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sokkastyles · 14 days

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Hi,

Hope you are doing well. Thank you for the response on the previous query regarding Aang's lie on mastering the Avatar State. I have two things to ask on TSR.

Before I read your metas on TSR, I cam across the quote by Bryke on how Aang acts as a guide for Katara during her trip. After reading them I cannot take that quote seriously. Because one thing that got me thinking is this, when Aang tells Katara that she did the right thing by forgiving Yon Rah, Katara makes it clear that she did not forgive him and she never would. Its the delivery of the line that made me realize its said with clear certainty that she will not forgive Yon Rah ever. I know some think that Aang's advice helped her, but the fact that she does not say his advice helped her make her decision, makes it clear that the advice was ignored. I feel there should be a line stating whether his advice was of any use.

Secondly, there was this quote from Katara in "The Painted Lady" that she would never turn her back on those who required help. I can't help but wonder if this quote also explains why she decided to go after Yon Rah. If we use this quote, then going after the Southern Raiders was not pointless, it could prove to be crucial during the final part of the war. So why does Aang act like its pointless?

I would like your thoughts on this.

Yeah Bryke's comments directly contradict the dialogue at the end of the episode, which is not ambiguous.

As an aside, I would LOVE to have been a fly on the wall when Zuko told Aang what Katara did before the start of this conversation. What, exactly, did Zuko tell Aang that happened?

We know he must have told Aang that Katara did not kill Yon Rah, but then there's a deliberate choice to have Aang misunderstand what that choice meant. The dialogue did not have to be written this way, and the rest of the episode and series kind of ignores it, but it's still a choice to have Aang not only wrongly assume that Katara sparing Yon Rah means she forgave him, but to have him directly tell her that how he interpreted her actions was the right choice and he's "proud of her."

Aang could have asked her about what happened first, before assuming. Because the effect of having him say he's proud of her before really hearing from her about what happened implies that he is only proud of his version of events, and not hers. Because Katara then directly contradicts his version.

The way the dialogue is written also implies that Aang thinks forgiveness is a necessary step towards healing, so Katara might leave this conversation thinking Aang does not think she has truly healed or taken steps towards healing. Aang makes a lot of assumptions that don't make him look good, especially when Katara is admitting vulnerability to him about what happened. No wonder she chooses to ignore his comments and get her closure with Zuko instead.

It's actually kind of hilarious that the show does this and then acts like it never happened in terms of Aang and Katara's relationship, but then, we still have to remind ourselves that it was a narrative choice. The episode could have been written to affirm Bryke's vision of Aang as the angel on Katara's shoulder, but it wasn't. And it's also hilarious how Zuko comes out looking like the actual guardian angel on Katara's shoulder, the one that is by her side throughout the episode, the one who tells Aang about what she did, the one she actually finds closure with at the end of the episode.

As for the second part of your ask, it's one of the flaws of the way the show frames Katara going after Yon Rah as an unnecessary revenge quest. Imagine if it hadn't actually been framed that way, and instead the episode was written as one of the "monster of the week" episodes that the gaang has been through many times. Imagine the gaang coming across something in a village about the Southern Raiders, and Zuko saying "oh, yeah, I know those guys, they're still active," and the gaang deciding as a group that they need to be stopped.

It's because Katara has personal feelings about Yon Rah and wants to go after him herself that the show frames her actions as out of control and immoral, and I have a problem with that.

It also kind of reeks of a mindset that is actually very American. I've talked before about how this show was written in a post-911 America and how that influenced the writing. Another way is the idea of Aang as the world police. Katara going after Yon Rah herself feels very "don't let the brown victims of violence get justice, let the world police do it." There's this idea that Katara will be corrupted if she gets justice, whereas Aang is an impartial judge of how all peoples should get justice by virtue of being the Avatar. Which is whatever, because it's a fantasy show, but when people act like this line of thinking is above criticism, I do have to give pause.

#katara #the southern raiders #antikataang #atla critical

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tomatoland · 6 months

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The TopMew scene that was cut was redundant. We already know top is remorseful and Mew is angry. So I’m not surprised it was cut. He should have kept in the other Top scene though where he turned down the hook up. That would have been more impactful for the character.

Oops, I totally did not see this until now. I doubt you are still around, anon, but I’m going to answer this because I finally organized my thoughts.

I wasn't referring to just the break room scene in that post. It's a cascading effect. There is Mew's softened dialogue in EP 6 confrontation, the two previous cut TopMew scenes, and the break room scene. The fact that Jojo said he wish he kept those earlier two TopMew scenes should not be the case. He should not be regretting anything. Everything he wants to show us, should all be on the table. It is HIS art vision. And if they were not editing the episode the same week as it aired, he would have been able to realize that he wanted to put those scenes back in and done so.

That's what I meant by pacing and confirming the storyline is progressing the way he wants. But what is happening is one cut in one episode is leading to another cut in a future episode because there is no basis for the action anymore. As a result, we are losing overall continuity. And who knows what else they'll have to cut because of the editing choices they've already made. Which is why I am worried, they won't have the scenes left to make this a satisfying TopMew reunion at the rate they are going.

I wish we didn't have the interview where Jojo said that because it's making me not trust him with TopMew anymore. If he realized earlier that those scenes didn't fit, they should have done re-shoots but instead we just have cascading cuts.

Removing all these scenes is removing depth from TopMew. It is making them into surface characters. And none of this deleted footage is canon so there is that too.

Yes, definitely, the scene were Top is trying to move on is incredibly important to learning about Top and how he feels about Mew. And they should have kept that regardless of what random people in the fandom think.

But even the deleted scene of Mew's revenge fantasy of wanting to physically hurt Top from episode 7 is important because it provides a basis for his violent thoughts and words in the break room scene. I wish they had shown it at least the TopMew portion as a flash like an intrusive thought while he was in the tub. Everyone has intrusive thoughts, right? No one could fault Mew for that.

So by not showing us that Mew has had violent thoughts, now Mew's anger in the break room scene seems to come out of nowhere so it no longer fit.

I don't agree about the break room scene being redundant. The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.

So instead of knowing that Mew is still incredibly angry and therefore his actions are irrational, what we got was Mew saying "okay" to trying it again with Top here by the pool and then at the end of the episode, inviting Boeing to go wakeboarding with them and saying shit like this to him.

Oops. I meant to cut the collage below in half, but I’ve already hit 10 images, so read left column and right column separately.

Now, Mew just seems wishy-washy. I would rather have seen the depth of Mew's pain and rage then absolutely nothing at all, his indeterminable poker face however sweet it looks.

Mew being wishy-washy/indifferent or just deciding to get back at Top on any given random day means their relationship doesn't have a viable path forward right now. Because if they cannot communicate honestly and vulnerably about what happened with Boston, their relationship cannot ever heal and get healthy. They'll just always be stepping around the cracks. This is the albatross I was referring to in this post.

Mew has never broken down and cried. We've gotten the lone tear, here or there. And we know from this BTS that they have footage of Book crying his heart out. As the viewer, we haven't seen it because Jojo is not painting us a picture.

But removing the break room scene also removed depth from Top too and TopMew's relationship in general.

It shows us that Top is really sorry and willing to show with actions not just with his words that he wants Mew to move forward, so THEY can move forward. Him being unsure of how to handle a wrathful Mew, but still wanting to try. Him saying he already talked to Boeing, since Mew is deeply insecure about him. Him holding Mew's hand and trying to break down this fortress Mew has built around his heart piece by piece.

The song I posted of what I thought the scene could be saying if it had stayed in. Top's POV: "Love, I don't know how this shit works, but I know we could work things out if we just work together." And that's the key phrase "work together."

And this appeasement photo and answering a fan's tweet that we're going to see happy Mew soon. Jojo thinks we're so dumb.

All I want to do is scream back, "But are they ever going to TALK?!" TopMew cannot just solve this with sex. We need soul vulnerability. And I'm bloody annoyed because prior to episode 10 that is literally all they needed, but instead TopMew went backwards.

#topmew #ofts #only friends the series #tomat answers #asks #top tanin #mew witsarut

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belladonna-and-the-sweetpeas · 3 months

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I am blocking all last twilight tags and mentions for a while because I'm still sitting with how it made me feel and how the story went before I read what other people have written. I have no idea if this is being talked about or what the general feeling is, except based on what has been said about previous episodes.

One thing I want to say is, if I had an option to remove all my pain overnight, I would do it. And I don't think that removing my pain would negate all of the experiences and learning and growth that I've done in my life, either because of or despite my disability. Please think about that before saying that removing someone's disability automatically negates their growth or makes their character arc redundant.

It's something that has made me quite uncomfortable since I first saw people talking like Day regaining his sight would make everything he's gone through meaningless. As if it's the worst possible decision a writer could make is having a character with a treatable disability have that disability treated.... Why would it make it meaningless? If you broke your arm and learnt to rely on people until it healed, would getting the use of your arm back negate everything that happened while you couldn't use your arm?

