#that quote just sums up their whole relationship arc perfectly

[deweyduck]

@pscentral​​ event 15: favourite relationships

↳ ANNE BOONCHUY, SASHA WAYBRIGHT, & MARCY WU

Change can be difficult, but it's how we grow. It can be the hardest thing to realise you can't hold on to something forever. Sometimes... you have to let it go. But of the things you let go... you'd be surprised... what makes its way back to you.

[clevercorvidae]

BNHA Common Misconceptions

I’ve been seeing wayyy too much bs on my dash lately. So I thought I’d share some of my thoughts on some Controversy™

***Spoilers For The Manga***

1. “What the HPSC did to Hawks wasn’t bad”

A government organization putting a young child through rigorous training so that he can be used as a tool is bad. I don’t know why I have to spell that out

Hawks had to abandon his real name at a very young age. That’s damaging for a kid’s sense of identity. His identity as a person no longer has any separation from his work as a hero. Being a hero is all he is now. I wouldn’t be surprised if (provided Hawks’s wings are gone for good) he has an identity crisis after this arc because he can’t be “Hawks” anymore.

Hawks is based on Lionel Messi, a soccer player recruited at a young age in return for paying for his medical procedures. I’ve seen people say that Hawks chose to be a hero. One, he was a child, young children shouldn’t be making decisions like that. Two, we know based on context clues that Keigo was more than likely living in poverty, possibly with alcoholic parents, and we literally are told that the HPSC payed for his family’s living expenses. Do you really think Keigo had much of a choice here?

I’ve seen people say “it’s just like what UA is doing”. First of all, UA is called out for being irresponsible and endangering their students IN UNIVERSE. Second, Keigo was a young child, the UA kids are 15+. There’s a huge difference.

2. “Mitsuki isn’t abusive”

Honestly when it comes to her smacking Katsuki, I could excuse it as a joke done in poor taste and not hold it over her as a character.

Hitting him WASNT just discipline tho. You should never, ever, under any circumstances hit your kid. Fuck that noise.

What I really have an issue with is what she SAYS to Katsuki. Her guilt tripping him isn’t a throwaway line either. He repeats the sentiment that he is responsible for Kamino during Deku v Kacchan 2. It’s one of the main reasons he fights Deku.

Horikoshi says that Katsuki has a good relationship with his mother. In that case, he did a horrible job at presenting that. What is written in the canon is what should be used as the basis for how we interpret her character.

3. “Shigaraki chose to kill his family/was born evil”

No...just...no. He was FIVE for crying out loud.

He wanted to be a hero, and took extra care to play with kids that had no friends. He definitely wasn’t born evil lmao.

His quirk manifested while he was having an emotional crisis. Decay is controlled by emotion so of course it went haywire.

He didn’t even know it was him doing it at first.

“But Shigaraki said he WANTED it to happen” Shigaraki is an unreliable narrator. What we actually SEE tells a very different story. He reaches out to Hana and his Mother for help. His grandparents are just caught in the shockwave. The ONLY person he killed on purpose was his father.

Now when it comes to his father, he had just beat him and locked him outside. He’s FIVE, and he has no healthy outlet for his anger and frustration. Hell, we see that in his “itchiness”, he only feels like this in the house, because his father makes him suppress his love for heroes and his dream to become one. He takes joy in killing his father because it’s the only release he’s ever experienced.

The fact that you guys forget that this is an abused child with no real control over his quirk that just got beaten and locked outside... Nope, no reading comprehension here.

4. “The League of Villains are justified/are a revolutionary group”

...Shigaraki has stated over and over again that he just wants to destroy everything. He doesn’t care about reform or improving anything. That one panel in Ch. 222, where he says he wants to destroy everything I think sums it up perfectly.

He wants to destroy EVERYTHING good or bad or neither or both. There’s a newborn baby, a field of flowers , Nine, various heroes, the UA kids, etc all varying in innocence.

The rest of the league have very different goals and reasons why they continue to support Shigaraki. Twice wants to protect the only people that accepted him. Spinner just wants to have purpose for his life. Toga wants to live the way she wishes with no consequences. Compress is also here.

The only “revolutionary” is Dabi. But his views are not universal throughout the league.

Even if they were trying to improve things. They have killed countless innocent people, they’ve tried to kill the UA kids too. That’s not ok. And it’s not erased by the fact that they’ve done good. (I do appreciate them for killing the MHA version of the KKK, truly epic of you)

5. “Hawks is abusive”

It’s not abuse to manipulate someone for info when you’re a double agent. It’s kinda shitty, and you could argue that it was unnecessary for Hawks to do so in context. But it’s not abuse.

Y’all need to stop using the word abuse/abusive tendencies to describe all immoral actions

I’ve also seen people say that Hawks has abusive tendencies (as in he’s abusive in all his relationships with other characters) and...do I really need to explain why that makes no sense at all?

6. “Twice deserved to die/it was necessary to kill him”

Feel like I need to remind people that we’ve only ever actually seen Twice kill one guy and that was one of the KKK guys.

Twice isn’t evil, even Hawks admits that he is a genuinely good person. Good people don’t deserve to die.

It wasn’t necessary, and here’s why: Hawks could’ve just knocked him out or even just severely injured him. (Or the HPSC could’ve just grown a brain cell and sent more people to back him up, making it easier to hold back his quirk and arrest him)

Hawks shouldn’t have killed Twice, he only killed him because he’s been raised as a child soldier and I wouldn’t be surprised if what he told Twice about taking out villains was a direct quote from the HPSC

Also, Hawks would’ve killed Twice with or without Dabi’s intervention

Something I do have to say though is that Hawks was right not to just let Twice go. It’s tragic because Twice WAS leaving to help his friends, but the other side of that tragedy it that his friends are terrorists. If he was allowed to leave a shit ton of people would have died (again that doesn’t mean he deserved to die either, don’t get it twisted)

The WHOLE POINT of Hawks v Twice is to make you question who the bad guy is. Both characters are morally gray and the only reason they even have to fight is because of the outside forces controlling their fates. It’s supposed to be tragic it’s supposed to be unclear who is in the right, so stop arguing about it.

7. “Bakugou is abusive/irredeemable” (I know it’s been talked to death but I still see it everywhere)

People are, in fact, allowed to grow past the person they were in middle school.

Most people get hung up on the “throw yourself off a building” line. Which is fair, but again, he was in middle school.

People also say “he hasn’t apologized yet”. Yeah? And? The story isn’t over yet. Horikoshi has already acknowledged that too. I don’t know what you want? People who like him know that his arc isn’t over yet.

I’ve seen a lot of people denying his character development. In the beginning of the series he was a bully and let his ego control him. I don’t think he’s bullied...anyone since Deku v Kacchan 2. He insults people but they obviously don’t take it seriously.

He’s also gone from preferring to fail a final exam to avoid working with Deku, to following him into battle against Shigaraki.

Also, when he actually likes and respects someone he doesn’t mistreat them. This is the same thing with Hawks where y’all NEED to stop misusing the word abuse. He was an abusive friend to Deku when they were kids, that’s it.

8. “Rei was abusive too!”

I’m BEGGING YOU to learn what the term “abuse” means istg

She had a psychotic break. She genuinely thought it was her abusive husband coming through the door, and she acted out of fear.

“Well that’s not an excuse” yes it fucking is. Not to mention that as soon as she realized what happened, she sobs hysterically because she hurt Shouto and tries to use her quirk to help him.

I genuinely don’t understand why people think this

9. “Dabi actually does care about the league”

Listen, I know it sounds harsh, but y’all need to get your heads out of your piles of headcanons.

We know next to nothing about how Dabi feels about just about anything. But we do see that he’s aloof and distant with the league, he doesn’t put in more than he needs to. The rest of the league think of each other as family. Dabi straight up says he doesn’t give a shit about them.

“What if he was just putting up a front for Hawks” Why? Why would he do that? When asked who he was he answered him. He tells him how he feels about hero society and Stain. Not to mention that he was getting ready to kill him. If he was hiding his true feelings about the league I doubt he would’ve so easily said that he didn’t care about them but rather how useful they were.

At this point it’s just wishful thinking. Based on everything we’ve seen in the series so far and everything we know about Dabi, I think it’s safe to say that he doesn’t care about them all that much. If he secretly does care about them, I’d say it’s likely that he doesn’t even know he does.

