#meta protection and integration acts

[shiho7567]

For a fic I want to write one character will help bring the meta protection acts into existence, since they are not canon

With the help of perplexity AI, I "created" a law that looks like a real law, if anyone wants to use it, like a character references the law/act and maybe a specific paragraph of it, here you go

Meta Protection and Integration Act

An Act to Provide Legal Protections, Rights, and Guidelines for Individuals with Superhuman Abilities ("Metas"), Extraterrestrial Beings, and Other Non-Human Entities Residing Peacefully on Earth

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Section 1: Short Title

This Act may be cited as the "Meta Protection and Integration Act."

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Section 2: Purpose

The purpose of this Act is to:

Protect individuals with superhuman abilities ("metas"), extraterrestrial beings, and other non-human entities from discrimination, harassment, exploitation, and unlawful detention.

Safeguard the privacy and civil rights of metas, extraterrestrials, and peaceful non-human entities.

Establish accountability measures for metas and extraterrestrials in the use of their abilities or technologies.

Promote peaceful coexistence and collaboration between humans, metas, extraterrestrials, and other beings residing on Earth.

Provide access to resources, mentorship, and training for metas and other beings to responsibly develop their abilities.

Prevent government overreach or misuse of metas, extraterrestrials, or non-human entities for unethical purposes.

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Section 3: Definitions

For the purposes of this Act:

- Meta: Any human individual possessing superhuman abilities, whether through genetic mutation, technological enhancement, extraterrestrial origin, magical influence, or other means.

- Extraterrestrial: Any sentient being originating from outside Earth who resides or visits Earth peacefully without intent to invade or harm its inhabitants.

- Non-Human Entity: Any sentient being not classified as human or extraterrestrial (e.g., magical creatures, interdimensional beings) who resides peacefully on Earth.

- Discrimination: The unjust or prejudicial treatment of metas, extraterrestrials, or non-human entities based on their abilities, origin, or status.

- Good Faith Actions: Actions taken by metas, extraterrestrials, or non-human entities during emergencies to protect lives or property without malicious intent or gross negligence.

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Section 4: Anti-Discrimination Protections

1. Employment:

- Employers shall not refuse to hire, terminate, or discriminate against metas, extraterrestrials, or non-human entities based on their abilities, origin, or status unless such abilities pose a direct and unavoidable risk to workplace safety.

- Metas, extraterrestrials, and non-human entities are not required to disclose their powers or status to employers unless they choose to do so voluntarily.

2. Housing:

- Landlords shall not deny housing to metas, extraterrestrials, or non-human entities due to their status or powers.

- Metas, extraterrestrials, and non-human entities are not obligated to disclose their powers or status when applying for housing unless they choose to do so voluntarily.

3. Education:

- Schools shall provide equal access to education for meta children and peaceful extraterrestrial/non-human children without requiring disclosure of powers unless voluntarily provided by the parents/guardians.

4. Public Services:

- Metas, extraterrestrials, and non-human entities shall not be denied access to healthcare, transportation, or other public services due to their status.

- Disclosure of meta status or powers is not required except in cases where it directly impacts service delivery (e.g., medical treatment).

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Section 5: Privacy Protections

Metas, extraterrestrials, and non-human entities have the right to keep their identities confidential unless disclosure is required by law (e.g., court orders).

Unauthorized exposure of a meta’s identity or the origin of an extraterrestrial/non-human entity shall be punishable by fines not exceeding $100,000 or imprisonment not exceeding ten years.

Government agencies and private entities are prohibited from tracking or surveilling metas, extraterrestrials, or non-human entities based solely on their powers or origin without probable cause.

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Section 6: Accountability Framework

Metas, extraterrestrials, and non-human entities who act in good faith during emergencies are granted legal immunity for incidental property damage or injuries caused while protecting lives.

Clear negligence standards shall apply for harm caused by reckless or malicious use of powers/technologies by metas and extraterrestrials/non-human entities.

The government shall establish publicly accessible facilities where metas and peaceful non-humans can safely train their abilities under professional guidance.

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Section 7: Mentorship and Training Programs

1. The Department of Meta Affairs (DMA) shall create specialized training facilities known as "Meta Development Centers" (MDCs) across major cities where metas can:

- Safely test their abilities in controlled environments.

- Access professional trainers experienced in power management.

- Request customized training programs tailored specifically to their powerset (e.g., elemental control training rooms for fire/water users).

2. Metas who wish to disclose their powers publicly may request mentorship through the DMA. Mentors will be assigned based on compatibility with the meta's powerset and personal goals (e.g., experienced heroes like Superman mentoring young flyers).

3. Extraterrestrial beings adapting to Earth's environment may also access MDCs for acclimatization training (e.g., gravity adjustments for beings from low-gravity planets).

4. Mentorship programs will include:

- Ethical guidelines for power usage.

- Conflict resolution techniques.

- Community engagement strategies.

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Section 8: Oversight Against Government Exploitation

No government agency may forcibly detain metas/extraterrestrials/non-humans for experimentation, interrogation, military use, or any other purpose without due process of law (e.g., court orders).

The Department of Meta Affairs (DMA) shall conduct routine inspections of all government facilities—including those operated by intelligence agencies such as ARGUS—to ensure no meta/extraterrestrial/non-human entity is being unlawfully detained against their will.

Any government official found violating this provision shall face penalties including:

- Immediate suspension from office pending investigation.

- Fines up to $500,000 per violation.

- Criminal charges carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment if found guilty of abuse of power.

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Section 9: Emergency Intervention Rights

Metas, extraterrestrials, and peaceful non-human entities may intervene during crises (e.g., alien invasions by hostile forces) without prior government approval but must report their actions within 48 hours for accountability purposes.

Government agencies such as ARGUS shall coordinate with registered metas/extraterrestrials/non-humans during large-scale threats.

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Section 10: Hate Crime Legislation

Acts of violence, intimidation, harassment, or organized hate targeting metas/extraterrestrials/non-humans due to their status shall be classified as hate crimes under federal law.

Enhanced penalties shall apply for extremist groups engaging in violent activities against protected groups under this section.

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Section 11: Rehabilitation and Support

Rehabilitation programs shall be provided for metas/extraterrestrials/non-humans struggling with controlling destructive powers/technologies (e.g., therapy sessions or suppression devices).

Mental health services tailored to the unique challenges faced by metas/extraterrestrials/non-humans shall be made available through government-funded initiatives.

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Section 12: Civil Rights Education

Public awareness campaigns shall be launched to educate citizens about the rights of metas/extraterrestrials/non-humans and reduce societal stigma against these groups.

Schools shall incorporate education about peaceful coexistence with metas/extraterrestrials/non-humans into curriculums where applicable.

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Section 13: Implementation Timeline

This Act shall take effect six months after its passage into law.

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Section 14: Severability Clause

If any provision of this Act is found unconstitutional or invalid by a court of law, the remaining provisions shall remain in effect.

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Section 15: Repeal of Conflicting Laws

Any laws inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed.

[sparrows4bats]

Doctor Damian handles the medical needs of the Justice League and their children.

He is professional, competent, and kind. More importantly, he asks very few questions and is one of the few medical professionals who know how to treat metas and aliens without making them feel less than a person or some mythical saviour.

For the children and young heroes, he speaks to them like any adult. He may lecture them about ignoring his orders, but they have seen him do the same to Batman, so it doesn't feel as condescending. He keeps their secrets unless it's life threatening and doesn't judge.

He even brings in his pets on vaccination days and after big fights so they can act as therapy animals.

The doctor keeps drawers of snacks and food on hand for any who want them, and everyone who leaves his office does so with lollipops and stickers, so matter their age.

Superman especially likes the blue raspberry, and Batman gets little cow shaped stickers stuck to his cape.

Flash has to restock Damians snack drawer every time he or another member of his family empties it in a speedster snack emergency.

He is a very good doctor and the only one who can pull any JL member from duty at any time, no matter their seniority

His work and compassion earn him a fanclub.

Nightwing may be your favourite hero's favourite hero, but the entire Justice League will do just about anything for their doctor.

Damian is brought coffee after long shifts, and every hero team has his takeout orders memorised.

If he is out on the field, no one gets near him while he works on patients.

The kid heroes follow him like puppies, so Damian teaches them first aid and praises their progress in training.

Some even learn how to swordfight with the doctor.

Damian has snuck more than one into Gotham so they can volunteer at his childrens hospital like he did at that age.

Others join his siblings and hang out at his apartment when they need a safe space.

The younger heroes invite him to game nights and come to him for advice.

The older heroes treat him with more respect than Batman half the time.

Even Batman listens to his orders without question. He is the only one who can get away with lecturing the whole Bat clan without consequence.

Some newer members try to date him only to be met with a wall of protective clingy heroes with strong opinions.

One probationary member doesn't take Damians no as an answer and makes the mistake of bragging about how he will 'convince' him one way or another.

He is only alive because Black Canary caught them trying to sacrifice him to Santa Claus.

The guy is banned from League functions until he completely 200 hours of HR training and completes a pych eval.

He was not the only victim of the fan club but the one that taught the cape community a very important lesson.

Doctor Damian Wayne is to be handled extreme caution. He may have taken an oath to do no harm. His gremlins have no such mercy.

Needless to say, when Jonathan Kent realises he is in love with his best friend, he knows he will be in for the hardest fight of his life.

But Damian, who had managed to befriend even the surliest of heroes through the Alfred Pennyworth method of keeping them alive and well fed, was definitely worth it.

Jon asks Damian on a date when he is sure none of the man's baby heroes can hear them. 500 feet in the air.

Jon is bewitched by the way Damian blushes as he says yes.

Jon gets to kiss him after their first dinner, heart soaring as Damian deepens it.

As the weeks go on, Jon carefully starts to integrate himself into the hangouts Damian accidentally hosts at his apartment. He brings pizza and soft drinks.

Eventually, he is invited to game nights, earning respect and admiration through Ma Kents Pies and his gaming skills.

Jon teaches the younger heroes about mastering their powers and shares stories from the supersons, much to Damians embarrassment.

Slowly, the baby hereos comes to him with their problems. Come to him for comfort or just to use him as a not so human shield from a worried Damian.

When Jon slips up at a movie night and kisses Damian in front of the kids, he expects to be tackled or shot.

What he does not expect is for the young heroes to scrunch up their faces and shout ewwwww.

"Wait, You Knew!!"

"That you and Mom are together? Obviously"

"I am not a mother!" Damian shouts indignant.

Jon laughs "You kinda are though."

"You sleep on the couch tonight." He crosses his arms and walks away from them all.

"But Dames, Noooo," Jon whines as he gets up to follow.

"Mom and Dad are fighting!" One of the kids shout with all the other voicing their agreement.

[acekoomboom]

So.

Gale Killed Prim, and his relationship with Katniss ended because of it. Why is Peeta different?

"Why was she able to forgive Peeta but not him? She had dismissed Gale from her life with barely a blink. Snow had twisted Peeta’s gifts and turned him into a weapon against the people he loved. Hadn’t Coin done the same thing to Gale? He loved Prim like his own sister." A quote from oakfarmer on ao3 that I actually have SO many thoughts on, though I can't remember which of their fanfics this is from. Darn me for not labelling my notes well enough.

What it boils down to, for me I think, is that the capitol has to create things to manipulate Peeta but D13 used what was already there for Gale. Gale already had a mean arrogant streak and wasn't good at taking criticism or rejection. He already had a cold callousness about killing and death. He was already a bit radicalized, and Coin did twist that into something worse. No, Gale didn't kill Prim, Coin did. BUT Gale did invent the weapon + tactic used by his ally and superior to kill her. Katniss told him it was wrong, this trap he'd made, and he condescended to her about it, how this is just how war works. Acted like she was just naive about it. His own ignorance of the reality of life and death and his complete disregard for human life on the other side of the war is what got Prim killed.

