#on this episode of me referring to Voldemort by so many names

[department-of-landing-strategies]

Percy and Regulus being similar is great, and I like how it potentially incorporates the Black Brothers relationship alongside Sirius's relationship to Percy. However, what I haven't really seen anyone question is if Percy and Regulus are similar, does that affect Percy's relationship with Lord Voldemort himself?

Percy was in a high position upon Voldy's takeover, so Percy probably had to have talked to He-Who-Lacks-A-Nose's inner circle or Horcux Man himself at some point. Obviously, I would imagine that similarities to Regulus would possibly affect Percy's relationship with Bellatrix and maybe Rodolphus depending on how well he knew Bellatrix's family. However, currently, I'm stuck on if The Dark Lord had any relationship with Regulus and if that in turn affects his relationship with Percy.

[yourfinalbow]

hi lol this is totally random but based on a harry potter post you just reblogged and you can completely ignore me if you want, but do you think snape deserved better, or are you a quote unquote "snape apologist"? I'm genuinely curious cuz I've come across a lot of different opinions on severus. Again, feel free to ignore :)

This ended up way longer than it needed to be, and I apologize for that lmao.

Hi! Hmmm I have many mixed opinions on this. First we have to talk about which Snape. Book!Snape is actually kind of an asshole, and not in the fun way. (Way more than I remembered.) But but but Alan Rickman!Snape I like a lot.

And no I'm not mentioning Snape from TCC. That was not Snape and that world was not Harry Potter.

Snape is an interesting character because of how flawed and layered he is.

(Putting a cut because it's so long, and tw for non-detailed mentions/reference to abuse, as well as both trauma and death.)

He wasn't born in a very good household, which I can definitely see as being a reason for why he is who he is. (A reason, not an excuse. Those are two extremely different things.) You look at Sirius, who also came from a horrible household, yet he managed to dig himself out of the mud and make his own path for himself. (Though I have many angsty headcanons for the thoughts he has and being afraid of what he will do and in turn his own mind. WolfStar solidarity. Neither one of them know what they are truly capable of, and both are completely afraid to find out.

Ahem sorry I got a little distracted there.

During the Marauder's era, Snape wasn't a good person in general, but he tried to be nice to Lily. (One of the only exceptions he made.) That being said, (sorry, going on a tangent again), it does not excuse what the Marauders did. As much as they are, in my humble opinion, JK's greatest creation, they should be held accountable for both the prank, and dangling Snape upside down. (Though Remus does make a few good points in their defense later, it's still not an excuse.) Two wrongs never make a right.

Snape doesn't deny Lily's claims at him wanting to join a supremacy group, nor does he say he isn't friends with Death Eaters.

It's clear through the flashbacks we're given that Snape is apathetic in the face of innocent people dying, but once again Lily is the exception.

Dumbledore defends Snape by saying it wasn't his fault that Harry's parents are dead. I actually semi-agree with this. On one hand, he was directly at fault, but on the other hand he had no way of knowing. As a severe Loki apologist, I do not blame Loki for Frigga's death. He may have led the dark elves to her, but he didn't know it was her she was sending them to. That's the comparison I make in my mind, and so I don't completely blame him like other people do. (One could also make the argument that Sirius is to blame. Sirius, who is 100% my favorite character in the entire franchise, gave the secret keeper job to Peter, thinking it would be safer with him. However, he had no ill will or malicious intentions towards Lily, James, and Harry, so I don't blame him.)

All that being said, Snape not only would have been fine with random people dying, he also didn't care whether or not James and Harry lived.

For context:

(Dumbledore is speaking, right after Snape comes to him for help.)

"You do not care, then, about the deaths of her husband and child?" They can die, as long as you have what you want?"

Snape said nothing, but merely looked up at Dumbledore.

He has a strange relationship with Lily. He obviously loves her, but not enough to want to stop Voldemort from killing the two things that bring her the most amount of happiness. It's clear he doesn't care about anyone except for Lily. Which on some level, I can understand why. When people have traumatic childhoods, they tend to hold on to a person that was there for them. Sometimes it can be the hands of the person who caused them pain in the first place, but other times it is another person who was there for him. He holds Lily's opinions of himself higher than anybody else, and he holds Lily above anybody else, and I think this can be attributed to some sort of trauma response, which is why his love for her is so unusual. That doesn't mean I think he should be fine with killing innocent people.

On the topic of trauma, I think joining the Death Eaters was another response to this, as well as a result of what kind of family he had.

Similar to both Harry and Voldemort, Snape much preferred Hogwarts to where he lived, and such the castle became his home more than his house ever was.

The Death Eaters could offer him something he had never been offered before. He belonged to something. In his own, twisted, traumatic mindset, he might have even almost seen the Death Eaters as a family. Not consciously of course, but there was definitely a feeling of belonging they gave him.

And there's something to be said about the fact that many serial killers in real life come from an abusive family. I don't pretend to understand the minds of someone who can do something so vile, but I have watched enough Criminal Minds episodes to know what they long for is control.

So being apart of this supremacy group, even though he was a half-blood himself and undoubtedly didn't entirely share Voldermort's racist beliefs, gave him both control and something he belonged to.

It's not an excuse, but it's a reason.

Alternatively, you can look at it through a quote from the most recent episode of Loki.

"It's part of the illusion. It's a cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear."

So it's also possible that when he was a kid, he thought being a villain was the only way to prevent others from being one to him.

Ok sorry, back on the chronological track.

So he agrees to change sides and work with Dumbledore. (Who must see just how distraught Snape was over Lily's death, to trust him immediately.)

Snape spends most of Harry's time at Hogwarts humiliating his own students. He particularly calls out Harry and his friends a lot, but I can definitely see this being a defence mechanism. He assumes Harry is James and reverts back to what we talked about earlier. (Becoming the villain so nobody else has a chance.)

But but but, he does a lot of good throughout the books. Snape mutters the countercurse, saving Harry from Quirrell during the Quidditch match. He then actually referees at the next match, preventing anything from happening altogether.

In retrospective, we see that he spends most of the first book helping Dumbledore by protecting the stone, and helping Lily by protecting Harry.

Now I could go through and list the goods and the bads of Snape throughout the entire series, but I have neither the time nor the patience, and I think you get the point.

(Except I would like the mention that Snape becomes a double agent for Dumbledore in book four, and risks his life every single day by constantly betraying Voldermort, and never once does he use this as a way to double cross Dumbledore. This was actually probably really hard on him. You can assume that having to pretend to be a Death Eater means he had to do some despicable things just so he didn't blow his cover. If he really has changed by this time, which I would like to think he has, is a lot of added guilt to live with.)

(I would also mention that he tried to save Sirius in book five, but... *falls on floor dramatically* I don't want to think about it.)

Severus Snape's time comes to the end in book seven. At the hands of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, his death is a valiant act of sacrifice. Protecting the living and defending the honour of the fallen.

So, he has done a lot of bad in his lifetime, but by the time we as readers get to know him, his fundamental set of beliefs have begun to change. Through the eyes of what started as an eleven year old boy, you can definitely see that even after this he wasn't necessarily a good person.

And that's because his good is behind the scenes. He's good on a larger scale. He's chosen the light over darkness, but in his everyday life he's still the scared, traumatized little kid he's always been.

And him being this way has reasons, but these reasons are not excuses.

Sorry anon, this kind of turned into a long winded review of the entire character. I know that's not really what you asked, so I'll sum it up in a final few sentences sentence.

Yes. I wish Snape had gotten to live. Not because I'm necessarily a "Snape apologist", but because I find his character interesting, and seeing his reaction to his sacrifice could have been a really good read. Also Harry coming up and thanking him would have been really touching, and as a cherry on top maybe we could have gotten to read Harry apologizing for his father. Maybe even Snape sharing memories of Lily?! (Sorry that might have gotten a little to fanfic-y.)

That being said, his death being a final sacrifice towards the good of everyone, and a final testimony to his change of heart, was -- and I'll give JK credit just this once -- good storytelling, and a good way to end it.

Also I like movie!Snape because fuck yeah he's just so awesome.

If anyone has anything to add/take away, or they just want to discuss the wonder that was Alan Rickman, let me know! (Ask/Comment/Reblog/Etc.)

[she-toadmask]

I’m kind of in a mood suddenly so below the cut there will be me just talking about fanfics I have read or am reading and why I like fanfic and stuff because I need to just

Fanfiction fucking rocks the basic part before all the stuff about it as the story just...it’s so easy to access and there’s so much and it’s just all there on the internet I don’t have to find a physical book

And on AO3 (where 90% of good currently-updating fic is afaik) there is TAGGING where you will know what you’re getting into (unless the author suddenly adds a sex scene and only then updates the tags but at least they give a warning at the start of the chapter but it doesn’t bother me as much as it did a couple years ago as long as I know it’s coming I know it’s a tool and it has its uses) with character drama and deaths and all that jazz not to mention how Ash being a badass has a specific tag and just other random things having tags that are important parts of the story

Like there are multiple fics I have found (not all of them are living fics sadly) of writing Ash’s journey in the beginning differently, like there was one I saw once that I kind of forgot to keep reading where he went to Sinnoh (and was still rivals with Paul and I think their ship tag was there?) and it said it was following game plot and then there’s one that I definitely don’t have open anymore because it didn’t update for some amount of time where he had a Joltik and then a Ferroseed and it’s really cool and a different one that’s still living and it’s called Pity of the World and Jesse + James (who is genderfluid in this fic) + Meowth are good people and stuff and just steal abused Pokemon and they run into Ash and they all end up being travel buddies and Ash understands Pokemon (not literally of course that’s not this fic) and also just knows what James’ gender is before they say anything and also in one chapter Zapdos is in Gringy City and says something about friendship being for mortals or something??? idk we’ll see and then there’s a different fic that I was reading and lost when switching devices and Ash was raised by Pokemon and literally can speak Pokemon and it was really neat but I haven’t tried to find where I left off because I’m too lazy for that tbh but it is still updating it’s Symbiosis or Symbiotic or something like that

Most things involving Ash that aren’t shippy or weird like that (ok there are some I’m not interested in but whapdfajaldjakjdf) end up being really cool because he’s a fucking legendary magnet which can either be played for laughs or deadly serious or just not be part of the fic if it isn’t relevant and so many fics use Aura it’s really cool (including Pity of the World I think he mega evolves Pidgeot (who evolves before leaving) when he fights Sabrina who does not have a doll in this fic) and there are different ways they do it and the thing I was mentioning about his connection with Pokemon like maybe it’s just a bit more than normal or it’s just yes he is everything and I kinda skipped out on gens 6 and 7 of the anime but I get enough to understand what they mean in chat fics and when referring to it in other fics it’s really cool

I think I mentioned Creepypasta and how there were two Harry Potter Creepypasta fics, one that was one and was slow to update if it wasn’t dead and one that was on the fourth one actually I was wrong about what number it was I think and updates every two weeks the first one is more lighthearted/written by a younger person like Slendy is a character and Harry x a lot of the ‘pastas I guess and it takes place starting before 4th year and the beginning is kinda meh with some weird dialogue and absurd levels of Dumbledore Ron and Hermione bashing but it does call out some of the other legitimate problems like how the lake trial in the tournament just kidnaps people which is very big because it was Ben who was kidnapped so big yikes there and honestly it’s not what you want to read if you want something really high-quality and serious like not that it doesn’t take itself seriously but it feels closer to something I would have read when I was in middle school than most of the Sanders Sides fics I read (just using that as comparison because the vast majority of that is well-written stuff). Then the other one!!!! For one it has a much more realistic/developed take on the Creepypastas’ existence like how the stories are how they exist with Slenderman being a cosmic horror being thing more than a character with character which is always really cool and Jeff kidnaps Harry as a baby (he is Boy when he is with the Creepypasta and Harry when at Hogwarts and there’s some really cool stuff about how they’re different) and, having lived with murderers, Harry gives zero fucks about things and kills Fluffy in the first book long before other stuff happens, Quirrel tries to use him to get the stone but gets annihilated at the mirror because family and then Voldemort is just a giant white snake for the rest of the series so far and also because he sucks Lockhart tries to exorcise Harry because Harry is fucking nuts and it’s great and also Harry is a Hufflepuff and there is probably more Gryffindor bashing than is necessary and pretty much all the adults get bashed for sucking (like in book 3 the boggart stuff is called out for being hella dangerous for them also Harry can’t cast the Patronus charm make of that what you will idk what) though Harry does make for quite the conversation topic among the teachers, Harry x Neville is the main ship and Neville eventually gets resorted into Hufflepuff because the Gryffindors are being massive dicks to him, also Harry flirts with Draco because Harry gives no fucks and it’s great (also both books give Luna lots of love, like the young one she’s a Seer like from Madame Macabre’s old webcomic that’s dead as it gets and the long one she’s just a good character and shit) and Harry makes these books to spread Slenderman’s legend throughout Britain/the Wizarding World and Draco may have gotten one and survived???? but now Neville has one during the summer months (and also through feeding Fanged Geraniums or whatever live stuff and blood instead of bonemeal he is creating Audrey II and straight-up says something about having to call it Harry Jr. but that’s probably just a little joke and isn’t going to stay beyond this but it’s just fun because Little Shop of Horrors slaps) and I have big fear about him doing the stuff and getting hurt and Harry/Boy conflict will be scary

