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mask131 · 1 year

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While checking around for my “Roman gods are not Greek gods” posts, I found back this tripartition of mythology, which is actually a fact that everybody should kno about if they want to dabble in Greco-Roman myths (especially Greek myths).

We know that, during Antiquity, the Romans and the Greeks thought that there wasn’t just one, but three different types of “theology” - three different views, perceptions and reception of the gods.

The first theology was the theology of the priests and of the state - aka, religion. The Greek gods as perceived and described by religion, as honored through rituals and festivals.

The second theology is the “mythic theology” - what we call “mythology today”. It is a set of legends, folktales and stories that are not part of religion, but rather used and carried by art - it is the gods are seen, perceived and described by the poets, by the epics, by the theater plays.

The third theology is the theology of the philosophers - who used the gods and their tales as images and allegories for various abstract or concrete topics. It is the gods as depictions and description of natural phenomenon, or the myths as a way to actualy exemplify a social fact or explain psychological workings.

For the classic Greeks and Romans, there was a clear divide between those three very different point of view of the gods. It was basically three different versions of the pantheon. This is notably why you will find texts noting that priests disliked and condemned the poets’ mythological works, due to them being blasphemous and making the gods too human when religion described them as perfect ; and it is also why the philosophers of old dissed on and rejected the literary works of mythology as nonsense only good to feed superstitions, because for them the gods weren’t characters or realities, but rather abstract concepts and rhetorical allegories.

This is something I feel needs to be reminded, because today these three different theologies have been mixed up into one big mess - as literary myths are placed one the same level as philosophical “myths” (actually texts taking the shape of myths), and both considered of outmost religious importance. When in fact, things were quite different...

EDIT: I was asked if there was a myth that could illustrate the three different theologies, and on the spot I would say “the affair between Aphrodite and Ares”.

This story originates from the “mythological theology”. It is primarily a story, and a good one. It is the story of a husband who discovers his wife is unfaithful and tries to get revenge, it is the story of an extra-marital affair gone wrong, it is typical set of divine shenanigans ending on a grotesque display of divine humiliation - it is an excellent narrative material for plays and poems (and the legend does originates from poems).

The story was also dearly beloved and reused by the “philosophical theology”, because the philosophers adored the idea of the love between Ares and Aphrodite - for them it was the perfect depiction of how the concepts of “love” and “war” , despite being seemingly opposite, attracted each other and were closely tied. For them, this story isn’t to be taken literaly as “a god cheated on another god”, but rather as “this is an allegory showing that love and war are two sides of the same coin, which is why Aphrodite falls for Ares despite being married to Hephaistos”. But for them the whole net part is just poetic nonsense invented to make people laugh ; or maybe they will reinvent them as a moral, cautionary tale that should be used to warn people of the dangers of unfaithfulness.

And then there’s the “religious theology”, the point of view of the priests - for whom such a story is mockery and sacrilege. You can imagine them saying: “You are making the gods look like fools! Gods don’t cheat on each other, gods don’t get captured in nets while butt-naked, gods don’t even sleep on beds - GODS DO NOT EVEN HAVE HUMAN FORMS IN THEIR NATURAL STATE - what the heck is this bullshit you’re saying, you’re just insulting the gods by turning them into lecherous humans and grotesque clowns for your vulgar story!” (This is a reconstitution and not the actual words of an Ancient Greek priest)

#greek gods #roman gods #greek mythology #greek religion #roman mythology #roman religion #ancient theology

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egg-emperor · 3 months

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do you think Eggman actually wants to kill/torture sonic? The sonic channel says in eggmans bio that he doesn’t hate sonic deep down in his heart, does Eggman have morals??

That's what the Sonic Channel bio says with Google translate, which is the most unreliable form of translation and in this case very inaccurate for Eggman's character. I rely more on DeepL but it's having trouble with this, it just says "deep down he hates him" lol

But in more reliable translation it doesn't seem to state that he doesn't actually hate him, which I think is an important distinction to make. Here's an example of a human translation of that part, which is always better than a machine one:

"Tender" doesn't feel like a fitting word at all though. This is the absolute closest you've ever got to him being somewhat... affectionate?... towards Sonic in a genuine way in the games, I suppose:

I mean, he's saying he finds him admirable. And it's funny because this is as he's attempting to blow him up to kill him and really thinks he's succeeded this time. I guess you can say that's kind of affectionate in his own twisted way by declaring it in his send-off, that works lol

Now in his Origins bio, they're very clearly referring to this same aspect in that bio but with a huge rephrasing that feels muuuch more fitting than "tender":

You can tell because it's beat for beat with the whole "he wants to defeat Sonic, but deep down-" phrasing

In this case, kinship clearly refers to the feeling of "a sharing of characteristics/other similarities." (Not the other way in being related in a familial sense, no way in hell lol) This is a massive improvement, absolutely PERFECT phrasing Imo.

This makes a lot more sense because it has game evidence. I look at what's in the games to support any outside word. If there isn't any, I don't accept it, canon is what's in the source media/text, any word outside has to be at least heavily supported by/align with it.

This scene specifically has him explain his feelings on Sonic in his own words perfectly. You're not gonna get it from a better place than the horse's mouth. It also shows where I feel the "kinship" is:

It reaffirms that he absolutely does hate him and makes sure to specifically heavily emphasize it. You can hear it in his voice and it's not just in his words, he shows it in his actions, his dislike and threats aren't empty as he tries to outright hurt and kill Sonic all the time.

But it also shines more light on the way that he can also have respect for him, similarly to the way that he called him his admirable adversary in SA2. He can acknowledge that he has talent and admirable tenacity without liking him.

These are closest to "tender" they've gotten with him towards Sonic in canon if we're going to try assign anything to that at all. But again, I feel the rephrasing of it being him feeling a kinship is a lot more accurate with all things considered.

It fits perfectly because Eggman is exactly the same. He also has raw talent with his genius IQ and his creations and plans and tenacity to keep trying and never give up on his goals.

They've always been like two sides of the same coin, drastic opposites of traits in some aspects but also very similar in others, such as tenacity and skill level. This is what makes them perfect narrative foils to each other.

It shows they're a match in battle. Proves he's smart too in recognizing it, if he wasn't he wouldn't stand a chance against Sonic but instead he puts up the greatest fight of all villains and the one that still lives to fight again and again.

I talked a bit more about how even the way that they're opposites in themes yet can have an interesting overlap into almost similarities in the way they go about it at the same time in this post, which I feel is also worth mentioning.

Sage recognizes and praises Eggman's tenacity in the next cutscene they're together after he specifically mentions and praises Sonic for his, so she notices similarity between them too:

So to sum up my stance- the idea of it being "tenderness" on Eggman's part feels inaccurate too, unless you're saying it's like, the closest he can get in his own twisted way then sure lol. But it certainly isn't in the way that fits the genuine definition with the ways he's actually shown to feel and think about him.

I feel the words kinship and respect are the most accurate descriptors by definition though. He does indeed feel those towards him but he absolutely hates his guts at the same time. And that's what makes that Frontiers scene so good for summing it up so perfectly. I think it really is that simple at its core.

And he absolutely does hate him and makes it very clear constantly in the games, as recently as Frontiers, so it hasn't changed at all over time either. He's been very violent and shown eagerness and attempt various kinds of graphic injury and death to Sonic and often attempts to act on those threats.

He has taken great delight in Sonic seemingly meeting his demise twice, so it doesn't get any more blatant than that:

He has also been very unenthused and expressed disappointment when he survives his attempts to kill him multiple times:

Lol

And no, Eggman doesn't have any known good morals that ever limit him from doing anything bad and harmful in the games. His only limit is what results in the world he wants to rule being completely destroyed so he can no longer rule it, also the only reason he teams up to save the world, besides to save himself too of course.

Case in point- Eggman saying that he doesn't want to destroy the planet completely:

Yet also showing little care for the state of it when the damage is done, as long as there's still enough for him to conquer:

Sums it up because this is within the same game too, though there are many examples of this throughout the series. Where he'll cause mass amounts of destruction to get what he wants but if another bad guy threatens to completely destroy it to the point it ceases to exist so he can't rule it and of course puts him in danger, he'll team up to stop it.

He also tries to kill Sonic and co all the time, even characters as young as 8 and 6 and has no hesitation or remorse. Sage also hasn't changed this at all, as Dream Team is canon and takes place after Frontiers.

So if he doesn't have good moral standards that stop him from targeting actual children then yeah, makes sense for him to not have them anywhere else either. You can't really stoop any lower.

Which is why I think the concept of him torturing Sonic in Forces makes a lot of sense too. There's never been anything to say he wouldn't. Certainly not any moral limits. I can imagine he'd jump at the chance to torture Sonic in at least some way when he gets his hands on him for that long.

Eggman's character when broken down to its essentials are very simple. Hating Sonic is one of them. But his feelings and actions in how he actually goes about them are a lot more complex and complicated. In the way he's still able to recognize his ability and give him credit where it's due and have respect for him from a formidable adversary standpoint.

The man's got a point

Simple when it comes to his core traits, personality, and motives. Can be much more complex and complicated in his feelings and actions. That's what gives him such compelling depth to me. He's super interesting to analyze and it's so much more fun and eye opening when viewing his character with this nuance. He's not to be oversimplified or overcomplicated.

I like Eggman's dynamic with Sonic because it's not simplistic in the "he hates him so much he can't recognize and respect any of his abilities/skills" nor "he can recognize and respect any of his abilities/skills, so that means he doesn't really hate him". It's more complex and nuanced than that and I like it.

It shows he's smart when he can recognize and respect Sonic's skills so he can stand a chance against him. It also benefits him by proving his intelligence and strength in being able to continue to challenge him after all this time, so it's a way for him to take pride in it too.

If he denied them, it would also make himself look weak for being able to defeat him but he's far from it. If Sonic wasn't as strong and skilled as he is, Eggman would easily be able to take over the world. He proved it in Forces, if it wasn't for Sonic it would've been a permanent victory.

Having a powerful enemy proves he's a powerful threat. Having what it takes to take on a guy who's been able to kill beings of god-like power says a lot about his own too, so acknowledging it benefits himself in multiple ways and that's always an important factor when it comes to him lol

The Sonic Channel commentary at the end of this Sonic and Eggman cover story describes Eggman's feelings on Sonic and their roles in each other's lives perfectly (excerpt from the "what really entertains him" section):

I also like how it notes that Eggman can enjoy the thrill of the battles as he is seen having as great of a time with it as often as he can be fueled by rage during them. Just like Sonic can too, another of their similarities there 💜

#asks #dr eggman #eggman #dr robotnik #dr. eggman #my post #analysis #sonic frontiers #sne #eggman is evil

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yakool-foolio · 3 months

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Any idea of how your OCs would interact with the canon characters?

I actually was gonna write up a whole post about my OCs dynamics with canon characters on my own, but I greatly appreciate the ask! I'll list off Ringo and Lieu's dynamics with their respective groups (NDA detectives and peacekeepers, of course)! Buckle your seatbelts, fellas, it's gonna be a long ride!

Ringo and the NDA detectives

Yuma - If there's one person who's the easiest to rope into Ringo's spontaneous plans, it's Yuma. As much as Yuma worries for his and Ringo's safety, he can't deny he's just as excited to go on stake out missions to catch criminals. Unfortunately, Yuma ends up being the bait in the schemes most of the time. But Ringo doesn't give the rookie any chance to argue before they spring into action. Outside of their detective work, Ringo and Yuma form a loose friendship, both yearning for companionship, but aren't quite used to each other's energy levels. The mirage detective can't help but confide to Yuma about their negative experience with the WDO; partly to get their own feelings out to someone willing to listen, and also to test if talking shit about the organization will spark Yuma's memories somehow, but no dice.

Halara - With extensive knowledge about the WDO's history to improve their standing within the organization, Halara is aware of the Ignis family's once outstanding presence dwindling into obscurity over time. They originally use this information on Ringo's family's relation to the WDO to judge their character and have the upper hand in discussion. This leads to them starting off on the wrong foot, Ringo standing firm against Halara's harsh judgment of his family due to something out of anyone's control other than the organization that started their downfall. But after many tense arguments, the two eventually give in and reveal their motivations for being a part of the WDO. They both want to raise money earned from their job toward good causes, such as the charity to save cats and funding research to treat and cure the Ignis bloodline's hereditary disease. Their interactions slowly start to turn to the positive as they share in a love for reptiles. Animals mend all strained ties.

Desuhiko - Putting these two together is like releasing two dogs with a bad case of the zoomies into the streets. They work exceedingly well as a duo for investigations, utilizing both their Fortes to the fullest potential as masters of deception. However, they are also prone to getting so far off track from their original objective it's like swerving off a cliff. They're easily entertained and distracted by anything that catches their attention. Desuhiko also helps Ringo understand that their illusions might not be as powerful as they wish they were, but they can still be used for a lot of good, even if all they are are distractions. They're the agency's entertainers, making sure everyone's spirits are lifted by their jokes and gags.

Fubuki - In an inverse of what would typically happen when ya put someone next to a scheming Ringo, Fubuki is actually the one who comes up with adventurous plans to take them on first! Getting up to even stranger shenanigans than Ringo is used to, it's always a pleasant surprise when he's around her. They sympathize with Fubuki's isolation at home, even if they're on different sides of the coin. Ringo's isolation being purposeful on their part, while Fubuki's parents kept her inside without her having a say in the matter until they kicked her out. No matter what, they both enjoy each other's company after years of confinement.