Peeta, on the other hand, is nothing like his highjacked self. They didn't take pieces of his personality, personal flaws, etc. and twist them into their perfect soldier. The capitol had to use false memories, had to inflate his insecurities, had to use chemicals and torture and mutated venom. They didn't make Peeta aggressive through hatred or vengeance, they made him aggressive through bodily fear. The venom and his body's extreme adrenaline, the fight or flight response to that. He didn't attack Katniss bc he thought he was better than her or bc she deserved it, he attacked her because the very sight of her caused his body to go into overdrive of adrenaline to protect himself from her. This is a Peeta that *hates* Katniss, and he wants to kill her, but her specifically. He only reacts negatively towards other people (other than normal trauma-induced stuff) when she is involved somehow, like him flipping out on Delly while Katniss watched behind the glass.

These characters are not equivalent. And from a meta perspective, they're not supposed to be. Katniss ends up picking Peeta. Yes, the character obviously would have picked him, but also Katniss as a narrative figure picks him. She picks what he represents. Integrity in war. That boy on the rooftop that said he was willing to kill in self defense and to do what he needed to do but wanted to stay himself. Wanted to stay a human being even in that violence. Wanted to come out the other side of it still intact. Wanted the flowers to grow again after the harsh winter; a dandelion in the spring. Not the cycle of destruction, of forever punishing those that have wronged you, that both Gale and a capitol-kids hunger game would represent.

Which brings my thoughts also to the male loneliness epidemic. (We won't even get started on the fact that when women have problems it's something they need to just get over and take a joke, but when men have problems it's an epidemic) That is Gale. Yes, he has absolutely valid reasons behind his emotions. But he then takes those emotions and becomes radicalized, become something lesser. And that is so indicative of our current political climate in a lot of ways. Men have been hurt by the patriarchy also, they have been raised and socialized and desensitized and to not forming genuine emotional connections with the men around them or the women there in a relationships with. And I do separate those specifically, because men are also taught to not see women as people, so to a lot of men you are either a. someone they are related to b. someone they are romantically interested in or c. someone they are sexually interested in. And that is all a woman can be to them, not a friend.

So every which way they turn men are not taught the skills it takes to not be lonely. Community and having a support system and a network of people doesn't just happen by accident. That is something that you build, and cultivate, and prune, and intentionally add to. Men are lonely because they want someone else to do the work for them. But the onus is on them and the system that made them that way.

And that man is the same as Gale. Someone who is rightfully hurt and wounded by the society they live in but then takes those real feelings and experiences and lets it justify all of the awfulness that follows.

Gale and Peeta are not equivalent. In dumbed down terms, Gale became bad because of what was already in him and then was fine to stay that way. Peeta became bad because of something someone else put in him, and then he did the work to not stay that way.

Oakfarmer again, to bring my rambling back to its original point: "Snow turned Peeta into a weapon, Coin turned Gale into a weapon. Both had been unleashed to destroy Katniss. They were the same, but they weren’t the same at all. The Capitol pumped venom into Peeta to create a hateful mutt. Coin only needed to provide an outlet for the hateful venom already circulating Gale’s veins. Hate and rage, he had never tried to suppress. Hate and rage, Peeta painstakingly clawed his way out of to recover his identity."

[aspoonofsugar]

Hi! Do you think Alastor and Lucifer are foils?

Hi!

Yes, of course they are!

Alastor and Lucifer's foiling starts in Dad Beats Dad (obviously), where they fight over Charlie's affection. They might seem as opposites throughout the episode, but they are actually the same, as they both try to impress Charlie with their powers:

[ALASTOR:] They say, when you're looking for assistance It's smart to pick the path of least resistance [LUCIFER:] Others say, that in your needy hour There's no substitute for pure angelic power!

Still, Charlie doesn't care and all she wants is for her parental figures to support her:

Charlie: How come he can have faith in me, but my own father can't?

In short, Alastor and Lucifer find pride in their abilities, but need to let go of it, in order to show their love for Charlie. By the end of the episode, they both accomplish this. However, they succeed in slightly different ways, that fit their shared motif of shadow and light. In particular:

Alastor is linked to shadows, as his abilities let him manipulate shadows

Lucifer is linked to light, as his name means morningstar and his powers manifest in light-beams

As a result:

Alastor's development happens in the shadows, whereas Lucifer's in the light - This is true also on a meta-level, as Alastor's arc is the secondary plot-line of the episode, whereas Lucifer's is the main one

Alastor acts as Lucifer's jungian shadow and becomes a catalyst for him to change. Similarly, Alastor himself is challenged to grow by his own jungian shadow, aka Husk

What is the jungian shadow? It is the repressed part of a person. In stories, a character might meet another one, who embodies this hidden part of the self. By integrating with the shadow, the character evolves. In other words, Alastor represents a repressed part of Lucifer and Husk a repressed part of Alastor. Let's see how it all plays out.

ALASTOR, HUSK AND MIMZY

Alastor and Mimzy's bond is unhealthy, as they both enable negative sides of the other. On the one hand Alastor keeps covering for Mimzy, no matter what she does. On the other hand Mimzy feeds Alastor's ego by praising his power and abilities.

So, Mimzy never faces the consequences of her actions:

Mimzy: Thanks for helpin' lil' old me out of a though spot. You're always such a pal.

And Alastor feels respected and appreciated:

Alastor: It's nothing I can't handle. Don't worry Husker. Who in their right mind would cross me?

However, the reality is that Mimzy is using Alastor and Husk points this out:

Husk: You and I both know Mimzy only shows up, when she needs something. That bitch is trouble and who knows what kinda demon she fucked with to come running to you this time?

Not only that, but he openly calls Alastor out on his pride:

Husk: Big talk for someone, who's also on a leash.

Which results in Alastor reacting in anger:

That said, Husk is proven right. It turns out Mimzy has willingly brought chaos to the hotel, so that Alastor could solve things for her. Because of this, Alastor finally cuts ties with her:

Alastor: You deliberately brought danger to this place just to have me clean up your mess. I can't have that here.

This choice is important and it shows how the people around him are slowly impacting Alastor. On the one hand the Radio Demon listens to one of his subjects' advice. On the other hand he acts to protect the hotel. As a matter of fact the moment Alastor steps up as the Host of the Hotel isn't when he sings to Charlie in Hell's Greatest Dad nor when he transforms into a giant and fights. It is when he sends Mimzy away and sacrifices a little bit of his pride to do so. interestingly, this happens as nobody is looking at him, so he isn't really trying to impress nor to trick the others. He acts selflessly in the shadows.

LUCIFER, ALASTOR AND CHARLIE

Lucifer and Charlie's bond is strained:

Charlie: We just have never been close. After he and mom split, he never really wanted to see me. He calls... sometimes, but only if he's bored or like, needs me to do something.

At the root of this conflict there is Lucifer's inability to show his daughter how much he cares. He struggles to express his feelings and hides them behind a prideful persona:

Charlie: I told you when you called me five months ago. Or did you not listen? Lucifer: No, no, no, no. Just, you know, I just forgot. I've just been really busy, ya know with um... important things.

Instead of openly admitting his depression and sadness he prefers to look cold and uninterested. Even dismissive and condescending, like when he arrives at the Hazbin Hotel:

Lucifer: Wow, this place sure looks, uh... Uh-uh. Yeah. Uh-uh. It's got a lot of character!

Lucifer is initially too focused on what he cares about - meeting his daughter - rather than on what Charlie wants - for him to help her with the hotel. He happily hugs Charlie and then immediately moves on to pet Keekee, Razzle and Dazzle, who are his own creations. Only later he considers the welcome Charlie and the others have prepared for him. Even then, he still misses the point and tries to buy Charlie's love by showing off his magical powers:

Haha, looks like you could use some help From the big boss of Hell himself

Except that what Charlie wants from him aren't champaigne fountains or caviar mountains, but an appointment with Heaven, which he negates her. Not only that, but instead of being honest about his fears, he deflects everything on Charlie herself, by dismissing her plan:

Lucifer: Alright, listen, I love that you want to see the best in people, but these sinners... You know, they're just the worst. I, I don't know how much you can realistically expect from them in Heaven.

Luckily, the Radio Demon is closeby, as he forces Lucifer to show his true self.

On the one hand Alastor brings out Lucifer's insecurity and fears:

I'm truly honored that we've built such a bond You're like the child that I wish that I had I care for you, just like a daughter I spawned It's a little funny, you could almost call me dad

He juxtaposes moments of everyday life and affirmations of affection to Lucifer's materialistic and fancy promises. In this way Alastor highlights the faults of Lucifer, as a father. He points out that Lucifer is never there for Charlie.

On the other hand Alastor embodies the kind of sinner Lucifer despises:

Lucifer: Ya see? What I tell ya? Charlie, sinners are violent psychopaths, hell bent on causing as much pain and destruction as they can. There's really no point in trying.

And yet, such a violent psychopath is more willing to help Charlie than Lucifer himself:

Charlie: Dad, stop! He's defending this hotel. It may be a bit more sadistic than I'd hoped. But he's doing it for me!

This realization leads to a confrontation between father and daughter and to an admission on Lucifer's part:

Lucifer: I just don't want you to be crushed by them like... like I was.

The problem isn't Charlie, but Lucifer himself. It is not that Charlie's dream is silly, but that Lucifer's one has been destroyed. This revelation is important because Lucifer's mask comes off and he shows Charlie his weakest and most broken self. He swallows his pride and has Charlie see who her father really his. In all his mistakes and his hurt. And to his surprise Charlie accepts him. Not only that, but she admires him:

So in the end, it's the view I had of you That showed me dreams can be worth fighting for

Symbolically the song More than Anything starts with Lucifer and Charlie in the shadows:

They are repressing a lot and have no idea who the other is. Still, as the song goes on, they get to understand each other:

All that I'm hopin', now that my eyes are open Is that we can start again, not be pulled apart again 'Cause in the end, you are part of who I am

And they end the song surrounded by light:

What is initially in the shadow comes to light in three different ways:

Lucifer shows Charlie his true self

Lucifer sees Charlie for who she is

Lucifer exhibits his weakness in front of the whole Hazbin Hotel. He lets the sinners he dislikes so much witness the mess that he is.

His fragility is in full display. It is in the light for everyone to see.

PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS! ITTY BITTY LIVING SPACE!

Another similarity Alastor and Lucifer share is that they are two powerful beings that give much importance to free will:

Alastor: You should know better than anyone what a soul can accomplish when they take charge of their own fate.

Charlie: Together, they wished to share the magic of free will with humanity.

And yet, they are both trapped:

Alastor: I'm hungry for freedom like never before The constraints of my deal surely have a backdoor Once I figure out how to unclip my wings Guess who will be pulling all the strings?

Charlie: As punishment for their reckless act, Heaven cast Lucifer and his love into the dark pit he had created, never allowing him to see the good that came from humanity, only the cruel and the wicked.

On the one hand Alastor controls many souls, but his own is owned by someone else. On the other hand Lucifer is the strongest being in all of Hell, but he is regarded as a disgrace by other angels.

Moreover, they both project their unhappiness on others. Specifically, Lucifer blames sinners like Alastor:

Lucifer: Our "people", Charlie, are awful! They got gifted free will and look what they did with it! Everything's terrible!

While Alastor lashes out on his prisoners, like Husk:

Alastor: If you ever say that again, I will tear your soul apart and broadcast your screams for every other disrespectful wretch who dares to question me.

Still, the point is that Lucifer is exactly like Alastor. He is a gifted creature, who messed up royally and cursed humanity. Alastor instead is exactly like Husk, a powerful overlord, who still finds himself chained. Lucifer is the most hated being in all of creation and Alastor is on a leash. They are both lonely and desperate, but too proud to admit it. In other words, they are both losers:

Husk: There was a time I thought no one could relate To the gruesome ways in which I'm damaged But lettin' walls down, it can sometimes set you straight! We're all livin' in the same shit-sandwich

Just like everyone in Hell. And yet, this is not bad per se. Even if you hit rock bottom, you can still climb back up, as long as you let go of self-importance and start to earnestly empathize with others. As a matter of fact it is only through community and bonds that a person can be redeemed and heal:

Out for love Love Think of who you care about Protect them and be out For love Love You're gonna fight without gloves Long as you're out for love

This is what Alastor and Lucifer are learning through Charlie.