There’s this other fic I found when trying to find good fics involving Ash and it’s kinda weird and seems to be written by a younger author but we’ll see where things go, like Harry got transported by Celebi to the world of Pokemon and Giovanni is Silver and Ash’s dad and they live with him and also Harry does too and he’s in a wheelchair and also is really smart and I wish we had gotten to spend a bit longer seeing their dynamics before when Harry is 14 the Goblet of Fire somehow spits his name out and Celebi helps with getting Harry (and also the other three because of course) safely there without dying because dimensional travel is hard and Celebi is friend and Luna gets to be important here too I think she’s shown up as a named student and guided them to a room and seems to know things about the castle and that’s kinda all there is so far there’s a bit more but it’s not got a lot yet I hope the author keeps going it’s a weird idea but I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes

Oh I forgot to talk about it but there’s this whump Ash fic that was being written under one title but it got dropped and now it’s being rewritten with the same concept but under a new title and going about a lot of things a different way it’s just the same starting premise and the fic is Helpless and Ash almost dies multiple times and there’s this theme of adults failing him and also Gary fucks a thing up and Ash needs support and therapy (a good number of fics have Ash needing therapy but given the shit he’s been through that is not surprising especially from my limited knowledge of Kalos holy shit Lysandre was doing some mad shit) and it’s just good but it is a lot of hospital and Ash being hurt and almost dying so be warned if that isn’t a safe read for you

The reason I don’t just outright block explicit anymore despite the horrors of trying to find safe Pokemon fic on AO3 amidst the consensual porn, incest porn, pokephilia porn, etc., is I randomly decided to try and find some Sonic fanfic on AO3 because a couple people on YouTube have been doing Sonic story stuff (Sonic What If has some good stuff that’s just... what-if scenarios and then there’s Sonic Rewritten which takes a game’s plot and then redoes it but good like the Deadly Six having personalities or Sonic 06 not having maybe bestiality or Generations being more than ‘oh past and present stages now have nostalgia’ and Robotnik and Eggman are significantly different people in that one and it’s really cool) and I thought maybe I would find some good stuff on AO3 (which I have but nothing that I want to ramble about specifically though there was one fic where Eggman does Tails clone and then his original body dies so he’s stuck looking like Tails and it’s kinda wild) and I found a fic that was marked explicit because torture and violence (honestly it wasn’t that bad) and I like it and don’t want to miss something that I might like by accidentally blocking it and now when I try to find Pokemon fic I have to see Leon x Hop and Pokemon x human smut.

There’s one Sanders Sides fic that I was reading and I don’t remember the name nor do I know if it’s updating I think I lost it but it started from the beginning of the series with the Dark Sides being a platonic poly family and when they weren’t in the episode they were talking about it/the Light Sides and it’s honestly really really good and the author just decided to have Deceit’s name be Janus and it was amazing when it turned out that was his real name it was just great but IDK if the fic has been abandoned, I think I lost it in the shift, but it was really good (but sympathetic dark sides and unsympathetic patton and roman and logan for a bit so do be warned if those aren’t comfortable for you)

Oh yeah I remembered another fic I can talk about there was this one Creepypasta fic and it’s completed and it is a Jeff x Reader but it kind of just stops being about the romance after a certain point and just goes way off the rails. It starts like ‘oh this will be a normal x reader with mansion and Slendy is dad and Zalgo is probably evil’ and then NOPE SLENDERMAN HAS BEEN RAISING FAMILIES THAT LOVE HIM TO TURN THEM INTO CRYSTALS TO MAKE HIM MORE POWERFUL AND ZALGO IS AGAINST THAT and it just is great like I never see Zalgo being good, like Slenderman being evil or whatever is plenty common (especially in the innumerable ARG fics I don’t read because I don’t have the attention span to learn what the fuck the source is) but never in tandem with Zalgo being anything but chaotic evil n shit it’s wild and it’s great and also Slenderman’s parents have faces I guess idk that was weird also there is one smut chapter but like the author said you can skip the smut and I did and didn’t feel like I missed any plot stuff so if that’s a no for you just keep an eye out for the author’s warning. It is by a younger writer, as demonstrated by its daily updates while it was being written, tiny chapters, and some general writing style stuff common to younger writers, but honestly I just love it for being something so wildly different, under the guise of a typical x Reader fic.

Speaking of ship stuff and Creepypasta the trilogy of Sans x Creepypasta fics are amazing. The writer definitely improves over time, the beginning of the first book kind of has the weird ‘then I knew I was in love’ stuff from a couple of the pastas (then again I’m ace and demiro so starting romance is just generally weird) but it is just a really good series. Sans ends up with seven kids in the third book and, while everyone else in the Undertale cast is bashed in the first two, Papyrus does seem to get some redemption in the third, so there is that. Also Murderer Sans is a fantastic tag, Gaster made a deal with Zalgo to create the skelebros and Sans is more demon than Papyrus by a lot and Zalgo is trying to kidnap Sans and Sans’ children so he has his family together to destroy the world and wander free and it’s wild and also Chara and Flowey show up and also LJ being an angel is mentioned and relevant to the plot for a bit so that’s neat and I don’t know all the details of how it ends because I lost it when I shifted and didn’t want to find where I was but it’s a great fic (albeit with a few things I can argue on) and the author has also been writing other Sans x Creepypasta stuff but I haven’t read it because idk

I really wish I had a good Minecraft fanfic to gush about but I really don’t it’s hard to find Minecraft fic that isn’t tuber-based, either Dream and friends (which occasionally I find a good one but so much is either Dream SMP which I have no interest in getting into, involves people I don’t know from Dream SMP, or just is shippy or straight-up doesn’t have a premise I’m interested in) or Hermitcraft (I fell behind so I have no idea what’s happening anymore) (but also like Mianite and Aphmau stuff but not as much as used to, but now Dream rules all so), and it just sucks. Like if some of it was Team Crafted fic I would be on board like hell yeah give me that nostalgia juice but it’s so much shit I just don’t know. I love the idea of Minecraft fanfic because there are so many options for the world and you can either make your own characters and you probably have to but then there’s just if you use Steve Alex Herobrine or Notch how they are written depends on the author and I live for that shit it’s a big part of why I read Creepypasta fic it’s because I like when there are different ways characters can be done (not unsympathetic or sympathetic like Patton so much like straight-up different characters) like Herobrine and Notch are the big ones like good vs evil, involved vs not, serious vs comedic, there are so many different ways to play them and I’m so disappointed AO3 doesn’t have much of it and so much of it is just Dream stuff and it usually just isn’t what I’m after in a fic.

The only other fics coming to mind right now are two wildly different fics involving Springtrap x Reader, one of them is being transferred from Wattpad for copy reasons, complete with tiny-ass chapters and that language that’s just so middle-school in the best way possible (like William and Springtrap are different consciousnesses and they way the author describes their struggle at one point is just so similar to a stupid thing I did and I have so much affection for it) and the other is legitimately really really good and the reader-insert has recently found out that Springtrap is William Afton and has murdered many children and they are currently dying multiple times to help his victims pass on because they can see ghosts and it’s actually really good and I have no idea where things are going, reader has currently met up with Michael Afton, currently all purple and dead and stuff, and has learned about remnant (weird-ass shit from modern FNAF lore) and it’s getting wild. I feel like there are two types of FNAF fic, ones in the style of FNAF 3/4 and earlier and ones from maybe 4 onward. Like ones where the lore was basically ‘bad man committed murder against children and they’re possessing the animatronics and that’s why they’re trying to kill you’ and then 4 starts having some more expansive lore ish and then after that it just goes everywhere with remnant and scooping and even more locations and also the books matter probably??? There is this one fic involving Glitchtrap that hasn’t updated in a bit and it’s fun, I like the idea of Glitchtrap and really wish I could read more fic just centered around FNAF VR. Then again, BEN was always one of my favorites and after I stopped being absolutely terrified of Herobrine I really liked his possibilities, maybe I just like the story utility and possible execution of characters with wide-ranging powers over technology and affecting the real world outside of it, IDK.

Ok I’m out of ramble energy, and also topics unless I go more in-depth about specific character options, but my energy is gone so I think that’s the end of it. I typed 3,000 words about fanfictions I’m reading and probably could have talked more about some of them if I wanted. This is my new hyperfixation. I guess. At least I know I have one, it’s reassuring to know for some reason, like for a while I missed how much Pokemon was my life in elementary school and Minecraft was in sixth grade, like it was nice just having something to focus on, though maybe that’s just the college and depression talking.

That was good, I’m glad I did that. Y’all are loved.

If you seriously read this entire thing... Wow. I really appreciate you digitally listening to me talking about random fanfic shit that I like. You’re really really cool.

[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

MAY PICKS!

WELCOME BACK TO ANOTHER MONTH OF TV/MOVIE WATCHING! 

Does it feel like it was just April or that it can’t even be May and yet it is coming to an end? I get it. Quarantine is doing weird things to my head and I can’t believe how far in the year it’s been. Looking back on my picks for this month I noticed that I have seemed to escape the world through historical period shows or movies. But that isn’t the entire bulk of the month (just half of it). Without further ado, here we go!

As always..spoilers....

THE HALF OF IT

This Netflix original movie was an early watch for me during this month and it came at the right time. I was looking for a movie, rather than a TV show, and something that was contemporary and not overly serious (although, there are serious themes in this film). As it repeatedly says, “it’s not a romance” yet it has that YA/teen romance feel. (Yes, I used YA/teen in the same description.) I really loved the Elle Chu and Paul Munsky friendship. While watching the trailer, I could tell this film would be highlighting a healthy friendship as its focal point and how your other half doesn’t have to be a romantic soulmate. A lot of times, these kinds of stories can seem very repetitive, but with the new plot of Elle and Paul in love with the same girl we encounter a new kind of obstacle. I think the resolution was pretty solid for both plot lines and I liked the train scene at the end. Certain shots felt long at times. There were lots of pauses, which I didn’t 100% like. Also, the awkwardness could feel pretty cringey. Overall, it is definitely worth the watch. I liked it and would watch it again. Paul might be one of my heartthrobs of 2020. I’m always a sucker for a sweet jock with a heart of gold. 

THE OFFICE LADIES

Yes, I know I’m late to the show as this podcast started last year, but better late than never and what better time than quarantine. Plus, I don’t have to wait each week for a new episode (even though know I’m catching up, so eventually...) At first, I was worried when I would have time because of not spending as much time in the car for commuting, but I found it’s really soothing to listen to as I’m cleaning. It feels like I’m in the room with Angela and Jenna and we’re all BFFs. I love how they’re best friends in real life and how close they are. They give the trivia you really can only get from two people who were on the show. They also have several guest stars from actors on the show to writers, directors and producers. One of my most recent listens had Creed Bratton in the studio with them and they talked about the Halloween episode. It was great. Listening to their podcast is really making me want to rewatch the series for the 100th time. As an uber fan, I already get all of their references, but with the new Easter eggs I can’t wait to go back and see them.   

STAR WARS RISE OF SKYWALKER

Not just in honor of May the 4th, but to finish up the Star Wars watch through that I was taking with my sister. I hadn’t seen it yet and while not a die heart fan, I still wanted to see the conclusion. I liked the Force Awakens a lot, but felt eh about Last Jedi. In ways this one kind of felt like a stand alone. It had a different vibe compared to the previous two. After watching I heard there was a different director for all three movies, so that makes sense-I guess. (It’s weird they wouldn’t have kept at least one to do two of them.) It also had a kind of fan fiction feel. SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! Bringing Palpatine back reminded me of Lord Voldemort having a kid in Cursed Child. BACK FROM SPOILERS! I’m happy that Rey’s parentage/lineage was revealed because it was such a major point in this series. I loved the Rey/Finn/Poe relationship. It was great to see them in the same story line and reminded me of the original three: Luke/Han/Leia. Leia :( It was so sad, but I always knew it had to happen, due to Carrie Fischer. It didn’t make it any easier to watch. MORE SPOILERSSSSS! I knew Kylo would turn back. It was nice to see that his mom was able to spark that. I did like his fight scene. I just didn’t love the connection him and Rey have/had. LOVED the ending. I’m cool with her taking the Skywalker name and the suns shot with the force them at the end had me screaming. 

OPHELIA

From one Daisy Ridley film to another. This movie just recently got added to my list when I was channel surfing. I vaguely remembered it being advertised, but it felt like a while ago. I’m a sucker for a re-telling, so I was immediately intrigued to watch it. This film was adapted from a novel by the same name. It follows Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and gives her more of a story and character development. If you are familiar with the original, you know that Ophelia is only briefly mentioned and her character’s motives are really driven by her love for Hamlet. Even her famous death scene is very ambiguous. When this film begins, a voice-over narration by Ridley immediately brings us to her death scene and tells the audience “that there is more to the story than we think we know.” I really loved the twist and re-invention of this story through her point of view. I think Daisy Ridley was fantastic in the role. I haven’t seen her in a lot of other things, so it was great to see her here in a completely different role from Star Wars. The re-telling is very creative and very feminist. You get to see how Hamlet and Ophelia meet and then see him off to school. With this addition you can really get behind this relationship and see the mutual attraction and feelings between them. When relating back to the original, I like how they cut out scenes that Ophelia was not physically apart of and instead rely the events that happened. (Specifically with Polonius’ death.) I also enjoyed the new perspective of scenes. You really can tell that Ophelia is not mad, but it is the mask she must put on to survive. The ‘get thee to a nunnery’ scene takes on a whole different meaning now. There’s also a lot echoes to other Shakespearean plays and tropes which were fun to explore. Whether you’re a Shakespeare/Hamlet fan or not, I would definitely check this one out if you’re a fan of the time period, re-tellings or a strong female lead.   

MEDICI THE MAGNIFICENT SEASON 3

I literally just finished this show this afternoon and I couldn’t wait to write about it. (Sorry if this post is pretty long, but that just shows you that you need to watch it.) I was very excited for the third and final season of Medici because I enjoyed season 2, so much. While this one might have taken me a little longer to watch, it was still a good time and I’m sad it’s over. 

