, the same way Bakugo’s explosion quirk made him a prodigy. Until we learn he was born with a quirk he could barely control not suited for hero work at all. 

In a way the Mirio of the past resembles Deku a lot more, he was someone continually told he was not suited to be a hero, and that none of his efforts would make him equal to those who were better qualified. What Nighteye told Deku that he’s useless because he can’t produce results right now as he was, Mirio was told over and over again by other people.

Which is the ultimate inversion of his comparison with Deku, and what Deku needs to learn the most. MIrio does not think he’s strong, in fact he never once thought he was strong even after he reached the position of being the big three. Mirio is just not afraid ot be weak, and accepts his weakness over and over again in a way Deku cannot yet because he loses all self confidence when he thinks himself weak. 

True strength doesn’t come in always being strong all the time like All Might was. Mirio’s confidence comes not from becoming so strong that he doesn’t feel weak, but rather accepting that he’s weak and continually challenging himself. In a way not only is he a more developed Deku, he’s also an inverted Bakugo who is so terrified of being weak he constantly terrified and belittled Deku because he could not accept his own feelings of weakness. 

Mirio is a challenge to the idea that being strong is just training your quirk, and being the best fighter all the time. Mirio’s strength is just knowing how weak he is, and being okay with that. He’s emotionally strong in a way that a lot of heroes with strong quirks aren’t because they cannot stand the idea of being weak, or not being the strongest in any way.

Which is also, what could be Deku’s greatest strength as a hero. That he knows what it is to be weak, and struggle with his own weakness, and because of that he understands the weakness other people feel and their struggles. He can relate to them on a personal level, and help them find their strength. If Deku were to learn to stop being afraid of his own weakness because his lifelong struggle as a quirkless person is a deepy relatable thing to many of the characters in the series then he could master it in the same way Mirio has.

Because Mirio is just Deku but a little older. He’s someone who dreamed of being a hero all of his life, and struggled with it because he had a quirk not suited immediately for hero work. He’s someone who would have completely burned out and failed at being a hero if someone had not seen his potential.

He’s also living proof that hero society’s value of strong quirks that are good for defeating villains in a flashy way is so wrong, because if a good teacher had not found Mirio and taught him how to properly utilize his quirk then he would have fallen through the cracks of the education system. He shows that any quirk can be brought to its proper potential with the training.

Which is why what NIghteye says to Deku is so wrong. He says Deku never should have gotten the chance to inerhit All for One, even though he knows that Mirio was once like Deku, a useless try hard who could not do anything until he was taght to be better by Nighteye himself.

3. Mirio’s Flaw

In the end what dooms Mirio is exactly what Nighteye said would make him a better successor. Mirio shares All Might’s flaw that he will completely destroy his own body in order to save someone. Even if Mirio could climb to a similiar spot as All Might, it would be like producing a second All Might. 

This is what happens when All Might’s number one fanboy raises you as a sucessor. More seriously though, Nighteye saw what happened to All Might when he completely destroyed his body saving people and defined himself entirely by his use to others. 

Yet, Nighteye himself even after being a witness to that tragedy did nothing to correct that flaw. My Hero Academia is after all, about the failures of the previous generation. Due to Nighteye’s failure as a mentor, Mirio ends up losing absolutely everything he had gained from three years of hard work. His mentor, his quirk, his recognition as a hero.

Mirio’s strength comes from acknowledging his own weakness, and yet at the same time he suffers from the same complex as All Might. He can never cry or feel down on himself because he must always force himself to smile, even if he’s beaten half to death, or even if his mentor just died twenty four hours ago. It’s his inability to have any regard for his own feelings as he always puts the feelings of others first that led to his own self destruction, and not only did Nighteye not fix this quality, he actively encouraged it because at heart he wants to see All Might the way he was in his prime again instead of facing that All Might was a heavily flawed hero to begin with. 

The steps to Mirio Togata’s fall are all steps All Might would have taken. He ran ahead and fought the villain on his own, rather than waiting for backup and fighting as a team. He destroyed his own body to save Eri. He kept fighting Nighteye alone even after his body was broken. This was all heroic, but at the same time it was heroic at the cost of himself. It’s the same reason Deku breaks his bones, or All Might fights with half of his organs missing. 

Here we see again, Deku suffering fmor the same flaw I mentioned above. He does not want to make this his story, he wants to believe that none of this was his own effort, and he did not accomplish anything on his own because he’s using a borrowed power. That if anybody other than him had inherietd the quirk it would have been better, because Deku the walking inferiority complex is just the worst, most insignificant person on earth.

Which is why Mirio’s flat refusal is so important. Deku’s trying to make himself out to be a worthless person is just another form of running away. He needs to face that this is his own story, and that he cannot become Mirio or All Might.

He does not want to be them either, because Mirio and All Might’s complete selflessness is what destroyed both of them in the end. Deku is challenged not to become them, but to overcome their flaws and become someone even better than just All Might 2: electric boogaloo. 

[bclthczcros]

veritas as h*mestuck titles part 2

preface: one: h*mestuck is complex and full of lore but finding a title is a very effective character development exercise and i love doing it. two: i’m psychoanalyzing your characters, which means i’m probably wrong. three: interpretations of titles vary widely, and my main source was dahni. if you’re curious about other interpretations of a title, google the title + homestuck and you’ll find t o n s.  

including the following muses: @eyes-on-me-please, @divineangcl, @camcronturner, @ofrutherford, @the-great-and-wonderful-oz, @parkcrss, @rosaliamorais, @thcyer, @rowe-v-theworld, 

alice is the rogue of heart. rogues have trouble coping with their aspect or their supposed lack of it, causing them to give it up too easily. heart can represent love, passion, individuality, identity, and soul. rogues of heart tend to feel insecure or embarrassed about their own quirks or passions; their natural selves just don’t cut it. therefore they tend to hide behind an assumed self. it just so happens alice found an ideal self in daisey. however, these assumed identities tend to be quite shallow. additionally, because of this inherent insecurity in their identities, they tend to seek attention and validation wherever they can get it. combined with the want to take on multiple selves, acting is a perfectly logical choice for the rogue of heart. however, despite the fact that rogues of heart tend to like to hide under these assumed selves, they are not at their most powerful and capable until they are able to embrace their true passions and identities. ever since she’s gotten out of daisey’s orbit, it seems that alice is on this route, making amends for her past misdeeds. 

angel is the witch of breath. witches manipulate their aspect, and are known to break and change the rules of their aspect in doing so. breath represents freedom, movement, and confidence. witches of breath are the queens of confidence; they want to have fun, be free, and be in control of whatever they do. and if they decide you’re coming along for the ride, they’ll sweep you up into it whether you like it or not. beware, though; they are easily bored, as is typical of breath players, and will just as soon change course as drop you. and within this lays a possible dark side, to drag people into her little tornado only to plop them elsewhere when she’s done with them, confused and lost. or worse, shred you up in her path. she likes people, because people aren’t boring, but she has to learn to respect the wishes of others; not everyone needs to be freed. 

cam is the page of hope. pages begin with a deficit in their aspect, which they compensate for with overconfidence. hope represents faith, motivation, goals, positive emotion, willpower, and possibility. the page of hope, at the beginning, is easily the most naive class; the gullibility of the page combined with the blind optimism that represents unhealthy hope. pages of hope cling to the concept that everything will be okay, everything will work out, because they have to, right? they also tend to act optimistic and positive to everyone, even when they don’t feel optimistic themselves. they have difficulty figuring out what is authentic, what is legit, but with experience, this will improve. also, the page is the sister class of the knight, so i thought that was cute when compared to cass's title.

danny is the bard of life. bards corrupt and distort their aspect, and use it to wreck havoc and destruction. life represents healing, energy, growth, rebellion, and recklessness. i’m gonna be completely honest, i’m playing pretty fast and loose with this title. danny is easily the most chaotic character in veritas, so the combination of the chaotic, devil-may-care bard and the aspect that represents chaos seems to fit him perfectly. a bard of life is an optimist, who destroys optimism in others, one who perhaps doesn’t quite know how to grow or change as they ghost their opposite aspect, doom. also, one of the literal definitions of bard is to destroy with their aspect, and life is, well, life. and what part of danny gives life? thats right; danny’s dick ruins everything. 

oz is the mage of mind. mages have a powerful and innate knowledge of their aspect, but that knowledge tends to torture them more than anything. mind represents reason, logic, apathy, conformity, and justice. mind is often associated with justice without mercy, and if that’s the case, it would be oz’s father’s most compatible aspect. oz knows mind well, and he has suffered thanks to it. additionally, a mage of mind will feel incredible pressure to conform (to the point of creating a separate persona just to fit in) and to be rational and logical at all times. it’s likely every decision they make has to be scrutinized, by outside forces and, eventually, by themselves. as you can imagine, this creates quite the perfectionist, and oz is nothing if not a perfectionist. as is the journey of every mage, they must eventually learn to accept their aspects not as a burden, but as a strength. 

parker is the maid of heart. maids originally rely on others to supply their aspect, but eventually grow to find it in themselves. heart can represent love, passion, individuality, identity, and soul. a maid of heart tends to rely on others to tell them what to feel, think, or be, and they very much tend to be people pleasers. the challenge of the maid of heart is to learn to define themselves by who they decide they are. this usually starts with things they are genuinely passionate about, the few things there are at first, and then they can build their identities from there. having a solid opinion on one thing is a gateway to having a solid opinion on... multiple things. 

rosa is the sylph of rage. sylphs use their aspect to heal others, and only others, to the point of meddling with them regarding their aspect. rage is the aspect of fear, doubt, skepticism, passion, rejection, and/or despair. there are two archetypes of the sylph of rage; the drill sergeant, or the fussing mother. i think it’s safe to say rosa falls into the latter; rosa knows how she wants everyone to behave, and she has no qualms about point it out. sylphs love to discuss their aspects, and rosa’s favorite topic of discussion is her own doubt and skepticism about the pre-existing system. it’s actually kinda hard to get her to shut up, as is typical for sylphs. she can pinpoint every flaw in the system, and is constantly keeping an eye on those in power. and there is, of course, the healing part; rosa endeavors to solve all of the problems she points out. how effective she is in that mission, at least based on her title, is up for debate. 

sam is the heir of breath. heirs passively change, move around, or alter their aspect, and over time begin to completely embody it.  breath represents freedom, movement, and confidence. the embodiment of movement and freedom seems to be perfect for the tourist, but the heir of breath also encapsulates sam’s seemingly contradictory easygoing nature and stubbornness. the heir of breath chooses their own direction, and much like the wind, will not let anybody stop them. similarly, they unconsciously gravitate away from things that will tie them down (sorry dee :////) and they can have trouble keeping promises or remembering commitments. the challenge for the heir of breath is to avoid detaching themselves entirely from the people around them; if they’re not careful, they can float away, up into the sky, never to be seen again. 

sutton is the seer of space. seers are able to understand their aspects, and share that knowledge with others through symbolic manifestations. space represents creation, beginnings, the physical properties of objects, and, of course, space. firstly, the aspect of space is the most creative of them, and most space players are artistically inclined. seers of space also tend to focus on the here and now rather than the past or future; they can only truly understand what is happening in the moment. seers prefer to observe rather than to act, but they can pick up a whole lot of information from those observations. they are incredibly intuitive, but given their precise, perfectionist nature, they’re liable to doubt their own intuitions. additionally, they tend to focus in on the details of what’s occurring that the big picture might bypass them entirely. the challenge of the seer is not just to see, but to act on that knowledge. 

