#there was some greater universe saving reason and no

[the-diabolic-acid]

everyday i think about the lost angst potential of rose finding out what she did to jack and i punch a wall

[stealingyourbones]

Prompt Idea: Danny has plot armor.

To start off, Danny’s whole family knows he’s Phantom, and they had to run from Amity because of the GIW. They wind up in Gotham because that’s the one place that The Government doesn’t really mess with.

The reason behind Danny’s plot armor is that in this world, Danny became incredibly overprotective of his friends and family in order to make sure he doesn’t wind up as Dan, ironically making the chance of that happening much greater than before.

In order to prevent this, Clockwork gives Danny and his family a blessing. It works like this.

Imagine you rolled a dice. To Clockwork, there are now 6+ possible alternate timelines that can ensue. Clockwork’s blessing allows those possible timelines to be restricted to only one or two, all of them good for the Fenton family.

In effect, it was like plot armor. Scarecrow attacks a library with Jazz inside? Oh, looks like her parents need her to pick up Danny early, or she drank too much water and needs to go to the bathroom, which just so happens to have a window just in reach that she can escape from.

Maddy needs to get a job? Well, Jazz’s university needs a new chemistry professor (last one was kidnapped by a rogue) and they’re in a bit of a rush so they’ll skip looking for a teaching certificate. No one cares anyways, it’s Gotham.

Jack needs something to do? Well, besides hunting ghosts, he’d always wanted to open a food truck! With Jazzy making sure nothings contaminated and some (slightly modified) recipes from the Ghost Zone, he can finally chase his dream in a big city with his Phantom Food Vehicle! He wonders what some of those shady men came up to him for, or that odd stout fella in the tux.

(The Phantom Food Truck has become a recent cryptid in Gotham. Except it’s not a cryptid, because everyone’s seen the video of the truck hurtling down the street like it’s chasing down the devil, cop cars and vigilantes alike on its tail. And yet, no one could find it. Not even the Bats. That’s about when everyone gave up. When they learned that you don’t find it, the Phantom Food Truck finds you.)

As for Danny? He’s entirely unaware of this, to focused on keeping his head down. It works, for a while. Before fate came knocking in the form of a wicked smile, as if there solely to ruin his day.

The Joker wasn’t having a good day either. He started out having a jolly old time, joker toxin gassing a small high school, making sure to leave macabre presents for his dear Batsy, and then what happens? This random kid just starts running around, helping students, saving teachers, what’s he gonna do next huh? Save a cat from a tree?

What’s worse, his useless henchmen couldn’t even land a hit on the kid! He swears, Bill doesn’t even seem to be trying.

Whatever, they managed to corner the brat, looked like he was standing in front of some other children. So Joker lines the shot, and he fires.

The gun jams.

Alrighty, he takes one from a random mook, and he shoots again.

The gun jams.

No one’s moving at this point. Where there was once dread and tension in the air, there’s just confusion. So Joker points the gun at a goon, pulls the trigger, the shot goes off.

He turns back to the Robin-ish looking twink, and he pulls the trigger.

The gun jams.

And as he starts walking towards the kid to just kill it himself, he wakes up in the Arkham hospital wing with his last memory of the encounter being him slipping on the glowing green contents of some weird looking thermos that the kid had thrown earlier in the fight. What the FUCK was that.

Clockwork doesn’t even care how pissed the Observers are any more, this is hilarious.

it's to the point of ridiculousness that the Bats have an entire file on Danny and they think he's a meta with a luck ability and nothing else.

[gabessquishytum]

Time for some dreamling crack! I apologize for the length, it got out of control. Destiny is done. He's just done, okay? He's had enough of his parents who were never there, siblings who are constantly up to some shit, and his ultra-serious job with no vacations. Moreover, being constantly chained to a book (especially when it's such a huge and heavy book) sucks. So, one day he makes an ultimate decision to go on a holiday into some remote galaxy for a century or two, but first, he needs to complete one task that he actually assigned to himself. Technically, he's not supposed to intervene and all that cosmic bullshit, but he's Destiny, and that's his destiny, pun intended. He's the CEO! The year is 1389. Destiny calls Death and tells her they need to go to Dream asap. She's surprised and slightly worried but obeys without questions. Dream is even more surprised - Destiny normally never visits, so the circumstances must be exceptional. Which they are. Destiny is in no mood for pleasantries and gets straight to the business, informing Dream that he needs to get laid for the common good. Dream bluescreens, and so does Death. 'I beg you pardon?' Dream blinks. Destiny never jokes, and he must have misheard… But Destiny, in his impassive, 100% serious tone, repeats that Dream does need to get laid. To prevent the deaths of thousands of dreamers in the 20th century, to prevent the grudge with hell, to save multiple dreams and nightmares, etc., but ultimately, to save himself from the ill fate. 'All this can be prevented if I get laid?' Dream's metaphorical head is spinning. 'Yes,' Destiny deadpans. 'Okay...' Death interrupts cautiously. 'Why am I here, though?' 'Because he needs to get laid regularly, and there is only one human who can handle this task. He must be made immortal for this reason.'

Dream feels like the Dream.exe file has been irrevocably damaged. 'I need to get laid regularly?' He repeats weakly. 'Brother, you know how important my function is. I have no time for-' 'This is exactly why you meet your doom in all the futures but one.' '…where I'm getting laid?' Destiny nods. Death beams. Dream pales to a previously unexisting shade of white. Without further ado, Destiny takes them all to the White Horse, buys some ale (his vacation mood starts to kick in - he expected more objections from Dream), and nods at one table. 'Robert Gadling. He is the chosen one.' 'Brother, you surely do not want me to lay with a mortal who has fleas and hasn't bathed for Delirium knows how long,' says terrified Dream. 'I surely do. Fleas are the least of your potential problems, little brother.' 'Alright.' Death says. 'Robert Gadling is immortal now. Can I go?' Destiny nods again. Death smiles and, before disappearing, loudly whispers to Dream to invite her to the wedding. Dream glances one last time at his brother and approaches Robert's table. If this is his destiny...and it's for the greater good of the universe and dreamers...Besides, this Robert Gadling is quite handsome - well, unwashed and smelly, but handsome still. Destiny is very pleased. Now, he only needs to sign up Desire for a few millennia of uncancellable therapy, and he can go drink his cocktails in a galaxy far, far away!

I love this, thank you so much for writing it all out. It really made me chuckle.

I'm absolutely obsessed with the idea of Destiny just getting really sick of the universe and all the bullshit that it contains. He's the equivalent of a harassed middle aged working parent attempting to keep everything under control and inevitably watching it all go to shit. He deserves such a good vacation, I hope there's a really good spa in the galaxy he's picked out.

Being the oldest sibling is hard, even when you come from a family of cosmic entities. And honestly? Destiny kind of likes the look of his new human brother-in-law. If this guy can keep Dream from going off the rails then that's wonderful, but the fact that he's cute? Also helps. Destiny may be blind but he is not immune to the Hobpropaganda. He's actually kind of not dreading the next family dinner? He can already see that it's going to run a whole lot smoother with Hob around the table.

But first: bottomless mimosas in a different star system. Bye, losers!

[erose-this-name]

The Goat is a Scapegoat

Since I’m writing this before the update, so still don’t know WHAT THE HECK IS GOaT’S DEAL LIKE WHAT EVEN ARE THEY? I’m just analyzing the symbolism.

I think the Goat (I like to call them Billie) is not a goat for no reason. Obviously, goats are very heavily associated with demons and the occult, which is kinda this game’s whole thing. 

But, I don’t think the Goat is just some generic sabbatic goat, I think the Goat is specifically meant to be a scapegoat.

The Lamb is literally a sacrificial lamb (which is a metaphor of someone that is sacrificed for a greater good, e.g. Jesus “Lamb of God” Christ. And our player character’s story in the game is based on that. Lamb’s first death was for the “greater good” of the Old Faith, and every death after that was again for the sake of someone else [Narinder]. You only later get to take fate back into your own hands by refusing to be sacrificed again.). 

So, it’d make sense if player 2 the Goat is also inspired by existing religious/occultic symbolism and metaphor. Out of all the associations goats have, scapegoat makes the most sense to me. A scapegoat is someone who is sacrificed to absolve another of sin. It’s similar enough to the concept of the sacrificial lamb to work as a foil while still being interestingly distinct.

(Which, by the way, I’ve seen some people imagining what players 3 and 4 might look like, but it’s always just another caprinae? An antelope? I feel like the fact goats and sheep are related is coincidental, Massive Monster is going for the sacrificial animals/satanic symbolism here. Player 3 and 4 would be a bull {Moloch} and a snake.)

In my head cannon, the Goat wasn’t sacrificed by the bishops to prevent a prophecy, their death was not meant to avert some wrath from an avenging death god. But they sure as heck were hunted. 

In Goat’s universe, Narinder (who is a doggy, of course) is never imprisoned, so there was no prophecy. Even so, the Bishops are still cursed by their sin, guilty of acts so profane and unnatural they are unforgivable except by death. They committed a horrible crime against Shamura, the most innocent, who cared for and raised each of them as if they were their own spiderlings, Shamura is the one they love most of all. 