Watching this season I was super impressed by Daniel Sharman’s acting. He has great range as he goes from a young Lorenzo in season 2 to an adult and father and then an elderly man. I think he was convincing throughout each stage and I’m happy they kept the same actor. His make-up to help him age looked a lot more natural, compared to Richard Madden’s, in my opinion. I feel on shows like this it’s often hard seeing a jump in time (it helps with seeing the kids grow up), so when Lorenzo starts to get sick/age I at first, was like whoa, but then it was further explained (by inheriting his father’s illness, etc.) 

Compared to season 2, I definitely liked the previous more. I not only enjoyed watching the more idealistic Lorenzo, but also plot-wise. In season 2 the Pazzi are the main antagonist/objective. Here in season 3 there were several obstacles/antagonists: The Pope, Riario, and Savonarola. Every time we thought there was a moment of peace...nope. Now, I get this is based on history and we need drama so you can only change so much, but I missed the Medici being at the top and being respected. I also know we covered A LOT of time. (I guess that shows you how connected I felt with them and the show.) 

All of the history Easter Eggs were cool. Obviously, the Renaissance was extremely relevant, but it was cool seeing the big names like Botticelli (especially with his painting at the end, which I recognized), Da Vinci, and Michelangelo. I can’t get over how many of these famous painters were recognized by the Medici family. It just shows you how important and influential they were. Also, when Nico revealed his last name as Machiavelli. JAW DROP! This show has continually brought me back to researching (and mainly using Wikipedia). The writing at the end was accurate to what I found. Wish we had another season with the legacy to see it continue. I’m surprised I got teary eyed at the end. 

WORLD ON FIRE

It may be listed last once again, this month, but it is definitely not least. The show may have finished its season a few weeks ago, but I still have two episodes left on my DVR. The last one I watched was when they were in Dunkirk and that was an intense time. I knew it was going to be, but it still didn’t prepare me. In this episode, we see many characters FINALLY meet up and join each other’s plot lines. I think that was one of my favorite parts of the episode/series. Some already knew each other, while others were meeting for the first time. While I am excited to see how it all turns out, I’m also not ready to say good-bye. Right now, I saw a potential for a season 2, but not sure if that was a fan made article or not. I’m hoping all of my favorite characters survive and get what can be considered a happier ending than what they are currently experiencing. I also hope we don’t end on too much of a cliffhanger. Either way, I’m happy I checked this show out. 

RE-WATCHING

iZOMBIE

Currently I’m in the beginning of the second season. Sometime last month I felt the pull to start re-watching this show. It’s one that I have tried once or twice to watch again from the beginning, but now that it’s been finished for almost a year, it felt like time. It was a great decision, although right now there’s some character plots that are frustrating me and that I forgot about. But there’s some great brains that Liv has experienced and it was great seeing Lowell again (for as short-lived as it was). I’m excited to continue re-watching. 

I DIDN’T DO IT

The re-watch for I Didn’t Do It basically began when it hit Disney Plus a few months ago. I just recently made it to season 2, which I remember enjoying more than season 1. One reason for this was because they get rid of the flashback format for each episode. I’m really early on, like episode 4, so I still have many more to go. Once I finish it I don’t know if I’ll explore a new Disney Plus show or watch another that I’ve seen before. 

I also have a few things on DVR that I’m still finishing up. I haven’t watched the finale of Batwoman yet and I know it’s going to be weird now that Ruby Rose has left the show. I just finished the Flash and felt blah about the whole season, so I’m unsure if I’ll watch next season. But I am enjoying Stargirl. You can find my thoughts on the first episode here. I’m excited to see the rest of the season. 

[force-dyad]

“Try for Some Remorse” A Look At Palpatine’s Role In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

It has been said by many, including the creator: George Lucas that Star Wars is a children’s story. Star Wars largely encompasses themes of forgiveness, redemption, compassion, and hope. Dave Filoni himself has stated that “There’s a redemption for most characters– if not all characters– in Star Wars films and there’s an arc and a path to when they let go and stop being selfish.” This is an important read to have on the Star Wars franchise when going into The Rise of Skywalker because we can assume that Kylo Ren, the wayward son of Han and Leia, is on a path towards redemption. He and Rey are set to right the wrongs of the generations that came before them. My personal read of the story makes me think that we will get a happy ending where Ben Solo comes back to the light and his family. I believe he will be forgiven and given a chance at his new life, a life that Anakin was never able to live. So where does Palpatine’s ending fall in all of this?

Palpatine. Sheev Palpatine (as was revealed in the 2014 novel, Tarkin by James Luceno) is not a sympathetic character. He is probably one of the only characters that the majority of the fandom agrees will need to go in order for the Skywalker family (and the galaxy alike) to live in peace. His selfishness and need for power is Voldemort like in that actual human life is expendable to him. He only cares about one thing: gaining the most power. In the Rebels episode, “A World Between Worlds” it is revealed that whoever controls the world between worlds will control the very universe. In that same episode, our heroes, Ezra and Ahsoka, just nearly escape Palpatine in his quest to access the portal. This episode just reinforces how knowledgeable Palpatine is in terms of the machinations of the force, and highlights what his final game plan will be. Now that we know that he is back, corporeal or not, we can assume that he will attempt to use Rey and Kylo, to access this portal, given the magnitude of importance that the portal holds.

So we can assume that Palpatine will assuredly be back to his schemes of trying to control the Skywalker (Kylo) in order to control the Universe, given his track record of controlling the Skywalker (Vader) to control the Universe (badumtss). But I think he will have a different end than the one in Return of the Jedi. Darth Vader finally “murders” his master at the end of ROTJ, but The Rise of Skywalker trailer including his laugh at the end emphasizes that whatever happened in Episode VI was not enough to truly get rid of the phantom menace. According to George Lucas, the Sith cannot come back as force ghosts, so I don’t think that is how Palpatine will return. I can’t pretend to know how he’ll return, but I’m just crossing the force ghost option out due to the rules imposed by Lucas (though I realize that they can change at any time, but since a lot of the current Lucasfilm team worked under Lucas, I believe they’ll want to respect his vision). Whatever form of Palpatine that Kylo, Rey, and the resistance go up against will have to be defeated in a way that has not been attempted before. The traditional “final battle” will have to be subverted in order for Palpatine’s destruction to feel believable. If a murder is the simple solution to destroying Palpatine, the ultimate villain, then why was the sequel trilogy even made? According to Kathleen Kennedy, Palpatine was always a part of the plan, and I believe her, but like I’ve said, they’ll have to do something different. Before The Force Awakens came out, Kathleen Kennedy gave a quote “I think we can’t explore in quite as much detail issues of compassion, the way [Lucas] did in terms of the values of the Jedi. But we’re going to get there, let’s put it that way. In the arc of all three movies, that will increase.”

In Return of the Jedi, we see Darth Sidious egging Luke on as he fights his father, Darth Vader. Darth Sidious encourages Luke to embrace the anger inside of his heart, “Your hate has made you powerful, let the hate flow through you, and your transformation to the dark side will be complete” he goads Luke on to embrace his feelings of hatred, and anger to embrace the power of the dark side so that Luke could defeat Vader, but the true lesson that one must learn is that fighting is not the way to defeat your enemy. Rose Tico sums up all of Star Wars in The Last Jedi when she tells Finn: “That’s how we’re going to win. Not fighting what we hate. Saving what we love.” Luke proves to be the walking embodiment of that quote once again when he faces off against his nephew, Kylo Ren. Luke has blame to share with regards to Ben’s fall, and though he knows that he can not save him, he still goes to confront him to help save his family and the resistance. Since he is a force projection, he cannot use any offensive tactics against Kylo, nor can Kylo hurt him in any way. He bides time for the resistance to escape, while ensuring that his nephew does not kill off the resistance. Ultimately, Luke chose not to fight two times: against his father, and against his nephew. I think letting go of negative emotions and doing anything possible to protect people is the true way towards balance. Kylo Ren is not at that part of his journey (yet), but I think he is on his journey towards letting go. While Luke and Kylo’s confrontation on Crait was about saving the resistance on the surface level, I believe that the color of the salt going from white to red back to white during the course of their confrontation is symbolic of healing wounds, both Ben and Luke’s. While it’s not a light sided emotion to have anger, it is healthy to confront it. Maybe not in the way Kylo has done so far, but I believe that he’s on the journey towards letting go of his anger, resentment, and hatred.

This is where I believe the final confrontation comes in. Like I said, I think it would be too much of a retread if Kylo and Rey confronted Palpatine and it ended in Palpatine getting the chop via Lightsaber. The Last Jedi already showed us this through Snoke. Snoke tried to have Kylo kill Rey, but Kylo, in a grab for power and to save Rey alike, killed him with the Skywalker saber. Now will The Rise of Skywalker give us the same ending for the biggest bad of them all? I don’t think so because murder is inherently evil. In an interview with Bill Moyers, George Lucas said “…everybody has the choice of being a hero or not being a hero every day of their lives. And you can either help somebody, you can be compassionate toward people, or you can treat some people with dignity or not. And one way you become a hero, and the other way, you’re part of the problem.”

And the other way, you’re part of the problem. I believe that redemption for Ben Solo is inevitable, and I believe he will live and strive towards being a balanced individual for the rest of his life. That being said, I think that when he and Rey finally confront Palpatine, it’ll take a different route than Vader pushing Sidious down the reactor shaft. I do believe that Ben Solo will definitely resent Palpatine for all that has happened to his family because of his influence, but I think that it will end differently. Vader had to deal with years of Palpatine belittling him. From what we know, Kylo already had that type of relationship with a “master” aka Snoke and he already murdered him.

One of the reasons why murdering Palpatine will not work is because we have seen skilled force users such as Yoda, Mace Windu, and Anakin fight him (or throw him down a shaft), but he has gotten away each time. (I mean, maybe he won’t be in his old body in TROS, but I believe he, or maybe his soul, must have escaped somehow.) An ending where Palpatine is destroyed in the same way as ROTJ will lead to many questions for Disney like “So this is not the end of the timeline for the Skywalkers since Palpatine will probably be able to come back, right?” They have to figure out a way where the death of Palpatine will be believable and true to the message of hope and choosing the light, so that people don’t question it. (Remember: If you don’t see what happens to the body, anything is possible.)

This leads me into talking about how I think he will be defeated… Through compassion. Now you may be asking yourself: what? And trust me, I understand the hesitation…Sheev “Darth Sidious” Palpatine is probably the closest thing we get to the devil in the story.  J.J. Abrams referred to him as the ultimate evil. But there are many examples in children’s media that help inform how the end of the Skywalker Saga could go. Children’s media tries to teach us that murder is not the way to finish the evil. Specifically I want to talk about Voldermort and Lord Ozai from Harry Potter and Avatar: The Last Airbender, respectively.

In Harry Potter, Voldemort is the ultimate evil. He is He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He’s someone that does not care about the humanity around him. He kills Harry Potter’s parents and attempts to murder Harry Potter, which is his ultimate downfall. In Harry Potter, there is a prophecy that says that someone will kill Voldemort but that “neither could live while the other survives,” but like all great stories, prophecies are not truly activated until someone seeks to prevent their fate. This ultimately leads to his defeat; but his defeat wasn’t as simple as Harry shooting the killing curse at him. During the final confrontation, Harry uses a disarming spell (basically a defensive mechanism). Harry tries to appeal to Voldemort’s humanity.“It’s your one last chance,” said Harry, “and it’s all you’ve got left… I’ve seen what you’ll be otherwise… Be a man… try… Try for some remorse…” Even through all the pain and horror and destruction that Voldemort has caused Harry Potter’s life, he still tries to appeal to Voldemort / Tom Riddle’s humanity, much like Dumbledore, who always called Voldemort by his given name. Appealing to his humanity is appealing to what Voldemort hates the most, as his number one fear is mortality and losing his power. Sound familiar? A Sith lives without love because they reject any emotion that will bring them closer to the light. A famous Dumbledore quote is: “Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.” Pity: “the feeling of sorrow and compassion caused by the suffering and misfortunes of others.” Voldemort’s end is ultimately due to his own hubris and misunderstanding of wand lore. His own hubris brought him down, not Harry.

Another similar scenario is Avatar Aang in the series Avatar: The Last Airbender In this story, Aang must defeat the evil Fire Lord who has seeks to conquer through destruction. The previous Avatars all tell him that he must kill Ozai to bring an end to the war, but still Aang cannot. Avatar Aang is an air nomad who has been taught to respect all life, so the act of murder is something that he cannot come to terms with. When Aang finally confronts Ozai, he reiterates that they do not have to fight and goes on to use defensive moves against Ozai, avoiding the fire bender. It isn’t until he reaches his Avatar State (aka all the avatars join forces and he becomes all powerful) that he starts using brute force, but before he strikes the killing blow, Aang returns to his own body and stops it. In order to stop Ozai, Aang takes away his bending power, leaving him powerless.

Both of these methods have brought in complaints from fans. Why wasn’t this ultimate evil power attacked by the main protagonist? People found the final battle in Harry Potter to be anti-climactic since Harry uses his signature spell of expelliarmus, something that everyone from his peers to the Death Eaters (Voldemort’s followers) criticize and call him weak for using. With Avatar, it’s the same argument: where’s the death? But I put forth that these people should not be looking for destructive mechanisms in a children’s story. Those methods are always painted in bad light. We might think that that will be the true way to get rid of evil in the world, but as adults, we see things differently than children. One of the reasons why evil prevails is because of lack of empathy and compassion. It is foolish to say that evil will be defeated completely through showing those things towards evil people, but that’s the only way to defend the light.