Day got his degree, he opened a bookstore, he did all of that while blind, and, yes, he also had a corneal transplant that restored his sight. From my research that's actually a pretty common outcome for people who have vision impairment due to corneal deterioration. In the US, at least, there often isn't even a long waiting list for corneal donations and the success rate is high, with multiple transplants happening if the first isn't successful. This is not an unrealistic ending from a medical perspective.

I don't really have any other point or want to start a huge discussion or anything, this is just something I feel strongly enough to write about. And of course, everyone with a disability (related to vision or not) will have different opinions on this, which are equally valid.

#last twilight

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vintagemulti · 2 years

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glass and glue

pairings: mainly marc spector x reader, talk of steven grant x reader

desc: marc swore it would be the last time. who knows, maybe it would be.

warnings: episode five spoilers, talk of injury (it’s healing but still), alcohol mentions, swearing, angst, a fairly toxic relationship, mentions of physical abuse (there’s like two), hurt/comfort, smoking, sex mentions, guns, death

a/n: part two blew up so here’s a part three for thanks ;) … this could be a series? lmk

masterlist

series masterlist

marc - ever so generous, had given you a four day stretch with steven, although you were almost sure he was taking his body during the night. the unexplainable bruises and scrapes couldn’t all be countertops and mosquito bites, after all. but nonetheless, for four whole days you had been graced with steven.

but all that’s good must come to an end, as you were about to find out.

the coffee in your hand was balanced like some kind of circus act, even you were surprised when you opened the hotel room door and you didn’t spill it all over the floor.

you stepped into the room, and stopped almost as soon as your body was over the threshold.

the air was different. there was no music playing, the bed hadn’t been made, it smelt different.

marc.

walking to the bedside table, you put the two coffees down, hoping they wouldn’t be thrown at you next.

you walked to the balcony, sliding the glass door open and pulling out the pack of cigarettes from your back pocket and lighting one with the bright orange zippo lighter you bought upon arrival in egypt - you’d had a premonition you’d need a spare one.

“those’ll kill you, you know?” you didn’t need to turn around - the accent spoke for itself.

nodding, you took another drag. “and how unfortunate that would be, right?”

only then did you turn, leaning on your elbows against the railing and looking at your husband. somehow, even if he hadn’t said a word, you still would’ve know it was marc.

his eyes were more hooded, his hair parted a different way - although it was normally pushed back. marc looked, funnily enough, older than steven. everything about him was older, from the way he carried himself, to his knowledge, his experience. his kill count was high enough for a dozen lifetimes, though.

marc scoffed a little, but you couldn’t quite tell where this was headed. was he really mad, after seeing you for only a few seconds? part of you hoped he wasn’t, but the other part longed for steven once again.

“look, marc,” you took another drag. “if you’re gonna yell, yell now. i think there’s a bottle or two in the room you can empty, and please stand a bit further back if you want to throw-”

“i’m sorry.”

your head snapped up. smoke poured out of your mouth, fogging your vision a little - but it wasn’t your vision you thought was going. “what?”

“i’m sorry, y/n.”

“wow,” you extended the syllable although you said it so quietly you weren’t sure if you’d said it at all. “we’ve been married for what? eight years? nine?”

marc nodded.

“and this is the first time you’ve apologised after a fight.”

he nodded again, eyes failing to meet yours. his hands were tangled in each other, fidgeting. “something like that.”

you raised your eyebrows, taking one final, long drag before putting the cigarette out on the railing. you felt the smoke hit your lungs, something that - even though you knew it would come back to bite you in the ass - had brought you comfort since you were a teenager. from stress, sadness, anger - which is why your smoking habit seemed to double after you and marc got married. funny coincidence, right?

walking to where he was stood, between the balcony and the room, you exhaled, blowing the smoke right into his face.

he waved his hand in front of his face, clearing his view. “come on, y/n, please-”

“what, marc? please what? please come to bed so we can forget about this? please shut up and be a good wife? we took the obey part out of our vows for a reason.”

“not like that,” he slid the balcony door shut. “can we please just talk about this?”

another first - talking was never marc’s forte. he liked to put his mouth to other good uses.

you looked at him for a minute, before sighing and shaking your head. “fine, fine.”

he nodded in thanks, taking a deep breath - like a kid before presenting to the class.

“y/n, i know that we don’t… we haven’t had the best marriage - but i’ve been thinking, i’ve had a lot of time to think - i think it wouldn’t be so bad for us to see a marriage counsellor.”

you couldn’t lie, the idea had been on your mind for quite some time now - about three fights ago you had realised that whatever you and marc had going on, it wasn’t healthy. not anymore.

“i know that it doesn’t seem like it, but i do love you, y/n. i fucking adore you, i just- i can’t… i can’t give you a reason why, but the last few years - especially after- well, you know.”

and you did know. his mom’s death had hit him harder than anything, especially after his childhood. he felt like he wasn’t allowed to grieve, but as you had tried to explain, she was still his mother. there was good in the memories, somewhere, you knew there was something for him to hold onto.

sure, you hated the woman and never had a chance to meet her (not that you would have taken it, anyway) but she was your mother in law. she created the best and worst parts of your husband - of all him.

so, her death didn’t affect you much, not initially. it seemed to be marc it had an effect on, from the second his dad called him and told him. what did effect you was his sadness - he was arguing less, drinking more, and for the first time, he was opening up to you. he cried his heart out, and every time he did you pretended not to notice how he had to stop his eyes rolling back into his head.

that’s all of the affect it had in you, for a short while, anyway.

but after her shiva, even you had noticed that steven began fronting more often, and marc was losing control of when it would happen. not that you minded - marc had told you about him early into your marriage, and steven had fronted for the first time with you a few weeks after your wedding, sure he was a little startled, but he came to love you just as much as marc did.

it was around that time that you realised something, something you never said to marc. he was adamant that he was the one protecting steven, but after you watched him on that street, you knew one thing for certain. marc was never steven’s protector. steven was his.

you nodded, pulling yourself out of your thoughts. “i know. but… but it’s been years, marc.”

“yeah,” he sighed. “yeah, and we both know this doesn’t work. me, taking everything out on you, and steven- fuck, he’s a better husband than i could ever hope to be. he looks after you so well, i- i don’t know if that’s me.”

you’d be wrong to deny it, you thought. “maybe it isn’t.”

“come on, you know i’m not wrong. i’ve seen you two for the last four days, i mean- fuck? the way he looks at you, i-” his breath caught. “i don’t blame you for being happier with him.”

“him not throwing bottles is a pro, to be fair.” you laughed a little, fingers brushing against you arm. the bandage no longer stained with red every time you moved, and you could feel the little gashes beginning to close up.

marc snapped his head towards you. “y/n, i am sorry for that, for every time. i didn’t want to hurt you, i just-”

“wanted to hit me.” you shrugged. “it’s fine, marc. i get it. you don’t want to cause harm, but you do.”

he looked away from you, head falling into his hand and he rubbed his temple. “i saw you two, the other night-”

“oi!” you frowned. “we agreed you wouldn’t watch that.”

“it was an accident, i’m not a perv.” he smirked. “although i am grateful for the view.”

you rolled your eyes as he winked, but could feel the heat rise in your cheeks. it had been a fun night, after all. fuck - fun was the understatement of the century. you were surprised you were walking, to be frank.

“i digress,” marc mumbled. “look, i am sorry. we - both of us - we need to fix this. because if we don’t, it’ll… well, you know where it’ll end.”

you nodded. “yeah, i know.”

there was a beat of silence.

“i didn’t mean what i said, by the way.”

looking up, you was marc’s eyes staring into yours. “which part?”

“about the divorce,” he swallowed. “i would never- please don’t think that’s what i want, it’s not.”

“i know,” you almost whispered. “me neither, marc.”

silence fell over the two of you again, it wasn’t awkward - despite everything, there never was an awkward silence between you and your husband, even in moments like this - no, it was more somber, if anything. the streets below were the only noise flooding into the room, aside from the two of your breathing.

you thought about if things were different. if marc was a better man, a clean man. a man who didn’t kill people for money and kill people for gods. a man who didn’t kill. was that too much to ask? what kind of life could you have lived? children? a house in the suburbs?

no. no, you thought. even though you’d hate to admit it, something about this life appealed to you - the violence, the moving from hotel to hotel every other day, the gun you always had to keep in your bag. just a precaution, marc had told you. just a tiny little precaution that you when he had handed it to you, he had warned you that if you ever had to shoot it, shoot to kill.

it wasn’t like you didn’t know how to use a gun. fuck, how else would you and marc had met? you had gotten into the mercenary world before you were old enough to order a drink in any american bar, but circumstances put you there. a past full of death, much like marc’s.

sure, it wasn’t ideal that your friend layla had a huge crush on marc when you’d met him, but the fire in him that kept you warm seemed to have burned her - anyways, they never even dated, and she had given you her blessing to pursue him.

a rough start, but a start nonetheless.

“so, steven, huh?” marc broke the silence.

“he’s my husband too, marc.” you raised your eyebrows, tone playful.