Idk why all of a sudden villain stans and hero stans are feuding over things that shouldn’t even be up for debate in the first place. Sorry if this came off as super aggressive, I’m just sick of seeing this stuff all over the place. If anyone has anything to add go ahead

[theromanticrationalist]

For All Mankind's season 2 finale was just incredible. In many ways, I have been really impressed by this show and how they have been able to incorporate space exploration into the intimate threads of human history. The Moon, space, leaving the confines of the Earth's atmosphere, exploring the great beyond - all become catalysts for each of the individual characters - representing each of their own struggles. Because, as I believe, reaching out towards the stars ultimately becomes about reaching within the human soul - looking outward, is looking inward, and vice versa. The two are inexplicably entwined, and this show does a pretty good job at showing this.

More fan girl thoughts below the cut. . .

- Gordo & Tracy Stevens

I feel like this is best exemplified in Gordo and Tracy's story. I don't have time to outline it all at the moment, but the Moon becomes the stage upon which their hearts are made bare. It is so rare to see a redemption story, and a redemption story of a marriage no less, showcased with such power. I will forever be blown away by this story. *lays down* - *cries* - *cries a lot*

- Margo & Sergei

UH ... YES PLEASE.

A forbidden Soviet Era romance??? Yes yes yes yes yes. I need this! THANK YOU FOR ALL MANKIND. The both of them are my absolute favorite! Just. Everything about them. How they are the same and how they are able to communicate almost as if they are reading each other's minds, and the way Sergei looks at her, and the way Margo blushes and can't even look at him in the eyes, and just . . . *incoherent fangirl screeching*

I really feel like Margo knows the door that she opened. I hope the writers don't make her dumb in the next season - just some love struck nerd girl. Margo is naïve and lost in her own world sometimes, but she isn't stupid. I feel like after Sergei's call, she was realizing the full ramifications of what she had done and what this could mean for her and Sergei's complicated relationship. (Not to mention her standing with her own government and country!)

So, you know what I want to see?? I want to see Margo and Sergei play the most expertly played game of espionage ever orchestrated! I want to see them give false information to one another, and they'll personally always get offended by it even though they both know this isn't personal at all - they'll twist and turn words, double - triple! - meanings - are they enemies? Are they friends? Are they lovers? Do they even know? Maybe! Maybe not! How can they hope to be anything more when they are serving countries that are always on the brink of World War III? And yet!!!

And always Sergei will have stars in his eyes when he looks at her, whenever she does something impossibly clever, and Margo will always wear his favorite color and be speechless around him whenever he is trying to be charming.

I LOVE THEM. FOR ALL MANKIND YOU GAVE THIS TO ME NOW DON'T RUIN IT FOR ME

And let me just say that once again Margot is basically just me. OF COURSE she would fall for the enemy! Totally on brand. I get you, girl! I get you so hard!

<holding up my fingers like the Ben Wyatt meme> It's about the "it's complicated..."

- Danielle Poole

QUEEN. MY QUEEN. I knew she would come through and pull off the Soyuz mission with flying colors! And Danielle & Stepan have my heart! I knew Stepan wouldn't be able to resist her in the end, and that he would have his little Soviet heart melted in no time! 🥰🥰🥰 That whole moment of them defying their governments and choosing peace and brotherhood was just so beautiful. (I was pretty much an emotional mess the entire finale...) Then the gut punching realization that many American's didn't even get to see the historical moment live on TV because they were in the Fall Out shelters. Uuuuuugh. This show is SO good at building the emotional drama of this unfolding history. It feels so real! But it also feels very much like it could part of the Star Trek universe. They are exploring similar utopian and humanistic themes, and so I think I am going to make it my headcanon that our alternate history is part of the Prime timeline. It's official. I have declared it.

Speaking of Star Trek, though, I was tearing up when Danielle was quoting Star Trek. OF COURSE she is a Trekkie - OF COURSE. She is perfect without flaw. The most precious angel! I just wish she had more screen time this season, but I loved her story this season regardless!

- Thomas Paine

I never got to properly mourn the passing of Paine! I was pretty upset that he died, and just when he was becoming such an awesome character! (HE LOVED SPACE THE ENTIRE TIME OMG MY HEART.) However, I realized he was like the Agent Coulson of this show. That awesome side character with an unusual and unexpected quirky personality whose death becomes a catalyst for the bigger picture! Ellen is doing an incredible job within his place, though, and I love what it is building for her character (even if her story is SO SAD). At any rate, Thomas Paine shall be missed!

- Molly Cobb

Molly Cobb is BOSS. Her heroic moment on the Moon was such an amazing highlight for this season for me. But I am loving how they have taken her character in an unexpected direction, down a harder and more humbling road. It is heartbreaking, but such a deeply human story. Her taking her plane and trying to escape from the Earth's atmosphere was like the most DRAMATIC AF moment (omg this show), but also, I felt that too. I also loved her and Wayne's struggle through what Molly is having to face. They're marriage is so strong - perfectly challenging one another and carrying one another through life. I love them! This is going to be painful watching what Molly will have to go through, though.

- Karen

I do want to say a few more words about this whole debacle. The fact that the writers completely obliterated the Baldwin family is something I will not forgive them for, and it was very poor choice on their part, most especially how it came about. To me, the Baldwins have always been the anchor point of the show, but now they are all just kind of pathetic, as the trust in their marriage is broken (for no reason) and all so that Karen can go "find herself".

Now, it has always been a part of Karen's character arc that she needs to find her own identity. She gave herself to her family, putting herself last, and that isn't a good thing. Although we should be reminded that a woman serving her family as a wife and mother is NOT shameful, and so there was literally no reason for the writers to deconstruct this when it was actually a beautiful thing. Things aren't black and white. Karen can be both proud as a dutiful wife and mother AND have existential dread over her own identity as person. BOTH realities can be true and exist together! You don't need to destroy the one to have the other! It's called N U A N C E. Something American tv writers utterly lack in their writing now a days.

Regardless of all this, though, and the disturbing, messed up nature of Karen's affair with Danny - I am sick and tired of how often shows and movies depict a woman's exploration of identity through her sexuality. I find it to be really offensive. As if liberating a woman's spirit means turning her into a horny sex fiend. Sexuality is but one dimension of a woman's identity, one dimension amongst a thousand. To reduce her down to this basic and crude physical dimension, as if somehow sleeping around, having affairs, masturbating, etc, unlocks her deeper self, is really insulting to women as human beings. Being an independent, confident woman comes from a deeper place of the mind, heart, and spirit that embodies her entire person as a holistic being. We are more than the sum of our parts! Please, writers, for the love of God, stop making us into rutting animals!

Suggestion: American writers, creators, directors, just go read Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. She'll wipe the floor with your pitiful displays of female independence. I have never seen any modern writer even come close to what Bronte was able to to achieve with her masterpiece. She was able to truly showcase the power, dignity, and grace of a woman's spirit flawlessly - showing how freedom and independence does not mean free to do whatever you want with whomever you want defying all traditions, religion, expectations, and principles - but is a state and quality of mind, that even in the most dire and unbearable of circumstances, your spirit remains immutable. A woman's strength is compassion in the face of adversity, serenity in the face of devastation, and strength in the face of oppression. THAT is true womanhood.

[thatiranianphantom]

how differently people treat archie & betty in regards to the cheating really doesn’t sit right w me. a lot of people excuse archie as confused whereas betty gets a lot of the backlash w people wanting physical violence between her & v & wanting betty to have 0 friends lmao

2/2 they’re either equal to me on some days bc i tend to not think of rvd as of late (a win for me!) or i prefer betty bc really i always have bc i’m not the biggest archie fan, plus to me she tried to and wanted to stop it so it just gives her a tad of an edge but just my opinion

You know, I am with you on the double standard, anon. I tend to see the opposite on my dash - an insane amount of Archie hate and people excusing Betty. I have, however, seen both. I think it is really important to keep a few things in mind:

1. Actors are not their characters and they have no creative control. That means it really doesn’t matter what KJ or Lili ship, they get next to no input on their character’s decisions. 

