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rollercoasterwords · 1 year

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hey, so. i was not planning to say anything about this, and i am still a bit wary of like...inserting myself into this conversation in any way beyond the one ask i've already answered. but. i know that some of my posts and words have been tied into the whole no post november thing, and i just...idk. i feel like i want to clarify some things about the intention of my tiktokification essay.

the fundamental basis of what i was trying to critique in that post was interacting with fanfiction through the framework of a consumer economy. that is the core of it. that is what i view as the root issue behind many of the instances of harassment and just all-around shitty behavior that i see in the marauders fandom. my personal stance is that we should be treating fanfiction + ao3 as a source of community outside of any consumer economy, which to me means that

there is no clear boundary between readers and writers. there is no clear delineation between producers and consumers. we are all meant to be in community with each other.

fanfiction should not be subject to the same sort of criticism that you might levy against media produced within a consumer economy. that's what i'm talking about in my tiktokification essay and a few other posts i've made, so i'm not going to go into detail here -- i feel like i've already made where i stand on this clear

there are no celebrities. there are no "big name" content creators. there are no influencers. someone having their work advertised without their knowledge on a different social media platform and suddenly finding themselves with an audience they never asked for does not mean we should suddenly start treating those people as if they are influencers who intentionally sought out "fandom fame." obviously, it's different if someone is advertising their work with an intent to grow some sort of following or audience, but if someone is just writing stories and posting them and hoping to foster some community where they get to talk about characters and stories they enjoy, i don't think it is fair to catapult those people into a limelight they never asked for.

so like. that is my perspective on fanfiction as a community. that is what i mean when i say fanfiction is meant to exist outside a consumer economy. and when i say i am wary of framing a stand against harassment as a strike, it is because striking is inerently tied to the framework of a consumer economy, and i do not think it's possible to undo that framework by working within it. i will reiterate - i think it is great to see writers standing in solidarity with each other. however, if my essay is going to be part of that stand against harassment (which i am okay with! i wrote it because i was unhappy about the harassment i was seeing) then i guess i just...want to make sure that people understand the core of what that essay is critiquing.

i'm going to leave my thoughts there for now. my intention with this post is not to engage in any sort of debate or argument--as i've said many times, the thoughts i post on my blog are nothing more than personal thoughts and opinions; i am not claiming to be any sort of expert, and i am never seeking anything other than conversation. i am happy to discuss my perspective on the frameworks we use to engage with fanfiction, and i know that once i post something on the internet i don't have control over the ways in which my words might be interpreted. but hopefully this helps to clarify the core issue that i was attempting to critique with my tiktokification essay for those who are now coming to my blog to read it amidst everything going on.

#i know different people will likely reach different conclusions about like the root of the problems in current fandom culture #but to me it seems to all tie back to the spread of the consumer economy as the only framework we use to engage w media #bc i think that's also tied to people looking at art as like a model for how to live life rather than like #a conversation. yknow?#idk people bringing up the tiktokification essay just has me thinking abt fandom meta once again #but yeah i want to make it very clear that treating fanfic as though it exists within a consumer economy is what that essay is critiquing #anyway im just gonna say my piece and go to bed it's been an intense weekend full of reminders that there are so many things more important #than fanfiction discourse #ranting and raving #txt

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gloriousmonsters · 9 months

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screw the current 'let's rehab the Gerudo by uhhhh making them really want to suck up to the Hylians and they super hate Ganondorf and disown him now'. give me back the enthusiastic Ganondorf fans who don't gaf about Hylians unless they win a gym membership from OoT

#it's an old song and we're gonna sing it again #i've seen some like 'they're brainwashed' takes and like. aside from the obvious thing with nabooru it does not come off like that to me #everyone else you meet seems perfectly chipper and normal they just yknow #are super stoked about their king and don't really care about hyrule being taken over #which doesn't seem like an attitude that would require any particular manipulation #(like they worship him a bit but... considering the guy that's born every 100+ years is automatically king #I assume it's got to be some kind of 'it's rare so it's special!' belief that probably involves #assumption of some supernatural and/or divine importance #which considering the kind of fantasy this is might be right. maybe if you're a gerudo dude you get visions or something. anyway)

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starsandthorn · 11 months

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As anyone who has ever listened to me talk about Lightning Gods for 2 seconds knows, I personally am not too fond of the Thunder Legion backstory we got from it. Partially because I am a childhood friends Thunder Legion truther, but mostly because I didn’t agree with the characterization choice that had them decide to follow Laxus after…that.