Vivia - Oops, they're narrative foils! With Ringo's tendency to overwork himself due to their acknowledgement that he could die an early death, he prefers to appreciate life as fast as possible and do as much as they can. However, once Ringo inevitably tuckers themself out from their work, he finds an unlikely companionship with Vivia. The phantom detective indirectly teaches Ringo about enjoying life in the little things and taking it slow, but not all of his ideology gets through to them. Ringo is still quick to criticize Vivia for his laziness and wish for death, which he doesn't budge on. They may not entirely see eye to eye, but if the right conditions are met, they make for good company.

Yakou - As much as the chief loves having someone around willing to do chores for free, he can't help but worry about Ringo overworking themself and their knack for getting involved with cases the detectives' aren't focused on. Yakou was informed of Ringo's lineage before they arrived to Kanai Ward, but he could hardly prepare himself to take on the task of working with an Ignis--a younger and spritely one at that. Despite the initial fears, Yakou is just as protective of Ringo as he is with the rest of his detectives. Yakou tends to refer to Ringo as 'Jazz', since he'll often encounter the mirage detective doing chores at the agency while listening to jazz on the radio.

Lieu/Sylvester and the peacekeepers

Swank - Since Lieu's a bit higher in the pecking order, they always try to have one over Swank by consistently challenging him to gamble with them. He never gives them the satisfaction of winning, however, far too attached to his money to ever risk the chance of losing it to a former street rat. Swank is the one in charge of handling bounties on whistleblowers, so he's usually the one to rake in the cash from Lieu's missions. As much as they bug each other, he can't deny they're an efficient moneymaker.

Seth - While Yomi has direct ownership of Lieu as one of his hitmen, Lieu works alongside Seth most often. Seth runs his own botanical garden within the corporation, and Lieu voluntarily assists him in taking care of it since they use many of the poisonous plants grown there for their missions. While it may seem like the formation of a friendship, Lieu doesn't make it easy by making Seth their (thankfully metaphorical) punching bag when they're having a rough day. It's an unfortunate side effect of being around Lieu the most after Aide died. Seth learns to not be so intimidated by them since they never actually have any plans to harm him, far too needy of his garden to sour things any further.

Dominic - In a surprising turn of events, Lieu respects Dominic the most out of the lower rungs of the higher-ups. And by respect, it means they know not to fuck around with him. Ever since Lieu heard of Dominic surviving a war and still being just as strong as if it barely even mattered, they understand why he's not to be tested as someone's who's scraped by many of their own fights when they were younger. Lieu can help but wonder what it'd be like to arm wrestle with him though, yet they know better than to sign themself up for a death wish. Since Lieu doesn't mess with him, Dominic doesn't mess with them either. They're on equal footing.

Guillaume - On the other hand, Lieu detests Guillaume. She pesters the hitman without fear, since she's well aware that they can't lay a finger on her unless they want to be punched into the next decade by a protective Dominic. Lieu avoids her at all costs if they can help it, and they will usually end up trudging back to Seth's office to let off some steam by yelling about their frustrations to the gardener. Guillaume has no business with Lieu, but she still insists on getting under their skin. Maybe it's some sort of secret technique to make Lieu all the more ferocious during their missions, but it's purpose is doubtful at best.

Yomi - While Yomi is the one who took Aide and Lieu in to work as his hitmen, Lieu's view of him decayed over time. What once was admiration and respect fell into jealousy. Yomi paid far more attention to Aide and gave him everything he wanted, all while Lieu was left with scraps. Yomi kept pulling Aide further and further away from Lieu, which fueled their sentimentality and other emotions that Yomi ordered them to discard as a hitman. And after Aide's death, both of them are far more outwardly aggressive toward each other, Lieu despising Yomi's choice to assign Aide to that mission, and Yomi wishing he'd sent Lieu on that train instead. Lieu lost a lifelong friend, Yomi lost his right hand man.

Martina - The two first meet each other over (nonpoisonous) drinks, venting about the ones closest to them slipping away to be with another guy. They quickly find common ground, realizing that they're being abandoned by Yomi and Aide. When the ones they love continue to leave them, they learn to rely on each other instead. It's shocking how quickly they form a tight bond, fueling each other's artistically violent desires, as if spitting in the faces of the two that gave up on them just as fast. When Yomi sends Martina away to be cubed, it's Lieu that witnesses her being dragged away and contacts Makoto about it first. If Lieu couldn't keep Aide by their side, they'll do what they can to make sure Martina is there instead. Martina swears she'll find a way to take Yomi down, not just for her sake, but for Lieu's as well. Yeah, they're fruity.

#can ya tell i've had these dynamics swirling around in my head for too long #i've committed to lieu n martina being a ship cause i am cringe but i am free #don't really have any ships in mind for ringo though #so if anyone wants to take a stab at potential ships feel free to #it's just not as important to ringo like it is to lieu #master detective archives: rain code #rain code #rain code spoilers #rain code ocs #ringo ignis #sylvester nettle

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thesungod · 10 months

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Tbh i read tsats and then blocked most of it out but i think my issue with it mostly comes down to the way Nico and Will were written on a narrative level? And how they were Clearly supposed to parallel each other but in the wrong way?

Like i Guess Will was valid for the whole "child of the sun in hell" thing but why on EARTH would they go with the sun thing rather than the healing thing as what differentiates him from nico. Like "blah light and dark two sides of the same coin" when HEALING and DEATH are right there and Much more prevalent to thier charcters in toa.

Also given that tartarus is supposed to be a place of incomprehensible horror... literally no one had their priorities straight.

MAN I KNOW. LITERALLY THIS.

whyyyyyy did they think that writing a book focused on a couple and making 50% of that couple half dead for most of it was a good idea😭 it could have worked if will had already been an established character but he wasn’t!!! and he literally just… sat there!!!! the whole time!!!! LIKE!!!!

AND YES I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THEY DIDN’T PLAY ON THE HEALING AND DEATH PARALLEL INSTEAD OF FORCING THE LIGHT/DARKNESS THING DOWN OUR THROAT!!!!

WILL HAD STATED MULTIPLE TIMES THAT HEALING IS THE ONLY APOLLO TALENT HE HAD!!! IT WAS HIS ENTIRE PERSONALITY BEFORE TSATS!!! WHY WAS IT BASICALLY IGNORED!!!!

#ask

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serena-joy · 9 months

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Here’s the problem with Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning part 1. Spoilers below, obvs.

——————————————————

Well there are several in my opinion, but they all center around the death of our favorite MI6 agent, Ilsa Faust.

Now I have to give the disclaimer that I am extremely biased as a big fan of the character, and Rebecca Ferguson in literally everything. With that said, I am going to try my best to approach this as logically and objectively as I can.

First let’s talk a little about the development and reception of the character throughout the series. I think this is important because big action franchises like this are primarily concerned with money. Of course the action and stunts will draw the most people in, but secondary to that is having characters the audience likes and wants to root for. It’s really kind of boring watching characters in peril when you don’t care about them. I bring this up because a major character death can absolutely impact the success of the franchise moving forward. Anyway, Ilsa was brought on for Rogue Nation as a foil of sorts to Ethan Hunt, but also as an equal to him. A different side of the same coin, if you will. The character was very well received by audiences, and MI5 is regarded as one of the best in the franchise. I think a lot of that is owed to the introduction of this new and interesting character, and of course the performance given by Rebecca Ferguson. They managed to keep Ilsa mysterious and morally grey throughout the whole film, while simultaneously making us care about her. Again, credit to the writing and performance. This carried over to Fallout as Ilsa became more fleshed out and solidified as a permanent member of the team. And still the character is undeniably a fan favorite leading into the next entry.

Now, we know romance is not that important in an action franchise, but we go into Dead Reckoning part 1 with high hopes for something happening between Ilsa and Ethan, based especially on hints from Fallout. But even so, their relationship and connection is so compelling, it would be satisfying even if it were to stay totally platonic. Here we have two characters that care about each other and their team members more than anything else, including themselves.

So that brings us to the untimely death of Ilsa Faust about half way through Dead Reckoning part 1. I have problems with this narrative choice for several reasons, including the rationale behind her death, the repercussions on the story, and how the other characters reacted.

Now I want to be extremely clear here. Ilsa dying in and of itself is not the problem.

As a fan of the character of course I wouldn’t want her to die, but I realistically was not expecting her to make it out of this franchise alive. Ilsa, like Ethan, is absolutely the kind of person who would sacrifice herself for the good of her team. Even for someone she barely knows. Ethan is the same way, but they can’t obviously kill off the main character (unless they do which would be…a choice). So, while I was hoping it wouldn’t be so soon, I was on some level expecting her to die. The biggest problem I have is that she did not get a death even close to deserving of her character and the impact she’s had on the franchise.

Now when looking at the possible reasons for Ilsa’s death, there are several things to consider. Narratively the death of a major character close to the protagonist is usually to affect or motivate them in some way. With the setup from the past two movies, Ilsa was primed to absolutely be a character whose loss should devastate Ethan, but… it didn’t really? In fact the affect on the entire team was, in my opinion, very understated. I get that they had to keep their heads in the game and continue the mission, but I don’t know… I guess I was just expecting much more of a reaction than what we got. Now, call me an optimist but I think it’s possible this could have been done to leave things more open for the next installment. We all know these movies are sort of written as they go along, so perhaps during filming Chris McQuarrie wasn’t honesty sure if this was a true death or not and didn’t want to write himself into a corner. But regardless, McQuarrie has said the death of a character close to Ethan was necessary to up the stakes and drive the story. But like I mentioned, we don’t really feel that much of an impact in the aftermath of her death. It can be argued that this was necessary for Ethan to make the right decision and not kill Gabriel (the bad guy), otherwise all information is lost and her death is in vain. But if that’s the case, why do we have the flashback of Gabriel killing someone Ethan cared about in the past? It just seems redundant and unnecessary.

Now here’s where you’ll have to forgive me as I have not seen the early installments in a very long time, but if I’m not mistaken, Gabriel and this mystery person are never shown or mentioned prior to this film. So why, pray tell, did we need to invent this backstory to make Ethan hate the villain if Ilsa was going to die and get us to the same outcome? Or if we flip that around, why did Ilsa need to die if he already had history with this guy and a tragedy to motivate him? If I’m missing something here please feel free to chime in, but I don’t understand the narrative logic here.

For this reason, I’m more inclined to believe the decision to kill Ilsa may have been driven by something outside the story. Scheduling can be a major factor when it comes to casting, so it’s entirely possible Rebecca was not able to commit to further installments due to her increasing demand and busy schedule. But, I’m not so sure about that. I don’t know Rebecca of course but based on a lot of interviews I’ve seen her do, she has loved being part of this franchise and has excitedly jumped at every opportunity to continue to be a part of it. I would like to think she would have made every effort to commit to both films, as they are the last two in the franchise anyway. The other reason I’m skeptical about this explanation is that she had a great relationship with both Tom Cruise and McQuarrie, so if she decided to move on I would have expected a much different sendoff. Either something open ended with the possibility of returning in the future, or a death that is depicted more heroically with much more impact to the tone of the movie and characters.

Which leads me to what I think is a more likely explanation - a studio decision. I don’t have to tell you all that the way women are treated in the male-dominated action film world is not great. To say the least. There seems to be some unspoken rule that while a male character can be brought back time and time again across a 20+ year franchise, the female lead must be replaced with every entry. Why? Because the male target audience might appreciate something shiny and new to look at with each installment. It’s sick, it’s gross, but that is how it has been. One thing I loved so much about Mission Impossible though, was how it broke this mold and charted new territory by bringing the female lead back and not only that but retaining her as an important and three dimensional character. But after dead reckoning I’m starting to realize that maybe Ilsa has been on borrowed time this whole time. I’m not sure why it has to be this way, but it sure looks a lot like Ilsa was killed to make room for Hayley Atwell’s character to become the new female lead. Maybe some studio exec thought they might lose viewership if audiences were asked to care about not just one but two female leads in an action franchise. I understand the desire to bring in new characters to keep things fresh, but the notion that one woman has to disappear to make room for another is honestly the kind of bullshit I am just so tired of seeing. It’s 2023 and we are still not past this, but I digress.

If you ask me, I think the joke is going to be on them. I know a lot of people are upset by the decision to take Ilsa out of the franchise and I wouldn’t be surprised if some decide not to tune in for part 2. I know personally I’ll be waiting for confirmation that Ilsa does or does not appear before I make the decision to watch. When Ilsa died I immediately became way less invested in the rest of the movie. If she’s truly dead I honestly can’t see myself caring enough to sit through part 2.

Which brings me full circle back to the story. If Ilsa’s death had been done in such a way that her massive positive effect on the franchise was somehow honored or acknowledged, I don’t think I personally would have had the same reaction. And I think I would have kept watching. But whatever the reason for the choice to kill the character, what I can’t figure out is why it wasn’t better written. I think the only satisfying explanation would be that she in fact is still alive, but I’m honesty afraid to hope for that given the track record of the movie industry as a whole.