So intense is the Bishops’ guilt and regret, so pure their sin, it’s begun to eat away at them and physically deform them, blinding, muting, deafening, maddening, paralyzing. And it corrupts their divine domains, where there were once benevolent gods of Peace, Plenty, Healing, Knowledge, and Death, there are now bitter gods of Chaos, Famine, Plague, a-and Death still —but, like, even scarier death!

Since the only way to be absolved of such a crime is to die, and they don’t wanna do that, they must find a surrogate to die in their stead. So they blame it on some random vulnerable minority. The goats! So they genocide all the goats until there was only one left, “the Goat”, who now both metaphorically and literally holds all the gods’ sins. With their death, the bishops' atonement shall finally be complete.

Yeah, except that Shamura, corrupted into the fell mad god of war, has not forgiven them, so makes the Goat their undying Vessel and sends them to deliver just punishments and executions to the four bishops.

As to why the Goat is helping the Lamb? While Lamb is a messianic figure, Goat is a sin-eater. The Goat can never escape their nature of being a perpetual scapegoat, always taking on the guilt and responsibility of others, whether they want to or not. Forced to swallow the sin of four dark gods, burdened by it since the very moment they were born, certainly can’t have any positive effects on the soul, metaphysically and psychologically. Even though they’ve cleansed themself of sins in a baptism of divine ichor, that cavernous void it left in their heart will just refill again. 

Why could I not save the goats? Why did I sacrifice so many of my own followers?

No matter what choices the Goat makes, they will always feel guilty about something, because they have never gotten to know what it’s like to be allowed to be innocent. 

Perhaps, by walking their path a second time, by atoning twice, by helping another in a similar position to themself, by dying repeatedly in their stead on the field of battle, Goat will finally be free. 

Goat never kills Shamura since that would not redeem them, it would not allow them to stop being a scapegoat like how it allowed Lamb to stop being a sacrificial lamb. That would only be possible through enlightenment, by finally internalizing that it was never their fault.

Then again, maybe Goat is just a heckin’ weirdo who really likes fighting and mogging sheep. They are the chosen vessel of war, after all.

[ohnoitstbskyen]

Are there any champions from Piltover/Zaun or beyond, who didn't show up in s1 of Arcane, who you'd like to see in s2? Both from a “this character would work really well with the story” perspective, and a “I just really like this champion” perspective.

Mm... I'm really wary about introducing more characters, honestly. Arcane's first season was already absolutely crammed to the gills with characters and one of my criticisms of Season 1 is that while everything that was in it was very very good, it was also so incredibly dense that the audience barely has time to breathe.

It's the kind of delicate balance where it feels like they just barely had the time and space to tell the stories of the main ensemble, and introducing more champions into that mix might make it all tip over.

That said, they do have the advantage that all the introductions and worldbuilding have basically been done now, and there's probably room to introduce one or two more characters to shake things up.

Instinctively I want to say Camille, except it makes no bloody sense why she'd only turn up in Season 2 and have been a complete non-presence in Season 1. Like, there was some shit happening that she should have been involved with in the first season.

Renata Glasc is an option. Zaun is going to have a big power vacuum and she would slot in very nicely as the new major power in the undercity. On the other hand, she's also perhaps a little bit too much like Silco 2.0, being partly based on him in the first place, and I think there's a solid argument for bringing the chembarons from season 1 back to fight with each other instead. Especially since one of them has a literal death vendetta against Jayce now.

Then there's Orianna, who in this canon seems to be Singed's... daughter? Some kind of family member? If all of Singed's research in the first season was about trying to find a way to save her life or bring her back to life, then she'd be a natural character to use to expand on Singed as a character in season 2. I think she'd have to be substantially redesigned, though - "music box ballerina" would be a weird thing for Singed to want to build her into.

Seraphine and Zeri are non-starters, I think, primarily because they are both mages, which would make absolutely no sense in the Arcane universe. Like, it is kind of important to the plot of Arcane that mages are essentially as rare as cryptids in this world. Same reason I don't think they'd introduce something like Janna either. She's a literal demigod, it would raise too many unanswerable questions.

There's no reason to bring in Ezreal, Zac, or Dr. Mundo, but Urgot is... not out of the question. He's the kind of relentlessly dogmatic, bloodthirsty cult leader that would make sense as a figure in the chaos and violence of the war that's likely to erupt. Twitch could also cameo, I suppose, but only as a cameo, I don't think it makes sense to make him a central character.

Outside of Piltover and Zaun, I'd say the main champions we are likely to encounter would be Swain or Darius (Darius specifically was most likely teased by Ambessa), and if Darius shows up there's a greater than average chance he'll have Draven with him. It's not impossible that Samira could show up for a bit of a cameo, as some kind of Noxian bounty hunter getting in the way of things. Katarina and Talon are... not impossible, I suppose, Noxus is probably going to want to assassinate someone, but I also doubt they'd introduce a champion character to fill that role in the narrative. It'd be wasteful.

If Noxus is making moves, of course, there's a non-zero chance that there'll be like a Demacian diplomat at some meeting, which... makes it possible that Xin Zhao or Garen might cameo, and if Noxus wants Piltover's technology to prosecute their war in Ionia, hey, maybe there will be Ionian diplomat characters showing up to plead their case, which opens the distant possibility of someone like Irelia or Shen showing up.

I very, very much doubt it though.

tl;dr in my opinion:

Most likely new champions: Darius, Swain, Orianna, and Warwick (Warwick being Vander)

Not impossible: Twitch, Urgot, Renata Glasc, Draven, Camille

Extremely small Easter Egg cameos at best: Xin Zhao/Garen/Jarvan, Irelia/Shen/Karma, Azir (Shurima is Piltover's southern neighbor), Miss Fortune/Gangplank (Piltover controls the sea gate and trade between two oceans), Ziggs (Heimerdinger's best friend), Ryze (the science boys are starting to fuck with World Rune-level magic hazards), Vel'koz (might show up in a Void vision inside the Hexcore or something).

[seravphs]

daylight

gojo x fem reader 

extra in cruel summer universe 

“Come on, up,” Gojo says, holding his arms out to you. 

Your head lolls on your neck, your thoughts feeling syrupy and incoherent. Where had you been? A field of flowers, a spring breeze in your hair. The flash of Utahime’s face before the incident. It had been a pleasant dream. Summer naps tended to skew towards kindness, nothing like the teeth and dagger of winter. 

You loop your arms around his neck and let him pick you up as easily as if you weighed nothing, settling against him with your head on his shoulder. He huffs a laugh, pressing the barest kiss to your temple as he hugs you close. Eyes closed, the sensation of movement doesn’t escape you as he carries you through the hallways. 

“Feeling sleepy?” 

You hum a non-answer against his neck, feeling him squirm at that. It’s not that you’re still tired. You’ve slept long enough. What you’re craving is the sweetness of your fantasy, the world in which none of your friends had suffered. Pleasant, simple times. 

What did people say? That hard times made great men? You wish no one who belonged to you would ever suffer greatness, but it’s too late for idle fairytales to save you. 

“This my shirt? Thief,” Gojo says, tugging lightly at the tee you’re wearing. 

“It’s the most comfortable thing I own,” you reply, breaking away from the fragile shell of happiness now. The more he talks, the more it burns through the fog, anchoring you to the present. 

“Most comfortable thing I own,” he corrects. 

“Getou lets Shoko borrow his clothes all the time,” you whine. 

“I didn’t say you couldn’t,” Gojo says. You’re being pulled away from him now, passed to someone else. Getou scoops you up, relieving Gojo of his duties so he can help set up in the kitchen. Utahime demanded it, catching on quick to the way he never helped out. 

“Fighting again?” Getou clicks his tongue at you disapprovingly. 

“What’s new?” Nanami says dryly from the couch, where he’s trying to convince Shoko to give up smoking by showing her pictures of blackened lungs. By contrast, this only delights her. He’s gotten pulled into a game of helping her identify diseases unwillingly, but can’t manage to extricate himself. 

There’s a noise from the doorway, then Yaga staggers in, an excess of shopping bags in either hand. A carton of ice cream each, your favorite flavors all present. 

It’s so easy to forget how short and brutal your insect lives are in moments like these. Utahime calls from the kitchen, her eyes sparkling. She hasn’t lifted a finger today, simply supervising as Gojo sets out the bowls and spoons. Haibara whines about the lack of sprinkles because Yaga forgot until Nanami allows him to dip into his personal stash. 

Tired of carrying you around like a clingy koala, Getou sets you on the counter, where you watch your friends from above like some omniscient god. They sit on the floor despite Yaga’s despairing cries that you own chairs for a reason, forming a huddled circle like children again. Your feet dangle in the air, Gojo turning to tug on your ankle for your attention. 

Jujutsu sorcerers don’t have gods. Your lives tend to beat the belief in something greater out of you. How could any divine being watch over you and let you suffer so? 

Still, something stirs in your brain, an ancient will. A prayer unspoken, the desire that these moments last forever. 

Gojo laughs, high and boyish until his voice cracks.