“i’d fuckin’ hope so,” he muttered. “it’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it?”

you had to stop your jaw from falling open. “you said you didn’t watch that.”

he threw his hands up, admitting defeat. “i never said those words, and it was an accident. i can’t chose to see it, sometimes. it just happens.”

“oh, yeah,” you nodded. “but you still watched.”

marc clicked his tongue. “in all fairness, you are my wife.”

“and steven’s wife, he doesn’t watch us.”

“i wouldn’t bet on that.”

his quick response took you by surprise, and this time you weren’t quick enough to stop your jaw dropping. “what?”

“oh, come on,” he leaned against the wall behind him. “where’d you think he learned how to fuck you like that?”

you snapped your mouth shut, smile forming on your lips. your eyes focused on the mirror behind marc’s head. “really? i’d say he was the better one, if anything.”

there was another silence, but clearly only to you. marc spun on his heels and faced the mirror, pointing a finger at it.

“you, shut the fuck up,” he turned to you. “and you can take that back.”

giggles filled the room, your laugh bouncing off the walls into into marc’s ears from every direction. oh how he missed that sound.

“i mean it, doll, take that the fuck back,” he was smiling now, too.

“never.”

“well, shit,” marc shrugged, stepping towards you. “i might just have to prove you wrong.”

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eisforeidolon · 8 months

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OMG, when manipulating people, Lucifer appears to people as their romantic partners, episode 15x19 is PROOF of D/C!!!!

Except Lucifer didn't only appear as love interests or only use love interests to manipulate people. Although we didn't know who was doing the manipulating at the time, he appears to Sam as John in episode 11x04, to further convince him the dream visions he's getting should be followed. We see him manipulating Rooney in episode 12x08, and he is using Rooney's religio-political aspirations as his hook, not a person at all - let alone a dead love interest. We also know he manipulated plenty of vessels offscreen by unknown means - I doubt the Archbishop of Saint Louis was pining for an old lover. Furthermore, I'd posit that Sam knows Lucifer better than anybody but God and Michael by 7x02 post-Cage. So if Lucifer really did only appear as love interests? Hallucifer appearing to Sam as Dean in that episode would be "proof" of wincest.

So there were non-love interest manipulations and manipulations we didn't see onscreen that probably weren't centered on romantic partners. Which is enough to put holes in the theory alone, because its entire substance is just Lucifer appearing to someone = dead love interest. But why stop there? Let's talk about the context of the ones that are supposedly clues Castiel has to be a dead love interest, just because Lucifer did appear that way a few times.

Nick was obsessed with his wife and son's murder, and Lucifer's first salvo was causing Nick to hallucinate a baby's cry and a flood of blood from the empty crib before appearing as Nick's wife, who (unlike the son) could actually talk enough to make a specific bargain. Murders that we find out later were committed by *gasp* demons on Lucifer's orders to make said potential vessel desperate and vulnerable. The hallucinations Lucifer gave him pointedly included allusions to his dead son as well as his dead wife, so it clearly wasn't just about a romantic connection. It was his current weak spot, he was broken because his family were murdered.

When Lucifer goes to Sam in 5x03, Sam is trying to just sit the apocalypse out and live a normal life, hoping that will work to prevent anyone else getting hurt. Just like he thought he could sit the hunt for the demon out at Stanford. Even if Jess had just been his buddy, the girl who fucking died the last time he tried to live a normal life would still be exactly the right metaphorical knife to the ribs in that situation where Lucifer wants to imply that people can't change and there's no reason to hope the world won't end. Even Dean isn't a better choice there when the parallel of Sam getting normal people hurt by existing in their vicinity is so obvious. It was his current weak spot, putting innocents in danger.

Vince Vincente is depressed at least partially because his ex-girlfriend committed suicide after he treated her like crap and therefore blames himself for her death in 12x02. He does say in the moment that all he wants is her back - but actually, we learn an episode later that part of the deal he made with Lucifer was to heal his paralyzed sister because Lucifer sure as hell didn't do that out of the goodness of his heart. So again, even though it did involve a dead girlfriend, that wasn't remotely the only vulnerability Lucifer exploited, just the one that fits their theory. It was his current weak spot(s), the women in his life that he failed/couldn't help himself.

In each case, Lucifer is just using the best weapons he can bring to bear on the weak spots of vulnerable people, y'know, how a manipulator operates. That they involve romantic partners isn't actually the main reason for their use, and again, isn't his only shown tool of manipulation.

So Lucifer doesn't only use romantic partners to manipulate people, but even when he does it is about what the target's current vulnerability is that he can exploit to get what he wants. Which brings us finally to talk about that scene where he tricks the Winchesters with Castiel's voice in the penultimate episode. He needs to get into the bunker to use the Winchesters to trick the reaper to make sure he has the right death book. Sam and Dean are both inside. Most of their dead allies have been dead for a while so the shock and trauma has worn off/been buried - or they are alive enough to take a phone call and say no, they aren't at the bunker's door, actually (if Lucifer even knows enough to know who they are). But Castiel? The trenchcoated angel just carked it again a hot minute ago and wouldn't be able to get through the wards, making him the perfect tool for the job. It literally wouldn't matter if it was Dean or Sam, he's the entity in that moment they'd be least surprised to see resurrected and would open the door for, which is what Lucifer needs. No twue lurve necessary.

This is not the literal stupidest meta they've ever tried to pass off as valid. But yet again, it falls on its face if you actually examine it as a premise. Because they don't remember enough of the canon to know their theory is actively contradicted by other examples they forgot. Because they very pointedly pick and choose what context counts as important. Because they refuse to see other logical interpretations which are very obviously right there. Ultimately and fundamentally? Because they start from the premise that D/C has to be totes real and actively ignore everything and anything that doesn't lead to that conclusion - which is pretty much the entire canon, once you put their "proof" back in its original context and remove the distorted shipper goggles.

#bad meta #destihellers #destiew #mention of wincest #long post #lucifer

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hhawque · 5 months

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Ahhh boy! I’m usually not a text post girlie but this Doctor Who special has grabbed me and forcibly yanked me out of seclusion lmao

I have some thoughts about bi-generation. I’ve enjoyed reading other people’s takes, so here’s mine. Fair warning: it’s a bit critical, so if you enjoy the plot point and don’t want to read criticism, keep scrolling! I’m genuinely glad you’re happy :)

Thoughts below the cut:

So, first things first: I totally understand why they did this. Since the Disney deal, it’s no secret that the executives want to revamp the show and bring it to a wider audience. They’re even calling what would be season 14 “season one,” marking a reboot similar to 2005. But “character with millennia of trauma and extreme repression” isn’t exactly a Disney-friendly mascot for this new era.

Basically, I think the writers backed themselves into a corner. Starting off with the Time War, the Doctor’s traumas and repression have increasingly become a key part of their character in the NuWho era. But that doesn’t fit with the new vision. They had to fix this somehow.

Hence, bi-generation: one Doctor processes the trauma, while the next one goes off to continue the adventure.

From a new branding perspective, this makes perfect sense. But from a writing perspective, it feels unearned.

And here’s the thing – I know Doctor Who isn’t supposed to be some deep show, or some masterclass in emotional writing. It’s supposed to be about whimsical adventures in time and space, and I love that! It’s goofy and offbeat in its bones, and I do enjoy that we seem to be returning to those roots.

But what I didn’t really enjoy is that the new Doctor’s progress feels shallow. It’s just like, bam! Trauma healed! Everything’s good now!

I dislike this for the reason I dislike the “insta-love” trope – you get all of the results without any of the work. You don’t get to feel the impact of it, since it all happens offscreen.

The truth is that there was probably no satisfying way to resolve this issue. Healing takes time, and time, ironically, is what this show does not have. The reboot/rebranding is happening now, not in a season or two. So in that sense, I do appreciate that the Doctor, in some way or another, got time to heal at all. I could easily see them pulling some kind of “he healed through mindful regeneration!” thing, which would’ve pissed me off to no end.

Some other more minor things: I wish there was a concrete reason the bi-generation happened. Spontaneous plot points like that bother me for the same reason “insta-love” does – all the results with none of the buildup. It also feels kind of stale because we’ve seen something like this before with Tentoo.

However! There were also a lot of things I liked about the episode: Here are some:

1) The Doctor and Donna’s relationship. I’m so, so thrilled that a platonic relationship was finally represented as a deep, powerful and healing force. In popular media, those kinds of relationships are usually romantic or construed to be romantic, but the canon leaves no room for that, which I deeply appreciate.

2) Neil Patrick Harris was great as the Toymaker. I especially loved the Spice Girls song and dance routine. It felt so whimsical, yet so menacing.

3) I kind of said this already, but I am glad the Doctor got to actually heal in some form. That last scene of him with Donna’s family, now his family, made me sob lmao

I am excited for the future of the show! Ncuti looks fucking awesome, and I think he’s going to bring a fresh vibe we haven’t seen before. Doctor Who is a comfort show for me, and overall I am happy with the direction it seems to be going in.