2. The women in this show are, generally speaking, written by men. They exist, in so many ways, as a male fantasy. I got really annoyed during my rewatch roundabout the third episode, when they tried to do this whole “men treat us as objects and it’s wrong” plotline. Frankly, it’s a plotline Riverdale doesn’t have any right to do. Betty’s very first scene was her in a bra, and she’s canonically 15. If the show does do a cheating plotline, it will be ostensibly from Betty’s perspective, but written by a man. That makes a huge difference. 

3. The men on Riverdale are writer self-inserts. I can’t stress that enough. Ted has actually admitted this in as many words. Jughead is wronged because Ted feels wronged by women. Jughead is a handsome (eh), talented person with a large circle of friends and (the show is convinced) a talent for writing because that’s Ted’s self insert. His girl gets taken by the all-American, fit, handsome (god I hate this) guy because that’s something Ted views as what would happen to a guy like him. Betty’s behaviour has no complexity, because it’s written through the lens of an adult man. Whether or not a man wrote these specific scenes that are so anti-Betty, the show is entirely conceptualized as a male-gaze thirst trap, and all its characters act accordingly. 

4. The show cares very little about relationship complexities, and I am not just talking about the Bughead vs. Barchie. I am talking about the intricacies of friendship, too. Veronica was willing to drink poison for Betty. The show is great at big gestures like that, but absolutely useless in the small scenes that would act as narrative scaffolding for this. The fact that this would ruin the friendships of the main characters was treated as very much an afterthought, when the show wants us to believe these characters are important to each other. 

5. The show gave us no thoughts from Archie’s perspective. I have long thought of Archie as a character who acts before thinking. That’s carried him through four years. It is not inconceivable that Archie would impulsively act on his “feelings” for Betty with no regard for the consequences. But we have no background on what motivated Archie in this particular instance. They never took the time to give us this situation from his perspective, and it would have been SO easy to write more narrative scaffolding on this from Archie’s perspective. Veronica was busy this season. Perhaps her and Archie drifted a bit apart because of it. Maybe Archie finally began to realize how different he and Veronica are, and because Jughead was also holding a plotline mostly independent of Betty in the beginning of this season, it would have been easy to have them spend a bit more time together. That would have been narrative scaffolding if they were going the whole “nostalgia” route. But we never received any indication that Veronica and Archie were starting to drift. This entire plotline was the cheapest way to create end-of-season drama from writers who can’t properly create story structure. 

6. The Betty and Archie of 4x17 and 4x18 bear little to no resemblance to the Betty and Archie of the rest of the show. 

All this to say, despite the length of this, I really don’t spend much time on it, anon. We know the writers are terrible at their jobs. I’m going to close this off with this quote which I think sums it up perfectly:

“...where it concerns Riverdale, there is no evidence to suggest that the writers have ever been adept at their jobs. Riverdale has always been a show that makes sh*t up as it goes along, aborts arcs whenever it feels like it (where’s Betty’s brother and Chic?), and has no problem with disconnecting from reality when it writes itself into a corner. Riverdale is primarily a vehicle to serve KJ Apa’s abs and lingering close-ups on the thighs of the female cast members.”

[thundersolstice]

I loved your headcannons for season 2 character development, how do you think kit and Kat's conflict would have planned out?

Thanks, anon! I am delighted for this excuse opportunity to continue analyzing and speculating about the thundercats and where they stand when the second season would have concluded.

Jeez I really rambled the whiskers out of this one I’m sorry haha.

Going by the interview, Kit and Kat didn’t get much more mention beyond what was already seeded in canon, but I absolutely love what I heard. Wilykit growing into a peaceful and (still!) unconditionally supportive woman makes her the perfect confidant, advisor, and partner for Lion-O. (Bonus: Kit has a tail and eked out a living in the slums, so making her queen can only mean good things for the kingdom at large. I personally like to think of this as ~The Marriage of King and Kingdom~ because the political implications of change achieved are glorious.) I also like the part where her beauty is The Last Straw that boots Lion-O into finally moving on from the betrayal and pain visited on him by Cheetara and Pumyra; nothing like ten+ years and a jaw-dropping bombshell to inspire another attempt at love lol. That seriously just makes me so happy like you have no idea, that Lion-O marries the most beautiful–inside and out!–cat available and they live happily ever after. It’s perfect.

But I’ve already written that meta. *clears throat* So the twins! Let’s start with a quick review of the canon material we know:

+ At some point, Wilykit and Wilykat split off from Lion-O’s company and go their separate ways: Kit to the elephant village, and Kat doubling down on his hunt for Eldara (as seeded in S01E12). Kat is also specifically said to end up in Dog City again. It’s unclear if the twins’ split from Lion-O/each other happens before, during, or after the first timeskip. It’s also implied (enough to make it a safe assumption) that the twins were not wholly stationary in their private pursuits and periodically met up with Lion-O and/or one another.

+ At the start of the second season (post first timeskip), Wilykit and Wilykat are teenagers. They could be in their early teens, but the way Norton talked, I have the distinct impression they’re in their mid-to-late teens, and have not spent most of that time in Lion-O’s company. Also pertinent is that Norton’s memory of the specifics was fuzzy, so that needs to be taken into interpretation. (My tentative assumption, therefore, is that the twins are maybe fifteen when the second season opens, and only see Lion-O when their paths cross; that is, they and Lion-O do not or very rarely actively seek one another out during the timeskip–but I do not pretend my interpretation perfectly aligns with canon without some kind of confirmation by Word of God.)

+ Wilykit’s natural power growth is heavily based in music: she’s described as “like the bard” character. I can’t quote it from memory, but I came away with the impression that she could use her music to control others (which would be a natural step up from putting them into a trance with her flupe); she would also have headphones. Wilykat’s natural power growth included his using all the pockets on his outfit more–pulling out and utilizing tricks/trick-like items, and the like. And that he would change the basis of a fight for better or worse (such as with sneezing powder or the like; I can’t quote the specific items Norton mentioned specifically), and nobody could really predict him.

+ Re growing up–without her brother around to egg her on, Wilykit becomes more peaceful. And without his sister to steady him, Wilykat becomes more wild. Where she finds a new home in the elephant village and continues to adopt the elephant ideals, he ends up back in Dog City and gets caught up with Tookit &c again. Wilykit eventually grows into a peaceful queen figure; Wilykat eventually grows into a “king of thieves” figure. Wilykit, as an adult, is described as beautiful; Wilykat, as an adult, is described as “like a slick villain.”

+ Wilykit is specifically stated to conclude the second season as Lion-O’s queen. Wilykat is specifically stated to believe in Lion-O’s Code (the 2011 Code of Thundera) despite being the/like a king of thieves.

+ The twins do eventually find Eldara, which is (something like?) another dimension and where the soul stone is located. They find their family in Eldara as some kind of (resting place?) before they move on to thundercat heaven. This part of their journey is therefore concluded happily (or bittersweet if they’ll never see their family again). The part about the twins’ family being dead conflicts with an earlier statement by the crew saying they’re alive, more speculating about that below.

Regarding individual character growth as interpreted by fandom–something I’ve noticed fans do to grown versions of the twins is to firmly limit their adult characterizations by where they were as eight-year-olds. I can appreciate why–it’s easier and faster to keep the basics provided by canon and build on just that than it is to analyze and hunt down any hints for the intended character growth and then develop the characters from there–and I’m certainly guilty of doing that sort of thing (especially when I was more interested in pushing what I wanted to be canon rather than analyzing and building on the actual canon material; and I really think that right there sums it up for most fans. Not saying it’s a bad thing to do; this is fandom, not law…As long as everyone is clear on what is and is not canon)–but that isn’t logical character progression, and I’m going to go ahead and spell out why:

On the purely external side, it makes very little sense for, say, Kit to become a cleric or Kat to become an officer in Lion-O’s army because:(a) TCats 2011 is a reboot, not a spinoff; not giving the kids their own unique paths would be blowing off an integral part of the classic series canon; and(b) the twins are part of the principal cast, main characters in their own right behind Lion-O–just like Panthro/Tygra/Cheetara/etc. They’re thundercats (nee thunderkittens). All of the main cast have their own storylines, and while their character development may not be as integral to the overarching plot like Lion-O’s is, they are still independent and complete arcs. Shoehorning the twins into a single path, or paths that are not unique to their personal stories, would be like denying them their legacy. They aren’t The Hero (that’s Lion-O), but they aren’t side characters (eg, Viragor, Hattanzo, etc), either.