[spacedace]

Fuck whatever DC is doing with the al Ghul's characterizations and story lines, I've decided that from now on the al Ghul's are gonna be DC's version of the Addams Family instead.

Now I don't mean just give the various al Ghul's the exact personalities of the various Addams and call it a day. That's boring, that erases all the interesting parts of the al Ghuls, that's just using "find & replace" and not actually adding anything. I mean give them the vibes of the Addams Family.

Keep the al Ghul's as the al Ghul's with all their scheming and machinations and world domination attempts but give them all the unhinged energy, the casually insane view of the world, the deranged levels of love and devotion for family. Make them that group where objectively they are batshit insane but also you cannot argue with the fact that they are indisputably the most stable and functional family in the entire universe.

They're creepy, they're kooky, they're mysterious and spooky. Ra's many opulent homes and impenetrable fortresses are a museum and the al Ghul's really are a screa-um whenever people come to see-um (or when they lay waste upon their enemies in a surprise attack that has been planned for months and is just the first domino in a series that will ultimately lead to achieving a far greater goal).

They all love each other and want each other to be happy, they express this primarily with stabbing and murder attempts (its fine, death is a thing that happens to other people).

And forget the League of Assassins being a cult. Just make the whole vast globe spanning organization a collection of cousins/aunts/uncles/dear old friends ect. No one (not even the al Ghuls, if they cared to keep track of such things) is sure who is actually related to them and who just got absorbed into the ever expanding family tree based on their vibes being right.

(Is Sensei Ra's father you ask? Well he's certainly someone's father - probably.

Anyway have you heard about Cousin Cheshire? Despicable poisoner of a young woman, capable of the most horrific things imaginable - yes she is the sweetest dear. Like I was saying though, she just had a baby!

Everyone in the family is just so excited to throw a baby shower to celebrate! Ubu has really gone all out with the spike traps, he does so love getting to welcome a new addition to the family.

Talia of course has cultivated a brand new strain of the most toxic plants imaginable to make a brand new kind of necrotizing poison. You know, as a nice little romantic gift for Cousin Cheshire and that young man of hers. It really is so important to make sure you take time for you and your partner to go on dates and have a few pitched battles to the death on dark rooftops in the pounding rain when you have children.

Now there is some to-do about it all of course, you know how family get together can be. Everyone is arguing over who should get to give little Lian her first weapon and what it should be. Nyssa is pushing for grenades but Ra's is insisting on a sword - he's traditional like that you know - but Dusan has the vote so far on throwing knives. You know the kind that have the little divots along the edges of the blades them to make it easier to get the poison you dip them in to stick.)

I'm just saying that the al Ghuls should be a delightful cross between the Bond Villains they were originally conceived as and the lovingly unhinged Addams Family. It just feels correct in my heart.

(Again keep the interesting aspects of the characters and the nuances of who each of them are like their drive to save the world through destroying humanity and their strong environmentalist leanings and their constantly playing 5D chess and everything, but like, take away the racism and the cartoonishly evil for no reason bullshit and give them some fun feral energy to go along with it).

[apple-orchards-writings]

(this is very much inspired by @/fauxyandere's self aware kylar, i've caught myself rereading it so often, its so good!)

Thinking about self aware Kylar, that one day gains sentience and realizes he's not meant to be alive, he's not meant to be anything past words on a screen. This is all fake, his parents aren't real, his world isn't real, his love isn't- Wait...

The person he knew as his love may not be real, but... Who is this, he can faintly see behind them, seemingly tied to his former obsession ? Who is this person, this ghost, this puppeteer ? He tries to ask PC who you are, but he's only met with a blank stare and silence. Is he the only one that can see you ?

What are you, anyway? Are you PC's guide, are you some sort of God ? He needs answers, now. He continues trailing PC, but with a different intention now, he needs to learn more about you, you obviously are more than a ghost. You seem so detached, so nonchalant. You're obviously not from his "world", no, you seem greater, much much greater. He's started to notice that, sometimes, the universe stops moving, and it seems like time completely stops, but only he is aware of it. Clearly, you're in control here, I mean, the world stops and starts at your command, doesn't it ? You're the one making the world go round, you're like a god !

He needs to make his way to you, he can't be trapped here forever in a facsimile of life, no, this isn't fair! No no no, he needs to get to you, I mean, you guided PC to him for his happiness back when he was still a fool, surely you only have his best intentions at heart. He's sure of it, and he starts giving you little hints as to his awakened state.

Instead of "Something is watching you", it's "Someone yearns for your gaze", instead of Kylar mainly staying at the park or the arcade (or the manor), you can find him pretty much anywhere in the game. Oh, you're getting a check-up with Dr.Harper? He's restocking on some meds and ready to escort you out. You're bartending at the strip club ? Guess who just decided he should start building up his tolerance ? (he's the lightest of weights let's be real, one flute of champagne and he's out like a light, he's so cute) Even Remy's farm isn't safe (or unsafe ?) from him, he's either becoming a hucow himself or just rescuing you by manipulating the code in his favor, something he had to learn to do because you kept ignoring him...

After what feel like days of trying to him but are probably only a few minutes to you, he reasons he has to get more aggressive, so he starts just leaving you "cute reminders" every two or three pages of text, like: "don't keep me waiting too long, my love" or "please get me out soon, i want to see you darling!"... He gets more and more impatient, surely you see his little notes ? What are you waiting for...

On your end, you're just thinking you downloaded the wrong update, and you wish the next one will fix all the weird bugs you've been getting, you're pretty sure your encounter rate isn't supposed to be his high... And man does Kylar take up so much of it, you're just trying to find Whitney in peace and it feels like he's just there at every corner. You're starting to think you should delete this save, but you have so many hours in it, it'd be kind of a shame, no?

Meanwhile, Kylar has gotten tired of waiting, and has just decided that if you won't try to get him out of this hell prison nightmare torment place, then he has no choice but to bring you in as well, so you can see how much he had to suffer, and surely this will bring you to see his side, right ? Then you can both leave and live happily together, never to see this fictitious town again. Won't that be nice, darling ? Be ready, you'll be with him soon.

[howthebestwaslost-blog]

“Shall we go and see Charlie Chaplin? Shall we? Charlie Chaplin? Charlie Chester. Charlie Brown. No, he's fiction. Friction, fiction, fixing, mixing, Rickston, Brixton.”

(Edit downstairs)

Tl;dr theory: Rogue is fictional.

I’m sure this has been analysed to death already and I’m being slow again (not really keeping up with theories), but I couldn’t sleep last night and I had the thought stuck in my brain [warning: some meandering]

The whole episode felt like comfort food freshly flown in from the RTD1 era, with silly monsters, a good amount of running and an emotional punch, but for that reason also it felt to me a bit disconnected from the rest of the season (not in a bad way tho). There was also no Susan Twist apart from the portrait, so the season arc was pretty much invisible, too.

Except.

Except I think it could have been very much within the bigger arc that is still on. I think it’s already part of the next season arc. I’m going with the Mrs. Flood is the God of Storytelling theory, and she is fictionalising the Doctor’s whole life. That’s obviously where the fourth wall breaks come from (only she and Maestro did it iirc, so they must be on the same level, and the Doctor of course, but he’s the Main Character). That’s where the weird musical ending came in and the magical cross-walk. Now we have an episode simply called ‘Rogue’, introducing the Doctor’s new love interest [hand grabbing, “run”, the assembled hordes of- no wait] who gets sucked into another dimension saving the world - I get distracted - and his name is so on the nose. It’s like they got stuck finding a name for the character, proceeded to write the whole thing with this as a placeholder and then simply decided to keep it. There was enough lampshading with the dice to suggest a plausible origin, but come on. He is the rogue, he’s got his cool cluttered ship full of second hand tech, a semi-legal, morally dubious profession, he’s silent, he’s on his own, he’s got an awesome coat and a tragic backstory. He’s straight out of a story. He’s not an individual character, he’s a type (which is not to say that Jonathan Groff did not give him all the personality and realness and made him much more than just that, and I love him). Even the place, Pemberton (Pemberley/Bridgerton, obviously), is shamelessly fictional [edit: ok it’s not the place but the Duchess is at least Duchess of it, so it technically still works I think - see comments // also with ‘fictional’ I mean mashed up from two popular fictional names, I did not get out what I was trying to say at all - did I mention my lack of sleep]. But what if all this is part of a bigger design? I thought it was meant to be a cheeky, guilty pleasure kind of thing, a wink to the audience, saying “we know… but you love it too, don’t you”. But while we were all going crazy over whether or not Rogue is coming back, the Doctor wearing the ring and turning it on his finger in his closing scene of the finale had long been filmed. I think the episode is tied to the greater arc exactly by being so blatantly stacked with tropes. The Doctor meets a tall handsome stranger, perfectly suited for him. He inevitably loses him, but with an irresistible sequel hook. I think someone inside the show’s universe wrote this story just for him. And that’s why I’m sure Rogue will be back with a surprise.

Does that mean he’s another unsuspecting trap? Is he a real person literally doomed by the plot or an invention woven into reality? Is someone sending the Doctor through the drama and the emotions and the plot twists for their entertainment?

How much fan fiction did Rogue inspire in the first 24 hours?