But I understand why it is the way it is, and more than that, I can see now that it does a fairly decent job at using what little space and time there was available to tie into the main focus of the story of Lightning Gods. Namely, Laxus’s and the Thunder Legion’s views on strength, the trust that all of them have in each other, and how that manifests in different ways.

Let’s begin with an overview on the Thunder Legion’s obsession with strength and duty, where it came from, and how it has changed forms over time.

The backstory for the Thunder Legion proposed in Lightning Gods is this:

Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen team up to take on a job, only to find when they get there that Laxus has already finished it on a whim. They exchange some harsh words, and not long after they descend into a fight. Laxus beats them easily, and the three of them are awed and frightened by his strength and power.

Laxus, meanwhile, surprises them by complimenting them […sort of] on being the strongest guild members he’s seen in a long time, in giving him a good fight.

This event is what inspires the three of them decide to band together to form the Thunder Legion—a team dedicated to watching Laxus’s back. It is also the event that sets up their mentality further down the line: physical and magic strength are the most desirable traits one can have, and by continuing to be strong and interesting, they are allowed to stand by Laxus’s side.

Cut to years later, when the most obvious culmination of the Thunder Legion’s obsession with strength takes place: the Battle of Fairy Tail.

The entire point of the game is to weed out the weak from the strong, to create a stronger guild for Laxus to inherit. On his orders, the Thunder Legion are utterly merciless to anyone they deem weaker than themselves.

At first, this seems like purely blind loyalty, but as time goes on, we get a glimpse that it might be more than that. Specifically, right after Evergreen’s loss, we see that the standing the Thunder Legion has with Laxus isn’t a whole lot more solid than the rest of the guild, right now.

The moment Evergreen is beaten by Erza, Laxus re-categorizes her in his mind from strong to weak, and is ready to discard her, saying that he doesn’t need her in his Fairy Tail.

Freed expresses that he or Bickslow should have gone instead—not that Evergreen is weak, not that they don’t need her, but that Erza is simply too strong, and they should have sent someone better suited to counter her.

He then tells Laxus that the game is over, the battle lost, and Laxus tells him that unless he is willing to do exactly as he says with no hesitation, Laxus doesn’t need him in his guild either.

After this exchange, we now know that the Thunder Legion are only standing beside Laxus because they are strong. If they are weak, if they falter in their duties, they will be abandoned, discarded, and replaced.

The three of them are beaten, the game is lost, and Laxus is exiled. They slowly begin to settle back into the guild, to reconnect and mend bridges. But that obsession with strength and duty that the Thunder Legion has cultivated has not completely gone away—merely changed forms.

After all, few of their guild mates can stop themselves from commenting on how ridiculously strongthe Thunder Legion are. Many of them saw their magical strength firsthand, so the three of them are desperate to prove that their abilities can be put to good use.

When it comes to fighting strength, their mindset is one of protecting their guild mates no matter the personal cost. For Freed and Bickslow, we tend to see this manifest outwardly, as continually attempting to sacrifice themselves for their loved ones. For Evergreen, we see this manifest more as an internal struggle, as blaming herself for not being strong enough, and thinking that her lack of ability is what causes others to be hurt.

When Freed is selected to take place in the S-Class trials, with Bickslow as his partner, the two of them are paired up against Lucy and Cana. They proceed to throw the fight in the girls’ favor, allowing them to move forward. Freed says he owes it to the two of them specifically, after what happened in the Battle of Fairy Tail.

Later, when Evergreen and Elfman are targeted by Rustyrose and defeated by him, Evergreen blames herself for not being strong enough, and says that if it weren’t for her, if Elfman had picked a different partner, he may have been able to succeed.

In the Key of the Starry Sky arc, Bickslow throws himself in the way of an attack to save Wendy, and even insists that she should abandon him and save herself—abandoning a comrade who is nothing more than dead weight is still a viable strategy in his eyes.