I think Ben Solo showing compassion towards Palpatine is not at all about Palpatine getting a redemption arc. I think the only way for Kylo to truly heal is to let go of any and all anger. I would even go as far as saying that he will forgive Palpatine. Not because he deserves forgiveness or because of any true feelings of fondness towards him, but because letting go of the resentment and anger and grief that Palpatine has caused is the only way to truly move on. Kylo holding a grudge or attacking Palpatine in anger will not fix the force. I believe that through showing Palpatine some kind of compassion, Palpatine will go on a self-destructive path. This way, we’ll have a different way of defeating evil that ultimately shows us the reason why the sequel trilogy had to exist to fix the Skywalker story. It also shows us that we must choose the light in as many situations as possible and let go. The key to a happy life is being able to let go: of fear, of anger, and the negative emotions that led to two Skywalkers falling to the dark side.

Thanks for reading! And of course, thanks to BlindManBaldwin for posting the original post about Sheev’s role in IX + Compassion and for talking through this with me! Check out my podcast on it on Soundcloud, or wherever you find podcasts!

[officialthiamlibrary]

Hello! Hello! Hope everyone is having a glorious weekend thus far.  With enthusiasm, we are finally introducing you to another spectacular creator, pettigrace. The author of buy and sell gravity, its sequel free fallin’ in the jungle lights, and other fantastic works across 5 fandoms! Why don’t we just dive in?

Omg, Yas! Hi. It took us a while to get here, but we finally made it haha. Why don’t you start by telling us about yourself? The twist, the word count has to be either equal to or less than the number of letters in your two favorite Teen Wolf episode names.

Motel California and The Divine Move are the only episodes I remember by name, so I guess they must be my favourites. (15 + 13 = 28)

My name is Yas, I am an aroace being from Germany and I absolutely fucking hate time travel. I work as a journalist sometimes and I love writing.

Oh wow, a journalist! I love meeting people who’ve made a living out of their writing! What’s a typical day like as a journalist?

Mind you, I am not your typical journalist. I may look like Clark Kent most of the time, but I don’t do the stuff he does (that extends also to the superheroing, sadly) - I work for the youth page of my local newspaper, which means I get to write a few articles about/aimed at children a few times a month. I usually go for reviews of media (as in books and tv shows most of the time but movies, games and all that jazz, too!) but every once in a while I get to do something bigger as well. That means (typically) interviewing people in sports clubs, writing about my personal experience about a topic or doing surveys about things. It’s not much, but my name is in the paper pretty much every week.

I’m trying not to be super impressed and failing, but that’s honestly phenomenal! Obviously, you’re a huge fan or movies, books, and tv shows. Did that influence your name, pettigrace?

It refers to Peter Pettigrew from Harry Potter! (But Yas, you go, isn’t that the guy who doomed James and Lily Potter? To which I say: He also killed Cedric Diggory! And faked his own death! And gave Voldemort back his body!) No, hear me out. I don’t love the guy. Hell, I hate Peter Pettigrew as much as we all do. But he’s an important character in the world of HP and doesn’t get the recognition for it. He’s the unsung villain of the story. Is he a good villain? Heck no, he’s probably one of the worst. He doesn’t even have his own agenda! Still, he symbolizes something that’s important to me when I look at characters: The way they develop. How they used to be in certain situations. General character development. We don’t talk enough about the secret talents and thoughts of him.

Also, ace. Because like many characters, I headcanon Peter Pettigrew as asexual. Thank you.

And, how did you find your way to the Thiam fandom?

Here’s the funny thing: I think that I only started shipping them as much as I do now while I already wrote fic for them. I don’t know, I saw the appeal because I love those ships with awful banter and the enemies-to-lovers trope, so the arguments Theo and Liam kept having right from the beginning practically screamed at me to ship them – even if it didn’t fully hit me yet and I hated Theo during season 5 (which is to say, I loved him as a villain. He has always been a great character, just not a good person.). I’ve read a couple of fics for them at the end of last year and then decided to write my own and both of those actions made me realize how well they fit together and helped me learn to appreciate them both in their own ways.

Gasp, How can anyone hate Theo?! Though, I might be a tad bias lol. I think a lot of people would agree with you about how well they fit together. Since you’ve only had time to grow in your appreciation for their relationship, why don’t we try a little game?

Let’s pretend this was a Stranger Than Fiction situation and you could predict any aspect of their lives with your writing. How would you set up the follow scenarios:

a. Their first postseason 6 interaction:

Okay, I’m a sucker for canon so let’s stay with that. I think that after the hospital scene, after Theo’s taken Gabe’s pain and the battle is won, it would not be Liam who approaches Theo to talk about. In my head, it would be Mason – he’s the one who realizes the significance of this, he’s the one who told him he doesn’t care enough to take someone’s pain (I think Liam doesn’t know about that in canon? If I remember wrong, let’s just pretend he doesn’t know.).

So I don’t know, maybe Theo leaves the hospital while everyone’s celebrating, completely overwhelmed and also feeling wrong there – he’s not part of this friend group and now that the battle is over, they don’t have any use for him any more, right? So he slips out; only to be followed by Mason. And we know Mason.

He’s clever and determined and he doesn’t back down from confronting someone. He doesn’t like Theo, he’s said as much, but now he’s seeing progress in him. He knows what an aide Theo has been for Liam, both in the fights and with his anger. He addresses all of this and Theo reacts like we all expect that he would: dismissive and sarcastic. Mason doesn’t buy into it for a single second, but he doesn’t try to make Theo stay when he says he needs to leave. I feel like it would actually be good for him to leave for a while because boy, does he need a time-out. Let’s be real. It’s clear that Theo isn’t as much of Liam’s responsibility any more. Liam doesn’t keep him close and he can leave and Liam wouldn’t feel like he needs to watch him. Theo’s come back from hell and then he’s had to fight battle after battle. He’s not friends with any of them and there’s no reason for him to stay around. So, he leaves, and Mason lets him leave, both because he gets it and he doesn’t really care if Theo is around or not.

Now Liam. I feel like even at that point in canon, Liam doesn’t really see Theo as a person. He knows him as a villain and as an ally but never just as Theo, and even with the almost-kiss between them (because that’s what the elevator scene has been, goddammit. There’s an attraction between them and it’s only been increased by the adrenaline, but especially Liam doesn’t really realize that he cares about Theo), he doesn’t even notice at first that Theo is gone. He’s too full of ecstasy and when he’s reunited with the rest of the pack, that only becomes more. It takes him a few days, maybe even weeks until he truly notices that Theo is gone. It’s not that he just forgets about him – Theo’s been present enough in the past few months, especially to him – so the remainder of him helping clings to Liam’s mind. He doesn’t ask anyone about Theo, though. It’s not like anyone really cares, he thinks. And he knows Mason’s dislike for the chimera, so bringing it up to him wouldn’t be fruitful either.

Of course, Theo comes back. Beacon Hills is his home and he just feels this draw back to it and (that much he can admit to himself) to Liam. He’s also the only one whose phone number he has so after much thinking – and Theo’s logical, so he doesn’t try to convince himself to ignore it – he calls Liam. It’s awkward because Theo had just disappeared like that (which Liam would call him out for) and maybe that leads to a fight between them; one that ends with Liam admitting he’s needed Theo around because he’s felt so restless and he’s not stupid, he knows that’s what it feels like to lose your anchor. Theo grows silent at that, not sure what to answer, and Liam almost hangs up because he’s too embarrassed by that confession and hell, they’re not even friends. He practically admitted to be in love with him, which is not even the case. They’re not in love yet, that’s for sure. But then, suddenly, Theo just says, “I’m coming home,” and that’s a promise.

The call would end shortly after that, with awkwardness hanging in the air, but Liam’s excited and content at the prospect of Theo coming back. And Theo, completely beside himself, sets off towards Beacon at once.

I have the image in mind (and heck if I knew if that works time zone-wise but maybe Theo’s still in the same) that the next day when Liam comes out of school, he finds Theo chilling in the parking lot, leaning against his truck like that’s his usual spot. Liam, not sure whether it’s appropriate to hug him or whatever but shit, is he happy to see him, jogs up to him and beams, saying, “You came.” And Theo, the little shit that he is, just rolls his eyes and clicks his tongue and goes, “Yeah. You’re paying lunch.” And then they climb into the car and ride off into the sunset.

(God I can’t believe this became almost two pages of basically just relationship study, I’m so sorry!!)

Never apologize for passion! What about a Thiam Double Date with any other ship from the show?

Well, Morey is obviously a given. Seriously, once Thiam started dating, Liam would definitely make the two of them see how much Theo has changed – I have no doubt it would become somewhat awkward, with Mason outright having stated that he despises Theo and Theo having worked with the people who killed Corey… Still, I think they’d go out for a movie or something or maybe just happen to be all at the Geyers’ home at the same time and maybe they would bond over video games or something.

I could also see that after some time, Theo would make up with Melissa. If he stays in Beacon Hills, he might end up being the one who brings her lunch – a weak attempt at making up for all the things he did to her and her family, but it’s the best they can do. After a while, Melissa would probably inquire him about what has happened and try to make him deal with the guilt; at the same time, she could see he’s different now, so then she insists that Scott and Stiles see it, too. So, she’s the one who’d set them all up. Probably a giant dinner or something at her house where she invites Thiam, Scalia and Stydia. And maybe she has Papa Argent over, too. It would be awfully tense, especially with Stiles’ and Malia’s hatred for Theo and maybe it ends in a disaster, who knows? But maybe Melissa mentions a fun story from when they were kids and Lydia, though she isn’t completely at ease either, would remember something she saw the guys do in elementary school (remember, she was there, too, even if they weren’t friends) – and then they would forget themselves and explain how they came up with the idea of stealing a toilet seat or something. They’d just chat about how things have been and then suddenly there’s a silent where they all swallow and remember that it can’t be like that anymore, can it? But there’s a promise: If they all can remember and laugh about it, and if Theo’s truly changed, then maybe there’s hope.

Finally, one conflict they’d have as an official couple:

Liam’s anger, without a doubt. I don’t think Theo can be as patient as fics make him out to be. He probably doesn’t know how to actually react to one of Liam’s outbursts and the way he talked to him during 6B wouldn’t always help. If Liam lashed out at him, Theo would probably let him – that’s another topic between them, the way Theo will accept anything as a sort of punishment for what he’s done. Liam would be overwhelmed by guilt and Theo would try to talk him out of it, say it’s okay and it’s not like he didn’t deserve it. And then Liam would tell him that no, he doesn’t. Theo’s already paid for his sins and he’s learnt to do better and anyway Liam isn’t his judge. It’s a vicious cycle because they’d argue and then Liam would get angry again and maybe then he’d just walk away and punch a tree, but the problem stands. I just made myself sad :(

If you could magically write any Thiam story with your mind, what story would you craft?

I have a few stories in mind that I want to write, especially for Thiam, but there’s one I keep putting off because it would require me to rewatch some of season 5 and basically all of season 6. I just don’t have the time or spoons for that at this point. If I had, though… Oh dear, hold on to your seats.

It’s told from Mason’s point of view, believe it or not. Either while or after he’s been possessed by the Beast, he’s developed powers of his own: He can suddenly see some kind of aura around people. It’s kind of a count for karma, with bad people having really dark colours while good ones have bright colours – later, though, he finds out that was aren’t general ratings but how the people view themselves. So, the last glimpse Mason gets of Theo is before he goes to hell. 

His aura is really bright except for a few specks here and there. When he comes back from hell, it’s the darkest Mason’s ever seen. 

Basically, the story would be about character growth and the way people see themselves. For example, both Stiles and Liam have darker auras than you’d expect them to have, because they’re good people, right? It wouldn’t surprise you after the nogitsune and Donovan that Stiles doesn’t think that of himself but Liam? It gives both the reader and Mason new insights into the characters of Teen Wolf.

The fic stays close to canon as it plays out, only that with Mason being the narrator, you get to see more of the puppy pack, of course. The way both Liam’s and Theo’s auras change as they interact with each other and Theo truly betters himself until in the end… Well, that’s it, right? Does the end stay lie in canon, too? Would Mason do something about the way his best friend feels better about himself when he’s around Theo? Who knows, definitely not me yet.

I’m excited to jump into your writing! First, if you could describe your creative process as a living entity, what would it look like? Wear? Listen? How does it handle conflict?

Hm, they‘re always around, though usually pretty chill in the background. Like, you turn around and they’re there but it’s not like they’re really annoyingly present, if that makes sense? I’m always working on something in the back of my head, and a lot of time it becomes more pregnant, so from time to time this person would be more active. And maybe they would be annoying from time to time, like when an idea doesn’t let me sleep or occupies my thoughts at all times, though that’s become a rarer happenstance lately. They’d be dressed pretty casually, maybe just a hoodie and sweatpants or something – my writing isn’t anything extravagant, and neither is the process of it for me. Actually, I don’t think they’d be a person, to be honest. I literally just described my cat.

ALOL, well, looks like we’ve discovered one of your writing influences haha! Do you and your cat have any Writing Kryptonites?

Oh, probably action. Which is especially sad in regard to Teen Wolf because you can come up with such amazing fight scenes in this fandom! But I’m struggling with writing motion, actually. No idea if it’s just that my vocabulary is limited in that area, being non-native to English and all, or if I generally suck at it, but it always feels so wrong to me. I write from a single person’s perspective, usually, so I’m limited to what they see and how they move and even then, it doesn’t feel swift enough. I’m working on that, though – there was a time when my writing basically only consisted of dialogue, and that became much better during the past years.

That’s amazing! What are some ways that you try to better your writing? Besides, well...writing haha. Have you done any type of skill building that you thought worked for you?