TLDR: I don’t like bi-generation because it doesn’t feel emotionally earned, but the next Doctor looks amazing and I’m excited for this new era :)

#I will say #the fics where 14 gets therapy are gonna go so hard #doctor who #doctorwho #nuwho #doctor who spoilers #doctor who special #donna noble #the doctor #fourteenth doctor

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imagionationstation · 1 year

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Okay, so…

As I was in the mist of ✨emotions✨, my explanation skills were barely sub-par, and I gave a lot of people misconceptions to my thoughts on the episode “A China Town Ghoststory”.

So let’s try and fix that.

The episode itself is okay as a fill-in ep that doesn’t have anything to do with the season plot-wise, though it’s existence didn’t really seem necessary, other than an early acknowledgment that ‘impossible spiritual powers do exist so be ready’, which set me up to accept explanations on the unexplained and impossible, like Vision Quest and Leo’s Healing Hands.

Spiritual insanity simply exists. There’s no more to it than that.

And I appreciate that they introduced it without a clichè, “by the way they suddenly have magic as a big plot-point even tho it hasn’t existed at all until now! Why? Oh, I dunno, it’s in their blood or something I guess.”

We got a casual introduction by a villain that only ever comes up once more in all five seasons. Respect. 3/4 out of five stars.

The one aspect that always boils my blood when it comes to this episode, however, is the fight scene between Donnie and his brothers. The first time I saw this episode, I did not understand how they went from trying to kill Donnie, to- Oh, look, let’s go get some pizza! (As my new-to-turtles mind interpreted it).

I was extremely confused, and continued to be confused for the next few watches. Then, at one point while doing research, I saw the scene from Donnie’s eyes, and not from the eyes of a viewer. And I was even more mortified by what I saw.

The way this scene plays out really feels like (note: I’m saying ‘feels like’ and not ‘definitely is’) the brothers were choosing pizza over Donnie. The episode was kinda insulting, the way they go through this whole insane battle, throw him out of a tornado, and then just… Go bicker over pizza? Really?

It makes sense when you lay it all out. The brothers are acting as brainwashed guard-dogs. Donnie is a danger to what they’re guarding. The only way for Ho Chan to keep control is for the brothers to not recognize who it is they’re hurting. The spell makes them see him as a danger, and they don’t fully comprehend that they’re about to end a brother’s life while serving an evil sorcerer.

There’s nothing dangerous or threatening about pizza. It’s something they love, and something they’ve been known to bicker about. If the brothers are in there subconsciously fighting back, it would make sense that they would give into the urge to go after the pizza pies and stop serving their ‘master’. Use the brainwashed aggression to fight over pizzas, or assault the brother who wants to help the captives that you’re guarding. Easy choice.

No matter how you look at it (whether they have some control or they have zero control), it would make sense that they’d go after the pizzas.

Still.

This must be horrific to witness from Donnie’s POV. Super-powered brothers all banning together to fight you to the death, and every instinct in your being is like “well, I can’t kill them!”- so you’re forced on defense the entire time. One wrong move and you’re dead, and it’ll be at their hands- and it doesn’t really look like they’re fighting back. They’re hurting and chucking and attacking you, seemingly willing to kill you without a second thought, and it’s like they don’t even care-

And for this big brain boy and his canon insecurities, Donnie is going to be overthinking this one moment way more than he should be for a long time.

The way that he still hasn’t picked himself off the ground when Casey reaches his side, and then has to lift him up to snap him out of a shocked stupor- well, that says something to me.

I feel like this episode could have and should have played out differently, but I know many people wouldn’t agree.

To summarize:

…..

I KNOW IT’S A CARTOON AND SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY AND ALL

I REALLY DO

BUT FROM A REAL PERSPECTIVE THIS IS TERRIBLE

WHY THE WRITERS HAVE TO JERK AROUND HIS EMOTIONS LIKE THAT, HMM?! 🥺

My rewrite of this scene is here

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darktiger57 · 1 year

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lets talk kira's wet paint boyfriends.

we're going backwards. pros and cons

odo:

pros: can turn into a bucket of paint. was very sweet with Kira. He and Kira were close before they got together so they were a nice friends to lovers. Odo respected her(most of the time) and Kira respected him back.

cons: crossfire, and his way are both some of my least favorite episodes. the way odo and kira get together feels like it's all about Odo, which I get some of it. He's a changeling, he's not used to romance(except he is because of luxwana and that one lady), Kira is a friend and its scary to make a change to friendship like that. HOWEVER Kira is a main character too. I feel like she should've gotten more of a say, more of a side, something portrayed at least, about the whole thing.

Opinion: personally to me Kira and Odo work better as close friends. Like close enough people THINK theyre dating but theyre not. Just a couple of besties. Two pals. Both of them strong, one of them stoic, the other angry. both of them learning to be softer. Able to lean on each other against all other odds. I get why some people like them as a couple because of all that, it's why i dont dislike them as a couple.

rating: decent. 6.5/10

shakaar:

pros: he and kira have *history*. he was a mentor. a comrade. they fought together. watched their friends die around them. and now? he tends to the ground of the world they fought so hard to protect, he guides the people they gave their lives for. he and kira are like two sides of a coin. they both used to protect their people and they both still do but in very different ways. shakaar is one of my favorite episodes.

cons: he was written into their romance, it feels like, to be an obstacle to odo. his first episode, shakaar, is one of my favorite episodes, crossfire, and the episode where kira gives birth are one of my least favorite episodes and an episode i dislike shakaar in, respectively.

s3ep24 shakaar: like i said in the pros, shakaar and kira have history. deep history, shared trauma, deep convictions, all that good stuff. in shakaar we see them first at odds, but then kira recognizes the good shakaar is doing and they end up fighting together, being forced to take up arms against their own people. BUT THEY CANT! they talk their star trek asses through it. and shakaar is elected first minister. they work well together. they have that war buddy scarred by everything but healing vibe and theyre good. shakaar is actually rather interesting.

s4ep12: shakaar is fine in this episode. he's generic and boring. white bread. powerful man being the first minister but the only interesting thing about him is the plot happening to involve him. and then odo nearly gets them all killed cuz he's mad kiras showing interest in another guy when he hasn’t said shit yet. bad episode, love kiras fit tho very nice.

s5ep12: shakaar is late to kira giving birth and interrupts it, resetting the whole trial. ob'rien is rightfully upset, but takes it too far. both of them act like dicks the rest of the episode. i feel bad for kira, at least she has keiko.

opinion: i don't like shakaar. worst kira wet paint boyfriend. his first episode when he isn't a love interest is great. thats all he gets.

rating: 3.4/10 at least they didn’t go through with dukat

bareil:

pros: this man is sweet and sensitive and kind and he plays sports with his strong angry girlfriend. they disagree in matters of religion but love each other anyway. theyre both hot. he quite literally gives her a religious experience. she shows up in his prophetic visions. he's one of the only people hard angry season 1&2 kira will let her guard down around. theyre both hot. she found out he was framed as a collaborator by his own hand to protect their past religious leader to protect his people. they both protect their people in different ways. he knows how hard it was in the occupation. he's a gardener. her father was a gardener. also the guy is actually kinda funny. the deadpan delivery of some of his lines are perfect.

cons: nothing this man is perfect. he's very monotone but tbh i like his demeanor. they killed him :( kira watches him die

opinion: first son of bajor, arm around the major. bareil is the best soggy wet bread star trek ever spat on. he was soft and kind and sweet and quiet and it was everything kira needed. also have y'all SEEN s2ep24 the collaborator??? holy FUCK it's so good. the confrontation outside the vedek assembly where kira realises it was opaka and bareil was protecting her. the whole scene is fantastic on both sides. nana visitor with her fantastic acting and philip anglim holds his own with her. he definitely didn't command the scene that was all kira but he managed well enough. and later in the series when, after he dies, his mirror counterpart comes and he's perfect for kira but in another way but its all a lie but it isnt and its all so confusing and then hes gone. another great star trek tragic love story.

rating: 9/10 best wet paint boyfriend out there

in conclusion: bareil is the best wet paint boyfriend.

kiradax tho 👀

#kira nerys #shakaar #odo #bareil antos #bareil #ds9 #star trek ds9 #idk i wanted to talk about bareil really so i just threw the other two in there so id have an excuse

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chiakinanami82 · 10 months

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Albedo Piazzolla: Best Villain

If you’re a Nintendo fan, you’ve probably heard of the Xenoblade Chronicles series. Well, a couple of years prior, Monolith Soft released a trilogy of games known as Xenosaga on the PlayStation and later on, remakes were released on the DS only in Japan. This was Tetsuya Takahashi’s second attempt at creating an epic sci-fi story spanning multiple games, anime, and manga. I could go on and on about this game, but then this essay would never end. One of my favorite villains ever hails from this game. Let’s talk about Albedo Piazzolla. Also, there will be spoilers for all of the games, so please stop if you don’t wish to be spoiled. Anyways, I’ll start with the basics.