*Edit

Holy shit I just realised

His new boss is really big on PAPERWORK 👀 📚

[welldonekhushi]

Call of Duty OC: Samantha "Scarlet" Wright 🦋

Finally, after ages, I came up with Scarlet's biography sheet! So in case you guys are curious about her, you can go through this post, hope it helps! (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠✧⁠*⁠。

If you want to see any artwork or fics on her, go to the #samantha scarlet wright tag for her content!

GENERAL

Name: Samantha

Full name: Samantha Wright

Codename: "Scarlet", Hotel Two-Six

Age: 29 years old

Gender: Female

Nationality: British (UK)

Languages spoken: English (native), Arabic (conventionally), Russian (for intelligence purposes)

Date of Birth: June 9, 1984

Place of Birth: Cambridge, England

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Martial Status: Single (married in 2017 to John "Soap" MacTavish, her childhood friend — diverging canon AU)

Occupation: British SAS (Special Air Services), member of the Task Force 141

Status: Active

Rank: Sergeant

Universe: Original timeline (2011-2017), reboot (alternative AU)

Faceclaim: Jenna Coleman

Song: Tangled Up by Caro Emerald (Lokee Remix)

Biography: Samantha Wright, under the codename "Scarlet" followed her dream in joining the most elite forces of the British Army, after hearing about her father's experiences in the military. As her hard work pays off, she finally gets selected for the SAS, and then for the Task Force 141, for her skills and strength. There, she meets a very old friend, that she missed and deeply cared for..

AFFILIATIONS:

Task Force 141

Captain John Price

John "Soap" MacTavish

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick

Simon "Ghost" Riley

Hannah "Sparrow" Clayton (@revnah1406)

Sergeant Annabelle "Kit" Pham (@applbottmjeens)

2nd Commando Regiment (@kaitaiga)

Charlotte "Jade" La Jardin (@sleepyconfusedpotato)

Sergeant Damien Whitlock

Captain Lachlan Jones

Los Vaqueros

Colonel Alejandro Vargas

Rodolfo "Rudy" Parra

Alyssa "Aly" Martinez (@alypink)

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Weapon induced: M4A1 Carbine, M4A1 Grenadier w/ Red Dot Sight, M14 EBR Scoped

Fighting style: Hand-to-hand-combat, martial arts, a bit of jiu-jitsu

Special skills: Has good agility, wits and strength from intensive physical and mental training.

Talents: Is able to strategise a plan for greater impact.

Shortcomings: Is a bit sensitive and confused when it comes to choosing a decision which leads to life or death.

PERSONALITY

Myers-Briggs Type: ISFP (The Adventurer)

Is a positive presence among everybody: Yes, a soldier sure is a tough-hard individual who is determined to follow their duty, but Scarlet is the opposite. She maintains her duties and also motivates and cheers others up to keep moving and never surrender, as taught by her father. The reason why others notice when Scarlet is present with them, they feel calm and encouraged.

Emotional, but also dangerous: Sure Scarlet looks like she's a sweet presence among everyone, but at the same time, we shall not forget she's SAS-trained. When things get serious, she gets serious. During some missions (1 and 2), she has shown remarkable strength and courage by eliminating enemy soldiers in combat, as if she's a different person. The cheerful presence Scarlet holds among others has another dark side inside that she never reveals, but towards her enemies.

Can indulge with anyone, and is respectful: She'd love to make friends or teammates! It doesn't mean she doesn't give importance to anyone, but she especially bonds a lot with Soap. They two have been childhood friends since the start and everyone notices how close they both are and thinks if they two are a couple. Even if Soap is her best friend and he has a superior rank, she'd still respect him as her Captain. But sure, personally, they two engage like they used to.

Very empathetic: Whether it's a random person or not who is dying in her arms, it breaks her. It happened once when she tried to save a person who was losing their life and in the end they couldn't make it. It makes her want to blame herself a bit, thinking she didn't do her duty right, even if everything wasn't in her power. Also, if she sees anyone in distress, she's able to console and help them in time of need, the reason why Scarlet is able to sympathise and understand others well.

BACKGROUND STORY

Born as Samantha Wright, she lives in a small town in England with her father, Albert Wright, who is a former SAS-soldier under the codename "Bolt", and mother Elizabeth. When Scarlet was a toddler, she used to hear stories from her father about him working in Special Air Services, an elite special forces unit, and retired the day when his one leg was brutally injured that made him unable to walk or run.

Those stories gave Scarlet an idea to also join the SAS like him, but her father chuckled and said that right now she was too young to do so. Sometime later, she met John MacTavish, who recently moved into her neighbourhood from Scotland, but wasn't happy that he shifted away from his homeland. She wanted John to be her friend, and make him familiar with the surroundings so he'll get used to everything and love staying at his new home. And soon, they two grew closer, and became best friends.

They two had a similar goal — to join the defense. And one day, that day had to come between the two, when John had to leave for military school. Bidding her best friend a bittersweet farewell, unsure what future has for them in between, John encouraged her to follow her dreams. Taking that as a motivation, Scarlet kept John close to heart, while continuing her aspiration to join the SAS.

Her father got to know about her plan, saying that it won't be easy, since the SAS had the toughest selection processes. That sure unsettled her for a while, but didn't make her back off from her decision respectively. Instead, she learnt a couple of exercises, tips and tricks on self-defense from him that mentally and physically prepared her fully at the same time.

When she recruited herself in the selection process, it was an absolutely different experience for her. The way her mind drastically changed during the training quite traumatized and scared her, knowing what it feels to be in the SAS. But, keeping her father's words by her side, she didn't let the weakness and fear sink her in and moved on further. At times, she was ridiculed by others that she'd never be able to complete the process, but chuckled it all out instead.

The day came, when her hard work paid off, and she finally became eligible for the special forces. It was a blessed feeling for her, as if luck always stood by her side. And this is where, her journey begins..

[dee002]

Betraying a Spider (Miguel O'hara x reader)

synopsis: you love Miguel and have been trying your best to ignore the parts of him you didn't like. these parts of him being his obsession with work and desire to control others leading him to make morally questionable actions. the recent encounter with Miles Morales leads you to cross Miguel and an argument follows.

word count: 1809

genre: angst

warnings: sfw, cussing, spoilers for Across the Spider-verse

notes: first fic... hope this goes well.

also i don't know how to add a line so here:

______________________________________________________________

you met Miguel a couple of years ago. he sought you out after your blood miraculously saved your best friend, Peter Parker.

in your universe, Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and he became the one and only spiderman. you were also bitten by a radioactive spider. however, this spider simply made you sick and failed to give you any super powers.

you continued to believe you were powerless until the day Peter had been beaten to the brink of death in a fight alongside the avengers. he'd been in a coma for six months. Dr. Bruce Banner worked tirelessly for a solution to wake him up, trying all kinds of tests and experiments to save him. eventually, he began to believe that nothing could be done for your friend. that was until Dr. Banner discovered that you too were bitten by a radioactive spider and decided that a blood transfusion from your body to Peter's may elicit some sort of reaction in Peter. His theory proved to be correct. Peter woke up within minutes of your blood in his veins.

when Miguel received word that a colleague he had assumed was all but dead was in fact very alive and back swinging through the streets of new york, he had to meet the woman responsible for saving him. after running more tests with Dr. Banner and confirming that it was in fact your blood that saved Peter, he took you back to HQ. here you discovered that while you didn't have super strength or the ability to shoot webs from your wrists, you still possessed a super ability: healing. and were thus deemed a Spiderwoman. your dna was altered by the spider and after experimenting with other spider people and regular humans it appeared that your blood affected the spider people and no one else.

as you worked at HQ and integrated into spider society, you grew closer to Miguel. this in itself seemed a miracle as Miguel made it a point to distance himself from everyone. but somehow, you slipped through the cracks. work meetings turned into outside of work coffee, coffee turned into dates, and dates turned into marriage. the two of you were infatuated with each other. for Miguel, you gave a reason to keep going, a purpose that meant more than holding the spider-verse together. for you, Miguel made life make sense. he made it seem like everything you've ever been through was worth it because those events led you to him. you love his drive, his passion, his commitment and, his dedication to what he believed was the right thing. coincidentally, the things you loved about him were also the things you hated.

for years you watched Miguel make callous moves. sending people dazed and confused back to their universes', tearing families apart, standing by and watching people die all in the name of keeping the multiverse in order. you had heard his story, seen the evidence, personally witnessed black holes attempting to swallow a universe whole. that's why you always brushed his actions off. reasoning with yourself that everything he did was for the greater good. most of the time you felt sympathy for Miguel. the weight of thousands of universes rested on his shoulders. you couldn't begin to understand the pressure he felt constantly. there was no way for you to begin to comprehend the burden he felt, knowing that if he allowed one piece to be out of line everything could come toppling over.

but now that you've met Miles Morales, seen the live footage from Lyla of Miguel's harsh words to the child during their fight, you couldn't acquiesce to Miguel's methods anymore. there was no way you could stand by idle and let Miguel terrorize a child like this. so as Miguel comes bursting through to the lab in attempts to rip Miles out of the Go Home Machine, you prematurely override the system and let Miles leave.