“Sometimes you gotta have the courage to leave your friends behind too!”

However, unlike Laxus [who I’ll talk about later], the Thunder Legion largely understands that there are different types of strength. Laxus judged himself and others using solely fighting strength as a metric, but the guild as a whole requires a more diverse skill set to deal with a range of day-to-day issues, which the Thunder Legion commit to their comrades with just as much enthusiasm.

Freed’s mission with Wendy is a good example of this. The Master—and Cana, of all people, who Freed feels he has a personal debt to—entrusts not only Wendy’s safety to him, but also her growth and development as a mage. He follows the rules set by them to the utmost of his abilities, even having a minor crisis when his two duties conflict, and he doesn’t know which course of action is the right one to take.

When there is a clear course of action, though, he’s quick to take it, utilizing his runes and his blade for all manner of things that have nothing to do with fighting.

At one point during the journey, Happy comments:

“That’s the Thunder Legion for you! Always there in a time of need!”

It’s clear that by this point, they have already established a reputation for being incredibly reliable and dependable, despite the fact that this is quite soon after the Battle of Fairy Tail, and the three of them rarely spent time in the guild hall beforehand.

These feelings of needing to be strong and useful so people keep them around linger on even past Fairy Tail’s disbanding, into Lightning Gods. The three of them are incredibly eager to be helpful to Laxus.

Evergreen reinforces this when they step up to destroy the Vesper Blockade Mirror for the first time:

“Let’s show them why you keep us around.”

She says this in tandem with Bickslow, who says Laxus won’t enjoy destroying an object. The three of them step forward to do work that, they assume, Laxus would find tedious or boring.

Not long after they figure out how to destroy the mirror, the priestess Weyse shows her true colors as a Zeref fanatic, and takes on the powers of the demon God of Nightfall.

The God of Nightfall is, quote:

“…a type of magic that shows people illusions of the doubts and fears…and traumas…they carry deep inside.”

To torment the Thunder Legion in the illusion, Weyse begins with this:

“Oh, you guys! As if he could rely on you! You call yourselves his bodyguards, but at the slightest threat you just bleat out for him. No wonder he gets hurt worst of all.”

This doesn’t seem to affect them at all, as all three’s responses are rather unimpressed.

“Yeesh. What terrible lines.” “I guess she’s trying to rattle us.”

This showcases their understanding of who Laxus is as a person. They’ve followed him for years now, so they’re well aware of what he’s capable of, and more importantly, what he’s like, and what he tends to do.

The Thunder Legion is incredibly confident in Laxus. They trust him more than perhaps anyone else, and want more than anything else to protect him and keep him safe.

However, they are also well aware that they cannot control his actions. Especially after the stunt he pulled just before Tartaros. He gets hurt worst of all because he tends to insist on doing things on his own, whether it’s to prove himself, to enjoy a fight more, or because he wants to keep everyone safe. When the people he cares about are in danger, he jumps in to help, and sometimes pushes himself to the point of self-destruction. This is a trait that many mages in Fairy Tail share, and the Thunder Legion understands this.

But they trust him, and they trust him to know his limits.

When he stops them from interfering in his fight against Maiden Quartet, they listen. Their trust manifests as standing back while Laxus fights and waiting for a cue, or helping to mitigate the damage his fight causes on their surroundings. Laxus knows that all he needs to do is ask for help, or offer an invitation, and the Thunder Legion will be right there beside him.

Freed knows this, and he rebuts Weyse like so:

“We trust each other. If Laxus is fighting on the front lines, we’ve only got to run in and support him!”

Of course, Weyse twists his words around and hits them where it hurts:

“So what you’re saying is, he steps up to fight because you’re too weak to do it yourselves.” “You’re his bodyguards, aren’t you? Right? But something terrible is bound to happen to your precious Laxus, the way you guard him.”

Laxus fights because they can’t. Because they’re incapable of it. The Thunder Legion is a burden to him, an inconvenience, and holding him back from his true potential. He doesn’t need them, and he knows it; soon enough, they will stop being useful, and Laxus will leave them behind.