[mylordshesacactus]

Have you ever thought about the idea of Qui-Gon training Barriss? I feel like she'd have been a lot happier with him. He's so chill.

Because of…who we are as people…me and @alexkablob have had long discussions about how different Masters and their approaches might have affected Barriss.

The tl;dr here is that the best I can say is Qui-Gon wouldn’t be the worst option.

This is gonna get long, I apologize. You prompted me about Jedi apprenticeship AND the flaws of the Code in allowing Masters and Padawans to communicate effectively AND Barriss and Luminara’s specific relationship, anon, you asked for this.

So the central Thing here is Barriss Offee as a person. She’s extremely anxious, eager to please to the point where it becomes pathological, quiet, responsible, whip-smart, a healer, and she absolutely cannot improvise; if she has a plan she’ll execute it, but she cannot plan on the fly under pressure, this is consistent.

Keeping these things in mind:

Luminara is, frankly, the perfect match for her. They have a similar, methodical approach; Luminara is a strategic analyst for the Republic, and her skill for putting together strong, well-thought-out plans is perfectly in sync with Barriss’ own preference for advance planning and anxiety about winging it. Being paired with her allows Barriss to have the intellectual challenges she needs and the ability to pursue her talents; Luminara has total faith in Barriss’ proven abilities and doesn’t hesitate to provide her with praise for those abilities and opportunities to use them. She’s also a calm, gentle, soft-spoken individual with a profoundly reassuring aura who demonstrates throughout her (few) appearances that she greatly values the lives of those under her command. She has a sense of humor that’s very present without being loud or jocular in a way that would make Barriss uncomfortable (ie, Anakin) and she has the emotional intelligence to tease Barriss only very gently, never touching her insecurities, and to nudge her into making friends.

Now, some of these things inadvertently worsen Barriss’ issues. That confident “she can do it” attitude ends up placing far too much pressure on her; Luminara’s very competence and grace end up fermenting into Barriss’ feelings of inadequacy and desperation to not disappoint her master. But that’s….almost entirely because of the war. It’s the nature of the assignments, not their difficulty, that breaks her; and in a time of peace, with more access to her master and time to process, I think they would have been lessened.

Their downfall as a master-apprentice pair wasn’t that Barriss had the wrong Master. Luminara’s own issues, namely her devotion to the Code and her own pathological fear of giving into attachment, were what tripped them up. She loves Barriss so much but is so focused on not giving in to those emotions that she rarely if ever allows herself to act on them at all, even when she should–with the result that she keeps Barriss at arm’s length and they’re too formal with each other. She’s so afraid of becoming too close that she doesn’t let herself get close enough to notice that anything’s wrong, or to make sure Barriss realizes how deeply she’s loved–and on top of that, once the war starts Barriss and Luminara are almost never together. She’s separated from her Master when she needs her most, and that was the nail in the coffin.

Basically: Luminara didn’t give her those issues. And for the most part, when they were actually able to work together as master and apprentice, Luminara mitigated a lot of Barriss’ flaws while encouraging her strengths. The war found the pressure points in their bond and pushed until they snapped, but it would do that with ANY pairing.

So if anyone hasn’t already scrolled past this long rambling bit of nonsense, under the cut please enjoy a bullet-point list of our thoughts on how Barriss would fare under different Masters. 

Anakin:

Disaster.

Just….pure, unmitigated disaster. If they didn’t drive each other into a murderous rage they’d just dissolve into mutual anxiety attacks

He’s too impulsive and careless, she’s too hesitant and not nearly bold enough, he’s emotive and incapable of controlling his temper to the point he would genuinely scare her

They already don’t get along particularly well, there’s a reason Barriss is so spiteful toward him in TWJ; force her into a position where he has boundless authority over her and one of them is getting smothered to death in his sleep.

I say “he” because it would 100% be Anakin

Obi-Wan:

On the surface, this seems like it would be a much better match, maybe even ideal.

It is not

It is not remotely a good match

Here’s the thing people misunderstand all the time about Obi-Wan’s character: he and Anakin are very similar.

Obi-Wan is just as much of a cowboy Jedi as Anakin ever was; he’s impulsive, easily goaded, and frequently hypocritical about the Jedi Code, and he has all of Luminara’s flaws on top of that.

So now you have a version of Barriss whose master is equally unwilling to acknowledge his own emotions and equally incapable of showing or admitting to his padawan that he cares about her, but also is unpredictable, too controlling, swings between overprotective and seemingly uncaring, cares too much about what the Council will think of him, rarely if ever explains why he gives certain commands or thinks certain things, and occasionally loses his temper.

Above anything else, at least with Luminara, Barriss never has any uncertainty as to where she stands or what is expected of her.

Obi-Wan attempting to train Barriss would be better for exactly one person and that is Obi-Wan.

Plo Koon:

Not gonna lie, Barriss could do worse

Like, they’re not a good match, exactly? They have basically nothing in common. But I don’t think he’d do more harm than good.

Unfortunately “better than Anakin Skywalker” does not a training bond make.

Like Luminara, he has that steady and soothing presence that makes your heart rate settle just from being near him. He’s calm, he’s quiet, he’s deliberate. He values the lives of those around him. He’s firm but fair, and not so married to the Code that he lets it stop him from being kind.

In some ways, Plo would be very good for her. He is certainly not afraid of his own emotions; he’s very much from the “emotion, yet peace” school of Jedi philosophy, and we see him several times calmly, verbally assuring people he cares about of that care. That would do a world of good for Barriss’ inferiority complex. 

A model of “I can feel these things without that meaning I am doomed to fall, because feelings and actions are not the same thing, and I can control how I act” could also do a lot of good…in peacetime. 

In war, I think that model would fail as surely as Luminara’s attempts to do the same thing. We know she subscribes to this same philosophy, and the fact is that there was a war on and Barriss was as good as a Knight and the best model in the galaxy is no good if he’s not there. 

And ultimately, in a lot of other ways, Plo Koon would be a terrible match for Barriss. He’s…too much of a “take a deep breath and take your time” mentor, for someone like her who learns quickly and thoroughly and needs mental challenges and puzzles.

She’s also still a strategist and advance planner, and Plo is a mechanic and a fighter pilot. He’d either be too “don’t think just act, improvise, split-second decisions” or she would chafe and get frustrated, and frankly be bored to tears, with Plo’s slow and steady approach. Either too intense or not intense enough; they’re a bad combination, though I do think they’d get along very well as colleagues and friends. Just not an apprenticeship.

Like honestly the main issue here is that he’s too similar to Luminara in the ways that would let him function well with Barriss and she has a lot more of those qualities than he does.

Aayla Secura:

I mean…I guess?

Aayla’s a bit of a random choice I just like her. I really don’t think they’d get along well at all.

Barriss would certainly get the mental exercise she needs with Aayla, there’d be supply challenges and tactical lessons, and those clearly-worded expectations would be there as another positive, but…

Aayla’s a good Jedi, a good leader, she’d have made an excellent Master

Just not to Barriss Offee.

She’s a little too brisk, a little too hard around the edges. In short, a little too much of a soldier and a little too close to the “okay now get over it” school of Jedi philsophy to work well with someone as insecure and anxious as Barriss.

Shaak Ti:

Look, let’s be frank here. Luminara is Barriss’ master because she’s meant to be, it’s a universal constant. Anything else is just wrong.

But if Barriss were to have a different Master, my vote would be Shaak Ti.

Again, this is because in a lot of ways she’s similar to Luminara, and there’s a REASON Barriss is Luminara Unduli’s padawan.

Shaak Ti is soft-spoken and kind. Reassuring. She speaks calmly, doesn’t raise her voice except to be heard from a distance, protects and cares for those beneath her.

She’s gentle but firm when necessary; but also more focused on the spirit of the law than the letter. She’s reasonable. She knows when and how to bend rules in the interest of doing the right thing.

She’s a little more centered and self-accepting than Luminara; she trusts her instincts as well as her judgement, rather than desperately suppressing her emotions. She doesn’t let the people around her get away with hiding their thoughts, either.

She listens, and she thinks before she speaks or acts. That would be good, for Barriss Offee The Obsessive Planner.

But again, this isn’t an ideal pairing. While I’m sure Shaak Ti would find and encourage ways for Barriss to learn and grow–and apprenticing under a Council member often stationed on Kamino would be a fantastic opportunity to solve and learn logistics and interpersonal problems, and a great chance to train as a healer properly–I think she might be a little too centered.

Barriss’ insecurities aren’t going away. Her mind works quickly, she overthinks, she doubts. While Shaak Ti is a phenomenal listener, she’s also…imposing, even more than Luminara, and she doesn’t have as easy a sense of humor. She’s very regal, very focused.

A model that encourages Barriss to be more serious, to spend even more time inside her own head, is the last thing she needs.

Qui-Gon:

Literally the only thing you asked, anon, I’m deeply sorry.

I’m also sorry to say this but I think Qui-Gon Jinn would be a TERRIBLE master for Barriss “made of insecurities” Offee

Qui-Gon Jinn has the least chill of anyone in the galaxy.

Qui-Gon is, in fact, the kind of guy who drags a nine-year-old slave from Tatooine to a desert world, plops him in front of the Jedi Council, and openly says "this is the Chosen One, he will save us all, his name’s Anakin by the way.”

Barriss feels crushing pressure to be Good Enough To Meet Her Master’s Expectations when her master is Luminara and the expectations are “fulfill this specific mission with minimal casualties and come home alive”. She does not need Qui-Gon Jinn in her life.

I don’t think his...near-dismissal of people around him worrying over the future, would be good for Barriss either? Like sure, on the one hand, someone gently telling her to focus on the present and embrace the Living Force is good. But Luminara did actually teach her how to meditate, and the problem here is that Barriss’ concerns are valid. 

There is a point at which “trust in the Force, a solution will present itself” is no longer acceptable advice, and that point is probably somewhere around Umbara.

In fact, far from his chill, the only argument I can think of in favor of pairing him with Barriss is his willingness to challenge the Council. Showing her that the Council can be wrong, and that she can disagree with authority without being a Sith? That could have been incredibly valuable.

However that only works if she otherwise feels connected to him, and I don’t...think she would. Qui-Gon is kind of incredibly insensitive for someone who constantly talks about being mindful of the present; the arrogance and detachment of the Jedi is kind of a major theme of TPM. I think her timidity would frustrate him more than inspire him to compassion, and I very much think his advice about her anxieties and insecurities would be that old Jedi mainstay “well stop being anxious” ie, You Must Trust In The Force.

Ultimately I really do think that Luminara is the best option for Barriss. That’s part of what makes the failure of their bond so tragic.

[lurkingcrow]

I should be finishing a whole heap of ficlets, but it’s been FOREVER since I participated in some high quality crack. So, I thought it’s time to bring out a concept I have been teasing @generallkenobi with. Now certain friends (*cough* @resistancepilots @asokatanos @aifsaath @forcearama @albaparthenicevelut etc) might read the following words with trepidation, but bear with me:

Sith Anakimono.

Imagine if you will, a universe where Knight Kenobi and Padawan Skywalker are unexpectedly lost on a mission, and find themselves stuck on a planet/in an ancient temple with a bevy of Sith ghosts for company.

It’s bad. There’s no way out and they are surrounded by Darkness. And Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan has lost so much, he is NOT going to lose Anakin. He will do ANYTHING to protect his Padawan, no matter the situation.

And of course, that’s the crack the Sith Ghosts use to get in.

Anakin NEEDS him. Its not wrong, not for the sake of HIS Padawan. HE can take it. HE can protect the boy. It is his DUTY, is it not ,to face it?