"what did you just do?" Miguel asks with an look of astonishment, still breathing heavily from the chase.

the room full of spiders was dead quiet, and in a state of disbelief that you would betray Miguel so brazzenly and in front of everyone. part of you couldn't believe what you did either. as you look at Miguel you find yourself regretting your actions, too stunned to do anything but gawk at him and plead with your eyes. he looked so angry, so conflicted. you could see his two sides fighting with each other. one Miguel that was the guardian on the multiverse, the other Miguel that was the one that loved you. you should have known which one would win.

He sighed and looked away from your gaze, "take her to the brig."

he can't be serious.

it seems like everyone else around you doubts his sincerity as well because all the spiders are hesitant to move. casting glances at each other seeing who will dare to put you, one of the most respected spider people and one of the only people Miguel cares for, in a cell.

"Miguel! are you-" you begin to voice your opposition but are promptly cut off.

"I said, take her to the brig," Miguel speaks more firmly, red eyes locking with the spiders nearest you.

He is serious.

two pairs of hands grab your arms and direct you to the brig. you decide to save yourself from anymore public embarrassment by keeping your mouth shut. you know that if you were to open it now, all that would come out would be pitiful whimpers and words meant for Miguel to forget the whole thing.

as you went you cast him glances over your shoulder but his eyes weren't on you. completely in business mode, you hear him send Gwen back to her universe and tell Jess and Ben to go to Miles' universe and he'd meet them there "after i deal with her."

the callousness and disassociation in his voice made tears well up in your eyes. your brain immediately jumped to all the worse conclusions.

will he send me back home? will he leave me locked up and try me for treason?

no, worse.

will he leave me? will he not love me anymore?

these thoughts continue to swirl in your head as you reach the brig. the two spiders handling you reluctantly lock you in the small laser bound room and leave as quickly as they came. as part of any functioning society, you need a brig and a court of law. both of which Miguel had built in the sub levels of HQ. both of which were rarely used. the brig was different that the holding room for anomalies as this room was made for law breaking spider people. as it were you are the only person in any of the cells. this was to your benefit as you didn't want anyone seeing you in the state that you were in. on the verge of a panic attack, you let a few tears fall out and pulled your knees up to your chest on the floor. in an attempt to self sooth you tried to reason that he was just putting up a strong front because you had the brilliant idea to defy him in front of all of spider society. he wouldn't actually hate you. he wouldn't cast you aside now, not after all this time. he loves you.

dosen't he?

or maybe because everyone saw the one person who should have been committed to Miguel and all of his efforts undermine him and everything he's built, he'd be force to get rid of you. he couldn't possibly be seen with you again after this. it's not a matter of ego, God knows he doesn't care what others think of him. it's a matter of business. after all what you did was treasonous.

the pessimistic thoughts are getting the best of you. you're ready to beg Miguel for forgiveness.

but, why?

you believe you did the right thing and would do it again, if it weren't for the consequences.

suddenly, a doorway opens in the lasers and Miguel steps in. he leans against the nearest wall you and looks down at you. the turmoil is evident in the crease of his brow.

"why?" is all he asks.

"what you're doing isn't right. what you said to that child wasn't right. and i know, i know you think it needs to be done but there has to be a better way!" as you speak you still avoid his eyes, holding the tears at bay.

"it's not about what i think is right. it's about what is. you've seen the evidence. you've seen what i," he takes a breath to control his rising anger, "what i have been through. you've seen all of it and you're still resistant?"

"i know! i know! and i'm not trying to discredit anything you've been through. you know i would never ever doubt you. but that doesn't change the fact that this is wrong!"

miguel shakes his head in disbelief at you. most of his reserve has vanished, the volume of his words ever increasing. "then why go against me now? you've been helping me for years! you never said anything!"

"i have! you just never listen to me Miguel! i have tried to get you to see it another way but you're so damn stubborn! but you're not always right and maybe there is another way to do this! just give the kid a chance."

"no. there isn't another way and you know that."

"but how will you know if you don't try and work with him. maybe the kid knows something you don't-"

"enough," accepting that his one true love was a lost cause, he slipped back to stoicism. a quality you were used to seeing him portray however it had never been aimed at you, "this discussion is over as it is clear you are choosing to be foolish."

the decisiveness of his bitter words made tears spill from your eyes. he walks over to your defeated form and crouches down to be eyelevel with you. he grabs your jaw and firmly lifts your chin.

"look at me." his words are airish and almost a whisper but are decidedly harsh.

you do as he says. meeting his eyes does nothing more than make you feel completely broken.

"i'm so disappointed. i thought we were one mi vida. but now you blatantly betray me-," he cuts himself off as anguish begins to seep through his words, "i don't have time for this. i'll deal with you when i get back."

for a moment his touch softens. but he abruptly rises and exits the cell, leaving you to crumble into a sobbing mess on the floor, inconsolable and heartbroken.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------notes: ok props to writers cause this was hard af and i got sick of myself half way through. i used to be able to write but i guess thats what happens when you dont use your gifts. anyways... like and subscribe? :/

[allthatmay]

Been doing a lot of thinking about Shanks...

And the more I think about him, the more I consider whether he could be some kind of antagonistic force. (In my heart of hearts? I don't believe it. But speculation is fun!) This is a bit of a jumbled mess of thoughts, but I figure it'll be interesting to write it down and see how wrong I am at the end of the series.

So, here's two predictions I think are pretty likely:

Luffy will destroy Mary Geoise and, with it, Fishman Island and part of the Red Line—thereby creating the All Blue. (I think this is fairly self-explanatory considering Madame Shyarly's premonition.)

Luffy will find the One Piece, but Buggy will become the Pirate King. (Perhaps becoming the Pirate King has some greater meaning/responsibility that Luffy rejects? Whatever the reason, Buggy seems to be heading in that direction—he's essentially been used as a placeholder before, after all, as a Warlord and Emperor.)

When I think about Shanks' role in the future, it's very foggy. We don't know a lot about Shanks, obviously, but if Buggy is to become the Pirate King, then the way they've juxtaposed him with Shanks is interesting. Shanks and Buggy are, like, opposites in terms of ambition (by which I don't mean what they seek, but how they seek it, and how they feel about their ambitions altogether).

[Important note: There's some great posts (try here, here, here, and here) talking about Shanks and Buggy's history. The gist of it is that Buggy never truly believed in himself because of Shanks' obvious potential; that Shanks was a bit of a bully, intentional or not; and that Buggy set his sights on a lesser treasure, never aiming for the OP because of Shanks' existence—only for Shanks give up on heading to Laugh Tale, their dream, altogether.]

Shanks was always the one considered to be Roger's successor; he was the one who got the hat. He shared his aspirations with Buggy, promising they'd go to Laugh Tale together—and then gave it all up when Roger returned from Laugh Tale. Which, of course, hurt Buggy tremendously, alongside all of Shanks' other transgressions (such as the mishap with the Devil Fruit, and losing Buggy's treasure map).

Buggy's feelings for the hat, and for Shanks, sour and complicate as their lives go on, even as they find distance from one another. While I do think Shanks has a lot of regret for what happened with Buggy, he tries to look toward the future, hence the importance of Roger's legacy and the straw hat. Buggy, of course, knows the importance of the straw hat more than anyone—it's why he's so furious to see Luffy with it.

Keeping Buggy in mind, Shanks meeting Luffy becomes more interesting. He gives up the straw hat he loves (that Buggy loves) to a little boy he supposedly loves—but why? Because he sees Roger in Luffy, because he believes Luffy is The One, or because Luffy ate the legendary fruit? Would Shanks, in a universe where Luffy wasn't chosen by the Gum–Gum Fruit, give up his arm to save Luffy? Would he give Luffy the hat? A classic question. I mean, I like to think that he would—I think Shanks comes across as a sentimental, kind man, if a little rough around the edges—but I don't know so.

Besides, simply giving Luffy the hat could be construed as an antagonistic act, as it potentially puts a target on Luffy: the right people will know whose hat that is, and will wonder why he has it. Oda frames it as an inheriting of wills, but it's not like he's not retconned things before! Either way, the feelings Buggy must have when he sees the hat not on Roger, not on Shanks, not on himself—but on Luffy? Some random kid? Fuck.

Fact of the matter is that we all know Shanks saved Luffy, in part, because Luffy ate the fruit. But what if that was the sole reason? What if Shanks saved Luffy simply because he knew that Luffy, as Nika, was the only one who could find/use the One Piece? Perhaps Shanks' plan is to use Luffy to grab power for himself. In a story about governmental oppression and the corruption of those in absolute power, it doesn't seem too far off. Especially if Shanks' past and his mistakes have warped him a little.

Extrapolating from what little we know of Shanks, and of Joy Boy and the Void Century, I'm not sure what Oda will do. The basic possibilities, as I see them, are:

Shanks is an ally to Luffy and gives himself up for Luffy's sake. Perhaps he dies while helping Luffy, potentially before they've had a chance to meet again. (I can see him dying in the fight against Blackbeard or Mary Geoise, for instance.) Or perhaps Oda makes it rhyme: perhaps he's sick like Roger, or something, and he acts in sacrifice, the way Roger did in unleashing the Great Pirate Era.