That’s what hurts them, that’s what spurs them to fight and protect the illusion of Laxus with everything they have—not just the concept of being weak, but the idea of being unneeded and abandoned by the person they care for the most.

“Laxus always steps up to fight…because we’re so weak!” “Even though we go around callin’ ourselves his bodyguards!!” “We’re just holding Laxus back!”

Unbeknownst to the Thunder Legion, though, Laxus has been going through his own development during Lightning Gods—namely, discovering just what kind of strength he can bring to his family in order to make them feel safe and protected.

When Laxus and the Thunder Legion join Blue Pegasus, they are confronted with a very different guild experience, in terms of jobs and the people around them. Being a Blue Pegasus member requires a different set of skills and strengths than Fairy Tail members are used to, and Laxus specifically has a difficult time adjusting. But as he’s floundering, he can see the Thunder Legion fitting in with the guild and taking to their tasks with ease.

“I don’t know…but you three are doing great.” “But I just recall how…Fairy Tail was full of people who’d understand me, even just through our fists and fights.”

This is played somewhat for comedy, as the Thunder Legion find Laxus’s awkwardness endearing. But Laxus is genuinely having a hard time wrapping his head around the way the guild operates and adjusting to it. More than that, he’s utterly baffled by the idea that someone like Ichiya could be so respected and adored when he is, compared to Laxus and the Thunder Legion, not all that strong or powerful.

He mentions that they shouldn’t go to assist him—since the others respect him so much, he assumes Ichiya must be strong enough to save himself:

“But he’s actually super powerful despite how he acts, right? So just wait for him to come back on his own.”

What others might see as abandonment is Laxus’s idea of trust—putting faith in another person’s ability to handle themselves, and not insulting their strength by rushing in to rescue them.

But the members of Blue Pegasus quickly correct him, bringing up the many weaknesses that Ichiya has that make him vulnerable. Laxus wonders if there’s anything good about him at all, and how someone with so many weaknesses—that are apparently common knowledge—could be so idolized by everyone around them.

Despite his overall reluctance to engage with the situation, Laxus goes to rescue Ichiya, on the basis that they’re from the same guild, and anyone who messes with guild members is an enemy—not because he looks up to Ichiya, something he quite vehemently denies.

In the process of rescuing him, though, Ichiya himself takes a blow from Laxus meant for his captor, and tells Laxus not to fight, “out of respect for his gorgeous face”. Laxus takes this as an insult.

“Is this a joke?! Huh?! We came here to rescue you, because you’d been kidnapped. And now this? Was this some game to you? And you want me to respect your face? You think you can mess with me and I’m just gonna take it?”

In his mind, if Ichiya is so respected, he must have been strong enough to escape this entire time, and waited until the most inopportune moment to do so. He interfered with the rescue attempt, made light of Laxus’s attempt to help, and wasted his time.

However, Ichiya replies:

“This was no game. And no one is messing with you. Thank you for coming to my rescue.” “I honestly didn’t think you four would be the first ones here. Fighting on a joyous day like this…would hardly be the classy thing to do! Let’s go home and open up some champagne.”

Laxus seems surprised by this, and remains in thoughtful silence for a long while, even all the way back to the guild. Ichiya approaches him, and Laxus finally admits:

“So, look. I don’t get you at all. You don’t stand out as some powerful dude…but look how much they all worship you.”

Ichiya responds that it’s because he’s good-looking, much to the irritation of Laxus. However, the Trimen speak up once Ichiya leaves, saying that’s his true strength. The Thunder Legion take the word strength to mean the same kind of power they see in Laxus; an insurmountable might that puts one above other people. Hibiki corrects them:

“He may seem unreliable to you. But…when the moment calls for it, he’ll even use his body to defuse a crisis, even without magic…and isn’t that another kind of strength? That’s our Ichiya. We can feel safe with him.”

It’s not about physical or magical strength. It’s his strength of character that the members of Blue Pegasus are drawn to; they trust that he is the type of person to do everything in his power to keep conflict from breaking out, even if it means bringing harm to something he prides himself on quite highly.

This sticks with Laxus.