Albedo has a ton of qualities that make him unique, charming, and terrifying. First of all his design is striking, especially with the sharp shape of his cape and the overall white everywhere. The cape provides him with a unique silhouette. His English voice actor, Crispin Freeman, surely brings this character to light expertly. His theme is brimming with madness, which is fitting for a man as insane as Albedo. Most characters in fiction who are deemed “insane” are simply sadistic sociopaths, but Mr. Piazzolla is truly insane. This is seen in his encounter with MOMO, which I’ll go into more detail in the fourth section. He’s also hilarious at times, especially with “Yo, Rubedo.” It’s such a great line. Even his name is significant. Albedo is one of the steps of the alchemical process and he has relationships with Nigredo and Rubedo, the other two steps of said process. Now, it’s time for his backstory, as it ties to both Rubedo and Nigredo.

Albedo’s and Rubedo’s connected pasts is the main aspect of Episode II. All three of them are Realians, artificially made humans, created by Dmitri Yuriev to combat an entity called U-DO. Because they are unique, they’re bullied by the other Realians. Albedo, protecting his twin brother Rubedo, beats up one of the bullies. Alby doesn’t understand why it’s a problem, considering that he thought that all of them had the ability to regrow limbs. It is here that he realizes that both Rubedo and Nigredo will die before him, and he breaks down into tears while hugging his beloved twin. After a while, the encounter with U-DO arrives. Rubedo receives a vision of the destruction of the universe. This freaks him out and he cuts the link, leaving all of the others to die or to be driven to madness by U-DO. This gives a proper reason for this man’s insanity. While we’ve seen his past and come to know his general traits, let’s look at a few scenes to really illustrate my points in action.

Albedo Piazzolla has some of the best, most memorable scenes in all three games. In Episode I, he kidnaps a young Realian girl named MOMO, and he sits on a pile of her sisters’ corpses, holding one in his arms. He breaks the arm of the deceased girl and tosses her aside like a doll. In the Japanese version, he brandishes a knife, but it was removed in the American version, which honestly improved this scene. He dismembers both his arm and his head, showing his immortal power, all while a choir of haunting voices fills the atmosphere up with utter dread. Another significant scene is when Albedo learns that his healing powers are unique to him. First, he demonstrates his powers to Rubedo and Nigredo by blowing off his head and instantly healing. The two are surprised. Albedo realizes the implications and runs to his brother, hugging him and begging him not to leave him, tears leaking out.

This essay spells out Albedo’s backstory, specific moments, and overall character to showcase this insane mad lad. Usually, I’m not a fan of insane villains, but Albedo is the exception.

#xenosaga #albedo #albedo piazzolla #villain #rubedo #nigredo #best villain #essay #self-indulgent

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jq37 · 1 year

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Twice Upon a Time - Neverafter Ep 3

No Place for a Prince or Princess

Welcome to another entirely unhinged episode of D20 Neverafter and the first battle ep of the season. A battle episode with no dedicated healer with the whole party at level one? What could possibly go wrong? Well, let me tell you exactly what.

When I first started doing this commentary recap/posts, I did them in stream of consciousness bullet points and I'm going to do something similar for this recap since a battle ep means more nitty gritty that can be skipped over and also because I'm pressed for time due to being home for the holidays. Worry not though! I still have compiled all the most important juicy story bits for y'all. So let's get started.

When we last left off, the group lost the element of surprise as they readied to attack the Fairy Godmother and her army of half human/half furniture goons. Their goal in the fight is to steal the glass shard stuck into the Fairy Godmother that Cinderella stabbed her with and is greatly weakening her.

Puss right away Taun-Taun style dives into a dea cow while Roz distracts the Fairy Godmother by loudly declaring her princess status. As the mice told her, she can't resist a princess.

Meanwhile, Red draws a ton of enemies into a corridor which they nickname "Ylfa's Bottleneck" as if it's a hit nightclub and it comes up so many times you just KNOW it's gonna be a shirt or a poster at some point.

Pinocchio offhandedly mentions that he's been a puppet for about a year which helps us with the timeline a bit. Also, he's apparently using his broken off nose as a weapon which is...not amazing.

Roz gets hit by a spell and she sees a vision of zombie looking versions of the fairies from her christening looking at her in her crib and the blue fairy asking what she thinks her gift would have been if she hadn't had to soften the evil fairy's curse. [Note: Hmm, wonder if that Blue Fairy is Pinocchio's Blue Fairy]

Oh, also the Fairy Godmother says to Roz that curses are also gifts in their own way and idk if that's annoying fae-speak or an actual valid thing to say.

Roz and Red both have to make Cha saves and when Roz fails, Brennan gives her a red token which he tells her to hold onto without explaining at all. Siobhan is trepid, as am I, despite Brenna's claims that it's nothing to worry about.

Tim doesn't end up doing this because he wants to save his spell slots for healing (smart man) but his Vicious Mockery is a paternal "I'm very disappointed in you."

Puss tries to hide in another animal carcass, this time a mule (which Emily hilariously thinks might be Donkey from Shrek) but finds out that it's the mule of the 2nd brother in his fairy tale and also that he's just faking dead and is alive.

Brennan introduces a new game mechanic: If someone deals more than half of your remaining HP in damage in one blow, you have to make a Con save or take a level of exhaustion. This counts for enemies and PCs. Yikes! This doesn't appear to have anything to do w/ the red token.

The Fairy Godmother says to Roz, "Don't you want the kind of life I can provide? [...] They're taken your true love from you." When Roz insists that he's coming, the Fairy says, "Then why did his face change?" Siobhan is like, "How did she know that?" and I'm like, "Girl, same."

Pinocchio casts Hex on the Fairy which takes the form of spectral strings appearing on his body and his Stepmom's voice pouring out of him to berate the Fairy. The Fairy, of course, recognizes the voice as they're from the same story. Pinocchio gets the sense that more is happening than his mom told him.

Ger realizes that this Fairy is the fairy who cursed him to be a frog for being rude to her as a kid! [Note: I knew we'd end up doubling up on fairies at some point!] He is, if you'd pardon the pun, hopping mad at the realization.

Puss successfully lies to the Fairy that Cinderella sent him to help her get the shard out of her chest but that success will be fleeting.

The fairy says, "Magic was never yours. Magic is ours!" to Pinocchio (and really, I assume to his mom) and drops him. [Note: Hmm, magic hoarding? Is this like a Fae and Flowers deal? This feels like a line that we might be coming back to.]

Ger drops to an attack soon after.

Puss on an investigation check realizes that they've royally botched this and all that's left are bad and risky options. He tries to get the Fairy to give him her wand but that's a DC 20 check with disadvantage that he fails. Roz does 12 damage on her and it does enough damage that the group realizes that she's a total glass cannon that they should be attacking.

[Note: Y'all, I'm not the type to backseat D&D--and I wasn't yelling at my screen or anything while I was watching this--but you always take out the monster that is creating the other monsters! That's battle strats 101! Of course--spoiler--they didn't despawn when she died at the end but still! Taking her out and grabbing the shard would have been my plan for sure.]

Oh, also, Brennan introduced yet another mechanic. Because battles in the NEverafter are super risky, on a crit there is a save and if your fail the save, you're insta-dead. Great if you're giving the crit, bad if you're getting it.

At this point, it feels like I'm just reciting obits. Roz drops. Tim brings Ger back up. Puss goes down. Everyone is failing death saves--often with a fairy tale appropriate 3 on the die.

Ger yells at the Fairy, "Are you happy? I'm supposed to be a handsome prince!" The Fairy, surprisingly, agrees. She says, "We're trying to set the Neverafter to rights!"

Lou points out they're flaming out in the EXACT same way they did in the first fight of the first season--Fantasy High. He is hilariously correct.

Tim goes down. Ylfa goes down. The energy at the table is palpable as the inevitability of a TPK sets in.

Pinocchio fails his last save and black smoke sweeps through the dome. With his dying thoughts, he thinks about him and his father riding home to his village having escaped the belly of the terrible dogfish. He hears a voice--I think his father's--saying, "My little Pinocchio. She has lied to you." Then he fades. As his last action, he has to make a Cha save which he can choose to fail on purpose. He tries but fails and gets a red token.

Ger thinks about how the last time he needed to be brave--when his castle was being attacked--he hid with the children then ran. He sees Red and Pinocchio down and steels himself. There's no running or hiding today. He tries to get the glass shard and Brennan allows him to do it without a penalty IF he agrees to potentially get hurt in the process. He agrees and just meets the Fairy Godmother's roll, pulling it out. HOWEVER, as he pulls it out, the momentum sends it squelching into his own body, and he drops. The Fairy Godmother, as she dies, says, "Gerrard, we're here to help you! It's not what you--!" But of course, she's cut off.

As I said before, when she dies, the soldiers don't de-animate. And they WILL kill anyone who stabilizes. So everyone has to roll a Nat 20 or die. It's a weird situation where sometimes you have to roll a failure to keep doing with saves.