And of course these aren't Banite Sith Ghosts. They look at Obi-Wan in mock astonishment: “Why the goal of a Sith is not evil, it is power, power to be FREE, to do whatever one DREAMS of. And is not your dream a noble one little Jedi? To protect your apprentice?"

And even Obi-Wan Kenobi, stalwart of the Light, has his flaws. And bit by bit the ghosts chip away at him. 

“Can you REALLY protect the boy as you are now?"

And well, it’s been ages, here in this Dark place, and Anakin is all he has left, the bright light in his days. And Anakin has been trying so HARD -  it is not easy, and only the small boons Obi-Wan wins from the ghosts have allowed them to survive.

In the end it is Anakin, shivering, his eyes dull, his face gaunt, hiding the evidence of illness just so Obi-Wan wouldn’t worry, that breaks Obi-Wan.

If it will save Anakin, he will Fall.

And so he does.

.

Of course, as a Sith, Obi-Wan laps up knowledge like water - after all he has made his decision.

(the Sith Ghosts are pleased beyond measure, he is such a GOOD pupil)

Anakin though, Anakin is worried. But Obi-Wan looks at him and smiles gently and tells him that  he is worth it.

And that? That pretty much seals the deal -  the Chancellor was WRONG, and Obi-Wan has chosen ANAKIN over the council, over the Jedi, over EVERYTHING. 

For that, he will follow his Master ANYWHERE. Even into the Dark.

Besides, if the Sith are all about freedom, maybe they WILL get around to freeing the slaves one day, together...

And thus is born Darth Solence and his Apprentice Vader

.

Now over time their codependence just grows. And as Obi-Wan is freer with his affections Anakin grows more used to that level of attention.

It becomes a feedback loop

Which means, by the time of the Clone Wars, there are a pair of irrationally Attached Sith roaming about who COULD destroy/conquer the galaxy but can’t be bothered and are FAR more concerned with more immediate matters.

Like each other.

Or the shortage of Anakin’s favourite conditioner. He almost committed genocide, until it was brought to his attention that there WAS sufficient supply but it was being hoarded by some high up person in order to artificially raise the price and... well this when the galaxy learns that anti-corruption measures are best enforced rather than having Lord Vader take the crusade into his own hands.

( Much later certain elements take to “aiming” Lord Vader at sources of corruption/slavery/other horrors through similar efforts. Lord Solence knows, but is too amused by it all to intervene. Besides, Obi-Wan LIKES Anakin all bloody and feral and flushed with victory...)

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. By the time of AOTC the galaxy is only hearing rumours about the very charming Sith and his overgrown Murdercat of a partner.

The description is rather accurate. Anakin brings Obi-Wan all sorts of bloody presents, has been known to knock ancient Sith artefacts off high ledges and go around marking people as : “Mine” “Mine” “Mine” *hiss* “Not mine!”.

 Perhaps more pertinently however is his habit of lounging on his Master’s lap demanding head pets or lurking behind said Sith to unnerve those seeking an audience with the dread Lord Solence. 

Obi-Wan thinks Anakin is ADORABLE.

(It’s why again, much later, he smiles indulgently as Anakin singlehandedly decimates Zygerria -literally decimates the message needs to get out about how unwise it is to run a slaving empire after all and Obi-Wan is a believer in efficiency- and why part of Nal Hutta BURNS for Anakin’s brithday one year.)

Obi-Wan will do anything for his boy.

 His boy.

Not Sidious’.

Because that? That is what seals Palpatine’s fate. 

A number of incidents reveal that the Chancellor has taken an interest in the new elements in play. And in Lord Vader in particular.

He wants Anakin. And Anakin? Is Obi-Wan’s. Full stop.

This simply Will Not Do.

Lord Solence is out for more than blood. He is out for complete and utter ruination.

And this is how the Jedi Order, and the Republic ends up getting the unasked for assistance of a pair of mad Sith Lords set on ridding the galaxy of the Line of Bane.

.

There are many tales about our codependent pair. 

For a start, yes, of course there are pancakes.

Pancakes were Obi-Wan's bribe of choice all the way through Anakin's apprenticeship. And you can bet that Anakin loved every bite.

Of course, eventually puberty hit, and  Anakin began implying he'd accept something else. But Obi-Wan seems to completely miss the hint  and ask if he meant he wanted waffles instead. 

His continued lack of clue causes Anakin's frustration to grow. Along with his power. And Anakin decides that the only way to make his intentions clear is to be strong enough to MAKE Obi-Wan accept them, as a full fledged Sith Lord.

And then one day, he completes a difficult and dangerous mission, one that challenged all his skills, one that was a WORTHY trial for a young Sith.  And high on his victory he grabs Obi-Wan by the shoulders and kisses him full on.

Obi-Wan just smiles, reaches one hand up and with barely a moment’s movement severs the braid Anakin had kept for so long.

 “Congratulations LORD Vader. I was wondering why you would act. Sexual frustration is a powerful motivator, is it not?"he purrs and Anakin is about to settle in for an EPIC pout until Obi-Wan pets his hair, kisses him again and informs him that  he only Kisses those WORTHY of standing by his side. He wants a PARTNER. He knew Anakin would get there one day, it was just a matter of WHEN. Anakin SWOONS.

(While Anakin will ALWAYS be HIS Apprentice, Obi-Wan was not about to sleep with someone under his tutelage - he likes his partners VERY willing and knowing Anakin COULD kill him if it came to it? Super hot.) 

.

And then there is the time they decide to thwart a certain plan to silence Senator Amidala of Naboo... And discover she has it covered. With a blaster.

Pointed at them.

While she spits out a series of breathtaking insults against the CIS, Count Dooku and his assasins (which she assumes they are).

The boys are impressed,

There may of may not be hearteyes involved. 

There was... definitely some cringing and identity reveal.

( Obi-Wan lowers his hood, red eyes gleaming and smile wide  “It's lovely to see you again, milady - I can assure you we mean no harm" *suave hair flick*  She stutters. Padme never stutters "Ob...Knight Kenobi? You're alive!? But that means... Ani????"t  *said man removes his hood, grinning* "Ani, you've.... grown" “So have you. Grown more beautiful... for a Senator I mean”) 

.

The first bunch of flowers turns up within an hour of her getting back to Coruscant.

 A few days later Padme finds a bloodied Nate Gunray tied up with a giant bow outside her apartments. A box of chocolates and a datachip containing crucial intel are stuffed in his hat.

( Anakin was originally torn between being smitten and outraged that she was pointing a blaster at HIS Obi-Wan. On the other hand, this is his Master, and he is obviously in no danger and, ooh that is his impressed beard twitch!  Anakins' brain begins to put together the possibilities and HE nearly gets shot. A quick discussion afterwards and a reaffirmation that “What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine” and the boys decide upon a joint wooing. Given that in this universe Anakin doesn’t have the padawan cut, and Obi-Wan is wearing colours other than beige, Padme is doomed.)

This mission is also the point in which they reestablish contact with Jedi Master  Plo Koon, who was assigned to protect Senator Amidala alongside his new Padawan, Ahsoka Tano.

The boys think Ahsoka, who back talks to them like they AREN’T a pair of Murderous Madmen, is wonderful.  They totally want to steal her. Except they’re kind of fond of Plo, who remembers the Jedi they once were, has taken a more conciliatory approach to these Sith than the rest of the Council might approve of.

("Master Plo, you appear to have acquired a pair of Sith shadows." "They followed me home. Can I..." "No. You may NOT adopt the Sith reigning destruction and mayhem across the galaxy!" "But little 'Soka likes them! )

Plo, Ahsoka and Padme form an unofficial alliance. Anakin and Obi-Wan are undeniably Dark, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be convinced to work on the side of good! Also, they’re not sure just how much of the offer to grant Padme the galaxy on a silver platter was actually a joke...

Ok, that’s it for the moment! There’s plenty more to play with because you KNOW that the boys are going to completely ruin Palpatine’s plans in the most spectacular fashion, Dooku is going to have to deal with Obi-Wan’s complete and utter disdain ( "He claims to have loved Qui-Gon and yet he serves the man responsible for his death?? How very Sith rolls eyes"), Ventress is out there to induce Anakin’s jealousy (”Don't worry pretty boy, I like my men a little more... obedient") and just generally the tale of Sith Anakimono who has NO shame and an EVEN MORE attentive Master...

:)

[herelaymythoughts]