Most of it has definitely come just from continuing writing, to be honest. I’ve only once told myself to actively focus on something (it was really early in the beginning of my writing where I tried to get more skilled in describing people - the way they look and move, stuff like that). Otherwise, it’s basically just that. In writing class ,there were a few things you could try out, such as focussing on different emotions while writing or something.

Things that do the trick for me, usually, are PoV switches (meaning one chapter from A’s perspective, the next from B’s, stuff like that) and waiting to write something specific until I’m in the same mood as well. So if a character’s particularly sad in one scene, I’ll leave that for a time where I am sad as well. It works well for me because I don’t write chronologically anyways.

And is there one trope or scene that always ends up in whatever you’re writing? 

Well, I barely write anything that doesn’t include an asexual character. Also, there’s always some meta-ish reference to canon in AUs and, weirdly enough, I always have characters either watch or talk about Star Wars. That even happened before I watched the movies myself!

In case of Teen Wolf, there’s always the act of redemption for Theo. I feel that it’s an essential part of both him and Thiam as a relationship – the way Theo grows as a person and becomes better. I’m a sucker for parallels to canon, so that’s always a topic in one way or another. Of course, Theo doesn’t kill someone in every AU, but he deals with something that holds him back, makes him kind of a bad person, every time.

And then, I always come back to his friendship with Scott and Stiles, especially the latter. I’d have loved to see more of that in canon, maybe in stories or flashbacks or something. You’ve always had Scott and Stiles as practically one entity up to season 5 and suddenly Theo comes along, and you’re supposed to believe they used to be three? And nothing was ever mentioned? Of course, the writers only came up with that plotline for season 5, it makes sense they didn’t have anyone discuss Theo before. Still, it feels like something is missing there to make you truly believe it and I love to reflect on that, play with it. Stiles’ stance towards Theo draws me in a lot – how come he doesn’t trust him right away? Was something happening between them? How would it have been if Theo never left? I love to dig into that.

Mental illness is also a big thing for me. We have canon evidence for mental illness, even if they’re never named. They all must have PTSD. Stiles shows extreme signs of ADHD. Lydia is practically a survivor of sexual abuse. Multiple characters have attempted suicide. Liam is canonically diagnosed with IED. It would be ignorant not to refer to any of that while writing. Lots of fics I’ve read mention the struggles, depict them greatly, but only a few talked about handling them, about recovery. It’s about time we make progress in that department.

Hmm very true. And not a thought, as a perpetual fluff writer, that I’ve considered until now. You deal with quite a bit of mental issues within your main story, Buy and Sell Gravity. Before we chat about it in depth, can you give us a quick synopsis?

Buy and sell gravity starts with one of Liam’s outbursts of anger. In his social studies class, Monroe has talks badly about adoptive/step-parents and Liam started arguing with her until said he sent him out. So, then he goes and slashes her tires in classic Liam-style. Theo, who has only moved back to Beacon Hills recently and is surrounded by awful rumours, but nothing specified, catches him and decides to take care of it. He saves Liam’s ass and in return he demands that Liam pays for his food during lunch. But then they actually become friends and Liam learns more and more about Theo.

And did anything inspire you to create the premise?

The idea just came me at random – I just had that image in mind of Thiam making a deal. It’s classic romcom stuff, right? And I had thought it would just turn into a lengthy oneshot at most but now it’s the longest thing I have ever written. It’s crazy.

The story is told from Liam’s perspective. Do you think the story would unfold differently had we’d experienced it from Theo’s POV?

I’m actually writing a sequel at the moment, which is from Theo’s perspective. There’s references to buy and sell gravity, of course, so you actually do get part from Theo’s point of view! In general, though, had you seen it all from his point of view, the slow burn would have felt even longer, I imagine. The sound of the fic would have been darker, because that’s Theo’s mindset for the most of it, and there wouldn’t have been so many questions. Theo doesn’t really wonder about anything in this fic, he reflects and draws his own (mostly correct) assumptions. I feel like it would have sounded pretty monotone – it made sense to only pick up his PoV in the sequel and if you’ve read buy and sell gravity, you might be able to tell why. He’s opening up more towards the ending and a more pleasant person to be around to.

I’ve noticed most of your stories turn into longer fics. Have any tricks for keeping yourself motivated to write those longer plots? (Clearly, this is purely self-indulgent here haha. It’s a near miracle if I stick through a long, complex plot!)

I usually only start posting multichaptered fics once they’re already finished. This way you can motivate yourself by going “Well, if you don’t finish it then you won’t post it, nobody will see it and you worked for nothing.” That method works well for me because I love recognition for my works, even if a lot of them are for obscure pairings.

In case of buy and sell gravity, I’ve already started posting while working on it, however. I’ve felt stuck because it’s been my first fic for Teen Wolf, so I was very unsure about whether I hit the characters correctly, if it felt believable; stuff like that. I needed feedback from more than one person and since I’ve never really been in the fandom, going ahead and posting it was my only option. I wanted to know whether it was worth continuing working on it. the feedback was amazing and the fact that a few people came back for every new chapter was a wonderful motivator. Oh, and it certainly doesn’t harm when you have someone literally show up on your doorstep and demand you write a new chapter.

Your first Teen Wolf fit?! Impressive!! Is Teen Wolf now your ultimate favorite fandom to write? (*Wink Wink*) Or, do you have another favorite fandom/ship to write for?

The Arrowverse is generally my favourite fandom. I love all the shows and the way it consists of multiple worlds give you so many things to take away from! You can write any AU, you can write for abandoned timelines or worlds, crossover between the shows and ship practically anything. You can go all out, have doppelgängers appear (like one evil and one good version of the same person, stuff like that). There are no limits. Writing for it is fun because you can draw from so many shows and even include the original comics, if you want. Right now I’m (and have been for the past one and a half years) working on a Groupchat AU set in the Arrowverse where everyone is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and even that doesn’t seem too out of character.

As to a ship, I probably enjoy Simon Lewis/Raphael Santiago from Shadowhunters the most. Writing for them is almost easy because I can relate to both so much. Depending on which mood you’re in, you can write Simon’s optimistic and reference-heavy rambling or maybe you write the angst that constantly underlines Raphael’s thoughts. I can always find a way to write for them because they’re so different and yet fit together so well.

Yoooo, we could honestly strike up a whole subconvo dedicated to Simon x Raphael lmao. Since we’re supposed to be all about Thiam around here, I’ll restrain myself and simply agree about your opinions on Saphael. (I’ll miss them, sad face)

Being a writer of many fandoms then, what’s your ultimate Teen Wolf crossover with any other show or movie universe? What character would you see interact?

God! I’m a sucker for crossovers with DC! There’s a few I read where Stiles is always the person in question (whether he’s a member of the Batfamily or the brother of The Flash, I’ve read both of those cases, haha). I love the connection of the Teen Wolf world with DC Comics. I wrote a retelling of a Flash episode with Thiam in the focus and someone else wrote a Under the Red Hood AU which still keeps me in awe. (And also, it’s too funny how much the casts overlap, the double identities practically overlap – suddenly Liam is Superboy, Derek is Superman, Allison is a mafia daughter, Jackson as Red Arrow… It’s great.)

Otherwise, what I haven’t seen yet: Twilight. I’ve (re-)discovered my love for it last year and honestly? Let those mix up! Washington and California are both on the West Coast!! I have no idea about how far exactly but let them meet! Let Emmett Cullen beat up Peter Hale! Have Edward and Derek suffer together through their depression and Scott and Jasper try to comfort everyone. Lydia and Alice? Nobody’s dying on their watch. Let Rosalie and Malia kick ass together and Melissa and Carlisle swap hospital stories! Stiles and Bella hanging out together, being sarcastic little shits and also way too much into all this stuff. Hell, I’m gonna write this myself if I have to! (Otherwise I accept fic recs. Thank you.)

Before we wind down, what’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten? Any advice you feel compelled to share? 

I used to be really bad at discussing plot ideas with people – I dunno if it was an irrational fear of them running off with what I thought of, but it’s been there. I’ve been in a creative writing class about two years ago and there I was basically forced to do it. It helped somewhat with the progress of my story and being around people who like to do the same thing as you is always a great motivator.

I don’t listen to those conventional writing tips, like what atmosphere you’re supposed to have around you and how to depicts things. Writing is a personal experience and you can do it in a way you seem fit. Not everyone feels at ease in the same environment, so just write when you feel like it. Forcing yourself to do it doesn’t help anyone – except you can only work under stress, of course! See? There’s that individuality again, ruining my own writing tips.

Ahahaha, advice giving is a definite catch-22. Thank you for hanging out with us!! What’s next for you in the world? Both creatively and lively?

I’ve started an apprenticeship to become a bookseller this month! It’s a huge change compared with the life of a student that I had before, but after finishing my Bachelor‘s degree last December, it’s what I needed. Sadly it means that I don’t have as much time to write as I’d like, but I’m doing my best to squeeze in some of that. For Teen Wolf I‘m meaning to wrap up free fallin‘ in the jungle lights finally - otherwise, there’s a few WIPs in the Arrowverse and (uncharacteristic for me) MCU lurking on the back of my brain.

Anything else you’d like to share, in general. The floor is all yours!

I’m not really in the Thiam fandom, I think (really, the number of people I actually chatted with outside of ao3 comments can be counted on one hand), but here’s a massive shoutout to everyone! To the people who write, the people who read, the people who leave long comments, the artists, the meta-people, the ones with the headcanons. The people here from the officialthiamlibrary! You make writing a better experience and your opinions and reflections upon the show and characters help me become better at understanding them. Thank you all for being so lovely and just… into it. You’re all amazing!

And Behind the Screens presents Yasmin to you! Naturally, the conversation doesn’t have to stop here. Meet them at these places:

Main Tumblr: @joanthangroff

Inbox/Ask: joanthangroff ask

AO3: Pettigrace

Twitter: LI4MDUNBAR

Thank you for letting us get to know more about you! And thank you all for reading and requesting her. As always, if you have a Thiam Creator that you fan over, send us their names. Likewise, if you as the creator, would like to be a part of the Behind the Screens series, give us a shout too! We’d love to get to know you, as well.

@joanthangroff

[hufflly-puffs]

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 22: St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

“The instrument tinkled into life at once with rhythmic clinking noises. Tiny puffs of pale green smoke issued from the minuscule silver tube at the top. Dumbledore watched the smoke closely, his brow furrowed. After a few seconds, the tiny puffs became a steady stream of smoke that thickened and coiled in the air … a serpent’s head grew out of the end of it, opening its mouth wide. Harry wondered whether the instrument was confirming his story: he looked eagerly at Dumbledore for a sign that he was right, but Dumbledore did not look up. ‘Naturally, naturally,’ murmured Dumbledore apparently to himself, still observing the stream of smoke without the slightest sign of surprise. ‘But in essence divided?’” – I don’t think it is ever explained what exactly this instrument is, but this, along with Dumbledore’s question from which perspective Harry saw the attack on Mr. Weasley, confirms that by now Dumbledore knows or at least suspects about the Horcruxes. He might had suspected it since book 2 and the Riddle Diary and the way it worked. By now though it is confirmed to him that Harry is a Horcrux as well, which would explain we he could see through Nagini’s eyes, as all the Horcruxes and Voldemort are connected. This would also explain why Dumbledore refuses to even look at Harry, though he did ignore him ever since the start of the summer, so while Harry’s knowledge about the attack confirms his theory Dumbledore must have known for much longer. Which would also explain his emotional distance: he didn’t want to get to close to the boy he knew had to die.

“Dumbledore was now rummaging in a cupboard behind Harry and Ron. He emerged from it carrying a blackened old kettle, which he placed carefully on his desk. He raised his wand and murmured, ‘Portus!’ For a moment the kettle trembled, glowing with an odd blue light; then it quivered to rest, as solidly black as ever.” – I like the idea of Dumbledore having a cupboard of random things he can turn into Portkeys at any given time should he need one.

“At once, Harry’s scar burned white-hot, as though the old wound had burst open again – and unbidden, unwanted, but terrifyingly strong, there rose within Harry a hatred so powerful he felt, for that instant, he would like nothing better than to strike – to bite – to sink his fangs into the man before him –“ – We know that Voldemort never possessed Harry here, and that obviously Dumbledore was never in real danger to get attacked by Harry through him. So I think another reason why Dumbledore ignored Harry was because he might had suspected that his view would be enough to re-connect Harry and Voldemort and that perhaps this time Voldemort would be aware of the connection, using it against Harry, the way he ultimately does at the end of this book.

“[…] Sirius was hurrying towards them all, looking anxious. He was unshaven and still in his day clothes; there was also a slightly Mundungus-like whiff of stale drink about him.” – I think Harry noticed that Sirius didn’t do well, but never the full impact of it, because he was too young to understand. There are clear signs that Sirius was depressed, and also had maniac episodes, which would explain his reckless behaviour in the Ministry. Mental health is something that is largely not addressed in the Wizarding World. When we enter St. Mungos there are several floors for all kind of specific injuries and diseases, but no psychotherapeutic ward. In the next chapter we see the Longbottoms and Gilderoy Lockhart, who are both not in their right mind, but in both cases this is caused through magic, and treated as such (irreversible spell damage). Harry clearly suffers from PTSD as well, but never gets the help he needs.

“‘Your father knew what he was getting into and he won’t thank you for messing things up for the Order!’ said Sirius, equally angry. ‘This is how it is – this is why you’re not in the Order – you don’t understand – there are things worth dying for!’ ‘Easy for you to say, stuck here!’ bellowed Fred. ‘I don’t see you risking your neck!’ The little colour remaining in Sirius’s face drained from it. He looked for a moment as though he would quite like to hit Fred, but when he spoke, it was in a voice of determined calm.” – Low blow, Fred. And it hits right where it will hurt Sirius the most, confirming that he is useless and no help, while everyone else risks their life for the cause. Which again will lead to his downfall in the end.