When he and the Thunder Legion head out to the village of Rugosa for the request put forth by the priestess Weyse, Laxus wonders to himself just what sort of strength he brings to his family.

After Weyse begs them to help, and speaks rather tearfully about not wanting to lose her home, Laxus is immediately swayed to get serious about her cause. He makes an effort to destroy the Vesper Blockade Mirror, and goes to great lengths to defeat Nasser, whom Laxus believes is trying to destroy his own home—something that Laxus takes very personally, because he [mistakenly] sees his past self in Nasser.

“So your mission is more important than your home? That thought process…makes my blood boil!!”

Nasser asks him why he’s risking his life for this. Says it seems foolish, since this is just another quest for him. Laxus flashes back to the Battle of Fairy Tail.

“I’ve tried to destroy my own family…my guild…before. I thought I was doing it for the guild’s own good. But now I see that was a stupid, immature idea. And I’m pretty sure you’re gonna regret this, too!”

After Nasser’s defeat, the Thunder Legion destroy the Vesper Blockade Mirror, just as Laxus trusted them to do. And the demon God of Nightfall’s true identity is revealed. Nasser shares his side of the story and laments his inexperience, stating that despite being seen by the villagers as an outsider, Rugosa village is his only true home.

Laxus is immediately swayed to his cause, and vows to destroy the God of Nightfall. Nasser reprimands him, saying that it’s too dangerous, but Laxus insists—

“But if we do nothing, your home is gonna get destroyed.” “Look, no apology is ever gonna be enough for what happened. So let me protect your village. I have to…!!”

Nasser relents, and asks for his assistance in defending his home. But not before telling him:

“You lose sight of all around you the moment something important to you is involved, like one’s home or guild.” “Viewed in another light, I suppose some might call you stubbornly honest.”

The two of them rush back to the village to confront the God of Nightfall. Laxus goes to destroy it, but is blocked by the Thunder Legion’s attacks. Weyse reveals that the three of them see Laxus as the God of Nightfall and vice versa—this is quickly reinforced by their words, shouting that they’ll protect Laxus no matter what as they’re attacking him.

Then, of course—Laxus hears what they think. That they’re too weak to stand beside him, they’re holding him back, they can’t even do an adequate job of protecting him.

After snapping them out of the spell with his magic, Laxus tells them exactly how he feels, how he said he felt even in the midst of his fight with Nasser: he trusts them.

“Don’t be stupid, Thunder Legion!” “It’s only because I can trust you to have my back…that I can run forward to fight!”

He doesn’t say, you’re strong enough to stand beside me.

Instead, he tells them, I am only this strong because you’re here. Because you have my back. I could not have done any of this without you. I have faith in your abilities. I can trust you.

To have his back, to look out for him, and more than that, to understand him, when it seems like no one else can.

The three of them gather themselves, and step up to watch Laxus’s back, to assist him in fighting the God of Nightfall.

“It’s alright. The three of us…we will not falter!!” “Strength…weakness…the form it takes doesn’t matter. The desire to protect the people we care about is still the same.”

The God of Nightfall is defeated. Nasser returns to the village, having lost his magical power. The Thunder Legion lament this loss, saying that losing such strength seems like a waste, but Laxus seems to understand—it was worth it, if it means Nasser gets to return to his home.

The four of them leave Rugosa village, talking about Weyse’s betrayal and how impressive Laxus was during their fight. And, finally, they tell him what it is that he wants to hear:

“But you confirmed something for us.” “Thanks to you…we can rely on you and feel safe.”

His dedication to doing what’s right, to protecting other people’s homes and family, led him back to the village when he could have easily left everyone to wait for the Council instead. His strength and quick thinking saved the Thunder Legion from the God of Nightfall’s spell. His stubborn honesty snapped them out of their fear of failing him, of being too weak, of being left behind.

At last, Laxus says that he thinks he’s figured out a little bit about the strength that makes Ichiya so adored.