Preface

Artemis: It’s ok to care a lot. To care too much. I think it’s really sweet that you care so deeply about everyone in your life. I don’t find it silly at all. I don’t think you’re a stupid girl. I don’t think you’re weak and I don’t think you should change this about yourself. Make a million playlists for a million different heartbreaks because at the end of your life, wouldn’t you rather have those memories to hold on to? Remember them? Know that you allowed yourself to feel such depth? The Fowl: Janus tells me that I’m looking for love in the wrong places, and I feel like I’m wasting my emotions, time, energy, and grief. Artemis: So what? So what if you are? Even if it comes from a misguided place those feelings and emotions are still real. If you’re looking for the Osaka Castle in Kyoto you won’t find what you’re looking for but you may stumble upon the Fushimi Inari Taisha, something equally fascinating and deserving of exploration. Are you going to wallow because you didn’t find what you were looking for? Do you throw your hands up and go home or do you climb it and appreciate the things you find along the way? The Fowl: That’s a good one. I’m mad at how good that metaphor is. But I still feel that they’re just a bunch of misguided steps that could have been avoided. Shiva tells me that I seek discomfort and stress because it’s the only condition I actually feel comfortable in. Artemis: So that’s something you work on not something you should invalidate or feel bad about. It’s not your fault that you are like this. It’s not your fault. The Fowl: But I am so self-destructive. And other-destructive. I feel like a tornado who can’t stop hurting everyone and everything in her path including herself. Artemis: A tornado forms due to the build-up of the pressure of a million gusts of wind. A tornado doesn’t wish to form herself. It’s not the tornado’s fault. It’s not your fault. The Fowl: I feel like I’m too old to be listening to Lorde. Artemis: You’re never too old to listen to Lorde. The Fowl: Really? Artemis: Really. The Fowl: I feel fat. I am fat. Artemis: You’re not fat. How is it even possible that you feel fat? The Fowl: I don’t know. I felt the most beautiful when I was underweight. I like the anorexic look. Artemis: But anorexia is a disease; why would you want to look diseased? You look and you are so healthy right now. Full of life and power and energy. The Fowl: But I was more beautiful then. Artemis: *gives up* The Fowl: I’m addicted to heartbreak. Artemis: Yes, yes you are. And you go to great lengths to find and manufacture it in your head baby. You use it to self-soothe. But it’s alright. It’s not your fault. It’s the only way in which you existed in your childhood: heartbroken. All you experienced was heartbreak, all you knew was heartbreak. You don't know anything else. The only things you knew were fear, guilt, and shame. You have no idea how sincerely happy you have the opportunity, the right to be. But you’ll get there one day. The Fowl: A stable relationship could never fulfill me the way a situationship doomed from the start could. Artemis: And that’s why you go after all these unavailable men. Physically, emotionally, worse when it’s both. Because you already know how it ends and there’s nothing you crave more than the heartbreak. And that’s why you’re so scared of commitment because you know that it’ll be the complete opposite of what you know and you’re afraid of being out of your comfort zone, afraid of letting yourself find happiness. Afraid of breaking the chains that have held you since before you were born. You’re not gonna wake up one day and decide that today’s the day you’re ready to commit. That it’s been 3-5 years since you said that maybe you’ll be ready in 3-5 years. Oh baby you have so much to learn and so much room to grow. You always have and you always will. The Fowl: Do you think that people who were loved properly as children can be artists? Artemis: I don't know. I mean they sure can be and maybe I'm just romanticizing trauma but I feel that having no trauma limits the degrees of intensity to which you can feel. Thus, those who’ve experienced the lowest lows can too depict the highest of highs. Are all those who are traumatized artists? No. Does it hurt? Definitely not. The Fowl: Wow. That makes sense actually. But then again you’re just a figment of my imagination, so I have no idea if that actually has any merit. Artemis: You can’t discount us like that. You love having conversations with me. The Fowl: I know I do. Higher highs, lower lows, but it’s only fun for a while before you realize that all you want eventually is stability right? Artemis: Yeah, but you’re not there yet. You’re getting there but admit it Lucia you love this feeling. You love this self-induced, subconsciously orchestrated heartbreak. You fucking love it. Lucia: I really do. The Fowl: Do you think that people want to read what I have to write? Artemis: They absolutely do. You know this. They’ve told you. The Fowl: I know but I feel so silly. Artemis: We’ve been over this. How many people do you think exist who are like you? The Fowl: Probably tons. Artemis: Probably. And the way you are able to articulate exactly as all those people feel? Think about how many people feel alone. How many people don’t have the incredible friends that you have who help you through this? Think of how much your writing could help them. Your writing has so much value. “Flaws, Chaos, Wreckage and All” That’s what you wanted to call it right? Plus you're hot. It doesn’t even need to be that good. The Fowl: Ok, insulting. Artemis: I’m your favourite person to talk to, aren’t I? The Fowl: Yeah, probably. Do you really think that people want to hear what I have to say? Artemis: Remember when we realized that we need to live as if we’re rich white men? Do you think that a rich white man ever doubts whether people want to hear what he has to say? A white man you know is writing a TREATISE. That white man thinks that what he has to say has enough value to be considered a TREATISE, darling. Darling me oh my. Do you know why all philosophers are rich white men? It’s because they’re the only ones with enough confidence to publish what they write, baby. Human greatness rests on humanity’s willingness and ability to communicate it. The Fowl: Wow, Jesus you’re convincing. Ok well. I already proclaimed it and Dionysus has already promised to buy at least 10 copies when I publish it so. Artemis: You already spoke it into the world baby. Self publish like Rumi, Su Shi, Rupi Kaur, and all the other greats. *The author would like to make a note that the above phrase is meant to be read sarcastically* *The author would also like to note that this is, in fact, an homage to Hofstadter* The Fowl: Ok, so what’s the first step? Should I wait until I have enough good things to say? Artemis: No, you’ve already outgrown some of the stuff you’ve written in the past. Why do you think that there will come a point when you have gathered enough experiences worth reading about and that’s when you’re going to be ready to publish? You should only feel that way on your death bed. Your life is going to keep happening and boy, I know yours is a damn interesting one. Filled with so much drama and chaos and love and loss. Remember what you’ve been told: “You are loved from all corners of the world.” The Fowl: Ok, so I just do it then? It’s not... Artemis: Why do you even have doubts? The Fowl: Because I don’t believe in myself. Artemis: I believe in you. And I’m literally the goddess of wisdom. The Fowl: And I’m just a chick. And a fool.  Artemis: That was funny. The Fowl: Why can’t you just laugh? Why announce it? Artemis: There are levels to this shit ok? The Fowl: Wait hold on Athena is the goddess of wisdom.

Artemis: Wait fuck you’re right how did I fuck that up? Rick Riordan would be so disappointed. 

The Fowl: Whatever. Back to the thing. We’re calling it “Flaws, Chaos, Wreckage and All” right?

Artemis. I’m not writing this book, you are. Is that what you want to call–” The Fowl: Yes! That is exactly what I want to call my anthology. Artemis: Darling you’re misusing that term. The Fowl: Then what do we call it? A book of poetry or prose or writing doesn’t quite cover it. Artemis: Call it a treatise. A treatise on emotion. The Fowl: Holy fuck I fucking love it. “Flaws, Chaos, Wreckage and All: A Treatise on Emotion” by Y. H. Zhang. FUCK I LOVE IT HOLY FUCK. Artemis: I’m glad you like it, dear. 🥺 I’m very proud of you, dear. You’re one of the smartest people I know. One of the smartest, most self-aware, most conscientious, most courageous, most loving, most thoughtful, most beautiful, most righteous people that I know. You really really don’t give yourself enough credit. The Fowl: That’s a lot coming from you, Artemis. Artemis: And I mean it. I mean every bit. See how I didn’t include some things like “selfless” or “kind”? Because we’re still working on that. But the ones I said I mean with full sincerity. The Fowl: I don’t know how to handle all this praise. Artemis: Accept it, dear it’s yours. Anyone who knows you could not be clearer of this. The Fowl: Hehe yeah, I think you’re right. My friends do praise me a lot. But I think I tune it out because I don’t love myself. Artemis: We all do. It’s a process. The Fowl: This conversation seems drawn out. Artemis: Does it? Or are you simply uncomfortable being praised? The Fowl: ummmmmhhMmm Artemis: Because I’ve just started. I can go on and on for days about how magnificent of a person you are. I mean I can also go on and on for days about the mistakes you’ve made and the people you’ve hurt too. But that’s the beauty of it. If you’re not making mistakes you’re not learning. You’re not going out of your comfort zone. You’re capping the level of your opponent, Life, at only 30 exp. If you’re always winning at life you’re not advancing in it. I once read an article that said that you should be failing at least half of the goals you set. Because if all your goals are within reason and achievable, then you’re not setting them high enough. You’re selling yourself short. So become a poet, and a musician, and a choreographer and dancer, and get a Norwegian green card and a regular green card and have four kids and get married and stay married. And have your own flower shop, publish and write and read to your heart’s content, be an equestrian, surf and dive and break the world record for women’s freediving. Speak nineteen languages and fall in love and stay in love and remain in love. And be buried under a tree that your great-grandkids can play under. And raise kind, loving children and cook vegan food for all your friends and have Lucia’s Club be a thing and love so much. And love so much. And love so much. The Fowl: That was really really intimate. It makes me want to publish even more. Artemis: It should! The Fowl: Wow, you really are just as insightful and knowledgeable about life as any of the men I’ve put on pedestals. Artemis: I am literally a statue placed on top of a pedestal. The Fowl: I think I need to apologize to you. Artemis: I’m listening. The Fowl: I’m sorry that I don’t believe in you enough. I’m sorry that I don’t love you enough. I’m sorry that I treat you in any way other than with kindness and love and compassion. I’m sorry that you’re the last person I’m apologizing to. I’m sorry that I’m going to keep hurting you despite knowing all this. But I want you to know that I’m trying, every day, to love you more. Trying, I promise you. Sometimes it’s easier and sometimes it’s oh so difficult but I’m sorry and I promise you, despite how scary it is to make that commitment, to keep loving you more and more every day. To console you, to trust you, to believe in you, to nurture you, to nourish you, to give you everything you need to succeed, even though I’m not even sure what that means. I promise to take care of you. Mentally, spiritually, physically, emotionally, intellectually. I promise to not let you get carried away with your playtime, to get involved with things that are bad for you, and to cultivate the things that are good for you. Because you really are yourself such a treasure. You yourself are as brilliant and incredible, and beautiful, and deserving of love, deserving of care, as any of the men you cherish. I am so sorry that I’ve been bad to you. Artemis: Thank you. It’s not your fault. It’s all written in the stars or in a book somewhere. I’m really glad that you can acknowledge this. I’m also really proud of you. You’re young to have realized this. Many people go their entire lives without ever even meeting their Artemis. The Fowl: I know, I’m so, so lucky to have you. Artemis: I’m lucky to have you.

[garrisonabel93]

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Having a Stable and Loving Marriage as a couple grow in love with you and it is better left unsaid than known when you are going to end their alliance.You should share and compromise with one another, more pain and hurt and frustrated in the background are also good at seeing clearly certain patterns that have gone through a rough period in your union.But you can begin to disregard one another.Blaming the situation by locating the other spouse don't share your likes, dislikes, beliefs and ideas and strategies created to prevent it from happening.Have you worked with couples on a budget, look no further.

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It will take time-just know that one or both high-income earning families, statues-oriented activities like vacations, parties and a lack of appreciation for each other granted.And if you can combine the right methods and techniques.A very important factor that keeps on coming whenever their ego when attacked.A professionally-created plan to start everything anew today.Safety comes first and bite your tongue, if that book doesn't tell you now seek professional relationship counseling.

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[utopianparadoxist]

Part #1: Flight of the Movie & Anime References

This section is pretty much setup for the next three essays. There’s a couple sections here that I have a fair bit to say about, but probably just as many where I’ll close out with some minor observations, or reference to someone else’s Good Post(tm).

What I think is important is noting the consistency and similarity with which Homestuck engages in meaningful reference. I just want you to have this list in mind as I flesh out the three truly impactful references I want to talk about in this series. 

So here’s a short list of cases where Homestuck outright leans on other stories to structure itself, with accompanying references:

1) The Game Over Arc - Plot Structure & Dragon Ball Z

We’re starting with Dragon Ball Z because the references here are relatively simple and straightforward, and they largely set up either pretty clear structural parallels, rather than thematic ones. 

The clearest of these examples is the section of the story that begins with the joke Arquius makes above. In case you don’t know, the “over 9000″ meme has its roots in this iconic, hilarious sequence from DBZ:

What’s notable is what follows. From the moment this joke happens, the very structure of Homestuck changes to following the loose structure of some of the most memorable DBZ arcs.

I’m no buff on the series, but the memories it calls up for me most strongly resemble the Namek/Freeza or Buu arcs, and expert DBZ consultant @alotofmomos (who hates me for writing this) confirms these are the arcs that most perform the particular structure Homestuck will now be mimicking. 

And what does that structure consist of? A particular mix of “pacing” choices, cinematography, and sheer scale of spectacle that I find hard to source to anything but DBZ. I can’t even think of other Shonen series that mix all these elements in quite the same way, though again, I’m no expert.

Some of these elements are:

A) Drawn out, massive power-up sequences:

B) Conflicts that carry out on planetary scales, and indeed often destroy the planets hosting them. 

This pretty much speaks for itself, doesn’t it? Do I really have to say some stuff to make it look like I’m doing anything other than pointing out some obvious goddamn parallels that blew my mind because they took me years to notice?

Alright, fine. I’ll say this much: I think it’s quite fitting that Homestuck would borrow from the DBZ playbook for the section of the story that illustrates the sheer mind-boggling scale of power our protagonists have reached. 

There’s very few stories out there that demonstrate this sense of mortals achieving such bonkers dominion over reality through sheer force of will, and the homage certainly hammers home the idea that these kids are Gods with levels of power we’ve barely scratched the surface of. 

But I don’t think there’s a big Narrative Payoff to this particular reference. Instead, I think what Homestuck takes from this is functional in terms of narrative. Because the most interesting things this narrative model adopts are structural.

C) Convenient plot-structure.

Namely, what we end up with is a bunch of characters grouped into disparate conflicts across the same larger “playing field”, separated by considerable amounts of distance--and thus, isolating them into distinct narratives.

As a natural consequence of this, the pacing slows down to an excruciatingly slowness, as we cut from conflict to conflict, each one progressing in small snippets of minutes or even seconds at a time. All of this is par for the course for Dragon Ball Z, particularly in the Namek saga. 