The only glimmer of hope I’m holding onto is something Rebecca said in an interview. She is asked how stunts compare between Mission Impossible and Dune, and mentions a stunt she performs that she can’t recall if it was in “the first or second one.” It’s a little unclear if she’s referencing Dead Reckoning part one and two, or Dune part one and two. But given the context I think it seems like she’s talking about dead reckoning, which would indicate she is in both part one and two. But decide for yourself:

youtube

#thanks for coming to my Ted talk #I would love to read other people’s thoughts because I have all these feelings with nowhere to put them #ilsa faust #mission impossible dead reckoning part one #mission impossible #sorry I couldn’t figure out how to put this under a cut on the app I’m old #Youtube

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greenjokwe-blog · 1 year

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OneShot - Finished 06/04/2023

/ * * * Slight Spoilers Ahead * * * /

After being sent to unreasonable rage for three games in a row for various reasons, I knew I needed something to change. Even if I didn’t necessarily want to, I knew I had to pick a safe bet, a game where I knew, if I had any issues with it that would cause me to raise my temper, I’d need to quit video games for a while. My One Shot. It seemed like the perfect pick from the outset and honestly, thank god, it was just what I needed.

I say it a lot with games of its ilk, but conceptually OneShot feels hand-crafted for me to like it. A game with a striking world, and interesting and diversely-designed characters, all about leading a character to a single destination each step of the way, and building on that bond at each step. It’s an RPGMaker game that plays out more like a classic adventure game, putting the engine’s strengths to good use and also giving you puzzles that aren’t challenging like it’s progenitors, but just rewarding and makes you think outside of the box enough to be rewarding.

And of course, when I say “out of the box” it’s quite literal. The big appeal of this game is its meta-narrative, one that exudes from the whole game that it’s a shock that I didn’t play it sooner with my obsession with the concept. The ideas and shit that the game throws at you build up to the point of its strong final portion, where the core of the game and it’s point reveals itself. One thing I will say is that the things that OneShot throws at the player definitely aren’t unique, even if you count its mid-2010′s release, but I think execution is important here. If there’s one compliment that OneShot deserves is that it ironically understands its limitations very well, and due to that understanding is able to deliver them with a level of quaintness and sincerity that is very befitting for what the game is going for.

However, one thing I will say is that initially, the tightrope that OneShot tries to pull with this can feel counter-productive. The world-building and cast initially seem to be put on an occasional backburner in order to emphasise the game’s link with Niko, and while it works for what the game is trying to do, it can feel particularly light on content and context and points to really to bring all of the atmosphere and feeling the game is trying to bring home... That is, until you begin the game’s second playthrough. This playthrough adds a LOT to the game’s general tone, worldbuilding, and message, at the price of the general gameplay and puzzles being a lot weaker. The game also starts adding a lot of jargon, feel fairly on the nose and over-elaborates on some details to the point of making things overly lore-dumpy and complex but... I don’t mind it too much cuz it seems like that’s part of the point. The two playthroughs feel like two sides of the same coin, both used to bounce off each other and play off the core of the game’s themes and message. One that I highly empathise with.

I think that kinda sums up my thoughts on OneShot in general. It’s definitely not a perfect game and I wouldn’t call it a mind-blowing experience, but I can’t really fault it at all either. The puzzles are simple and fun, the game knows how to work in and out of its boundaries, the general art style and atmosphere of the game are wonderfully nice and sweet, the music is calming, and the game knows how to keep the player’s interest and surprise them while still keeping to its sincere core and heart, and it’s one that resonates so well with me personally I THINK I’ll be able to keep the game’s promise. A lovely little time.

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greenhappyseed · 3 years

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BnHA Ch.319 (“The one with the Class 1-A reunion") - Parallels and comparisons

Fun fact: This chapter is called “Friend” because Ch.258 is already called “Friends.” That chapter is mostly about Hawks and Twice, and features Twice’s famous line, “Anyone who helps his friends can’t be all bad.”

SO MANY THINGS I LOVED ABOUT THIS CHAPTER!!!! At the outset, this chapter helps solidify the timeline and clarify that the whole arc takes only 1-2 weeks post-war. The pacing may have been weird to us as readers, but in-universe everything happened VERY fast.

I’m really enjoying Iida being the instigator here, prodding Bakugo, Todoroki, and Tokoyami. Iida’s been sidelined for a while and it’s nice to remember he can be a hothead. It’s weird though that Bakugo has Best Jeanist’s number and not All Might’s?? Maybe Bakugo’s just too angry at All Might to call him? You'd think that if Bakugo was trustworthy with OFA that he'd get access to the secure line.

Yep, Iida won’t back down from Endeavor or Deku either. Deku tries to throw down and Iida’s just, “Same shit, different day, huh?” even though Deku looks absolutely monstrous. (Seriously, Deku is making unprovoked threats against his classmates…) I think Iida is essential here because he has previously knocked sense into a stubborn Izuku: https://greenhappyseed.tumblr.com/post/656261027414048768/threatening-taunting-and-worrying-wont-reach

I LOVE Ochako stepping up and escalating through the UA bureaucracy. Also, it’s cool to see her show some aggression and fighting spirit. Even Shoto is taken aback when she stands up and smacks the sofa.

Now for the big guns… Bakugo is 100% right that he knows Deku and the Deku/All Might relationship better than anyone. And bless Bakugo’s iron will for speaking truth to power before his school’s principal and the #1 hero who is also his former boss/mentor, his friend’s father, and the guy who All Might compares him to. But, as always in MHA, we see a hero’s knowledge is incomplete because heroes don’t freaking talk to each other about stuff that matters.

Crucially, Bakugo doesn’t know about Nighteye’s impact on Deku and All Might. He doesn’t know that All Might wanted Deku to stay at UA or that All Might was trying to get Deku to take care of himself, despite assassins and explosions targeting them both. Bakugo also doesn’t know about the vestige battle with AFO/Shigaraki or the post-war vestige conversations. Bakugo doesn’t know that Deku wants to save Shigaraki, that Deku is likely the last OFA holder due to his quirklessness, or that Second is telling Deku that inaction is not an option. Perhaps, if Endeavor couldn’t take a good look at himself and understand the burden of #1 until “All Might” became a walking skeleton, Bakugo won’t be able to fully understand OFA and Deku’s journey until he sees Deku become a shadow of what he was (maybe acting unheroically?) That said, Bakugo is drawn in 319 with his posture like All Might in 309.

Speaking of not knowing things, Endeavor doesn’t tell the class that Deku ditched All Might. It’s not clear why he starts to say “But…” and then stops, because during this arc he’s very communicative with Hawks, Jeanist, and the Lurkers. Did he realize, like All Might did in Ch.309, that he can’t physically stop Deku? Does he feel the same power gulf with Deku that he felt with All Might, now that he and Hawks are too slow for Deku??? Or is he an elitist prick who doesn’t respect the kids as heroes in their own right (including his own SON!!!). Whatever the reason, Endeavor doesn’t use his words or help connect the class with Deku, Jeanist, Hawks, or All Might. No, he tosses his phone so the class can track Deku on their own. So much for “maturing” and passing the torch with grace.

I feel REALLY bad for Shoto here. Both his parents betrayed him and hurt him, and now at his family’s lowest point, Shoto finds his best friend is not just gone, but that the trust didn’t go both ways. To make matters worse, his dad is breaking his promise to Shoto (the one that's supposed to be a step towards atonement) for the purpose of enabling Deku’s betrayal, with the implication that Shoto isn’t strong enough to handle what’s “out there.” Endeavor will strike his son, but won't let him fight using his own well-honed powers??? Ugh. Shoto is saying “us” in the left hand panel below, but it’s clear that Deku’s actions and Endeavor’s focus on Deku weighs heavily on Shoto. I’m so glad that in this chapter we see Bakugo, Iida, Ochako, and Momo with him. Shoto needs a break and some time with friends as much as Deku.

I love Nezu cutting off Endeavor multiple times, followed by his own endorsement of the kids’ mission. It’s sweet that Nezu wants to protect BOTH All Might and Deku — we know Nezu loves the school but I don’t think we’ve seen him so paternal before. (I’m glad someone is looking out for All Might too, since the pro heroes aren’t.) I also like Nezu echoing the theme of reassurance. Physical safety, in a situation like this, is only one part of “saving.” That said, I’m still not convinced the UA barrier will actually keep out the villains who broke into Tartarus. (Of course, it’s possible Nezu is the traitor and he’s manipulating the kids into bringing Deku & All Might to UA, but I’m gonna enjoy this moment for now….)

MASK SYMBOLISM ALERT. Deku saying, “I’m fine, don’t worry,” while putting his mask on, right after Bakugo completed the rescue maskless. Ochako saying she’s worried with her rose-colored mask/shield off, just like her big war moment (but this time, the light is in her eyes).

Love these kids supporting each other (or, in the case of Bakugo, shoving Shoto before Shoto fights Endeavor, and taking over the direct confrontation of Endeavor). Also, despite Endeavor’s worries, it’s his son and Momo that captured the villain after Bakugo (his intern) immobilized the villain. Endeavor should know that this class can definitely handle Tartarus escapees.

Now, a few loose AFOs ends:

Bakugo’s tie. While this is very un-like him, I agree with others who have said it represents him trying to look and act like part of the team, rather than the punk on the fringes. It also ties him (haha!) to Best Jeanist, who was always trying to fix Bakugo’s image. I don’t think the tie is a sign of any AFO manipulation…

But then again, Bakugo’s clapping and taunting Deku about smiling in Kamino IS reminiscent of AFO’s actions in Kamino. AFO and Bakugo certainly do tend to circle near each other in the narrative.

Also, Iida says 1A won't be able to smile while their friend walks a “thorny path,” but that was the language AFO used in the mansion message. What happens when Deku hears his friends use the same words as AFO?

At a meta level, why are we seeing signs of AFO when we're purely on the hero side of things? I can think of three possibilities: First, it's foreshadowing, plain and simple. We're seeing bits of AFO "invade" the class to set up for his eventual attack. Second, it's some kind of mind control or illusion so Deku isn't seeing what's really there. Third is that it's Horikoshi's way of reminding us, as readers, that the heroes and villains are two sides of the same coin. They think the same way, they speak the same way, and, to AFO's point, are therefore fairly predictable despite having free will.

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drivingsideways · 3 years

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Melo is My Nature Review

Well, as usual, I’m late to the party! I picked up 2019′s Melo is my Nature/ Be Melodramatic with some trepidation since I was (am!) still smarting a bit from the disappointment that’s Hospital Playlist S2, and I wasn’t quite ready for another.

I’m so glad I gave it a chance! While it isn’t a “perfect” series- in the nature of the world *sigh*- its combination of quirky, clever, self-aware humour and heartfelt performances won me over from the first episode.

More thoughts under the cut (along with some spoilers)

I’m very fond of ensemble dramas that love their characters, and “Melo is my Nature” does that very well. Perhaps a little too well, to the point that you feel the writers letting themselves be more than a little indulgent during the middle stretch of the episodes. But I can’t complain too much, because yes, I know the feeling! “Side characters” that refuse to stay in the lane and take over the narrative are also my favourites, as a writer and a viewer. I loved, loved, loved Lee Joo-bin as the flighty-but-amazingly-smart Lee So-min; that felt like such a delightful clap-back against the prevailing sentiment that often goes against young, successful women and the ridiculous levels of expectations of them, in how they need to perform gender and femininity and smartness. I loved that (like Emma! There’s a lot of Jane in this series!) the writers managed to make her likeable even though they never disregard her flaws or its consequences.

Another performance/ character that I totally adored was Baek Ji-won as Jeong Hye-jeong, the industry maven who may be (?) a nod to Kim Eun-sook, I suppose! I was afraid at some point that they’d just trash her character, by making her a little too ridiculous in an unkind way, but I found some of the loveliest scenes involved her- like the one where she tells Jin-joo to do the work, but not be too successful. In the end, there was a love and fondness for her, a genuine empathy, that really was core to what made this show so successful.

Shout out also to two of the weirdest characters I’ve watched, but thoroughly loved- Heo Joon-seok as Director Dong-gi & Lee Ji-min as Nutritionist (?) Da-mi. I absolutely adored that the only wedding in this series is between these two, and they do it in a completely predictably-unusual way.

Re: the “main” characters, I loved all of them without exception, though some more than the others :) One of the things I love about the show is how real and present the three female leads feel; they feel like whole, entire people rather than caricatures of them, even when the show reaches almost unusual levels of quirky. I love that a through-line of the narrative is how important women’s labour is- to themselves. The work they do, which is acknowledged as a part of their identity rather than just something they do to pay bills (though of course there’s acknowledgement of that aspect too!), their hunger to do it well and for it to matter- all of that is portrayed in a way that’s charming but still taken very seriously. And the way you know that its taken seriously is in the things they focus on- how Oh Jin-joo struggles to write alone, and how Han-joo’s learning to be someone’s mentor while struggling with her own insecurities, and how lost Eun-jung feels, when work which was supposed to give her purpose fails her in a time of crisis, and how unmoored she feels without it.

Re: the romance- I’m someone predisposed to dislike heterosexual romance, especially at the present moment, so it’s always with a great deal of hesitation that I start watching shows that I know have a large romance component. It’s always a bit of a coin toss for me whether the show will end up making me hate the romance or just about tolerate it. I rarely expect to *like * it. So “Melo is my Nature” was a pleasant surprise! This is one of the few series where I felt the writers put in the work to sell the “main romance” of the show. You get to know the Oh Jin-joo and Beom-soo in sharply etched sketches before they move into the romance part (with a lot of tongue-in-cheek meta humour about the formulaic nature of tv romances). I genuinely felt that thrill of “oh this could go platonic or romantic and I would like either” slowly ease into “oh my god these two are MEANT TO BE”, because the Romance is clearly in the all the ways they are NOT meant to be, but also, very, very definitely are. DELICIOUS. Just my cup of Jane Austen in a different context/ time.