On the purely mental/emotional side, those interpretations don’t even make sense outside the context of mental illness or bizarre time-freeze-drama (such as what the classic series Lion-O kicked off the 80s series with. What 2011 Lion-O suffers per the second timeskip is also worth pointing out, although the jump from twenty-something to thirty-something is substantially less severe than the jump from prepubescent to physiological-brain-development-complete).Who grows up to be the same person they were at the age of eight? The twins-as-kittens are absolutely and vastly more mature and capable than your average modern eight-year-old, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need to finish growing (and significantly at that). If they do retain any traits from their prepubescent years, most often those traits will have taken root from a completely different place (ie: they’d adopt a mature adult’s concept in place of a young child’s concept, and the similarities to what they believed as kids is therefore coincidental or irrelevant).

I’m just trying to underscore the logic of the twins’ canon arcs as described in the interview here. Basically, I love the plans for the twins and where they both would have ended up as characters. As for my interpretations of their long-term external goal of locating Eldara(/their family)–

Norton didn’t talk a whole lot about that, either, sadly, but we do know the basics: the twins do eventually find Eldara: it’s something like another dimension, and also the location of the final power stone. They find their family there in something like a pit stop prior to the in-universe version of Heaven. The suggestion that the twins’ family all being dead conflicts with an earlier statement by the crew saying the twins’ mother and siblings are alive. I’m inclined to put more weight behind the latter assertion because it was made years before the interview with Norton took place, and Norton himself made it clear he couldn’t recall all the exact details. So my thought is either (a) the twins’ mother/siblings die or in some other way “move on” into Eldara at some point after having survived the fall of Thundera; or (b) the crew was invoking their right of misdirection as they so often did (lol) and the twins’ mother/siblings did not survive the fall of Thundera or have already been dead by some other means. I do not recall if the twins’ dad was part of the conclusion to the Eldara conflict, or if they only saw their mother and siblings.

The rest is pure speculation: I think Kit and Kat would always maintain a relationship as siblings, but that their separate duties and interests would mean they do not meet very often, or at least do not live in the same general area of Third Earth. I think Kat would continue to adventure his way around Third Earth (swashbuckling style!) and would happily never settle down and start a family or the like. I think the twins have never had a super close relationship with any of the other thundercats (essentially, they’re casual teammates, not BFFs), and that this trend did not change with the second season except for the part where Kit and Lion-O start fighting more closely together. I think Wilykit would bear Lion-O at least one set of boy-girl twins because Kit was a twin and all her siblings were twins, and I think Kat would make a mischievous and super cool uncle much admired by his niece and nephew (of which their parents may or may not be especially wary). I love love love the contrast inherent in the troublemaking King of Thieves being the twin sibling of the steadfast Queen of New Thundera, and I think it very possible the crew would have portrayed this fun contrast as an ongoing dynamic.

Apologies for grammar/typos/unnecessary repeating of unnecessary information/etc. I’ll clean up this post later.

[night-filled-mountain]

So, uh. I wrote a post. About Fjord and Caleb. It is over 3000 words long. I’m not going to make any attempt to justify this as a life decision. All I’ll say is that I am sure as hell putting this under a cut, and I would only venture beneath that cut if you really, really want to read an obsessive analysis of practically every significant interaction Fjord and Caleb have ever had (complete with direct quotes thanks to the light of my life, @crtranscript) that is longer than a goddamn term paper.

So the thing that keeps getting to me is that when Caleb agreed to bleed all over a dark altar to satisfy Fjord’s (and his own) curiosity, and he asked if Fjord would help him with his own goals when the time comes, Fjord didn’t say “Yes” or “It’s a deal” or anything along those lines. He said, “Always.” (This was in episode 44, which we all know, but I’m noting it because I’m going to be talking about a lot of different episodes in this post.)

We all know that Caleb tends to view almost all social interactions as transactional. (I’ve seen people claiming that Nott is the one exception to this rule, and I’d actually argue that Jester is the one exception, but that’s a whole other post.) Fjord, on the other hand, does not view his relationships with the Mighty Nein that way. He never has. In fact, I feel like he, more than any other member, has seen them as a family from the start. Furthermore, I think that this fundamental misunderstanding between Fjord and Caleb goes back almost as far as the campaign itself.

Courtesy of the amazing folks @crtranscript, here’s their famous conversation from episode 4 of this campaign, “Disparate Pieces”:

Caleb: This group seems rough around the edges, but you seem clever. Hopefully we can make this work.

Fjord: I think we should be able to, yeah. I mean, a little guidance goes a long way. You seem to be good at looking out for Nott.

Caleb: I mean, full disclosure, I’m a little rough around the edges, but you catch my drift.

Fjord: I do. You can trust us. You’re safe here. I’m concerned with what happens with Jester and Beau. I think, amongst all of us, we should be fine.

Caleb: Let’s make it work.

Fjord: We’ll make it work.

The thing is, I don’t think Fjord does catch Caleb’s drift, or vice versa. Caleb is talking about practicalities--about his hope for a group that can remain cohesive for a while, protect him from danger, and help him achieve his goals, assuming he does the same for them. His comment that they are “rough around the edges” is an expression of his anxiety that they will not fulfill those criteria, which is why he comes to Fjord, who he sees as the most levelheaded and friendly of the bunch, to try and assuage his fears.

And then there’s his “Full disclosure, I’m a little rough around the edges,” which reveals an alternate anxiety that he struggles with enormously to this day: that he might not be useful to them--or at least, not useful enough to off-set all his baggage. Caleb sees other people as commodities, but he also sees himself that way. Yes, he has considered leaving the Mighty Nein with Nott (or even taking off on his own) when he starts to feel they might endanger his life or hinder his goals...but he is also afraid of being forced out. Of being abandoned by the group if they learn what he’s done, or the fragile state of his sanity, or how much danger hangs over him. From his perspective, his entire relationship with Beau hinges on this fear, and it (along with Beau being...Beau) periodically gets in the way of the genuine friendship they might otherwise develop.

In short, Caleb went to Fjord in “Disparate Pieces” to find out whether he thought that the future Mighty Nein would make a good toolbox, and to pitch himself as a useful tool in that box, despite his shortcomings. Fjord, though, takes things much deeper than that:

He acknowledges friendships and protective urges within the group (“You seem to be good at looking out for Nott” and “I’m concerned with what happens with Jester and Beau”). He’s positioning himself and Caleb as protectors within the group, watching over its younger or more chaotic members, without even considering why they would want to/what they will get in exchange. (Note that at some point in those early episodes, he even offered to protect Frumpkin if that mattered to Caleb.)

He doesn’t offer Caleb any specific skills or services, nor ask what he can give in return. Instead, he makes an unconditional blanket statement: “You can trust us. You’re safe here.” Considering the sum total of Caleb’s life experiences, it seems highly doubtful that Caleb actually believed him. Yet I’m pretty sure Fjord meant every word.

He doesn’t think (like Caleb will in episode 26, “Found and Lost,” after the Iron Shepherds abduction) about what each member of the group might contribute to his goals. He just makes another blanket statement: “Amongst all of us, we should be fine.” In his mind, they’re already a unit. And not just a functional unit like a toolbox, or even a ship’s crew. They’re a family. They’re like two misfit dads with a pack of adopted misfit children. (This also goes a long way to explaining the perpetual tension between Fjord and Nott, but again, that’s a whole other post.)

And to me, that’s it right there, the fundamental divide. Mighty Nein as toolbox vs. Mighty Nein as family. It explains Caleb and Fjord’s one big schism: Scrollgate (episode 12, “Midnight Espionage”). To Caleb, you always use the handiest tools in your arsenal, whether they happen to be your teammates or a magical scroll in a drawer. To Fjord, the safety of the family comes before personal goals, always: “We’re either a team, or you’re working for yourselves. Decide.” And note that a few seconds after Caleb “decided” (by dropping the scroll and walking out of the room), Fjord was hauling an unconscious Caleb out of a burning house and pouring a healing potion down his throat. Their confrontation was irrelevant the moment Caleb confirmed himself as part of the family.