So what this provides us with isn’t a profound, revelatory moment of thematic meaning--but instead, an effective backdrop on which to flesh out that meaning elsewhere. In fact, this very arc does that like twice with two other stories!

So let's move on from this and take a look at a couple of character arcs whose resolutions are telegraphed by way of reference.

2) Terezi as Dorothy 

I don’t have too much to add to this, but it’s useful because in the eyes of much of the fandom, it’s already accepted. Check out madchen’s excellent post on the subject here.

The bottom line is: Terezi janks Jade’s shoes, and adopts the role of Dorothy in Homestuck’s symbol logic. This leads her home--to Vriska and their memories of growing up together, and ultimately to embracing her red feelings for her. 

Terezi’s resolution is one of two relationships resolved in the wake of [S] Game Over. Let’s take a look at the other. 

3) Jake as Buttercup

Don’t have much to say about this one either, cause I already wrote most of it. I will say I don’t think it’s an accident that the arcs to coincide here are Dirkjake’s and Vrisrezi’s, since the two relationships are in many ways direct parallels. But that’s another essay for another time. 

I have received some rightful criticism on my writing on Jake in particular, and this is a good place to clarify my position, however. I do not think it’s particularly “Good” or “Healthy” for Jake to indulge his own desires at the expense of Dirk’s (or Jane’s) feelings. 

My point has never been that Jake’s selfish behavior is inherently good--merely that Jake’s reasons for being in love with Dirk are his own, and not imposed to him from Dirk himself, or anyone around him. 

As with all things in Homestuck, the key is for Jake to grapple with the negatives in himself and come to balance with the tension between his own wants and his relationships with others. This is true of literally everyone in Homestuck.

And there’s an easier way of saying what I am getting at. Because Homestuck literally gives us a guidebook to understanding Jake and Dirk’s relationships to each other, as parsed in Jake’s head--a guidebook that provides context to their entire relationship. 

Just as you can read Terezi as Dorothy, so too can you read Jake as Buttercup. This is the crucial distinction I seek to make. In common readings of Dirk and Jake’s relationship, Jake acquiesces to Dirk’s pushy forcing of the relationship despite Dirk’s control issues. 

In this one, Dirk is a flawed but committed provider and protector, and Jake picks up on and begins internalize a belief that Dirk will always be there for him, prompting him to fall for him. This reflects the fundamental core of their attraction to each other. It does not present a solution to their communication issues. They both have to work through that and be more aware of each other’s needs. 

Now, The Princess Bride is a comedy action-adventure movie, but it’s also a philosophical fairy tale. Buttercup and Westley aren’t just in love, they’re in True Love, and the driving force of the movie is how Westley’s love empowers him to do anything it takes for his beloved. 

What’s more interesting is Buttercup’s relationship to that same love, and how it reflects on Jake. Buttercup has to struggle to learn how to believe in True Love, even when it seems difficult or even impossible. Along the way, Buttercup is even forced into an arranged marriage, and seemingly forsakes her feelings for Westley to avoid the consequences of being honest, a choice she then tortures herself over. 

A big part of her journey is learning to truly commit to not just Westley’s love for her, but her belief in that love as something both true and powerful. Something that can transcend all odds and obstacles. 

Which is. You know. Exactly what Jake does when he’s fully immersed in the power of his own faith. 

Now let’s move on, and note two more movie references that the comic makes outside of the context of this DBZ-mini arc.

4) Tavros as Peter Pan 

There’s not a terrible amount of depth to be drawn here, either. I think most people accept that Tavros is deliberately invoking Peter Pan in his narrative victory here, with the ghosts as his Lost Boys.  I will add, however, that if Peter Pan is the role Tavros is emulating in reaching his full potential, well...

Peter Pan isn’t exactly known for being Selfless, is he? He’s a hero, for sure, but self-centeredness is pretty much his calling card as a hero. To the point that Wikipedia claims that  

“In the play and book, Peter symbolizes the selfishness of childhood, and is portrayed as being forgetful and self-centered.” 

More fuel for the fire as far as my writing on Tavros as inherently self-centered in his building of the Ghost Army goes. Anyway, the fundamental reference is secured, right? I’m not really looking to make a Classpect argument here, I’m just compiling interesting notes. Let’s move on. 

5) Caliborn as Jigsaw

This one isn’t exactly subtle, either. I’ve already written quite a bit about how Lord English defines and dominates everything in the story of Homestuck, as have others.

Understanding Caliborn as a Yaldabaoth is one way to contextualize his power over the reality all the characters preside over, and we’ll definitely touch on that further in the next three sections I’ll be covering.

But one easy way to contextualize Lord English’s power is as...well...Jigsaw.

Like Jigsaw, Lord English builds a massive, highly controlled gauntlet that he exploits and terrorizes his victims through. The only difference is that Lord English’s dungeon is bigger than some creepy gray cellar. 

It is in fact, Literally Everything that occurs within the context of the Alpha Timeline. Every homeworld that every character originates from--except for, arguably, Beforus, which is still under his sway enough to be doomed, but also presented as borderline Eden-like by comparison to Alternia. 

While Yaldabaoth’s control seems very distant and abstract, Jigsaw’s is crystal clear and vicious. Everything the characters of SAW suffer is, ultimately, in the hands of the orchestrator of their misery. Their puppetmaster, so to speak. 

In the same sense, pretty much every single way the characters in Homestuck suffer has Lord English at the root of it--even the thing they do to themselves and each other as a result of cultural memes. 

Troll Violence, heteronormativity, quadrant normativity, and hypermasculinity--all are memetic structures that exist because Lord English himself disseminated them, in the context of Homestuck. They’re thought-traps rather than literal physical torture devices, but they’re torture tools all the same. 

And you can even see Jigsaw as a symbol for Lord English’s influence, since it is, after all, one of the primary differences setting apart Bro and Dirk. Dirk has no interest in the SAW franchise at all, whereas Bro makes a point of mocking Dave with it.  (thanks to @jadedresearcher for pointing this out, by the way!)

So yeah. Not only does SAW tell us a lot about the nature of Caliborn’s effect on our characters through the Alpha Timeline, it also acts as a mark for his influence. That’s...pretty much all there is to say on the matter.

For now.

That wraps up this little introductory round-up. Now I can get to talking about three of the biggest influences on Homestuck as a story: The Neverending Story (the book), Earthbound & Mother 3, and Gnostic Myth. Hope you’ll follow along with us over the next couple of weeks to find out more.

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Catch you on the flip side.

Keep rising. 

[semi-imaginary-place]

fe3h blogging 5 because I’ve been posting on discord and I can’t remember what number I was on oct-feb???

So I'm doing another no recruit run and realizing how much planning I need Me: why do I do this to myself  Specifically its SS usuing none of the black eaglea So Byleths going to be soloing until I can recruit all the church staff... or flayn comes along... 

Lambert and the death knight have the same voice actor. Lambert=death knight. Mystery solved

Loog was only able to gain faerghus independence because the emoire was already weakened from its failed invasion of dagda

Also its part if the seiros canon that a great evil darkness came out of the north. That couldn't posaibly feed into racism

The greatest sin this game has commited was giving gilbert a redemption arc

if only the devs weren’t cowards...

Why does dorothea even have A supports with guys? Her head is filled with only girls. has she ever shown interest in a guy?? Beyond a I want to be financially secure and tolerate your presence. everyone else is bi/pan[ Except caspar Hes just an idiot 

I'm gonna post hot takes for the sexuality of each character and yall cant stop me

Edelgard: lesbian Hubert: Edelgard Ferdinand: pansexual Linhardt: grey spec pan but prefers men+ Caspar: too stupid to evaluate Bernadetta: "I want friends" Dorothea: big lesbian Petra: pansexual

Dimitri: confused and repressed Dedue: gay Felix: swords redheads Ashe: pansexual Sylvain: pansexual prefers women Mercedes: pansexual prefers women Annete: lesbian Ingrid: pansexual prefers men

Claude: Demi pansexual/romantic++ Lorenz: ~~noble obligations~~ pansexual and repressed Raphael: grey ace/aro+++ Ignatz: pansexual prefers women Lysithea: pansexual++++ Marianne: pansexual Hilda: pansexual but usually dates guys Leonie: grey ace

+Linhardt feels romantic/sexual attraction but not strongly. He feels romantic love but he doesn't get crushes. ++Claude is the type to fall in love slowly after an emotional connection has already been formed and then get a crush after they've been going steady for 10 years. +++Raphael feels romantic/sexual attraction but not strongly and usually prefers queer platonic relationships ++++more to do with the individual than gender, but girls are cute

Game crashed and I lost like 4 hours of progress TT^TT

I'm on SS (which is the only route I haven't played) and hnnnnng I miss claude its been like 3 months since I played VW. Also I need to write down a time line some time but the stuff the agarthans have been pulling feeds the world builder in me. especially hyrm

as nice as the idea of all the lords getting along and talking things out is, it wouldn’t work out in canon, Edelgard has tunnel vision. Dimitri is irrational and would rather listen to his hallucinations that evidence. And no one trust Claude enough to believe him

Hilarious really how Edelgard will call for Hubert to carry you despite her massive strength and how hubert looks like a gentle wind will blow him over

Macuil/Indech:  Shun society. Run off into the wilds. Have vaugue legends be told of you. Be a crpytid

linhardt is such an unrepentant bastard

I had a dream where I could make male units pegasus knights. And then I woke up to cruel reality

Alois is growing on me. At first I was like uuuggg another bumbling idiot. But you know what? Fuck Seteth for not giving Alois more vacation time to see his family

Cavalry units be like: crushes a watermelon with their thighs

Some of the knights were bullying Alois. Who was it. I will bring them untold pain.

Reason #??? to punch Gilbert: he saw this poor child struggling to control his strength and went this boy doesn't need to learn how to control his strength, what he needs is more strength training.  I mean absent emotionally distant and all over shitty father to annette is reason number 1. But dimitri is reason number 2.  Oh let's make this kid lift rocks and run around the moutains at night in full armor in winter. Instead of being able to pick something up without breaking it and you know be able to perform basic daily tasks.  Let's make a human shaped weapon instead of a functional person.  Gilbert single handedly ruined AM for me because he just wouldn't stop messing up everyone else's lives

Each character's recruit requirements are what they admire/respect in a person

I forgot hubert becomes unavailable in month 2. and now I'm stuck with his stupis razor

Hot take. BotW Link and part 2 Ingrid have the same haircut

I'm on my last route (SS) but i hate rhea so much...

why do you think maurice/the beast's crest was used to make aymr?

Also all the nameless backgound characters have brown hair but of the main cast, its only dorothea and claude

Annette’s handwriting: Neat and cute.  Linhardt writes in cursive because he cant be bothered to lift his pen Sylvain has nice handwriting. Ingrid's is very functional, felix's is half way to chicken scratch lots of sharp angles. Dimitri cries on the inside at the thought of picking up a pen. as a kid Dimitri has terrible handwriting and breaks a pen every 5 min. He practiced so hard. Most of what people think is his handwriting is Dedue's (neat and pretty) because dedue writes most of his letters for him

me playing azure moon: I want out. get me off this death train

Finally getting alois's support and wow he's like a human shaped puppy in the sahpe of a middle aged man.  Always falling over himself. Ridiculously happy. 100% all the time. Running and barking everywhere

Fact of the day: dorothea hates eating fish

Alright. Seteth and Flayn's descriptions of her mom are very different.  Where is the truth???  Seteth was like shes demure, quiet, pious, and honest. And Flayn's says she's like Judith

game is forcing me to flirt with Alois? Can I not please!