Through most of the show though, my heart was divided between two characters- Jeon Yeo-bin’s stellar Eun-jung and Han Ji-eun’s pitch perfect Han-joo. Jeon Yeo-bin brought edginess, dark humour and a deep, almost- inconsolable grief to Eun-jung. Some of the stand out scenes of the entire series are hers: the moment where she watches herself on video talking to an imaginary person, and the moment she breaks down in front of the psych after talking about her mother. Watching this show, it really felt like- oh, she’s a star. Consider me sold on her for life (though, no, I will not watch Vincenzo unless there’s a Hong Cha-young supercut out there, in which case, please put it in my eyeballs now)

Han Ji-eun, imho, actually pulled off the toughest performance, because I think Han-joo’s strength of character is so often concealed by her “silliness” (in a similar vein to So-min’s), and that often makes her someone you’d overlook or not take seriously. But god, she broke my heart, from the scene in the first episode where she’s sitting alone at a table after a rough day and watching her horrible ex live his best life to the hilarious and excruciating “Oppa” scene, to the one where her kid is quite unconsciously cruel to her in the way kids can be. I was disappointed in the way they dropped the “reveal” about whom she’s dating in the last episode- not that I wanted her to be in an romance with Jae-hoon, god, NO- but it felt quite clunky. This is one of the two complaints I have with the show.

The second one is that starting from the middle, episodes began to noticeably feel like scenes/ sketches spliced together. Each scene is, within itself, perfectly written and performed, but the seams between the stories began to show. I felt one of the main reasons was that Eun-jung’s trauma tonally felt like it belonged in another show, but instead it had to get stitched into the mostly happy/ frothy storylines of the other characters. Sure, we had Hae-joon and his girlfriend’s terrible relationship, but the show had an easier time integrating that by way of Han-joo.

That said, I love how clever this show is! I love that it loves its own cleverness and can’t resist the urge to show it off- from all the meta references, in-universe jokes, and oh, that entire episode devoted to farting, complete with a song about it, which I think maybe my fave episode of the series. A great look at the place of performance in intimate relationships (and how the women bear the burden of it more than the men), but coming at it from a place of compassion and humour rather than anger. Love that choice, for the show and us!

I think @rain-hat mentioned in a comment here or twitter that Melo feels like a part of a triangle of shows along with Run On and Search : WWW. I’m inclined to swap out Run On for Rookie Historian, or huh, maybe change the triangle for a quadrangle? Rookie Historian dares to imagine a past where our protagonist is (mostly) unshackled by the patriarchy and in the “modern” ending to its main heterosexual romance, reminds us that people have always found ways to find joy and thrive outside the rigid bounds of society. Search: WWW goes about it in the opposite direction- placing us in a present/future where the patriarchy doesn’t and hasn’t ever mattered. Melo, I think, doesn’t quite do that, but in common with both these shows, it refuses to focus on the trauma of living under such structural violence, and instead talks about how we all (irrespective of gender) can find a way to remain unbroken by it. And while both Search:WWW and Melo do well at queer-platonic relationships as an alternate to the heterosexual project, it’s Run On, I think, which goes furthest there- firstly because though ostensibly structured around a het romance, that romance turns out to be falling in love with yourself/ loving yourself; secondly because it’s most explicitly queer in the choices that the characters make and the lives that they choose for themselves- Min-joo & May are each others darlings and will be for life, Yeong-hwa and Ki Seon-gyeom are allowed a tenderness in their friendship that feels like an explicit repudiation of toxic masculinity, and of course, you have May being asexual, but not aromantic, and Goh Ye-jun’s whole arc of accepting himself as a gay man, and finding acceptance of that identity from others.

Anyway! tl;dr would recommend (and have recommended!) Melo is my Nature to anyone fond of women, clever story telling and also ridiculously happy songs.

#kdrama #melo is my nature #be melodramatic #i gotta build a master list of my reviews #if only to save myself from tag and search misery #i'm a queue for you

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lucemferto · 3 years

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WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT TECHNOBLADE (or A Narrative Analysis of the Dream SMP Doomsday Event) - Script

Heyo! Per request I am posting the script to my video of the same name here on tumblr. I must warn you that just reading the script will probably not give you the full experience, so I would encourage you to watch the video (linked above).

There might also still be a lot of grammatical errors in the text, because I don’t proofread.

Okay, so! I don’t want this to turn into a reaction channel OR a Dream SMP channel for that matter! I am planning on doing a big dumb, way too long analysis video on the Dream SMP which will – at my current pace – come out in five years. I am already way too late on this one.

Spoiler Alert for the Doomsday Event that took place on the 6th of January in the Dream SMP. Surely the worst thing to take place on the 6th of January 2021 … I’m sorry, what’s this about the Capitol?

In case you don’t watch the SMP and need context: The Dream SMP is a Minecraft Multiplayer Server, that, throughout the last year, has transformed from a normal Let’s Play to an ongoing new-media series streamed by multiple high-profile streamers such as Dream, TommyInnit or Technoblade. It comes complete with script – by which I mean loose bullet points – and story events. It has attracted a large fanbase specifically invested in the story and less so in the actual gameplay content. Like I said before, I will probably do a big video on the Dream SMP at some point in the future.

The storyline is long and complicated and trying to explain it all would take up the majority of the video and there are other channels who have already done a much better job than I could ever hope to do, so give them a watch. I’ll try to summarize all that is pertinent to what I will talk about in this video.

Okay, let’s speedrun this summary. Cue the music!

Major Players here are TommyInnit, a founder of the independent nation of L’Manburg, Technoblade, an anarchist who was deep in conflict with L’Manburg, Tubbo, Tommy’s best friend and current president of L’Manburg, and Dream, the ruler of the Kingdom of the Dream SMP (even though he is not the king, but we’re not going to get into that right now). Tommy had in the past been exiled by Tubbo for endangering L’Manburg’s shaky peace with the Dream SMP. Tommy had then teamed up with Technoblade, who was hellbent on destroying L’Manberg after some prior altercations – more on that later.

Tommy and Tubbo came into conflict during a festival set-up to celebrate the friendship between L’Manburg and the Dream SMP. After punching out their feelings, Tommy came to the realization that his friendship with Tubbo was more important than his vendetta against Dream and those who exiled him. Techno took that change of heart badly and teamed up with Dream to destroy L’Manburg … and that’s exactly what happened.

Techno and Dream, with little to no opposition, obliterated L’Manburg with no hope for recovery leaving its inhabitants stranded hopeless and alone.

… And that’s what you missed on Dream SMP!

Okay. So, usually I just put whatever thought slime drips out of my mouth hole into your subscription box. But then I asked myself: “Am I not taking this a largely improvised nonsense story from a bunch of 16–24-year-olds a little too seriously?”. And then I remembered. I’m a pretentious bitch. I made an 18-minute video explaining why the popular commentary YouTuber memeulous is secretly the time travelling Anti-Christ, REASON HAS NO SWAY OVER ME!

So, like the English Major drop-out that I am, I will present you with two theses, which I will then combine into one … supratheses! That word doesn’t exist, I just coined it, it’s mine! I am very smart!

[I know words, I have the best words!]

Thesis #1: The Fandom focuses too much on Character Analysis in Favour of Narrative Analysis

The Dream SMP is truly something special. It is uniquely singular in how it tells a story of this scope through its chosen medium. While there is an overarching script that lays out the plot points of the future, each of the 30+ streamers on the SMP are their own cameraman, director, writer and actor. You cannot watch “the Dream SMP” – if you attempted that, you would be 80 by the time you caught up to the Doomsday Event. You have to choose whom to watch. You have to choose your focal point character.

Because by the way the story is told and consumed – aka in such a compartmentalized fashion; you watch one streamer and get one character’s perspective – it has sort-of unintentionally conditioned fans to look at the SMP and its characters less as one coherent story with messages and themes and more as sports teams they can root for. You’re Team Techno or Team Tubbo or Team Tommy or Team JackManifoldTV (formerly known as Thunder1408) and every other side is in the wrong! It’s like Twilight for a decade old children’s game about virtual Lego!

Okay, I’m exaggerating, but the amount of discourse perpetuated by and revolving around so-called “apologists” – a terrible term that unfortunately has caught on – is really not something that I think is good for how we interact with the story of the Dream SMP.

The Dream SMP is discussed a lot on character-based level, which is, like I said before, hugely advantaged by the way the story is consumed by its audience. With traditional, visual media such as film for example, the audience can be made more aware of what messages the narrative might try to communicate on a narrative level without the need for an explicit narrator to tell you the moral.

As an example, in a movie you could have a smash-cut from the Butcher Army’s discussions about neutralizing the danger Technoblade poses to Techno being nice around villagers or taking care of animals. This would communicate on an extradiegetic level, that the Butcher Army is in the wrong with their assumptions. Alternatively, you could contrast Techno’s declarations that power corrupts and that Tubbo’s administration is cruel with Tubbo choosing not to punish Ranboo for his association with Techno – thus the narrative would communicate that Techno’s view of Tubbo and by extension the government is one-sided and not true to reality.

Stuff like that helps the viewer understanding a story holistically and manages to communicate stuff like themes and morals without having to solely rely on in-character logic and argumentation, which, as Ghostbur put it so eloquently, is comprised of a bunch of unreliable narrators.

Character analysis is great if we want dive deep, if we really want to give a character flavour and understand their motivations. It helps make the universe feel like it is alive, like it’s real. But – and this might be a shocker for you – it’s not real. It’s written. It is construction – and as such, in its construction, it has messages and themes and morals, intentionally or unintentionally.

By being so focused on specific characters and their individual journeys, viewpoints and motivation we really run the risk of not looking at the bigger picture and fail to see what the overarching narrative is actually communicating. And we may also fail to understand how characters might or might not fit into the overarching narrative.

Speaking of which …

Thesis #2: Technoblade experiences very little Meaningfultm Thematic Conflict

Okay, let’s talk about Technoblade. I’m sure I’m not going to get any hate for this one.

I want to preface by saying that I don’t watch Technoblade’s streams; I catch up though clip channels and summaries. I’m mainly watching Tommy, Tubbo and Quackity – which is honestly already more than I can handle – but I want to be clear that while I’ll try to be as even-handed as possible – like I explained previously – the way I consumed the storylines will undoubtedly leave me with some bias.

Also, needless to say, I’m talking about the character Technoblade, not the actual content creator, unless I specifically say so. That should be obvious.

Now, I’m not doing a Technoblade character analysis, because that would be hypocritical of me – seeing how I just bitched about the overwhelming amounts of character analyses in the fandom – but I’ll try my best to summarize what is necessary.

Technoblade’s interesting in that he is a very static character – at least inwardly – he doesn’t change much. He is very steadfast in his beliefs and ideals and has very little introspection. He doesn’t question himself; he doesn’t waver, he is never in a bind about whether what he’s doing is right or wrong. He is very much a parallel to early TommyInnit – who, of course, famously said “I’m always in the right”.

And I want to emphasize that I mean this in no way as a critique of Techno’s character. A static character provides a nice contrast to more dynamic characters and can balance them out. It can also be utilised by the writing as a character flaw – which is what I hope content creator Techno is going for.

Like Techno doesn’t have a lot of empathy in the sense that he is particularly skilled at or interested in trying to see the viewpoints of others. There is never an attempt to reconcile, for example, the goal of the Pogtopians to reclaim L’Manberg and install another administration with his desire for an anarchist society. This is also compounded with his overreliance on violence as the only tactic for conflict resolution – Techno has a whole thesis statement about violence being the only universal language. I’m sure you’ve heard the quote.

And lastly, what really drives this all over the edge, is his all-or-nothing approach when dealing with the enemy – he is not so much eye for an eye as he is – to use another biblical example – you make fun of me for being bald and I’ll sic two bears on you that maul and kill you and 41 other children.

There’s also the open and completely unacknowledged hypocrisy of a self-described anarchist working together with a man that installs and dethrones Kings with his every whim – someone who – and I cannot stress this enough – hits about every box when it comes to the definition of tyrant.

So, what I’m saying is that Technoblade is the Dream SMP equivalent of Dick Chenney. C’mon you know it’s true! He will bomb that freedom into your country whether you want him to or not. That’s some cogent political commentary in the year 2021.

Okay, so now that I’ve outlined his character, what kind of conflicts does Technoblade face. Well, it’s mostly physical or external. He fights a lot whether it’s against Quackity or Sapnap or bodying Karl Jacobs five times in a row. And – with the exception of maybe Sapnap – none of it is challenging. Technoblade is the best PvP-Player on the server – there really isn’t much tension to be had from a purely physical fight.

So, how are these fights supplemented emotionally. Well, internally there is not a lot going on. As I said before, Technoblade isn’t really an introspective character. Even during his shouting match with Tommy there’s not a sense that Technoblade is wavering or unsure of himself in the way that Tommy is. He exposits that one of the reasons, he acts like he does is that he feels dehumanized; that people only use him like a weapon and then discard or even try to neutralize him once he’s no longer useful.

But that is not something that Technoblade has to grapple with – it’s not conflict for him, it’s more conflict for Tommy. Technoblade is self-assured in that he’s a person and not a weapon – it’s almost like there was a character arc there, where Technoblade self-actualizes and breaks away from the people that want to use him. But we didn’t see any of it. Technoblade unleashes the withers; then he goes into retirement because he wants to be, I suppose, and then he returns to violence as a reaction to the Butcher Army. There is a story of vengeance here, but not any conflict about being used. There is never a point where we see Technoblade come to this realization or comes to assert himself.