This division doesn’t just explain why they’ve clashed in the past, though, but also why their relationship has improved. When did Fjord’s opinion of Caleb take a turn for the better? When Caleb showed up at the Sour Nest, played a central role in defeating the Iron Shepherds and freeing his kidnapped teammates, and then comforted them and expressed affection for them (episode 30, “The Journey Home”). Travis said on Talks Machina that both he and Fjord were surprised by Caleb’s behavior--he’d expected Caleb to “throw it in their faces” or talk about how they owed him for the rescue. And honestly, is it any surprise he expected this? It would have fit Caleb’s m.o. perfectly. Both the rescue itself and Caleb’s selfless behavior afterward were a major turning point for Caleb, a non-transactional approach to his relationship with the gang. And Fjord fully recognized how huge that was, and took care to thank Caleb specifically for it.

But that brings me to the current Avantika/Uk’otoa arc, and all the fascinating Caleb/Fjord interactions it’s brought us, culminating in the madness that was Thursday night’s “blood pact.” I think that, during this arc, the tables have turned. If the Iron Shepherds arc helped repair their relationship because Caleb began to act more like Fjord, then this arc has complicated their relationship because Fjord (as Caleb sees it) has begun to act more like Caleb.

This, I think, has been the subtext lurking beneath Caleb’s repeated, insistent questioning of Fjord about what he wants, what his specific goals are during this quest, and how he wants the Mighty Nein to help achieve them. It makes perfect sense that Caleb has been so frantic to get to the bottom of that question, and that Fjord’s genuinely confused and non-committal answers have been driving him nuts. Because, from Caleb’s perspective, Fjord is finally utilizing the Mighty Nein for their proper purpose: to achieve personal goals.

Fjord must have goals. He must have a specific design for the thing he wants to build with his toolbox (because Caleb does, and Nott does, and Trent Ikithon did, and that’s pretty much the full range of Caleb’s experience). If he would just say what they are, Caleb could get back on familiar ground and frame the whole quest as transactional, offering to help achieve Fjord’s goals in exchange for the same privilege down the line, or refusing and cutting his losses if the risk is too high (which he threatened to do if Fjord tried to awaken Uk’otoa). If, however, Fjord won’t state his goals clearly, he must be shady, untrustworthy, deliberately hiding something, trying to manipulate his “toolbox” to achieve the desired result. It couldn’t possibly be because he never had a plan beyond “Find some answers and assume my family has my back.” It couldn’t possibly be that he wants the decision process to be collaborative, even during his own personal quest, because that’s how a family gets things done...could it?

So we have the two of them constantly, subtly working at cross-purposes. In episode 40, “Dubious Pursuits,” Caleb tells Fjord, “You do what you have to” with regard to the Avantika situation, assuming that Fjord will do the practical, goal-oriented thing: sleep with her to protect himself and the group.

But I suspect what Fjord really wanted in that moment was for someone (or everyone) to offer him help or reassurance, to serve as a buffer between him and this woman he was openly baffled by and terrified of. While Caleb’s go-to strategy when things get tough is to make a plan (often involving “calculated risk”) and implement it without consulting anyone, Fjord’s is to assemble the entire group and solicit their opinions, listening to and weighing every single voice before coming to a consensus. He actually tries to make this very clear to Caleb earlier in the aforementioned conversation: “I need more info, Caleb. I need more data, more knowledge. You read books on this stuff. There has to be someone out there that knows more about this before we just charge in.” When Caleb expresses serious concerns about Fjord’s intentions, Fjord answers, “I have no interest in dealing with matters that predate time as we know it. I’m pretty simple. These days I’ve spent with you are the most exciting of my entire life. I’m not looking to end them, or the world, by frivolously giving up something that I barely understand.” 

This is an answer that Caleb absolutely cannot believe as long as he keeps projecting his own goals and values onto Fjord. Because Fjord is prioritizing his found family over power, over ancient arcane knowledge. Nothing sounds faker to Caleb than the two sentences that might be the most succinct summary of Fjord’s motivations we’ve ever heard: “I’m pretty simple. These days I’ve spent with you are the most exciting of my life.”

What Fjord wanted in that moment was for the M9 to tell him, “We have ideas, we’ve got your back, we’ll stand with you (and against HER) like family should, and you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” But Caleb couldn’t imagine saying (or hearing) those words. Just imagine for a second if those words had occurred to him or Astrid or Eodwulf sixteen years before our story began.

Instead, Caleb gives Fjord the bleak truth about Avantika: “She’s not going to let go of you. You are a key that she needs.” Sound familiar? Stir up any memories of Caleb’s backstory? Or (even more chillingly) of the way Caleb himself usually views (or at least tries to view) the people he works with?

So Fjord slept with Avantika. Not, as Caleb assumed, because it was “no big deal” in the service of his master plan, but because Caleb implied that he had a responsibility to do so, and Fjord takes his family’s opinions and his responsibilities to them more seriously than anything else. And in episode 43, “In Hot Water,” even Caleb himself figures that out (“He has compromised himself with this woman, for us, for himself, for all of our safety. It is going to be difficult for him”). What made him realize his mistake? Probably the one-on-one conversation he had with Fjord in episode 41, “A Pirate’s Life for Me.” 

I think this conversation is crucial to their relationship. I might go so far as to say that it changes Caleb’s view of Fjord almost as radically as the Iron Shepherds arc changed Fjord’s view of Caleb. Here Caleb is, thinking of Fjord as a levelheaded, competent leader, a friendly guy...but cagey and secretive, potentially dangerous, possibly manipulating them all in the name of his mysterious master plan. And then Fjord pulls Caleb aside and just lays it all out.

“I had to admit I found myself a bit surprised. My initial impression of you was someone a bit timid and maybe reserved; meek even. Your tone, your opinion of what to do with Avantika in order to make sure that we’re okay, it seemed very…calculated. Very…risky. Do you mind me asking if you’ve...have you ever sacrificed anything in order to achieve a greater goal? Because I feel like I am swimming in the deep end and I don’t quite know what I’m doing.”

This little monologue turned Caleb’s entire impression of Fjord and his arc on its head. I think this is when he realized that Fjord isn’t ruthlessly pursuing some deep, dark, secret goal like Caleb himself. Instead, he’s been thrust unwillingly into a situation where he’s suddenly being forced to make the kinds of harrowing decisions that Caleb’s long since conditioned himself to make.

In stark contrast to his confident ultimatums in their previous conversation, Caleb is awkward and skittish, caught off-guard. He dodges Fjord’s question with irrelevant half-truths, but he knows perfectly well how astute it was. And suddenly, he’s not seeing Fjord as a current mirror image of himself, ruthless and calculating; he’s seeing Fjord as a mirror of himself as a child, innocent and uncertain, finding himself in a situation with no right or safe choices, where power and knowledge come with a heavy dose of manipulation and violence.

And who does Fjord come to, with praise for his strategic intellect and keen perception? Who does he trust to fix this fucked-up situation if necessary? Caleb. Because he senses, despite Caleb’s evasions, that he has been in this kind of situation before...and he assumes, in a moment of incredible irony, that this means Caleb is equipped to make the right choice:

Fjord: I think you know what I mean, but in case this thing gets out of hand, can I count on you to right the ship if need be?

Caleb: Keep the group safe?

Fjord: Of course.

Keep the group safe. That’s what Fjord has tasked both himself and Caleb with through the whole damn campaign, and Caleb finally gets it. That Fjord doesn’t want a powerful tool in his arsenal to achieve his own goals; he wants a back-up guardian for the flock of wayward children he’s taken under his wing. This is one of those rare moments (like “The Journey Home”) when Caleb’s brain fully switches from toolbox to family, and the proof is in the way the conversation ends: “I think that woman is going to try to kill you, I really do.”

Why does Caleb hesitate so long and “nervously twiddle” his bit of wire before conveying that message? Because it’s so out of character. Because his own agenda is to use Fjord as a buffer between Avantika and the rest of the group, and this warning directly contradicts that agenda. Because this isn’t an expression of concern about group cohesion or success.

It’s an expression of concern for Fjord.

And at the end of the following episode (episode 42, “A Hole in the Plan,” if we’re still keeping track), Caleb finally does what Fjord wanted all along. He produces a literal manifestation of the thing that Fjord has wanted the M9 to do metaphorically ever since they first encountered Avantika: “I cast Wall of Fire between her and us.” He sends the message, loud and clear, that Fjord will no longer be used as a tool for the protection of the group, because the entire family is worthy of protection. Family, not toolbox.