TWO DADS, ONE DAUGHTER

Season 1 sets up Alastor and Lucifer as two mentor figures to Charlie. They share this role in a way, which makes them almost perfect mirrors. Some examples:

Lucifer gives Charlie the hotel building and Alastor calls it Hazbin Hotel

Alastor helps repair the Hotel in the beginning, while Lucifer assists Charlie in building it anew by the end

Lucifer guides Charlie to Heaven, as he sets up her meeting with Sera and Emily. Alastor instead guides Charlie in Hell as he introduces her to Rosie and helps her inspire the cannibals

Both Alastor and Lucifer believe in Charlie, when she is at her lowest. Alastor does so before the final battle, whereas Lucifer after the fight

Alastor and Lucifer fight Adam (another foil of theirs) in the final episode. Moreover, both belittle his abilities and highlight how he is strong, but unskilled:

Alastor: You lack discipline, control and worst, you are sloppy!

Lucifer: So, this is what you've been up to since Eden? Gotta say, you really let yourself go buddy.

In particular, Alastor is the one supposed to take Adam down, but fails and Lucifer steps in by the end. This is just like in the beginning Lucifer is supposed to support and help Charlie with her project. Still, he is absent and Alastor fills the spot.

In other words, Alastor and Lucifer are unwillingly complementary and so far one has appeared when the other has been incapacitated. We'll see if this pattern continues. As for now, they are clearly framed as key to Charlie's development, so it is possible they will come to embody different sides of her:

Alastor represents the sinners Charlie wants to reach and all their pain and complexity. He is also linked to fear and the unknown. He is the ally she finds by herself. He is the found family Charlie chooses.

Lucifer represents the angels Charlie wants to communicate with. He is also linked to dreams and ideals. He is the legacy she inherits. He is the biological family Charlie wants to re-connect with.

In short, they are both parts of who Charlie is and she needs them to grow into herself. Just like they need her to mature and find redemption and happiness.

[bird-inacage]

The Heart Killers EP4: Kantbison as "Partners in Crime"

At this point in the story, Kant and Bison are effectively standing on opposite sides. Their whole side quest to punish Babe's bullies and teacher felt like foreshadowing - an example of how well these two can work together when they are on the same team. More importantly, how much their values align when in pursuit of the same objective.

A strict moral compass underlies Bison and Fadel's work. They only target 'the bad guys' - those who deserve what's coming to them. So it's deeply ingrained in Bison's psyche to fight for injustice. When he notices Babe's bruises, his brain immediately deduces foul play and is compelled to help Kant find the perpetrator, regardless of his own growing suspicions around Kant's integrity.

Kant doesn't mean to act with ill intent but is willing to do unethical things where necessary in order to achieve a goal. Spiking Bison's drink was a particularly dicey move. We know this is all in aid of protecting his brother but Bison doesn't. So when Kant declares, "I only cared about my brother at first, but my boyfriend's right. If I let you go, you're only going to do it to other children" it demonstrates that firstly, Kant supports the stance of doing the just thing, and secondly that he agrees with following Bison's example because they align in their values.

To Bison, seeing first-hand that they respect the same moral code, one that Kant is willing to put into action, earns his respect. "I might not trust you 100% but i have to admit... What you did today totally rocks." A man who is willing to expose a paedophile and save other potential victims, can't be all that bad can he? A man who has a conscience, who has deemed his own history of stealing cars as something he's not proud of, is not one of the 'bad guys' surely?

Now, why is this important? Well, once they have exposed their respective positions, acknowledging that they can actually work alongside each other will enable them to overcome this fact. They've established that precedence here. We're getting a glimpse into what could come after the fallout.

You can keep tabs on bird-inacage’s BL meta directory for my other long-form posts around The Heart Killers, which I’ll be updating in real time as the show airs.

[spenglernot]

STORIES TELLING: ED TEACH’S JOURNEY FROM ARMOR TO AUTHENTICITY

One of the joys of watching season 2 of Our Flag Means Death is discovering the visual parallels with season 1 that add so much meaning and richness to the story. With affecting, extraordinary economy of visual storytelling, we can see the progression of Ed’s journey from choosing armor in season 1, episode 10 – Wherever You Go, There You Are, to choosing authenticity in season 2, episode 7 – Man on Fire.

[I have to point out the gorgeous cinematography here. Panning down on the left, panning up on the right. The clear resolve of S2 E7 Ed turning to ascend to the deck. I also love the timing of both shots. S2 E7 Ed is turning toward the red silk that S1 E10 Ed will release.]

S1 E10 Ed considers the red silk. The symbol of his tenderness, softness, and vulnerability.

S2 E7 Ed hoists his leathers and his firearm - his literal and symbolic armor and protection - to the edge of the deck.

S1 E10 Ed releases his tenderness, softness, and vulnerability to the sea.

S2 E7 Ed releases his armor and protection to the sea.

S1 E10 Ed throws the person who understands what he’s going through and is in a position to help him work through it in a healthy way, into the sea.

S2 E7 Ed makes breakfast-in-bed for the person with whom he shares emotional and physical intimacy. An act of care and service that strengthens his bond with Stede.

Show, don't tell doesn't seem adequate to describe these two sequences. They are masterful and say so, so much.

The double-edged sword of self-awareness

You’ve really got to give it to Ed. He’s making huge progress. Making a better choice for himself. Moving forward.

Change can be terrifying. For Ed to release that which protected him for decades is, well… it’s courageous and demonstrates hard-won self-awareness and integrity.

Of course, choosing to be authentic to yourself doesn’t translate into automatic relationship building. Understanding and communicating with other people, particularly the person you are in love with, is a related but different skill set. It is also true that, once you know that you can’t perform a persona to please other people, no matter how much you love them, you risk losing them.

Ed in the second frame, above, kills me. He knows that piracy might be the wedge that drives Stede and him apart. He is trying to share how he feels. But Stede is so enamored with finally being a successful pirate (and glowing from the best (and only) love-sex of his life) that he can't hear Ed.

I love that OFMD takes no shortcuts in matters of the heart. If these lads are going to be together for reals, they are going to have to work for it, and there is still much work to be done.

I'm looking forward to likely being simultaneously emotionally fulfilled and mentally devastated by the season 2 finale in about 30 hours.

This meta was written before OFMD season 2 has fully aired. No idea what’s going to happen in the finale (and I’ve generally fled social media to avoid spoilers). I’ll be back, looking at everyone’s fascinating posts after episode 8 airs.

[strong-with-the-sarcasm]

Part 6- from the top of my lungs

Dp x DC AU: Regent!Jazz & Vigilante!Jazz

"I step out outside and I take a deep breath and I get real high and I scream from the top of my lungs, 'What's going on?!'" - What's Up? by 4 Non Blondes

Masterlist Part 5

It was probably hypocritical of Danny to lecture Jazz about taking up a vigilante role around their new haunt when he himself couldn’t resist the instinctual urge to give the local breed of stupidity a beatdown. 

If anything, it was a good way to get back into shape.

(Danny’s not fooling anyone, he’s a twink.) (A ghouly goopy ghostly one, but still a twink.)

Danny argued that he had more experience with vigilantism than Jazz, when she’d taken up a support role even after training. Sure, her aim has gotten so much better with practice, but Jazz was only a liminal. 

(A highly ecto-contaminted liminal with a scary sword that can cut through reality to create portals that currently does his kingly paperwork for him.)

At least he could comfort himself with the knowledge that Jazz was trained by the frightening and awe-inspring Pandora of the Infinite Realms Acropolis, bearing her own gifted Bracelets of Submission as a symbol of respect from one woman to another. 

(Jazz and Pandora sparring made the Boy King eternally grateful to be on the good side of both women.) 

(Scary was an understatement.) 

(No wonder Jazz and Sam got along so well.)

(Batman and Wonder Woman were supposedly friends, being founders of the Justice League and all.)

Gotham was all kinds of batshit crazy when the sun went down.

(pun recognized and intended.)

A dumb statement for any Gothamite, but newcomers to the city never really got it until the were robbed at gunpoint within five minutes of sunset. 

That wasn’t really a concern for Danny, he’s gotten into the habit of phasing his important items into his body for safe keeping, but his increased need to do something made his late night walks morph into something that vaguely resembled his Witching Hours patrols back in Amity. Midnight to three am, strictly rooftops without too much barrier crossing into Hood’s territory were now fully integrated into the Halfa’s life- the purring of his core when he protected someone was healing something inside him he hadn’t realized was sick. 

(Lies.)

Without the Red Hood to manage his Haunt, the Boy King and Regent had brute forced their way passed the boundary line to help the once-Revenant’s people until the one in question could do it himself. The habitants of Crime Alley were hesistant at first to accept more vigilantes into their midst, especially one that was obviously a meta with a concerning range of physical abilites, but with the Regent’s quiet strength and Phantom’s quirky attitude they were begrudgingly allowed to continue. 

(If Phantom also used his ice manipulation to help stablilize dilapidated buildings being used as shelter for the upcoming winter, then all the better.) 

The Regent had been caught in the Bat’s territory more recently, much to Danny’s worry. Jazz could no doubt break the furry over her knee, Danny had seen her do it to Skulker of all people, but drawing the ire of the big bat was the opposite of ideal. Batman’s Stabby Robin might even try to challenge Jazz for her Ecto-sword, which was both hilarious to imagine and panic-inducing, because stabby Robin was stabby. 

After the early morning chat with the Signal, Danny had come to a decision regarding the leather clad crime lord furry and his flock of birdies- step up as the Boy King and request Batman’s help in riding the Realms of the Anti-Ecto Acts. Jazz already did so much as his Regent, he could at least get the ball rolling on this. 

In order to begin, he had a sad trenchcoat man to call. 

“Bloody Hell, Phantom!” 

The Phantom, in his original jumpsuit rather than the admittedly awesome Star King regalia, grinned with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Closer to a snarl, but whatever. 

“Sad trenchcoat man! Just the guy I wanted to see.” 

Danny knew the guy’s name, hard not to when he’d seen the three floor-to-ceiling filing cabinets in Jazz’s office dedicated to the Laughing Magician alone, but the halfa was nothing if not dedicated to the bit. 

When he’d sensed Constantine’s magic at work, he’d hijacked the summoning circle for his own use- suck it, a king trumps whatever entity Constantine was trying to get and Danny was less likely to want his soul in return for a favor. 

(Did it really count when he’d already gifted the glued together pieces of the guy’s soul to Jazz as a paperweight?) 

“Phantom, lad, why’re you here?”

The Ghost boy huffed a laugh, the building annoyance in the air just from his presence was fueling his life force. 

“What, can’t say hi to a friend now? After all the work I did to stop that demon from coming instead too.” 

(Lies.) (The summoning had been for an observant, but those bastard eyebags can eat a dick for all he cared.)

“Demon?” Constantine’s voice cracked with surprise, gaze flickering over the runes he’d lazily copied from a book. 

“Yep.” 

“Constantine.” A growl interrupted whatever comeback the Magician could have conjured, with the shadows of the darkened room parting to allow the Dark Knight himself to step through. “There is no time.” 

“Aye, Batsy.” The brit turned back to Phantom, an edge of desperation now coloring the annoyance the ghost had brought. “Phantom, I need a favor.” 

Phantom blinked. 

“Uh, sure dude?” 

“Constantine.” Batman interrupted again, but the sad trenchcoat man waved him off.

“Your people been wreckin’ government buildings and the bloody USA is throwing a fit.” 

Government buildings? Phantom’s people? The GIW? 

Could his luck really be in his favor this time? After all, here was Batman, and the sad trenchcoat man who could verify that Phantom was a spirit of protection and not one of vengeance. 

(He left that to the Regent.)