Shanks acts as an obstacle for Luffy to fight in pursuit of the OP. I think this one makes the least sense because the only reason I could see Shanks doing this is to test Luffy, but he already knows that Luffy is Joy Boy, so there's no point. Then again, we know Shanks has decided to go after the One Piece now...

Shanks is antagonistic, but has a change of heart! By which I mean: Luffy does it again, folks! Shanks is using Luffy as a means to dismantle to world order, after which he can seize a lot of power for himself—but Luffy persuades him against it. (Look, this doesn't make sense with the Shanks I envision, but what do I know, huh?)

Shanks is the antagonist. I mean, I guess we don't know his background, do we? People have long suspected he's of noble birth, having been found in God Valley. Regardless of whether he's working for or against the World Gov, we have no idea how powerful Shanks really is. And, if he's got less than noble ambitions, a small, trusted crew makes sense, I suppose. Yet Blackbeard fills this role pretty neatly: a tale of betrayal in pursuit of power, playing the long game, etc.

Shanks doesn't die and everything is hunky-dory. Look, I don't want my favourite swashbuckling drunkard to die, but this sounds pretty boring, doesn't it? Shanks guides Luffy right to the finish line and everyone cheers! "The One Piece is the friends we made along the way! Yeah!"

SO, what do I actually think is going to happen?

I don't know. This is a mess. I have so many more thoughts but this is already too long. Send help.

(something about how shanks not wanting to become the king perfectly sets up buggy to take the position... something about luffy denying becoming king for freedom-related reasons... something about how shanks never got to give the hat back to roger, so it would make sense if luffy also can't return the hat, and thus gives it to buggy instead... something about buggy finally getting closure... )

[cursedvibes]

A particular brand of reactions to the end of MHA I've seen especially on twt reminds me that a lot of the criticism Yuuji gets isn't necessarily against him. It's against a type of fighting shonen hero that doesn't fit the perceived norm. Ones who don't want to stand at the top of their respective universe and hold some position of power.

There are surely justified criticisms for the end of MHA, but something that bugs me is the people complaining that Deku lost his powers and became a teacher. They say he failed. He was supposed to become the greatest hero and in their eyes he failed. He was supposed to become this mighty powerhouse the likes of OFA at his peak. Another Superman. It doesn't matter that Deku became a symbol for change, an inspiration for the regular civilians that they can achieve change too, that they can make a meaningful difference in other's lives. All that matters is that Deku isn't powerful anymore. They laugh about him being a teacher because how could a regular teacher be a great hero? He probably doesn't even make a lot of money!

I've also seen similar reactions to Ichigo from the general shonen fandom. He's not perceived as impressive as Naruto or Luffy because while he gains power, he doesn't want to become the Soul King or something like that. He's seen as a too simple of a protagonist because he wants to save the people he cares about and protect his family. That's the core reason for why he wants to become stronger. He's also often seen as too reactive and not in control of the flow of the plot.

Same with Yuuji. He's being ridiculed because the narrative doesn't always focus on him despite him being at the heart of the story and it's message. He is reactive for the most part and responds to what forces greater than him throw at him. He's not the strongest in his verse and doesn't strive to be. Like Ichigo he only really fights and wants to get stronger to protect others. But that's not enough. If he's not the next Strongest, the next Gojo Satoru or King of Curses then what was the point? He's only recently gained a bit of respect back from the fandom because he has gotten stronger and now has cursed techniques and a domain expansion. Even that is fickle though. You have a chapter that entirely focuses on him like people want and we learn about a significant shift in his world view, but all people care about is that he should beat up Sukuna already. Why is he yapping so much? Nevermind that we haven't heard a single word from him for multiple chapters, much less any introspection.

So it's clear that it's not a problem with Yuuji's character or Deku's, people just can't stand when conventions are broken, when a hero robs them of their power fantasy and at the end of the story stands triumphantly at the top of their universe. I'm not denying that such hero journeys can be entertaining, but it's ridiculous to expect every main character to conform to that trope. And I think Deku becoming the greatest hero, but not in the way people expected is actually a nice subversion of expectations with a good message.

[jkl-fff]

Obsession in a Good Cause

Since I finally watched Season 4 of "Lego Monkie Kid" today (MAGNIFICENT!), I feel the need to extol and ramble a bit about something deeper I noticed. A profound, recurring theme that really elevates the series in yet another way I wasn't expecting from silly lego people having magic, kung fu adventures with monkeys and such (gods damn, this show really has no business being this good).

And it's how characters with noble intentions and even kind hearts repeatedly fall to an obsession to make things *better* in some way. They can never leave well enough alone, they can never settle for good. And then ... in pursuit of making things *better*, they end up succumbing to a mentality of "The Ends Justify The Means" that winds up making things so much worse AND costing them everything they held dear.

Spoilers below.

Season 1 starts off with Demon Bull King, an archetypal bad guy, especially for a cartoon; he's big and strong, he wants to rule the world, he wants revenge for being trapped under a mountain, he's even cruel to his son. But a funny thing happens after his Season 1 finale butt-kicking: He spends some time bonding with his son (who he now sees grew up without him yet still only wants his love and approval) and worrying about his absent wife (while also being pretty sure his kickass wife can kick the ass of anyone who comes after her). Then, after being saved by people he ought to consider his enemies, he just ... goes home and mellows, watches some cooking shows, and spends more time with his family. Just being happy with them.

Everything we learn about DBK after that is practically a flashback to his pre-imprisonment days at minimum more than 500 years ago. And it makes one thing clear: he loved his family with a fierceness that would face down armies. Literally. He fought the Celestial Realm with his sworn brothers ... and I'm pretty sure he tried to conquer the Mortal Realm originally to build what he would consider a fitting kingdom for his wife and son. (Before he became obsessed with conquest itself, thanks in part to Lady Bone Demon's influence--obsessed enough even to lash out at the two people he was doing it for). That last one, I admit, is speculation, but I think it fits with how tenderly he was shown to love his family in the past and how mellow and domestic he becomes after letting go of conquest and just deciding to live in the moment. It was principally for them, like a father who spends too much time at work to provide for his family. Arguably a noble cause, but he became so obsessed with it that he lost 500 years of his life (and nearly the rest of his life) with them.

(Princess Iron Fan and Red Son both demonstrate it to a lesser degree, I reckon. Their relationship was not really loving at the start of the series, probably having suffered as a result of their obsessive drive to free DBK at any cost. Then to please him after his return. At least until he crossed a line--under LBD's influence--and lashed out physically at them, prompting them to leave him ... until he came back to them.)

Next there's Lady Bone Demon ... She's as terrifying and seemingly inevitable as death itself (fittingly, even Sun Wukong is scared of her), and her goal isn't to conquer the universe, but to destroy it.

Why, though? To make a better, perfect world free of the pain that plagues this one. Because she sees this world as fundamentally imperfect, and that imperfection at its very heart is the reason for all the pain in the world. From a certain perspective, she champions a very noble cause ... It's simply unfortunate that the world and everyone in it needs to be mercy-killed for her plan to work. But what's a little pain now to prevent greater pain later, right? It'll be over quickly, and then everything will be better for everyone ... somehow. Never mind the pleasure and happiness and joy people find in their lives despite (or even because of) the world's imperfect nature; she knows better so she will make things better, even if she must make everything worse first.

(Likewise for Spider Queen. She's so obsessed with reclaiming power she once held, that she loses the good thing she has left with her three loyal subjects. Instead of moving on and starting over and living a good if humbler life ... she dies.)

Then we come to Azure Lion and Yellowtusk (not so much Peng, as he seems to have always been more self-serving, but whatever). Two former warriors of the Celestial Realm who rebelled after seeing its corruption and indifference to mortal suffering. Where LBD was cold and nihilistic, they are warm and reformative. Their ideological position is that the flaw isn't with the world itself, but with those in power who care more about their own wealth, position, glory, and appetites than the needs of the common people. Replace the current leaders with ones who actually care about good governance--who have compassion for mortals--and they believe things *must* get better.

And GODS DAMN that's a sympathetic cause. How do you argue against it, given everything that's shown of the Celestial Realm's inactivity and isolationism? How do you argue against it when that's the story of real world politics? How do you not admire their courage and perseverance to try a second time after getting beaten down?

But it isn't enough for Azure Lion to reunite with Yellowtusk and Peng, just like it wasn't enough to form his own utopic kingdom where he could make a real difference (Note: A region they seemingly drained of life to form?). He could've had a good thing and walked away, but it wasn't enough. He was obsessed with casting down the Jade Emperor and replacing him to make *everything* better, so it was worth every dishonorable act he had to commit along the way. Lie to MK and Mei, let the others suffer through the scroll, imprison a sworn brother (and his family) when he chooses not to join yoir fight, slay a celestial army (and it seems a good deal of the palace staff), and risk the cosmos tearing itself apart? Strike preemptively at a potential threat even to the point of levelling mountains and slaying innocent mortals? All justified to keep his power, because he's the only one who will use that power responsibly and honorably. Ironic and tragic.