And Fjord reacts immediately. In episode 43, “In Hot Water,” his focus is on Caleb throughout the fight with Avantika’s crew: moving Caleb out of danger, reviving Caleb when he’s down, and panicking so much that he lets his accent slip because Caleb has done just what Fjord asked, he has kept the group safe, and Fjord, in turn, feels responsible for Caleb, who is part of the family as well.

...And all of this brings me to the most recent episode. To episode 44, which...doesn’t have a title yet. 😛 And to the infamous blood ritual.

Now, there were a million things going on with that ritual (and the spontaneous “pact” that followed). Plenty of people have already written about them more eloquently than I ever could. We had both Fjord and Caleb poking at and manipulating each other, testing each other’s boundaries, each trying to see how far the other would go. We had them acknowledging their shared fascination with power (in a darker echo of Fjord’s constant compliments for Caleb’s magic at the beginning of the campaign), and we had Fjord “7 wisdom” Tusktooth and Caleb “calculated risk” Widogast go into an ill-considered, self-destructive frenzy before Jester’s (and our) horrified eyes.

But to me, for all the common ground they discovered in that scene, for all the “blood brothers” hype of their gory handshake, the fundamental misunderstanding still remains. Caleb, despite all the recent progress he’s made toward understanding and even adopting Fjord’s “Mighty Nein=family” perspective, thinks that he’s finally discovered the real Fjord: reckless, ambitious, willing to trade favors with Caleb in order to pursue knowledge and power, placing the two of them on exactly the same page. He tries to lay this out for Fjord right before the bloodbath, admitting that he has goals of his own and asking if Fjord will be there to help him accomplish them.

And Fjord’s response? “Always.”

It’s a subtle moment. I’m pretty sure Caleb didn’t pick up on it. He still viewed the situation as a trade, and when Fjord ended the ritual prematurely, when he took Caleb’s hand and said, “We understand each other,” Caleb thought they were sealing a pact that was contingent on his willingness to bleed.

In Fjord’s mind? It was the opposite.

This was never about demanding a trade from Caleb (or vice versa). They were both bleeding on that altar. The question they both kept asking each other (“Aren’t you curious?”) wasn’t about pressuring each other into an unwanted situation; it was about acknowledging their shared curiosity and acting on it. It wasn’t Caleb working toward Fjord’s goals so that Fjord will eventually work toward Caleb’s; it was about the two of them working together, in every situation, to accomplish the goals of the group (even when that means backing off from their own ambitions when the risk becomes too great, as demonstrated by the fact that he ended that ritual when the cost became too high).

Fjord didn’t promise to work toward Caleb’s goals if Caleb worked toward his. He promised to work toward Caleb’s goals, full-stop. Always. Always. He’s been working for Caleb--and the rest of the Mighty Nein--since they first became a unit. Barring a blatant betrayal of the group (like he feared during Scrollgate), he’s never had any intention of doing anything else, or any conditions that apply to that assistance. Family, not toolbox.

Caleb has spent the entire campaign trying to bargain for something that has always been offered to him freely. Fjord told him “You’re safe here” before the M9 even hit the road together, and he told him “Always” before a single drop of blood was spilled.

[starellas]

Sometimes what we want isn’t necessarily what we get.

This quote hit me hard and it’s not only because of the message it’s trying to get across but also because of what it implies for Lance as a character. I believe this quote easily sums up Lance’s character arc entirely, and foreshadows that in the end, Lance will end up in a different place than where he expected to be in the beginning.

Disclaimer: These are my own personal thoughts on Lance’s character arc/development and it involves ships. I don’t want any conflict so please read this knowing that you might not like what you see, especially if you’re an Allurance shipper.

The quote also links in with what Lauren said in an interview:

Link to original post by VLD-News.

Going back to the context of the episode where Lance said it (S3Ep2), Lance wanted to stay with Blue but in the end, Red was the lion he needed in order for his character to further develop. Blue is the nurturing lion which takes her paladins and helps them reach the greatness she sees inside them. Lance reached that with her, and is now ready to step up the ladder and become the right hand man of Voltron.

But apart from the lion switch linking back to the original 80s Voltron, it also adds a twist of it’s own, summing up Lance’s character arc and easily hinting that there will be LGBT rep (endgame Klance). There have been a lot of subtle hints throughout the show about LGBT rep and if I wanted to sum them all up in one post, it would be WAY too long.

Anyway, if we see Red as Keith and Blue as Allura, it mirrors Lance’s relationship with both of these characters. Lance and Allura’s relationship is beautiful and I love their dynamics, but as they are portrayed in the show, we are not meant to see them in any romantic light. We’re constantly shown how Allura doesn’t reciprocate Lance’s feelings, and those scenes matter to get a message across to the kids that if you constantly hit on someone who doesn’t like you in that way, you won’t get anywhere. If you’re persistent and keep on trying, it still won’t work out for you.

Blue’s rejection of Lance shows Allura’s own rejection of his love, and while they have a close relationship as friends, they’ll never be more than that. Blue and Lance’s bond in s1 and s2 portrays his relationship with Allura, because even though they won’t be lovers, they’ll always be there for each other (even putting themselves in harm’s way to protect the other).

Lance’s feelings for Allura are genuine but it’s unrequited love. “What we want isn’t necessarily what we get” and what Lance needs right now is for someone to love him the same way he loved Allura (Red roaring for Lance when Blue rejected him). I’m a firm believer that in future episodes, we will see Keith being there for Lance, picking him up back on his feet and helping him get out of his broken state (just like Red roared for him).

Lance’s isolation from the rest of the team was shown on purpose and many of the fans noticed it, it was intentional. For me this moment of isolation shows Lance’s state right when Blue rejected him, and right before the moment when Red roared for him. Again, we were meant to see this isolation Lance found himself in when Keith left, and the crew made an effort to show this. In a way Lance is slowly sinking, until he hits rock bottom (s6), and then he will swim back up again and stand tall. 

For me personally, this Lance mirrors the Lance who was rejected by Blue perfectly.

The crew also made an effort to show Lance parting with Blue instead of, for example, showing Keith giving Lance his Red Bayard. They did this on purpose, because Lance parting from Blue was a major part of his character arc. It needed to be focused on because it essentially foreshadows him moving on from Allura, someone he had a crush on since s1. And now after s6, Lance accepted that Allura will never see him in the same way he saw her.

This scene, in my opinion, was the most important scene for Lance in s6 because it shows him moving on from Allura and accepting that she won’t return his feelings. Also the way that scene was structured reminded me of the lion switch as well.

Blue (Allura) rejecting Lance, and then Red (Keith) roaring for him, which mirrored Keith appearing on the screen just after Lance and Allura hug. The scene also parallels one where Allura received a call from Lotor in S6Ep3 where she is happy to see him. In the same way Allura was happy to see Lotor, Lance was happy to see Keith on the screen. It’s interesting that they structured the scene in this way and made Keith appear after such an important moment for Lance.

Lance and Allura’s hug parallels the Allura and Keith hug that they had in S2Ep12. In that scene Allura accepted Keith for who he was; part Galra. She pushed aside her hatred in favour of who Keith was as a person. The same way Lance accepted Allura’s disinterest in him, and that he won’t have a chance with her. Everyone will interpret the hug scene differently, but for me, it marks the end of any possible romantic relationship these two characters might have had. The two hug scenes mirror, and in my opinion, they both mark an ending to something. In the Keith & Allura hug, it marks an end for Allura’s prejudice against Keith for being part Galra. In her hug with Lance, it marks an ending to Lance trying to pursue her romantically. Both hugs show acceptance and an end.

Also, it’s interesting to note that the title of the episode is “All Good Things” which comes from “All Good Things Come To An End” and in this episode, the hug represents ending for romance between Allurance.

Perhaps it may also make Allura look like an evil person here because she knows about Lance’s feelings towards her (thanks mice), and she’s still embracing him despite her rejecting his feelings. But while that may seem to be the case here, it’s really not. Allura is in a rough place during the hug because she was just heartbroken by Lotor who turned out to be hiding things from her (a major secret considering that she was looking for other Alteans all this time). It’s understanding that she would be broken, and she found comfort in Lance as a close friend. Meanwhile for Lance, while he is trying to comfort her, he is also realising that it’s the end of romance between them (a pivotal moment in his character arc).