I'm going to tell you right now, no one saves. It's a true TPK. I'll run you through everyone's last thoughts.

Puss: Puss dies with a Nat 1 on the die (a cat butt that they briefly think is the image for a Nat 20) and he sees himself in Tomas' castle, resting in a shaft of light. Brennan says he sees the king and queen. Then the castle on fire. Then he's gone. He fails his Cha save and gets a red token.

Roz: Roz also dies with a Nat 1. She sees herself on her wedding day, going to meet her true love. Brennan says she sees two beautiful princesses turn to look at her. Then she's gone. She fails her Cha save so she's now up to 2 red tokens. [Note: Princesses. Her sisters?]

Red: Red gets the most intense vision. She sees herself with her grandma who then turns into a wolf and starts dragging her into hell. When she turns to face the wolf at his request he says, "Will you remember?" Then he says, "There are things trying to stop the turning of the pages," and asks her the 4 most important words. "Once Upon a Time?" she says. "I knew it was you," the wolf replies before she realizes he's falling into not hell or a boiling sea but a cauldron. She's blown out of a brick chimney and hears a voice from below say, "Got you now," with a suspiciously piggish snort. She seems to make her save and does not get a token.

Ger: Ger actually stabilizes but that just means she's going to die via furniture. He cries and says that he and Elody should never have gotten mixed up in this. He sees his wife in front of him who says that it's not too late and throws a golden ball in the air. As he watches it, he experiences drowning for the first time and then is gone. He is the only one who elects to fail his save on purpose. He gets a red token.

Tim: Tim thinks about the last fight he had with his husband who wanted him to just get rid of the book and stay home while Tim really thought what he was doing could help save everyone. And he still thinks that despite everything. He sees the Gander who mocks him. He sticks up his middle finger and says, "I got your third with right here." "Granted," says the gander, biting his finger off as he vanishes. He fails his Char save. That's a token.

Brennan asks Red again what her last thought was. She says she thinks she realizes what's going on. They've been thinking about things wrong. A book is about new memories, not just nostalgia. They have to be creating new stories and all they have to say is "Once upon a time." And that's where we end: with a TPK and those immortal words.

This new ep drops in less than 3 hours so I'm not gonna do a ton of speculation. I'm just gonna say that I haven't been this hyped for a new ep in AGES. Are we doing a time loop? Further fractured tales? How meta are we going? I can't wait to find out. Also, I'm glad we got such a mixed data set with regard to these tokens. Roz has two. Ger failed on purpose. And Red didn't get one. So we're gonna get a lot of data when this new ep airs tonight! Can't wait to see what Brennan has in store!

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #never after #never after spoilers #d20 #twice upon a time #sorry this is so late #but that will prob be the case while I'm home #a part of the reason I do this is posterity and late season reffing though #so I'm playing the long game here

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alaffy · 2 years

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Riverdale 6x18 - Biblical (spoilers)

You know, I don't consider myself really a religious person but I'm pretty sure I could have figured out the whole plague angle about three plagues in. So after setting up for several episodes for the final battle we find ourselves setting up even more in this episode. I'm just going to give a brief recap of what happens to the characters leading up to the last fifteen minutes.

Jughead is really tapping into Rivervale to the point he's writing down stories from it, or he's writing it and it's coming true; it's confusing. Anyway, his stories keep being stolen by people from Rivervale. Also, he eats a Cheeseburger from the other side that may have been poisoned (more on this in a moment).

Toni and Fangs decide to get married quickly. Kevin, and this proves this can't be our Riverdale, realizes he's wrong. Then, he tells Toni and Fangs he's not going to try to take Anthony anymore. Then, he continues to do the right thing by agreeing to spy on Percival to help everybody out. And he's actually successful.

Archie and Tabitha want to keep on holding out against Pickens, until they realize what's going on. Archie tries to make a deal to keep the workers safe, but then agrees to build the railroad himself for a time in order to save the workers. And yes the symbolic Christ moments are way over the top, thank you very much.

Cheryl's wedding present to Toni is to kill Percival, or she tries. But he turns the spell back on her, or I should say Nana Rose, and sets Nana Rose on fire. But that's ok, Heather has some healing balm for the third degree burns. And Nana Rose is clearly immortal.

Veronica has decided that this is the perfect time for an identity crisis. According to her, Tabitha is fighting Percival for Jughead and the restaurant; Toni and Fangs are fighting for the baby and for each other; Betty and Archie are fighting for the town and each other. But why is Veronica here? After singing a truly cringe worthy (and I mean this literally, the characters were literally cringing) song at the rehearsal dinner (and suddenly, the whole scene between B&V took on a completely different tone); Veronica decides she's fighting for her friends. But is she?

Betty researches about what's going on. She sees a picture of the Whore of Babylon and has her Rivervale flashback. Then, she's told by Kevin that Percival has bought a stockade in which he plans to put the Whore of Babylon in. Betty goes to confront him, but he doesn't seem to know what she's talking about; that he doesn't seem to know she's had the visions. Anyway, he gives her an ultimatum about bringing Anthony or things will get worse. However, she's able to tell Heather about the stockade and Heather realizes it's one to prevent someone to use their magical powers (sure) and they go and, long story short, trap Percival or so they think. However, his Locus pets set him free (don't ask).

So, now we're at the last fifteen minutes. Toni and Fangs get married...skip. Percival gets free and then goes and kills Nana Rose as she's the oldest firstborn in Riverdale. This sets off a chain of events in just a moment. Meanwhile, Veronica is clearly upset with Betty and Archie together and then asks Tabitha, since she's seen the future, who ends up with Archie? Of course, at this moment, Roberto proves he would rather kill of half the cast then answer that question. Archie, Fangs, and Toni are dead; but baby Anthony is not. That's because Anthony is special somehow. Tabitha runs out of the room, worried for Jughead (um). And Heather mentions she knows a witch....

Meanwhile, in the bunker, Jughead confronts the person stealing his stories...it's Jughead (duh). Here's the strange thing, at this moment Jughead starts having the same pains as the firstborns. Except he's not a firstborn. I have three guesses. One, other Jughead being there is hurting him (doubtful). Two, the burger really was poisoned and he's just now feeling the effects. Three, some people have wondered if the two Jughead's switched in the middle of the seasons. That 'Vale Jughead has been running around since, um, 6x12 or 6x13, when he had the hand problem. Let's assume that's true, does anybody remember if Charles was mentioned in Rivervale? Is it possible that Rivervale Jughead is the firstborn child and is the Jughead that will die?

#riverdale #riverdale spoilers #betty cooper #jughead jones #toni topaz #fangs fogerty #kevin keller #archie andrews #percival pickens #cheryl blossom #veronica lodge

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spookymultimedia · 2 years

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Damaged

Something triggers Laszlo into a panic attack while he's spending time with Sean at his house. LaszloXSean if you read between the lines. Takes place somewhere between the time in season 4 episode 1 and 2.

CW: pov of a character experiencing a panic attack in detail and implied past physical and emotional abuse from a parent

I couldn't tell you why it happens to me. It just happens. Occasionally, my body undergoes intense paralyzing fear that I have no control over. I used to get these spells all the time after I left England but eventually it just stopped. Yet, it was at the Rinaldis residence when that familiar crippling fear gripped my body once again. I don't want to remember what triggered me. I know what it was but I refuse to linger on the subject. It was linked to my estranged wretched father; that's bare minimum of what I can share without risking my mental health.

I remember watching the television with Sean and Charmaine because he had invited me to visit. I sat there stunned because I thought this phenomenon wouldn't happen to me again. I thought it was over. I believed that I had recovered fully but some damage takes an eternity to properly heal. I couldn't seem to breathe right and a migraine was developing. My hands felt really really shaky and my vision was just blurry. I think Sean was talking to me but it got hard to concentrate. I couldn't speak. Suddenly I was a little boy again, hiding. My limbs felt numb. My conscience was rapture away from me. My mind was engulfed in a blinding fiery light of memories that scorched my mind, burning me alive. Cold sweat ran down my head. I couldn't cry or scream. I was frozen.

"Laz? Laz what's up with you?" His smile dropped into seriousness. Charmaine was looking at me now.

"What's going on?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. He's not talkin'. Hey, buddy, you okay?"

I tried to talk but instead I just whimpered like a dog. My head was pounding. I raised a shaky hand to my head. I tried to breathe which turned into hyperventilating. My lungs were burning. It was irrational but it was like I was kissing death. I thought I could die right then and there. I felt small. I felt so small and helpless. Helpless as a tit bird fluttering from a fox in chase. A feverish shiver ran up my spine.

"I- I think he's having a panic attack or somethin," said Sean. Charmaine turned off the television.

"Hey, hey. You're safe. It's okay. Look, breathe in," he uttered softly with a gentleness I had never heard from him before. He took a deep breath in. I grabbed onto his arms. I tried to breathe with him but it was near impossible. I was trapped in my body. He held my hands and rubbed my palms. "You're safe." I tried to listen to him, I really did but my body refused to remain calm. I wasn't myself. This pain was aching all over me. I curled up and leaned into the couch. He stood up. I sat there for two minutes.