Finally ... Sun Wukong himself. What I love about Season 4 is how we see him before and druing that pivotal Journey to the West. And we get the perspective of several people who were very close to him before it--his sworn brothers. Azure and Yellowtusk admired how deeply SWK cared for his monkey subjects enough to be inspired to rebellion against the Celestial Realm, and even enough to choose SWK as their original replacement for the Jade Emperor. Macaque arguably loved him as more than a brother (if you interpret their interactions that way) and was prepared to follow along despite believing SWK should just stay on Flower Fruit Mountain and live happily ever after.

But Macaque gives us a fascinating insight into SWK's character before even that--insight into why SWK went to train with Madter Bodhi and raided the peaches and pills of immortality and so on. He feared death, he feared the good times ending, he never felt secure enough. He always needed more immortality, more power, more of a guarantee that things would stay wonderful for himself and those he cared about. Which eventually saw him imprisoned under a mountain, alone; which eventually saw him indentured to Tang Sanzang and forced to combat his sworn brothers; which eventually put him right back on Flower Fruit Mountain without any of his old or new friends. He was obsessed with things being *better* than they were ... and that inevitably cost him in the past, and threatens what happiness he does have in the present.

Thankfully, like DBK, he is capable of learning to move on. Hopefully, he'll be able to do so (and can help MK learn to do the same) before it's too late.

[david-talks-sw]

Luke Skywalker in 'The Last Jedi' (1/2)

Luke in The Last Jedi... love it or hate it, it's a difficult subject.

I personally stand somewhere in the middle. I don't think Luke was "ruined"... I'd argue that, from a purely in-universe perspective, his subplot actually tracks with what was previously established in the original films.

There are issues, but I think they are mainly found on an out-of-universe/structural level (which I'll get into in post 2/2). For now, let's take a deep dive and unpack why this portrayal isn't all that problematic.

The most commonly-heard argument is that:

"They ruined Luke's character! He would never go into exile or abandon his sister and friends!"

Simply put, Luke used to be:

an optimist

so brave he'd risk his life to save his friends,

aspired to become a Jedi.

Whereas, in The Last Jedi, he's:

jaded and depressed,

hides/abandons his sister and friends, like a coward,

says the Jedi need to die?!

Now the fact is... Luke is 24 years older when he goes into exile, 30 years older in The Last Jedi. People change, with age.

In Luke's case, he matured from an impatient kid who'd rashly run to save his friends, like in Empire Strikes Back, to a grown-up who makes hard choices and restrains himself from doing that, even though he desperately wants to.

Luke tells himself this is a self-sacrifice, this is for the greater good.

"Because he’s the last Jedi and a symbol of that it then becomes this self-sacrifice, he has take himself out of it, when he knows his friends are dying, when the thing he’d most like to do is get back in the fight." - Rian Johnson, The Empire Film Podcast, 2018

And Rian Johnson didn't want Luke to come across as a coward, so he also gave Luke an argument that initially seems to make sense:

The Jedi way is flawed and inevitably leads to arrogance. Proof: the Sith originally came from Jedi. His own new order is no exception to that rule, even if he thought it was (in his arrogance, he believed his own legend).

So if he leaves and stays in exile? No more Jedi, no more Jedi-turned-darksiders that can mess up the galaxy.

The Force will keep trying to balance itself and a new, worthier source will appear (in the form of Rey).

But while his reasoning that "the Jedi are inevitably arrogant" seems sound and reasonable... it's wrong.

Just like Dooku's reasoning that "the Jedi are corrupt" seems sound, but is ultimately wrong.

Just like Anakin's rationalization that "the Jedi are evil" seems sound nope, that one doesn't even seem sound, it's just plain wrong.

Where is it wrong, in Luke's case?

Well, he's rationalizing his actions by blaming the Jedi religion, instead of admitting his own failure.

"The notion of, 'Nope, toss this all away and find something new,' is not really a valid choice, I think. Ultimately, Luke's exile and his justifications for it are all covering over his guilt over Kylo." - Rian Johnson, The Art of The Last Jedi, 2017

"In his own way, [Luke is] trying to disconnect, he’s trying to throw away the past, he’s saying 'Let’s kill [the Jedi] religion. It’s the thing that’s messing us up, thins thing right here, let’s kill it.’ And the truth is, it’s a personal failure. It’s not religion, it’s his own human nature that’s betrayed him." - Rian Johnson, The Empire Film Podcast, 2018

He fucked up, plain and simple.

But it's not because “he’s a Jedi and that made him arrogant and the Jedi mentality is flawed”, as he claims early on in the movie.

He failed because he's flawed. Luke is human and had a moment of weakness where he was scared shitless and acted on instinct.

Yoda's spirit helps him realize this, and he fixes his mistake by allowing Leia and the resistance to save themselves. And as he does it, he acknowledges the importance of the Jedi and their teachings.

And it's also why, in The Rise of Skywalker, he has the maturity to admit that he wasn't staying on the island out of some self-sacrificial gesture, as he kept telling himself. Truth is, he was afraid. Afraid he'd screw up again.

Do the movies go about this in an emotionally-satisfying way? That's debatable. But, on paper, I don't think Luke's behavior in The Last Jedi is too much of a shark-jump considering how

THE ORIGINAL IDEA CAME FROM GEORGE LUCAS!

In the couple of months after the Disney sale, Lucas developed the Sequels with Michael Arndt in late 2012/early 2013, and concept art was made by artists like Christian Alzmann.

Note: the image on the left got a “Fabouloso” stamp of approval from Lucas!

Lucas’ sequels would feature a Luke Skywalker who was a figure like the jaded, reclusive Colonel Kurtz in the movie Apocalypse Now (which, fun fact, Lucas helped write and was originally set to direct).

The reason why Luke was in self-imposed exile wasn’t specified, all we know is that he was:

hiding from the world in a cave,

haunted by the betrayal of one of his students,

and spiritually in a dark place.

Other concept artists, like James Clyne, tried to illustrate the First Jedi Temple and some of the designs were approved by Lucas, such as the one below.

Eventually, Kira the female Jedi-wannabe protagonist (who eventually became Rey) would seek him out so he can train her.

This Luke would be a much more prominent part of Episode VII (instead of only appearing at the end) but still died at the end of Episode VIII.

For sources and more information about George Lucas’ plans for the Sequel Trilogy, read this post.

The only part that wasn't detailed by Lucas were the specifics of why he went into exile. But all in all, this sounds pretty similar to what we got in The Last Jedi.

"Luke would never try to kill Ben!”

I agree. And he didn’t try to kill Ben. He stopped himself.

And this version of the event?

This didn’t happen.

What Kylo tells Rey is his version of the story. And he thinks he’s telling the truth... but his recollection of the event is warped as this was obviously a very traumatic event for him.

"I don't think he's lying actually. In my mind, that was his experience. [...] I think that it's probably twisted a little bit by Kylo's own anger and his own prejudices against Luke, but I feel like he's actually telling her the truth of his experience." - Rian Johnson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi commentary, 2017

The narrative frames the third version of the story as the one that’s objectively how events went down. Because Rey believes him, and Rey is both the protagonist and a stand-in for the audience.

Now, if you think Luke’s word is unreliable and you have an easier time trusting Kylo’s version of the story, go to town.

But I think that if you actually believe would Luke would never try to kill Ben, you’d take Luke's second retelling of the story at face value.

I know I do.

“Okay, but he would never consider killing a child, like Ben. He saw the good in Darth Vader!”

First off, Luke refers to Ben as "a scared boy" because, he's a middle-aged man. But objectively, Ben was 23 years old.

But also, I mean... with Vader, Luke actually had the luxury ignorance.

Do you think would have truly gone on that Second Death Star if he had actually witnessed Vader:

choke his Padmé,

kill Obi-Wan,

actively try to kill Ahsoka,

murder Jedi younglings,

betray and hunt down his other Jedi brothers and sisters,

and cold-bloodedly kill countless innocents, one by one?

There’s a difference between watching him kill Ben Kenobi (who still ‘lived’ as a ghost and talked to him seconds later) and hearing a couple of rebel pilots get blasted in the trench run, and actually seeing all the horrors he’s committed.

Don't get me wrong, Luke knows Vader is evil, absolutely. But if he had seen this side of Vader, the needlessly cruel side...

... I'm not sure he'd have been as compassionate.

Proof: Obi-Wan, someone who deeply loved Anakin (to the point where he could never bring himself to kill him), someone that genuinely wishes that Luke can redeem him... also feels that, realistically, attempting to do so would be pointless.

And hell, even without really seeing all the massacres Vader committed, the second the latter threatened his sister, Luke went berserk and almost killed him!

So the question becomes:

“What could make Luke - trained Jedi Master, long-time optimist and overall compassionate to a fault - consider killing Ben?”

All we’re told is that he looked into Ben’s mind and saw darkness and the destruction, pain, death, and the end of everything he loves.

The specifics are left to our imagination. They could include:

the sight of Kylo slaughtering his parents and Chewie with a smile on his blood-smeared face,

the smell of Han's burning flesh in the air,

the wails of Chewbacca as he's run through by Kylo,

the faint sound of Leia's tears hitting the ground,

the destruction of the New Republic's citizens and planets.