“If that’s the case, then there is nothing I can do.” 

(He would be right there with his people. What’s a few more buildings destroyed to free the innocent ghosts trapped within?) 

“Whot?” 

Phantom crossed his arms, allowing gravity to bring him to the floor where he stood at his full height. Unintimidating was one word for it, but he couldn’t really care less at the moment. 

“The GIW have committed acts of War against the Infinite Realms, Constantine. It’s only thanks to the Regent and Future King that this Living Realm hasn’t been claimed by the Unquiet Dead.” 

It was true. Jazz was the best Regent Danny could’ve ever gotten. She was liminal enough to understand that the Denziens of the Realms were not inherently malicious, but human enough to realize that she too would be afraid of the ghosts if she hadn’t been raised around the dead and (un)dying.

It was only thanks to that fine line she walked that Phantom wasn’t to join the Unquiet Dead and Neverborn as they descended onto the Living with the fury of thousand suns. 

Danny, while a half-ghost, had died unlike his big sister. Sure he was brought back by Ectoplasm, but he had only returned halfway and that part of him was chomping at the bit to avenge those who were ended that he couldn’t protect. 

“Here.” Phantom shallowly intoned as he pulled a flash drive from his chest, thrown to the big bat. “That contains all collected information the Regent was comfortable sharing with the Living. Share it with your league and get the Acts demolished, Batman.” 

Phantom sighed heavily, shoulders drooping as he finished in a tired voice, “Please. I don’t want to fight. Please don’t make me go to war.” 

Was he trying to tug on the Bat’s heartstrings? Yes. Was he being honest in not wanting to got to war? Also yes. 

“War?” 

“Yeah, all denziens of the Realms would have to fight. We’re all effected by the Acts, even if we don’t want to hurt anyone we’d have to…for our right to exist.” Phantom replied lowly. “I’m a spirit of protection, I don’t want to hurt the innocent.” 

(It was a truth he had come to terms with, after his sister killed their parents.)

(He died wanting to be loved and protected by the adults who claimed to be his parents, but it had been Jazz that raised him.) 

(She avenged him twice over.)

(She gave him a grave.)

A/N: No Hardcover/Anger Management ship content this time, just lore for this world I'm building.

And look, Sad trenchcoat man!

Song quotes are from the same songs on my Jazz/Jason playlist. Typically the song that started playing when I get ready to post this.

[definitely-not-a-wasp]

The Maximum Ride Movie did Fang Dirty

That's right, watching the Maximum Ride movie has given me MORE meta topics!

Before I watched the Maximum Ride movie, I knew multiple things about it, including the cgi wings and the sheet rooms, but I also heard a lot about Fang. Fang is blond. He has a buzzcut. His intro scene involves being shirtless and flirting with Max. And now that I've watched it, I think I know exactly why I learned so much about Fang in contrast to anyone else, and it's for one reason:

Out of all of the characters in the flock, I think Fang got done worst.

First off, we know from the book that feelings of romance between Fang and Max don't start until the NYC arc, and they don't really exist as an item until book 3, if that. I usually try not to judge a movie too harshly based on book accuracy, because some things work in one piece of media better than the other, but there is no reason to push Fax forward this much. And, more importantly, in the book Fang wasn't pursuing Max during their will-they-won't-they angle. MAX was the person who fell in love first, and the one who pursued Fang.

This, I think, is integral to both of their characters. It puts Max in the more active position of the relationship, pursuing something she wants, rather than the woman being passively chosen or, even worse, harassed until she gives in. I might not like Fax, but for someone who is constantly trying to assert autonomy against people who want to use her for their own means, I can understand that this is an important display of her values and personality. And for Fang, it allows them to exist as a person outside of their role of the love interest. Their personality in TAE is quiet, unemotive, and a little awkward, who doesn't persue Max, or even show much interest her until book 3. And they have a relationship with the rest of the flock. They look after Nudge and try to listen to her while reeling in her impulse, they make wisecracks with Iggy, they're protective of Angel and Gazzy.

And in the movie, we get none of that.

The FIRST thing Fang does in the movie is flirt with Max. That's our introduction to him. He calls Fang "mom" while doing so, which is something he does in-book specifically to check her jealousy and point out that she can't be romantic towards him and also act like his parent. He doesn't substantially interact with anyone throughout the movie except for Max, and does so in a protective to the point of stifling way, which is something he doesn't do, EVER, in the book. He exists only to be her love interest, and a suave (derogatory) and macho one at that.

Furthermore, he gets a lot of the explanation dialogue: he tells the flock+audience how Ari got his scar and he talks to Ella while Max is injured. Both of these talks are long-winded, rather than the way that Fang talks in TAE— short, only covers what's necessary, prone to fractured sentences. This doesn't seem too bad compared to the botching of the romance, but still removes a central part of their character by switching their role in the flock from a passive force who only checks Max's power when it feels really necessary, to a much more assertive figure who has more control over the narrative than they would otherwise, and who's much more comfortable pushing back against Max for more minor decisions.

These are huge disservices to his character, and at this point, I wouldn't even call him Fang so much as Jay Martin's and the screenplay writers' OC.

[aisling-writes]

Why the real villain of Chhota Bheem was King Indravarma: A meta-analysis of who he really was.

Alternative Title: An episode where I go nuts and have zero backing behind my essay.

(A note to the readers: This essay does not take into account the existence of the Mighty Little Bheem show. The matter at discussion is purely based on the Chhota Bheem show only.)

Most Indian Children born in the late 2000s can easily recognize the musical ensemble of the theme song of Pogo’s crowned jewel: Chhota Bheem. Eyes were glued to the television and clock ticks were memorised for when the show would start because Chhota Bheem to them was not just an animated show; it was an expression, a memory, a piece of childhood, if you will.

And yet, while watching the show through an “adult” lens, Chhota Bheem leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

Why?

The answer, I personally believe, is of two aspects. One would be the obvious irritation in how King Indravarma ruled the land, and the other is about how Chhota Bheem was a Mary-Sue and how the show perhaps needed to be styled around Kalia, his imperfections and his character arc. (But that’s for another time.)

Let’s focus on the topic at hand: King Indravarma. He was, bluntly put, a stupid King.

Imagine a King as such in the real world. A King who had no strong Military, who constantly relied on a 10-year-old for any trivial matter whether it was an external threat to the kingdom instead of sending out an army, did not invest in new technology for the betterment of his people and used it for personal gain. The list can go on and on.

The argument presented here is that King Indravarma as a villain is not a bad evil person but rather how his aloofness was the one reason his kingdom suffered. Being a “villain” does not always necessitate violence and crude language; all it requires is to bring harm to others. And King Indravarma, indirectly, does that.

----------------

“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer ----------------

On the other hand, we can theorize that King Indravarma was merely “acting” to be stupid and always had ulterior motives behind his every move. This argument is also proven along the way when I dissect his character in this essay.

In fact, this essay reaches a conclusion that King Indravarma was a strategist who was…. stupid. A perfect balance. (But not for Dholakpur.)

--

   I.Outsmarting a kid; getting outsmarted by the world.

When scouring through the deep dark pages of the internet, one question plagued me: How did Chhota Bheem get his powers?

Yes, it’s common knowledge that eating a Laddoo gives him super-human strength but how does he get such a power in the first place? Alas, that’s not an answer that the cartoon canon can answer but it is integral to the next question that follows: How did King Indravarma realize Chhota Bheem had such powers? Maybe he never found out because had he, he definitely would’ve chosen to make all his citizens the perfect citizens. (A strategist, remember?)

It’s natural for any parent to desire the safe protection of their child from the dangers of the world. As seen in Spider-Man, Aunt May chooses to protect the identity of Peter as his alter-ego and would go to any extent for his safe keeping. But why didn’t Bheem’s mother do the same? Why didn’t she hide the powers of Bheem?

Or maybe, she did.

She did try to hide it but somehow it reached the ears of King Indravarma. And King Indravarma strategicallydecided to use it to his advantage.

And I say strategic because, by all rights, Bheem deserved official employment. He worked as a protector of the kingdom more than the soldiers ever did.  He could’ve been a member of the royal guards, or a leader of it too. But instead, the king always played along with the HA-HA Bheem- is- just- a- loyal- citizen- who -helps- sometimes card and gave him no remuneration.

This could’ve had two motives: An economic perspective where he didn’t have to pay Bheem for his services and/or a jealous King perspective where he wanted to avoid a 1789 France Bastille-Storming situation. Empowering Bheem and giving him more administrative power on top of the physical power he already had would make him a dangerous weapon. He was already charismatic and loved by the villagers; it would only be a matter of time until they felt that Bheem would be a better leader than the King himself.

The king further added on to this plan by employing some of the most useless soldiers in his army ever therefore making it seem that the King did try to save his kingdom, but it was to no avail. And at some point, he stopped using the soldiers (probably dismissed them, thus saving even more money for his personal gain) and purely relied on Bheem, a kid who he didn’t even have to pay! (And Bheem, being a “kid” did not have the sense of asking for remuneration as well.)[1]

Smart, isn’t he? (King Indravarma, I mean.)

But also, stupid.

By following this method, he made sure that the one key asset that Dholakpur had was revealed to the entire world. He placed the country in danger from threats all the time! (And I truly mean one asset because by its looks Dholakpur had nothing else to offer. The crops often struggled due to pests, the landscape was unappealing to the eyes, it had no tourist’s income etc.) It’s truly surprising how Dholakpur was not already overtaken by some other colonizer or king because all they had to worry about was defeating one kid. Just one kid. (Yes, he’s strong and what not, but Bheem’s got to have some limit?)

-

      II. Economic drain for… what exactly?

----------------

“Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power.” Brutus in Julius Caesar (2.1.19-20) ----------------

In one episode of Chhota Bheem, King Indravarma had no qualms or shame in announcing that the kingdom had no new bicycles for a bicycle race when the neighbouring kingdom had brand new, shiny bicycles and therefore, Bheem and his friends had to manage with the old bicycles. Either the kingdom was not financially stable to accommodate the purchase of such bicycles, or the king lied that the kingdom had no money.

Let’s explore both the views, shall we?

The kingdom being too “broke” to purchase bicycles implies how financially unsecure it is! Perhaps the kingdom was knee-deep in debts or just refused to spend whatever reserves it had on importing foreign goods. Maybe the kingdom had an import substitution policy (similar to what the post-British India followed) but was not able to implement it seeing how the kingdom had an agrarian economy.

Which brings us to the question: How is an economy expected to grow without any investment in additional technology?

The only source of revenue that was noticed were from the fairs conducted, the crops reaped and Tun-Tun Mossi’s Laddoo sale. And as anyone with two eyes can note: It is not enough. The policies followed by King Indravarma were dangerous to Dholakpur in the short-run and long-run. Inflation was just a door’s knock away for the citizens of Dholakpur! People would’ve been forced to lead even more horrendous lives and forced to spend a bucketful of cash but a pocketful of things! (Again, how the kingdom survived is such a mystery.)

On the other hand, maybe the King just wanted to hold all the gold reserves to himself and did not wish to splurge on any investment in technology for the kingdom. Which again proves how he is a stupid strategist because if he wanted more money, the country needs development. More jobs, more employment brings about higher level of income, GDP and better lifestyle. How are the people supposed to pay taxes to the King if he doesn’t provide them enough opportunity to make money for paying the taxes? It would’ve been more understandable if he invested in their advancement first and then participated in red-tapism and what not.

(Idiot.)

The King, in my opinion, is begging for a Marie Antoinette situation by running around in gold chains and necklaces while his people slog and suffer.

-

     III.   Diplomacy at its finest. Not.

----------------

To say nothing, especially when speaking, is half the art of diplomacy. -Will Durant

----------------

The third, and final facet of why King Indravarma was the real villain is perhaps the shortest and the simplest. [2]

There’s no doubt why Dholakpur was often plagued with terrorists and external threats and challenges from other kingdoms than the neighbouring countries: King Indravarma’s tongue.