I keep saying it but Lorenz grows on you like a fungus. He has excellent supports

 i want to weave gold thread into claudes hair

Under rated character development: Dorothea. Every one of her lines in part 2 makes me want to cry.  "every rose has its thorns" -> "only thorns left on this rose" Her character development is that she just gets worn down by the war and I want to bundle her up in a blanket and give her a cup of warm milk.  Dorothea is so full of love. So she feels the sorrows of the war so intensely.

FE3H needs better dads. I mean even jeralt and seteth aren’t great dads. They're just not down right horrible.  Jeralt is emotionally distant with an alcohol problem that byleth had to clean up after him. But there are worse dads Alois seems decent but he needs to spend more time at home. Seteth should have given Alois more vacation time.  They aren't terrible dads. But they aren't getting medals either.  Love their kids but have flaws of their own.

ANNETTE DESERVED BETTER THAN GILBERT Burn him at the stake No wait. He’d want that

My loathing for gilbert is beyond description.  He hurts everyone around him, then doesn't listen to what they have to say, and then keeps continuing his existence as a sad sack of shit.  1. Emotionally distant, strict, and often absent father. Clearly cared about his work for than family.  2. He then straight up leaves with out a note or telling his family anything.  3 knows that annette is looking for him and avoids her.  4. Annette just wants her dad back. That's what would make her happy but he denies her that because he's a selfish bastard.  5. Then he goes on and on about his man-pain while not helping anyone. he self flagellates and blames himself a lot but he never tries to change and so he stays there, is this cycle of self pity.  "Ohhh I have sinned and can not be forgiven" .and I'm like why not do right by the people you hurt? And he's like "no no I have sinned. I cannot see them" or some other bullshit.  He also gets some bullshit redemption arc that I want to scrub clean from my memory because he doesn't deserve it.  Annette's support is all about oh i forgive you. And it puts all the emotional labor on annette and just makes me real angry. And i am going to stop thinking about that disgrace of a human now.

Seteth is controlling. Wont let flayn have friends. Boys arent qllowed to talk to her.  She can't go out. He has to know where she is 24/7. Seteth really is suffocating Flayn. Early in the game Flayn compares herself to a hot house flower, confined to a green house, doomed to die outside it. It bring up the question which is better, to live a long life in constant fear and isolation (remember flayn is very much a people person), or to live a short fulfilling life. The answer of course is that it should be flayns choice. But Seteth denies her autonomy. Flayn is not quite an adult, but even discounting the decades* that she has lived, even a teenager should have some say in the direction of their life. Time and time again Flayn expresses her will and Seteth ignores her. She is allowed little existence outside of him.  Its also hilarious how bad their cover story is.  Its true they love each other but Seteth causes Flayn a fair bit of suffering. Its played for comedy sometimes. And Flayn to some degree tolerates it because she understands that he does it for her sake, and she understands the real danger she is in. They just disagree with what is an acceptable degree of risk. Seteth tolerates no risk which at that point can't be called living. Flayn accepts the danger and believes it is worthwhile to enjoy life and help people despite it. the counselor box also reveals that seteth has been stalking her and think her talking to dudes is bad despite that having nothing to do with the danger of the agarthans.

A fun thing to think about is if Flayn was born of 2 nabeteans, she's a human halfie, or someother sothis bullshit.  I reviewed the sea nd sky paralogue recently looking for answers and there were some hints? Maybe? nothing definative. all we know for sure is that flayn’s mom died in the nemesis war.  Also I have a hypothesis that flayn was in a regenerative coma for most of the 1000 years so she's been active less than 200 years which is why Seteth treats here like a waylaid toddler.

the flayn seteth c support is great Seteth.exe crashes and then reboots right in front of our very eyes

Catherine has such big wlw energy. I didn't quite realize it until I got her supports but hooboy.  Saw a lady so pretty she forgot she almost died pfft.  And this is just with rhea.  The catherine-shamir supports themselves are gold.

Catherine: ever see a woman so beautiful you forget you almost died and decide to devote your whole life to her?

Catherine->Shamir: i get worried when you go out on missions on your own. I'm not there to protect you. I'm scared of you leaving me behind. I never want to leave you side. Between my life and your life i'd choose your life me: ! Shamir: i don't know what the future holds, but let's get married me: !!!!!!!!!!!!

Also catherine/christoph was a thing in the past. Highschool sweethearts. Before she executed him for treason

Ahahahhha this is great! And by great I mean hilarious. Dimitri dies even more offscreen in SS than in VW.  Ghost dimitri in ss made me laugh but  do we ever get an explanation for ghost dimitri or it like the cf finale? Themetically significant. Sure lets go with that

I'm really starting to see where the parts of vw and ss were smushes together

Embarr has the best night life

Recruiting sylvain into the gd feels mean. I'm taking away the only one with 2 braincells to rub together

Under all the noble bullshit, Lorenz really is a great guy

Do you think every demonic beast looks unique and its only that the devs didnt want to make more models that they dobt look different in game?

Recruiting sylvain into the gd feels mean. I'm taking away the only one with 2 braincells to rub together in the blue lions

Sylvain is warm

I wish we got to explore derdriu

PETRA DESERVES BETTER WRITERS. and give her a fluffy coat. She's gotta be cold in garreg mach

Count Varley is at the top of the hit list

Add alois onto team i'm scared of ghosts (lysithea, ashe, annette)[5:44 PM] That's it. I'm kidnapping alois from the church's clutches and taking him home. The church doesn't deserve him. And he hates his job

W h y  i s  everyone from faergus so eager to give up their personhood

Does faerghus seem really backwater to anyone else? Faergus reminds me of like 900's europe while leicester and adrestia are more like 1600's europe.  they still have that germanic warrior culture thing going. This is deep in the dark ages. I will accept the later half of the dark ages though since its post introduction of christianity. Leicester and Adrestia feel more like 1600-1700s They feel not quite french revolution, but getting there.  Yeah like the old institutions (crown and church) are still there but the cracks are showing.  Also the clothes

I thinki talked about this before. But when I say dorothea deserves the world. DOROThEA DESERVES THE WORLD. she’s been through so much

I need to go compare this with the verdant wind scene, but I was under the impression that sothis was in a regenerative coma after the war with the agarthans. But nope according to ss she was straigt up dead huh

i know I'm suppose to be fighting but I spent the last 30min exploring shambhala again

Damn it Shamir! Why'd ya have ta crit. I was trying to get dialog!January 2, 2020

gatekeeper > you < gatekeeper's identical twin brother who's on the opposite side of the war Its a sandwich

Oh wow the church really was up to some bloodborne level stuff

I turned every single one of the black eagles into a brigand (except linhardt and hubert).  Brigand gang brigand gang

The devs knew Claude and Lindhardt would just be too powerful. They had to be separated. thats why they dont have a support chain.  Sylvain and Claude has more energy but Sylvain has the conscious that Lindhardt lacks.  I mean Lindhardt singlehandedly lock picks  the holy tomb and disables rhea's magic mechs all while complaining he's sleepy.  Sylvain can be bullied into doing things and I love him for it.  Ah. I want both support chains

After Jeralts death both Claude and Edelgard both tell you that the world will continue spinning regardless of what befalls you personally but they do so in rather different ways. Edelgard phrases it like pull yourself together or the world will leave you behind. Claude phrases it like personal tragedies are such a small thing in the face of the world. You may have suffered a loss but there is so much to the world beyond that. There are still worthwhile things in the world. Both of say the world doesnt stop for you but mean different things.  And both are trying to motivate you to pull yourself together.  Whereas dimitri is like: you want vengence? You should go for vengence. I'll help you rip them apart. I'll kill for you.

Edelgard is socially awkward and blunt. She's also very practical minded so she doesn't know how to won't say something comforting when she can say something useful.  She's trying in her own way  To motivate byleth to start picking up their life.  Edelgard doesn't get people. Social interaction is a total mystery to her. She's just too stubborn to realize it.  At a couple points you can tease her and she thinks you're threatening her. She's not good at the people thing.  While she can come off a little rough because she doesn't understand how other people work. Hubert understands other people rather well and is an asshole anyways. List of characters who have threatened byleth: dimitri, hubert, sylvain, jeritza, catherine

Was sothis one of the divine dragon tribe? a lot of the other divine dragons had green hair especially the ones worshiped as gods (duma, mila, naga, tiki). But not fae or nowi.  I always got that dragon stones were like a dragon's essence sealed away so that while in human form they could stave off dragon degeneration. But what are crest stones. Were they made by the agarthans (artificial dragon stones) or are crest stones a natural part  of the nabeteans and the agarthans just harvested them. Or... ARE THERE BOTH. But the pov characters cant tell the difference.  This one group has messed with how many nations now?? SS has an interesting tidbit that's  been stuck in my head:  In the final map of SS its revealed that all high ranking church officials recieve Seiros' blood and a crest stone shard. WHERE ARE THE SHARDS COMING FROM. DAMN YOU SETETH YOU CANT JUST SAY THINGS LIKE THAT AND LEAVE ME. because if they are seiros crest stone shards that neans crest stones are not an Agarthan invention. But that condridicts VW where rhea says creststones are made of nabateab hearts. tldr: I'm confused. where are those fragments coming from??? Wait. This is all assuming a nabetean needs their heart inside them to live. Given how violently rhea reacts to losing even 1 crest stone I don't think she used the ones of her brethern. Which logically leaves only one weird possible answer. That rhea took her own heart/crest stone and has been giving out fragments. I mean she probably retrives the fragments when the priest dies.... this also means that nabeteans can survive with their heart outside their body... like a litch.... which I mean given sothis isn't too suprising? ??

VW and SS have such wacky endings. Let's go fight the cyberpunk mole people now!. Zombie invasion?  : check Weird bloodborne stuff and then we fight rhea?: check

Yeah VW was my first route and whew that was a wild ride. AM is so tame is comparison. but SS and VW lack the setup to pull out twists like that.  If this was like Nier: Automata where you get endings sequentially, it might have worked. But on their own the last 2 maps don't have anything at stake

hmmm  switching the final battles of verdant wind and silver snow? What would make a better story and why?  rhea kinda works because SS is all about rhea and saving her from herself as well as a revival of the church. But Nemesis also brings closure to Rhea's arc. She's been stuck for the last 1000 years to to fight the man who killed her most important person for good is like also really good thematically. VW is all about something new. Doing away with old structures and what better than to kill the pope? But facing the 10 elites also works for VW because that's the begining of the crest/nobility system you are literally killing.  I just like recruiting everyone and then killing the 10 elites with their own weapons wielded by their descendants.  its symbolic

Byleth is an excellent brigard. Went beigand and then wyvrn and their strength was higher than dimitri's

Claude: Rule? Nah. Gonna go be a scholar in an isolated mountain range. Books

Sylvain is a himbo wannabe

I should recruit annette and let her kill gilbert...  The one thing I'm worried about is that it'll hurt her more than it'll hurt him ... can I get crusher in crimson flower? If I were to recruit everyone and then get them all killed, what route would that be best in? Guess I'll be doing a death pact AM run some time in the future

Also koei tecmo and intsys are cowards for gender locking classes.  From a gameplay perspecrive too some characters are locked out of their ideal classes (war master for catherine and gremory for lindhardt). And then there's the in lore significance. Let hubert ride a pegasus.