In season 1 there’s never a push from Pogtopia where the narrative frames them as exploiting Technoblade. He fights with them of his own volition, he gives them weapons and armour of his own volition. Nobody pressured Techno into procuring their inventory for the fight. And in Season 2, he’s the one to approach Tommy about their potential partnership – he is in the position of power here, explicitly not Tommy.

Like, I’m sorry, if this ruffles some feathers, but I really don’t see this arc where Technoblade is being used. There’s a story of misunderstanding and maybe co-dependency – but not of dehumanization. This entire line of thought seems to solely reference that moment, where Tommy says to Sapnap “I have the blade” during one of their wars – which, to base an entire emotional arc around that without any further set-up, is, and I’m sorry to say that, incredibly flimsy.

Okay, so we covered physical and emotional conflict? But what about conflict on the narrative level? Well, that leads me to my suprathesis …

Suprathesis: The Narrative is Unclear on how it treats Technoblade … and that’s Not Good.

Here’s a Hot Take: The narrative of Season 1 treats Technoblade way less sympathetically than that of season 2.

Let me explain. The narrative of Season 1 revolves mostly around Wilbur and Tommy. The emotional fulcrum of the overall narrative is Wilbur’s rise and fall from Grace – and Tommy succeeding him as symbol of L’Manberg’s “special”-ness. Now I will talk about all that more in detail, when I talk about Season 1 of the Dream SMP. So, you’ll just have to go with me on this one for now.

Technoblade, by contrast, doesn’t really have much going on thematically in Season 1. He mostly exists as a sort-of utilitarian character – he is an accessory to make story beats happen. Like him executing Tubbo doesn’t open up any sort of thematic conflict involving him – on a character level it sets up antipathy between him and Tommy and it grants us some insight into how he operates with his violence speech – but on a larger-scale narrative level it really just shows how far Wilbur and Tommy have drifted apart in how they react to the event.

His biggest contribution is during the Season 1 finale, but even there he plays second fiddle to Wilbur. Not just because Wilbur does way more destruction with his explosion than Techno does with his Withers, but also because Wilbur had an emotional and thematic climax to his arc and by extension the entire storyline. Like Techno’s is a cool moment and very epic visual but in terms of thematic relevance, his Theseus-speech is really more set-up for Season 2.

And Season 1 is very unambiguous about L’Manberg being good and Tommy’s ideals ultimately being morally justified – I mean, they have a whole speech about it in the end and it was built-up throughout the entire Season – Techno is cast in a … less than sympathetic light. He is, if not a villain, then definitely an antagonist.

But with Season 2 the narrative is either uninterested in or not very clear on exploring Technoblade’s flaws.

Like ask yourselves: is Technoblade’s character ever consciously challenged by the narrative? Are his actions ultimately shown to not be in the right? Are his beliefs about government and power ever called into question? Are the negative consequences that his actions cause ever shown to be larger than the “good” he does?

I think what exemplifies this the most is how the Butcher Army event played out on December 16th. Now, during that event, the Butcher Army, which was comprised of Tubbo, Quackity, Fundy and Ranboo, managed to apprehend Technoblade, who at that point was living the quiet retirement life, and tried to have him publicly executed – without trial.

Now, smarter people than me have pointed out that the Butcher Army had a bevy of in-character reasons that can justify or explain their actions. And that’s definitely interesting, but as I said before, I want to get away from that and look into how the Butcher Army is treated on a narrative level. Because this is one of the few instances where the otherwise grey-loving Season 2 has some very clear narrative intent when it comes to morality.

The Butcher Army is very deliberately framed as almost cartoonishly corrupt and violent. They very forcefully investigate Philza, mock him and then put him under house arrest – and there’s just no remorse in the script even from normally sympathetic characters like Tubbo.

Compare and contrast with the Tommy-exile scene, which is also an act of moral ambiguity and is treated as such. And things get even worse once the Army arrives at Technoblade’s abode and attack him after he softly tells them that he has left that live behind him. They then proceed to take his horse hostage, mock him and execute him without fair trial – and I haven’t seen it but from live commentary I gathered that Techno really played up the whole softie-schtick before the Butcher Army arrived. I mean, before the big Technoblade vs Quackity fight, Quackity had whole villain monologue for Christ’s sake.

And even afterwards, the Butcher Army really plays up the corrupt angle with Tubbo proposing a festival as a guise to publicly execute someone. And again, I know that on an intradiegetic there’s nuances and it’s not really comparable to the Red Festival, but in combination with what the audience has seen up until that point and with how much it feeds into the already established themes of history repeating itself and becoming like your predecessors, it really does not paint a pretty picture of the Tubbo administration.

You can feel the heavy hand of the script on your shoulder, which is a feat seeing how – as discussed before – that’s not something that can be easily accomplished in this medium.

And that is what I mean when I say that Technoblade is not really challenged by the script and is in this case even emboldened by it. Because after this whole ordeal the thought of Technoblade taking revenge by destroying L’Manberg doesn’t seem like such an extreme response to the viewer – even though in my opinion, it is.

As of right now it is too early to say how the narrative will judge Technoblade’s actions in the future. Will they be framed as extreme but ultimately justified or perpetuating a cycle of ever-escalating vengeance? Will we ever see a government that’s not just at best misguided and at worst completely awful?

Ultimately, I believe and hope that Technoblade will be challenged by the narrative, mostly because a character that cannot, believably, be physically challenged, who doesn’t have any meaningful internal conflict about what he’s doing; and who does come out on the other side having everything he always believed in be proven completely in the right by the narrative, would be incredibly boring. Not just to watch but also to play as.

As it stands now, if the destruction Techno, Phil and Dream inflicted upon L’Manburg is framed as ultimately in the right, I would find it personally a distasteful message to send. I would ultimately say that the “correct” way to counter corruption in government is to completely obliterate the entire country. Like we’re not talking simply disbanding the government – that’s not what Doomsday was – we’re talking complete and utter annihilation. And that would be cynical and depressing. Like, call me a big softie, but even bothsidesing this argument would be bad.

Like, I’m not calling for Technoblade to be transformed into or treated a monster like Dream. But I personally feel like the narrative needs to acknowledge that the Doomsday was something that was taken way too far and that it ultimately brought more harm than good. And Technoblade needs to held accountable by someone who is not a cartoonishly corrupt government-official or who is in conflict with him anyway, like Tommy.

I thought Philza or Ranboo could do that but seeing how their storylines are progressing I don’t believe that will be the case. But who knows, maybe Captain Puffy will come through for us. We stan a Queen.

Conclusion

So, yeah, I made this entire video just to air out my grievances with how one-sided the mode of analysis is in the fandom, because no person actually involved with the production of Dream SMP will ever see this.

But after everything I am cautiously optimistic, that content creator Technoblade knows what he’s doing. He has talked in the past about how his character is a bad guy and he loves his Greek myths. After all what’s more Greek myth than hybris being rewarded with punishment? [Technoblade never dies] That bodes well for him.

Also, this isn’t the video I promised at the end of the last one!

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beauty-and-passion · 3 years

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Hey! This came to me after reading your theory on who orange is.

Something I have been extremely interested in is who counterbalances who. Ex, Patton and Janus balance each other, one values self, the other values selflessness; and there is heavy narrative weight on this, and just they cover morality in general. Roman and Remus balance each other with making up the whole of creativity, Roman the princely fantasy and Remus the dark reaches. This leaves Logan, Virgil, and Pirate guy (orange). The idea that Vigil and Logan are paired to me doesn't quite fit. If orange was Wrath, then him and Logan would be very well paired, emotional outbursts vs. cold logic. This would leave virgil by himself, though. However it kinda makes sense to me Virgil is not paired with everybody. Vigil is already a mixture of all the sides. He cares about what others think (patton), focused on self-preservation (Janus), imagines scenarios all the time (Roman/Remus), thinks with his own brand of logical steps (Logan), and is filled with emotions constantly (Orange???). With 7 sides, one is going to be the odd one out, and Vigril fits the bill the best. Also, every other side is usually present to the same degree in everyone, but the level of anxiety is subject to change quite a bit. Just something I thought a bit about, I am curious to hear your thoughts on this.

I agree 100% with your idea about who counterbalances who. The entire wedding vs callback saga showed us the dichotomy between Patton and Janus, Roman and Remus are literally two sides of the same coin and, well, if Orange is Wrath, then a potential pair with Logan would be very interesting to explore.

Just like you, I also think Virgil should be the one standing out. Why? Because Virgil’s counterpart is Virgil himself. He doesn’t need another Side to oppose him, because Virgil opposes himself.

Let’s just think about his own nature as Anxiety. As you said, everyone has some anxiety and it’s different for everyone. Strong anxiety could degenerate into paranoia, a tamed anxiety could evolve into caution or bravery. So Virgil has the potential to be the worst, someone he hates and would never want to be (Paranoia) - but, at the same time, he could be the best version of himself, someone he would like to be (Bravery/Caution).

And this dicothomy doesn’t need another Side. Virgil has to deal with himself, by accepting his own nature and overcoming his fear of changes. And, maybe, conciliate his dark past with a brighter present.

#sanders sides #ask #virgil sanders #that was a very good ask #and your points are so valid #I approve #very nice

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fishmongeringstudies · 3 years

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scene fifteen: in moments of deep and debilitating anxiety remember that someone out there is thinking about how to fit a horse-shaped figurine up their ass and that they will probably succeed

in the history of sexuality: volume one michel foucault puts forth the idea that we as a society have gotten bad at dying due to a lack of practice. in the place of death, he posits, we obsess with life. every tedious stage of it, spotlit and burnt into our retinas so that even when we lie awake in bed with our eyes shut, visions of the future stalk through the darkness like specters. we are categorically unable to predict what lies ahead on the yellow brick road and obligated to try. as a result, we have become shrewd, planning creatures.

we have lost our touch with death. we are out of touch with it. we do not die enough, even though everyone you speak to will likely agree that each of us only dies once.

in a half-hearted bid to help its students cope with the fact that the world had been consumed overnight by a pandemic which was steadily eating away at the sanity and sanctity of life as we knew it and everything was fucking terrible, my college came up with a plan wherein instead of four classes in the fall, we would only have to take three. in exchange january would be given up to a four-week speedrun of one more class, so as to complete the holy rectangle. consumed with hubris and distracted by the legend of zelda: breath of the wild, the game which had eaten up the last five months of my life and promised to follow up with the rest of it, i decided to take a philosophy course on personal identity. on the first day of class i logged onto zoom, my personal sleep paralysis demon, at eleven on a monday night to my professor asking us completely seriously: what makes you you?

my toes, i guess? i have ten of them. i mean most people have ten toes, but mine are pretty weird looking. are we done here?

we were not done here. we proceeded to investigate every aspect of the twenty-first century conception of the self, from the lumpy flesh bag which contained our affectionately soft and squishy parts to the memory, the continuous narrative that held all our dimmest and brightest moments together. we doubted each one, flirted with it; then we cast it away. was the self the brain? no. was the self the body? no. was the self the memory, the shreds of past glories, was the self actually a collection of selves? is the you who plucked that goldfish out of the pond at age seven because you thought lungs meant you were invincible the same you who wrung their hands nervously together as they stood in front of the cashier this morning, waiting for the person behind the counter to ring up your groceries?

there was a counter for everything, you see. i know this because i presented a quarter of them. it's fun to shoot things down, less fun to be shot at; having been gunned out of the sky several times in my life i make it a point to keep my eyes trained on the horizon when i am out and about these days. so yes. people are not really. really what? they simply aren't. we have been living in a farce of reality, telling ourselves we matter when we have never been able to articulate with certainty the exact nature of that 'we' to begin with. or should i say me?

one night in late january while lying in bed after a three hour breath of the wild korok hunt, drifting peacefully into the ether, a thought flashed across my mind: WHERE DO PEOPLE GO WHEN THEY FALL ASLEEP.

i bolted upright in bed, heart hammering like there was a hammer in my chest and a little man holding the hammer and that motherfucker was swinging like he had hell to pay.

it turns out my extensive history of making jokes about immortality isn't just a reflection of my overinflated ego. it's a reflection of this:

michel foucault was sometimes criticized for his armchair philosophy style of tackling what were, at heart, deeply empirical human issues. even if the epistemic foundations were sound, there was often a clear disconnect between the ideas he espoused and the communities which they were to be applied to. this is a criticism every philosopher deals with at some point in their life. this is a critique of philosophy as a whole. stop smoking your damn bong and get back out here, skinny academia man. there's a whole world to see.

in season three episode eighteen of the penumbra podcast by sophie takagi kaner and kevin vibert a character named buddy aurinko stops in the middle of a debilitating fit of coughs, and admits in a wet, cracking voice that she does not want to die. 'i don't want to die,' she says to herself, standing in her office and overlooking a heist of astronomical proportions. her heart is made of steel; it pumps gasoline through a body more metal than flesh. she is half human in the most literal sense, with a clockwork soul and a gunmetal smile. in spite of the alarming state of decay the radiation exposure has left her body in, she wants to live. she fights for it. she leaves the heist to her crewmates and escapes to a room that will protect her from shock waves that would otherwise stop her mechanical heart. kicking her heels off and running and stumbling down the hallway, she makes it to safety just in time to hear the explosion go off.

life is a firework show in the sense that we are surrounded by highly-flammable and explosive objects which look nice from afar and are a threat to our safety up close. this analogy made sense when i started typing it but it seems i've come up short. life is a firework show. i like things that eat darkness. i am a firefly. i make fire take flight.

i think michel foucault was right, in some ways. we are living in abundance. i do not mean a physical abundance, a pile of tailored suits at the foot of the bed; i mean an abundance of life. the distribution is disastrously uneven. but the average is high. we emerge into a life which assumes we will stay for a long, long time, which fluffs the pillows and plans the high school graduations and sets aside money in a bank account for our first car, our second apartment, our third lover. we emerge into celebration. happy birthday. cue candles. cue applause.

but on a purely individual level, is it really that bad to be gorilla-glued to life? should we expect the other shoe to drop at thirty instead? what about the mid-life crisis? what about the cat on the windowsill? as death grows to terrify us, so does life. they are two sides of a coin which, when flipped, always lands heads-up. but i propose a counter-argument. i propose joy. joy in standing in the supermarket and running your hands across rows of blushing apples. joy in starting an argument you know you will win. joy in waking up to the shrill screech of your alarm only to discover that today's morning classes have been canceled due to the snow piled up outside your window. we have progressed too far down the yellow brick path to be caught up in false dichotomies. you can love something you fear. you can soak yourself in it, drench yourself in it, tip it down your throat like champagne. flip a coin and it lands both sides up. flip two coins. flip the table and sit on its belly for a while.

are we done here? never. not in a thousand years.