#fairy tail #is this coherent? idk. i've reread it a million times so i can't tell. anyway. the thunder legion. explodes #also today/tomorrow is apparently the 4-year anniversary of everythunderlegion so. it seemed like an appropriate time to post this #yknow. years after i originally drafted this analysis and when fairy tail is no longer relevant. <3 #they just make me so. [shakes them]#the idea that the thunder legion have always known different types of strength are important and it takes laxus so long to catch up #like AUGH. boft being crafted in such a way as to inspire infighting. so any real threat of resistance falls apart before it forms #while the thunder legion spend the entire arc at their strongest because they're working together..................#forever thinking about bickslow using freed's runes to finish the fight with gray like THAT. THAT. they know teamwork is important #they know playing off of each other's strengths is important. they know they can make up for each other's weaknesses #and freed not commenting on ever being weak when she's defeated [rips and tears] HE WANTED TO KEEP HER IN THE GAME #because finding out which players are individually strong is less important than keeping all of your own players IN the game!!!!!#sorry i'm reliving my thunder legion insanity. reverting to 2019 me it seems.

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definitelynotshouting · 6 months

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OOH

first impression: saw a post in the wild about hunger au and any sort of worldbuilding gives me brain worms so ofc i immediately went through the whoke master doc and then reread the fic twice over in one sitting (i think at that point it had 4 chapters) AND THEN went through the tag with my head in my hands like "how does this person come up with such cool ideas oof ouch my heart"

Now: dude you are so cool 🥺 the amount of work you put into hunger au and the magic au AND YOUR POEMS ILOVE YOUR POETRY. I just have so much respect for you. Also fun fact your writing re-inspired me to continue my own projects so thank you 😭. And also thank you for going through my asks and responding to them!! i was so nervous sending in the first one but your response was so sweet i really appreciate it <3

-☀️

WAIT WAIT THIS IS SO SWEET WTF /POS IM SO,,,,,,, 😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ im literally always so stunned when people say my writing inspires them, its like my favorite thing to hear and it never stops feeling like the most amazing thing in the world, truly. Sometimes its just so unfathomable like, the influence you can have on others, and being given even the briefest glimpse of that is truly so so humbling i love it

Also it means a lot to me that you like my poetry so much 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 ive only shared the tiniest fraction of them so far, but its messages like these that help me build up the confidence to keep posting❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ i appreciate the kind words a ton, truly sun anon you always have the nicest things to say 🥺🥺🥺🥺❤️❤️❤️❤️

#shouting speaks #asks #ask game #im always so genuinely like. happy to make ppl feel at ease when messaging me #so im glad the nervousness seems to have faded for you a bit!!!!!#idk thats just smth thats always felt rlly important to me :] i dont wanna come off as aloof yknow???#also like gods i would love to share some of my deeper poems at some point #im always deeply nervous abt sharing tho bc they get pretty intensely personal sometimes wheeeeeeze #i love em!!! but Oh My Gods #txt

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snailcubezz · 2 years

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hes so complex and interesting why doesnt anyone talk about his backstory (his "backstory" is 70% stuff i made up)

#meeple.txt #yes this is about sasha again #psychonauts #sasha nein #cc #although in my defense. my hcs and theories on his past r definitely backed up by The Implications the vaults give us #sasha ''spent like 5 years living in the streets as a child while masking dangerously stigmatized neurodivergency'' nein #and on top of that assumedly did not have english as a first language #and seems to teach and view psi blast as a good and important self defense tool #thats yknow. powered by aggression or fear or other strong feelings #i sure wonder where he got thst

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uovoc · 1 year

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[Shirley Jackson's characters] are shy, unassuming folks who, for all intents and purposes, would pass through through the physical world unnoticed. They care about appearances - how they are seen by others; they possess certain kinds of respectability and a healthy dose of small town cruelty. This is about politics on the most macro of levels. There is great concern for how one is perceived, how one moves through and does - or, more likely, does not - fit into society, for everyone here is an outsider. Throughout, things are turned inside out, the private is made public, and there is the tension, the subtle electrical hum, of madness in the offing, of perpetual drama unfolding: something is going to happen, something assumedly unpleasant ... What is brilliant about these stories is that Jackson presents them to us in such a way that we, the reader, can see them with great clarity and insight, yet the author is careful to allow her characters to remain in a world of their own making, to not pop the bubble.