Instead of rallying allies and forming alliances with other countries, the king often chose to goad other rulers into competitions of which-kingdom-is-better game which is humorous to think because Dholakpur had no additional advantage except …Bheem. The entire fragile ego of Indravarma’s was built on nothing but a nine-year old boy!

The demise of the King’s pride would be swift and sweet the day Bheem decides to move out of the godforsaken kingdom.

Conclusion

“It is unwise to let a man who isn't king sit on a throne for too long.” ― Costanza Casati, Clytemnestra

Thus, I bring this essay to its end. A hyper-fixation of my childhood has now become a piece of media that will forever make me think of this 1600+ word essay that brings no added meaning to this world.

To you, Bheem, I wish that you escape from the clutches of Indravarma’s stupid reign. Perhaps if the King was just evil I could’ve respected him more. Alas, stupidity is a turn-off.

To you, Dholakpur, I wish that you understand that it’s better to have no king than have Indravarma as a king. Rise and revolt, fellow comrades. History would look kindly upon you.

And to you, King Indravarma, thank you for spoiling my favourite cartoon.

Aisling Elle 16.04.2024

[1] A further note to be added is that the king was a frequent enabler of Child Manipulation because he always made it seem that Bheem voluntarily decided to choose to fight for the kingdom and was not requested by the King. [2] This argument is in reference to the cycle competition that the King engages in with Pehelwanpur.

Part 1 of Random Essays

[aprocessionofthoughts]

Slightly Less Partial Explanations

Ectoberhaunt’s 2023 day 16- revenant TW- none summary- Danny tries to explain

ao3 ectoberhaunt23 masterlist part 4 of DLM

“I’m guessing that you died, but then came back somehow.” 

Jason wanted to deny it, but something stopped him. 

The same thing happened to me.

It wasn’t possible. He had gone through a very specific set of experiences. They didn’t even know what brought him back originally!

But maybe… Maybe this kid knew.

“What do you mean?”

The kid gave him what looked like a sad smile. “When I was fourteen, I was in an accident. It killed me, but at the same time I was brought back to life. Now, I don’t know exactly what happened to you, but I can tell that you’ve also died and come back.”

“I’m alive though.” He had to be. 

“Mostly. You’re more alive than me at least. I’m half dead, and you’re more like one-fourth dead. If I had to guess, I’d say you’re a revenant– a spirit who came back to its body. Not that the GIW will care.”

“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned them. Who exactly are they? You said they’re part of the government, but I’ve never heard about them before.”

“That’s because they’re a secret branch of the government.”

Jason raised an eyebrow.

Danny rolled his eyes. “They were formed to hunt down, experiment on, and exterminate all ectoplasmic beings. Like ghosts.”

“But how does that not go against the Meta Protection Act?”

Danny shrugged. “The government classifies any being that produces or needs ectoplasm to survive as non sentient and non sapient. They also say we can’t feel pain, which is a load of bull, but whatever.”

“That doesn't even make any sense.”

Danny shrugged, sipping at his hot chocolate. “It is what it is. Now I’ve got to head out. I’ve been here long enough. You’ve been really helpful and I wouldn’t want to bring trouble to your doorstep.”

Danny started to get up.

“Wait! What if… What if I told you that I know someone who can help?”

“Help with what?”

“Help protect you from the GIW and take them down too.”

Danny looked skeptical. “And who would do that?”

Jason hesitated. “I have connections to the Justice League.”

Jason hadn’t exactly known what reaction to expect, maybe surprise or disbelief, but definitely not the sneer Danny gave him.

“Those sanctimonious pricks won’t lift a finger to help.”

And wow, Jason never thought he’d be defending the Justice League but… “I know they have their issues, but they can help you.”

“They didn’t before, so why would they now?”

“What do you mean?”

Danny sighed, but sat back down. “When my town first got invaded by ghosts–”

“What!”

“We tried calling the JL. Several times! But they never answered. Even as the town was getting destroyed, even when we got pulled into the feakin’ Ghost Zone, they never responded.”

Jason frowned. “Look, I’m usually not one to defend the JL, but that doesn’t really seem like them. But all I want to say is that regardless of what they’ve done or not done, I know one of the members who for sure would help you out.” And he’d probably adopt you too, Jason thought, looking at this kid who was prime adoption bait.

“And who would that be?”

Jason was about to respond when Danny stiffened, his head tilted to the side.

“They’re here.” Danny turned to him. “I’ll try to lead them away, but I recommend laying low for a while. You’ve got something weird going on and your ectoplasm hasn’t yet fully integrated. I’d hate it if the GIW caught you before you really had a chance to live again.” Danny smiled sadly. “Hope to see you again, Jason. Take care of yourself.”

“Kid, wait–” Jason started, but suddenly he was alone in his kitchen. The only sign that anyone had been there, a dirty mug on the table and some bloody bandages in the trash can.

[theophagie]

So, Chain of Memories was fun

Not exactly fun to play, but fun. Fun stuff

Ultimately, especially in the latter half/quarter of the story, the game goes above and beyond to stress how everything that Sora goes through ties back to Kairi, who is (understandably) presented as the key to his memories, but. *Elton John voice* it's a little bit funny that-

Naminé messes with Sora's memories so that "Me, Riku and Kairi" turns into "Me, Riku, Kairi and Naminé", then into "Me, Riku, and Naminé", and eventually into "Me and Naminé". Kairi is the first one to be "taken out" out his memories. (But Kairi now is also back home, safe. Which is possibly why the memories of her were modified first? No worries about her, easier access?)

Sora's reason for being in Castle Oblivion in the first place, though? For being so eager and desperate to keep going? The hook, line and sinker? Riku

(The person he promised to protect when he was little?

... ͡• ͡• )

Replica Riku really jumped into the game with the steel chair. Immediately he acts as a source of insight into the real Riku's feelings and insecurities, but funnily enough what he says is also kind of a meta comment on the whole game itself. Sora did come here for him... and then halfway through the game he loses sight of his primary objective to focus on Naminé (and by proxy, implicitly, on Kairi)

Kairi's function as a truly important person and as a light in the darkness carries over from KH1 into the end of CoM, after Marluxia & Co are defeated and Sora tells Naminé to restore his memories. And at the same time... ah

The beginning of the game, with yet another steel chair. And it's especially telling that this dialogue with Aerith and the one with Axel happen almost back to back...

... because at this point most of Sora's memories are intact: he remembers everyone, he doesn't think that he has have Naminé "in his heart", and he's perfectly conscious of why and for who he's here. Riku is presented as a truly important person and a light in the darkness as well. Directly in one case ("I'm the good fairy and I'm warning you to not lose your way"), indirectly in the other ("I'm the evil fairy and I'm inciting you to do just that").

Fun stuff :')

A couple of miscellaneous things that I didn't know how to integrate into the post (while playing the game I noticed other stuff scattered here and there too - there's some cute things even in the Winnie the Pooh world! - but I didn't want to make this post too obscene in length so I let them go) (+ obligatory special mention to the meteor shower. The meteor shower............):

TLDR, post and game summary:

[alexandriaisburning]

041: What makes Zeroranger special, anyway?

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Developed over a decade and layered in mysteries, Zeroranger is a shooter that’s received acclaim from both STG* fanatics and first-timers for the ways it bends genres. But for all its talk about the ways it pays homage to the genre, and the insistence that it’s something special, Zeroranger almost never gets talked about in plain terms, out of fear of spoiling the surprises that await first time players. That level of caution from its fans is almost admirable, but it leaves what makes the game special undiscussed, and makes it hard for both curious players wondering what the big deal is, and leaves Zeroranger’s best ideas unappreciated. 

With that in mind I’ll be doing a deep dive into Zeroranger’s design, with no limitations on what I talk about or spoil. 

On a basic level, Zeroranger is a vertically scrolling STG that borrows ideas from a variety of genre classics, paying homage to them through bosses, stage layouts and game mechanics. After each stage you’re given a choice between one of two weapons, each which will become useful in the next stage, but in different ways, with variations between the two playable ships. After the first stage you get a choice between back and side firing weapons, the second unlocks a lock on laser or chargeable shot, and the penultimate boss fight--against Grapefruit, the ship previously thought to be destroyed during the first attack on the enemy--unlocks a mech transformation with a powerful melee weapon that stacks damage and protects you from enemy attacks. 

Each weapon allows varied interactions with the level design, covering different areas of the screen and allowing you to approach enemy patterns in a new way. Since you can’t have both weapons of each tier, you’ll have to choose which weakness you’ll accept, and pair it with other weapons that can cover that weakness. It encourages repeat playthroughs to try different strategies and learn the stage layouts, which is good, because Zeroranger will demand repetition. 

At the core of Zeroranger is the theme of karmic cycles, repackaging long standing genre concepts in a way that ties them to the ongoing narrative. Like Neverawake, Zeroranger plays with the concepts of Loops--second playthroughs that remix the original stages--but here it acts closer to something out of the Nier series. The initial playthrough is only setup, with a repeat playthrough being the de facto second act, with altered context that builds on your original understanding, followed by a third and final act that brings a proper conclusion. 

The karmic themes even affect the meta progression of Zeroranger. Score contributes towards earning the next of nine total continues, used to retry a stage from a checkpoint after death. Continues are represented by the nine orbs that fill out a wheel at the end of the run, which itself resembles the Wheel of Samsara, often used by Buddhists to describe the cycle of existence that mortal beings are subject to. 

By framing each attempt as another cycle or reincarnation, it implies that each death has in fact happened, and the only way to escape the cycle is with enough perseverance and knowledge. It blows up the scale to a cosmic degree, and makes your journey to the end of the game, and the knowledge you build of its world, into a form of mechanical and narrative progression. 

This knowledge of the world becomes integral to the second loop, which introduces major changes to the patterns and layouts of the first loop, but allows you to return with all your weapons. With these previously unavailable weapons you can easily dispatch enemies that were hard to deal with, and details that seemed mysterious on the first loop fall into place. One of my favorite examples of this are the enemies who appear in the background, before flying into the foreground to attack. On the first loop they seem like a cool, decorative detail, but on the second loop, with the lock-on laser available, suddenly they’re targets you can pick off before they get a chance to attack.

The final act begins when you meet the Grapefruit for the second time and reveal your mech form, allowing you to have a proper duel where they’ll whip out several abilities, including more powerful versions of your own weapons, revealing why they were the first choice in dealing with the enemy. 

After defeating Grapefruit you’ll once again face the final boss, but this time instead of the boss rush of the first loop, they’ll give up and offer you another power up. 

Here Zeroranger shifts into its final act, requiring you to solve a series of puzzles before gaining access to the true ending. Grabbing the powerup shows you the “ending” and puts you into a loop where you’ll replay the first stage in Final Boss mode, leaning harder into Zeroranger’s CAVE** influences by changing out your default weapons for a Dodonpachi style barrage of bullets and bombs. Completing the stage and grabbing the powerup puts you into another brief minigame before glitching out and returning you to the title. 

To escape this you’ll need to reject that final powerup, either within the Final Boss stage or before, during the boss room where the boss rush takes place. By rejecting the offering you gain access to Despair, the real final boss hidden beneath the facility, who naturally has several phases to complete. The first phase is a puzzle itself, requiring you to carefully observe the orbs emitting the attacks, and time your own attacks to destroy them close to simultaneously, or otherwise be stuck helpless in yet another looping trap. 

Completing the first phase reveals the true form of the final boss, Despair, a suitably terrifying challenge with a massive suite of attacks whose design could inspire its own essay. Compared to the cerebral challenges preceding it, this final form is more straightforward, but learning the complexities of the patterns often felt as hard as the combined challenge of every obstacle met on the way here. 

Defeating Despair reveals the true final boss challenge--a sequence that reveals the origins of Zeroranger’s world, and connects several unresolved narrative threads. Not only must you complete it completely stripped of your previous arsenal, but you’re given a single chance to do so. 