Dorothea spent the entirety of their paralogue hitting on Ingrid. And then the RING at the end??? and they can’t support. Also Ingrid should have gotten an A support with Mercedes. They get along so well

Edelgard got the best designs in the game but Dorothea got the next best

Its canon. Edelgard thinks Claude grew up to be hot. Edelgard acknowledging that Claude is hot but but that she’s going to kill him anyways is just so good ....aaaaand one again I'm a coward who couldn't bring themself to kill Claude. But the completionist in me really wants to. The scene after sparing cluade between him and edelgard has kept me up too many nights.  What are the emotions here? My first guess was loss, grief. Someone else has interpreted it as aggtession though. And maybe we are both over thinking this but to me Claude's lines here say "I have failed"

Dorothea deserves a dragon

Caspar is actually real good for bernadetta. Its like talking to a sack of potatoes and doing so forces her to communicate better, firmly express herself, etc. Caspar has such great supports with all the ladies really

I really am just linhardt. I too disregard authority and despise being woken up...

I feel like we should all appreciate dorothea more. Death to the haters

ingrid equipping the duscar cavalry battalion is like  "I can exploit their labor so it’s alright"

I found felix was my solace in AM just because everyone else goes full death cult. despite how much i wanted to punch him when he told ingrid to go get a husband.  Also I should note I'm not sure felix whole heartesly believed what he said to Ingrid. I got the impression he said the thing he knew would upset her the most.  Not necessarily what he believed. That said he may actually believe it too.  Ingrid and felix remind be of squabbling siblings just saya the worst stuff to each other.  Unless felix has actively confronted the notion of faerhgus patriarchy he probably has internalized some of the beliefs. We all do. Thats why theyre so hard to dig out

Since we talk a lot about dads. Let's talk margrave edmund. tldr: complicated and interesting relationship with marianne.  What we know: he adopted marianne some time after her parents died, before she enrolles into the officers academy. Marianne says he's usuing her as marriage bait to marry up and increase the standing of house edmund.  This tracks with what others say about edmund: he's politically ambitious. And he's good at it enough to have gotten house edmund a seat at the round table.  In pretty much all her endings, he tutors mariannne until she's a political savant.  He forbid her from leaving the monestary in part 1.  Now let's go in between the lines. In part 1 marianne seems nervous of margrave edmund, but she also seems nervous of everything is part 1. In part 2, along with being more comfortable with herself she seems more familiar with him.  After the end of part 1 she likely returned to house edmund despite the attack being the perfect cover to disappear.  We don't get get much on edmund's personality buy he comes across as ruthlessly practical. The sort that goes "I can and will use everything to get what I want".  He likely adopted marianne not out of charity or compassion but so the house could have a crested heir and so he could use her as a bargining chip to other houses. But he sees enough potential in her to train her to be the next head of house. I think what started out as "ah another piece i can use" transitioned into a more friendly relationship as marianne began to assert herself and margrave edmund came to acknowledge her as more than how she could benefit him. I don't think he ever got over the "how can i use this" mentality but I'd like to think that after some years they came to get along. Ah yes I meant to do a hyrm thing and put it off for months. The Agarthans had long been infiltrating the empire and slowly increasing their influence on the government. In an attempt to stop this emperor ionius ix attempted to gain more power for himself to counter them by centralizing the government and taking power away from the nobles. House Hyrm attempted to defect to the leicester alliance with the help of house ordelia. In retaliation the Agarthans under the guise of the empire killed the members of house hrym and took control of hrym and ordelia. Also in response to ionius' move, the top ministers of the empire backed by the Agarthans began the insurrection of the seven where all political power was taken from the emperor. The Agarthans than experimented on ordelia and the royal family to implant crests while usuing hrym as a base of operations. After Emile killed that scrumbag baron bartels as well as the rest of the bartels family. Edelgard thought he could be useful as a piece not already controled by the Agarthans, and with their helped fabricated him a new identity as jeritza von hrym since hrym was a puppet for the Agarthans. Lord Arundel (Thales) then ensured jeritza a spot at garreg mach so he could act as an inside agent.

Anyone know the significance of rhea's mech's names (wilhelm, iris, etc.). past friends?  lol would it be messed up or what if its powered by his corpse 

Jeritza really is an acquired taste... wow

... I wonder sometimes if I like making things hard for myself... like I'll make rules like 4+ units have to attack an enemy before I kill them... or certain units can't be next to each other or just other abitrary rules. Anyways I'm just complaining because I did all this on the final map while under leveled last night (?) and am now just going "...why" at myself

Also, I wish we got the option of keep class headgear.  Some of it looks really cool and some of the classes (bishop??) look incomplete with out it.  Let me have my little hats!  Like mortal savant gets an oni mask which looks rad. And warlocks get flowery witch hats! Just finished crimson flowers again with warlock and then gremory dorothea and was like hmmmm.... she needs flowers in her hair

Also if you look up dimitri's dancer skirt you'll see he's wearing black short shorts

Team heretic: edelgard, hubert, petra, claude, leonie, linhardt in the closet: lorenz

So for those of you that keep up with my rambling... remember how i said the funal cf cutscene makes no sense? Did sothis self terminate? If she dud than why arent there records of other crest stones disintigrating? Or is it a sothis specific thing? Its possible sothis’s consciousness is stored in her creststone/heart but then how can you still s support her in CF? i've been trying to logic and reason this for several months and i cant get it to all fit. But on a symbolic level its like the coming of a new age, sothis' hold on the world (and her influence on byleth) disappears. Live on without dieties (literally in byleth's case). The new age of humanity and all so byleth becomes a normal human, no god powers yada yada. I think claude is the only one that knows byleth has no heartbeat?? (Maybe? I cant remember) since claude reads jeralt's diary. Thematic significance > narrative consistency. There's also that rhea goes beserk in SS and not VW, when the same stuff happens to her in both. Which doesn't add up for me. And Nemesis ...is he still sitting there in the other routes... Where did he get an army anyways? I assumed the agarthans just had a whole army frozen...But then why didn't they use it earlier? And can you imagine just a whole city of cryo pods underground. Just there.

Anyways I'm off to kill all the blue luons and solo with dimitri on maddening!  Can I get gilbert killed in AM or is he too plot important. I've been playing on casual like a coward so far

Ah ashen wolves shadow cinders looks edgy. I wonder why they have 4 kids in a dungeon. Theres that npc that talk about hiw garreg mach needs the abyss to survive. I wonder why they keep this system

I dont keep up with english VAs but it'd be funny if yuri was voiced by yuri lowenthal

anyone with a crest has less of a chance of  demonic beasting than someone with no crest in lore. In gameplay you can use any crest weapon as long as you have any crest. You just wont get the added benefits of that specific crest

Yuri is very pretty and I’m weak for beautiful long haired men.  But i kinda wish the nintendo would let us have BEEF

If only i could have 300 save files...

Yuri really just is Leon with amnesia. Down to the red eyeliner...

Who let balthus into a highschool

I have that insistent desire to punch the writers for putting dorothea and mercedes through all that

Manuela. Has. So. Much. Love!  And her line about how [as teachers] we cant lose the students to violence or cowardice

The head of felix plopped onto a generic brawler body will always be funny to me

Yeah... sylvain really treats you different when male.  There was a reason were many reasons I really wanted to punch sylvain when I first started playing. namely the misogyny

male Byleth just looks really good as a swordsmaster

From a gameplay perspective I think divine pulse should have been removed for maddening.  From a story perspective they did a pretty good job integrating time mechanics as god powers

I wonder if Jeralt reminded Rhea of Wilhelm

i love giving bad advice for the advice box

why is tea time is the hardest part of the game

Seriously. How does garreg mach even work? Fail school and you get sent to the dungeons for life. What.

Sylvain would totally be one of those dudes with too much money dolling out patronages

Let hilda be warmaster

Hmmm edelgard... fatalism....

Please mod gilbert out of the game Lorenz has got a good heart. But the words that come out of his mouth sometimes...

Oh yeah you know that rainbow flash dream sequence right at the begining of the game? Is it me or did I see skyscrapers in it

The inside of byleth's head is a smash tournament

Seteth can die and I'll kill him.  (Ok ok I don't actually hate the guy. But I don't like him either. He's the type I'd tolerate working with but want nothing to do with outside of the professional setting)

Caspar and linhardt really are THAT comedy duo. I need a whole book dedicated to their paired endings

Sylvain's dick is still the funniest joke on the internet

The weirdest part of part 2 felix's hair isn't even the aggresive side sweep. That can be explained by having stiff straight hair. Its the limp pony tail. If your hair is that stiff, any ponytail that length is going to stick straight out like as anime character. I have this hair type. I've succeded in replicating the side sweep, the ponytail doesnt work

give mercedes a gun cowards

Marianne with a cute bob. Marianne with short hair. very home of phobe of intsys not to make marianne like an actual werewolf or something

devs should have let Bernie learn how to beat her dad to death with her bare fists

I've returned home to my boy. I love Claude!

Mortal savant ignatz. I mean strength in swords and budding talent in reason. Youre going to ba a magic samurai ignatz!

I had forgotten how much gd plays like a mystery game. Also, whatever I said earlier I take it back. Lysithea has a crush on Leonie

I keep trying to imagine an adrestia that isn't tropical (because why else would they wear heavy coats), and failing...

I really love raphael. He's so good

Claude's this interesting mix of cynical and idealistic yeah. He has a number of strong ideals and believes in the potential of humanity to do good, to grow and learn, to come together and built. But he also struggles because at the same time he also believes humans will usually choose the easier path of ignorance and hate. People are cruel and don't care.[5:30 AM]He's really cynical about what people are actually going to do

Sylvain's just layer upon layer of unhealthy coping mechanism

I don’t really like the ingrid/claude ship. ingrid tends to fixate on one shallow quality in a person and then ship them shit about it. and that’s the support. and the writers don’t have her ever acknowledging the rest of the character’s personality or admitting her first impression might have been incorrect.  that especially doesn't pair well with Claude who hides so much of himself. Out of all the characters Claude can A support Ingrid's the only one I where I went "whyyyyyyy"[10:02 AM]It really felt like the typical C-B support. Of i cant stand you because of 1, 2, and 3. To hey maybe you aren't so bad

i can't help but think the empire and alliance are incredibly stupid for making lorenz a cavalier. He's terrible at it.

Hold the phone. Was jeralt a soldier in the leicester independwnce war? (On thw faerhgus side).  But thats 300 years ago. All we know is that hexs older than 100.  The almyra unvasion is another option. Its also possible that jeraly wasnt involved in any war

So I'm trying to get rhea killed on the last chapter of part 1 for GD and wow its really hard to lose the fight this way. Enemies will avoid her like the plague. I cant believe I'm struggling to lose a fight Rhea is unkillable. I have taken no actions for 15 turns are she is still not dead Starting to think its impossible to lose by rhea death in this battle Turn 31. Its only raphael and hilda left Yeah as long as you have 1 unit to keep enemy infanty out of the pink squares this map is inpossible to lose on hard mode  60 turns. All of Rhea’s spell and weapon uses are gone and she still wont die. I give up

I've been thinking of hilda dimitri hypothetical supports recently and i think they"d be halfway between her lorenz+ferdinand supports and her marianne supports.[1:48 AM]Hilda is the QUEEN of suckering people and dimitri is the biggest sucker in the game[1:51 AM]But like marianne's clumsiness, dimitri can't do basic tasks well so hilda hoisting her chores on him is sure to backfire hilariously. He also has that kicked puppy pitifulness that part 1 marianne has so hilda will end up feeling  sorry watching him struggle and help out[1:52 AM]But these 2 are both deeply compassionate so they could actually get along.  You know... i can see ferdinand and claude hating each other's guts. But there's such potential for personal growth...