06.04.21

#the author would like to add at this point that foucault's point re: life is that the state deployed biopower to control it #and this was not very great #think family growth policies or the obsession with the birth rate and population growth. not very great indeed #however the author did not start this blog to talk about the state as they do this enough in their stupid papers #so they will talk about the individual instead. because it's summer. and summer is about the self (yahoo answers said so)

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teaandsmut · 3 years

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@baggebythesea sent me the following questions:

What makes the Glitra ship compelling to write, to you?

What is most and least fun with writing Glimmer as a character?

What is most and least fun with writing Catra as a character?

Which is your favorite She-Ra character to write except those two?

During what part of the She-Ra time-line do you prefer to place your fics? Why?

Is there anything you like writing that comes easier to you in the She-Ra fandom than in other fandoms? Harder?

Answers below the read more because the first one got a bit long!

What makes the Glitra ship compelling to write, to you?

I started shipping them the second it occurred to me, then I really fell for it almost immediately afterwards when it occurred to me that Glimmer had the potential to really understand Catra and be influential in her story given the chance. That was after season 2, so you can imagine how delighted I was by the end of season 4!

(TL;DR of what follows: It’s the “two sides of the same coin” thing.)

I really love their ability to push each other and push back just as hard. I love how they can see their own best and worst in the other, maybe only subconsciously at first. It infuriates them but draws them to the other at the same time, and eventually forces them to confront that trait in themselves and figure out how to embrace or deal with it. I enjoy writing the different stages of that.

I love their whole parallels/narrative foils thing, particularly the foils part where their differences are highlighted by their similarities. They have similar temperaments (volatile, determined, passionate), relationships (e.g. being undermined and underestimated by Adora, wanting to prove to their parental figure just how capable they are), and actions (where they’ve taken things too far). But those all have differences. Like Catra’s temperament is altered by the coping mechanisms and responses to her abusive upbringing while Glimmer’s is softened by growing up with Bow and in a loving environment. People assume the worst of Catra and the best of Glimmer, and usually see the worst and best of them too. Glimmer’s parent held her back because she thought she was worth so much, Catra’s parental figure held her back because she thought she was worthless. It’s no wonder that Glimmer made a different choice when faced with a similar situation to Catra, but they didn’t know that yet. It’s all just so interesting to unpick.

I absolutely love a ship that’s two similar characters on opposite sides of a moral line but not really so different despite what they like to think, and they are irritatingly the only one who is really on their level. (Like the Master/the Doctor in Doctor Who, Sherlock/Moriarty, or Crowley/Aziraphale in Good Omens.) They clash because they are on the same wavelength but jarringly out of sync, but eventually they resonate in time with each other. They show black and white morality up as a myth, and a potentially harmful one, which I enjoy writing**. They have to bring their A game for each other in a way no one else demands, which brings out their worst and maybe one day brings out their best. I LOVE IT.

Which is the other reason I find them compelling to write. I like the idea that they would inspire and maybe even support change in each other, but it’s not all for the other one. Maybe they also do good things for the sake of each other, but not solely because they like them and/or want something back. I like to think that they’d change each other for the better by helping them see other ways and reasons to change. [cries over For Good from Wicked being a Glitra song.]

I also really like writing them loving and believing in each other when they struggle to do the same for themselves, and maybe one day they can do the same for themselves as a result. Just for one of the reasons that I enjoy villains and hero/villain ships in general: because the concept of “even they can be loved” is a balm for my soul.

I just really, really love them 😭

**In my non-fandom life, I study a type of applied ethics. I also spend a truly irritating amount of my time worrying over the morally right thing to do in my daily life, which is probably how I ended up studying this. I really enjoy being able to just spend some time in a world where things aren’t all right or all wrong, without having to land at a neat and tidy final judgement.

What is most and least fun with writing Glimmer as a character?

(Short answers because I spent all my time on that one!)

Most fun: writing her being happy and exuberant. I did enjoy writing her darker side in season 4 TD too.

Least fun: writing her grief.

What is most and least fun with writing Catra as a character?

Most fun: hm, it used to be writing her being very mean, but now I’m not sure... I actually think it’s any time she lets herself be a tiny bit happy!

Least fun: currently it’s writing her relationship with Adora in TD, because it makes me so sad :( It’s obviously different to canon, and it’s going to end positively, but for now it’s just sad that they got so messed up and can’t get past it yet.

Which is your favorite She-Ra character to write except those two?

Easy: Double Trouble!

During what part of the She-Ra time-line do you prefer to place your fics? Why?

For Catradora, seasons 1-3. I found their dynamic during that time fun to play around with. I imagined some previously unexplored mutual crush drove their earlier dynamics, then their hurt feelings as time went on. The way their relationship was resolved didn’t work for me personally (as a shipper, my queer heart was very happy), so it’s the earlier stages that I prefer for writing them. But not pre-canon, I find the relationship we see in flashbacks too sad.

For Glitra, literally any time! I’ve only written from season 2 onwards (including post-canon). It’s more fun once they’ve built up a relationship, but I do find it fun to imagine how things could have gone differently if they’d connected earlier, including pre-canon.

Is there anything you like writing that comes easier to you in the She-Ra fandom than in other fandoms? Harder?

The other fandom I’ve written for is Steven Universe. While I did try to extrapolate or imagine the emotions for the characters in my SU fics, I find that for She-Ra there are far more readily available emotions to lean into and work with, so I find writing the emotional side easier with She-Ra fics.

Possibly because in She-Ra a lot of the characters’ arcs are tied to intense interpersonal feelings, compared to in SU where non-interpersonal issues were more often the source of their feelings for the characters/scenarios I wrote. I know there’s more than interpersonal issues but that’s usually what’s most relevant for the smut-with-feelings/romance that I usually write. I often had to go back through my SU fics to edit in some indication of how they were feeling!

Thank you very much for the interesting questions! :D I hope the answers were interesting enough too!

#this probably has mistakes but also it's my bedtime so it'll have to do for now #these were fun to answer!#asks

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hankwritten · 3 years

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TFComics Rewrite

I am currently plotting an outline for a TFComics, and I want to get my thoughts about fixes to canon and possibly get feedback. Since this is a rewrite there’s really no *spoilers* or anything, so I’m willing to answer all questions about what I plan to do. Also some characters I’m not so sure about how I want to retool them, so if your have ideas for your fav let me know!

Disclaimer:

This rewrite is intended to critique the content/choices made in the construction and telling of the Team Fortress 2 comic series. It is not a personal attack on the artists/writers/directors or any of the creatives that made contributions to this series, nor is it meant to substitute or replace the official release. This work is transformative in nature, and relies on an understanding of the source material to be understood. TF2 and its characters belong to Valve.

TFCR is working on the assumption that the audience has read the original comic, and as such will skip over scenes and plot points that are unchanged from the original. I don’t think it needs to be said, but this fanfiction will not make sense if you are not familiar with the source.

I also recognize that there are strengths within the comic’s writing and weaknesses within my own. Namely, that Valve writers are gods in the realm of comedy, and I’d rather not try to match them in the regard. As such, I will state up front that these will not be as funny as the TFComics. That is not to say there won’t be jokes (either ones transplanted from the source or some of my own) or that the tone of this will be terribly grimdark, only that my focus will be on improving story structure and character development as those are what appeal to me.

The Broad Strokes

The goal of TFCR is to give a more engaging story for all the mercenaries we know and love, as--let’s face it--the TF2 mercs are side characters in their own damn story. These are some of the planned improvements.

There will be reason for each of the mercs to actually be there. As it stands, the motivations for almost every character besides Pauling and Saxton Hale are vague and unsatisfying. We’d usually say something along the lines of “money” for hired killers, but clearly Scout doesn’t even know if they’re getting paid, and some of the other characters are even worse. The hunt for the Australium is, therefore, boring. MacGuffins usually are, but at the very least the characters should care about the item even if the audience doesn’t. This work aims to give each of the nine mercs a motive and a reason to be in the story instead of just replaceable joke dispensers.

Explain what “Team Fortress” means, and how it relates to RED and BLU. Long and short: the nine mercenaries we see on the team are not from either RED or BLU but rotate between the two, and were the individuals selected to fight the robots. That means all things do happen to all characters. As Valve pretty much goes with “whatever is funniest at the time”, it’s very hard to make a cohesive theory about “where the hell is BLU team?”, but I’ll do my damndest. We’ll also examine Team Fortress’s relationship with the other capital T Teams, and why they’re considered the “rejects” of the bunch.

Comics 1 & 2 will be removed from the timeline as they serve no purpose, only taking what needs to be known about the plot’s setup and jumping straight to A Cold Day in Hell.

We will introduce the Classic Mercs right away so they can generate threat and play against the TF mercs when they do actually meet head to head.

We will not be killing off Gray Mann. (Not preemptively anyway.) In fact, there will be more focus on him and Olivia as villains facing off against the Admin, providing her foil as the TF2 and TFC mercs provide foils for each other.

I considered waiting until the final comic was out to begin working on this, but that may never happen. Jay Pinkerton said he may reveal what plot they had in store eventually, but considering it took Half Life over a decade to get the “I was once a Valve writer but my NDA has expired and now I can go buck wild” treatment, I’m not holding my breath. The main reason I wanted to do this is that the Administrator’s motivations are not interestingly foreshadowed, to the point where there aren’t even any good fan theories out there. That said, WritingDispenser and Riddle of the Sphinx helped come up with a pretty fun one, which was actually the inspiration for me to get off my butt and start plotting this.

There will be no queerbaiting. This refers both to HeavyMedic (which has been simultaneously used as wink wink nudge nudge joke many times and as encouragement for fans to play their stupid hat game) as well as lesbian Pauling (since femme lesbians are the preferred method for front facing LGBT representation across almost all media, but video games especially). If you need to understand why lesbian Pauling is an issue, Sarah Z coined the term “queercatching” in order to describe word of god confirmations on characters sexualities that are not followed up on in the text. I recommend the full video on it.

Due to the importance of immortality in the theming of the comics, respawn will not be a thing. Deaths we think should have happened previously will be explained as close calls, or that Medic can heal a short time after death. Medic and Scout’s deaths will be cut in the story itself, as after Sniper died and came back, them doing the same thing kinda lost their punch.

Scout

There will be no ScoutPauling hints. It doesn’t make sense to give screentime to this relationship because Valve obviously doesn’t think it’s going to go anywhere so why make Scout turn down advances from other hot women? I mean I get Expiration Date was a Thing but it feels like Scout’s whole motivation shouldn’t be reduced down to chasing a girl who doesn’t like him back.

He’s here because he lost his life’s savings in bad investments and needs the money. That’s it. Which is still somehow more than his canon motive which is question mark question mark question mark

He, Soldier, Spy, Demo, and Pyro all start the adventure with Miss Pauling.

Engages with Heavy on a genuine level when they go to collect him, Heavy doesn’t blow him off when he tries to level about dead dads.

There will be no DadSpy reveal. The way Spy treats Scout has never been “deadbeat dad feels bad about abandoning his kid” but more “this is someone I would kill without a second thought if I felt like it” which makes his reveal in comic 5 feel very disingenuous. I don’t think Valve even had this plotline in mind until comic 3, as #2 still has Spy seeming only to care about Scout’s Ma and not Scout himself. It also makes “seduce me!” retroactively weird.

Uhhh hooks up with Zhanna. This one isn’t critical I just think it’s funny.

Soldier

Soldier is going to be the Ur example of the Admin not treating her people well, as we’re going to lean into the whole “Soldier was only mildly messed up until the whole lead poisoning” thing.

He’s here because he’s blindingly loyal to the cause. He’s actually going to very little from canon because of this actually.

Might be the reason Team Fortress has a reputation of being the lower tiers of the Teams, but that doesn’t mean he’s damn good at his job. Fatal flaw is that he’s unstable, and even though the courthouse plotline won’t be in this fic, it should be noted that he actually does cause problems for the other protagonists due to his short temper. He’s a risky asset, but still essential.

There will be a minor explanation for the WAR! Comic, but I think that’s better saved for Demo’s analysis.