Not quite understanding the gravity of what the game was implying there, I took on the final challenge after an exhausting struggle with Despair, desperate to finally see the ending--only to have my save deleted after I failed. 

Not only do you need to scale the mountainous challenge of defeating Despair, but you need to complete it with continues to spare, as each continue orb becomes a health point for your final confrontation. In addition, you have to quickly adapt to playing without any of the weapons you’ve built familiarity with during your playtime, and learn the new boss patterns on the fly while unraveling how exactly you can damage the boss. Practice runs are impractical, as you’ll have to complete the whole game at least once before returning, making the minimum time between attempts nearly an hour, if you’ve complete mastery of the rest of the game. 

So I cheated. I downloaded my save from the cloud, backed it up, then went back and completed it on my third try, after restoring my save twice. As I finished the final challenge, Zeroranger left me with the same message it began with:

May you attain enlightenment. 

By circumventing the challenge, by failing to persevere in the face of disaster, I’d arguably failed this goal. I’d given in to my material desires and skipped the suffering necessary to achieve the knowledge needed to break free of the cycle. Fitting then, that Zeroranger’s conclusion is one that’s hopeful, but open ended, implying that this current cycle has been broken, but the events that caused it may one day repeat themselves. 

Then Zeroranger deletes your save. 

Records carry over, and the color palette and story change to reflect your achievement, but progress unlocking stages is once again reset. You’re free of the meta trappings of the story, but are given one more reminder of how temporary progress is, and challenged one more time to complete a run to get the complete credits sequence. 

It’s a novel approach to player progression in a STG that not only reframes common genre ideas with a thematic approach, but slowly pushes players towards goals that the genre diehards naturally shoot for. By visually indicating the progress towards extra lives and continues through its score counter, it alerts players towards the importance of scoring for continued survival as well as the leaderboards, and encourages them to look for opportunities to maximize score. 

The harsh requirements to witness the ending almost guarantee that a player will be forced to start over, and unless they cheat (guilty), forces them to learn the stages and scoring systems to quickly earn back their progress. That process, and the need to hold onto as many continues as possible for the finale, pushes them closer to attempting the 1-credit clear, what most STG players consider the first major milestone in learning a game. Simply put, it’s a run where you complete all the stages in the game without using up a continue, and often denotes mastery. 

The parade of secrets and homages, alongside the narrative driven recontextualization of game mechanics and premise shifting final acts create  a novel approach for both genre veterans and newcomers, upending expectations with each new twist. Zeroranger’s revelations mark it as equal parts mystery and action game, and asks you to dig deeper, coming to an appreciation of its layered design in the process. 

Personally, as much as I respect the final act’s commitment to delivering on Zeroranger’s themes of struggle, persistence and reincarnation, the harsh penalty of deleting your save was demotivating to a degree that I didn’t feel was worth the tension it imparted. I can only imagine how a less experienced player might feel, struggling for hours to reach that point, and possibly being unsure if they could reach it again. Zeroranger’s patterns and stage design are often less demanding than most of its contemporaries, but they come with harsher penalties for failure. 

Even given that, it’s not hard to see why Zeroranger captured the imagination of so many. Designed intentionally to be approachable, with enough mystery to satisfy the lore hungry theorycrafters, Zeroranger provides many entry points. Paired with its striking two color palette and memorable soundtrack, it paints the picture of a greater world beyond its borders. The drawn out finale demands you engage Zeroranger with your entire attention, and its dramatic set pieces and score bring an emotional climax that the more traditional arcade style titles often can’t spend the runtime on. 

Even after the credits roll, Zeroranger leaves plenty to discover, both within its boundaries and outside. Its themes of karmic cycles and open-ended conclusion invite you to explore it further, and its homages and secrets point to other games and worlds whose influence helped bring it to life. It’s an introduction to the mindset of a genre fanatic, an homage for all those who’ve already journeyed through the genre to arrive here, and an invitation for those who haven’t to share in that same passion. 

--- Zeroranger is availble on PC. Homebrew ports are availble for the Switch and Linux based handhelds via Portmaster.

--- *STG: ShooTing Game, aka SHMUP or Shoot-Em-Up. A community term for the genre of arcade style shooters used to differentiate them from the more common first and third person shooters.

**CAVE: Developer of several major entries in the genre, and credited with popularizing the danmaku (bullet curtain) or bullet hell sub-genre. Their games are often marked by complex enemy bullet patterns, with a powerful player arsenal that can hit many parts of the screen at the same time.

[ananke-xiii]

The Dickensian Aspect, or Three “Funny” Things About John.

A few weeks ago I’ve written that one of the truths that I’ve personally chosen to integrate in the way I think of Supernatural is that, overall, the writers of the show were more interested in epic as a genre than gothic. With the notable exception of Carver era*** that, the way I see it, is the most gothic of all seasons in terms of themes and motifs, Supernatural is persistently concerned with the positive figure of the dragon-slayer hero. It puts said hero into Lots Of Situations, it makes him more nuanced, complex and “realistic”, it makes us grow doubtful of him (because it’s always a him in Supernatural) but, at its core, we can feel assured by the fact that the dragon will be slayed and the hero will save the day. It doesn’t matter if they started it, our heroes will fix their “mistakes”, Apocalypse will be averted and we’ll eventually feel more or less… safe (?)(this depends on how you decide to read the finale, tbh, because the interpretation of what constitutes “safety” is (and for whom), imo, left open but, yeah, Evil God= dead, Heaven= now good with Good God in it is generally considered a “happy ending”).

In other words, as far as I see it, there is in Supernatural a resemblance of morality, of “good” vs “evil”, of black and white dichotomy that’s both epic and gothic because the show is intrinsically based off of a pre-romantic love and nostalgia for ancient folktales and old myths. However, I think that even if “the lore” is so central to the show, there’s a sort of “prejudice” against it: Supernatural, at its core, wants to be EPIC, mythical, legendary in the Arthurian sense of the word and not in the “urban legend” meaning. This is, again EYE think, why satire, parody and general meta-ness is so engrained in it: because the show can’t be what it wants to be so the only way to make it so is to re-create it as if it’s mythical, legendary etc. and make fun of its supposed epic-ness. Its self-deprecation also acts as self-protection that betrays a deep insecurity: "if I show you how much I make fun of myself then you cannot really tell me anything, can you" type of vibes. This is why Chuck/God, the final villain, had to be a total douche instead of someone who actually commands, if not respect, at least terror.

What’s more, Supernatural does have a sort of in-universe quite strict moral law which counteracts and obstacles the necessity for mystery, “fogginess” and blurry atmospheres. So I wondered how this cohabitation could be possible until I realize that I wasn’t take into account the most important thing of them all: the Dickensian Aspect.

*** I find it so interesting that, in my reading, Carver era is super-gothic but ends in super-realism while Dabb era, which I think it’s the less gothic of all, ends with the most gothic ending of all Supernatural season finales.

The family is business. The family is hell. Business is hell.

To me, the most genre fiction-esque, specifically gothic character in all Supernatural is John Winchester. This is why I’ve written that John is the beach read while his sons are more “serious” novels (not a personal dig at gothic novels, just borrowing the show’s words to exemplify a point). When I say that John is not a “real” character I mean specifically this: John’s not written as a real person but as an archetype or, perhaps better, as someone that can’t be questioned. Why does he do the things he does? Why is he so abusive towards his sons? Something “crossed over” in him the night he left Missouri’s house with his two children in his car. What was that? The show tells us: it was the grief over Mary’s death, specifically the way and why she died but it never goes beyond that. Because it can’t. Because Mary’s death hides a “secret” about Sam. To keep the secret intact, John can’t be a real person or we wouldn’t have our story.

The  first “funny” thing about John is that we don’t even know if John knows what this “secret” is about or not. We only know that he’s known “for a while” but, as far we’re concerned, we know just as much as John since the later events of Nov 2nd are seen from his pov: the circumstances in which Mary died aren’t natural at all and we (and John) know it. The secret is implicit in the mystery of Mary’s death itself.

So the mystery becomes the engine of the plot and, consequently, John-as-our-only-pov-on-it, must stay mysterious as well. In order to be mysterious, John becomes a cliché, an exaggerated stereotyped version of the hero “marked” by fate and bent on getting his revenge. His hyper-masculinity serves to “hide” the fact that “someone evil” forced him to be absolutely subjected, utterly vulnerable in a dressing gown (off with Mary’s  nightgown, on with John’s dressing gown) and slippers, completely passive and, therefore, “emasculated” because the only thing he could do while his wife burnt on the ceiling was watching.

He’s also very attractive, he’s got the “good looks” as Meg would say. This is also very genre fiction-related, the identification of external and internal characteristics, although perhaps mainly pertinent to the heroine than the hero: the “inner virtues” of a character are reflected upon their “good looks”. In other words, the hero must be beautiful: because he’s good-looking, he is good. John is, then, like “the strong, silent type” aka Gary Cooper, an actor known for his roles in western and melodrama.

We’re getting a certain, peculiar picture of John.

But if John is such a hero why is he hated so much (both by other characters in the story and by viewers)? Yeah, well, because as I’ve said, John’s story is a romance but this is not John’s story. This is Sam and Dean’s story and their story, although genre-fiction at its core, is a modern epic, a "serious" novel. With Sam and Dean we go (or: the story wants us to go, wether we go or not with the story it's up to us) beyond the cliché and the stereotypes and into the inner workings of their psyche, particularly Dean’s. To put it simply: we explore their wants&needs. This doesn't mean that these characters are necessarily complex or are complex all the time, this just means that we're afforded to look into their interiorities and motivations. This doesn't happen to John.

In this book, that’s Supernatural’s book, John is a villain.

And here comes the second “funny” thing about John: John can’t be a villain because monsters and demons are real and he forced his two kids to follow him in his extremely dangerous and violent hunting trips across the US. This is treated as an unquestionable fact in the book of Supernatural, a reality. John must teach Sam and Dean how to hunt monsters and be comfortable around weapons and arms from a very young age (something that, realistically speaking, is far from okay) otherwise Sam could never decide to leave the hunting world  in the first place and we wouldn’t have the story at all. So how can John be a villain? Easy: he isn’t a villain because he exposed his children to violence and used them in his work, but because he used to leave his sons for long periods, abandoning them to their fates in questionable motel rooms without supervision. Ah, and without food or money. It’s not about the nature of the job these children were subjected to but the conditions of this job that makes John a villain.

The Winchesters motto is: “Saving people, hunting things. The family business”. Let’s ditch the dichotomy and think about this business that this family’s running. Much like the father in “Father Master”, John Winchester also “employs” his children for labor, specifically Dean who also needs to make up for John’s weaponized incompetence as we would call it today. As a matter of fact, I think it’d be safe to say that the only character who’s actively running the “family business” is Dean.

Now, if Dean and Sam run the family business as adults there wouldn’t be any real problems, apart from the inevitable ones arising from the fact that working with your family can be simpler but almost never easier than working independently. However, Dean and Sam have been working in and for the family business since they were actual children. Leaving aside the nature of their family business for a moment, this would entail some real problems but they’d still be something not completely removed from reality (children working in the show business, for instance, isn’t something usually frowned upon by society. Neither is children helping their parents’ business “on the side” while still going to school + other cases of more-or-less societally justified child labor). No, the problem with Sam and Dean working in the family business since forever is that they were exploited. Proverbial cherry on top, not only were they exploited (particularly Dean) they weren’t even given the means to sustain themselves while John was away. These kids weren’t just left alone to fend for themselves, they were left starving.

But what could be the reasons to have a character leaving his unsupervised children without food as he goes on “hunting trips” without certainty of return? Why the almost sadistic cherry on top? Wouldn’t it be enough for the audience to know that, because of John, Dean, age 12, has to sleep with a gun under his pillow? Why adding the teary details of Oliver Twist-like children suffering hunger while their dad left them alone in a dirty motel room? Well, I think it’s because of the discrepancy between John’s story and his son’s. Which is a discrepancy in genre and, therefore, in characterization.