Suddenly this sharp scent reached my nose. I blinked my eyes open and looked at him. I could finally breathe again. As suddenly as it started, the terror had subsided in my body.

"What is that smell??" I muttered. I relaxed, slowly regaining my senses again. He was holding a tiny bottle in one hand and a lid with a small tube connected to it. My head didn't hurt as much but it was still in some degree of pain. I still felt pretty damn weak and my mind was still not completely present.

"Essential oil. Are you okay?" His eyes were wide with worry.

"I feel dizzy." I mumbled. I was fighting to stay conscious. I attempted to sit up but then a wave of vertigo fell upon me. I ended up in his arms, as he tried to hold me up. "Woah, take it easy Laz. Should I call a doctor??"

"No!!" I didn't mean to sound so violent. I guess I was still scared.

Charmaine set a glass of water on the table. "I'm going over to get his wife, I'm sure she'll know what to do."

"Okay." He nodded at her and took the glass of water. I was latched onto his shoulder, which was more firm than I imagined it would be.

"Here, you want some water?"

I took a tiny sip before spitting it out. He looked at me confused.

"Thanks"

"O-okay?" He set the glass down, and hugged me close. I held onto him like my life depended on it. I was still shivering quite a bit. I whined like a feral injured mutt.

"Don't scare me like that." His voice trembled. He supported my head with his soft hand on my cheek. I think he was crying. I don't know. Maybe not. Maybe it was my imagination.

"Has this happened to you before?"

I hummed out an affirmation. I cleared my throat.

"It's been years. I didn't think it would happen again. I'm just- I'm," I swallowed, "I'm damaged Sean." Blood red tears ran down my face.

He was uncharacteristically quiet for a minute. He looked scared. I worried that he would surely shy away and scream in terror at my ghastly composure, but he remained calm. He petted my cheek and wiped the blood. "Shhh," He hushed and ran a hand through my hair.

"I am irreversibly damaged," I choked out. I stayed like that for a while while I sobbed into his arms. It was immensely vulnerable and humbling to be like this in a humans' arms but there was a tender peace in his arms. I tried not to stain his shirt but it was pretty difficult. He soon broke the silence.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He looked down at me.

"My- My father had this temper," I took a deep breath before speaking again. I whimpered and tried my best to pull myself together, "I didn't have the greatest upbringing, as a child. . ."

He nodded solemnly and petted my head as I cried quietly. It was calming. I closed my eyes and felt truly safe in his arms.

[Nadja pov]

I was sitting in the library when I heard a ringing at the door. "GIZMO THE DOOR!" I yelled. Nothing. "GIZMO!" I swore under my breath as I set my stuffed owl aside and marched over to the door. I looked into the peephole and saw our lovely neighbor Charmaine. I gasped gayly and flung open the door. "Charmaine! It is so good to see you."

"Nadja It's an emergency! Your man was at my house and he just started freaking out all of a sudden. It was like a panic attack or somethin."

My jaw dropped. It was like a slap to the face. My poor Laszlo was having panic attacks again? My dead heart fell when I heard it. "Laszlo!" I rushed past het, slamming the front door and she behind me followed me. I lifted my dress as I ran. I must have left her behind but I didn't care, my dear Laszlo needed help. I got to the house and looked at him. Cradled up against Sean. I felt horrible looking at him like that. I hadn't seen him like that in years.

It first started during his transformation. He wasn't nocturnal yet. We were in that honeymoon type phase in our young relationship. I would watch over him as he slept, on the brink of his human death. It was hard for him to sleep most nights. He would stir from slumber in a fit of panic. He would scream and cry to the point of dehydration from nightmares so vivid and violent that it tormented him. I slowly learned that Laszlo was deeply damaged. His depression didn't go away overnight. In fact, Laszlo had been different. He was pretty quiet and solitary aside from being around me. He felt as if the world was cruel and unjust. He wrote ghastly gorey poems and waxed about how selfish and evil humanity is. He was bitter. I can't say I was any better. I was pretty jaded too. It took centuries for him just to truly trust other vampires, let alone humans. Who he had deemed the worst. He had kept humans at arms length at all times. I walked into the house and walked over to Laszlo. He was cradled in Sean's arms, looking weak and tired. I had never seen him trust a human like that before. Especially in such a vulnerable state. "Laszlo." I placed a hand on his cheek. Laszlo sat up and I helped him up.

"Will he be okay?" Sean asked and stood up. He looked at me wide eyed.

"He will be fine." I smiled softly.

[Laszlo ]

I was fully conscious when Nadja helped me feed on some blood of some poor virgin that Guillermo fetched.

" Darling I'm surprised you didn't lash out and kill Sean. You're so famished," Nadja cooed as she held up the dead limp wrist and petted my sweaty hair.

"One: in such catatonic state I couldn't kill anything if I tried to; and secondly: I'm offended that you would think I'd kill Sean. I would never. I can't bear the idea of it."

I went back to sucking when my head started to spin again.

"I thought you didn't have sympathy for his kind." She smiled warmly at me. I ignored her.

"You said humans are inherently selfish and despicable things? Remember?"

I sighed and looked up at her sternly.

"I was a different man Nadja. I was hurt and it made me think irrationally, everything I had said was completely nihilistic and pretentious. Anyone who thinks there's no hope for humanity is a fool who doesn't want to be happy," I sighed, "there is still goodness on earth. Kindness and brotherhood is alive and well and Sean opened my eyes to that; and I'm eternally grateful for it." I went back to eating.

"I suppose you're right." She said half convinced and nodded. A couple hours later Sean had arrived at the door. I greeted him when Guillermo called on me.

"Hey!" he smiled wide, "Glad to see you're alright, you scared back there. I thought you were a goner."

"Yes." I walked to him and grinned. I placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Sean, you're a reliable man and a strong shoulder to lean on."

"Oh don't worry about it." He smiled back at me and shook his head.

"I love you Sean. You're a good friend." I patted his back.

He was a little startled by how forward I was but his smile never faltered.

"I love ya too pal."

#anxiety tw #abuse tw #past abuse #what we do in the shadows #wwdits fanfiction #laszlo cravensworth #sean rinaldi #charmaine rinaldi #nadja cravensworth #nadja x laszlo #laszlo x sean

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aspiringsophrosyne · 1 year

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Episode 11: Whispers at The Ziggurat

The beginning of the end....in more ways than one.

We have soda, snacks, and popcorn with so much greasy butter you gotta wipe your hand on your jeans, and that shit never comes out.

Curtain's rising.

Why don't we find our seats?

There are a few neat little easter eggs in Delilah's chanting; they're even more noticeable with the subtitles on.

Looking back after Campaign Two, everything the Briarwoods do makes even more sense as, during the second campaign, we met quite a few of their contemporaries: wizards of privilege and power who were heavily afflicted with self-serving tunnel vision.

They're together.

They got what they wanted: they achieved their goal.

As they deserved to.

Why should they care if the rest of the world burns?

There are parallels between some of C1's and C2's villains is what I'm saying; it's neat.

The Good.

They had to dance around copywrites here, but they managed well.

Vagueries honestly serve the narrative in some ways, as it makes sense that little would be known about the Whispered One; secrets are his thing, after all.

Bad Influences

God, when the manipulative monsters of Critical Role stop playing nice by their standards, they really stop playing nice.

Orthax throwing away every pretense of subtlety is dread-inducing, but it's also strangely cathartic.

There's no more bluffing; the time has come to call.

There aren't words for how much I love that awful little moment between Cass, Sylas, and Delilah before Percy storms up.

Cass, knowing what Delilah wants, her immediate acquiescence, the older, healed bite marks on her neck...In just a few seconds, a complete, agonizing story is told.

Just Cassandra addressing Delilah as "Mother" is enough to trigger your gag reflex.

I adore how much just these couple of seconds does with so little.

This kind of subtle show-rather-than-tell storytelling rings every one of my bells.

The Fights

On multiple Q&As, the CRew has talked about how they had to find ways around doing too much work for what wouldn't have merited the price, effort, or time.

It's a sad fact that animating is difficult.

It's time-consuming.

It's expensive: especially when you've got seven characters to animate.

At once.

So they've split up the party here and there over the seasons to alleviate the burden, and frankly, even if they could do a prolonged fight with every character on screen, I'm not sure it'd be worth it. It would be easy to confuse the audience's focus. Or let the choreography become disorganized.

All that is to say, I appreciate how they broke up the Ziggurat fight.

Not only is this way more convenient for the crew, but it also gives us multiple unique dynamics between combatants.

Delilah silences Scanlan and then repeatedly tries to blast him.

The two sibling pairs square off. The twins use only their physical prowess against each other, while there's more at play than just the blows the de Rolos trade, as not one but both of them are fighting the influences that push them against each other.

Pike and Sylas do battle.

(This fight in particular was incredible, by the way. Richly dynamic; it's a joy to watch every time. Ashely couldn't be there for this fight on stream, so everyone went out of their way to show off how badass Pike is here.