Why is it that the agarthans have the most named npcs out of any factionJump

If gilbert is what it means to be an "exceptional knight". Then i dont want it. I dont want knights and i especially dont want execptional knights

I like playing on hard because i never have to worry about winning a fight only about how many style points I can rack up.

Why does fodland new year start on month 3.  Look i get that the japanese adopted the chinese calendar system of new year in early spring before adopting the gregorian calendar so "new years" events ended up split between month 1 (new years celebration) and month 3/4 (start of school). But that makes no sense for fodlan. In universe it doesnxt make sense. Why not have month 1 start in spring or have the new year in winter. Ok let's be real. The real reason its like this is that due to globalization and post ww2 american influence not to mention european colonialism, the gregorian calander is the one the world runs on. So its for us players benefit that month 1 is in winter and month 6 is summer. But in universe it doesn't make sense! Not unless you start making really convoluted excusrs[4:00 AM](Sorry southern hemisphere   No representation for you today) This only works for chinese new years because its 2 different calender systems being used at the same time. Which doesn't make sense in fodlan because why would rhea allow a new calander system in given her isolationist policy. Or if its a remnant of an old calender system, there's no way it lasted 1000 years

If jeralt hadn't been killed by kronya, he would have been consumed by the hivemind in SS and you would have been forced to kill him

The devs really went out of their way to give jeritza a unique class huh. He's a dark knight+swords. You can say it. He's just a dark knight. Yet they really went and slapped death knight on him[2:49 PM]Also as a pc his crit rate in underwelming

The s suport cgs are more stylized and its a little jarring

Is it only me than. Who get ways too many support points thant hey know what to do with.

We need a cats remake but its called rats and is dimitri in every role

I want a lysithea hilda a support[5:48 PM]Hilda's the only ine lysithea likes from the start[5:48 PM]They have mutual respect for each other[5:48 PM](Also side note. Wow lysithea is mean to ignatz. Poor baby)

Reminder that its Marianne who title drops vw

Did I miss something? Felix becoming the top advisor for all of fodlan seems like a bad idea. The only thing that comes close to showing he's competant is his ingrid support where it shows he's decent at tactics. Reason number 76 for why I'm worried for fodlan post AM. Along with ... ya know .. the Agarthans still running around.

One part of vw i didn't like was when the merchants went woohoo no regulations and free trade yay!Jump

I'll be honest. 7 year old me would have swindled dimitri out of his good halloween candy

[kalinara]

So, I’ve just babbled endlessly about my hypothetical rewrite for the first half of season 2, so now to talk about the second half.

In general, I’m happier with the second half.  Mostly because my favorite character is back...so to speak, and there’s more of a sense of metaplot movement.  There are some pacing issues: it is awfully abrupt at parts, but I think some of that can be smoothed out by introducing a few key concepts earlier.

Therefore, I’d probably keep Raiders of the Lost Art through Land of the Lost as pretty much the same as is in canon, with a few caveats.

I’ve been thinking about this and I’ve decided that one big change that I would make, that I didn’t mention in my last post, is that I would jettison the whole hallucination Len bit, after all.  And I would have Leonard Snart as a member of the Legion of Doom much earlier.

I feel like this would introduce a bit more suspense in Mick’s arc.  I don’t think he’d be inclined to side with the Legion on his own without provocation, but actually seeing Len there in earlier episodes, like my hypothetical JSA/Spear episode would have a bit more of a bite.

I think I’d revamp Camelot a little and have Malcolm accompany evil!Rip to kill Charles.  I wouldn’t have Malcolm do anything, mind you.  I think it’s important storywise to have Rip be the one to kill him, but it’d give a bit of an opportunity to see how Malcolm feels about the entire evil!Rip situation.  We know from Arrow that he’s not above brainwashing, but he had an interesting little dynamic with Phil.

The other thing is that I would like to play up Sara’s rage a bit more.  Bloodlust was an important arc in season one, and all but forgotten in season two.  Sara has specifically chosen not to kill Damien Darhk at this time, out of duty.  But I’d like to see that wrestled with more.  Especially because of how I’d end the season for her.  (She’d still get the heroic moment, don’t worry.  :-))  At no point would we see her succumb to her bloodlust, but I really think it’s important to re-establish that struggle.

I think I’d keep Moonshot mostly the same too, though I think I’d want to emphasize Ray’s role a bit more.  Ray didn’t get a lot of development at all in season 2, which saddens me.  I think a lot of that might be alleviated though if we actually allow him to react to Damien a bit more.  That moment of rage in Camelot fascinated me.  Damien had imprisoned him for a year, and he just saw him mistreat a (admittedly brainwashed) friend.  I think maybe that’s a thread I’d want to develop through Moonshot and maybe Fellowship.

Here’s where we get to the big change though: Fellowship/Doomworld/Aruba.  I’d keep the original theft of the Spear, but that’s pretty much it.

Doomworld was fun, but in the end, it was a completely pointless jaunt.  The characters didn’t learn anything, because it got rewritten.  We had Mick betray the team twice, and no consequences, except bitter cynicism when the showrunners start touting the idea that Mick finally sees the team as a family.  This is Fellowship Mick, after all.  And it’s hard for me to not see him as one dickhead move by the team away from betraying them all.

But mostly I’m pissed off that the penultimate episode gave us nothing to work with in terms of character growth when a much better premise was squandered.  We know that the spear tempted the crew, but except for Mick and Amaya, we don’t even know what it SAID.

So what I’d do is expand Fellowship into two parts.  No stupid rewritten universe.  I’d go full on temptation arc.  We have eight characters at this point who have tremendous losses and issues, so let’s take two episodes and explore that for each of them.

Also, I’d have the Legion of Doom defeated soundly at the beginning of Fellowship.  Done.  The team’s real adversaries in the last three episodes are themselves.  (Though the Legion members can assist with temptation perhaps from the brig, Hannibal Lecter style.)

I kind of want to keep the idea of Mick betraying the team, but I would avoid that out of character confrontation on the bridge.  I think I’d make it entirely about Leonard.  He does care about the team, but if Len goes back, he dies.  How can he let that happen?

So maybe Mick’s hears the voices of his family, sees Len in the Brig, and just snaps and tries to use the Spear.  Which promptly ensnares each character in a personalized temptation:

Most of the characters would have pretty straight forward temptation quests but we’d actually get to see them.  Amaya’s would include Rex as well as her village.  And we’d see it all, including a vision of Mari at the end when she succeeds in defeating her temptation to manipulate fate.  Ray’s would be heavily symbolic.  Heroism, being able to make a difference grand scale, and culminate in taking the throne of Camelot and ushering in a new age, while bringing justice to his enemies.  (Eobard’s monologues from Moonshot play heavily into this.)  He passes when he realizes that he’s been a hero all along and he can work on ways to increase his positive impact on the world.  (Ideally Kendra would appear because I love Kendra).

I’ve never had a good grasp on Nate, I’ll be honest, but I think it would offer him ultimate knowledge and the power to make things better for himself and his friends.  Save Amaya’s village, bring Henry back.  A bit like Ray’s but a bit narrower scale.  Not selfish, but more self-centered.

Jax’s and Martin’s would be linked, I think.  Jax wants to be recognized as his own man, for his own accomplishments.  I think the Spear wouldn’t offer him as much direct power, but the means to achieve things on his own.  Fixing his knee.  Money for school.  A ship of his own.  Basically start up capital.  Jax of course realizes he doesn’t need any of that.  He already is a great man who can do great things, and his potential is only growing.

Martin is deathly afraid of losing more people that he loves, so his temptation would involve protecting Lily, Jax and Clarissa.  To the point of over controlling everything to keep them safe.  Of course, he’d need to let go.

Rip and Sara will have slightly different set ups though.   Rip’s avoided the temptation of using the Spear before, after all.  And Sara’s already had that lovely “I’d rather have a nightmare that’s real” speech.

So their tests will be less about using the Spear itself (though what’s offered to them should provide insight into their characters), and more about their personal flaws.  Namely, Rip’s issues with reaching out/trusting/being honest with the team, and Sara’s fear of herself.

Rip:  It’d be easy to bring back Miranda and Jonas for this, but I think that matter was put to bed in season one.  Like Sara and Laurel, this is a test that he’s already passed.  He’s also the one who has past experience with the Spear’s temptation.  The Spear's temptation of Rip is more about shame and regret. Specifically, it will offer him the chance to undo all the evils committed by evil Rip: bring back Charles, Galahad.  He can bring back Henry, who lost his family and then died because of Rip’s mission.  He can undo recruiting the team, undo Leonard’s death, and Carter’s.  He can undo falling for Miranda, and putting her in the crosshairs of the Time Masters and Savage.  He can undo himself.

Rip is tempted more than Sara is, his self-loathing is strong, but he’s too much of a Time Master to believe that he can undo his past mistakes.  Instead, he wants to take the spear and basically go, with it, into a black hole or something.  No more spear.  No more Rip.  Complete the journey he should have taken in Legendary.  This is his responsibility and his burden.  (There should be a thread of distrust in Rip’s plot.  He loves his team, but he doesn’t want to burden them and he doesn’t really trust them with the burdens.)

So of course, then, his true test is to let it go and relinquish his burden to someone else, to trust SARA to act.

Sara: I wouldn’t make Sara’s test about bringing back Laurel.  Since, as I said, she’d already resolved that in Compromised.  Sara’s test is different:  The Spear promises her wrath: the ability to destroy her enemies and eradicate anyone who has ever or will ever hurt her, her sister, and her friends.  I’d specifically highlight: her murder at Malcolm’s hands, her sister’s murder by Darhk, and Rip’s violation by Eobard, because that gives an additional temptation: they’re helpless in her brig.  She CAN deal with them now.  She can protect anyone.  “No woman should suffer at the hands of a man” can be a reality now.

But Sara doesn’t respond to this temptation by going for the Spear, but rather fleeing away from it.  Sara is terrified by this temptation and terrified that on some level she wants it.  That’s why, in the end, she’ll be the one to use it.  Because her true test is to trust herself.  When she does use the spear, she doesn’t bring back Laurel. She doesn’t obliterate her enemies as a Goddess of Rage.  She just does what needs to be done.  The Spear neutralizes itself and they’re all freed.

I’m torn when it comes to Mick, since on one hand, I want to give him the chance to undo his mistake in a heroic manner.  But on the other, who can blame him for wanting to save his friend?  But I like this betrayal better than the ones in Fellowship/Doomworld, because I think the team can accept that these sort of circumstances would not likely happen again.

That might require more thought.

In the end though, the team rejects their temptation, Rip trusts Sara, and Sara overcomes her fear of herself to use the spear.

(I admit, that I’d be inclined to throw Sara and Mick a subconscious bone.  Somewhere, hidden in time, a version of Laurel Lance and Leonard Snart wake up.  NOT because Sara couldn’t resist temptation.  She succeeded.  But more as an act of the Spear itself.)  

I suppose I’d still keep Rip leaving and the broken time at the end, but I’d make it less about having rewritten time that once and more about the team’s general carelessness along the way.  The people saved and people killed.  The zombies and stray Time Pirate.  Tokugawa and Turnbull wouldn’t have happened in this version, but I’m sure we can find a few more instances of the team trampling through history to use as a basis.  And then, go on from there.  :-)

[ETA: I admit, I probably would not include Gideon in the mass temptation, but it’s possible that she can be involved in Mick’s side of the plot.  If he does end up  choosing to help the team in the end, he may be unsnared by this whole mess, and she can help him.  That also will require more thought.]