Pyro

Pyro is the character you could cut entirely from the comics and have the least change. Now, they’re going to be Pauling’s right hand. Let me explain.

Engineer and Pyro are implied to live together, and Pyro doesn’t have anything better to do than go with Engie after Team Fortress is disbanded. Rather than having a reveal, we will see some of what is going on with the Admin and friends early on, and see what leads up to her sending Miss P the note that kicks off the whole plot. However, while Engie needs to stay and look after her, Pyro’s skills aren’t useful here, and they are sent as a direct messenger to help Pauling.

They’re loyal, and unlike Soldier rarely mess up orders. They’re also partially mute, making them ideal for handling sensitive info. Pauling trusts them to handle the burning of “Elizabeth’s” paper trail.

Will be using they/them in the narrative voice, but other characters will refer to them as he/him. I considered going with it/its because that’s bubbled up in popularity again, but ultimately I decided against it.

We’ll get glimpses to their train of thought, but like the comics they will remain virtually silent.

Demo

Demo’s role in the cast is going to be very similar to Spy’s. The events of WAR! involved him nearly dying and Soldier taking the win, and he’s very bitter that after all those events *apparently* mercs can just be switched around teams willy nilly and don’t have to kill each other anymore. (As the audience, we know this is because the Admin found out the “make them so angry they won’t ask questions” wasn’t a long-term viable solution, and instead brought TFI forward as a neutral third party that was pretending to mediate the gravel wars.) But Demo’s suspicious, and is only along because he really has been miserable since he lost his job.

This conflict will eventually come to a head, more on that in the Sniper section.

Is fairly forgiving with his teammates. Doesn’t like Sniper but I’m willing to drop a little angst during that submarine scene. Is glad to see Medic actually. Here to be some glue to hold this merry band together.

The Eyelander will not be forgotten after 2 comics because I love this character concept and I think it was underutilized.

Drunk jokes will be kept to a minimum. What I liked about WAR! and Bombinomicon was that it took Demo and showed that they knew how to make him funny without making him one note, which they sort of did in the early TFComics but stopped in the later ones in favor of him….being asleep for the whole plot. I promise 100% awake Demo in my rewrite.

Demo likes Pauling on a personal level, but has trouble reconciling her with his feelings on TFI.

Doesn’t get knocked out by moonshine because. Seriously? Poisoning the Demoman with alcohol? In what world does that work.

Heavy

Not too much to change. Scout doesn’t accompany him when he goes to look for the secret Australium cache, and he engages with Mags and Saxton (which will be when the audience finds out what they’ve been up to) and actually cares about what’s going on with them. He thinks Darling is up to something. Which he is, he’s attempting to unseat both Gray and Helen due to long family history.

Will at least mention Medic. Their reunion falls a little flat since it mostly relies on Meet the Medic for context, as they don’t really interact in the comic. There can be a bit of a flashback to what it was like as all these mercs broke up.

I know uhhh Valve seems to think found family is really dumb, and that these murderers could ever like each other is silly or something, but the mercs do? Like each other? For the most part anyways.

Bronislava and Yana come alone for adventures, not just Zhanna. Again, no real reason, but sometimes I get to have tacky fanfic stuff in my own fanfic because I Wanna.

Engineer

Engie ruminates on his family history of allowing all this bullshit to happen and just kind of shrugging. Basically Moss’s analysis of the Conagher themes.

Has put a lot of time, sweat, and tears into BLU and now TFI, isn’t willing to let it fall now, even if Admin is basically living on borrowed time. He’s doing this because of the ‘ole sunk cost fallacy.

Also we get to see more of Pauling and Admin’s relationship through his eyes.

Medic

Congrats on being the one merc with an actual arc, Medic! As a reward, you will not be changed much.

I’m actually going to use Medic’s section to say that the Classic mercs will be referred to by their first names in order to differentiate them, and we’ll get little previews of what they’re like from Medic’s perspective before we actually see them fight Team fortress. The battle at the submarine will be more of a fight in this sense, working it out so it seems like surrender is the only option after Sniper is killed.

Final fight with Cheavy will be...not blocked so awkwardly. I mean this is now a textual medium so my work is already halfway done, but still the pacing is so weird. Shudder.

Sniper

These are the big guns. Most changes, even more than Demo. He’s been actually hunting for New Zealand/the Australium cache on his own, and doesn’t want Pauling interfering, saying for a he knows she could have been the ones to kill his adoptive parents.

(She hasn’t, but the Admin did actually order them killed in an attempt to stop Sniper because she thought she could prevent the exact thing that is going on right now which is that Sniper is considering trying to get at it.)

Sniper doesn’t know this, but Pauling, Demo, and Spy eventually convince him to share his findings and help them get to New Zealand.

Spy

Similar to Demo but is less conflicted about it. He knows just because he likes someone doesn’t mean he won’t have to kill them later.

Spy knows about who killed Sniper’s parents, and tells Demo, sort of as a test to see where his loyalties lie. He also knows that Pyro is Pauling’s confidant for certain things.

Demo questions him about what he’s doing here, whose side he’s really on. But you know. Spy is Spy and he was never really on anyone’s side but his own. When it comes down to it, it might be exactly as Scout thinks: that he’s ditched them all and run off when he had the opportunity. But, big damn hero, comes back in the end.

He’s here mainly to “keep an eye on things.” Also maybe because his gf asked him to keep an eye on her son :)

#tf comics rewrite #tf2 meta

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danwhobrowses · 4 years

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Is Zuko the Best Redemption Arc Ever?

Now, I love ATLA and the character build of Zuko is great, I am not doubting that. But given my experience watching many other shows, I get to the point where I wonder why many fans cite Zuko as the template for a redemption Arc Because there are other great redemption stories out there. Spoilers Are Gonna Be Below For Some Shows, be Careful

The Art of Zuko’s Redemption

I have to repeat, Zuko’s redemption is brilliant. I believe this is mainly because the show slowly humanized him throughout the story as a parallel to Aang’s adventure. Zuko was never just ‘the villain’, he was the other side to Aang’s coin; where Aang seemed to avoid destiny Zuko coveted his desperately, his ‘honour’ had to be restored. Even through Book 1 we are provided with characters like Zhao who undermine Zuko in a way that made the audience root for the banished prince, we learned that his villainy was bred from tragedy and that in reality he was a victim. By Book 2 we saw Zuko try to avoid the life he strived for when Aang pushed further to complete his destiny, ‘Zuko Alone’ also fleshed him out more, showing how his heart is good but his image casts too large of a shadow to escape, he helped those Earth Nation villagers but they still rejected him. The perception that came with his appearance was key to Azula being able to lure him back to his old ways, but in Book 3 we learn the important part of Zuko’s redemption - Regret. Zuko suffered confusion in Book 2 that led to a fever, but in Book 3 his mind was clear, he got what he wanted but it wasn’t what he needed, because he had learned more when banished than he ever did at home and his morality was still intact. After deciding to follow through with his instincts and leave on his own volition Zuko found better fulfillment working with Aang than against him, being willing to die for a vision of a better world. As a whole this is a great redemption, endeared by the fact that we saw Zuko grow, falter and learn. But, has redemption been done better by others? Darth Vader

ATLA stands strong on its own, but it owes a lot to Star Wars. Many narrative beats match the original trilogy and the role of Zuko is partly inspired by Darth Vader. Through expanded storytelling over the last 42 years, we know that Vader too was a victim of tragedy; the slave who had to leave his mother behind, talented but always the outcast, his love was a notion his mentors rejected and so he was in constant conflict with himself. But, Vader committed atrocities that are beyond ATLA’s rating level; unprejudiced slaughter, genocide and a library of war crimes. And yet, Vader has a background redemption arc that is highly celebrated, Vader was considered ‘too far gone’ but the very thing that made him susceptible to the dark is what brought him to the light, his love. Redemption isn’t always clean either, Vader went through continual torment, even admitting to Luke that he could not go back to that way and he had accepted himself as merely a monstrous pawn of the Emperor (with deep impulses to overthrow him), instead Vader chooses to cut the head off the snake, at risk of his own life. What completed Vader’s redemption was the fact that he didn’t survive, he atones but isn’t forgiven. Van Hohenheim

A similar arc is found in Fullmetal Alchemist (in the anime it’s the Brotherhood one) with Ed’s estranged father. From the perspective we’re given of him by the main character he was a cold and neglectful man. It’s only later after we discover that Hohenheim and the villainous doppelganger Father are not the same do we discover that there is more to Hohenheim than what we are told. The flashback of Xerxes unveils all to realise that Hohenheim again was a victim of tragedy, a slave and lone survivor of genocide, ‘gifted’ with near immortality by a creature he considered a friend and a teacher. Hohenheim’s redemption turns out to be a slow burner, his love for his family being the reason he distanced himself, he accepted odium from his eldest son in order to save him and the entire country from Father’s ploy, never expecting forgiveness and regretting every moment he was away. Like Vader, Hohenheim dies but it’s much more peaceful, his redemption was a story of perception and sacrifice, in the end, Hohenheim clinged to his humanity and it’s key to his victory over the Homunculus that deemed itself superior. So now we have 2 characters, born out of tragedy like Zuko but were redeemed in different ways. Currently we can suggest that Zuko’s redemption still has a loose template; character is misidentified by the audience, toils over doing what’s right and was a victim of tragedy at his youth. But there is another redemption story that is a little different. Himura Kenshin

Probably the core argument I have with ‘Zuko has the best redemption’ arc is the main character of Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X. While there are some similar beats, Kenshin’s journey is a lot different to Zuko’s, his redemption arc is the main point of the story. When we meet Kenshin, he’s lighthearted, kind and a little goofy, you would not expect this young man to be Battousai the Manslayer, an assassin for the Ishin Shishi during the end point of the Edo Period, and that’s because it isn’t. The Battousai was the monster deep within him born from bloodshed and a war he willingly entered, unlike the other 3 who were forced or manipulated into downfall. Kenshin’s road to redemption begins with tragedy with the death of his wife Tomoe accidentally by his own hands, having previously murdered her initial fiance (something he learned after her death) during his time as an assassin, it is the pivotal moment when Kenshin turns his back on the life he lived, opting to become a peaceful protector rather than a bloody assassin. What makes Kenshin’s redemption so great is how he’s constantly having his redemption challenged, his notoriety had invited strong and vicious people to try and bring out the Battousai within him for hopes of glory, but each time Kenshin overcomes it and still manages to remain the Rurouni - a lot of the time with the help of his friends - he wished to be. Even when he willingly goes back into the warzone to fight Shishio he manages to return with his soul intact and rediscovering his own will to live, something he had rejected because he felt unworthy of it. Depending on whether you watched the anime or manga, Kenshin’s redemption ends two ways; in the anime’s OVA ‘Reflection’ he dies of disease returning to Kaoru after helping protect people from the Sino-Japanese War his X-shaped scar faded as his repentance comes to an end. The canon manga ending has Kenshin come to full terms with his past and live an actual life with Kaoru. Personally, I prefer Kenshin’s journey to Zuko’s, although Zuko’s got a strong story of admitting fault after undoing progress Kenshin regained all his humanity and in the end earned a life he would’ve never even dreamed of. But that’s a subjective view. Conclusion Compared to Zuko, there are other great redemption stories out there, some even I haven’t seen yet and thus haven’t cited, or some I have seen but didn’t cite because I didn’t want this to be too long (Stitch and until the next book comes out, Book!Jamie Lannister). However through these stories it’s clear that there is no true ‘template’ to a redemption story, the art of the redemption depends on how far the redeemed has fallen and what they do to be redeemed. So, is Zuko the best redemption arc Ever? Not for me, but it’s a mighty good one, and it would be a disservice to other great redemption arcs to not spotlight them as well.

#atla #avatar #zuko #atla zuko #zuko redemption #redemption #redemption arc #star wars #darth vader #fma #fmab #van hohenheim #fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #hohenheim #rurouni kenshin #samurai x #himura kenshin #kenshin himura

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nomnomzombies · 5 years

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Gold and Silver--Two Sides of the Same Coin

TW: discussion of mental illness, rape, and suicidal ideations

First and foremost, thank you so much to your overwhelming support of my 8x04 analysis, even though it wasn’t totally finished. As I was working on an outline to finish it up, something.... grew out of it.

The themes I discussed in my previous essay addressed Identity and Accountability—but I’ve long believed that identity is a core principle of the themes explored throughout all of ASoIaF. That assertion may feel a little superficial in a world that’s dictated by ruling houses and are characterized by their sigils; a name is as powerful as a sword in Westeros. But the story we’ve all tuned in for is the characters. We’ve watched them on this transformative journey to understand where they were, where they are, and where they’re going. While we may or may not like what we understood of their journeys so far and what’s happening now, I think it’s important to sometimes take a step back and reevaluate everything we think we know. Because, let’s face it, the ending that we’re barreling towards is 100% Made in by Martin. While I’ve remained adamant that Dark/MQ Dan has been in the making for a long time—I'm passionate about understanding the other perspective. A common complaint that I’ve heard about MQD is that we already have a “Mad Queen” Cersei. Isn’t this redundant? Why are we pitting women against each other? Making Dan Mad Queen devalues Cersei’s arc/Mad Queen Dan is an injustice to Dan’s arc. But the question begins to take root—was there somewhere else we could have been looking for this ending? Were there other parallels we could have made that would have enlightened us to this transformation of Dan’s character? The last few weeks, I’ve been making offhanded comments about how if we were watching the show about Robert’s Rebellion and his early reign, would we be rooting for Cersei as our defensible, ruthless feminist icon? Has it really been there the whole time?