Sirius dismisses Harry’s worries that there might be something wrong with him, and he is the one who attacked Mr. Weasley somehow. Either Sirius really thinks there is nothing to it, that Harry is just under shock, or he knew something was up and didn’t want Harry to worry. Somehow I can’t imagine that Dumbledore would have shared his theory that Harry is a Horcrux with Sirius, because Sirius would have known what that meant for Harry’s life as well. I really think Snape was the only one who knew besides Dumbledore, because Dumbledore trusted him to see the bigger picture. But it is also interesting to see how different this scene is portrayed in the movie adaption. It is then that Sirius tells Harry that you can’t just categorize people into Death Eaters and good people, meaning that even good people like Harry have a dark side, and that it matters what we choose to act on. In the book this line refers to Umbridge, meaning that even though she isn’t a Death Eater she can still be a bad person. Two very different interpretations of the same sentence.

“They had arrived outside a large, old-fashioned, red-brick department store called Purge & Dowse Ltd. The place had a shabby, miserable air; the window displays consisted of a few chipped dummies with their wigs askew, standing at random and modelling fashions at least ten years out of date.” – As if Harry even would know what is fashion. The kid still wears his cousin’s old clothes, despite owning a small fortune.

“Harry thought how absurd it was for Tonks to expect the dummy to hear her talking so quietly through a sheet of glass, with buses rumbling along behind her and all the racket of a street full of shoppers. Then he reminded himself that dummies couldn’t hear anyway.” – How did you ever manage to get through life? (Then again, this could have been me, wondering about the very same thing)

“‘Doctors?’ said Ron, looking startled. ‘Those Muggle nutters that cut people up? Nah, they’re Healers.’” – This kind of reminds me of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (aka the best Star Trek movie) and Bones utter horror when he learns how doctors used to treat their patients in the past (“Now, put away your butcher's knives and let me save this patient before it's too late!”).

“A harassed-looking wizard was holding his small daughter tightly by the ankle while she flapped around his head using the immensely large, feathery wings that had sprouted right out through the back of her romper suit. ‘Fourth floor,’ said the witch, in a bored voice, without asking, and the man disappeared through the double doors beside the desk, holding his daughter like an oddly shaped balloon. ‘Next!’” – This is what they should have used their CGI for, just saying.

‘We’ll wait outside, Molly,’ Tonks said. ‘Arthur won’t want too many visitors at once … it ought to be just the family first.’ Mad-Eye growled his approval of this idea and set himself with his back against the corridor wall, his magical eye spinning in all directions. Harry drew back, too, but Mrs Weasley reached out a hand and pushed him through the door, saying, ‘Don’t be silly, Harry, Arthur wants to thank you.’” – It is interesting how Harry doesn’t see himself as part of the Weasley family, despite Molly saying he is like a son to her. We already saw this with him questioning where he would spend his Christmas holidays, because Ron had forgotten to invite him, not naturally assuming he would spend the holidays with the Weasleys. Harry only acknowledges Sirius as his family and at times like these feels like an intruder to the Weasley family.

“‘A werewolf?’ whispered Mrs Weasley, looking alarmed. ‘Is he safe in a public ward? Shouldn’t he be in a private room?’ ‘It’s two weeks till full moon,’ Mr Weasley reminded her quietly. ‘They’ve been talking to him this morning, the Healers, you know, trying to persuade him he’ll be able to lead an almost normal life. I said to him – didn’t mention names, of course – but I said I knew a werewolf personally, very nice man, who finds the condition quite easy to manage.’”- Mrs. Weasley immediate reaction is to see the patient who was bitten by a werewolf as a threat to her own family, especially her husband. Her first instinct is to isolate him, despite knowing a werewolf herself and the social stigma that surrounds him. Also I doubt that Lupin would say the condition is easy to manage. We know that by now there is a potion that will help him during his transformations, but it was also mentioned that only people as skilled as Snape can produce such a potion. Between his year at Hogwarts and his work for the Order Lupin probably had to manage without the potion (I assume Snape provides him the potion once again since they are both in the Order). And not everyone has access to said potion. The Magical Health System is very flawed.

It is Moody who says Voldemort possesses Harry, because assumingly not knowing about the Horcruxes (and that Harry is one) that would be the logical explanation to him. Dumbledore had to offer the Order another explanation than that though, but again I doubt anyone except Snape knew the whole truth.

[masterthespianduchovny]

Let’s Talk About Narrative Literacy

As a disclaimer, I’d like to start off by saying I don’t mean to come off as condescending or anything like that, but this is important discussion we need to have. I’m not going to pretend I know everything there is to know about writing or even most of it, but one thing I do know incredibly well is how to follow a a narrative.

By this, I don’t simply mean casually consume it, but rather, process the what, why, when, how, etc regardless of if I personally care for it.

This is why, despite disliking a film, I will say with all seriousness, “this doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie, I just don’t like it.” Or if I do like something, I’ll say, “I love it, but it’s not a great movie.”

People may argue, “the fact that you love it makes it a great movie.”

And to this I say, “No.”

When I make qualifying statements about things, it’s because I’m differentiating between subjective and objective things. And, IMO, some cannot, which contributes to narrative illiteracy. When a person cannot distinguish their personal feelings from objective facts, your mental grip of a thing makes most conversations go standstill. Because, now, feelings are being argued and how can you tell anyone how they feel about something?

This becomes important for mediums like Game of Thrones and The Harry Potter series, but for different reasons. (There will be spoilers)

When it comes to Game of Thrones, the lack of understanding of literary functions such as foreshadowing, character development, narrative arcs, chekovs gun, and so forth is vexing.

Writing is about intentionality. There must be a reason the writer included x, y, and z. What purpose does it serve even if it’s very minor? Why is it there? How does it influence the character or narrative?

When people say the last few season of GOT is bad, esp the last episode, we aren’t saying this because we didn’t like ending, as in, it wasn’t our preferred ending. We don’t like it because it doesn’t make any sense narratively and that is a fundamental difference.

My favorite show of all time is the X-Files and, despite the utter mess seasons 8 and 9 are, I still watch it whenever I decide to do a series rewatch. It pains me, but I still do it. Despite the massive inconsistencies with the revival of season 10, I still watched it. But, after hearing about the complete break down of the characters, which is why the series lasted as long as it did and come back, I haven’t not seen the season 11 finale over a year later.

Technically, it could be argued, it ended how I wanted (romantically), but the narrative is so shit that the characters and their motivations don’t make any sense to me. They just don’t! I’m not sure anyone can argue otherwise.

I’ll probably still rewatch the x files (and may skip the last episode) before I ever rewatch GOT again. Perhaps I’m exaggerating, but that’s how nonsensical, pisspoor, and narratively destructive the ending was.

Let’s start off the many examples of some GOT viewers having poor narrative literacy:

1. Arya’s ending.

This isn’t about whether or not you like how her story ending, it’s about people arguing that it makes sense. It does not.

The two endings that makes sense for Arya was either ending up in Winterfell or Storms End.

Why?

Because, despite Arya’s kill list, her overarching narrative has always been about getting back to her family. Arya was with the NW because Yoren was supposed to take her to Jon who could then send her to winterfell. Arya wasn’t traveling through the woods for an adventure. She went from the NW to prisoners of Harrenhal, the BWB, and then the Hound. Arya was literally on the run for her life. The first time she had true agency, she tried to go to East Watch to get to Jon, but was unable to, so she went to Braavos.

At this time, Arya believed most of her family was dead or was unable to reach them. When she talks about going west of Westeros, it’s because she think there is nothing left for her in Westeros.

She is on her way to kill Cersei when the news of Jon being at winterfell literally makes her journey to kill Cersei and go to him instead. Despite aryablosong some of her humanity, it’s still there. Then, Gendry comes back and they have sex and she fully experienced her humanity and that’s when she truly understands what she has to live for. Not Gendry: but, life, love (in all forms), humanity, etc.

Arya regressing back to her list doesn’t make any narrative sense. What was the catalyst??? Remember she was acting strange by isolating herself during the celebration and when turning down Gendry’s proposal? I’m not saying she should’ve said yes, but she clearly wasn’t herself. What set that off? What made her think that Cersei was a threat she needed to take out and die for???

We could say she needed to hear it from the hound to live life, but imo, that’s bullshit because she learned that on the night of the battle. She (WE) was explicitly told by him to justify having her in KL. Arya wasn’t there for a narrative purpose, she was there for a visual purpose and to make us care about the citizens of KL dying from dragon’s fire. That’s it.

It makes even less sense because Arya stayed in KL for what reason??? She had no intentions on killing Dany herself. She served no purpose there and it showed.

I’m not against people trying to find the best out of Aryas ending, I’m saying her ending was executed poorly because it was inconsistent with everything we’ve seen before.

No, Arya has never expressed interest in being a warrior, but warriors were her idols. No, Arya isn’t against marriage, she’s against its function in her society. Arya not wanting to be a lady doesn’t mean she doesn’t want a position of power that she can use for good ie being a lord, which she explicitly said she wanted to be in the “not me” conversation.

And a double whammy as to how they fucked her chsradter up so much, Arya admired the Targaryen women who fought and were rulers. She named her direwolf Nymeria after a warrior Queen. To make her hate Dany, be xenophobic, and reject opportunities that would allow her to achieve her dreams is laughably bad writing.

People can argue that people change, but we can’t reference the “not me” convo and argue at the same time that people change. That’s having your cake and eating it too.

2. Narrative techniques like foreshadowing means nothing if it isn’t consistently built up. I’m going to use an example from the show “Atlanta”, so stop reading if you don’t want spoilers for season 2.

All season, it was foreshadowed that Earn would be fire by his cousin Al because he wasn’t doing enough and kept messing up. At the end, it was basically a given, but instead, Al doesn’t fire him because of something Earn did at the last minute. During this foreshadowing, we constantly saw that Al didn’t want to fire him, but wanted his cousin to manage him better and show that he actually would do whatever it took to help him succeed. Despite it being foreshadowed that he was getting fired, Earn keeping his job was also something subtext supported and ended up being a nice twist.

Another example of foreshadowing, Snape from Harry Potter. People still debate that Snape is evil blah blah blah. But, all throughout the series, the subtext always supported that Snape was on the good side, despite being a grey character.

None of his actions makes sense for someone flat out evil unless he was planning to pull a con on Voldemort to take his spot. But, when people argue with feelings and not logic, they make it make sense to them, despite ample evidence that proves otherwise.

I’m in my 20s now, but when I read this series when I was 9, I could never shake the subtext that Snape was fighting for the good guys.

This is all to say, the subtext of the SHOW doesn’t support Dany’s heel turn nor does the foreshadowing. Burning people isn’t proof because Dany used her dragons like northerners used their swords. Dany made tactical war decisions. To suddenly pervert it to support a narrative decision that was shoddily built because the show said so is narrative illiteracy.

The only reason I suspected that Dany could go mad was because of book readers. Not because the show built this reality up well, but bedause book readers kept talking about it non stop and usually those who hated her.

3. Jon’s identity. All of that drama for him to live beyond the wall??? Ned taking a hit to his honor? People saying it’s dire that Jon knows??? Riding Rhaegal?

What the fuck was this for?

Why did we bring Jon back to life???

How does Jon’s arc make narrative sense? How?

Bexause he ended up with the wildlings and tormund?

Even if you take out the prophecies, this shit is a mess. Part of this mess started because of his parents and Jon went through all of that shit to end up where he started.

4. What’s the point of the NK? The symbols? What does it mean???

I could go on and on, but I’m tired. Certain things become important because of how much we love the world that was created and the characters. I’m not saying it’s not important—it’s actually very important, but what’s also important is internal logic and consistency.

What’s also important is telling a story that truly makes sense and not because you like a character or “there’s just so many things to wrap up, so this is good enough.” When someone tells a story, they need to tell it or not bother at all.

Perhaps certain character arcs were emotionally satisfying, but they didn’t make any sense minus Theon. But, the series overall wasn’t emotionally satisfying, but rather, a major let down.

It sacrificed good storytelling to rush a conclusion where they’ve literally known the ending since the beginning. Very few movies or shows have down multiple big bads in one narrative arc that makes sense and GOT is not one of them.

It explained very little while having some think they addressed the pertinent details. Nothing was explained. Nothing makes sense.

Like, what was brans purpose? I don’t want HC and fan theories—give me a full explanation from the series.

How was his ending emotionally satisfying or Cersei’s or jaimes or almost anyone else?

How???

This is why I’m talking about narrative literacy/illiteracy. Many people don’t understand what they’re consuming and are relying on whatever the writers say.

But, these are men who scoffed at someone asking them about themes, to which they said, “this ain’t an 8th grade report.”

And for people who think I’m taking this too seriously, please fuck off. I mean, why are you reading this. To seriously address this potential mode of thinking, Emilia Clark drew strength during her near death experiences from Dany. Abuse victims saw Dany as a role model. Sophie turner learned things from Sansa.

Fictional people can have real life impact. So, what are we telling people who identify with these characters?

That no matter what you do you can’t escape your family legacy and you are your genes?

That you aren’t deserving of love and stability because you were in an emotionally dark place for a while?

That you abuser define who you are and you should be thankful for them?

That you’ll have to harm loved ones for the greater good and get punished for it.

That you can get rewarded I life for not doing shit in you’re born in the right family and have the right story.

That we’re doomed to repeat of families mistakes.

What’s the point?

What’s the lesson here?