(Also it’s interesting to note that Red rejected Allura, just like Keith rejected any romanic feelings that had potential to develop between them. However, since Keith is gay-coded, and not interested in women, there was no chance for them to become romantically involved).

If we were to follow what happened in the lion switch scene (after s6), then now Lance would be in a moment when Red would roar for him, coming to comfort him after Blue (Allura’s) rejection. This makes me speculate that in s7, we’ll see Keith stand up and be there for Lance. Emotionally, Keith wasn’t ready for Lance and neither was Lance ready for him (even though they had a lot of romantically coded scenes since s1). Keith is gay coded, and there’s a fabulous video about the topic done by Fictional Crystals. She also made a video about Lance being bi, the link to that video is here.

Also, this analysis of S2Ep2 is fantastic, and shows how Lance being a closed bi is portrayed subtly throughout the whole of the episode. I highly suggest you have a read.

The legendary bonding moment in S1Ep5, was the beginning of Keith’s romantic interest in Lance and it was at that point that Keith thought he and Lance may be a thing. But then of course Lance kept constantly rejecting him because he wasn’t ready. The tweet (Original tweet here):

It’s interesting because it tells us that Lance remembers the bonding moment but he wasn’t emotionally ready to accept it. The wording of this suggests that possibly in the future Lance will come to accept himself for who he is. He wasn’t ready to face his feeling for Keith then, but that may be beginning to change after Allura’s rejection in s6. I can’t interpret this in any other way than it hinting to Lance being emotionally ready at some point in the series.

Just a little note about Keith here. What I mean by “Keith not being ready” is the way he interacted with Lance in s1, s2 and s3. Instead of reacting on his own, he follows Lance’s example, and it usually always ends up in them bickering. The elevator scene, and the moment where the lights go out, is the perfect example of how Keith is unsure of himself, waiting for Lance to react first before he can give his own reaction. Then we also have Keith being thrown in the position of leadership in s3 and we further see how unsure of himself he is now that he’s the leader of Voltron.

However, now Keith has developed as a character and I believe that after s6, he won’t repeat the same mistakes. He won’t copy Lance’s reaction but will react in his own way. For example, if the elevator scene were to happen after season 6, then I have no doubt that Keith would have a completely different reaction. Instead of sighing and groaning like Lance did, Keith would maybe look at the door or look at Lance without copying his reaction. It’s these little things that stick out, and I can’t wait to see just how much Keith changed in s7.

Keith wasn’t what Lance needed in s1, s2 and s3. Lance WAS what Keith needed in those seasons and now this will change. I believe that in s7 and onward, Keith WILL be what Lance needs because he is in a place where he knows himself, and is standing firm on his own judgements. He will be there to pick Lance up from his heartbroken state, and he’ll be the one to pull him back onto his feet (Red roaring for Lance). Lance will learn from him, so that he can also become the same kind of a person Keith became, one that came to accept himself for who he is.

Also the quote I mentioned at the beginning from Lauren fits nicely here:

As far as Keith’s development goes, he has become self-assured and he also knows himself as well. Now that we’ve reached s6, Keith has reached the peak of his character arc. He found Krolia and they spent 2 years together on that giant space whale. He had enough time to bond with her and find out about his origins. Before that, Keith had spent a lot of time with the BoM, and there he learned the importance of a team. ‘Team over the mission’ is something I believe Keith learned during his time there. I know most of us hated the fact that Keith left, but looking back at it now, I believe it was necessary for him to develop, no matter how much we hated it.

I can’t stress enough how nicely their arcs intertwine with each other. Lance is Keith’s stability, and that was VERY true in s3 especially, but now, Keith will be what Lance needs, especially after two seasons of Lance isolating himself from the rest of the team. Since Keith left, Allura had been the only one to acknowledge Lance’s growth and while the rest of the team noticed it as well, they didn’t voice it.

Since Allura was the only one who reached out to him, I believe that his love for her grew. The scene where Lance came out for the first time and told someone about his worries was the scene between him and Keith in s3 where Lance told Keith that he is the extra wheel and should step down as a paladin. Keith in his own way, assured Lance that wasn’t the case, and it was at that moment that their relationship changed (or the way they view each other). 

In my own opinion, I think Lance came to realise that Keith wasn’t what he always thought he was. The pretend rivalry was one-sided from Lance’s side, and now Lance saw Keith for who he really was. He saw Keith as a person he really is, instead of the image he always pushed onto himself (of Keith being his rival). The way the shot of Keith was structured (showing him smiling from hips up), is meant to be shown from Lance’s own eyes. In that one shot we see Keith from a distance rather than up close, and we are meant to see him in that way because that’s the way Lance sees him. It’s as if he’s admiring Keith in that moment, as if he came to acknowledge that Keith has another side to him he didn’t see before (or refused to see).

I may be stretching it here, but I think that to some extent Lance is admiring Keith as a potential love interest as well. In this moment he may be beginning to look at Keith in a different way, and the scene was meant to show that; a change of view.

Here is a fabulous post that describes this scene in much more detail. I highly recommend that you read it if you have the time.

This scene is powerful, especially considering what came after. Keith left the team, and this happened when he and Lance were forming this close of a bond. In a way they were both robbed of further bonding with each other. Lance and Keith were partners, just like we were told in the very first episode “We were like rivals. You know, Lance and Keith, neck and neck”. We were meant to attribute these two characters from the very beginning, and visually, the crew also made the effort to make them stand next to each other whenever they could. You can go back and see how many times Lance and Keith stand next to each other subtly in the background.

Their relationship would have flourished if Keith stayed on the team and I have no doubt that Keith would have been there for Lance instead of Allura when he needed it. Perhaps Lance would come to the realisation that he has feelings for Keith but that may have been too early at the point where the story was so the crew decided to have Keith leave. Perhaps because they added Shiro back to the team, the crew intentionally wanted to portray the development of their relationship before Keith would leave. This is just my own personal opinion on the matter of ‘what if’.

To conclude everything in one sentence:

The lion switch tells us what will happen to Lance and how his arc will play out.

We’ve already seen Allura reject Lance, no matter how much he wanted her, they weren’t meant to be. Now that Lance realised that they don’t have a romantic future, he will find love elsewhere and in a place he didn’t know he would find it in. Lance didn’t want to pilot Red, but Red was there for him, picking him up and taking him as his paladin. Based on the lion switch, I can see a lot of Keith and Lance bonding in future seasons, and generally Keith picking Lance up and helping him recover from his heartbreak and feeling of isolation.

Also one more thing I want to point out that most fans seem to be ignoring is that s6 is the peak season for both Keith and Lance’s character arcs. Keith returned to the team and had an incredible development as a character. Meanwhile, Lance’s development had been happening in the background, subtly, and now in s6 we’ve reached the peak as well. Also I don’t think it’s coincidence that S6Ep2 focuses on BOTH Keith’s origins as well as Lance’s own heartbreak.

Season 6 was a Klance season, and it was a season where both of them became ready for a possible romantic relationship that may happen between them. Their development happened separately, but it did happen. That’s why Dreamworks placed both Keith and Lance on their s6 trailer thumbnail, because essentially, these two characters reach their peaks. The Dreamworks YouTube channel may not have anything to do with the crew, but it’s still interesting to see the thumbnail they picked for the video (other than to get views).

Also, it’s fun to note the previous relationship we had between the red and black paladins. Alfor and Zarkon were best friends, Keith and Shiro were brothers, so what will Keith and Lance be now that they’re the red and black paladins? My guess is lovers (of course).

I’m going to theorise a bit here and lay out some of my expectations for s7:

- Lance and Keith will become closer. Keith will be there for Lance, and will be what Lance needs instead of what he wants. Red roaring for Lance foreshadows this (at least for me).

- Lance unlocked a sword form with his bayard and while this may be a huge development for him as the new red paladin, it also represents something Lance needs (or needed at the time to take down those training robots). When we think of a sword, we immediately attribute it to Keith whose bayard is a saber. We were promised a scene with Keith and Lance fighting back to back with their swords by Jeremy, and it’s just one of possible bonding scenes the two will have in future seasons.