I’m primarily going to be citing the show with reinforcement from the text since I have incredibly poor organizational skills and I don’t know an effective way to look up specific quotes without leafing through a 500+ pg tome for twenty minutes at a crack.

Shall we begin?

The Proud Lion and the Beggar King

Cersei and Jaime’s relationship is a cornerstone of the series. We understand that the romance is forbidden, but we’re also coerced into justifying its legitimacy on the precedent that the Targaryens set throughout their entire reign. The characters themselves have had conversations where they verbalize these facts to not only one another but also in their defense to the other characters. Similarly, when we begin the narrative, Daenerys is accompanied by Viserys in Pentos and we’re confronted with this abusive and incestuous dynamic. Vis is very quick to bring up that they lived their lives with the understanding that they’d most likely be married to one another. Immediately, this parallel has become perpendicular. While Jaime and Cersei’s relationship is equally as abusive and manipulative under the surface, for different reasons we’re unsettled by Viserys’ outward physical, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse of his sister (seriously, what a piece of trash). While Jaime and Cersei have willingly engaged with one another, the dynamic is monumentally less consensual between the silver siblings. Continuing with this inverted parallel, we follow the four siblings throughout the first half of season/book one and see the power dynamic at play. Cersei is Robert’s queen, and we know that Jaime took the position with the King’s Guard to be closer to Cersei because otherwise Tywin would have forced Jaime to wed just as he brokered Cersei’s engagement (and subsequent coronation). Conversely, we see Viserys brokering the marriage between Daenerys and Khal (King) Drogo (and Dan’s subsequent ‘coronation’) for similar political means. Viserys refuses to leave Daenerys’ side, not out of love, but out of insecurity and the need for Drogo to make good on his end of the agreement. Daenerys, throughout the entire wedding is lamenting, “I want to go home,” which us book readers know that she’s referring to the house in Braavos. Every time she expresses this, Viserys quickly snaps that “Home is Westeros.” “There is no home until I take back my crown.” “That which was stolen from us—the Iron Throne.” The first half of book/season 1, Dan doesn’t give two shits about the Iron Throne. She wants family, love, connection. And she eventually finds this with the Dothraki. Love and community is not something that Cersei found in her marriage with Robert, but rather power. She became The Queen, as Dan became The Khaleesi. It’s important to note that the episodes in which the Twins and the Targs are separated from their counterparts are subsequent. The separation of the siblings are nearly simultaneous events. “The Wolf and the Lion” is the episode in which Jaime attacks Ned Stark in the streets of King’s Landing, then leaves the city to join Tywin’s host. The twins are separated for the next 3 seasons. The next episode, “A Golden Crown,” is the episode in which Daenerys has Viserys killed. Though their separation is permanent, we’re constantly assaulted with parallels between Dan and Vis from season 7 onward. Viserys is not with her in mind nor body, but rather in essence. As much as we understand Cersei to be the new Aerys II Targaryen, we’re being shown now that Dan is the new Viserys.

A Bride for an Army; A Marriage for a Crown.

Although Dan’s wedding night is very different from the show to the books, Cersei’s is incredibly consistent. From Dan’s point of view in the show, we see her raped by Khal Drogo for the first time—in the books, however, we’re met with a less brutal version of events. Although she was incredibly anxious throughout the course of the wedding, Daenerys II closes off with a back and forth of “No.” (Dan) “No?” (Drogo) “Yes.” (Dan). It’s interesting to note that Dan knew nothing about Drogo before their “greeting” ceremony in Daenerys I, whereas Cersei describes “worshipping” Robert in the lead up to their wedding. Interestingly enough, Cersei’s exact quote describes Robert as “lean and black-bearded,” though this is probably little more than a coincidence.... it’s not like the two blonde queens share any other physical traits in common..... It’s not like we’re talking about The Golden Lioness and The Silver Queen, or anything...

Anywho.... So we go from this idyllic state and crash back down to earth. In the time following their weddings, both women experience periods of severe depression and suicidal ideations. As Dan is acclimating to her time in the Dothraki sea, she describes her legs and hands as blistered and raw, and Drogo proceeds to engage in intercourse in the face of her obvious agony. She does not refuse, and neither does Cersei, though her tactics are a bit more refined as she describes using “other ways to finish [Robert] off.” We also see Dan reaching out to Doreah, a bedslave, in order to make her consorts with Drogo more enjoyable. Both women found solutions to the same problem, to make the nightmare more livable. But in the period following the marriage, both found themselves in situations where they’d rather it end than face another day (Dan) or throw themselves off of the red keep (Cersei). What kept them both going? For Dan, it was the beginning of the dragon dreams. For Cersei, it was her children.... (It’s almost like dragons and children have a parallel for these two women?)

Regardless, they both have an “in” to political power through this marriage. They are both the queens to the strongest king in the land.

Fast forward to the end of season one, and another two significant events take place for these women. S1e7, “You Win or You Die” marks the episode when Robert returns from his boar hunt, on his deathbed. We understand, later, that Cersei was the catalyst of the events that lead to his injury. S1e8, “The Pointy End” is the episode when Dan implores Mirri Maz Durr to treat Drogo’s bicep injury. It’s noteworthy that the two womens’ motivations were entirely opposite; nevertheless, the actions taken and the sequence of events that followed are directly paralleled, particularly when you analyze the outcomes of both scenarios.

With Robert dead, and Drogo a husk, both of them ascend to a level of pseudo-power through their children. The last two episodes of season 1 mark the execution of Ned Stark and Joffrey’s rise to King, and Dan’s mercy-killing of Drogo and the blood sacrifice to birth the dragons. Both women spent the entirety of season 1 coming into a sense of agency and working to hone real power with lasting effects. The end of the season marks both of them moving into this new chapter of an elevated status (“Queen Mother” and “Mother of Dragons”). They’re far from achieving true power, but their game has now changed.

The Mother

As far as I’m aware, only the show mentioned that Cersei and Robert had a trueborn son together. In the scene where Cersei visits Catelyn over Bran’s sickbed in 1x02, she talks about losing the Baratheon heir to a fever. This parallels the death of Rhaegal in that both of them would be the only “legitimate” children that they would have. The other three children would either be illegitimate in lineage or..... species.

That’s really not where the parallels end between the six children, however, because as I talked about in my last essay (Identity and Accountability), the dragon and the throne have become direct symbols of the queens’ identity and power. We see this more fully-realized in later seasons, once Daenerys is able to ride Drogon into battle, and Cersei actually sits the throne, but the theory in its infancy still holds water because the children and the dragons are routes to power rather than power directly. People are still able to scoff at Cersei for being “Mother to the King” as they’re able to scoff at Dan’s dragons for being fledglings. The children and the dragons, themselves, hold power although they are not in positions to leverage it (even Joffrey, who fought so hard to be his own person and make his own decisions, was little more than a pawn, a vessel for Tywin, in the end).

Cersei receives a prophecy pertaining to her three children. By Maggy the Frog, “...you will have three. Gold their crowns, and gold their shrouds.” While the obvious answer is that they’ll have golden crowns because they’re monarchs (and in the books, the Dorne plot to make Myrcella queen) but at the same time, we need to recognize that their hair is also the staple Lannister Gold--“golden crown.” While we understand that the Baratheon heirs are 100% Lannister (much like Drogon is still 100% a dragon), they’re cloaked in the guise of the Baratheon name. Moreover, Joffrey understands Robert to be his true father, and commits atrocities throughout his lifetime hoping that he can win Robert’s approval. We see the Lannister identity, but particularly Cersei’s symbolic identity, cloaked under “Baratheon,” and as I’ve established, the children are Cersei’s link to her power--the throne.

Prior to hatching her dragons, Dan receives the Mirri Maz Durr prophecy that reveals she is now barren. Like Magy’s prophecy limited the number of children Cersei would bear, now Mirri’s would limit Dan’s. In spite of that, though, she uses blood magic--”only death can pay for life”--to attempt to hatch the dragons (It’s not explicitly stated in the books or show that she actually used blood magic, but it’s the best theory that explains why Dan was fireproof through the pyre scene, so I roll with it). Once the dragons hatch, they are Gold (Viserion, for Viserys), Green (Rhaegal, for Rhaegar), and Black/red (Drogon, for Drogo). Instantly, Dan is more connected to Drogon than the other two. Not only do they connect more quickly and more deeply than she does to the other two, but Drogon is described as growing more quickly and into a far stronger dragon. Before she knew any of this, though, she named him after her deceased first husband. What was meant to be a touching tribute, became the biggest clue to Dan’s source of power and identity, as Drogon is not only named after Khal Drogo, but he presents with the Targaryen house colours—red and black. So her most deeply rooted sense of identity is immediately linked to her fastest growing avenue to power, notoriety, and ambition.

Fast Forward to The Sons of the High Sparrow

I had an epiphany when I was analyzing the two characters’ arc, and I looked into the two major arcs that culminating in the two queens clashing in Westeros. In season 5, Dan is coping with the repercussions of the sacking of Slaver’s Bay and the Crucifixion of the Masters. Cersei is trying to manage the aftermath of Joffrey’s death, Tyrion’s trial, and Tywin’s murder. As I established in the last passage, the two of them are still using avenues to power, as their authority is under major scrutiny. With Tywin gone, Cersei has completely infiltrated the Small Council and is ruling in everything but title. Tommen is still king, and is married to Margaery this season. Dan is separated from Drogon. While she’s in Mereen, he’s awol eating children and burning shit (the usual). And, once again, because if indirect (yet painfully direct) action, the repercussions of their actions come to haunt them in the form of cultist insurgencies. Cersei takes the opportunity to elevate the High Sparrow in the wake of an embarrassing incident with the High Septon at a brothel. Dan’s impulsivity and reckless brutality in conquering Slaver’s Bay allowed the wounds of her arrogance to fester into the Sons of the Harpy (seriously—if she would have put the former masters to trial instead of crucifying them, she would have rooted out the SotH pretty damn quickly. But noooooooo Miss Injustice-with-”Justice”).

I’m going to take a second to note that A Feast for Crows (Cersei) and A Dance with Dragons (Daenerys) are parallel books. The narratives of the two are meant to be simultaneously occurring. So, even though seasons 4 and 5 turned out to be a jumble in terms of timeline and sequencing, these two storylines still ran side-by-side.

So s5e9, “The Dance of Dragons” culminates in Dan being forced out of Mereen by the SotH, rescued by Drogon, and is apprehended by the Dothraki. S5e10, “Mother’s Mercy,” shows Cersei’s High Sparrow arc climaxing with her Walk of Atonement. Parallel events could be seen as Dan’s apprehension at the hands of the Dothraki to Cersei being taken prisoner by the High Sparrow. Cersei’s walk of atonement would parallel Dan’s walk to Vaes Dothrak. Although Cersei is permitted to return to the Red Keep, she’s still awaiting trial. Although Dan is no longer in Mereen, she too is a prisoner awaiting trial. Cersei was stripped of her finery by the hands of the High Sparrow; Dan was stripped of hers by the Dosh Khaleen—both are regarded as the paramount of their religious institution. They’re both in a holding pattern for a time, but both eventually greet their trials with similar approaches. Dan actually attended her trial—though she had far less physical agency at the time. Long story short—they both avoided the consequences of their actions by burning down the religious center and simultaneously murdering EVERYBODY in seats of power. A one-and-done complete political overhaul and power acquisition. This isn’t the pseudo-power that we’ve seen up until now, either. Cersei’s actions lead to her taking the throne at the end of that episode. Following the burning of Vaes Dothrak, Dan is permanently reunited with Drogon—her symbol of power and identity—and she leads the charge of the Great Khalasar to Mereen. By the end of the season, both Dan and Cersei have successfully acquired unbridled power and are on a high-speed bullet train towards confrontation.

Conclusion

For some people, Dan’s behaviour throughout the conquest of Slaver’s Bay and the Great Grass Sea was enough of a tip towards her tyrannical nature. To everybody, the burning of the Sept of Baelor was Cersei’s branding of “Mad Queen.” But let’s also see her ascension for what it was: a power play in the face of grief. Even though Dan will face similar losses to Cersei throughout the course of s7 and s8, the losses that Cersei endured throughout s4-6 are what paved her way to the throne. Cersei would never have taken the throne from her children. She would have preferred Tommen to rule and remain the silent authority, maneuvering in the shadows. So much like the loss of Dan’s two dragons and Mis, and her mounting paranoia and insecurity following RLJ and the Northern plotline, Cersei’s rise to power is less about going mad and more about ambition in the face of tragedy and loss. Every decision she’s made has been slow, cold, and calculating. Cersei is weighing every decision heavily. This isn’t impulsive and reckless brutality. The paranoia is a common denominator between Aerys, Cersei, and Dan, but it is not the dominating factor. So is “Mad Queen” appropriate for either of them? Considering the parallels that I’ve outlined above, having Dan sack King’s Landing following the death of two of her children and her last remaining friend and advisor (The death of Cersei’s children and Tywin prior to taking the throne) only serves to compare the two even more.

#game of thrones #got #meta #my meta #mad queen #dark dany #khal drogo #viserys targaryen #cersei lannister #daenerys targaryen #mad queen dany #anti dany #anti daenerys #idk why I have to use the anti tag #Dan should feel lucky to be paralleled to Cersei #Cers is such an amazingly complex and multidimensional character

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