GOT’s ending isn’t bad because it’s didn’t turn out the way I theorized—hell, I didn’t have any theories. It’s bad because it’s atrocious writing that betrays it’s characters, plot, and overall narrative. It poorly sets up events with terrible execution to subvert expectations or reach a point that they didn’t earn.

Characters and shows that earn what they strive for: Snape, the good place, 12 monkeys, earn not getting fired in Atlanta—but, this only happens when writers give a shit, which D&D did not.

And one last thing: for those who insist that Emilia didn’t understand her character, if you watch the GOT doc “the last watch”, almost every actor negatively responded to her getting killed. Conleth, kit, Lena, Peter, and so forth. These are people who embody the characters, some of which oppose her, and even they could not believe what the series did. It wasn’t simply shock. Some were devastated and Conleth was straight up pissed.

So, please, when you or if you dismiss criticism of the series for fans not getting what they want, please try to deconstruct the narrative and ask yourself if it makes sense. Ask yourself if you understand what the series is saying or trying to say. See if you are trying to rationalize conflicting things.

[skammovistarplus]

Culture and Translation - S01 E06

This is a bit of a weird episode, in that it feels like not much happened. Because Skam España switched a few things around, it seems like episode 6 shouldn’t be the episode in which to hang out with the characters for a while before shit goes down. But one thing that got me hooked to Skam almost straight away was the way you got to “hang out” with the characters even in small, drama-free moments, and this episode has a couple of clips I really like.

CLIP 1: Monday blues

Es que le metiste un corte (You were razor sharp with him): “Meter un corte” is really hard to translate. It basically means to be really cutting with someone when they aren’t expecting it, in a way that shuts the conversation for good. Which Amira did, over and over, but the dude wasn’t getting the hint.

I do think Nora feels a little bad for the guy, but only because Nora is extremely empathetic with everyone in the world, to the point where it’s surprising when she’s not empathetic.

Viri is a great liar. We will come to find out much of what she says in this scene is a lie, but she has no tells. This is why I think the Selena Gomez shoe line thing was Viri teasing the girls, because she broke character almost immediately. If Viri wanted the girls to believe it, we can see here that she would’ve managed.  

Nora’s shirt says, “No means no.” ‘No es no’ was first a slogan for an awareness campaign, promoted by several Spanish city halls, which aimed to curtail sexual abuse and rape during local festivals, such as Sanfermines. There’s also an Axel, Soledad song. And it has of course been slapped on all sorts of merchandise. Like shirts!

The sides of the mirror are tagged with graffiti, by the way.

And also, Eva and Nora are late for first period! They end up skipping it entirely.

CLIP 2: Lucas has feels; Eva’s are stronger

Eva and Lucas are listening to Molly Svrcina’s Fallen Angel. I think the point of the song was lost in how incredibly random the song is. This is a song Lucas recommends Eva listen to. It’s about Lucas, not Eva. Lucas is trying to give a hint to Eva about himself, but Eva’s too focused on the Jorge drama.

While this clip dropped during recess, Eva skipped school. Not sure if Lucas did as well, though.

It’s Viri who shares a birthday with Paris Jackson, as I already wrote in the post for last episode.

Alejandro Reina does a nice bit of acting with his eyes at the 5:22 mark. Lol, Lucas is so fucking tired of the Eva/Jorge drama carousel.    

Y tú me caes de puta madre (“And I think you’re fucking great”): Lucas is not just saying that he thinks Eva’s great. He’s saying he really fucking likes Eva (as a friend, that is!).

Es que sigo enfadada (“‘Cause I’m still upset”): This is a sentiment that will be expressed often this week by Eva, Jorge and Lucas. I’ve seen subs that translate it “enfadada” as “angry” and it’s not wrong, but I feel Eva and Jorge are both more upset than angry during this week. Your mileage may vary, though!

CLIP 3: Ship wars

Cullera: Cullera is a beach city in the Valencia region that has been taken over by tourists (or guiris, if you will!). There are some nice sights, but people visit for the beaches. Many Spanish familes own some sort of apartment by the beach, but Cullera is a step up from the usual, which is Torremolinos. A hint about Inés’ parents’ economic status! Cullera means “spoon” in Valencian language, by the way.

Easter break: The 2019 Easter break runs from the 12th of April to the 22th. Coincidentally, there are some rumors that s2 will premiere after Easter break 2019.

Tú no te líes, que el viaje importante es el de Mallorca, ¿eh? (Okay, but don’t lose sight of the important trip, the Majorca trip, huh?): A closer translation would be: “Don’t get sidetracked, the important trip is the Majorca trip, okay?” Which is actually a shorter line, so we should maybe change that, lol.

Que parezcamos ahí dos lapas como estas parejitas que están por ahí (For us to look like two barnacles like those couples you see everywhere): The literal translation would be, “for us to look like two barnacles like those couples that are around,” but that sounded like shade towards Eva and Jorge, who are also broken up this week. It’s not meant as shade, and in fact Eva has no reaction to it, so I reworked it.

Viri’s economic background is hinted through her confusion with job titles. In Spanish, she doesn’t remember if Alejandro’s father is a “director” (which could be translated as director, manager, and even principal, but also CEO) and “directivo” (executive or CEO). I settled for initials salad.

There is a bit of dialogue at the end that was cut from the episode version. The girls present their final arguments in the Viriandro vs Aleviri debate… which ironically, foreshadowed the Norandro vs Alenora shipname wars. It appears as if most of the fandom has settled on Norandro, at last.

Viri: It’s that, it’s like a Greek god.

Cris: What are you, Voldemort or something?

Viri: It’s like, it’s funny because it’s like a Greek god, like Viriandro is a Greek god sort of name. Yeah, it’s super neat.

Cris: It’s a gladiator name, dude!

Almost totally off topic linguistics note: The girls use the English loanword “ship” in the fandom sense. The verb had obviously crossed language lines in fandom spaces years ago, but it became part of mainstream Spanish culture (yes, really) when Operación Triunfo became big last year, and everyone was shipping couples from the show. The interesting part is that Spanish speakers came up with two declensions for the Spanish form of the verb: “yo lo shippeo” (I ship it) and “yo lo shippo” (again, I ship it). People who had been in fandom longer leaned towards “shippeo” (and so do I!), so I find it aesthetically pleasing that the girls favor that declension.  

CLIP 4: Eva shoots his shot. It doesn’t go well.

I was certain Jorge’s secret would have to do with one or both his parents being unemployed, so at the time I made note of the fact that one of the apartments he walks by is up for sale. It’s the reddish orange sign at the 10:06 mark.

The song that plays at the end of the clip is Zahara’s El Frío, but it has been edited. These are the lyrics that have made it to the clip: “I didn’t expect that the one who started all the fires would also be the one to put them out. How did you let the cold inside you, it has destroyed everything.”

CLIP 5: Speederman

This has to be a change from my high school years. I did the Cooper test in 3º ESO (the equivalent of 9th grade in the US) and never had to do it again through high school. 

More info on the Cooper test, in case you care. Not only was I not tested on a standard 400 m tartan track, but we were also not trained to perform it properly. Ah, high school PE!

Venom premiered in Spain the 5th of October. This clip dropped the 19th of October.

Yes, that is actually how we pronounce Spiderman in Spain.

I love that Nora is into Viri saying she loves anything that has to do with saving the world. Nora is so earnest, lol.

¿O qué vas a hacer, tía? ¿Quedarte en casa llorando? (“Or what do you have in mind, dude? Staying at home, crying?”): Another translation could be, “Or what are you going to do, dude? Stay at home and cry?” but I went with the line in the subs because I thought it flowed better.

Cómo jode que te dejen, ¿eh? (It sucks to be dumped, doesn’t it?): “Sucks” is a lot less charged than “joder,” which is the word Inés actually uses. I guess you’d have to say “fucking sucks” to get the intensity across. You’ll have to make do with Inés’ line delivery.

CLIP 6: Ride of the Valkyries

As it turns out, Alba Planas is also a fan of og Skam, so I’m going to pretend Eva’s string of sorries is also an homage to Tarjei’s delivery.

This scene was shot right outside of Cine Paz. 

Pero no me seáis pavas (“But don’t be silly”): Viri says “pavas,” which is hard to translate. Essentially, Viri’s afraid the girls are going to embarrass her in front of Alejandro, either unintentionally or (not unlikely given this group) intentionally. I.e. they’re not going to behave maturely in front of him.

Madre mía (Good heavens): Okay, so I already talked in the post for episode 5 about the way Amira uses interjections that aren’t swear words, and this is an example of it. “Madre mía” literally means “mother of mine” and it’s basically meaningless as an interjection. What matters is the tone you add to it. In this case, Amira’s impatient that the girls are getting distracted chatting about whatever, instead of going into the theater. I don’t love “good heavens” as it has Christian connotations. On the other hand, “geez” feels too short for how impatient Amira sounds.

It took me a while to realize this, but this clip actually has an og equivalent. This would be the clip where Vilde notices William and Sara hooking up, and looks devastated. Skam España chooses to go about it in a totally different way, with the girls backing Viri up as they walk in.

CLIP 7: Tout le monde veut devenir un cat

Sí, hija, sí (“Yeah, girl, yeah”): Jorge actually calls Eva “daughter,” lol. Much like with tío and tía, we might call anyone “son” or “daughter.” I’ve even caught myself using it on my own parents! If I have the right info, this is also common in Latin American countries, except they use “mijo” and “mija,” instead. “Hijo” or “hija” is more affectionate than “tío” or “tía,” although, much like with “madre mía,” it’s used to express a variety of emotions. Here, Jorge is dismayed that his chocolate romance went awry.

Pretty sure those are knockoff peanut M&Ms. Most likely from the Spanish grocery chain Mercadona.

The song that plays at the end of the clip and through the credits is Bely Basarte’s Mariposas. You can find a translation here. 

Tomás Aguilera, who plays Jorge, has managed to be almost impossible to find online. However, his instagram bio makes reference to the French version of the Aristocats song Everybody wants to be a cat. It’s adorable.

Social media:

The girls talk about the Zaorejas random again, Cris notes that he looked young enough as to be in ESO, or MSE, Mandatory Secondary Education. MSE runs through the equivalents of 7th to 10th grade in the US. 

[theythemsam]

spn 1x05, liveblog, collected posts (all 12 of them) or as i like to call it: the first episode that actually scared me, we get some insight into sam’s mind and i always cry during the last minute:

The funny thing about supernatural is that i still remember all the monsters, but after wendigo it’s honestly such an interesting first five seconds for me because that is when I’m trying to figure out which episode from the first season this is.

#like i remembered that there was an episode where the actress of root was in so i was like excited for that one #and i knew theres the airplane demon episode #and so on #but its always like Oh Yes. Its this episode! #but then the moment the episodes first seconds load im like OHHHHHHH #like i didnt know what was coming and then... #'okay truth or dare' and my brain went: BLOODY MARY! #asdfgh good to know that the obsession synapses still work after that many years

i do have to say i really like how they used the bloody mary lore though also as a way to explore the fact that sam had psychic powers, it’s so cool

#also imo thats afaik remember the first episode that really scared me? #i dont really know why but it felt... closer to home i guess? #maybe cause the people that caused it where children #so my brain was like: wow that could have been me!!! #instead of: driver hiking in the forest swimming in a lake or flying in an airplane #i didnt drive back then and had never flown in an airplane and swimming and hiking was just too far removed from my #couch potato ass at those moments (even though i did like doing it) but playing stupid games with friends on a dare? that was very close #idk also the nightmares are good that sam has

asdfg I love that they call bloody mary “you know who”

#my brain: Ah Voldemort!

why does that (jill?) (gill?) girl find it so funny to scare her friends? i dont know, but if i notice my friends are scared, i don’t give them a reason to be more anxious and then just say “youre such a freak” and hang up

#why does she have friends? #also that really short scene where /fall out boy/ is playing when she sits down to get bed ready #its just... its a lot. i love it

hey, the second non-white person with lines on the show! nice.

#my lists for pocpe is just error 404 not found for all the other episodes #cause theres not a single non white person #and like i guess? sometimes that makes sense? but its still sad #and this detective doesnt even have a name so aight #tbh the only other none white people i remember was a couple in phantom passenger but they were on screen for #literally like 2 seconds thats not enough time

Donna seeing Bloody Mary and freaking out in the classroom. Is that a Nightmare on Elm Street reference I Spy With My Little Eye?

#like obviously bloody mary is a the ring reference look wise #but idk it kinda gives me that vibe? #anygays idk

why does dean always have the nice colorschemes?

#listen theres always scenes with him where im like: ahh i wanna gif that #but then i remember... i dont wanna gif dean #at least not when i still have more important gifs to make #ugh but the colors are so pretty #i also dont want dean fans to follow me bc i will call that boy tf out #and i dont want to accidentally expose fans to that who didnt know that cause its a dick thing to do #so i dont want dean edits her #but the nice colors #i feel like a magpie just going: shiny!!!!!

I love how Dean tries to get his brother to stop blaming himself for Jessica’s Death

#especially the part where he says 'blame me' and sams like 'i dont blame you #and deans like 'well then you shouldnt blame yourself either' #cause idk thats what my friends always did for me when i was having a ptsd related self blame moment for my trauma #and they were like 'well if that happened to me would you blame me?' me *sniff sniff* 'no of course not that wouldnt be your fault' #them: giving me the most deadpan stare until it sinks in #idk it reminded me off that

heeell yeah, first bloody sam scene

#asdfghjk its such a nice scene to make edits with

at some point ill have to make an edit with sam and mirrors

#its a big thing as far as i remember

getting an insight into sam’s state of mind through ghosts/other supernatural creatures is also kinda a big thing

#like i think that also happens when meg possesses him #or generally like possession and ghosts #huh.... #intresting

honestly im so glad they changed how they have ghosts disappear, cause the way they did it so far is so incredibly gross i don’t have the words to describe it

#like not scary #just disgusting to look at with the melty face and all that  #ewww

[jam2289]

John Galt, Harry Potter, and Hero Problems

There is a problem with heroes. Today we will not solve this problem, but we will look at two examples, John Galt and Harry Potter. Articulating the problem is often half the battle.

"Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand is one of the most polarizing books ever written, people usually either love it or hate it. The book is about the slow fall and collapse of American society. John Galt is the hero, although we almost never see him, and even hear very little about him. He's a genius that created a way to generate unlimited free power, but because of the systemic corruption in the society he walked away from the entire society and started his own. (Atlas was the Titan that was punished by being forced to hold up the sky, although he's usually depicted as holding up the world. Ayn Rand states that the story is really a closer take on Prometheus. Prometheus is the Titan that stole fire from Olympus and gave it to man. For that he is chained to a rock and his liver is eaten every day by an eagle. "Atlas Shrugged" is Prometheus withdrawing his gifts.)

So, what's the problem? The problem is that Ayn Rand's depiction of the black and grey characters is beautiful. But, the white characters, namely John Galt, are a bit flat. I've seen that term used a number of times in reference to Rand's heroes in "Atlas Shrugged". I think it's a little off, and I'll explain why in just a moment.

Rand's villains are wonderful. It's quite disturbing how well she was able to clearly see the growing problems in American culture. When I read it in my teens I was amazed at how similar the book sounded to the news. The incompetent business people trying to protect their assets by buying off the government to pass laws that limit the opportunity for entrepreneurs is right on. The slipping away from focus on the individual as the foundation of society is true. Her grey characters are great too, people that struggle with adjusting to society and trying to reconcile their spirit and soul with the corruption. Heroes seemed to give her a bit more trouble.

There are two reasons that the idea of Rand's heroes being flat is a bit off though. One, there are grey characters that end up growing towards being greater heroes. As an example, Hank Rearden is compromising in everything in his life except his business. In the end he corrects that. This type of thing happens with a few characters. These are not "flat" characters at all.

John Galt is a bit different. Here Rand is trying to depict a version of the perfect man. What type of yogurt would the perfect man like? That's the problem. If you get too detailed then it's hard to depict perfection. What people are trying to say when they call him flat is that he is abstract. There is a lot left to the imagination. His character has a lot of variables. We don't know much about him on purpose. You can't be abstract and have vivid detail at the same time. The only thing that is very detailed about John Galt is his philosophy. Near the end of the book he articulates his philosophy in a radio broadcast. That speech is one of the foundation stones of the philosophy later known as Objectivism. (Objectivism was put together is a more explicit manner by Nathaniel Branden, but that's a whole other story.)

There's the first problem with heroes, perfection has to be abstract. Another quick example. I was watching a tv show with my mother that had a great artist in it. We saw a few of his pictures. They didn't seem that great to me, but whatever. Then we learned that there is a special painting that is completely different that he has never shown to anyone else. He shows it to one other woman. The shot is from behind the painting looking at the actors. My mother remarked that she wanted to see the picture. I told her that to show the picture would ruin the entire thing. No painting can live up to that kind of build up. The greatest painting of all time? That's hard to make. Even if you made a great painting not everyone is going to agree with it. To show the painting would have ruined that entire episode, so they didn't. Instead, it's better to see the reaction on the woman's face when she sees the painting for the first time. To show perfection, you can't show it directly. Rand did this same thing with Galt.

Here's a poem, then we'll look at Harry Potter.

- - - - - - -

There's a problem with heroes,

they're hard to create.

And they're most needed

as an answer to fate.

- - - - - - -

The "Harry Potter" series is the best selling book series in all of history. Harry Potter is a boy that is destined to fight the greatest dark wizard of all time, Voldemort. His mother died trying to protect him from a killing curse. That sacrifice caused the killing curse that Voldemort tried to use on the baby Harry Potter to backfire. Voldemort's body was destroyed, but he was able to survive by some special preparations he had made. Part of Voldemort's soul is transferred to Harry Potter at the same time. From there on their stories are linked until the end. It's a genius story.

So, what's the problem? The problem is that Harry Potter and his allies fight Voldemort in different ways for years. He seeks to destroy evil because that is his destiny, but he is only a destroyer, not a creator. After Voldemort is destroyed Harry Potter gets a job, has a family, puts on a couple of pounds, and is boring. The greatest destroyer of evil may not be that good at anything else. Destroying bad things is not the same as making good things.

Do you want to have a hero that can only fight evil? What if there's no evil? If your hero can only fight evil, and you want to be like your hero, and there isn't a great evil to fight, do you find something to fight anyway? If you're finding things to fight even if they aren't necessarily evil, doesn't that make you the villain? What do you do if you win? Settle down? Find another fight?

I think this is a serious problem. Let's look at a few definitions of hero. Here's what Google says.

- - - - - - -

a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

"a war hero"

synonyms: brave man, champion, man of courage, great man, man of the hour, conquering hero, victor, winner, conqueror, lionheart, warrior, paladin, knight, white hat

antonyms: coward, loser

the chief male character in a book, play, or movie, who is typically identified with good qualities, and with whom the reader is expected to sympathize.

synonyms: male protagonist, principal male character

antonyms: villain

(in mythology and folklore) a person of superhuman qualities and often semi-divine origin, in particular one whose exploits were the subject of ancient Greek myths.

- - - - - - -

To show noble qualities you need to have high stakes, and there's nothing higher than the potential or real destruction of the world. For courage, there's nothing better than standing up to the greatest dark wizard of all time. There isn't a more outstanding achievement than defeating that dark wizard. Harry Potter also has a semi-divine origin with special love magic protecting him from death and having part of another soul in him. Harry Potter is a great hero. Harry Potter is a destroyer. I think that's a problem.

Now, to have creation there must be destruction. To have good stuff someone must protect that good stuff. But, is protection primary to creation? It seems to be in our hero stories. Is this good? I'm not so sure. Alas, I have not worked out good alternatives. That may be work for a lifetime.

Part of the problem might be this. In order to create something great you may have to do some things that aren't that great. Maybe by creating a large business you put another small business out to pasture. That's not great. But, it's not evil. The problem is that it's hard to justify it. "I'm trying to make a great business." isn't a justification that a lot of people like. "I ignore my family because I'm obsessed with making great paintings." also isn't something people like to hear. Harry Potter does a lot of sketchy stuff too. But, "I'm trying to save the world from the greatest dark wizard of all time, and I'm the only one that can do it." is a great justification for breaking rules and doing morally sketchy stuff if need be. I think this justification issue may be a big part of it.

John Galt is abstract and Harry Potter is a destroyer. These are two of the greatest literary heroes in history. And, they are great heroes. It just seems to me that we're still searching for a way to make a better hero. Notice too that neither John Galt nor Harry Potter are able to actually improve society. John Galt withdraws from society and Harry Potter defeats evil, but neither make the society better, they just try to stop it from being worse. These are both takes on dystopia. Maybe it's more important to avoid a dystopia than it is to try to create a utopia? Utopias usually go poorly, so maybe.

Heroes are needed to show values and behavioral patterns. Whether we are successful or not, the struggle to create better heroes is always worth it. And a struggle it is.

Here are some side notes.

All living things are slanted towards putting more emphasis on avoiding bad things. That's because you can only take so many bad things before your light goes out. You can experience an infinite amount of good things, there is no limit there, so it's more important to avoid those bad things. That's why the news draws our attention with bad things. Even when things are getting better the news is always promoting bad things, it's the only way for them to stay in business. So maybe these aren't solvable problems because they are built into human nature. There is much to think about here.

Historically, many of the great heroes were prophets. Now we think of prophets as being predictors of the future. They didn't use to be though. Historically a prophet had the function of showing where a society was going wrong and in which direction it should move to correct itself. This is kind of the same idea as Ayn Rand and J. K. Rowling pointing out where the society is going wrong and what we should avoid.

I think Prometheus is one of the most important stories in the history of Western civilization. Ayn Rand used it in "Atlas Shrugged" and in her novella "Anthem". Lord Byron and Percy Shelley both wrote poems on Prometheus. Mary Shelley wrote "Frankenstein", most people forget the rest of the title, "The Modern Prometheus". And of course, there's the original "Prometheus Bound" by Aeschylus. We forget this work at our own peril.

Here are my other Harry Potter articles where I focused on evil.

What Makes Voldemort, Grindelwald, and Slytherin Bad?

https://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2019/01/what-makes-voldemort-grindelwald-and.html

Why is Slytherin House Bad?

https://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2019/01/why-is-slytherin-house-bad.html

________________________________________________

You can find more of what I'm doing at http://www.JeffreyAlexanderMartin.com

[theliterateape]

Born-Again Gold Star

By Caracal There aren’t a lot of positive connotations to go along with women and bags. Bag lady. Under-eye bags. Saddle bags. But there’s a better kind of BAGS in town, my friends: the Born-Again Gold Star.

Let me back up for a hot second before we go on. Dearest readers, especially my cishet males—where “cishet” is not an ancient Egyptian curse word, but rather “cis” as in “not trans” (who said Chem 101 would never be useful?) and “het” you ought to be able to figure out shortly—do you know yet what a Gold Star Lesbian is?  The term has been popularized in all kinds of social media, so it’s possible that you do. Or maybe you happened across a few episodes of The L Word (just for social research, right?). It’s also possible that it’s never crossed your radar. It hadn’t crossed mine even just a few years ago. But it’s simple: the term just allows women who have never slept with a man to identify themselves as exceptionally gay.

A Gold Star Lesbian has only slept with women, and is often quite proud about it. As she should be. Frankly, I’m thrilled for folks who’ve had a one-way road to figuring out their identity, whether Gold Star Lesbians or Platinum Gays or just plain ol’ hetero folks who bypassed experimentation. God bless your luck and determination; but there're other roads to Rome. I’ve walked both sides of the road, played for both teams, and dipped my little toes deep into both pools. Deep enough that, while I identify as a lesbian, I am just shy of 30 years old and have already been married and divorced—from a man.

And let me further clarify, just to address the first question that always comes up when I tell people I left my husband for a woman, or rather now a bunch of them: No, I am not bisexual and never have been. Again, I’m happy for those who are. You go, Glen Coco. But I’m so far from bisexual that before I’d left my husband, I’d been with (frankly a lot of) men, and I’d never been with a woman. And now that I have been with (a decent few) women, I happily, and without malice, intend on never again being with a man. For me, the grass is tried and true on both sides of the fence, and damn if it ain’t just greener over here.

 So how do I explain more simply what I am, without prattling on for paragraphs as I already have? It’s simple. I’m a big ol’ BAGS. BAGS for days. BAGS for life. I am a Born-Again Gold Star, and pleased as punch about it. Give me a jersey, give me a pin, give me a snapback with some fancy embroidery. I’ll tell just about anyone who asks at this point.

I get it, it’s not a conventional path. Being comfortable talking about it has taken a lot of getting used to. There are more of us than you would think, but we don’t really have any softball jerseys made up yet, and we don’t get a chance to soapbox about flipping sexual identities very often. A full 180. It’s not typically smiled upon nor understood. It doesn’t fit any convenient pre-packaged narrative or label.

You see, I separated from my husband almost three years ago, leaving him suddenly—it must have seemed—for She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She was (and is) a deep, dark, dirty cesspool of a person. You’d expect that if you heard the rest of the story. I tend to default to the past tense when speaking of her, since I’ve wished her dead so hard for so long that it’s a wonder she’s still standing; but alas, present tense it is. Either way—you win some, you lose some, and sometimes you fall for Voldemort. But regardless of the shitty quality of the person I fell for, she was exactly what I needed to come to terms with the fact that I’d been hiding really, really far back inside of the closet.

How far in the closet? Well, let’s take it back to before the official marital separation, all the way back to when I started sleeping with her (sorry, holy matrimony, but shit happens). I’d been hanging out so far back in that closet that once I’d been with her even just one time, I stepped on through that closet door and into the light, and I never touched a man again. Not even my husband. Quickly, abruptly, that door to the closet was sealed shut right behind me. But it felt so natural that  even once I was well shut of Voldemort’s influence, and found myself single and sex-starved for months, I just busied myself with figuring out how to be a gay person. And my ex-husband is, frankly, very good at doing what men do; I've just become comfortable with the fact that it just isn't for me. Heck, I'd write him a reference. And you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think a reference from a lesbian is probably the best one a straight man can get.

Voldemort left my life in utter ruins not long after I left my husband for her. To be frank about it, she wrecked my career, wreaked intentional havoc on my relationships with friends and family, and then finally left me for my best friend arguably out of spite—but even after all that, when my husband wanted me back and offered me the oh-so-seductive stability of heteronormativity—I just never thought of men the same way again. It was all I had always wanted, in a way. I finally had permission from myself to stop giving a fuck about what men wanted from me, and to be able to stop analyzing why I didn’t want the things they did. Everything suddenly made sense. Despite how my life had fallen apart in literally every way, my anxiety problems disappeared almost overnight. About my new identity, I felt obviously confused, but mostly excited. None of the specifics about what had happened to my life made much sense, but the overall outcome sure did.

It turns out to be true that no matter how many times you try on the same sweater hoping it will itch less, it may take falling in love with Voldemort to teach you that maybe it’s time to try on a different fucking sweater. Even if divorce is an unconventional way to come out as a BAGS, I’m really pleased to be out of the closet and wearing the big gay sweater I finally found in there.