It also serves another important function: we the audience cannot feel extremely bad about children-and-then-young-adults hunting monsters with their dad or we couldn’t actually enjoy the show itself.

Nevertheless, the story needs to somehow highlight the abuse and neglect our main characters went through and it’s just easier to put the weight on John-as-an-individual-character’s shoulders, an eccentric, a weirdo that nobody even likes, rather than, just to give a few examples:

-question the whole individualistic approach of the hunting world where there isn't any real support system and where two people hunting together is already too many even though it doesn't make any logical sense; -question why other hunters knew about John and the way he conducted his "business" and never really did anything about it. And by "it" I mean why nobody lent John a hand, showed a speck of compassion towards three people clearly struggling; -question whether John is… mentally stable or not. Not that it'd be his fault, of course, but it'd make actual sense if John had mental issues because even in the hunting world, where people need to come to terms with the incredible, he was still not very much like other hunters. He wasn't really believed without any real motivation as to why since everybody had gone through Hell, almost literally, nor was he actively aided by anyone. I mean, characters are rightly sorry for Sam and Dean but none of them seemed to consider John as a struggling person, too, mentally or otherwise.

And so on and so forth.

What I mean is: “blaming” John for everything is easier, more impactful and it has the perk of not needing to engage on a deeper level with the hunting world and how it could've been used as a means to critique how inequality is ingrained in "normal" society. To put it simply: John must stay a beach read.

In other words, Supernatural, in order to work as a story, needs the “Dickensian aspect”. If you’ve watched “The Wire” you know what I’m talking about: the “Dickensian aspect” is the focus on “poor people” and their stories without actually engaging with their stories. It’s a surface-level display of “poverty” used to make the audience go “no, this is too much, how sad!” without exploring the reasons behind the poverty and who’s responsible for it. In the context of “The Wire” it also means exploiting people living in harsh conditions for one’s own gain and altering their stories to appeal to the emotions of the reader instead of questioning the systemic reasons behind the harsh conditions in the first place. This reveals another problem Supernatural had to face: it wanted to be a modern epic but it couldn’t really go into the necessary nitty-gritty details because of its genre-fiction core and because of its tv-specific limitations.

Supernatural, then, wants to be realistic but it can’t be too realistic, it must be a tiny bit romantic, where “romantic” means romance-like (hence how we can all readily accept the fact that these people can pretend to be FBI agents in the dumbest possible way etc.).

Supernatural can only stay in-between realism and folktale or myth. The characters can't be too realistic, otherwise the world around them must be realistic as well (hence no more FBI play pretend and why they had to drop the Victor Henriksen storyline, sadly). We'd need more fleshed-out side-characters and a broader depiction of how the hunting world operates in order to understand how this "family business" actually works and why it works. Moreover, since the story is predicated on a lot of abuse, it'd be difficult for the audience to actively enjoy it without hoping for it to stop or to be openly addressed. But the story can't be too mythical as well because that might bore the audience who's used to layered, nuanced and believable characters with motivations, desires and needs that can be understood/shared by the viewers. What's more, since the story already heavily deals with a lot of folklore/myths, it needs a counterpart to balance it out or its usage may lead the story to be viewed as not belieavable: techinically speaking in Supernatural anything could be possible, but there still must be limitations as to what can actually become possible.

This is why we the audience can easily accept what “the family business” is (hunting monsters, mythical aspect) and why Dean, aged 12, sleeps with a gun under his pillow (the family business is predicated upon child exploitation, realistic aspect).

The episode that really encapsulates what I’m saying is “A Very Supernatural Christmas”. In this episode John is, quite literally, compared to Santa Claus (a fact that reinforces my “John’s not a real character” theory). While ordinary children eventually discover that Santa’s not real, Sam finds out that monsters are real and that his father’s a “super-hero” because he hunts them. Together with “Something Wicked” this is one of the most “Dickensian” episodes ever because it doesn’t “really” matter why John, Sam and Dean live in destitute conditions (Dean says that John “brought home” a wreath one year and Sam says “the one he stole from a liquor store?”) nor that Sam and Dean's childhood memories were “that traumatic” because we can excuse Dean’s gun under the pillow, but we’re made to draw the line when it’s Christmas Eve and these kids have no gifts to unwrap. Like, the fact that Sam, more than "discovers", receives "confirmation" of what he'd been suspecting (monsters are real) is not the actual focus of the story. Sam had already lost his "innocence" and we the audience very well know it. What conquers our hearts is the touching final scene with the exchange of simple gifts between brothers in a dingy motel room and the depiction of the simple joys of childhood.

We’re made to feel okayish with the reason why the whole “family business” can even be up and running (children exploitation) or we couldn’t have our story. But we’re also okayish with being served a stereotypical, overly-sentimental, “would somebody please think of the children!” portrayals of poverty that gives more emotional depth to our main characters' story but that doesn't add anything relevant to it, it doesn't provide us viewers with any actual information about the world Sam and Dean inhabited outside of a motel room or of the Impala's doors. And we’re okayish with all this because we can blame it on John and John alone. And we can blame him without hesitation because he’s God, he’s Santa Claus, he's a super-hero, he’s everything but a “real” character.

Apart from the more “critical” use of the term “Dickensian”, the Dickensian aspect (as in Dickens-like) is something, I believe, that’s very congenial to Supernatural. Much like novels like “Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress,” or “Little Dorrit”, Supernatural starts off with a secret related to birth and this secret pertains to both business and family affairs. In Supernatural the “secret” is literal blood, while in Dickens it’s blood-related (illegitimacy). Unlike Oliver, Sam doesn’t escape contamination, although, eventually, he will get his access back to the suburban world he was excluded from. The suburbs themselves have a rural, heaven-like quality in Dickens: the gothic, the horror and the terror were all relegated to the city and its evil-like “fog” (very much like Amara’s dark fog in S11). Dickens was also, generally speaking, very interested in “scary stories” and folkloric motifs were very much part of lots of his works. But Dickens is also known for his moralistic approach and his conviction that it was spiritual perfection that would change society. Like, if you are/become a good person, society will be better and this is a theme that we also see throughout Supernatural as well, this moralistic approach according to which “if I am good then the world will be too” rather than "the way the world is shaped conditions all people who are therefore left with very limited choices". The destiny vs free will debate in Supernatural is, thus, both interesting and quite layered (ngl) but it also very limited in scope because, eventually, only the hero can break free (maybe, it still depends on how you see certain "choices") because of his superior will, while the others are left to their own devices. It's "save or kill" for the heroes but also "get saved or get killed" for the rest of "us".

I guess what I’ve ended up saying is that Supernatural is actually very Victorian, hahaha! This is why, maybe, when people interpret it with Freudian lens they always have the best points, because it’s soooo fitting!

The third “funny” thing about John is that he’s basically a romantic character forced to inhabit a world that's more real than him, a world where monsters are actually real but also quite ordinary and there are actual "dragon-slayer"-like, ordinary people hunting them. This means that he doesn’t belong even in this world of hunters within the “normal” world. His thirst for revenge is never fully understood by other characters despite the fact that other hunters too have a similar “hunter origin” story. His accorded the privilege of vengeance (revenge is intrinsically related to privilege) but he’s judged for it because “it’s too much”. And why is it too much? Because he doesn’t move on. And why doesn’t he move on? Because the narrative doesn’t allow it. Because it’s not his story, nor his genre. John’s a beach read that nobody ever will later claim to be “a masterpiece”. He is what he is.

Is there, however, someone like John, though? I think that, if I really try and remove the heavy lenses the show gives me and refuse to see John as the flattest character ever existed... if I can give him a little more depth, it'd be somewhat accurate to say that at least three other main characters share some of his traits.

If I consider John as a Son, then Michael is a lot like him. If I consider him as Father (not as a God-Father but as human father), then Rowena is very much like John. Interestingly, if I see him through the lens of the Partner/Companion then Castiel is actually very John-like.

I'll go into more details about these comparisons next time :D thanks for reading <3

[wutheringskies]

S3 EP 5: Lan Wangji visits Yiling CN Audio Drama + Inspired Meta about Mistakes

My heart feels so heavy. The episode starts with Jiang Cheng denouncing Wei Wuxian. There are a thousand rumours about him, instantly squashed by his own appearance. There is then Lan Wangji, who is cautious and hesitating. There's poor, good, Wen Ning, who wonders if he offended Lan Wangji in any way. There's the tsundere Wen Qing. There's A-yuan painting his happy picture with rich-gege, poor-gege, granny, qing-jiejie, granny, ning-gege, fourth uncle, wen bing bing etc, etc. There's Wei Wuxian saying it doesn't matter if Lan Wangji walks a broad-lit path, as he will continue to walk down the narrow path. There's Wei Wuxian saying Lan Wangji has plenty of stuff on his hands with his sect duties, and that he will probably never visit again, and his sad laugh. There's the nervous Wens, the knowledge that Wei Wuxian either goes out everywhere or locks himself into his cave, there is Wei Wuxian getting introduced to all the Wens, there is the Wens saying that they'll walk through fire and rain for him, there's a toast to him, there's him saying the road is not dark after all.

This makes the scene at the second siege all the more important.

"There is something I wish to do. Will you do it with me?"

"I will."

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian have always shared the same sort of beliefs, yet walked different paths, bound by filial duty. Now, they finally walk the same paths.

But the thing that struck me the most is that Wei Wuxian, despite wishing to be closer to Lan Wangji, refuses to leave behind the path he must walk on. He'd rather say farewell to Lan Wangji than place him above his duty. I find this aspect of their relationship so necessary, the fact they are clingy but not dependent. They're both individually strong-willed people, who accept the loss and separation in life with grace, who accept defeat and humiliation and punishment with grace, and come out of desolation a better version of themselves.

Lan Wangji himself was certain that the unorthodox path would cause one to 'lose control,' cause damage to the heart, to the body, and Wei Wuxian does eventually 'lose control.' Yet, Lan Wangji never has an 'I told you so,' moment, despite being the one who had scolded him the most, as he looks deeper into the tangles and nets that Wei Wuxian was caught in than just the dark nature of his cultivation, his lair, and the surnames of the people he was protecting. He comes to terms with the cultivation world. Bound by filial duty towards his sect, he cannot help Wei Wuxian. Yet, he chooses to disregard this filial duty and picks his morals in an integral moment - which is what Wei Wuxian did, a year or two earlier. Despite being the one to pester him endlessly to come back to Gusu, Lan Wangji fights against his Gusu elders, thus disregards the orthodoxy, and drops Wei Wuxian back into the Burial Mounds - on his own chosen path.

Similarly, Wei Wuxian still apologizes to Jiang Cheng, and Lan Wangji still goes back to take his punishment for betraying their filial duty - Lan Wangji more so, since he's the literal heir of the sect. But neither of them apologizes for choosing their moral duty.

Similarly, when Wei Wuxian came out of the Burial Mounds when he was seventeen, he killed the Wens in a blood-thirsty manner, digging up the graves of their ancestors, making the Wen soldiers face their own dead family, etc. These actions were justified in the war, praised by the cultivators, and accepted as an act of revenge.

Yet, these actions went against Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's personal moral codes. Lan Wangji, since the age of eighteen, felt it was excessive and cruel, and could only blame Wei Wuxian's new cultivation path for darkening his heart. Once Wei Wuxian is in a better mental state, he too feels it was too much and regrets those applauded actions.

Thus, both of them have made mistakes, have been hurt and retaliated, and realized certain things too late. They are not perfect but they aren't meant to be, as they are still humans - children, to young adults, in highly stressful, unprecedented situations with no major support systems to rely upon.

Yet, instead of being burdened by the shame and their own failures, they come out stronger.

Lan Wangji

Disregarding his filial duty to his sect -> Accepts punishment and seclusion, teaches the new generation of Lans, night-hunts, and marries Wei Wuxian, and comes back to the Lan sect.