- S7 will be the season when the paladins will have more time for themselves and they will be on a road trip. Nothing screams ‘bonding time’ like a road trip. I know they don’t have a wormhole but why not just cut to them returning back to Earth? No, instead the crew decided to have this road trip season and it is made for a reason. I speculate that Lance and Keith will finally have some time to catch up. Generally, all of the paladins will have some time to bond, especially since Keith wasn’t with them for the duration of two seasons. It will also give time for Allura and Lance to talk about their relationship. I’m not sure if Allura and Lance will talk about it (since the mice told Allura about Lance’s feelings, robbing him of a confession), but it is possible. To sum it up, I expect a lot of bonding between everyone.

- Jeremy said that Keith’s attempted sacrifice in s4 will be mentioned and for some reason I think it will come up in one of the conversations Lance and Keith may have. I don’t think Keith would want to burden his teammates with something like that, because I don’t believe he would just casually bring it up. Something must have led to Keith mentioning it, and maybe, just maybe, Lance and Keith are going to talk about everything that had been happening and it will be mentioned. I may be stretching it here, but it’s also possible that Lance might find comfort in Keith and will talk to him about his and Allura’s relationship (or love in general). Again, this is just me speculating on my part. Keith was the person Lance opened to in s3, so I can see him opening up to Keith again and finding that comfort he’s looking for within Keith.

- Shiro will be the one to help Lance realise that he’s bi. Everyone already knows about the drawing Lauren did with Lance holding the LGBT sign with Shiro supporting him by his side. Since Lance wasn’t the one to save Shiro, I can see Lance feeling super guilty about it, and maybe they begin talking more with each other.

And that would be my TEDTalk. Thank you for reading if you reached the very end. Also in conclusion, Klance is canon king!

[electrospeak]

Final Fantasy VII, and its commentary on choice, security, and freedom.

Final Fantasy VII is one of the most beloved games of all time, and it has a legacy that has shaped the gaming landscape ever since its release.  But despite it’s massive success and influence, many people don’t try to talk about what made Final Fantasy VII great. The most obvious answers to this question are “the battle system” and “the story” and “Aerith’s death,” but more often than not, people don’t have answers deeper than the ones listed above. The few analyses of the gameplay of FF7 have been pretty in-depth and well-explained, but the even fewer analyses of the story that I've seen haven’t mentioned the deeper, thematic connotations of the plot. I hope this short essay sums up the main themes of Final Fantasy VII, and how the themes of how people are controlled, and how people gain control are brought out in the game. Obviously, spoiler warning for the whole article.

Part 1: Shinra vs. The Planet

The theme of control is pretty easy to see here. Obviously, the Shinra Corporation is controlling Gaia to harness the power of the lifestream, and to make materia. However, the Shinra aren’t just controlling the planet for their own gain, they’re trying to protect their people from the planet itself. If Shinra doesn’t control the planet, the planet (combined with the lifestream) will control every human being on Gaia. The lifestream is vital to the planet’s survival, along with the vast human population, but the lifestream is often misguided, and can lead to disaster. The lifestream causes an earthquake and destroys an entire town (Mideel) on the second disk, the Weapons come close to murdering thousands of innocent people, and Holy causes irreparable damages to Midgar. The whole conflict between the planet and Shinra can be summed up by this quote from Barret in Disk 2, at the northern crater:

“You know, I've been thinkin'...?

...Seein' a place like this, makes you realize how awesome nature is.

But, if anyone ever told me to live here, I'd tell them to... you know...

I'll tell you one thing though, If I did have to live here I'd change things around 'n' make it better.

I guess the total opposite of this would be...... Midgar.

When you think of it that way, Shinra don't seem so bad...

Uuuuuuurrrrrgh!!

What the hell am I sayin'!? The Shinra, not bad!?

…

Y'know... standing here like this...

Kinda makes you feel like the Planet's not on our side, don't it?

Of course we can't even compete. I mean... The Planet don't even notice us humans…”

 If the planet is 100% mechanized, human suffer, but if the planet is not mechanized whatsoever, humans will also suffer. Because neither party tries to reach a happy medium, and because each party exerts themselves trying to control the other party, the human race suffers. The mindless race towards control and security only brings ruin in Final Fantasy VII.

Part 2: J-E-N-O-V-A

 JENOVA is basically the origin of the chain of conflicts that arise in FF7. JENOVA kills all the Cetra, gives Shinra the means of creating super soldiers and controlling the planet, and sends Sephiroth on his murderous rampage and quest for power. From a thematic standpoint, JENOVA is basically the symbol that represents a mindless drive for control and power, as she starts all the major conflicts, and is brought up quite often in conversation by those trying to control others. Her theme, “J-E-N-O-V-A” is also used to stress the importance of some scenes’ thematic relevance, as her theme is used in the fight before Cloud gives Sephiroth the Black Materia, during the fight with Hojo, and finally, used in the descent into the Northern Crater on Disk 3. Sephiroth’s control of Cloud is because of JENOVA, Hojo’s experiments are because of the power of JENOVA, and the extremely powerful state of Sephiroth at the end of the game is because of JENOVA. JENOVA highlights the secondary theme of FF7, the idea that one mindless drive for power will lead to many others, and will ultimately put the whole world at risk.

Part 3: Cloud and Sephiroth

 The conflict between Cloud and Sephiroth is the driving force of the plot in FF7, and is actually more complex than most people assume. Obviously, Sephiroth exerts control over cloud, as he burns Cloud’s hometown to the ground, kills the love of his life, humiliates him in front of his comrades by brainwashing him, and tries to destroy the entire world. However, the far more interesting part of their relationship, and the part I think gets overlooked, is how Sephiroth mirrors the parts of Cloud that Cloud hates about himself. For some context, here’s a quote from Disk 2, when you play as Tifa inside of Cloud’s mind:

 “Cloud:

You were all childish, laughing at every little stupid thing.

Tifa:

But we were children, back then.

Cloud:

...I know. I'm the one that was stupid.

I really wanted to play with everyone, but I was never allowed into the group.

Then later... I began to think I was different...

That I was different from those immature kids.

That then... maybe...

Just maybe, they would invite me in.

I thought that might happen, so I hung around...

Cloud:

I was so prejudiced. And... weak.”

 The reason why Cloud is the main character of FF7 is because he grows out of his drive to become better than everyone else, and through that growth, he becomes a better person. Sephiroth is the villain of FF7 because he wants to destroy the planet and exert his dominance one last time. He mirrors the person Cloud used to be. It’s Sephiroth that causes Cloud to grow and change, despite the hardships he causes for Cloud.

 Cloud joins SOLDIER to become stronger, to impress Tifa, and to meet his icon, Sephiroth. However, this is still part of when future Cloud thinks of himself as a stupid child, as the idyllic power fantasy Cloud has started to indulge himself in crashes before his eyes as Sephiroth almost kills his two best friends and sets his village on fire. This leads into the beginning of the game, when Cloud starts chasing Sephiroth. But, because Cloud is so ready to find and assert his dominance over Sephiroth, his growth isn’t over. It’s also this hatred for Sephiroth that allows Sephiroth to easily control Cloud and make him hand over the Black Materia. Cloud’s arc is finished when Tifa goes into his mind and makes him realize why he hates Sephiroth. Cloud hates Sephiroth because he represents everything Cloud has worked so hard to leave behind in himself. Cloud often refers to his past self as “childish,” and that same word could apply to Sephiroth as well. Sephiroth is designed to be a childish character, as his design is that of a teenager trying to design an anime character, and his motivation is literally based on his mother. Once Cloud discards his quest for power and control over Sephiroth, he gains a new ambition in order to save the planet and all life on Gaia. The final battle between Cloud and Sephiroth at the very end of the game shows their difference in ideology perfectly. Sephiroth stands completely tall, half-naked, and holds his sword in a fighting stance. Cloud has his knees bent, and is holding his sword upward. When Cloud wins the duel, it’s a symbolic victory over human hubris as much as it is a victory for Cloud. The final battle is basically a compressed version of the entire game’s theme; that a drive for control and power will only lead to your downfall, and that a healthy medium is needed to truly create a world worth living in.

 Part 4: Final Thoughts

 Final Fantasy VII is a game about power and control, and about the effect of a wish for control, and the effect of being controlled. There’s a lot of small touches throughout the game that address this theme, and I hope some people can look back on the game and see how this theme affects every plot point in the game. I also hope that I was able to shine some light on the themes of this game, and maybe make some sense out of it. Follow for more essays like this. Anyways, thanks for reading, and have a nice night.