A.M. Holmes, introduction to The Lottery and Other Stories, by Shirley Jackson

#Shirley Jackson #thinking about my friend who was like ''I don't get why people care about what other people think''#and I was like ''have people generally accepted you throughout your life''#and he was like ''yeah''#and I (incredulous) was like ''yknow I think acceptance is more important than you think''#Shirle Jackson Gets It.#there's caring about what other people think on the level of seeming cool.#and then there's caring about what people think on the level of being allowed to participate in society or not #destruction of self in the name of belonging. that's the shit 🤌

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zeb-z · 1 year

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I’ve got several bones to pick with the latest decisions of the Armorer and Bo Katan this last episode - one of them being how ridiculous it is that she can remove her helmet and walk both ways, but Din, rightful Mand’Alor, is an apostate for the same crime under dire circumstances, and went through hell to redeem himself - and it all comes back around to the hypocrisy.

Bo Katan is told she can remove her helmet, walk both ways, unite the Mandalorians. She is quite clearly the worst possible candidate for this. This isn’t an attack on her character in particular, she’s proven herself these last few episodes to have some care and honor.

In the beginning of the season, she said it herself, how the rest of the Mandos she had gathered had left her because she did not have the dark saber. She had given up because of this, changing her mind on a lot of beliefs because of this. Why would they follow her now? Why wouldn’t she even mention such an obstacle?

I think that now she feels empowered again. Now she has more of a basis to lead, with a mission from someone as important as a Mandalorian Armorer. She can unite her people now that it’s convenient. And there’s certainly some character development after she has seen the mythosaur and spent some time with the Watch - and I’m sure more to come - that she feels some sort of obligation and loyalty, I hope.

It’s similar to the Armorer and her decisions on what is acceptable and what is not in terms of the creed. What redemption is impossible, or not even needed - based off of convenience. She had let Bo Katan in knowing she did not willingly walk the Way. Knowing that her bathing in the waters wasn’t purposeful but a technicality, not even bothering to find out if she respects or follows any of the other tenants that seem just a little more important - yknow, the care for foundlings and all that?

Yes, Bo Katan proves herself later on - but not at first acceptance. The scene where she’s welcomed screams of cult tactics is all I am saying, which I might bring up in another post because there is a lot to unpack there. The point is that if this creed is law, and you start making exceptions, where is the line drawn after? Why is it alright for newcomer Bo Katan to be the exception to maybe find more Mandalorians, but Din wasn’t forgiven for considering his foundling more important in the order of tenants? What does it mean for the rest of them to now follow this creed, when it isn’t so strict in its honor?

It’s just. The hypocrisy of it all. Bo Katan, barely upgraded from outsider to Mando in the Watch’s eyes, getting the pass to take off her helmet because she’s walked both ways while anyone else would be shunned and exiled, given a task for redemption that is impossible in their eyes to complete. It is impossible for anyone else to have walked both ways, sans Din. And Bo Katan willingly upholding this duty so soon after she threw fits about how these same people fractured the Mandalorians, how it’s their fault they are all scattered. After the rest of the Mando’s had left her because she doesn’t have the dark saber.

Not to discredit what character development that Bo Katan has seemingly gone through, but past patterns only go to show that this will not last. It reads like just another quick turn around of her beliefs and morals.

#i think they’re ultimately using eachother as means to an end. we’ll see #but it’s telling. so telling just how unbreakable these supposed unbreakable rules are. crazy how the line blurs huh #cant wait for din to accidentally unite everyone a lot better. then for bo katan to challenge him for the saber #and the armorer……side eye….SIDE EYE…….#like I know they’re a cult it’s been established and as honorable as their creed can be they’re still cultists Ryan!#convinced that the armorer is letting this happen because of the mythosaur thing. if somebody starts saying how they’ve seen Jesus #the religious leader is gonna believe they’re a prophet yknow?#are my religious issues and distaste of bo katan giving me a bias…? maybe #and who knows maybe she’ll surprise me. she seems to be going through an arc of finding honor and the importance of family #but again. been there done that it didn’t seem to stick. so we’ll see #the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian s3 #bo katan kryze #din djarin #the armorer #children of the watch #sw #Star Wars #z speaks

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