Leans heavily into the generalisation that dark methods are evil: The Lan juniors taught by him argue that Wei Wuxian may not necessarily have created the 'dark methods' to create harm, shows his gratitude to Mo Xuanyu and his sect implements the said dark methods in their orthodox night hunting.

Unable to understand his feelings, pushes Wei Wuxian away -> Regardless of his feelings, stays by Wei Wuxian's side, enduring all of his teasing. Even after their biggest misunderstanding in the Yunping inn, he tells Wei Wuxian they'll continue on the same path the next day.

Fails to protect the Wens: Rescues Wen Yuan, does literally anything to get him accepted into the Lan blood line and have that protection, lets Wen Ning stay (when he is sober and not jealous), bows to the Wen remnants, never attends Jin banquets, never speaks to Jiang Cheng, publicly showing his disapproval while being perhaps the most revered cultivator for the common people.

Fails to protect Wei Ying: He's always there to catch him now, sword out, on Wei Ying's side, against the entire cultivation world. But perhaps, more importantly, willing to sheathe his sword for Wei Ying. Staying by his side if he is hurt, standing up for him, silencing those who speak against him. Hugging him when he sees dogs. Keeping his memory alive.

Fails to prevent Jiang Yanli's death: How many times has Jin Ling been saved now.

Wei Wuxian

Creating the Stygian Tiger Seal: Destroys one-half rendering it useless. Yet, once it is recovered, he still takes responsibility and protects those who are harmed by it. Eventually, he doesn't take the seal, and lets it be sealed with JGY and NMJ, abandoning it.

Digging up the Wen ancestral graves to take revenge: Though, it was justified in the war, so it isn't a wrong. Yet, character development is being regrettable about it. He can't undo those actions.

The Nightless City and demanding righteousness: Once again, as the ceremony in Nightless City was an oath to lay siege on the Burial Mounds, going against their promise to him of 'letting the matter go,' Wei Wuxian was justified in his actions. But character development is learning self-preservations and running away rather than protesting, when faced with those who are more powerful than you (I would also like to inform the readers that if not at Nightless City, then maybe a month later, or two months later, this would have eventually happened anyway) but Wei Wuxian learns.

"Betraying" his promise to Jiang Cheng: He apologizes for breaking the promise of staying by his side in the future. Despite everything, the fact he chooses to do this is just admirable.

Trusting the Jiangs after their ways had already parted: Includes not drawing up clear boundaries, having Jiang Cheng know his weakness, going to Jiang Yanli's son's anniversary etc. Fixes this by firmly parting ways with Jiang Cheng. His relationship with Jin Ling is now just his own!

His so-called arrogance: This is also regretted and wishes to beat up his pretentious younger self are made.

Saying everything that is on his mind: Holding his tongue and recognizing that people are simply unrighteous at heart, and choosing to leave rather than fight, and have fun with his husband who shares similar beliefs.

Downplaying his pain: Admitting that it hurt when he fell, plus other scenes. All he needed was a safe space, someone who can be stronger than he is, and didn't treat him like an option.

Breaking every Gusu Rule and teasing Lan Wangji: ----

Thus, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji really go through multiple challenges and come out stronger. The path of righteousness is bitter, coupled with losses, and lonely yet these two walk it alone, and leave behind strong people who follow the same. On one side, unrighteous acts lead to many deaths and losses, to be righteous may be to add to those losses, yet it was due to righteous acts like people like Mianmian and Lan Sizhui, who are also very righteous are. Thus, the road may be lonely at first, but the numbers of the travelers will only increase.

[aspoonofsugar]

Hi! I like your RWBY metas. I had some questions related to a few headcanons and observations I have. Ruby being the one to save Cinder from her Grimm corruption with the silver eyes is fitting. It’s been set up consistently through the story with the way the eyes are linked directly to Cinder as her bane. The eyes are linked to the GoL’s creation, and the preservation of light. However, Jaune’s semblance is also linked to the same things, and linked to Cinder as well. Do you think Cinder’s salvation could come as a result of Ruby’s silver eyes and Jaune’s semblance working in tandem? The silver eyes do destroy the Grimm, but they also damage her body. Jaune’s semblance is based around protection and healing. Is there a synthesis to be reached there?

Hi!

Thank you for your nice words!

So, about Jaune's semblance, it is definately possible it will play a role together with Ruby's eyes.

After all, Jaune's semblance has been a recurring element in the different climaxes of the series:

In Vale, he does not have it and he fails to do anything (ignorance)

In Mistral, he unlocks it and saves Weiss (creation)

In Atlas, he realizes he has not enough time to use it to save Penny (destruction

In Vacuo (or Vale if we have a final mini-arc there), he might have to choose if to use it to save Cinder or not :)

That said, my personal favorite headcanon when it comes to Jaune and Cinder is that Jaune will symbolically become Cinder's maiden at heart.

What is a maiden at heart?

So far, every arc has had three maidens:

The first is a very minor character, who ties into the plot (Amber, Vernal, Fria). They are relevant plot-wise and when it comes to foiling to more important characters. That said, they are not super important characters

The second is the maiden, who ends up having the powers. They are Cinder, Raven and Winter. They are important characters, but they do not really embody the theme of their gift.

The third is a character who embodies the Gods' gift. They are Pyrrha for choice, Yang for knowledge and Penny for creation.

Winter: No, Penny. You were always the real Maiden at heart.

They are the ones, who deserve the powers, but do not get it. And yet, they are the real maidens of the arc and they teach the viewers and the titular maidens what choice, knowledge and creation are all about.

Yang shows Raven that acquiring knowledge does not mean to become a coward. She also wins against her mother in their wisdom battle. Yang gets self-knowledge, whereas Raven avoids who she has become.

Penny shows Winter what creation is by symbolically "creating" her with her final acts. She shows her creation is rooted in love and freedom, rather than in repression and duty. She is Pinocchio, who creates the Blue Fairy.

So, what about Cinder and Pyrrha? They do not get to have this exchange because they fail to communicate:

Pyrrha: Do you believe in destiny? Cinder: Yes.

Like the other couples of Maidens, Cinder and Pyrrha meet during the climax of an arc and the Maiden at heart tries to teach the titular Maiden an important truth.

The problem is that Cinder kills Pyrrha before she can fully express what Choice and Destiny are really about. However, Pyrrha has taught someone about the gift she embodies:

Pyrrha: Do you believe in destiny? Jaune: Um... I-I don't know. I guess that depends on how you view it. Pyrrha: When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather... some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life.

Jaune is the only one, who has been explained by the Maiden of Choice what Choice is. So, he should be the one, who passes this Knowledge to the Maiden with power. This would be the perfect climax for his arc because:

He would symbolically integrate with Pyrrha by inheriting her mission and her most noble traits

He would solve his ongoing conflict with Cinder by finally coming to terms with Pyrrha's death

Moreover, in this way he would symbolically become Cinder's Maiden at Heart, which would fit perfectly with Jaune's arc and allusion. Jaune's arc is one of integration with the anima, where he integrates his feminine traits. After all, he is Jeanne d'Arc, who is famous as both a warrior and maid. So, it is just right that in the end Jaune grows into a true maiden.

When it comes to Cinder's allusion:

Ruby is set up to be Cinder's Prince aka the one, who saves her

Jaune might be set up to be Cinder's fairy aka the one, who guides her towards her destiny

It would also fit with Ruby and Jaune's inverted gender archetypes. We'll see!

[six-paths-of-jeanmarco]

just read on your meta on jean reiner marco. im sorry but u made it sound like jean has no personality or own morals if it wasnt for marco. marcos death wasnt the only thing that spur him into being good tho. he literally said he doesnt want to lose comrades after trost that includes marco and all the other comrades they lost because he didnt expect himself to care that much about them. i will argue that losing sasha has more of an impact to jean because simply, they know and work with each other longer. jean also acted on his own to lead the charge at trost without marco asking him to because jean already has leadership qualities on his own. marco didnt even respond favorably initially but funnily reiner did. marco was just one part of jeans character development. jean has so many other important moments that led him to become who he is later on. he also sees himself as a killer equivalent to the warriors because one death to jean is too many. plus dont forget he is complicit in bertolt being eaten by titan armin as well. i dont think he doesnt have the capability to not forgive reiner because if he doesn't, that will make him a big hypocrite.

Did you, though? Or were you just looking to confirm what a *certain* someone that has made downplaying Marco and what he meant to Jean an integral part of their *ship* had to say about it?

Even if that's not the case, I never said Marco is the reason Jean became good, what I actually said is that he was the first person that made Jean aware of the skills and qualities he already had at a critical moment in Jean's character arc. And bc of that, we could see the long lasting effects it had over his development. I never said that was the only important moment in his development, I was simply focusing on his relationship with Marco bc, yknow, they're my favorite characters? I even linked another Jean meta that analizes how he always has it in him to make the right, selfless decissions despite his major flaws.

You're not wrong in saying that one death to Jean is too many (that's why I said he'd be ooc if the deaths of his former comrades didn't burden him) but you're only focusing on the character's in-story intent while I was focusing on the author's intent. I'm not going to explain again why comparing Jean (& Connie) to the warriors is a false equivalence and Isayama's own writing doesn't support it; the author's intent is to force this idea to make a "war is bad" (not wrong) "both sides are equally bad" (extremely wrong) argument. This post explains why this is an erroneous idea. Not to mention that this is a fascist talking point that only helps the aggressors by sugarcoating broken, lazy morals with pacifism.

Also, I know that most fans like to pretend that the series started with the Marley arc, but that's not the case. There is a major context that separates Reiner's actions from Jean's actions. What Jean did during the clash with the yeagerists was necessitated by the alliance's haste to save whatever was left of the world. What Reiner did during the pre timeskip siege of the walls was motivated by hatred and genocide. Plain and simple. The difference is that Jean didn't have to commit unspeakable attrocities to realize his morals were broken. No, his morals were influenced by loss. Marco became an integral part of his moral compass bc once he lost him --to a fricking titan and without knowing what were his last moments, mind you, Levi too was traumatized after he's lost someone dear to him to a titan for the first time-- he better understood loss and just how much he wants to protect the lives of others. He chose to join the Scouts bc he understood what was the true meaning of all of that "dedicate your heart" fancy talking: preventing another senseless death, more excruciating pain, and giving hope where there is only despair.

There's also a big context when it comes to what happened before Bert's death, isn't there? You're oversimplifying two completely different situations to make a false equivalence. Personally, I hate oversimplifying things. Jean wouldn't be a hypocrite for being unable to forgive Reiner, he'd be more than justified. And who said Reiner should get over what happened to Bert? Ah right, I forgot that in the lore of a *certain* ship Reibert also gets downplayed.

I'm also having a very hard time understanding how does highlighting Jean's relationship with Marco translates as me saying that Jean didn't have any other meaningful relationships with other characters?

JSC is literally my favorite trio, and I hate the fact that the story didn't give us more insight on how much Sasha's death affected Jean and Connie. We see how much it ravaged the two of them after it happened (Connie's "soulmate" line still gets me) and after they saw her in the smoke, but we don't see any moment similar to Jean's monologue after Pieck got him out of Shiganshina (which was an obvious reference to the pyre scene), or when he saw Marco after Hange tried to convince him to join the alliance (and don't ignore the symbolism of only seeing Marco out of all the comrades he's lost along the way, which also includes Sasha). Her death must've been a major reason as to why Jean and Connie joined the alliance, but the story doesn't even imply it bc Isayama focused more on how much her death affected Eren and other characters instead (when he could and should've done both).

Don't get me wrong tho, I'm not trying to invalidate your opinion, I just don't really see the point in turning whose death had more of an impact on Jean into a competition. And I disagree with saying that more time spent with someone makes them more important (same with the idea that more screen time = a better character). Both Marco and Sasha were Jean's cherished friends, and I'd argue that losing them both affected him in different ways. The story, however, emphasizes more on how losing Marco affected him. Which is why I said Marco is Jean's most significant person and loss, bc Isayama wants us to remember that just as much as he wants us to remember his complicated friendship with Eren, as an example of another of his important relationships.