Also, Cleric vs. Undead is a classic.)

Delilah and Pike have a beam fight and Scanlan plays his Uno reverse card.

Grog shakes off Sylas' charm, which is a nice nod to the campaign. (Raging Berserker Barbarians can't be charmed at that level.) Likewise, Sylas' influence fading from Vax and Cassandra as he gets more and more hurt (failing that concentration check) as Keyleth's and the Sun Tree's power builds alongside Neal Acree's beautiful score was also a nice touch.

All these fights and none of them overstay their welcome.

As I've said and will say again, titmouse makes a damn good action sequence.

(And baby de Rolos. Taliesin said in the commentary that was the nicest they ever were to each other and I believe it. Siblings.)

The woman who broke

Grey does a fantastic job here, as usual. You feel her pain and frustration. If she ever cared, she obviously does not anymore, but Delilah got hooked when she was in undeniably desperate straights. Now, this is all she has.

She broke the world for her husband: she can't turn back; she has to collect the Whispered One's debt. So the more setbacks she suffers, the more Grey lets Delilah's composure falter. Until her veneer of confidence and upper crustiness is completely burned away in that final confrontation with Vox Machina.

If nothing else, she put on one hell of a light show for Whitestone. It'll be fine, I'm sure.

The timing of Pike's fading out here is, as it was in the campaign, impeccable.

And that is the end of the Briarwoods.

For now, anyway.

The Bad. (Or at least, not so great.)

Magic:

Before Ripley makes her escape, there's more of her acting like she knows Percy when based on season one, she shouldn't.

This moment was why I pointed out the magic options available to Vox Machina in episode five; yes, Percy can't attack without alerting the Briarwoods, but Keyleth absolutely can.

All she needs is her standard: grasping vine. She doesn't even try to use that to grab Ripley?

Trying to snag Ripley and failing could've made Keyleth's big moment later even more powerful. She loses Ripley, Sylas punches her into a wall, and then she's out of a lot of the fight. Awkward, dirpy Keyleth messed up again.

So you take that and let it fuel her fire. This time she's determined not to fuck up. To put all that considerable power of hers into ending the threat to her friends.

And then she does.

It would've been cool to see.

Grog

And Grog's out of the fight again; I brought this up at the top of the season for this. It gets a little exasperating at this point. For a half-giant, the boy is strangely more prone to unconsciousness than his other, less hardy teammates.

A potentially better, funnier option would've been to have Grog awake the whole time but trying to get to the fight. Sylas and Pike were jumping around a lot. Maybe there could've been a background gag where he kept trying to run up the stairs before Delilah blasts him back down? Or Grog yelling in the background of Sylas and Pike's face-off that he'll be there soon; just a minute now, almost there. Plus, that would've been another fun nod to the campaign, where Grog's mobility was his Achilles' heal, and Matt used it multiple times to keep him out of the fight for as long as possible; so that there would be a fight.

Nitpick:

In hindsight, the "Be the light" thing is unnaturally on the nose, especially without a moment pre-episode three where Pike provides light for the team, or somebody calls her Vox Machina's light or both. Establishing that light is specifically Pike's thing before she loses that ability and passes the mantle on to Keyleth would've tied things together better and made that feel like a less contrived setup for this scene.

Writing like this will come up again in season 2, so I'm pointing it out now, even though it's not a huge deal here.

But that's about it.

This episode was fantastic, and it was hard to imagine they'd be able to top the action and emotion of episode eleven. But then they did.

That's coming up next.

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we-pay-for-everything · 2 years

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Merlin’s more “serious” episodes are both its undoing and its saving grace. The filler episodes are usually boring, but the plot heavy ones are incredibly aggravating. Morgana going evil makes no sense. We witnessed her growing resentment torward the king, but she always cared for people - so why doesn’t she care about taking innocent lives anymore? Why isn’t it enough to defeat Uther? Why must she get her revenge? What happened in that full year she was gone? Also, I assume that Morgana only doesn’t just kill Uther because she wants to take control of Camelot in order to restore magic to the kingdom. She’s had many chances to kill him already...

Another annoying thing about evil Morgana, other than its “men are deserving of compassion, but women are just evil and crazy and must burn at the stake” implications, is that, the eviler Morgana gets, the more it seems that Arthur and Uther can’t live without her. A big issue with Merlin is how inconsistent everyone’s characterization is. An ambitious plot can’t be properly executed this way.

The entire fate of Camelot rests on Merlin’s unflinching belief that he must save Arthur and Uther at all costs. He must save Arthur because he will restore magic to the kingdom and unite the lands, even though there’s no evidence of either, and he must save Uther because his death would destabilize the Kingdom and hurt Arthur. According to Gaius, Arthur is not yet ready to take over the throne - and that is true - but the pros of killing Uther still outweigh the cons. Arthur is immature, yes, but he’s a man of the people and will do anything for Camelot: he’s respected by all, he’s one of the greatest knights in all the lands, he’s willing to listen to others and learn from his mistakes even if he’s also stubborn. Uther may be more experienced in ruling the kingdom, but he has many enemies and a frightening body count; he’s also inflexible and ruthless. Uther is all that stands in the way of Arthur becoming the great King he’s destined to become and perhaps ending the war on magic.

Merlin believes Arthur is his destiny because the last dragon said so, and everything he’s seen so far naturally strengthens his belief in Arthur - it’s clear that he has the potential to be a great king. However, for magic to become legal, since Uther will never change his mind, Arthur must see reason. As long as Uther lives, Arthur will follow him blindly and his lies and beliefs will continue to poison Arthur against magic. And this is partly Merlin’s fault - not only is he the one keeping Uther alive, but he’s withholding vital information from the man he wishes to become king. Because of Merlin’s lies, Arthur believed that Morgause had deceived Arthur with a vision of his dead mother. His mother had exposed Uther hypocrisy, which, for the first time, made Arthur seriously question Uther’s judgment. However, Merlin covered for Uther, because doing so meant Arthur wouldn’t suffer and the king would live. But even if Merlin didn’t wish for the King to die, he at least had a chance to show Arthur that magic wasn’t necessarily evil or deceitful, and that Uther had a personal vendetta against magic and was a hypocrite for murdering all magic users or sympathizers when both he and Gaius had used magic before.

Furthermore, by keeping his own secret, Merlin kept Arthur for being exposed to the healing and protective powers of magic. Arthur is loyal, especially to those who risk their lives for him, so if Merlin had made Arthur see that he was helping him, Arthur’s attitude towards magic could’ve shifted a bit. How is he supposed to see that magic isn’t evil when all he knows are the many times magic has been used to kill either him or his father? He grew up believing magic was wrong and that magic users were ill or less than human. To undo this indoctrination, something or someone needed to make him question his beliefs, yet Merlin never let it.

I understand that Merlin has to look out for himself and Arthur never gave him a good reason to trust he wouldn’t tell Uther about him. However, by keeping the truth from Arthur, he wasn’t given a real chance to change his mind. Merlin is simply banking on a prophecy that tells him one day Arthur will accept magic, which is foolish and hypocritical. Merlin will go against the dragon’s heedings when it’s convenient, so it isn’t that his faith in the dragon’s wisdom is unshakable - rather, some advice is just easier to follow. Merlin, as Arthur’s servant and sort-of friend, has room to at least create opportunities in Arthur’s life to show him not all magic is evil and Uther is a liar. The death and suffering of magic users and sympathizers is more on Merlin’s hands than it is on Arthur’s - Arthur has the excuse of ignorance. (I will say, Arthur’s relationship to magic is inconsistent and there were times he saw its power for good and ignored it, but Arthur believes it is his duty to follow his father and that Camelot is only safe due to Uther’s reign of terror - a fact which truthfully is never disproven). If Merlin trusts that Arthur is kind and better than Uther, than he must give him a chance to become the king Camelot needs. Merlin chooses to stand by and let people die. He refused to help Morgana by sharing his secret, and look where that got them. Maybe it sounds unfair to put it all on Merlin but he took on this responsibility himself - as he chose to interfere and decide what’s best for Camelot, he must be held accountable. Had he let Uther die a long time ago, Arthur would be King, Morgana wouldn’t be evil, and although Camelot would be somewhat vulnerable, magic users would be a bit safer and there would be hope for a brighter future.

It’s funny that Merlin’s main reason to save Morgana after she fell down the stairs was knowing she’s Uther’s real daughter. I understand he was afraid of Uther going mad and unleashing hell on Camelot, but it’s still ironic that he protects Arthur because he will be better than Uther, yet he protects Uther with the same gusto - even if only from emotional damage.

I don’t believe Uther is the real, or only, bad guy of Merlin - it often seems like Merlin and Gaius are just as culpable. Gaius, after all, protects and admires Uther, and so does Merlin to an extent.

#merlin #bbc merlin #morgana #bbc morgana #uther pendragon #arthur pendragon #gaius #bbc gaius #dunno how to tag this show yet

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