Whatever it may have been, it was intense. Because Force-induced visions are vivid as hell, as has been shown throughout the franchise.

It's not like watching something on a TV, you're there, all your senses are affected in an extremely powerful way.

And the vision Luke experienced scared him so much that even shortly after it, when looking at a sleeping young man, all he sees is that evil monster from the vision. So he tremblingly draws his saber.

But it's evident that Luke wasn't thinking clearly or rationally.

His base emotions had taken the wheel, he was being tempted by the Dark Side.

"He doesn’t give in to the Dark Side, it’s a moment of temptation to the Dark Side. It reminds me very much of when Vader is tempting Luke, when Luke is underneath the stairs in [Return of the] Jedi, lit with that very beautiful half-and-half, the duality of these two sides of him being pulled. And that’s really what that moment is for me, it’s a moment of temptation to the Dark Side for Luke." - Rian Johnson, IGN, 2017

And yet despite seeing all that... Luke catches himself.

It's not the first time that Luke almost does something horrible to a family member and catches himself. Again, 24 years prior, he almost murdered his own father in a fit of rage.

The scene in Ben's hut intentionally parallels that outburst he has in Return of the Jedi.

A terrible future is presented before Luke.

He reacts instinctively, is tempted by the Dark Side.

He snaps out of it.

Even the angle and framing of the shot is designed to match:

"Some of these parallels are just “it’s a close-up of the same character” but this one was very intentional. It’s why I had him look down at his mechanical hand holding the saber." - Rian Johnson, Twitter, 2019

The only real difference is that, in Return of the Jedi, Luke only comes to his senses after a frenzied onslaught during which he actively tried to kill his own Dad.

24 years later, despite having witnessed that terrible future even more vividly than he did on the Second Death Star, he catches himself merely seconds later. Instead of going on a whole rampage, he stops the moment the lightsaber turns on.

I'd call that "progress".

"But Luke should've learned his lesson and known better than to give in to the Dark Side!"

Resisting the temptation of the Dark Side is by no means a one-and-done thing. It's not a power-up that you get, it's a constant struggle.

"I think it disrespects the character of Luke by treating him not as a true mythic hero overcoming recurring wounds & flaws, but as a video game character who has achieved a binary, permanent power-up." - Rian Johnson, Twitter, 2019

Dave Filoni says so too.

"In the end, it’s about fundamentally becoming selfless, moreso than selfish. It seems so simple, but it’s so hard to do. And when you’re tempted by the dark side, you don’t overcome it once in life and then you’re good. It’s a constant." - Dave Filoni, Rebels Remembered, 2019

Hell, even George Lucas stated something along those lines:

"The Sith practice the dark side and are way out of balance. The Jedi aren’t as much out of balance because they’re the light side of the Force. They still have the bad side of the Force in them, but they keep it in check. It’s always there, so it can always erupt if you let your guard down." - George Lucas, The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005, 2020

Learning the lesson once doesn't mean you've learned it forever. Especially with the Dark Side, which poses a never-ending battle.

In-universe examples: Anakin learned to let go of his attachments during the “Padawan Lost” arc of TCW.

A year and a half later, he’s butchering kids because he can’t let go of his attachments.

And during wartime, Yoda found himself repressing his darker instincts and ignoring their existence. Thus, when he had to face them, he struggled to acknowledge and control them.

So considering Luke didn't go "rampage mode" with Ben, as he did when he tried to kill Vader, I think he deserves some credit.

Finally, I've heard this insane argument many times, as a response to the above points:

"Yeah but Luke wasn't actually trying to kill Vader! He was holding back, he was trying to keep him alive!"

And, uh... no. He wasn't.

He lost his shit, folks. And almost killed Vader.

Like, right here?

⬆️ If Vader hadn’t moved his saber to intercept Luke’s blade, Luke would’ve stabbed Vader in the face.

⬆️ If Vader hadn’t held his sword up in time, SWISH, there goes the top of his helmet AT LEAST, if not the rest of his head.

⬆️ If Vader hadn’t dodged he’d be chopped in two.

⬆️ If Vader’s arm gave out slightly sooner, if his blade faltered just a little lower, if he loosened his grip on his saber a bit, Vader would be cleaved in two.

My point is that if you swing at someone with a lightsaber? They’ll get chopped. And if you aim for the head or the chest? You’re trying to kill them.

Before Luke got a grip, throughout that whole rampage, the only thing that kept Vader alive was his own skill.

Otherwise, Luke would’ve murdered him in a fit of rage.

If Luke was holding back, then the theme of "resisting the Dark Side" completely falls apart.

There's no indication that he was restraining himself, in he script.

And just look at the imagery.

Luke is surrounded by darkness, symbolizing how he's being seduced by the Dark Side, he's being tempted to give in to his anger towards the man who hurt his friends and took his hand.

Then Vader threatens Leia.

And the next time we see Luke, he's silhouetted, his face is all black.

Luke was originally trying to hold back and talk Vader down, but fails to control his instincts and gives in to fear, to anger, to the Dark Side... and goes all out.

He swings at his father furiously and keeps swinging, until he cuts off Vader's hand... and he is about to deliver the final blow…

… when he sees Vader’s mechanical hand and realizes that by giving in to his anger, that path will inevitably lead him to become exactly like this half-machine half-man laying at his feet. That’s where the path to power leads.

And so he makes a decision:

He’s a Jedi. Like his father before him. His compassion for Anakin is stronger than his hate for Vader.

That's the narrative intent.

It has to be.

Because if he had been "holding back" throughout that entire bit, then the stakes are lowered immeasurably, John Williams' saddening score is misplaced, the lightsaber choreography is misleading, etc.

For the above-listed reasons, I think Luke's portrayal in The Last Jedi doesn't really contradict anything in the previously-established lore. It works, it's the typical "old cowboy needs to get back in the saddle" trope. Frankly, I can defend this subject all day long... so where's the problem?

The problem comes in at an out-of-universe level. While it's not inconsistent... it's also not satisfying.

The thing is, if you...

... take one of the most brave and optimistic characters in the franchise, then open the film saying "well, now he's jaded and in hiding", without giving us context on how he became that way...

... take a character whose arc was specifically about controlling his emotions, then show him be ruled by those emotions without providing context for what made him do that...

... then that kills the suspension of disbelief, for a lot of fans.

And, as such, they'll have a much harder time going along with what you're saying.

Because "show, don't tell" is one of the most basic principles in visual storytelling. And we weren't shown:

"Ben being increasingly violent during training",

"Luke sitting Ben down and having a talk with him, only to be ignored" or

"the horrors Luke saw in Ben's head".

I have no doubt that those things happened, in-universe.

But if we're talking about a movie-going experience, many were left emotionally-unsatisfied.

Because all that stuff was in there... but only subtextually. It was up to the fans to imagine on the details. Normally, I'd argue that's what Star Wars is all about: allowing fans to dream and think outside the box. But in this specific case, I think many fans would've rather had a more complete and explicit story. Because it's Luke Skywalker.

And yet... even these structural and writing issues had a logic behind them, and if you ask me... there was no other direction that this story could be taken in.

We'll explore this in more detail in part 2/2.

[thevelaryons]

unpopular opnion but I was never too bothered by Addam’s death because I thought it’s a fitting writing choice no matter how tragic. It’s showing his lost potential. He’s the most perfect of Corlys’ kids and the ideal heir Corlys would’ve always desired for himself. That was why Addam was meant to die. A child with a great future ahead of him cut short because of the war his family is fighting. The Dance of the Dragons is a tragedy and Addam Velaryon’s storyline fits the mould of tragedy.

YOURE RIGHT BUT ALSO SO WRONG FOR THIS. 😭😭😭

But yeah, Addam’s story is all about lost potential. There’s a reason why Addam died around the time of his 16th nameday, just on the cusp of manhood.

I’ve mentioned before, but Addam, more than any other Velaryon, is the embodiment of their house’s words. All the core aspects of his characterization are tied to his identity as a Velaryon. The most Velaryon to ever Velaryon. Yet despite all that, he never becomes Lord of Driftmark. Again, that same lost potential.

Addam can be compared to the other heirs, Laenor/Lucerys/Alyn, and each of them ends up falling short in some way or other. But Addam being the perfect heir doesn’t save him. Corlys’ greatest show of strength and also his downfall are linked to Addam.

In the future, Addam may have become an even greater Lord of Driftmark than Corlys. He’s certainly shown to have inherited all the best traits of both his parents and none of the flaws. But just as Corlys lost High Tide and all the wealth he accumulated, he also loses Addam who could have taken Corlys’ legacy to new heights.

While I would’ve preferred if Addam lived, I understand GRRM’s intentions here. I always see fans lamenting that Addam died instead of Alyn. 😂😂 But that’s kind of missing the point. Alyn’s story is defined by trying to measure up to Addam (with characters in universe even commenting on it) but still falling short. Also, Alyn as Corlys 2.0 was always meant to succeed Corlys. Addam is just the one who exists in between as the most promising one whose greatness never came to be.